1.1A bill for an act1.2relating to public safety; establishing a certification process for multijurisdictional 1.3gang and drug task forces; appropriating money;proposing coding for new 1.4law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 299A; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2008, 1.5section 299A.641.1.6BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:1.7    Section 1. [299A.642] VIOLENT CRIME COORDINATING COUNCIL.1.8    Subdivision 1.Coordinating council established.The Violent Crime Coordinating 1.9Council is established to provide guidance related to the investigation and prosecution of 1.10gang and drug crime. For the purposes of this section, "gang and drug crime" includes 1.11violent crimes associated with gang activity.1.12    Subd. 2.Membership.The coordinating council shall consist of the following 1.13individuals or their designees:1.14    (1) the director of the Office of Special Investigations as the representative of the 1.15commissioner of corrections;1.16    (2) the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension as the representative 1.17of the commissioner of public safety;1.18    (3) the attorney general;1.19    (4) four chiefs of police, selected by the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, 1.20of which one must be employed by the city of Minneapolis, one must be employed by 1.21the city of St. Paul, one must be employed by a municipality located in the seven-county 1.22metropolitan area excluding Minneapolis and St. Paul, and one must be employed in 1.23greater Minnesota;2.1    (5) four sheriffs, selected by the Minnesota Sheriffs Association, of which, one must 2.2work in Hennepin County, one must work in Ramsey County, one must work in Anoka, 2.3Carver, Dakota, Scott, or Washington county, and one must work in greater Minnesota;2.4    (6) the United States attorney for the district of Minnesota;2.5    (7) two county attorneys, selected by the Minnesota County Attorneys Association, 2.6one who must work in the seven-county metropolitan area and one who must work in 2.7greater Minnesota;2.8    (8) two citizen members appointed by the commissioner of public safety in 2.9consultation with representatives from the councils of color created in sections 3.922, 2.103.9223, 3.9225, and 3.9226; and2.11    (9) a tribal peace officer, selected by the commissioner of public safety, in 2.12consultation with the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council.2.13The coordinating council shall adopt procedures to govern its conduct as necessary 2.14and shall select a chair from among its members. The chair shall serve a two-year term 2.15and the appointment of the chair shall alternate between a person who works in greater 2.16Minnesota and a person who works in the seven-county metropolitan area.2.17    Subd. 3.Coordinating council's duties.The coordinating council shall develop an 2.18overall strategy to ameliorate the harm caused to the public by gang and drug crime within 2.19the state of Minnesota. Additionally, the coordinating council shall:2.20(1) subject to approval by the commissioner of public safety, develop an operating 2.21procedures and policies manual to investigate gang and drug crime in a multijurisdictional 2.22manner;2.23(2) identify and recommend a candidate or candidates for statewide coordinator to 2.24the commissioner of public safety;2.25(3) assist the Department of Public Safety in developing grant eligibility criteria and 2.26operating an objective and conflict-free grant review application process;2.27(4) make recommendations to the commissioner of public safety to terminate grant 2.28funding for multijurisdictional entities if an entity no longer operates in accordance with 2.29guidelines established under subdivision 4, or no longer functions in a manner consistent 2.30with the best interests of the state or public;2.31(5) assist in developing a process to collect and share information to improve the 2.32investigation and prosecution of gang and drug offenses;2.33(6) develop and approve an operational budget for the coordinating council; and2.34(7) subject to approval by the commissioner of public safety, adopt narrowly 2.35tailored, objective criteria and identifying characteristics for use in determining whether 2.36individuals are or may be members of gangs involved in criminal activity. The council 3.1shall review and update the criteria and characteristics adopted under this clause every two 3.2years with the objective to ensure effectiveness and relevance to the accurate identification 3.3of subjects actively involved in criminal gang activity. As part of its review process, the 3.4council shall obtain input from members of communities that are impacted by criminal 3.5gang activity. Before adopting any changes under this clause, the council must submit its 3.6recommendations to the commissioner of public safety for approval.3.7    Subd. 4.Duties and authority of commissioner.(a) The commissioner of public 3.8safety shall certify multijurisdictional entities, and their designated fiscal agents, that are 3.9established pursuant to this section to combat gang and drug crime and receive grant 3.10funding under subdivision 9. To certify an entity, the commissioner shall require that a 3.11multijurisdictional entity:3.12    (1) be subject to the operational command and supervision of one of the participating 3.13agencies;3.14    (2) be subject to an operational and financial audit conducted annually by an outside 3.15independent entity; 3.16    (3) have adequate staffing and funding to support law enforcement, prosecutorial, 3.17and financial operations, including bookkeeping, evidence handling, and inventory 3.18recording; and3.19    (4) be subject to any other conditions the commissioner deems necessary to carry 3.20out the purposes of this section.3.21    (b) A multijurisdictional entity, and its designated fiscal agent, must be certified 3.22annually by the commissioner and may not operate under this section unless it is certified. 3.23If the commissioner revokes an entity's or fiscal agent's certification, the commissioner 3.24may order, for purposes relating to this section, any or all of the following:3.25    (1) dissolution of the entity, its governing boards, or both;3.26    (2) transfer of duties of the entity, its governing boards, or both, to the Department of 3.27Public Safety; and3.28    (3) any other action deemed necessary by the commissioner.3.29Notwithstanding any action taken by the commissioner, any outstanding obligations or 3.30liabilities of the entity remain with the entity and the parties of the agreement and do 3.31not transfer.3.32    (c) An agreement entered into pursuant to section 471.59 and this section shall 3.33provide that the parties to the agreement are subject to the provisions in this subdivision 3.34and shall provide for the disposition of property and allocation of obligations upon 3.35voluntary or mandated dissolution of the entity or upon termination of the agreement. 4.1    (d) Except as provided in section 2, a multijurisdictional entity that is operating on 4.2the effective date of this section pursuant to section 299A.641 shall have until December 4.331, 2010, to be certified under this section.4.4    Subd. 5.Statewide coordinator.The commissioner of public safety shall appoint a 4.5statewide coordinator. The coordinator serving in the unclassified service shall:4.6(1) coordinate and monitor all multijurisdictional gang and drug enforcement 4.7activities;4.8(2) facilitate local efforts and ensure statewide coordination with efforts to combat 4.9gang and drug crime;4.10(3) facilitate training for personnel;4.11(4) monitor compliance with investigative protocols; and4.12(5) review annual audits conducted under subdivision 4, take corrective actions 4.13based on audit results, and submit a summary report of the audits and any corrective 4.14actions to the commissioner of public safety.4.15    Subd. 6.Participating officers; employment status.All participating law 4.16enforcement officers must be licensed peace officers as defined in section 626.84, 4.17subdivision 1, or qualified federal law enforcement officers as defined in section 626.8453. 4.18Participating officers remain employees of the same entity that employed them before 4.19joining any multijurisdictional entity established under this section. Participating officers 4.20are not employees of the state. Participating officers shall be subject to annual performance 4.21reviews conducted by the entity's operational supervisor.4.22    Subd. 7.Jurisdiction and powers.Law enforcement officers participating in any 4.23multijurisdictional entity established under this section have statewide jurisdiction to 4.24conduct criminal investigations and have the same powers of arrest as those possessed by 4.25a sheriff.4.26    Subd. 8.Evidence handling.A multijurisdictional entity established pursuant to 4.27this section shall process all evidence through the standard evidence handling procedures 4.28established by the participating agencies.4.29    Subd. 9.Grants authorized.The commissioner of public safety may make grants 4.30to state and local units of government to combat gang and drug crime. When awarding 4.31grants, the commissioner shall consider appropriating grants under this section to fund 4.32community-based gang intervention and prevention efforts for youth.4.33    Subd. 10.Coordinating council is permanent.Notwithstanding section 15.059, 4.34this section does not expire.4.35    Subd. 11.Governing board; prosecutor's role.(a) A multijurisdictional entity 4.36established under this section shall create a governing board consisting of the chief law 5.1enforcement officer, or designee, from each participating agency, a prosecutor from one of 5.2the participating agencies, and up to three additional members selected by the governing 5.3board. A governing board shall have no less than six members. 5.4(b) The prosecutor on the governing board shall recommend to governing board the 5.5nature and frequency of training for officers assigned to a multijurisdictional entity in 5.6order to increase successful prosecutions.5.7    Subd. 12.Funding.Participating agencies may accept lawful grants or contributions 5.8from any federal source or legal business or entity.5.9    Subd. 13.Role of attorney general.The attorney general or a designee shall 5.10generally advise on any matters that the coordinating council deems appropriate.5.11    Subd. 14.Attorney general; community liaison.(a) The attorney general or 5.12a designee shall serve as a liaison between the coordinating council and the councils of 5.13color created in sections 3.922, 3.9223, 3.9225, and 3.9226. The attorney general or 5.14designee will be responsible for:5.15(1) informing the councils of color of the plans, activities, and decisions and hearing 5.16their reactions to those plans, activities, and decisions; and5.17(2) providing the coordinating council with the position of the councils of color on 5.18the coordinating council's plan, activities, and decisions.5.19(b) In no event is the coordinating council required to disclose the names of 5.20individuals identified by it to the councils of color referenced in this subdivision.5.21    Subd. 15.Required reports.By February 1 of each year, the commissioner of 5.22public safety shall submit the following reports to the chairs of the senate and house 5.23of representatives committees and divisions having jurisdiction over criminal justice 5.24policy and funding: 5.25(1) a report containing a summary of all audits conducted on multijurisdictional 5.26entities under subdivision 4; and 5.27(2) a report on the activities and goals of the coordinating council. 5.28    Sec. 2. MULTIJURISDICTIONAL GANG AND DRUG STRIKE FORCES.5.29A joint powers entity established pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 299A.641, 5.30before the effective date of this section that included as parties to the joint powers 5.31agreement two counties with a population over 500,000 each is dissolved and any 5.32governing or advisory board established by the terms of the agreement is also dissolved. 5.33All current and future obligations and liabilities of the joint powers entity remain with the 5.34parties to the agreement and do not transfer to the state.6.1For purposes of this section, "population" means the most recent population estimate 6.2made by the state demographer under Minnesota Statutes, section 4A.02.6.3EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective July 1, 2011.6.4    Sec. 3. APPROPRIATION.6.5$....... is appropriated in fiscal year 2011 from the general fund to the commissioner 6.6of public safety for conducting audits required under Minnesota Statutes, section 6.7299A.642, subdivision 4, paragraph (a).6.8    Sec. 4. REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.6.9    The revisor of statutes shall replace references to Minnesota Statutes, section 6.10299A.641, in statutes and rules with a reference to Minnesota Statutes, section 299A.642, 6.11and shall make any other changes to statutory cross-references as necessitated by this bill.6.12    Sec. 5.  REPEALER.6.13Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 299A.641, is repealed.6.14EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective December 31, 2010.