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MAP Bill Tracker
For more information, check the MAP Advocate, MAP Action Agenda, MAP Facts and News and Views. Comprehensive Sexual Health Education/"No Promo Homo" Davnie/Moua Comp Sex Ed Bill HF765/SF851 Erickson/Wergin Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage
Bill Summary: SF851/HF765-- the Moua/Davnie Comp Sex Ed Bill have been incorporated into SF1528, the E-12 omnibus bill. You can find the language in Article II, Sec. 6 of the bill. It reestablishes comprehensive sexual health education as the standard for HIV and STI prevention curriculum in schools, requiring it to be "comprehensive, technically accurate, and updated curriculum that emphasizes helping students abstain from sexual activity." It removes a confusing reference to "abstinence-until-marriage" curriculum that is in current law. It also uses the more accurate reference of "sexually transmitted infections" instead of STDs - the disease being the result of infection. HF 1404, the House's E-12 omnibus bill incorporates the bills originally introduced as HF 580/SF 747 - the Erickson/Wergin Abstinence-until-marriage Bill. The language is in Article II, Section 7. This proposal would require every school district to offer two curricula to address HIV/STI prevention; one based in comprehensive sexual health education and the other using abstinence-until-marriage curricula. It's not clear how this will be done. Advocates for this approach have favored dual track curriculum offerings, or have proposed requiring schools to teach both a comp sex ed and an abstinence-until-marriage curriculum. Either way, it's an expensive proposition, especially for smaller school districts. It's also a bad use of public dollars since abstinence until marriage curriculum has never been proven to be effective in helping young people delay initiation of sexual activity or use risk-reducing practices if they are sexually active. It represents an effort to replace good public health - a comprehensive approach based in good science and that research has proven works - with ideology-based public health that has not been proven to work. There was an attempt during the House floor debate to add an amendment to HF 1404 that would have prohibited any state agency or school from "promoting homosexuality." The amendment was specific about prohibiting schools from doing so as part of any HIV or STD prevention curriculum, instruction or services, but also would have applied to initiatives such as state grants for HIV prevention. Surprisingly, this amendment was ultimately withdrawn by the author after it became apparent the debate was going to "bog down" overall progress on advancing the E-12 omnibus bill. An effort was also made in the Senate, but failed on an overwhelming vote. See "Read More" below to read the amendments and check out the votes. The House finished its work on the E-12 Omnibus Appropriations Bills [HF1404] on April 27. The Senate approved its omnibus bill [SF1528] on May 2. These bills each have dramatically different plans for implementing the State's requirement for all school districts to educate about preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Conference committee members were overwhelmed by the challenge of cutting school financing to fit within the Governor's "no new tax" budget guideline. The committee focused on the budget, and chose to drop virtually all policy provisions that were different in the House and Senate bills. Conference committee members were: House Members Senate Members Note: Sen. Kelley participated during deliberations about curriculum requirements and Sen. Stumpf participated during deliberations about school financing. That's why there are six and not just five Senate members listed. Then came the special session. Status: Unable to reach a compromise on what the E-12 omnibus should include before May 19, 2003, the constitutionally-mandated adjournment date, legislators worked into a speical session. On May 22, legislative leaders announced a compromise had been reached and the House and the Senate each approved HR51. The bill included no changes to the HIV/STI curriculum requirement. Watch for a renewed legislative battle over comp sex Ed in 2004. Action You Can Take - 2. Write a letter. Send a letter to the editor of your local paper or send and email to a friend. 3. Contact your legislators. Send an email or make a phone call to your State Senator and State Representative letting them know you support comprehensive sexual health education in schools and approve of the fact the E-12 omnibus billmaintained the state's commitment to providing comprehensive sexual health education. 4. Thank legislators who co-authored the Comp Sex Ed bill [HF765/SF851].
5. Contact
Gov. Pawlenty (http://www.governor.state.mn.us/tpaw_contacts.asp) Read More - Funding for Statewide K-12 HIV/STI Regional Training Sites Greiling/Kelley Bill HF715/SF818 Summary, Status and Action You Can Take Updated: May 23, 2003 Summary: This bill would provide continued funding for five K-12 HIV/STI Regional Training Sites. These sites help school districts in their areas of the state implement HIV/STI prevention policies, curriculum and programs as required by state's K-12 HIV/STI curriculum requirement law. They have proven to be very effective, both in helping their surrounding school districts and in raising general awareness and understanding about HIV and STIs. Currently, sites are located in Brainerd, Grand Rapids, Park Rapids, Winona and Hopkins. The bill would allow the Department of Children, Families and Learning to review and renew contracts with these sites, and provides funding for department staff and a nonprofit partner to provide assistance to the sites. A total of $350,000 is requested for 2004 and 2005. This bill was considered for incorporation into the House and Senate E-12 omnibus budget bills. There is no money in the House education budget [HF1404] for the regional training sites. The Senate's E-12 budget bill [SF1528] included $5000,000 in funding to sustain the existing sites for the next two years. However, the conference committee members were overwhelmed by the challenge of cutting school financing to fit within the Governor's "no new tax" budget guideline. Faced with a $160 million difference between the bill approved by the Senate and what ultimately was made available for the conference committee, the $500,000 proposed by the Senate for K-12 regional sites got dropped. No funding for the K-12 HIV/STI Regional Training sites was included in the E-12 education omnibus bill [HF 51] that was approved by the House and Senate on May 22, 2003 as part of the special session. Conference committee members were: House Members Senate Members Note: Sen. Kelley participated during deliberations about curriculum requirements and Sen. Stumpf participated during deliberations about school financing. That's why there are six and not just five Senate members listed. As of May 19, there was language in the Senate HHS bill authorizing the Department of Health to keep three of the five K-12 regional sites and to fund them through the funds available for local public health grants. However, As of May 23, this remains an open question as legislative leaders and the Pawlenty Administration have het to come to agreement about what will be put forth as an omnibus health and human services bill during the special session. Status: The outcome depends upon what legislative leaders and the Pawlenty Administration decide about the health and human serivces omnibus bill, and all of these dicusssions are taking place behind closed doors. Action You Can Take - 2. Call the Governor and Legislative Leaders. Tell them you support the Senate proposal authorizing the Department of Health to continue operating the HIV/STD K-12 School Regional Training Sites.
Read More - Protecting Funding for HIV Prevention HF437/SF1532 Omnibus Health and Human Services Bill Summary, Status and Action You Can Take Updated: May 29, 2003 Summary: The omnibus bill health and human services bill includes funding for health care, such as GAMC and Medical Assistance, and HIV case management, insurance and drug reimbursement. The bill also includes health department funding for HIV and STI prevention, testing, surveillance and epidemiology. Due to the downsizing of the Department of Children, Families and Learning into just the Department of Education, funding for housing, childcare and other social services has been moved into this budget. Resources for HIV prevention remain relatively flat for the coming biennium. The House debated its health and human services budget bill early during the morning on May 2. No HIV-specific, restrictive amendments were introduced or debated. From the perspective of HIV prevention or care money, this is a relatively "clean" bill. The Senate bill was also approved with no amendments to restrict HIV prevention or care. However, the "no promo homo" amendment that was proposed in the House but ultimately withdrawn would have applied to all state programs, including HIV prevention grants [see above "no promo Homo" Back To Top]. The Senate HHS bill included language authorizing the Department of Health to keep three of the five K-12 regional sites and to fund them through the funds available for local public health grants. The House and Senate negotiators of the omnibus health and human services conference committee could not come to an agreement about how to resolve the major differences in their bills. Members of the conference committee for the omnibus health and humans serivces conference committee were:
At one point during negotiations, the Senate made a compromise offer that included four percent cuts in about a dozen or more health and social service programs, including HIV insurance reimbursement, HIV case management and HIV/STD prevention. The proposal was put on the table during late-night, end-of-session conference committee negotiations on May 19th. These were not included in a House counter-offer the following day, but are likely to be "on-the-table" as part of deliberations to craft a health and human services budget during the legislature's special session. Under the 4% across-the-board-cuts plan, HIV insurance reimbursement would be cut by $46K per year. HIV case management would be reduced by $49K per year. HIV/STD prevention funding would be reduced by $52K annually. MAP supports measures to ensure broad access to health care and affordability. However, the proposed cuts in HIV services and prevention seem to be penny-wise and pound foolish.
Status: The "closed door" House and Senate working group discussed cuts to HIV prevention grants. The Pawlenty administration's representative, Commissioner of Health and Human Services Kevin Goodno, made the case not to reduce grants and addressed the value of HIV prevention programs. As a result, the working group made no cuts to grant funding, nor did they add restrictive policy language to the bill. Action You Can Take - 2. Call the Governor and Legislative Leaders. Tell them you oppose cuts in HIV insurance reimbursement, HIV case management and HIV/STD prevention. Tell them why - they cuts would be penny-wise and pound foolish.
Read More - Funding for Health Care and Social Services HF437/SF1532 Past Action: The House and Senate have approved their omnibus health and human services bills. The House acted on its bill during the early morning hours of May 2 and the Senate passed its bill during the early morning hours of May 3. The Senate HHS bill included language authorizing the Department of Health to keep three of the five K-12 regional sites and to fund them through the funds available for local public health grants. The House and Senate negotiators of the omnibus health and human services conference committee could not come to an agreement about how to resolve the major differences in their bills. Members of the conference committee for the omnibus health and humans serivces conference committee were:
At one point during negotiations, the Senate made a compromise offer that included four percent cuts in about a dozen or more health and social service programs, including HIV insurance reimbursement, HIV case management and HIV/STD prevention. The proposal was put on the table during late-night, end-of-session conference committee negotiations on May 19th. These were not included in a House counter-offer the following day, but are likely to be "on-the-table" as part of deliberations to craft a health and human services budget during the legislature's special session. Under the 4% across-the-board-cuts plan, HIV insurance reimbursement would be cut by $46K per year. HIV case management would be reduced by $49K per year. HIV/STD prevention funding would be reduced by $52K annually. MAP supports measures to ensure broad access to health care and affordability. However, the proposed cuts in HIV services and prevention seem to be penny-wise and pound foolish.
Status: Commissioner of Health and Human Services Kevin Goodno was actively involved in the "closed door" discussions with House and Senate leaders. Negotiators emerged from the meeting with no cuts in HIV-specific case management, drug reimbursement and insurance reimbursement funding. The HHS bill does, however, significantly change the eligibility requirements for assistance in health care access. This will affect people living with HIV who depend on Medical Assistance or Minnesota Care. Please check back to this site for more details once bill is adopted. Action You Can Take - 2. Call the Governor and Legislative Leaders. Tell them you oppose cuts in HIV insurance reimbursement, HIV case management and HIV/STD prevention. Tell them why - they cuts would be penny-wise and pound foolish.
Preserving Minors' Consent for Confidential Medical Care Wilkin/Nienow Minors Consent Bill Summary: This bill would eliminate the minors consent law. Adolescents and teens in Minnesota would not longer be able to get confidential health services related to STIs, pregnancy and sexual health, or substance abuse without a parent's permission. Teen moms would need their parent's permission to get health services for themselves or their child, unless they were married. The minors consent law has been in place for over 30 years. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), confidential health services for adolescents have become increasingly important, as the severity and prevalence of adolescent health problems have increased over the past two decades. The good news is, according to AMA's Council on Scientific Affairs, most adolescents (55 percent) discuss their use of reproductive health services with their parents, and a greater number of adolescents involve their parents in the event of an unplanned pregnancy. The bad news: AMA reported 25 percent of teens would not seek medical care if it meant their parents finding out they are sexually active. These bills did not receive hearings, so technically speaking, they should be "dead" for the session. The author of the bill in the House, Rep. Tim Wilkin [R-Eagan] has indicated he wants to pull together a group to study the issue some more and come back with a revised bill next year. However, this was no guarantee that another member of the House or Senate might not choose to bring up this hot button issue as an amendment when the House and Senate debate the omnibus health and human services budget bill. That happened. Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba [DFL- Long Prairie] got an amendment tacked onto HF437 that eliminated confidentiality protections for young people seeking care on their own consent. Sen. Sean Neinow [R-Cambridge] introduced a similar amendment in to the HHS omnibus bill in the Senate [SF1532, but it failed. See "Read More" below to read the amendments and check out the votes. Status: Senate members of the HHS conference committee and leadership have said they absolutely will not support any changes in the minors consent law. It is very likely that by the time all is said and done and an omnibus health and human services bill emerges for a vote during the special session, the minors consent language will be dropped. But, it will be back in 2004. Action You Can Take - 1. Keep informed. Check the current issue of the MAP Advocate to find out what's happening. 2. Write a letter. Send a letter to the editor of your local paper or send and email to a friend. Read More - Preserving Sexual Orientation Protections in the Human Rights Act Lindner/Jungbauer Human Rights Repeal Bill Summary: This bill would eliminate sexual orientation as a protected class in the state's Human Rights Act. For people with HIV, it means it would be OK for a pharmacists, a dentist, a county social worker or public health nurse to say, "I don't want to help you because I don't like who you are." It also advances the hate, stigma and resulting discrimination that contribute to psychological and social factors that negatively affect the mental health of GLBT individuals and influence behaviors that increase risk for HIV and other health problems. Status: The House leadership did not allow a hearing on this bill. The Senate held a hearing on March 21. During that hearing, the bill's author introduced an amendment that "gutted" the original bill. It replaced it with a proposal that would exempt a person from prosecution if they could show their discriminatory actions were based on "conscientious objection." The proponents for the bill then proceeded to present testimony focusing on the need to protect young people from being taught about homosexuality in schools. After a series of contentious exchanges between the author and committee members, the author essentially withdrew his bill. The effort to strike sexual orientation protections from the Human Rights Act is dead for this session. But, House and Senate consideration of omnibus bills opens the opportunity for amendments that might weaken a part of the act, especially as it applies to schools, and there is still the push for an "abstinence-until-marriage" curriculum mandate. There was an attempt during the House floor debate to add an amendment to HF 1404 that would have prohibited any state agency or school from "promoting homosexuality." The amendment was specific about prohibiting schools from doing so as part of any HIV or STD prevention curriculum, instruction or services. Surprisingly, this amendment was ultimately withdrawn by the author after it became apparent the debate was going to "bog down" overall progress on advancing the E-12 omnibus bill. Another effort was made to add a similar amendment to the Senate E-12 omnibus bill and it failed overwhelmingly [see above "no promo Homo" Back To Top]. Status: Watch out for next year. Action You Can Take - 2. Check
out what's happening to sexual health education in schools. 4. Write a letter. Send a letter to the editor of your local paper or send and email to a friend. Read More - Funding for HIV Workplace Education Clark/Dibble Workplace Education Bill Summary: This bill would continue funding for HIV workplace education through the Department of Economic Security (DES) at the level of $75,000 for two more years. DES contracted with Minnesota AIDS Project to provide the service. MAP also secured assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and will be launching the new Wise @ Work service in April. The service aims to reduce workplace discrimination and disruptions in productive, and to reach families with general information about HIV prevention and care. Two more years of continued funding are critical at this time. In short, there is a storeroom full of printed materials ready to be used - an investment of time and money that will go to waste if we don't continue to have the staff to put them into use through education and training. The House Jobs and Economic Development Committee did not include the funding proposed in its omnibus budget bill [HF728]. The Senate bill, SF1524 included the $75,000 requested. Members of the conference committee were:
Status: House and Senate conferees agreed to appropriate $60,000 from the workforce development fund to complete the development and "launch" of workplace HIV education services. Approval by the legislature on May 19 is anticipated. A gubernatorial line-item-veto remains a possibility. Action You Can Take - 1. Thank the bill's authors and legislators who played a key role in securing renewed funding for HIV workplace education
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Last Updated:
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Content Notice: This site contains HIV prevention messages that may not be appropriate for all audiences. Since HIV infection is spread primarily though sexual practices or by sharing needles, prevention messages and programs may address these topics. If you are not seeking such information or materials, please exit this Web site. |
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