New laws help rape victims, protect seniors
Think rape victims should know more about the status of their case?
Think child care is too expensive? Or that it’s too hard for providers to stay in business?
Tired of people scamming the system by using fake service animals?
How about senior citizens? Do you know a vulnerable senior who could be susceptible to fraud?
This session, the legislature passed new laws that would fix each of these issues, and many more.
It might be surprising but most of the work the legislature does is bipartisan, and the 2018 session had a number of overwhelming successes. Most of them were not the subject of any newspaper headlines or features on your local news stations, but you can bet they will help hundreds, if not thousands, of Minnesota families.
Several of these new laws took effect on August 1.
One new law is a bill I authored to modify Minnesota’s “Move Over” law. This law protects emergency vehicles, tow trucks, or maintenance vehicles that are stopped on the side of the road by requiring drivers to move over one lane. My bill simply adds that if it is not possible for a driver to move over, that driver must slow down to a reasonable and prudent speed. So many side-of-the-road crashes can be avoided if drivers move over or, at minimum, slow down.
What other laws became effective August 1? Here is a sample:
- House File 3833 is the “Safe Seniors Act,” which protects senior citizens from financial exploitation.
- Senate File 2863 improves police handling of rape kits and gives victims better access to information about their case.
- Senate File 3310 directs the Department of Human Services to study potential child care provider reforms after scathing testimony we heard this session.
- Senate File 3367 aims to prevent sex trafficking by training hotel and motel workers to identify warning signs.
- House File 3265 establishes a “Sibling Bill of Rights” for foster care children, including the right to be placed with their siblings when possible and to visit their siblings.
- Senate File 327 protects military beneficiaries from falling victim to scams intended to steal their pay or benefits.
- Senate File 3638 is “Little Allen’s Law,” which closes a loophole in law by expanding the prohibition on operating off-road vehicles following a DWI conviction, and by eliminating an exemption that allowed drivers to keep their licenses following an off-road vehicle DWI offense. This law follows from the tragic accident in Chisago County last January where 8-year-old Allen Geisenkoetter was struck and killed by a drunk snowmobiler.
- House File 2391 protects Health Savings Accounts from creditors attempting to collect debts.
- House File 3295 gives unmarried parents filing for joint child custody the same rights as divorced parents.
- House File 3157 cracks down on the use of fake service animals.
This is only a partial list, but it goes to show that the legislature accomplished quite a bit even though most of the end-of-session news stories focused on Gov. Dayton’s decision to veto the tax cut and supplemental budget bills. Those vetoes were disappointing, but we should also be able to celebrate the countless people who will be helped by other reforms we passed this year.
If you are interested in a more comprehensive summary of the laws that took effect on August 1, or if you want to learn more about any of them, please do not hesitate to contact me.