2009 Legislative Session Report
Health Care Agent Access to Information Act: Signed into Law!
The House and the Senate approved a bill to provide protections for GLBT people who have a designated medical agent. The bill enables medical agents to receive expanded information about the hospitalized patient. A medical agent does not have to be a domestic partner or family member; the patient can choose any person. The implications for the GLBT community, however, are significant since current law provides automatic medical information access for spouses only. Now same-sex couples can designate each other and have the same access to vital information. OutFront Minnesota worked with legislators to draft and pass this bill which helps prevent same-sex couples from being barred from obtaining critical information about their partners. The bill was signed into law by Governor Pawlenty.
Safe Schools for All Bill: Vetoed by Governor Pawlenty
The Bill: Minnesota law currently requires school districts to have harassment/violence policies related to conduct based on sex, religion, or race. This provision would have required school districts to have model policies that prohibit harassment, violence and bullying based on actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex marital status, disability, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation (gender identity and expression), age, physical characteristics, and association with a person or group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics. OutFront Minnesota and Rainbow Families to create the Safe Schools for All coalition in support of this legislation.
There are forty-four groups in the coalition, including the Minnesota PTA, Minnesota School Counselors Association, Minnesota School Social Workers Association, School Nurse Organization of Minnesota, Education Minnesota, Pacer, NAMI and others from around the state.
What happened: The bill had widespread support from Democrats in the House and Senate. Many Republicans Legislators were unwilling to support the bill if it included an enumeration of the various categories of protection in the legislation. Senator Dibble and Representative Davnie met with the Governor's Office and House and Senate Republicans to create legislation that made our schools safer and garnered enough support to become law. The bill was altered to state that the model policy for schools had to list out the categories of protection and definitions included in the Minnesota Human Rights Act. While the legislation no longer enumerated the categories, the model policy for all schools in the state would. The Minnesota State School Board Association and the K-12 Principals spoke out against the legislation at first, but were supportive of the bill after it was revised. The bill received bipartisan support in the House and Senate after it was revised. The House voted 95-39 in favor of the bill and the Senate passed the bill with a 46-8 vote. Governor Pawlenty vetoed the bill after session ended. The Safe Schools for All Coalition will determine which legislation to introduce next year and continue asking for support from organizations around the state.
Student Andy Berlin testified for this bill - and had a commentary published in the Star Tribune.
Domestic Partner Benefits Bill: Defeated
A bill to provide health care benefits to the domestic partners of state employees was introduced for the third year in a row. The House included the benefits in their state omnibus funding bill, but Governor Pawlenty voiced his opposition to the health care benefits. OutFront Minnesota worked with GLBT state employees and the unions to get the bills included in omnibus spending bills in 2007 and 2008, but the governor vetoed the bills and voiced his strong opposition to DP benefits.
Minnesota Independent domestic partner benefit story.
Marriage Equality Legislation: Introduced
There were three pieces of legislation introduced to provide comprehensive legal protections to same-sex couples in Minnesota. Two of the bills would have allowed same-sex couples in Minnesota The bills were sponsored by 38 legislators in the House and Senate. For many years, the conversation at the Minnesota State Capitol has centered on whether or not to enact a constitutional ban on marriage and all legal protections for same-sex couples. The constitutional amendment was introduced again this year, but there was very little support for it. Minnesota remains one of twenty states who have not passed constitutional bans on legal protections for same-sex couples. In 2006, many people in Minnesota and across the country thought the Legislature would pass an amendment. OutFront Minnesota worked with over 300 nonprofits, businesses, faith organizations and others to stop the amendment. There were over a thousand people active across the state working to organize in all 67 districts in our state. To end marriage discrimination in Minnesota, we need thousands of Minnesotans actively working to educate, recruit and mobilize supporters of marriage and GLBT equality. Sign up as a volunteer today!
OutFront Minnesota's response to Governor Pawlenty's budget.
View legislators' voting records
Attend OutFront Minnesota's justFair Lobby Day in April 2011!