Greetings,
The House and the Senate are both ahead of schedule from where they were during the 2015 budget negotiations, but to this point, the Governor has not been actively engaged in the process. With less than a month remaining in the legislative session, the Governor needs to get involved in the negotiating process with the conference committees in order to avoid a chaotic and complicated end of session.
The majority of the 2017 legislative session has been focused on reforming health care/health insurance, tax relief, transportation funding, education, and agriculture issues. However, the House took a break from these discussions to vote on other important legislation aimed at making abortions safer for patients and ending taxpayer funding for abortions. House File 812, a bill that I co-authored, requires abortion facilities that perform ten or more abortions each month to be licensed and regulated by the Department of Health, as well as meet a set of standards established by evidence-based clinical research. The state requires that all other medical facilities be licensed in order to operate. Why are abortion clinics the exception? House File 809 would prohibit funding for abortions from state-sponsored health programs administered by the Department of Human Services, except if the patient’s life is in danger, or in cases of incest or rape. This policy is already in place at the federal level and in 33 other states. It is time that we adopt this same practice in Minnesota. House File 812 and House File 809 both received bipartisan support in the House and I hope that Governor Dayton realizes these bills are commonsense and supported by the majority of Minnesotans.
Contact Me:
If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding any issue related to state government, please feel free to contact me at either 651-296-8237, or rep.brian.daniels@house.mn.
Thank you for allowing me to serve you in St. Paul!
Sincerely,
