SF 738

as introduced - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 01/26/2023 09:47am

A bill for an act
relating to public safety; requiring that peace officers be United States citizens
prior to receiving a license in the state; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, sections
626.845, subdivision 1, by adding a subdivision; 626.87, subdivision 1.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 626.845, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Powers and duties.

The board shall have the following powers and
duties:

(1) to certify postsecondary schools to provide programs of professional peace officer
education based on a set of board-approved professional peace officer education learning
objectives;

(2) to issue certificates to postsecondary schools, and to revoke certification when
necessary to maintain the objectives and purposes of sections 626.841 to 626.863;

(3) to license peace officers who have met the new text begin minimum qualifications mandated by the
statute or rule, including new text end education and experience requirements and deleted text begin passed deleted text end new text begin passing all
required new text end examinations deleted text begin as required by the board deleted text end ;

(4) to develop and administer licensing examinations based on the board's learning
objectives;

(5) to consult and cooperate with continuing education providers for the development
of in-service training programs for peace officers;

(6) to consult and cooperate with postsecondary schools for the development and
improvement of professional peace officer education;

(7) to consult and cooperate with other departments and agencies of the state and federal
government concerned with peace officer standards and training;

(8) to perform such other acts as may be necessary and appropriate to carry out the
powers and duties of sections 626.841 to 626.863;

(9) to obtain criminal conviction data for persons seeking a license to be issued or
possessing a license issued by the board. The board shall have authority to obtain criminal
conviction data to the full extent that any other law enforcement agency, as that term is
defined by state or federal law, has to obtain the data;

(10) to prepare and transmit annually to the governor a report of its activities with respect
to allocation of money appropriated to it for peace officers training, including the name of
each recipient of money for that purpose and the amount awarded; and

(11) to assist and cooperate with any political subdivision or state law enforcement
agency that employs persons licensed by the board to establish written policies as mandated
by the state pertaining to persons licensed by the board, and to enforce licensing sanctions
for failure to implement these policies.

In addition, the board may maintain data received from law enforcement agencies under
section 626.87, subdivision 5, provide the data to requesting law enforcement agencies who
are conducting background investigations, and maintain data on applicants and licensees
as part of peace officer license data. The data that may be maintained include the name of
the law enforcement agency conducting the investigation and data on the candidate provided
under section 626.87, subdivision 5, clauses (1) and (2).

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 626.845, is amended by adding a subdivision to
read:

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Citizenship required. new text end

new text begin The board may not issue a peace officer license to an
applicant who is not a citizen of the United States.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 626.87, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Background investigation required.

(a) A law enforcement agency
shall conduct a thorough background investigation on an applicant for employment as a
licensed peace officer or an applicant for a position leading to employment as a licensed
peace officer before the applicant may be employed. The background investigation must
determine at a minimum whether the candidate meets the following standards:

(1) standards established by the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and
Training; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(2) established security standards for access to state and national computerized record
and communication systems deleted text begin . deleted text end new text begin ; and
new text end

new text begin (3) is a citizen of the United States.
new text end

(b) This requirement does not prevent a law enforcement agency from establishing higher
standards for law enforcement employees if those standards are not contrary to applicable
law.