On Thursday, March 4, the State and Local Government Operations Reform, Technology and Elections Committee voted 14 to 4 to pass House File 224 (Simon), the proposed constitutional amendment that would preserve the independence of Minnesota judges by creating a system of retention elections.
Committee members who voted to support H.F. 224 were Representatives Pelowski, Poppe, P. Anderson, Gottwalt, Hilty, Hornstein, Kahn, Kalin, Marquart, Nelson, Sanders, Simon, Sterner, and Winkler. The bill was referred to the House Civil Justice Committee.
What’s next?
- Hearing in the House Civil Justice Committee (date to be determined).
- Committee stops in Senate Rules and Administration and Senate Finance (dates to be determined).
What can you do?
- Call or email legislators who supported H.F. 224 in Government Operations and thank them for their vote.
House State/Local Government Operations Committee members
- Call or email House committee members urging them to support H.F. 224:
House Civil Justice Committee members
- Call or email Senate committee members asking them to support S.F. 70:
Senate Rules and Administration Committee Members
Senate Finance Committee Members
Background:
The proposed constitutional amendment gives Minnesotans the chance to preserve the independence and impartiality of judges across the state. The amendment would create a system in which citizens have the final say on whether a judge stays in office—while also providing voters with nonpartisan performance evaluations on each judge before Election Day.
The Legislature decides whether Minnesota voters have the chance to change the state Constitution. With the doors open for special-interest money in judicial elections, that means now is the time for lawmakers to act and put the amendment in the November 2010 ballot.
