In the early hours of Wednesday, Feb. 22, the Democrats’ Driver’s Licenses for All bill passed out of the Senate with party-line votes. During the extensive floor debate, Senate Republicans proposed key amendments to address the lack of safeguards in the bill and how this will make Minnesota susceptible to abuse and fraud. The Senate majority, however, refused to accept any of the simple fixes proposed by Republicans.

Senator Julia Coleman (R-Waconia) released the following statement:

Certifying Minnesota roads are safer with a driver’s license for all is an admirable cause. However, this legislation lacks important safeguards to thwart bad actors from using this identification to carry out fraud and abuse. To address this concern, Senate Republicans offered reasonable amendments to guarantee the license is limited in scope.

However, as we saw throughout the committee process, Democrats did not wish to make this a bipartisan bill. While I find the Driver’s Licenses for All bill to be problematic, it is also troubling to see the majority’s ongoing refusal to work with those across the aisle and find areas of consensus.