We have received word from state Senators that SF 1959 has stalled in committee in the Senate and will not be moving forward this session. While we have been unable to get a direct confirmation of this (due to the legislature being out of session), we believe that this is most likely the case. While this is indeed good news, HF 1234 is not dead and we still have work to do.
What exactly does this mean? In a nutshell, Minnesota Legislature rules require that all proposed legislation must be passed by both the House and Senate and that they must be identical at the end of the process. To achieve this most legislation have companion bills, one in the House and one in the Senate. In the case of HF 1234 / SF 1959 the Senate companion bill is no longer moving forward, however we believe there is still a path for HF 1234 to be passed in the House and then sent to the Senate for consideration. Admittedly none of us are experts in the legislative process and we are waiting for confirmation of this analysis by those that are.
Much like the news we had on the Omnibus bill earlier in the week, we believe we have seen another door closed on this legislation, and we continue to hear that this is due in no small part to your efforts to contact your legislators and educate them on the impact of these bills. However this is not the time to slow down, we must keep up our efforts.
At this time we are approaching this with a three pronged strategy. 1) Reach out to the authors of HF1234 as well as the other entities involved in the crafting of the bill and open dialog to get a seat at the table and influence this legislation for the better. We are in contact with Representative Her and are negotiating for a meeting with her and the other stakeholders. 2) Continue to educate legislators on HF 1234 and how detrimental it is to us and the community as a whole. There is an emphasis on the Senate here where we believe it is more likely we can block the bill should our efforts with the bill’s authors fail. 3) Begin efforts to meet with the Governor and his staff to educate them on what this bill will do should it reach his desk.
What Can I Do?
Continue to talk about this with others including retired and active first responders, friends, relatives, and anyone who will listen. This drum has been beaten since the beginning, but it remains the most important pillar of our efforts. We need as broad a base of support as possible and the only way that will be achieved is by talking to and educating others on this legislation. We need them to take action and contact their legislators as well, they can be directed to our resources at our website and on Facebook.
We are also beginning the process of tracking which legislators have been contacted and which are in support of us and which are not. We hope to be able to ask for help contacting specific legislators, please be ready and willing to do so if your state Senator or Representative is identified as one that needs additional efforts.
As always, thank you.