Minnesota Report
Another Issue of concern is something we became accustomed to during the pandemic, which is remote session participation. During the discussion, Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic (DFL-60, Minneapolis) talked about female members who had born children during their terms of office and the burden it placed on them, as well as members who had deaths in the family and the additional weight that imposed. Another factor is climate change and more dramatic weather events, coincidentally, there was a dramatic snowstorm underway when this debate ensued.
Now, we know, another factor is to ensure the 1 vote DFL Majority is not in jeopardy should any event occur, but this also shows the long-term effect of COVID and a factor in how it may change this institution. If this is instituted, we know the lobbying community will also be adversely affected, because they will not be able to pull members from off of the floor during debates. Senators may want to look to their colleagues on our southern border. In Iowa, the legislators list their cellphone numbers on their state webpage.
After initially failing, the Senate passed remote voting on a party line vote.
The challenges facing the Senate are much greater with a razor-thin majority which is not the case in the House, where the DFL retains a comfortable 6-vote majority.