Legislative Update - Protecting Reproductive Rights in Minnesota

Dear Neighbors, 

We’re continuing to work at a brisk and efficient pace in the Minnesota House, having already passed several bills through the committee process and off the House floor, including a fast-tracked federal conformity tax bill, and another to protect individuals from discrimination based on natural hair types. I was proud to vote for both bills, and to co-author the latter. 

Last week, we took on one of our highest priorities for the legislative session - literally House File 1 - which would codify the fundamental right to reproductive health into state law. The bill, also called the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act, is a direct response to the US Supreme Court’s extreme decision to overturn half a century of judicial precedent last year when they struck down Roe v. Wade.

In Minnesota, we were lucky enough to have our own court case protecting the right to an abortion, Doe v. Gomez, but we know it’s not enough to just assume that case will always stand. The PRO Act would ensure Minnesotans can choose the full spectrum of reproductive health care that is right from them: including the right to choose or refrain from using birth control, to get a vasectomy or choose sterilization, to choose pregnancy and give birth, and the right to have an abortion.

I was proud to vote for this bill, and later joined my fellow House and Senate members of the Reproductive Freedom Caucus to reiterate our commitment to not only pass the PRO Act into law, but a whole slate of legislation that would preserve and expand reproductive freedoms in Minnesota. 

You can read more about the press conference we held on this issue, including how we will also work to protect gender-affirming care, ban conversion therapy, and establish Minnesota as a state of trans refuge, here. 

Banning Conversion Therapy

For far too long, the incredibly damaging practice of conversion therapy has been allowed in Minnesota. Though a bill banning the practice has been promoted by the House in the past, the then-Republican Senate refused to have that conversation. The hope now is the 1-seat DFL majority in the Senate will reignite this and many other issues. 

One of the first stops for our bill to ban conversion therapy - a top priority of the Queer Caucus - was the House Human Services Policy Committee, on which I serve. That day, we heard harrowing testimony from survivors of this practice, and remarks from friends of those who are sadly no longer with us as a result of this harmful pseudo-science. Also included in our debate was an amendment that would have banned gender-affirming care. I spoke against this amendment that was later struck down. 

Gender-affirming care is safe, tested, effective, necessary, complicated, and deeply personal, and I’m glad we can advance this important bill without this amendment attached. I want to thank all the brave Minnesotans that shared their stories with us, and continue to do so as this bill advances through the committee process. It was especially heartwarming to see so many of our testifiers in favor of the legislation were young medical professionals. The future has a lot of promise. 

I’ll be sure to keep you updated as this bill advances through the legislature. 

100% Clean Energy by 2040

The last eight years globally have been the hottest on record, and Minnesota is among the top states currently seeing rapid changes to our climate. Scientists know climate change driven by fossil fuels is impacting our environment, infrastructure, and our health. While Minnesota has long been a leader in clean energy, partisan gridlock in recent years has hindered attempts to combat climate change.

Yesterday, we passed the 100% by 2040 bill, a landmark piece of legislation I’m co-authoring that will help our state address climate change head-on and prepare for a carbon-free future. Action at the state level is urgently needed to help the U.S. meet our climate goals. This legislation would require the state’s utilities to use entirely carbon-free sources for electricity production by 2040. This would put us on track with over 20 other states that have also adopted similar goals.

Not only is this legislation critical to protecting our climate, but it also makes economic sense. Wind power is the cheapest form of electricity, and producing solar energy is cheaper than building new fossil fuel plants or importing fossil fuels from other states. This bill ensures we remove barriers to setting up carbon-free and renewable power sources and invest in jobs right here in Minnesota. I voted in support of this bill on the House floor, and will continue working to address and combat climate change this session.

Stay Connected

You can subscribe to these updates if you haven’t already, here, and you can also “like” and follow my official State Representative Facebook page. I also invite you to contact my office with any questions or comments you may have at (651) 296-3824 or rep.leigh.finke@house.mn.gov. I will be happy to assist you. 

For broader legislative information, you can access the Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services for nonpartisan recaps of high-profile bills, committee hearings, and floor sessions with their Session Daily publication.

It’s an honor to represent our community in the Minnesota House. 

Sincerely, 

Leigh Finke

State Representative - 66A