SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today during a public hearing lasting over seven hours, the Minnesota House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Division considered a series of criminal justice and police accountability reforms. The legislation – the Minnesota Police Accountability Act of 2020 – was developed following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police Officer and is aimed at reimagining and reforming public safety in the state.
“While people across the planet have their eyes on Minnesota, our state must seize this opportunity to lead the way by enacting reforms to prevent people of color from losing their lives at the hands of police, the very people charged with serving and protecting our communities,” said Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL – Saint Paul), division chair and chief author of the legislation. “This was a long hearing out of necessity, both because of the number of proposals and the number of voices – from Black, people of color and Indigenous Minnesotans – who are calling on us to fundamentally shift the role of policing in our state to be more community-focused. We must ensure everyone – no matter where they live or what they might look like – can experience true public safety.”
The series of legislation – proposed by the Legislature’s People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus – is contained in three distinct packages. The Reclaiming Community Oversight Act includes the following proposals:
- Data Practices Modifications for Peace Officers (Her)
• Retroactive Repeal of Statutes of Limitations (Vang)
• Warrior Training Prohibited (Richardson)
• Choke Hold Ban (Moran)
• Duty to Intercede (Becker-Finn)
• Police Residency Reform (Hassan)
• Data Collection and Regulatory Reform/etc. (Mariani)
• Arbitration Reform (Her)
• Law Enforcement Oversight Council Reform (Gomez)
The Reforming Accountability Act includes:
- Use of Force Reform (Moran)
- Prosecutorial Reform (Becker-Finn)
- Investigatory Reform (Mariani)
- Cash Bail (Noor)
Finally, the Re-imagining Public Safety Act:
- Public Safety Peer Counseling Debriefing (Noor)
• Police Officer Critical Incident Review (Kunesh-Podein)
• Community Led Public Safety (Gomez)
• Mental Health Training (Richardson)
• Autism Training (Richardson)
• Restore the Vote (Moran)
Votes on the legislation and consideration of potential amendments to the legislation will be taken up in a public hearing on Monday.
A research memo on the legislation can be accessed here. Introductory remarks from Rep. Mariani and Rep. Rena Moran (DFL – Saint Paul), chair of the POCI Caucus, can be accessed here. Video of the hearing will be available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel and Facebook page. Supporting documents – including bill language – can be found on the division webpage.