Legislative briefs: House signs off on synthetic drug ban

House signs off on synthetic drug ban A sweeping ban on hundreds of synthetic drugs passed the Minnesota House Friday by a vote of 117-6.

These so-called designer drugs -- little packets sold legally in head shops that promise a high equivalent to synthetic marijuana and other drugs -- have been a growing source of alarm for law enforcement. The Legislature outlawed several types of synthetic drugs last year, but manufacturers simply tweaked the chemical formulas and sold the new variants legally.

A broadly bipartisan majority of the House voted in favor of the final conference committee version of the bill, which would outlaw about 250 varieties of synthetic drugs, and make it much more difficult for manufacturers to come out with new, legal versions. The bill also increases the penalty for selling these synthetic cannabinoids from a gross misdemeanor to a felony.

JENNIFER BROOKS

Bill to license abortion clinics clears Legislature The House Friday signed off on a bill that would require the state to license facilities that perform 10 or more abortions per month.

Supporters of the legislation, which passed the Senate earlier this week and cleared the House by an 81-40 vote, say the measure will protect women's health.

Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, offered an amendment suggesting that if health -- and not abortion politics -- is the primary concern, the House should pass an amendment that would require licensing of sperm banks and clinics that perform vasectomies as well. The House rejected the amendment.

Governor vetoes child-care union dues bill Gov. Mark Dayton on Friday vetoed the one bill to emerge from this session's debate over unionizing child-care workers.

The Republican-backed bill would have prohibited union dues and fees from being deducted from state child-care subsidy payments. The DFL governor said in his veto message that the bill is "unnecessary because no union representation of child care providers exists in the state of Minnesota."

"I will not support such a misguided and unnecessary effort," he said.

The bill was a response to a union drive among in-home child-care providers, which has stalled. Dayton's order calling for a union election among providers caring for children receiving subsidies was thrown out by a Ramsey County judge.

JIM RAGSDALE

The Senate voted 55-3 for a liquor law change Friday. The House is likely to vote soon on the liquor bill.

The bill would grant the university a stadium liquor license if alcohol sales are open to the general public. DFL Rep. Joe Atkins says it could lead to a beer garden at the stadium's open west end. Sales would end at halftime.

Current law says that the university must sell alcohol to at least one-third of the stadium's general seating or none at all. The university declined to sell alcohol after being denied the right to sell it only in premium suite seating areas.