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Politics and Government News
Clay Masters

Equal Rights Amendment takes step forward in the Minnesota Legislature

a group of representatives attend a commitee
Rep. Kaohly Her, DFL-St. Paul discusses the Equal Rights Amendment in the House Rules and Legislative Administrative Committee on Monday.
Clay Masters | MPR News

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A proposed Equal Rights Amendment took a step Monday toward a statewide ballot, which would trigger an extensive and expensive campaign that wouldn’t culminate until 2026.

The proposed Equal Rights Amendment language passed out of the House Rules and Legislative Administration committee. It heads next to a vote of the full House and, if approved, would need to be reconciled with a differing Senate bill.

The House version includes protections from race, sex, gender identity to abortion in the state’s Constitution. There’s also a new provision that would protect “decisions about all matters relating to one’s own pregnancy or decision whether to become or remain pregnant.”

“We were told that Roe v Wade was as good as law but it was only as good as law until it was overturned,” said Rep. Kaohly Her, DFL-St. Paul and the bill’s sponsor.

Backers say the Minnesota Constitution needs refreshing because it was written more than 160 years ago and didn’t have an equal rights clause in it. 

“In recent years, we witnessed a disturbing trend of legislative attacks on the rights and freedoms of marginalized communities across the United States,” said Gender Justice Director Megan Peterson. “In 2023 alone in states across the country, over 1,000 bills aimed at restricting reproductive rights and attacking the rights of LGBTQ people were introduced with hundreds enacted into law.”

Opponents and supporters of the proposed language packed the hearing where those opposing based on religion and abortion-rights outnumbered those testifying in support.

“Not only would this enshrine a radical abortion agenda into our Constitution, but it would attempt to deceive young Minnesotans like me into letting that happen by refusing to be honest in the ballot text,” said Minneapolis college student Carrena Falls during testimony in opposition.

Republicans tried multiple times to send the language back to other committees or table it altogether.

“You have waited until the very last few days down to hours left in this session to determine what should be in the Minnesota Constitution,” said House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring. “A decision made for the entire state.”

The Senate version is different from the House language. 

The version the Senate approved on a bipartisan vote last year is confined to measures of equality on race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry, or national origin. There isn’t anything in there about pregnancy or care decisions as the newly updated House bill contains.

“I think there is a path there for us to find common ground and hopefully, given the last two weeks, this will come over to us,” said Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul. “I expect it will go to a conference committee. And we'll have to work it out from there."

Constitutional amendments have a two-step approval process. 

First, both chambers of the Legislature have to pass identical language. The governor doesn’t have a procedural say but Gov. Tim Walz has been supportive of the aim in this case.

Then, it must be ratified by a majority of people voting in the election. If people leave the ballot blank on a ballot question, that counts as a no vote. Throughout Minnesota history, most constitutional amendments pass when put before voters.

The issue would help drive turnout in a midterm election in 2026. Supporters say they want time to inform voters about what this would do and not do. The governor’s office, all statewide offices, a U.S. Senate seat and every one of the 201 legislative seats are on the ballot.

The state’s main anti-abortion group, Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life, already has ads on TV and the internet. They feature two women talking about abortion and describing this push as “even too extreme for those who support abortion rights.”

A pro-amendment group has also registered a campaign committee to begin its organizing and messaging.