1st Engrossment - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 03/30/2016 10:31am
A bill for an act
relating to public safety; clarifying legislators' privilege from arrest; specifying
that driving while impaired constitutes a breach of the peace for purposes of
the Constitution; amending Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 3.151; proposing
coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 3; 609.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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Any documentation issued by a government agency that reproduces the text of the
Minnesota Constitution, article IV, section 10, must include the following language: "Any
arrest under this provision is immediately reviewable before a neutral judicial officer."
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Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 3.151, is amended to read:
new text begin (a) new text end A person is guilty of a gross misdemeanor who:
(1) willfully disturbs the legislature, or either house of it, while in session;
(2) commits disorderly conduct in the presence and view of either house, tending to
interrupt its proceedings or impair the respect due to its authority; or
(3) willfully, by intimidation or otherwise, prevents a member of the legislature from
attending a session of the member's house, or of a committee of it, or from giving the
member's vote upon a question which may come before the house, or from performing any
other official actnew text begin , including an arrest, or attempted arrest, of a member of the legislature by
a licensed peace officer for the primary purpose of delaying or preventing the performance
of any official actnew text end .
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(b) Nothing in this section limits the authority of a licensed peace officer to arrest
or detain a member of the legislature, upon probable cause that the member has violated
any provision of chapter 169A while traveling to a session of the member's house, or of a
committee of it, provided that the arrest or detention is processed in an expedited manner
and the member is delivered to the sergeant-at-arms of the house of representatives or the
senate without unreasonable delay.
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A crime, including a felony, gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor constitutes a
breach of the peace for purposes of the Minnesota Constitution, article IV, section 10.
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This section is effective August 1, 2015, and applies to
offenses committed on or after that date.
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