SF 3758

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 03/08/2022 08:32am

A bill for an act
relating to public safety; providing for appointment, licensing, and compensation
of railroad peace officers; addressing civil liability issues; requiring rulemaking;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2020, sections 626.05, subdivision 2; 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. 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. 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 liability. 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 2020, 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, peace officer of the Commerce Fraud Bureau, 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 2020, 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) 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, 2023, 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