Acting on a charge led by Republicans, the Ways and Means Committee voted 16-12 Wednesday night to take away the health benefits of same-sex partners of state employees in a bill that now goes to the House floor.

Last fall, the state agreed to the domestic partner benefits after a two-week strike by the two largest unions representing state workers, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees and Council 6 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

The contracts are in effect, but ratification by each house is needed for them to remain in force. A bill to ratify the contracts is awaiting action in the Senate.

MAPE President Chris Mau said in a statement that even though the benefits wouldn't affect many employees in the union, he remains committed to pushing for them to be included in the new contract.

"We don't care if you're Mork from Ork and you've been fired for saying 'Nanu Nanu' to every question your boss asks you. If you have committed yourself to being a member of our union, then our union is committed to fighting for you." added Mau.

But House Republicans disagreed with that notion. Rep. Doug Stang, R-Cold Spring, proposed the amendment to scrap the domestic partner benefits. He said state employees and his constituents told him it was "not appropriate" to offer them because the benefits would discriminate against unmarried heterosexual couples and increase state compensation costs.

James Monroe, executive director of MAPE, said Wednesday's committee action was a setback for labor relations for state employees. "I think it's bad law (and) it's bad policy," he said.

Employee Relations Commissioner Julien Carter said the Ventura administration would fight legislative efforts to change the contracts. He added the vote may violate the Public Employees Labor Relations Act.

Ventura sent a letter to House Speaker Steve Sviggum in late February, urging him to work to ratify the contract after the House passed HR25, a resolution that officially objected to the state contract. At the time, Sviggum called it "a warning" that the House would not ratify the contract.

In the letter, posted on the DOER Web site, Ventura said, "With any negotiated contract, there will always provisions one group or another will not like. With the passage of HR25, the House of Representatives has deviated from a twenty-year practice of the legislature to not interfere with the bargaining process."

Ventura said rejecting the contract sets a precedent that he won't support.

Wednesday's committee vote sends the measure to the House floor for a debate Friday.