Good morning and welcome to Wednesday.
The Minnesota Capitol seemed like it was back to pre-COVID-19 days Tuesday as the new legislative session got underway.MPR’s Dana Ferguson and Brian Bakst (with a photo assist from Kerem Yücel) captured the scene: With Democrats in control of all three levers of power at the Capitol, the agenda has shifted. And DFL leaders highlighted some of their top priorities Tuesday. Efforts to codify the right to an abortion, conform the state tax code to federal law and ban conversion therapy for LGBTQ youth are at the top of the docket. The goal is to pass the early tax bill next week to make 2022 income tax filing more simple and head off the need for amended returns. “We want to help build an economy that works for all. We heard on the doors that people are concerned about their freedoms and their rights, and they don't want them chipped away. And we want strong schools and safe communities and a healthy climate,” Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, DFL-Minneapolis, told reporters. “So we're going to get to work. I think we're going to look at a variety of different bills.”
And: The new crop of lawmakers brought a series of firsts to the Capitol, including the first time both chambers are set to be led by women, the first person of color elected president of the Senate, the largest group of people of color to serve in the Legislature (35 of 201), 11 lawmakers who identify as LGBTQ and a record number of female lawmakers. “Today we make history by swearing in the most diverse group of legislators that Minnesota has ever seen,” House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said. “Minnesota state government is increasingly reflective of the people of Minnesota and I am grateful to be a part of that.”
Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, DFL-Minneapolis is a good example of that diversity. MPR’s Feven Gerezgiher has a profile: Mohamed, 25, stood out among the sea of blue and gray suits on the chamber floor. She pairs a sharp-shouldered, coral red dress with a cream-colored hijab and matching heels. She wears a Somali cloth — hidhi iyo dhaqan — draped over one shoulder. Mohamed, a former senior policy aide and community organizer, is one of three women sworn in on Tuesday who became the first Black women in the state Senate. She is also the first Gen Z person to be elected to the state Legislature, adding to the ranks of Gen Z-ers taking office across the country. “We are all collectively showing up because we’re so tired of waiting on people to do the right thing that we’re taking power into our own hands,” Mohamed said. And she’s hitting the road running. An hour after session had officially started, Mohamed’s office sent out a press release: the freshman legislator is leading an effort to provide access to driver’s licenses regardless of immigration status. She outlined more first-term priorities in an interview: protecting reproductive rights, creating affordable housing, passing a hate crime bill, economic development in underinvested communities and addressing climate change.
DFLers plan a news conference today to talk more about their top priorities, but clearly that abortion measure is one of them. A bill to confirm access to abortion and contraception will be among the first considered. Speaker Hortman said it was a powerful election theme. “The electorate sent a really strong message to their elected leaders in the state of Minnesota that they value their reproductive freedom and bodily autonomy,” Hortman said. “If you don't have bodily autonomy, you don't have anything else. That was the most important issue.” Republican House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth said her caucus will try to temper the legislation. “We are a pro-life caucus, and we're very proud of that. But we need to have conversations,” Demuth said. “I do know that Minnesotans are not extreme. Abortion should not be legal up till the moment of birth.” The reproductive rights bill will be House File One and Senate File One, a symbolic nod of importance.
New Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty took their oaths of office at a public swearing-in ceremony Tuesday,MPR’s Jon Collins reports. Moriarty, a former chief public defender, had already been officially sworn in by a judge Friday. According to a spokesperson, Moriarty wanted to start work right away on Monday. At the public swearing-in ceremony Moriarty promised she’d be accountable to the residents of Hennepin County. “You recognize that what we’ve done in the past has not made us safer, and it has harmed people in our community,” Moriarty said. “Together we are creating a new path forward. This will always mean to me identifying what isn’t working and having the courage to change to something that will.” Moriarty took control of the office that was steered by Mike Freeman for a total of 24 years. Freeman chose not to run again. Witt was overcome by emotion several times as she took the oath of office. She said she's honored and humbled to take over the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. “When I talk about commitment to you, I’m committing my heart to ensuring that we bring public safety, collaboration and effective methods to make sure that all people feel safe and secure, not just the illusion, but actually being safe and secure,” Witt said.
In Washington, there is no speaker of the House, and that means the House can’t get anything done.The Associated Press reports: Failing to elect party leader Kevin McCarthy as the new speaker of the House, Republicans adjourned in disarray Tuesday night, ending a raucous first day of the new Congress but hoping to somehow regroup on Wednesday from his historic defeat. The abrupt end to a long, messy Day One showed there is no easy way ahead for McCarthy who promised to fight to the finish to claim the gavel despite opposition from the chamber's most conservative members. Needing 218 votes in the full House, McCarthy got just 203 in two rounds — less even than Democrat Hakeem Jeffries in the GOP-controlled chamber — and fared even worse with 202 in round three.
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