2006 Minnesota Statutes

299A.63 WEED AND SEED GRANT PROGRAM.
    Subdivision 1. Establishment. A grant program is established under the administration of
the commissioner of public safety to assist local communities in their efforts to eradicate violent
crime, illegal drug activity, and illegal gang activity in targeted neighborhoods, and to revitalize
these targeted neighborhoods economically and physically.
    Subd. 2. Awarding grant. The commissioner of public safety shall act as fiscal agent for
the grant program and shall be responsible for receiving applications for grants and awarding
grants under this section. Before any grants are awarded, a committee consisting of the attorney
general, and representatives from the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, the Minnesota
Sheriffs Association, and the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, shall evaluate
the grant applications. Before grants are awarded, the commissioner shall meet and consult with
the committee concerning its evaluation of and recommendations on grant proposals. At least 50
percent of the grants awarded under this section must be awarded to the cities of Minneapolis
and St. Paul.
    Subd. 3. Grant process. (a) A city may apply for a grant under this section by submitting
an application to the commissioner of public safety on a form prescribed by the commissioner.
The application shall:
(1) identify the neighborhood within the city that has been proposed by the city's mayor as
a targeted site;
(2) describe the problems to be corrected within the targeted neighborhood and the strengths
that make the targeted neighborhood a suitable candidate for funding; and
(3) contain the city's plan for use of the grant funds. This plan must:
(i) be prepared in consultation with residents of the targeted neighborhood;
(ii) describe the specific law enforcement, community policing, prevention, intervention,
treatment, and neighborhood revitalization activities that the city intends to undertake; and
(iii) include a reporting and evaluation component.
(b) A city may apply for more than one grant under this section; however, each grant may
target only one neighborhood.
    Subd. 4. Attorney general duties. (a) The attorney general may assist cities and local law
enforcement officials in developing and implementing anticrime and neighborhood community
revitalization strategies and may assist local prosecutors in prosecuting crimes occurring in
the targeted neighborhoods that receive funding under this section. Upon request of the local
prosecuting authority, the attorney general may appear in court in those civil and criminal cases
arising as a result of this section that the attorney general deems appropriate. For the purposes of
this section, the attorney general may appear in court in nuisance actions under chapter 617, and
misdemeanor prosecutions under chapter 609.
(b) The attorney general may assist cities in developing appropriate applications to the
United States Department of Justice for federal weed and seed grants for use in conjunction with
grants awarded under this section.
History: 1996 c 408 art 2 s 7; 1997 c 239 art 8 s 11