Legislative Republicans roll out Safe & Sound Minnesota public safety plan

Today Senate and House Republicans presented their Safe & Sound Minnesota public safety plan to confront the threat of violent and repeat criminals, strengthen police and improve training for law enforcement, and hold judges and prosecutors accountable with public data and information.  

“Minnesotans are concerned about public safety and so are Senate Republicans. We are committed to help police do their jobs, ensure our laws are enforced, and hold criminals accountable for crimes committed in our communities,” Republican Minority Leader Mark Johnson (East Grand Forks) said.  

“We have a crime epidemic. Meanwhile, Democrats are going out of their way to avoid getting tough on criminals, and their priorities seem more focused on the rights of the offenders than the rights of victims. This is appalling. Minnesotans have a right to safe communities, and that starts with policies to confront the criminal threat, support our police, and hold our judges and prosecutors accountable,” Republican House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth (Cold Spring) said. 

The package includes 17 different bills from 15 different Republican authors across the state. Confronting the criminal threat would include new laws to add a new crime of carjacking to state statute, increase penalties for fleeing police in a motor vehicle, align fentanyl to the same weight thresholds and penalties as heroin, and increase sentences for those convicted with at least two prior crimes of violence. Two additional bills provide grants to Ramsey county for violent crime prevention and increase sworn officers on Metro Transit.  

To address crimes of gun violence, the package specifically increases the penalty for transferring a firearm to an ineligible person and requires a court to ensure someone who has been ordered to give up their firearms has indeed done so.  

“Keeping the citizen safe is the primary role of state government,” Republican Public Safety Lead Warren Limmer (Maple Grove) said. “These proposals will send a message that judges and prosecutors must take these crimes seriously, and let our law enforcement know that we expect them to do their job to the highest standards. Perhaps most importantly, these bills will actually do something to stop the crime with tougher penalties and longer sentences for repeat, violent offenders who just won’t obey the law.” 

Republicans continue to throw their support behind our state’s law enforcement officers with robust recruitment, training, and retention plans. The Safe & Sound Minnesota plan provides $1 million for Pathway to Policing, the award-winning program that brings new recruits into public safety from other careers. The bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate on Friday. They also include $5 million for college scholarships and technology to help law enforcement students prepare for their role, and $15 million for bodycams for law enforcement departments. The plan also fulfills a request of $168 million for police and first responder pension funds.  

“Minnesotans are rightfully concerned about rising levels of crime that continue to impact their daily lives,” said House Republican Public Safety Lead Rep. Paul Novotny (Elk River). “These commonsense proposals will keep our communities and neighborhoods safe while making sure that law enforcement have the resources they need to protect Minnesotans and their families.”  

Tough laws and great cops can only do so much, however. The Safe & Sound Minnesota plan also puts in place transparency and accountability measures for the state’s courts. New data reporting would help legislators and the public understand how many felony-level offenses go uncharged, as well as a database by the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission for the public to conduct research about judges and their decisions to follow criminal sentences created by the legislature. 

To address concerns that violent, repeat offenders are too often released, there is a new mandatory minimum sentence for dangerous criminals who commit crimes with a firearm. Finally, the plan would also make who posts bail payments public data. Recent scrutiny on non-profits bailing out violent criminals shows Minnesotans are at risk when these non-profits aren’t held accountable for their decisions.  

The bills that make up the Safe & Sound Minnesota plan:

Confront the criminal threat by: 
  

• Creating a new crime of carjacking with increased penalties for carjacking.  SF 2028  Limmer / HF 478 – Novotny
• Increasing penalties for fleeing police in a motor vehicle. SF 583 – Coleman / HF 1092 – Nash
• Addressing overdose deaths involving fentanyl-laced illegal drugs by establishing the same weight thresholds and penalties for the sale or possession of fentanyl as currently apply to heroin.  SF 2138 – Kreun HF 615 – Baker / SF 2659 – Seeberger 
• Increasing sworn officers on Metro Transit SF 2470 – Kreun / HF 2668 – Petersburg $15M 
• Rape Kit processing SF 1249 – Seeberger / HF 1279 – Edelson $10.5M (Sen. Coleman and Sen. Housley are co-authors)
• Increased sentences for offenders with two or more prior crimes of violence convictions.  HF 216 – Hudson / SF 853 – Lucero 
• Increased penalty for transferring a firearm to an ineligible person.  HF 548 – Scott / SF 733 – Coleman
• Ensuring follow-up to remove firearms from those who have domestic abuse backgrounds and have been ordered by a judge to give them up SF 2496 – Kreun / HF 2663 Engen
• Grants to Ramsey County Sheriff for coordinating violent crime prevention and State Patrol for air patrol. HF 261 – Engen. $3M  

Strengthen the police and improve their training by:

• Recruiting more law enforcement with established programs that have bi-partisan support such as Pathways for Policing. SF 1199 – Limmer / HF 929 – Johnson. $1M 
• Strengthening college technology for officer training and Scholarship programs with higher education institutions. SF 2120 – Farnsworth / HF 2810 – Novotny $5M 
• Investing in training and body cameras for police departments across the state. SF 1198 – Limmer / HF 1078 – Johnson $15M 
• Fund law enforcement pension contribution request.  SF XXXX – Rasmusson $168M 

Hold judges/prosecutors accountable by:

• Requiring reporting by County Attorneys to provide data to the legislature about felony level offenses that go uncharged.  SF 949 – Limmer / HF 534 – Scott
• Requiring the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission to construct a website that the public may use to conduct research about judges and record the decisions they make in following the criminal sentences created by the legislature. SF 1541 – Limmer / HF 1417 – Novotny 
• Incorporating mandatory sentencing in current law for dangerous criminals who commit crimes with a firearm. SF 1059 – Limmer / HF 1417 – Novotny
• Who posts bail is public data.  HF 1450 – Novotny / SF 1556 – Koran