Minnesota Legislature
HF 2965
2nd Engrossment - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 04/12/2010 01:04pm
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A bill for an act
relating to public safety; establishing a certification process for multijurisdictional
gang and drug task forces; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 299A; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 299A.641.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
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[299A.642] VIOLENT CRIME COORDINATING COUNCIL.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin Coordinating council established. new text end
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The Violent Crime Coordinating
Council is established to provide guidance related to the investigation and prosecution of
gang and drug crime. For the purposes of this section, "gang and drug crime" includes
violent crimes associated with gang activity.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Membership. new text end
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The coordinating council shall consist of the following
individuals or their designees:
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(1) the director of the Office of Special Investigations as the representative of the
commissioner of corrections;
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(2) the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension as the representative
of the commissioner of public safety;
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(3) the attorney general;
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(4) four chiefs of police, selected by the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association,
of which one must be employed by the city of Minneapolis, one must be employed by
the city of St. Paul, one must be employed by a municipality located in the seven-county
metropolitan area excluding Minneapolis and St. Paul, and one must be employed in
greater Minnesota;
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(5) four sheriffs, selected by the Minnesota Sheriffs Association, of which, one must
work in Hennepin County, one must work in Ramsey County, one must work in Anoka,
Carver, Dakota, Scott, or Washington county, and one must work in greater Minnesota;
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(6) the United States attorney for the district of Minnesota;
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(7) two county attorneys, selected by the Minnesota County Attorneys Association,
one who must work in the seven-county metropolitan area and one who must work in
greater Minnesota;
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(8) two citizen members appointed by the commissioner of public safety in
consultation with representatives from the councils of color created in sections 3.922,
3.9223, 3.9225, and 3.9226; and
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(9) a tribal peace officer, selected by the commissioner of public safety, in
consultation with the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council.
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The coordinating council shall adopt procedures to govern its conduct as necessary
and shall select a chair from among its members. The chair shall serve a two-year term
and the appointment of the chair shall alternate between a person who works in greater
Minnesota and a person who works in the seven-county metropolitan area.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end
new text begin Coordinating council's duties. new text end
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The coordinating council shall develop an
overall strategy to ameliorate the harm caused to the public by gang and drug crime within
the state of Minnesota. Additionally, the coordinating council shall:
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(1) subject to approval by the commissioner of public safety, develop an operating
procedures and policies manual to investigate gang and drug crime in a multijurisdictional
manner;
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(2) identify and recommend a candidate or candidates for statewide coordinator to
the commissioner of public safety;
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(3) assist the Department of Public Safety in developing grant eligibility criteria and
operating an objective and conflict-free grant review application process;
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(4) make recommendations to the commissioner of public safety to terminate grant
funding for multijurisdictional entities if an entity no longer operates in accordance with
subdivision 4, or no longer functions in a manner consistent with the best interests of
the state or public;
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(5) assist in developing a process to collect and share information to improve the
investigation and prosecution of gang and drug offenses;
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(6) develop and approve an operational budget for the coordinating council; and
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(7) subject to approval by the commissioner of public safety, adopt narrowly
tailored, objective criteria and identifying characteristics for use in determining whether
individuals are or may be members of gangs involved in criminal activity. The council
shall review and update the criteria and characteristics adopted under this clause every two
years with the objective to ensure effectiveness and relevance to the accurate identification
of subjects actively involved in criminal gang activity. As part of its review process, the
council shall obtain input from members of communities that are impacted by criminal
gang activity. Before adopting any changes under this clause, the council must submit its
recommendations to the commissioner of public safety for approval.
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new text begin Subd. 4. new text end
new text begin Duties and authority of commissioner. new text end
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(a) The commissioner of public
safety shall certify multijurisdictional entities, and their designated fiscal agents, that are
established pursuant to this section to combat gang and drug crime and receive grant
funding under subdivision 9. To certify an entity and its designated fiscal agent, the
commissioner shall require that a multijurisdictional entity:
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(1) be subject to the operational command and supervision of one of the participating
agencies;
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(2) be subject to a biennial operational and financial audit contracted out to an
external organization not associated with the multijurisdictional entity and designed to
ensure that the entity and its designated fiscal agent are in compliance with applicable
legal requirements, proper law enforcement standards and practices, and effective
financial controls;
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(3) have adequate staffing and funding to support law enforcement, prosecutorial,
and financial operations, including bookkeeping, evidence handling, and inventory
recording; and
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(4) be subject to any other conditions the commissioner deems necessary to carry
out the purposes of this section.
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The commissioner may use grant funds authorized under subdivision 9 to pay for
costs incurred in conducting audits under clause (2).
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(b) A multijurisdictional entity, and its designated fiscal agent, must be certified
annually by the commissioner and may not operate under this section unless it is certified.
If the commissioner revokes an entity's or fiscal agent's certification, the commissioner
may order, for purposes relating to this section, any or all of the following:
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(1) dissolution of the entity, its governing boards, or both;
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(2) transfer of duties of the entity, its governing boards, or both, to the Department of
Public Safety; and
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(3) any other action deemed necessary by the commissioner.
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Notwithstanding any action taken by the commissioner, any outstanding obligations or
liabilities of the entity remain with the entity and the parties of the agreement and do
not transfer.
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(c) An agreement entered into pursuant to section 471.59 and this section shall
provide that the parties to the agreement are subject to the provisions in this subdivision
and shall provide for the disposition of property and allocation of obligations upon
voluntary or mandated dissolution of the entity or upon termination of the agreement.
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(d) Except as provided in section 2, a multijurisdictional entity that is operating on
the effective date of this section pursuant to section 299A.641 shall have until December
31, 2010, to be certified under this section.
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new text begin Subd. 5. new text end
new text begin Statewide coordinator. new text end
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The commissioner of public safety shall appoint a
statewide coordinator. The coordinator serving in the unclassified service shall:
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(1) coordinate and monitor all multijurisdictional gang and drug enforcement
activities;
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(2) facilitate local efforts and ensure statewide coordination with efforts to combat
gang and drug crime;
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(3) facilitate training for personnel;
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(4) monitor compliance with investigative protocols; and
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(5) review audits conducted under subdivision 4, take corrective actions based on
audit results, and submit a summary report of the audits and any corrective actions to the
commissioner of public safety.
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new text begin Subd. 6. new text end
new text begin Participating officers; employment status. new text end
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All participating law
enforcement officers must be licensed peace officers as defined in section 626.84,
subdivision 1, or qualified federal law enforcement officers as defined in section 626.8453.
Participating officers remain employees of the same entity that employed them before
joining any multijurisdictional entity established under this section. Participating officers
are not employees of the state. Participating officers shall be subject to annual performance
reviews conducted by the entity's operational supervisor.
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new text begin Subd. 7. new text end
new text begin Jurisdiction and powers. new text end
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Law enforcement officers participating in any
multijurisdictional entity established under this section have statewide jurisdiction to
conduct criminal investigations and have the same powers of arrest as those possessed by
a sheriff.
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new text begin Subd. 8. new text end
new text begin Evidence handling. new text end
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A multijurisdictional entity established pursuant to
this section shall process all evidence through the standard evidence handling procedures
established by the participating agencies.
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new text begin Subd. 9. new text end
new text begin Grants authorized. new text end
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The commissioner of public safety may make grants
to state and local units of government to combat gang and drug crime. When awarding
grants, the commissioner shall consider appropriating grants under this section to fund
community-based gang intervention and prevention efforts for youth.
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new text begin Subd. 10. new text end
new text begin Coordinating council is permanent. new text end
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Notwithstanding section 15.059,
this section does not expire.
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new text begin Subd. 11. new text end
new text begin Governing board; prosecutor's role. new text end
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(a) A multijurisdictional entity
established under this section shall create a governing board consisting of the chief law
enforcement officer, or designee, from each participating agency, a prosecutor from one of
the participating agencies, and up to three additional members selected by the governing
board. A governing board shall have no less than six members.
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(b) The prosecutor on the governing board shall recommend to governing board the
nature and frequency of training for officers assigned to a multijurisdictional entity in
order to increase successful prosecutions.
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new text begin Subd. 12. new text end
new text begin Funding. new text end
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Participating agencies may accept lawful grants or contributions
from any federal source or legal business or entity.
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new text begin Subd. 13. new text end
new text begin Role of attorney general. new text end
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The attorney general or a designee shall
generally advise on any matters that the coordinating council deems appropriate.
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new text begin Subd. 14. new text end
new text begin Attorney general; community liaison. new text end
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(a) The attorney general or
a designee shall serve as a liaison between the coordinating council and the councils of
color created in sections 3.922, 3.9223, 3.9225, and 3.9226. The attorney general or
designee will be responsible for:
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(1) informing the councils of color of the plans, activities, and decisions and hearing
their reactions to those plans, activities, and decisions; and
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(2) providing the coordinating council with the position of the councils of color on
the coordinating council's plan, activities, and decisions.
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(b) In no event is the coordinating council required to disclose the names of
individuals identified by it to the councils of color referenced in this subdivision.
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new text begin Subd. 15. new text end
new text begin Required reports. new text end
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By February 1 of each year, the commissioner of
public safety shall submit the following reports to the chairs of the senate and house
of representatives committees and divisions having jurisdiction over criminal justice
policy and funding:
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(1) a report containing a summary of all audits conducted on multijurisdictional
entities under subdivision 4; and
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(2) a report on the activities and goals of the coordinating council.
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Sec. 2. new text begin MULTIJURISDICTIONAL GANG AND DRUG STRIKE FORCES.
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A joint powers entity established pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 299A.641,
before the effective date of this section that included as parties to the joint powers
agreement two counties with a population over 500,000 each is dissolved and any
governing or advisory board established by the terms of the agreement is also dissolved.
All current and future obligations and liabilities of the joint powers entity remain with the
parties to the agreement and do not transfer to the state.
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For purposes of this section, "population" means the most recent population estimate
made by the state demographer under Minnesota Statutes, section 4A.02.
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new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
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This section is effective July 1, 2011.
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Sec. 3. new text begin REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.
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The revisor of statutes shall replace references to Minnesota Statutes, section
299A.641, in statutes and rules with a reference to Minnesota Statutes, section 299A.642,
and shall make any other changes to statutory cross-references as necessitated by this bill.
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Sec. 4. new text begin REPEALER.
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Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 299A.641,
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is repealed.
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new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end
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This section is effective December 31, 2010.
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