I was planning to drop the items from the linked tweet thread onto this post, but there are SO MANY new bills that it became a wall of text - line after line after line of incredible things Minnesota has enacted in a single session.
Marijuana will be fully legal starting in August, but the bill also wipes past criminal records and sets up marginalized communities to benefit from the new incoming profits.
voting rights are restored immediately after leaving prison, probation is capped, and phone calls for prisoners are free now.
there are so many labor rights being added i can’t begin to list them. an end to non-compete clauses, paid sick and family medical leave for the WHOLE STATE, unemployment for seasonal education workers, safety regulations for workers in warehouses and nursing, establishment of minimum wages for gig drivers!
carbon free electricity by 2040
cutting child poverty by 1/3 immediately
price caps for high cost pharmaceuticals
more funding for public transit, public defense, education, homelessness prevention, and the removal of ALL lead pipes in the state water system
roe v wade is codified, conversion therapy is banned, and other state’s anti-trans bills are blocked for anyone receiving gender related care here.
undocumented immigrants can get drivers licenses and basic healthcare through the state
improvements to our already robust voting rights
basic gun safety laws, like background checks and red flag laws
I’m…. actually blown away. the political landscape often feels so hopeless, but the DFL pulled themselves together, getting every member on board for these changes - real changes that are going to protect health, keep people out of jail and housed, and improve work conditions massively. this should be a beacon for every other state democratic party - change doesn’t have to be incremental. things can get better and they can get better right now. get crackin’.
