Dear Neighbors,
It’s been a hectic and exciting first few weeks of the 2023 Legislative session!
I was grateful to be sworn in for my second term as your state representative and hit the ground running! Since I started my first term in the legislature in the midst of the global pandemic, it feels extra sweet to be together again in person this year and to have the halls of the People’s House echoing with the enthusiastic voices of Minnesotans from across the state.
Our democracy only works if we work together to solve problems and build our future together. So please reach out and let me know what's important to you. I look forward to seeing and hearing from you -- at the Capitol and in our community!
Session Priorities
Last week, our House and Senate caucuses unveiled our legislative agenda to move Minnesota forward. With pro-democracy, pro-choice majorities in the Minnesota legislature this year, we are ensuring that our economy and our democracy center the voices and the interests of workers, families, Minnesotans, and communities across the state.
Inclusive Democracy Caucus Launches
In 2022, Minnesotans elected pro-democracy leaders up and down the ballot with a mandate to protect and strengthen our democracy. To respond to this moment and our commitment to protect and strengthen democracy, we formed the first bi-cameral Inclusive Democracy Caucus which we launched on January 6th, 2023. I’m proud to lead this bi-cameral caucus along with my Co-Chairs Rep. Cedrick Fraizer and Sen. Liz Boldon. You can watch the press conference here.
It is vital to reaffirm our belief in the power of Minnesotans coming together to govern, solve problems, make decisions, and build a collective future in an inclusive, multi-racial democracy. Minnesotans from every region, race, generation, and political persuasion rose to demand the protection of our democracy. We as lawmakers from all backgrounds look forward to working together with Minnesotans across the state to expand the freedom to vote and center the voices of voters.
Democracy for the People Act
One of our top House DFL’s priorities this session is to protect and strengthen our democracy. As a voting rights lawyer, I’ve been at the frontlines of the fight for the freedom to vote and was especially proud to introduce my HF 3 - Democracy for the People Act as one of our top three bills. My bill puts Minnesotans at the center of our democracy by strengthening the freedom to vote, prohibiting voter intimidation, expanding voter registration, restoring voting rights to people on probation or parole, and ensuring everyone has the information and support they need to vote. The measure increases transparency and disclosure of secret spending and reforms Minnesota’s campaign finance system to empower voters and small donors, reducing the influence of corporations and wealthy individuals. To make real progress on issues important to Minnesotans – including education, climate change, health care, economic justice, housing, and racial equity – we must build a stronger, more inclusive democracy. This will help make this forward vision a reality.
Protecting Reproductive Freedom
Politics have no place in a doctor’s office. However, last year the U.S. Supreme Court went back on a half-century of legal protections guaranteeing the right to an abortion. The Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act recently received committee hearings in the Minnesota House. This bill protects Minnesotans’ right to contraception, the right to carry a pregnancy to term, the right to abortion, and ensures the right to privacy for personal reproductive health decisions. It also prevents interference by anti-choice politicians who seek to enact or defend medically unnecessary barriers to comprehensive reproductive healthcare.
Minnesotans overwhelmingly support the fundamental right of individuals to make their own healthcare decisions. The recent overturning of Roe v. Wade sends a clear message that we can’t take these rights for granted. The PRO Act will codify these fundamental rights into law which is essential in guaranteeing reproductive freedom for the long term. We must act now to ensure a future state Supreme Court can’t take away the bodily autonomy of Minnesotans.
Standing up for Worker Safety
All Minnesota workers deserve to be safe and respected at work, But here in Minnesota, that is not the experience of many workers in Amazon warehouses. Workers push themselves to the brink because they’re penalized or fired if they don’t meet work speed quotas that Amazon changes frequently and sometimes doesn’t even disclose. Black workers, including many East African immigrants, make up a disproportionate share of Minnesota’s Amazon warehouse workers and therefore bear the brunt of these grueling conditions.
After hearing stories from Amazon workers and reading this report, I introduced legislation to address some of the problems they identified. HF 36 will provide more worker safety in warehouses I’m pleased to report the Labor Committee advanced my bill, and it’s now on its way to the next committee.
Stay in Touch
Thank you for your time, energy, and all you do to make our community a great place for everyone. Please reach out to me with your input and ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance. My email is rep.emma.greenman@house.mn.gov or you are always welcome to call me at the Capitol at 651-296-4200 and follow my Facebook page for updates.
It’s an honor and a privilege to be your State Representative and I look forward to working with you to create a stronger, brighter future for all Minnesotans!
Best,
Emma Greenman
State Representative