HF 1354

as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 04/06/2021 12:55pm

A bill for an act
relating to public safety; appropriating money for Minnesota SafeStreets.

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

Section 1. APPROPRIATION; MINNESOTA SAFESTREETS.

(a) $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2022 and $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2023 are appropriated
from the general fund to the commissioner of public safety for grants to implement the
Minnesota SafeStreets program. $500,000 of this appropriation is for a grant to YMCA of
the North to develop and implement a program that meets the requirements of this section.
$1,500,000 of this appropriation is for grants administered by the Office of Justice Programs
to eligible organizations whose applications demonstrate the ability to develop and implement
programs that meet the requirements of this section.

(b) SafeStreets programs shall work with other organizations and persons in the
community to develop community-based responses to violence that:

(1) provide targeted interventions to prevent the escalation of violence after the occurrence
of serious incidents, such as a shooting, murder, or other violent crime;

(2) de-escalate violence with the use of community-based interventions designed to
prevent conflict from becoming violent;

(3) provide an alternative to adjudication through a restorative justice model for persons
who commit lower level offenses; and

(4) develop working relationships with community providers to enable young people to
care for themselves and their families in healthy and empowered ways.

(c) Community-based responses addressing acts of violence in the community must use
and adapt critical incident response methods which have been identified as best practices
in the field. Those best practices include violence prevention, situational de-escalation,
mitigation of trauma, and restorative justice.

(d) Community-based responses must culminate in a collective action plan which, at a
minimum, includes the following:

(1) increased educational opportunities;

(2) meaningful workforce opportunities;

(3) leadership-based entrepreneurial and social enterprise opportunities;

(4) expanded mental health and chemical health services; and

(5) access to critically needed human and social services.