SF 2758

as introduced - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 03/20/2014 09:17am

A bill for an act
relating to crime prevention; requiring the commissioner of public safety to
appoint railroad peace officers; providing for licensing and compensation of
railroad peace officers; addressing civil liability issues; requiring rulemaking;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 626.05, subdivision 2; Minnesota
Statutes 2013 Supplement, section 626.84, subdivision 1; 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 [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 The commissioner of public safety shall appoint
as railroad peace officers persons who are employed by a railroad company to aid and
supplement 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. The appointees must be licensed by the Board of Peace Officer
Standards and Training.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Authority of railroad peace 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. If a search warrant is obtained by a railroad
peace officer, the officer shall notify the chief of police of an organized full-time police
department of the municipality or, if there is no local chief of police, the sheriff or a deputy
sheriff of the county in which service of the warrant is to be made, prior to execution.
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 appointed by the commissioner
of public safety 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 Revocation of appointment. new text end

new text begin The commissioner of public safety shall
revoke the appointment of any railroad peace officer upon expiration, revocation, or
surrender of the license issued by the Peace Officer Standards and Training Board to the
officer. In addition, the commissioner may revoke the appointment of a railroad peace
officer for any other reason, including, but not limited to, the conduct of the officer.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 5. 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.
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. 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 and shall indemnify its
peace officers for civil damages, penalties, or fines claimed or levied against the officer
according to section 181.970. Neither this 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 shall be construed to limit or in
any way restrict the rights, powers, or privileges granted to a peace officer in this state
who is not a railroad peace officer.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 626.05, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Peace officer.

The term "peace officer," as used in sections 626.04 to
626.17, means a person who is licensed as a peace officer in accordance with section
626.84, subdivision 1, and who serves as a sheriff, deputy sheriff, police officer,
conservation officer, agent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, agent of the
Division of Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement, University of Minnesota peace officer,
Metropolitan Transit police officer, Minnesota Department of Corrections Fugitive
Apprehension Unit member, deleted text begin or deleted text end State Patrol trooper as authorized by section 299D.03 new text begin , or
railroad peace officer as authorized by section 219.995 new text end .

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, 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,
deleted text begin and deleted text end Department of Commerce Fraud Bureau Unit officers, deleted text begin and deleted text end the statewide coordinator
of the Violent Crime Coordinating Council new text begin , and railroad peace officers new text end ; 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) "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.

(e) "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, and shall include reserve deputies,
special deputies, mounted or unmounted patrols, and all other employees or volunteers
performing reserve officer functions. 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.

(f) "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) deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ; and
new text end

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

(g) "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 (h) "Railroad peace officer" means an individual:
new text end

new text begin (1) employed by a railroad for the purpose of aiding and supplementing 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 (2) licensed by the board; and
new text end

new text begin (3) appointed by the commissioner of public safety under section 219.995.
new text end

Sec. 4. new text begin RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.
new text end

new text begin By July 1, 2015, the board shall adopt rules under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 14,
to provide standards for the licensing of railroad peace officers, including reciprocity
provisions comparable to other full-time peace officers seeking licensure by the board.
new text end