From heated debates to joke bills, legislature is one of the most interesting program areas in YIG. Today we get an inside look at the most debated bills in Senate A and B.

According to Annika Brelsford representing Senate A, all bills in committee A3 passed to the Senate. One of the most debated bills was #5308: An act to make tubal litigation more accessible. The purpose reads “after passage of this bill, physicians would only be able to deny a tubal litigation procedure (commonly referred to as ‘getting your tubes tied’ as permanent contraception) if the patient doesn’t meet a short list of requirements. Gabrielle Petrin’s bill was heavily debated, but passed with an amendment.

Other bills debated in Senate A were #5305: An act to end philosophical exemptions for vaccinations, and #5107: An act to abolish prison labor. Martin Weiss’ bill #5303 passed with debate about religious exemptions, and Nora Kushner’s bill #5107 passed with debate about prisoners making money.

Representing Senate B, Coco Leonard discussed bill #6201: An act to remove mine resistant ambush protected vehicles from the inventories of Minnesota law enforcement agencies, and #6202: An act to ban the use of solitary confinement in the Minnesota prison system. Debate about #6201 included lots of questions about if it was really necessary for the state to remove vehicles only to scrap them, but it eventually passed.

If you’re in Senate D and interested in press or media we would love to hear from you about bills being passed in your senate! Ask your senate president Bianca Froebe about becoming a press secretary.