Legislative update

Friday, March 14, 2025

Dear Neighbor,

Greetings from the House, where I continue receiving nice messages of support after my bill on sex trafficking passed the House 132-0 last week.

Thank you to everyone who continues providing encouragement and to all those who continue working to bring my bill across the finish line. Here’s hoping it gets through the Senate soon so the governor can sign it into law. Click here for more on the bill.

In other news:

Whistleblower bill passes

The House this week passed a bill to strengthen whistleblower protections for state employees who report government fraud and misuse of state or federal funds.

This is a good bill, because it ensures public employees can call out misconduct without fear of retaliation. Too often, in today’s society, we want to “cancel” someone or have them fired if we don’t like what they have to say. This bill helps protect people so they can tell their stories with confidence and without fear of retribution.

The bill is just one part of our House Republican mission to weed out fraud, waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars in Minnesota, with reports showing hundreds of millions of dollars have been lost in recent years.

The bill passed the House with unanimous support (133-0) and now is in the hands of the Senate, where it also has gained bipartisan support.

Supporting women and children

A pair of House Republican bills to support women and children came to the floor for votes of the full body this week. These include:

  • The Supporting Women Act (HF 25) restores a grant created in 2005 called Positive Alternatives, which Democrats took away in 2023. The bill appropriates $8 million per two years to women’s pregnancy centers and maternity homes.
  • The Born Alive Rollback (HF 24) extends legal protections to infants who are born alive after an abortion procedure. This bill would require that doctors protect the lives of infants under these adverse circumstances in the same way that they protect infants born under normal conditions.

It was disappointing to see these bills defeated on party-line votes, with all House Democrats voting against them.

Capitol visitors

Meetings with many constituent groups and others at the Capitol continue this session, including:

Bernie Perryman 14A

St. Cloud Catholic Charities

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St. Cloud Visitors Bureau

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St. Cloud Chamber

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… and a Shamrock Shake break along the way (with fellow Rep. Dawn Gillman)!

No duty to retreat

I continue receiving emails encouraging me to support a bill (H.F. 13) which eliminates the duty to retreat when using reasonable force to defend yourself or others.

Nowhere in Minnesota law does it say a victim must run away before defending themselves. In fact, this rule is not something the Legislature ever passed … it was created by the courts. It is a bad rule because, under this decision, a woman walking home alone at night could get in trouble just for simply gripping her keys defensively between her fingers.

As a co-author of this bill, I agree that citizens should not be forced by the state to stop and analyze legal risks when they’re fighting for their life. This bill you’re lawfully acting in self-defense, you shouldn’t have to decide whether running away is an option.

It is unfortunate Democrats blocked this bill from passing on the House floor last week. I will continue supporting our rights instead of accommodating violent criminals.

Helpful House links

Here are some links you may find helpful in following the latest goings on at the Capitol:

Please Contact Me

It’s an honor and privilege to work for you at the Capitol. Don’t hesitate to contact my office at any time this session to share your thoughts, concerns or ideas. You can call me at 651-296-6316, or email me at [email protected]. I am here to serve you!

Bernie

Bernie Perryman 14A