Good morning. March Madness and the spring thaw should make for a delightful weekend.

State leaders could face pressure to rescind a day celebrating the late Cesar Chavez following allegations that the labor leader sexually abused girls. DFL state Rep. Maria Isa Perez-Vega said she will work to scrap a state law honoring Chavez . Minnesota's Republican Party also called for repeal of the state law commemorating Chavez at the end of March. Gov. Tim Walz told WCCO Radio yesterday that he plans to withhold an annual proclamation but he can't make the law change independently. Instead, it would be up to state lawmakers. "This certainly clouds that legacy, and we should reassess it,” Walz said. “So I would hope they would do something on that, but we won't be putting out anything. And I just want to make sure I stay in line with what the Legislature and statute says." Governors in other states that observe Chavez's birthday have said they will not do so this year in light of the accusations. Minnesota legislators face committee deadlines to pass policy bills next week. State law says commemorations to Chavez take place March 31.

Several consumer protection bills are fetching bipartisan backing in this year’s legislative session. Which will make the final cut? We’ll talk about that on Politics Friday today with House Commerce Committee Co-Chair Erin Koegel and Senate Commerce Committee member Jordan Rasmusson. Then, it’s been a busy year for the Department of Employment and Economic Development. Commissioner Matt Varilek discusses what his agency is up to and what it might be asked to do as artificial intelligence spreads into more facets of the workforce. Tune in at noon or check out the podcast later.

Driverless cars are here. But what happens if they break a law, crash or get stuck in a classic Minnesota March snowstorm? The autonomous vehicle company Waymo is already testing vehicles, with human drivers for now, in Minneapolis. State law is pretty silent on driverless cars so Minnesota lawmakers are divided on how to regulate driverless cars. Waymo-back legislation would authorize the vehicles and prevent local authorities from regulating them. Disability advocates also support that legislation, saying driverless vehicles take potential driver bias out of the equation. Just this month the rideshare company Lyft settled with a blind student in Minnesota who claimed drivers canceled rides on her when they realized she had a guide dog. A labor-backed bill would ban self-driving cars until the potential impacts to the rideshare workforce, accessibility, safety and infrastructure are studied. Even then, the bill would require human operators in the vehicles as a safety backup. The only unifying issue? Everyone agrees city buses, school buses and semi-trucks should have humans behind the wheel, at least for now.

Impersonating a police officer would carry higher penalties and police vehicles sold to the public would have to be stripped of insignias when sold. That’s if two bills advanced by the Senate public safety committee yesterday become law. Both bills are sponsored by by Sen. John Hoffman, DFL-Champlin, who was shot multiple times by a man who came to his house last summer dressed as a police officer with a vehicle outfitted to look like a squad car. Yvette Hoffman, the senator’s wife, was also shot. The same man is accused of assassinating former House Speaker Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark and their dog Gilbert that June night. Hoffman said both bills are about keeping the public’s trust that when a police officer shows up at your door or tries to pull you over, that you can trust they are in fact a police officer. Hoffman said: “To this day, if there's a vehicle that looks like a police vehicle and I'm on the road, I'm taking exits and taking lefts and rights to try to avoid that person or that vehicle, because I think they might be following me. Think about that for a second. Not OK." He also tearfully recalled the moment that Champlin Police Sgt. Louis Beauchane arrived shortly after the shooting, saying how much seeing a real police officer come to help meant. “When you finally see a real police officer in your door, I'll never forget that moment. And every time I see Sgt. Louis from Champlin Police Department, I start crying, just like I am now.” The committee sent both bills to another committee with a recommendation for passage.

One of the organizations closest to the hearts of former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, could get a one time grant from the Legislature in the Hortmans’ honor. Helping Paws, Inc. would get a $200,000 grant from the state to breed, train and place service or facility dogs for people who have physical disabilities, veterans, first responders with PTSD and professionals who work in courthouse, educational and mental health facilities.The Hortmans trained dogs for Helping Paws, including their golden retriever Gilbert, who was trained to be a service dog. Gilbert failed his test, so the Hortmans adopted him as their family dog. Rep. Kristin Bahner, DFL-Maple Grove, remembered what Hortman said after Gilbert did not pass his test. “She said, ‘Oh, darn, I'm just gonna have to keep him,' and just the look of, she felt terrible, of course, because she was really training him for someone else, but at the same time, he brought her so much comfort, and I think even in the end, he did." Bahner said it’s a fitting tribute to the Hortmans and Gilbert that these funds would help others get the same comfort and companionship from service dogs.

The Senate Rules and Administration Committee advanced a resolution to allow members to bring their children on the Senate floor and to allow them to eat or drink. The move followed emotional testimony from senators who have young children and have struggled to breastfeed or take care of their children during the legislative session. “We as mothers here have been set up to fail. At its best, the Senate is a hostile working environment for mothers. At its worst it is intentionally designed to keep people like us out,” said Sen. Julia Coleman, R-Waconia. She has raised three young sons, at times at the Capitol, during her tenure in office. “To this day I am upset that this institution prevented me from (breast) feeding my babies.” The chamber historically has had strict rules of conduct, restricting who can be on the floor and only recently granted the option for members to bring in water in clear containers. Democratic Sens. Clare Oumou Verbeten, Erin Maye Quade and Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger are also young mothers who’ve experienced difficulties caring for their children in the Senate workplace. They voiced their support for the change. “I carry a lot of that same shame because I didn’t advocate for myself and I feel like if I had, Sen. Oumou Verbeten wouldn’t have to be sitting here today,” Maye Quade said. “But we can make us the last people who have to sit here and do this.” The resolution moves next to the Senate floor for a vote.