Legislative Update from the Frontlines

We wanted to share key updates with you on three legislative matters that have been progressing at our state Capitol this week. It is a privilege to fight for your values in public policy every day during legislative session.

The “Equal Rights Amendment”

The so-called "Equal Rights Amendment" is a proposed state constitutional amendment which the state legislature debates passing year after year. In Minnesota, constitutional amendments must pass on a majority vote in both the State House of Representatives and the State Senate before the state voters determine in a General Election whether to add the language to the state constitution. 

Different versions have passed the Minnesota House of Representatives and Minnesota Senate, disqualifying the proposed amendment from fully passing the legislature before voters determine whether to add it to the state constitution. Identical legislation must pass both chambers.

The ERA has existed in the United States since the 1970s, but the language of the amendment has changed over time. Minnesota's 2025 ERA proposal includes constitutional protection for abortion and so-called "gender identity or gender expression," better known as the right of "self-identification." The language of this ERA does not include any protection for religious freedom, clearly showing the priority order of constitutional protection as these interests conflict. 

Click here to read an op-ed published by National Review and written by the Minnesota Family Council public policy team last year to learn more about the so-called ERA.

Governor's proposed cuts to nonpublic pupil aid

Governor Walz' Education budget proposal is housed in SF2255/HF2433, bills which have had hearings in both chambers in recent weeks. Minnesota Family Council submitted written testimony in opposition to SF2255 in its April 2 hearing in the Minnesota Senate Education Finance Committee. 

Qualifying students who receive nonpublic pupil aid receive state funding for textbooks, testing, school counseling, school nursing, and transportation. The state faces a budget deficit, but cutting funding to Minnesota’s students seeking nonpublic education should not be one of the first places the state reconciles the budget.

Mobile sports gambling

Exciting news! After failing to secure the votes yet again to pass the bill which would legalize mobile sports gambling out of the Senate State and Local Government committee, the bill's April 3 hearing was canceled. 

Minnesota Family Council has been lobbying in opposition to this legislation in recent years, and we had submitted written testimony both from our organization and an expert witness to document the harm this industry poses to Minnesotans. Our Director of Public Policy Rebecca Delahunt testified in opposition to this legislation in the same committee on February 13, in which the legislation was tabled in committee on a 6-6 vote. You can watch that testimony here.

Go to mfc.org/subscribe to be the first to receive critical updates on this legislation and more! Visit mfc.org/billtracker to stay  informed on the public policy with which we are engaging at the Minnesota Legislature regarding your values of life, family, and religious freedom.

Statement: Minnesota House Democrats Stand United Against Athletic Opportunities for Girls

HF12, a bill to protect girls' sports in Minnesota for female athletes, was voted upon by the House of Representatives on March 3. All the House Republicans voted for the bill, but unfortunately, all the House Democrats voted against the bill. Many House Democrats stated that this bill is irrelevant. A couple representatives implied in floor statements that issues such as high egg prices are more important to resolve than protecting girls from discrimination and physical danger when they are forced to play against male athletes who claim to be girls. Some even went so far as to insinuate that protecting girls' safety, rights, and athletic opportunities is equivalent to "bullying."

In a recent poll by the New York Times and Ipsos, 79% of Americans support preserving female athletics for female athletes. Minnesota House Democrats stood united against preserving athletic opportunities for Minnesota girls, disregarding the reality that physical differences exist between the sexes and the real threats that girls in our state face.

The House requires 68 votes, a majority of the body, to pass legislation from the House of Representatives. With only 67 Republicans and 66 Democrats currently serving in the Minnesota House, the bill failed to pass and was laid on the table for further discussion in the future.

As our allied legislators made clear, HF12 is a commonsense bill that ensures that girls' sports remain fair and competitive. You can see how each legislator voted in the Journal and here. Please consider reaching out to your State Representative to share your appreciation or concern regarding their vote! You can look up who represents you at this link: Who Represents Me? Your voice matters, and every girl in Minnesota deserves to play sports on a fair and level playing field. 

Statement on Governor Walz' Budget Proposal Eliminating Nonpublic Pupil Aid

Governor Walz' budget proposal, which shapes legislator discussion of the state budget, completely eliminates nonpublic student pupil aid and transportation as designated under Minnesota law for the past 50+ years. 

This nonpublic student pupil aid goes to services such as busing, textbooks, school nursing, guidance counseling, and educational technology, among other services. 

If state funding to nonpublic schooling options is cut, tuition costs will be raised for all students in these nonpublic schools. The lowest income students and families attending these schools will bear the burden of the raised costs, removing education options for the most vulnerable members of our community.

Minnesota families already fund public education through our state taxpayer dollars. Cutting nonpublic pupil aid now, especially when some estimates of Minnesota's waste, fraud, and abuse in our state government administration is tallying about $500 million (and increasing), is a serious mistake by the Walz administration, placing the burden on Minnesota's lowest income families who are seeking education alternatives.

Watch the hearing in Senate Education Finance Committee on February 5, 2025, in which leaders from various nonpublic Minnesota schools testified on how the elimination of nonpublic pupil aid would affect their schools.

See Governor Walz' budget proposal, pages 75-79.