Minnesota lawmakers have failed to pass a state Equal Rights Amendment that would have enshrined protections for abortion and LGBTQ+ rights in the state Constitution
Minnesota lawmakers failed to pass a state Equal Rights Amendment that would have enshrined protections for abortion and LGBTQ+ rights in the state Constitution as the 2024 legislative session came to an acrimonious end. The Minnesota ERA was the one of the biggest casualties as partisan rancor, lengthy debates and filibusters were fueled by the continued participation of a Democratic senator who was arrested on a burglary charge.
Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed the Minnesota Voting Rights Act, joining several other states in trying to plug gaps opened by court rulings in the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the crowning achievements of the Civil Rights Movement. The Minnesota law ensures that private individuals and groups can challenge laws that dilute or suppress the votes of people of color, a right that an appeals court had struck down in seven states including Minnesota.
hard-fought compromise that led the ride-sharing companies Lyft and Uber to drop their threats to pull out of Minnesota was one of the few big successes of the final weekend. Uber and Lyft agreed to a new minimum pay rate of $1.28 per mile and 31 cents per minute, starting next January. An Uber spokesperson said the coming price increases may hurt riders and drivers alike. But Walz said the deal gives rideshare drivers a 20% raise and keeps these important services operating in Minnesota.
The governor also signed a ban on book bans that will prohibit public and school libraries from removing materials based only on content or ideological objections. Activists say books by LGBTQ+ authors and authors of color are among those most frequently banned. Minnesota is among the first Democratic-led states countering the trend playing out in more conservative states where book challenges have soared to their highest levels in decades.
People buying tickets online for concerts, sporting events and other live events in Minnesota will be guaranteed more transparency and protection under the so-called Taylor Swift bill. The law, prompted by the frustration a legislator felt at not being able to buy tickets to Swift’s 2023 concert in Minneapolis, will require ticket sellers to disclose all fees up front, among other measures.
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Minnesota Equal Rights Amendment fails in acrimonious end to legislative sessionMinnesota lawmakers have failed to pass a state Equal Rights Amendment that would have enshrined protections for abortion and LGBTQ+ rights in the state Constitution. It's an acrimonious end to the 2024 legislative session. The Minnesota ERA was the one of the biggest casualties.
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