Minnesota Senate approves change to allow children in the chamber for the first time

The Minnesota Senate on Wednesday approved a new rule allowing members' children to be on the chamber floor with them, which is a first in the institution's nearly 170-year history.

The resolution received bipartisan support after parents with young children advocated for the change to make the Senate more accommodating. When lawmakers are in session, only they have the power to cast votes on behalf of their constitutions and debates can mean long days and late night votes. 

Members who backed the measure said that brought unique challenges that could be barriers to parents who serve.

"We want to be able to do our job. We want to be able to carry and raise our children. And we want to know our employer has our backs if a child care hiccup comes along," said Sen. Julia Coleman, the Republican from Waconia. 

The significant shift came weeks after DFL Sen. Clare Oumou Verbeten brought her infant son Leo onto the Senate floor, only for her to be asked to escort him out because babies—and all children—are barred from entry while lawmakers work. The senator took to social media to share her frustration and Coleman said she reached out  offering to work with her to push for a change.

"This was historic and it was long overdue to make sure that this is a more family friendly institution—that we can be parents and we can be senators. We can do this job really well when we have those accommodations in place," Oumou Verbeten told reporters after the vote.

The measure passed 41-25, effective immediately. 

Under the change, children of any age are allowed on the floor with permission of caucus leadership. They are exempt from another rule prohibiting food and drink except water and they are allowed to have milk or formula.

The House has allowed children since 2013. And the U.S. Senate said OK to members bringing babies under the age of one on the floor during votes. 

Coleman and others like DFL Sen. Erin Maye Quade said the previous restrictions cost them their ability to breastfeed their babies early in their tenure. Now their kids are older, but they say the change will encourage more young parents—women especially—to consider running for office. 

"[My daughter] was young enough to just be in a sling at 10pm at night for an hour, just to make sure that I could smell her and be near her and produce milk. And until today, that wasn't possible," Maye Quade said. "So I'm just so glad that we're being able to do this for the next generation of parents, for this generation of parents because I missed out on that, and I'm so glad no other mom will have to."

All Democrats plus eight Republicans supported the change. DFL Sen. Ann Rest joined all other GOP members in opposition. 

"We should be looking at some other options like a parent room off the side or technology so a parent can speak [while voting remotely] but this is a very very serious job. We are debating laws here. So let's show the institution some respect," said Sen. Karin Housley, R-Stillwater. 

The rule passed after a lengthy debate that included several proposals to amend the rule to put an age limit on the children allowed inside or to sunset the change and revisit it at the end of the year.

Ultimately those ideas failed to advance, but one proposal to expand the rule to cover Senate staff members' children prevailed. 

That the Senate moved this swiftly is notable. The proposal was introduced, cleared the Rules Committee, and passed off the floor in a week. Only a few years ago did the Senate vote to permit drinking water on the floor and that took 10 years to come to fruition. 

Coleman believes more young parents serving in the chamber than when she first got elected six years ago made the difference.

"I think it just kind of had to be the right time, right place, right environment," she said.