Other last-day actions at the Minnesota Legislature

Pioneer Press May 19, 2009

Lawmakers started this year's session with big ideas about how to change Minnesota election laws.

On Monday, the House and Senate passed a gutted compromise that contained only the least sticky parts of the bill. No early voting, no photo ID and no registering online.

Left in the bill: The now-September primary would be moved up to August, and measures would be put in place to standardize absentee balloting, which has become a major issue in the still-unfinished 2008 U.S. Senate race.

But what the bill lacked — particularly a photo ID requirement — led Republicans to vote against it in the House and Senate.

Although the measure passed with hefty majorities in both chambers, it didn't win much Republican support, and that may doom the measure to a veto.

"Election reform needs to be done on a bipartisan basis, and this bill does not appear to meet that test," Gov. Tim Pawlenty's spokesman Brian McClung said.

— Rachel E. Stassen-Berger

House and Senate pass marijuana bill

After a decade of debate, the Minnesota House and Senate passed a bill to sanction medical marijuana in the state.

The Senate passed its version last month, and the House — taking up the issue for the first time — approved a version 70-64 during the waning hours of the 2009 session. The Senate concurred with the House's version on a 38-28 vote.

The House debate sometimes was emotional, with Democrats and Republicans recalling family members lost to cancer.

"We're talking about the quality of people's life at the end of life," said Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan, one of a handful of Republicans to support the bill.

The House version was narrowed from the original bill considerably. A provision allowing patients to grow their own marijuana plants was removed on the floor, and a controversial amendment was added restricting the use of marijuana to terminally ill patients suffering a debilitating illness.

That amendment removes medical marijuana eligibility for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy who need the drug to combat nausea. Rep. Joe Atkins, DFL-Inver Grove Heights, said he offered the amendment in the hopes of making it more likely that Gov. Tim Pawlenty would support the bill.

Senate sponsor Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, called the Atkins amendment "unneeded."

The bill would establish a licensing system for patients with a doctor's recommendation for marijuana. They then would be issued a photo identification, allowing them to purchase marijuana at state-licensed marijuana dispensaries.

The bill now heads to Pawlenty's desk. Citing law enforcement concerns, he and others have opposed the bill.

"I'm just not willing to give up the war on drugs," said Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good Thunder, the police chief in Lake Crystal.

If medical marijuana continues to stall at the Capitol, backers have said they would consider a constitutional amendment, taking the issue straight to voters.

"If this bill's not good enough for the governor, then we're going to bypass his office next year," Murphy said. That would put the issue on the same ballot as next year's gubernatorial race.

Of the 13 states with medical marijuana laws, nine have passed through popular vote.

— Jason Hoppin

Tougher seat belt law on the way

After years of stalling in the Minnesota House, legislation giving police more power to ticket unbuckled motorists was cruising toward becoming law Monday

The House passed the so-called primary seat belt law, 73-60. The Senate later approved the bill, 47-19, and sent it to the governor, who has voiced his support.

The bill would give police the authority to pull over and ticket motorists solely because they or their passengers aren't buckled up. Currently, law enforcement must spot another traffic offense to make the stop.The violation would carry a $25 fine.

Minnesota has $3.4 million in federal transportation money riding on the change.

Opponents say seat belt use should remain a personal choice, and they worry it will be a basis for racial profiling.

— Associated Press

Next session's start scheduled for Feb. 4

The Minnesota Legislature will be back in town in 8 1/2 months.Both houses have adopted a resolution setting the start of the 2010 session as Feb. 4.

Typically, sessions held in even years start later than January, because the main work of adopting the two-year budget is done in odd years. But other issues can crop up during the break.

Democrats, who control the Legislature, originally aimed to start the session on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, but pushed the date back so it wouldn't conflict with precinct caucuses held that evening.