Minnesota Session Laws - 1997, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 149-H.F.No. 282 
                  An act relating to the metropolitan council; providing 
                  for appointment, discharge, and discipline of 
                  metropolitan transit police peace officers; providing 
                  an exception; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, 
                  sections 473.125; 473.407, subdivision 4, and by 
                  adding a subdivision; and 626.84, subdivision 1. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 473.125, is 
        amended to read: 
           473.125 [REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR.] 
           The metropolitan council shall appoint a regional 
        administrator to serve at the council's pleasure as the 
        principal administrative officer for the metropolitan council.  
        The regional administrator shall organize the work of the 
        council staff.  The regional administrator shall appoint on the 
        basis of merit and fitness, and discipline and discharge all 
        employees in accordance with the council's personnel policy, 
        except (1) the performance and budget analysts provided for in 
        section 473.123, subdivision 7, (2) the general counsel, as 
        provided in section 473.123, subdivision 8, (3) employees of the 
        offices of wastewater services and transit operations, who are 
        appointed, disciplined, and discharged in accordance with 
        council personnel policies by their respective operations 
        managers, and (4) as provided in Laws 1994, chapter 628, 
        articles 2, sections 3 and 4 metropolitan transit police 
        officers.  The regional administrator must ensure that all 
        policy decisions of the council are carried out.  The regional 
        administrator shall attend meetings of the council and may take 
        part in discussions but may not vote.  The regional 
        administrator shall recommend to the council for adoption 
        measures deemed necessary for efficient administration of the 
        council, keep the council fully apprised of the financial 
        condition of the council, and prepare and submit an annual 
        budget to the council for approval.  The regional administrator 
        shall prepare and submit for approval by the council an 
        administrative code organizing and codifying the policies of the 
        council, and perform other duties as prescribed by the council.  
        The regional administrator may be chosen from among the citizens 
        of the nation at large, and shall be selected on the basis of 
        training and experience in public administration. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 473.407, 
        subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 4.  [CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.] The council 
        regional administrator shall appoint a peace officer employed 
        full time to be the chief law enforcement officer and to be 
        responsible for the management of the law enforcement agency 
        metropolitan transit police.  The person chief law enforcement 
        officer shall possess the necessary police and management 
        experience and have the title of chief of metropolitan transit 
        police services to manage a law enforcement agency.  The chief 
        law enforcement officer may appoint, discipline, and discharge 
        all transit police personnel.  All other police management 
        managerial and supervisory personnel must be employed full-time 
        by the council employees of the metropolitan transit police.  
        Supervisory personnel must be on duty and available any time 
        transit police are on duty.  The council chief law enforcement 
        officer may not hire part-time peace officers as defined in 
        section 626.84, subdivision 1, paragraph (f), except that 
        the council chief may appoint peace officers to work on a 
        part-time basis not to exceed 30 full-time equivalents.  A 
        part-time officer must maintain an active peace officer license 
        with the officer's full-time law enforcement employer. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 473.407, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 4a.  [EXCEPTION.] Subdivision 4 does not apply to 
        part-time officers employed by the metropolitan council transit 
        police prior to January 1, 1998, who were full-time employees of 
        another police department upon the date the officer was hired by 
        the metropolitan council transit police and who subsequently 
        voluntarily separated from the full-time position before January 
        1, 1998. 
           Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, 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 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 gambling enforcement, and state conservation 
        officers, and metropolitan transit police officers. 
           (d) "Constable" has the meaning assigned to it in section 
        367.40. 
           (e) "Deputy constable" has the meaning assigned to it in 
        section 367.40. 
           (f) "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.  The limitation on the 
        average number of hours in which the services of a part-time 
        peace officer may be utilized shall not apply to a part-time 
        peace officer who has formally notified the board pursuant to 
        rules adopted by the board of the part-time peace officer's 
        intention to pursue the specialized training for part-time peace 
        officers who desire to become peace officers pursuant to 
        sections 626.843, subdivision 1, clause (g), and 626.845, 
        subdivision 1, clause (g).  
           (g) "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.  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.  
           (h) "Law enforcement agency" means 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. 
           (i) "Professional peace officer education" means a 
        post-secondary 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. 
           Sec. 5.  [APPLICATION.] 
           Sections 1 to 4 apply in the counties of Anoka, Carver, 
        Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington. 
           Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATES.] 
           Sections 1, 2, 4, and 5 are effective the day after their 
        final enactment.  Section 3 is effective January 1, 1998. 
           Presented to the governor May 14, 1997 
           Signed by the governor May 15, 1997, 3:22 p.m.