The following update on the 2019 Minnesota state legislative session is provided by the Minnesota Catholic Conference, the Church’s official public policy voice in the state.
What happened at the Capitol last week?
It was a mostly ceremonial week at the Minnesota Capitol with a new governor and lieutenant governor, along with all the state’s constitutional officers, being sworn in. In addition, there was a changing of the guard in the Minnesota House as a result of the November elections. The DFL took official control of the Minnesota House of Representatives on Tuesday and the GOP became the new minority caucus. The DFL now has a 75-59 legislative majority. The Senate remains in GOP hands, and they have a one seat majority, pending the outcome of a Feb. 5 special election, which could give the Republicans an additional seat.
In addition to the mostly ceremonial activities, 122 bills were introduced on the first day of session, Jan. 8.
What should the public be keeping on their radar?
The Legislature will start slowly with committee meetings being confined to mostly educating new and returning members on a variety issues and inviting state agencies in to give legislators an overview of their work. The first few weeks won’t see a great deal of work on actual legislation. Activity will start to speed up as we approach the beginning of February.
How can Minnesota Catholics take action this week?
Catholics across Minnesota can pray for their elected leaders. Throughout the legislative session, our elected leaders will be faced with many decisions, big and small, that affect life and human dignity. Whether you voted for those who are now in office or voted for someone else, those who are now leading our state and country need your authentic friendship and goodwill; they need you — their constituent — as a resource to help inform their decisions. We can do this by building relationships with them; this starts with prayer and sharing the truth of the Gospel.
To find a prayer for those in public office, and a prayer for the nation and state visit our action center:www.MNCatholic.org/action. There you can also send a message to your elected officials, both state and federal, to let them know you are praying for them.
— Minnesota Catholic Conference
Learn more about MCC at: https://www.mncatholic.org.