HF 2071

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to public safety; crime prevention; enacting
the Minnesota Safe and Secure Railroad Transportation
Act of 2005; authorizing railroad company police;
prohibiting trespassing on railroad tracks; imposing
criminal penalties; amending Minnesota Statutes 2004,
sections 13.82, subdivision 1; 609.85, subdivision 6;
626.84, subdivision 1; 626.8459; proposing coding for
new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 219.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. new text begin TITLE.
new text end

new text begin This act shall be known as the Minnesota Safe and Secure
Railroad Transportation Act of 2005.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2005.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 13.82,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Application.

This section shall apply to
agencies which carry on a law enforcement function, including
but not limited to municipal police departments, county sheriff
departments, fire departments, the Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Board of Peace
Officer Standards and Training, the Division of Insurance Fraud
Prevention in the Department of Commerce, new text begin railroad companies
that employ railroad peace officers, new text end and the program integrity
section of, and county human service agency client and provider
fraud prevention and control units operated or supervised by the
Department of Human Services.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2005.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [219.995] RAILROAD PEACE OFFICERS.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Appointment. new text end

new text begin A railroad company may
designate as railroad peace officers persons who are employed by
a railroad company to aid and supplement other law enforcement
agencies in the protection of property owned by or in the care,
custody, or control of a railroad and to protect the persons and
property of railroad passengers and employees.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Authority of railroad police officers. new text end

new text begin Except
as otherwise provided by this section, a railroad peace officer
has all powers, privileges, and immunities of a licensed peace
officer in this state in connection with the prevention,
investigation, arrest, or prosecution of an offense occurring on
railroad property and involving injury to passengers or
employees of a railroad or involving an offense against property
owned by or in the care, custody, or control of a railroad. A
railroad peace officer may obtain a search warrant as provided
in chapter 626, but the officer shall notify, prior to execution
of the warrant, the chief law enforcement officer of the law
enforcement agency with primary jurisdiction in the area in
which service of the warrant is to be made.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Licensing of railroad peace officers. new text end

new text begin The Board
of Peace Officer Standards and Training shall license railroad
peace officers under subdivision 1 who meet the board's
standards for peace officer licensure under chapter 626.
Railroad peace officers are subject to all of the provisions
applicable to peace officers under chapter 626.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Compensation; benefits; fees. new text end

new text begin (a) A railroad
peace officer shall be compensated by the railroad by which the
officer is employed.
new text end

new text begin (b) A railroad peace officer is not entitled to receive any
compensation, benefits, or other remuneration provided or
required to be provided to other licensed peace officers by this
state or any political subdivision or agency of this state for
the officer's work as a railroad peace officer.
new text end

new text begin (c) A railroad peace officer may attend any training course
offered to peace officers of this state, provided that railroad
peace officers pay reasonable tuition and costs.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. new text end

new text begin Data privacy. new text end

new text begin Railroad peace officers and their
employers are bound by the standards of privacy for law
enforcement data established in section 13.82.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 6. new text end

new text begin Railroad liable for acts of peace officer within
scope of employment. new text end

new text begin Subject to the privileges and immunities
afforded a peace officer or an officer's employer under state or
federal law, a railroad company employing a railroad peace
officer in this state is liable for all acts, errors, and
omissions of a railroad peace officer occurring in the course
and scope of the peace officer's employment by the railroad.
Neither the state nor any political subdivision or agency of the
state is liable for any act, error, or omission of a railroad
peace officer.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Construction. new text end

new text begin Nothing in this section limits or
in any way restricts the rights, powers, or privileges granted
to any other peace officer in this state.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2005.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 609.85,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

deleted text begin allowing deleted text end new text begin trespass by persons or new text end animals on
track.

deleted text begin Whoever deleted text end new text begin A person who trespasses, or who new text end intentionally
permits animals under the person's control to trespass new text begin , new text end on a
railroad track is guilty of a misdemeanor. new text begin This subdivision
shall not apply to a union representative of the railroad
employees, acting in an official capacity, or to a person with
written permission of the railroad company to enter upon the
railroad track.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2005,
and applies to crimes committed on or after that date.
new text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 626.84,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

For purposes of sections
626.84 to 626.863, the following terms have the meanings given
them:

(a) "Board" means the Board of Peace Officer Standards and
Training.

(b) "Director" means the executive director of the board.

(c) "Peace officer" means:

(1) an employee or an elected or appointed official of a
political subdivision or law enforcement agency who is licensed
by the board, charged with the prevention and detection of crime
and the enforcement of the general criminal laws of the state
and who has the full power of arrest, and shall also include the
Minnesota State Patrol, agents of the Division of Alcohol and
Gambling Enforcement, state conservation officers, Metropolitan
Transit police officers, Department of Corrections' Fugitive
Apprehension Unit officers, and Department of Commerce Insurance
Fraud Unit officers; and

(2) a peace officer who is employed by a law enforcement
agency of a federally recognized tribe, as defined in United
States Code, title 25, section 450b(e), and who is licensed by
the board.

(d) "Constable" has the meaning assigned to it in section
367.40.

(e) "Deputy constable" has the meaning assigned to it in
section 367.40.

(f) "Part-time peace officer" means an individual licensed
by the board whose services are utilized by law enforcement
agencies no more than an average of 20 hours per week, not
including time spent on call when no call to active duty is
received, calculated on an annual basis, who has either full
powers of arrest or authorization to carry a firearm while on
active duty. The term shall apply even though the individual
receives no compensation for time spent on active duty, and
shall apply irrespective of the title conferred upon the
individual by any law enforcement agency. The limitation on the
average number of hours in which the services of a part-time
peace officer may be utilized shall not apply to a part-time
peace officer who has formally notified the board pursuant to
rules adopted by the board of the part-time peace officer's
intention to pursue the specialized training for part-time peace
officers who desire to become peace officers pursuant to
sections 626.843, subdivision 1, clause (g), and 626.845,
subdivision 1, clause (g).

(g) "Reserve officer" means an individual whose services
are utilized by a law enforcement agency to provide
supplementary assistance at special events, traffic or crowd
control, and administrative or clerical assistance. A reserve
officer's duties do not include enforcement of the general
criminal laws of the state, and the officer does not have full
powers of arrest or authorization to carry a firearm on duty.

(h) "Law enforcement agency" means:

(1) a unit of state or local government that is authorized
by law to grant full powers of arrest and to charge a person
with the duties of preventing and detecting crime and enforcing
the general criminal laws of the state; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(2) subject to the limitations in section 626.93, a law
enforcement agency of a federally recognized tribe, as defined
in United States Code, title 25, section 450b(e) new text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (3) subject to the limitations in section 219.995, a
railroad company new text end .

(i) "Professional peace officer education" means a
postsecondary degree program, or a nondegree program for persons
who already have a college degree, that is offered by a college
or university in Minnesota, designed for persons seeking
licensure as a peace officer, and approved by the board.

new text begin (j) "Railroad peace officer" means an employee of a
railroad company who is licensed by the board and charged with
aiding and supplementing nonrailroad company law enforcement
agencies in the protection of property owned by or in the care,
custody, or control of a railroad and to protect the persons and
property of railroad passengers and employees.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2005.
new text end

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 626.8459, is
amended to read:

626.8459 POST BOARD; COMPLIANCE REVIEWS REQUIRED.

(a) Each year, the board shall conduct compliance reviews
on all state and local law enforcement agencies new text begin and railroad
companies that employ railroad peace officers new text end . The compliance
reviews must ensure that the agencies are complying with all
requirements imposed on them by statute and rule. The board
shall include in the reports to the legislature required in
section 626.843, subdivision 4, detailed information on the
compliance reviews conducted under this section. At a minimum,
the reports must specify each requirement imposed by statute and
rule on law enforcement agencies, the compliance rate of each
agency, and the action taken by the board, if any, against an
agency not in compliance.

(b) The board may impose licensing sanctions and seek
injunctive relief under section 214.11 for an agency's failure
to comply with a requirement imposed on it in statute or rule.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective August 1, 2005.
new text end