Legislative Update- Police Reform & Budget Bills

Dear Neighbors,

Police reform and accountability has yet again taken a central focus with renewed efforts to make communities safer across the state considering Daunte Wright’s tragic death last Sunday at the hands of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter. Daunte should be alive today.

As you may recall, last summer, after the murder of George Floyd, we passed a number of reforms on police accountability, including a prohibition on “warrior training,” a ban on chokeholds, and requiring the duty to intercede when officers observe one of their colleagues engaging in misconduct. These measures were a compromise with the GOP-led Senate and were always meant to be only a first step. We were, however, unable to reach consensus on many critical reforms such as enhanced citizen oversight and strengthening the police officer misconduct database.

Since then, the House DFL has had 18 hearings in the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Committee to discuss and vet police accountability legislation. Some of those proposals have been included in this year’s omnibus Public Safety bill. These included measures would:

• Strengthen the role of local citizen oversight councils in matters of police misconduct;
• Fund local organizations working to prevent crime in their communities while addressing the need for community healing after a traumatic event;
• Prohibit white supremacists from becoming peace officers;
• Restrict the use of no-knock warrants;
• Prohibit altering or destroying body cam footage, and require footage to be shared with family no more than 48 hours after a deadly force incident;
• Strengthen the police officer misconduct database to build a more effective early warning intervention system to keep bad officers off the streets;
• Require 911 operators to refer calls involving mental health crises to mental health crisis teams when appropriate;
• Require development of a model policy on police response to public assemblies;
• Require the Peace Officer Standards Training Board to prioritize the goal of promoting public safety, including the promotion of human rights — i.e., maintaining the basic rights, freedoms, and privileges that belong to every person including the right to dignity, fairness, equality, respect, and freedom from discrimination;
• Eliminate the statutes of limitations in cases involving an alleged sexual assault or alleged act that results in a wrongful death by a peace officer.

Legacy

In 2008, Minnesotans voted to adopt the Legacy Amendment, which increased sales taxes by three-eighths of one percent. The revenue this constitutional amendment generates is divided between four funds. Sixty-six percent of the revenue is split evenly between the Outdoor Heritage Fund and the Clean Water Fund, 19.75 percent goes to the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, and the Parks and Trails Fund receives 14.25 percent. All of these funds are appropriated every two years except the Outdoor Heritage Fund, which is appropriated annually.

The 2021 Legacy bill reflects our commitment to ensuring that Legacy Amendment funds benefit all Minnesotans and takes important steps to address racial and cultural inequities.

I’m pleased to share the bill we passed funds several initiatives on the Eastside I’m proud to author which include Wakan Tipi, Hmong SGU Veterans, CLUES, 30K Feet Black Arts Center, Hmong Museum, and Tou Saik Unites.

Housing

Last week the House of Representatives approved the Housing Bill, which funds a variety of programs aimed at helping create more affordable housing, and provisions to ensure Minnesotans can have the safe, secure, and affordable housing they deserve. Minnesota was experiencing an affordable housing crisis well before COVID-19. Now, that crisis has intensified, and we need to invest in innovative solutions to take on housing insecurity.

Measures in the bill include those to:

• Fund the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (MHFA) for specific programs;
• Establish the lead safe homes grant program;
• A task force on shelter resident rights and shelter provider practices;
• Investments in various affordable housing related programs;
• Provisions related to the Minnesota Bond Allocation Act, residential rental housing/landlord and tenant law, and manufactured housing.

State Government, Elections and Veterans

As our state continues to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Government, Elections, and Veterans bill includes investments in the responsive state government Minnesotans deserve to meet this moment and assist in our economic recovery. Now is no time to cut critical services that are going to help us build back better. The bill we passed last week also invests in Minnesota’s veterans with additional funding for our state veterans’ homes, funding to help end veteran homelessness, strategies to prevent veteran suicide, and a pathway for veterans who have been charged with crimes stemming from service-related trauma to get mental health or substance abuse help as an alternative to incarceration. The bill also includes several provisions to strengthen our democracy and elections including those to solidify and expand Minnesota’s nation-leading election administration system. These measures include provisions restoring the vote to ex-offenders on probation, making Minnesota’s Automatic Voter Registration more efficient and effective, and reforming Minnesota’s campaign finance disclosure system to make it more transparent.

Importantly, my provision was included that would allow all Minnesotans to access democracy, including those who don’t speak English. Our bill requires providing voting instructions in languages other than English so all Minnesotans can vote with confidence.

Transportation

Minnesotans expect our roads and bridges to be safe and efficient, but across the state, our transportation infrastructure continues to deteriorate. Many bridges, like the Third Street/Kellogg Bridge, are near collapse. Thankfully, our St. Paul bridge received funding in the Jobs and Local Projects or “Bonding” bill, which we passed last October. Our transportation budget we passed in the House makes direct investments in transportation to address the long-term safety risk posed by our aging roads, bridges, and transportation infrastructure. The bill helps Minnesota grow our multimodal transportation system to help people get where they need to go no matter where they live, with investments in including pedestrian and bike infrastructure, transit investments in both the metro and greater Minnesota, road safety improvements, rail projects, and more.

Food Drive on Saturday

This Saturday, April 24 there will be a food drive at IBEW Local 110 at 1330 Conway St. in St. Paul starting at 9:00 a.m. Thirty- pound food boxes will be available until supplies run out. Please help spread the word to our neighbors in need. A big thank you to IBEW Local 110 and St. Paul Regional Labor Federation for all your efforts to keep our community and neighbors fed.

Keep in Touch

With the Chauvin trial winding down, and jury deliberations underway, many of our Eastside neighbors are on high alert. I have been working with my Twin Cities colleagues and have made it clear to the governor and all who are contributing to Operation Safety Net that we expect First Amendment rights to be protected for those who are grieving and crying out for justice.

Please stay well, stay vigilant, and take care of yourself and others in our Eastside neighborhoods.

Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or to let me know if you need assistance at rep.jay.xiong@house.mn or 651-296-4201.

In solidarity,

Jay Xiong

State Representative