ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - The Minnesota House has approved a bill that aims to narrow the pay gap between men and women.
House members approved the bill 106-24 Wednesday, with support from both parties. Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, a Republican from Crown, voted against the proposal.
The bill also expands access to affordable childcare and increases unpaid parental leave to 12 weeks from six.
At a news conference on the Capitol steps before the House vote, Hibbing Democrat Carly Melin, the bill’s sponsor, said it was an exciting and long-overdue day.
The Senate will take up its version of the bill when it returns from a spring recess that starts after Thursday’s session.
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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - An anti-bullying law that replaces one some found too weak is now in place.
Gov. Mark Dayton used an outdoor ceremony Wednesday to sign a bill toughening Minnesota’s stand against bullying. The bill passed overnight after a protracted House debate.
Supporters say it will provide a safer learning environment for children. Critics argue it will subject more kids to punishment for expressing their religious beliefs or engaging in other youthful behavior.
The bill requires school districts to track and investigate cases of bullying and directs schools to better train staff and teachers on how to prevent it. Current law requires school districts to have a bullying policy but doesn’t include details on what the policy should contain.
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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Gov. Mark Dayton is asking for more time to prepare his State of the State speech before a joint session of the Minnesota Legislature.
Dayton sent letters to the House and Senate Wednesday, requesting a joint session on April 30.
The governor originally wanted to speak on April 23, which is soon after lawmakers return from a spring recess.
But a spokesman says Dayton would simply like more time to prepare his remarks.
Minnesota governors usually give the road-map speech early in session. But Dayton had hip surgery and a lengthy recovery that kept him away from the Capitol in the opening weeks.
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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota’s legislative auditor said Wednesday he plans to conduct a thorough, independent review of the troubled launch of Minnesota’s health insurance exchange.
“The evaluation will be a comprehensive, in-depth evaluation of many issues related to the development of the website but also many other issues as well,” Legislative Auditor Nobles told a House-Senate MNsure oversight committee. The exact scope of the inquiry is still being determined, he said.
Republican lawmakers had hoped to use Wednesday’s hearing to raise questions about what Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and other administration officials knew about MNsure’s problems in the weeks before its Oct. 1 rollout, and when they knew it. But they said afterward that they’re confident Nobles will do a thorough job.
GOP Sens. Michelle Benson and Sean Nienow and Reps. Tara Mack and Joe Hoppe issued a statement Monday saying they wanted current and former Dayton administration and MNsure officials to testify about why they decided to go live with a website “that simply was not and currently is not ready for consumers.” That followed a report by the Star Tribune of Minneapolis on Sunday that MNsure leaders chose to launch the system even though they knew it was loaded with bugs and that MNsure’s executive director at the time, April Todd-Malmlov, warned the governor at a meeting 12 days before the system went live that nobody was certain if it would work.
The Republicans drew an angry response Tuesday from Dayton, who called their plan a “farce” and accused MNsure’s critics of waging a propaganda campaign to destroy the exchange. His human services commissioner, Lucinda Jesson, canceled her scheduled appearance before the committee. Dayton said the focus now should be on the good things MNsure has accomplished, not the computer glitches and long call center waits that made it difficult for consumer to sign up during its early months.
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