
Minnesota NOW
Legislative Issues for 1999
|HOME| CALENDAR | ACTION | LEGISLATIVE | MN NOW TIMES | ACTIVIST LINKS | SITE MAP |
Minnesota NOW Legislative Issues for 1999
Health & Reproductive Issues
Abortion Rights:
- defeat anti-choice legislation
- support legislation that requires health care providers to inform patients of their
policies against providing reproductive services
Family Planning:
- defend family planning funding
- require insurance to cover contraceptives
Maternity Benefits:
- require insurance companies to cover maternity benefits immediately upon enrollment,
rather than delaying coverage for up to two years
MinnesotaCare:
- allow families to get coverage if their employer offers only coverage that is cost
prohibitive for them
- ensure continued funding
Confidentiality to Minors:
- defend minors' right to get confidential health care services (family planning,
counseling, treatment for STDs and chemical dependency) without giving parents access to
their records
Economic Issues
Welfare Reform:
- increase access to education
- restore/protect benefits level
- get exemptions from time limits
- defend against punitive policies
Child Care:
- expand/protect sliding fee child care funding
- support initiatives to improve child care worker wages and child care quality
Non-traditional Occupations:
- establish funding to encourage and support women & girls to enter careers in the
trades and technical fields
Housing:
- support increased funding for affordable housing
Education:
- support measures that make post-secondary education more accessible to low income
working mothers
- better part-time grants and work study availability
- better part-time education programs
- child care assistance
Minimum Wage:
- Support increasing the minimum wage to $ 6.50 an hour
Progressive Tax Policy:
- support increasing the Working Family Tax Credit and other tax policies that benefit
women and low-income people.
Civil Rights Issues
Lesbian/Gay Rights:
- defend the civil rights statute
- oppose any anti-gay initiatives
Racial Equality:
- ensure that the new state desegregation rule has specific implementation and enforcement
mechanisms
Violence Issues
Sexual Harassment:
- make "quid pro quo" sexual harassment a criminal offense
Domestic Abuse:
- create a civil cause of action in domestic abuse cases
- allow women to sue their abusers up to six years after the abuse has occurred
Funding:
- increase funding for domestic abuse & sexual assault prevention programs
Top of Page
Back To Legislative Page
Home
mailto:mnnow@mnnow.org
© 1999 Minnesota NOW