Friends and Neighbors,
The 2024 Legislative Session is flying by! We’re in the middle of omnibus bill season which means that the floor debates go on for hours with House Republicans trying to amend commonsense proposals into the DFL’s policy and spending bills. This week there were three key examples that I wanted to update you on – one that would’ve protected minors from having elective transgender surgeries, one that would have prevented more of your money from being given to illegal immigrants, and the last would have updated food packaging requirements to force companies to disclose when they’re using insect products in their food.
One of the most commonsense amendments proposed by the House GOP was also one of the most divisive and spurred the most debate. Our amendment would have protected anyone under the age of 21 from receiving elective transgender surgeries. This amendment reflects our commitment to protecting young Minnesotans from irreversible medical procedures until they reach an age where they can make informed decisions about such life-altering choices, especially since Minnesota currently does not, by law, require parental consent or knowledge for such procedures. We believe in safeguarding the health and well-being of our youth and ensuring they have the opportunity to mature and explore their identities without premature medical interventions. Unfortunately, this amendment was voted down on a party-line vote. The good news is that this amendment actually saw a good amount of debate on the Floor, while debate on the following amendment was shut down entirely.
During another amendment concerning how much taxpayer money illegal immigrants should receive, Representative Isaac Schultz asked what should’ve been an easy question for the DFL majority to answer: what percentage of our state budget should go to people who are here illegally? I firmly believe that the answer to that question is ZERO, but ten different members of the DFL refused to yield to the question when it was asked on the House Floor – a move that breaks the customs and traditions of the House. Members are expected to yield to questions asked of them, so it was surprising to see ten different representatives refuse to yield, to say the least. I encourage you to watch the video here and see for yourself what’s happening on the Floor of the Minnesota House of Representatives.
Finally, the third amendment Republicans tried to get onto an omnibus bill this week concerns whether or not Minnesotans will be “eating the bugs” without their knowledge. My colleague in the Senate Sen. Torrey Westrom offered a simple amendment that would require food companies to disclose the fact that they’re using cricket or other bug products in everyday foods. Even if you like eating bugs, I’m not sure why you would vote against transparency for consumers as the DFL did. Alpha News has a great article on this amendment which you can read here.