as introduced - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 03/18/2019 10:40am
A bill for an act
relating to public safety; establishing the Worker Safety and Energy Security Act;
providing for criminal penalties; amending Minnesota Statutes 2018, sections
609.594; 609.6055.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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This act may be referred to as the "Worker Safety And Energy Security Act."
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Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 609.594, is amended to read:
As used in this section:
(1) "critical public service facility" includes railroad yards and stations, bus stations,
airports, and other mass transit facilities; oil refineries; storage areas or facilities for hazardous
materials, hazardous substances, or hazardous wastes; and bridges;
(2) "pipeline" has the meaning given in section 609.6055, subdivision 1; deleted text begin and
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(3) "utility" includes: (i) any organization defined as a utility in section 216C.06,
subdivision 18; (ii) any telecommunications carrier or telephone company regulated under
chapter 237; and (iii) any local utility or enterprise formed for the purpose of providing
electrical or gas heating and power, telephone, water, sewage, wastewater, or other related
utility service, which is owned, controlled, or regulated by a town, a statutory or home rule
charter city, a county, a port development authority, the Metropolitan Council, a district
heating authority, a regional commission or other regional government unit, or a combination
of these governmental unitsdeleted text begin .deleted text end new text begin ; and
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(4) "person" means any individual, corporation, firm, partnership, incorporated or
unincorporated association, or any other legal, professional, associational, nonprofit, or
commercial entity.
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deleted text begin Whoeverdeleted text end new text begin A person whonew text end causes damage to the
physical propertynew text begin , or alters the equipment or physical operations,new text end of a critical public service
facility, utility, or pipeline with the intent to deleted text begin significantlydeleted text end disrupt the operation of or the
provision of services by the facility, utility, or pipeline and without the consent of one
authorized to give consent, is guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for
not more than ten years or to payment of a fine of not more than $20,000, or both.
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A person who is found criminally liable under section 609.05 based upon an underlying
violation of this section and who is not a natural person shall be liable for a fine in an amount
up to ten times the fine allowed for the underlying violation.
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Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to prohibit any of the following: (1) action
by a member of a labor organization in the course of a labor dispute, including picketing,
handbilling, bannering, work stoppages, or strikes, as long as the member does not cause
damage to the physical property or alter the equipment or physical operations of a critical
public service facility, utility, or pipeline with the intent to disrupt its operations or provision
of services; (2) access to property by a representative of a labor organization under a worksite
visitation clause of a collective bargaining agreement; (3) access to property by a
representative of a building trades labor or management organization; or (4) conduct protected
by United States Code, title 29, section 157, including labor-organizing activity.
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An employee or other person designated by
a critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline to ensure the provision of services by
the critical public service facility or the safe operation of the equipment or facility of the
utility or pipeline who has reasonable cause to believe that a person is violating this section
may detain the person as provided in this subdivision. The person detained must be promptly
informed of the purpose of the detention and may not be subjected to unnecessary or
unreasonable force or interrogation. The employee or other designated person must notify
a peace officer promptly of the detention and may only detain the person for a reasonable
period of time. No employee deleted text begin or otherdeleted text end new text begin ,new text end designated personnew text begin , or employer of the employee or
designated personnew text end is criminally or civilly liable for any detention that the employee or person
reasonably believed was authorized by and conducted in conformity with this subdivision.
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The court shall order a person convicted of violating
this section to pay restitution for the costs and expenses resulting from the crime.
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This section is effective the day following final enactment and
applies to violations committed on or after that date.
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Minnesota Statutes 2018, section 609.6055, is amended to read:
(a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
meanings given.
(b) "Critical public service facility" includes buildings and other physical structures, and
fenced in or otherwise enclosed property, of railroad yards and stations, bus stations, airports,
and other mass transit facilities; oil refineries; and storage areas or facilities for hazardous
materials, hazardous substances, or hazardous wastes. The term also includes nonpublic
portions of bridges. The term does not include railroad tracks extending beyond a critical
public service facility.
(c) "Pipeline" includes an aboveground pipeline, a belowground pipeline housed in an
underground structure, and any equipment, facility, or building located in this state that is
used to transport natural or synthetic gas, crude petroleum or petroleum fuels or oil or their
derivatives, or hazardous liquids, to or within a distribution, refining, manufacturing, or
storage facility that is located inside or outside of this state. Pipeline does not include service
lines.
(d) "Utility" includes:
(1) any organization defined as a utility in section 216C.06, subdivision 18;
(2) any telecommunications carrier or telephone company regulated under chapter 237;
and
(3) any local utility or enterprise formed for the purpose of providing electrical or gas
heating and power, telephone, water, sewage, wastewater, or other related utility service,
which is owned, controlled, or regulated by a town, a statutory or home rule charter city, a
county, a port development authority, the Metropolitan Council, a district heating authority,
a regional commission or other regional government unit, or a combination of these
governmental units.
The term does not include property located above buried power or telecommunications
lines or property located below suspended power or telecommunications lines, unless the
property is fenced in or otherwise enclosed.
(e) "Utility line" includes power, telecommunications, and transmissions lines as well
as related equipment owned or controlled by a utility.
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(f) "Person" means any individual, corporation, firm, partnership, incorporated or
unincorporated association, or any other legal, professional, associational, nonprofit, or
commercial entity.
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(a) deleted text begin Whoeverdeleted text end new text begin A person whonew text end enters or is found
upon property containingnew text begin or upon which is being constructednew text end a critical public service facility,
utility, or pipeline, without claim of right or consent of one who has the right to give consent
to be on the property, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor, if:
(1) the person refuses to depart from the property on the demand of one who has the
right to give consent;
(2) within the past six months, the person had been told by one who had the right to give
consent to leave the property and not to return, unless a person with the right to give consent
has given the person permission to return; or
(3) the property is posted.
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(b) A person who enters the property under paragraph (a) with the intent to disrupt the
operation or provision of services by the facility, utility, or pipeline is guilty of a felony and
may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of
not more than $10,000, or both.
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deleted text begin (b) Whoeverdeleted text end new text begin (c) A person whonew text end enters an underground structure that (1) contains a utility
line or pipeline and (2) is not open to the public for pedestrian use, without claim of right
or consent of one who has the right to give consent to be in the underground structure, is
guilty of a gross misdemeanor. The underground structure does not need to be posted for
this paragraph to apply.
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(d) A person who is found criminally liable under section 609.05 based upon an
underlying violation of this section and who is not a natural person shall be liable for a fine
in an amount up to ten times the fine allowed for the underlying violation.
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(e) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to prohibit any of the following: (1) action
by a member of a labor organization in the course of a labor dispute, including picketing,
handbilling, bannering, work stoppages, or strikes, as long as the member does not cause
damage to the physical property or alter the equipment or physical operations of a critical
public service facility, utility, or pipeline with the intent to disrupt its operations or provision
of services; (2) access to property by a representative of a labor organization under a worksite
visitation clause of a collective bargaining agreement; (3) access to property by a
representative of a building trades labor or management organization; and (4) conduct
protected by United States Code, title 29, section 157, including labor-organizing activity.
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For purposes of this section, a critical public service facility, utility,
or pipeline is posted if there are signs that:
(1) state "no trespassing" or similar terms;
(2) display letters at least two inches high;
(3) state that Minnesota law prohibits trespassing on the property; and
(4) are posted in a conspicuous place and at intervals of 500 feet or less.
An employee or other person designated by
a critical public service facility, utility, or pipeline to ensure the provision of services by
the critical public service facility or the safe operation of the equipment or facility of the
utility or pipeline who has reasonable cause to believe that a person is violating this section
may detain the person as provided in this subdivision. The person detained must be promptly
informed of the purpose of the detention and may not be subjected to unnecessary or
unreasonable force or interrogation. The employee or other designated person must notify
a peace officer promptly of the detention and may only detain the person for a reasonable
period of time. No employee deleted text begin or otherdeleted text end new text begin ,new text end designated personnew text begin , or employer of the employee or
designated personnew text end is criminally or civilly liable for any detention that the employee or person
reasonably believed was authorized by and conducted in conformity with this subdivision.
A peace officer may arrest a person without a warrant if the
officer has probable cause to believe the person violated this section within the preceding
four hours. The arrest may be made even though the violation did not occur in the presence
of the peace officer.
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The court shall order a person convicted of violating
this section to pay restitution for the costs and expenses resulting from the crime.
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This section is effective the day following final enactment and
applies to violations committed on or after that date.
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