Yesterday the Minnesota Senate passed the supplemental budget for Judiciary and Public Safety needs, after nearly six and half hours of debate, and more than a dozen accepted amendments. Republicans were able to get a number of bipartisan amendments added onto the bill, making this bill a true bipartisan effort.

“This bill reflects the good work we can get done for Minnesota when we work together in a bipartisan way,” said Senator Karin Housley (R-Stillwater). “I’m incredibly glad to see funding in this bill allocated to assist the Department of Corrections. Year after year, prisons like Stillwater and Oak Park Heights are struggling to fund salaries and overtime costs for their corrections officers. Unfortunately the bill only allocates one-time funding to temporarily assist them, but I’m hopeful that taking this step will allow us to permanently address the funding shortfall in the future.”

Senate Republicans offered an amendment to prioritize funding for court operations, fund the Department of Corrections staffing budget, and provide more for crime victim services. A properly funded court and corrections system ensures timely trials and safer prisons. Instead, this bill stretched funding for jury reimbursements over three years, all but ensuring a fiscal cliff. It also ignores the overtime currently required to fully staff the state’s prisons, digging a deeper financial hole. The amendment also included $10 million for victim services, in line with Gov. Walz’s proposal from this year. This amendment was defeated on party line vote.

However, Republicans voted for several key amendments aimed at targeting unlawful behaviors and increasing penalties:

• Increase penalties for swatting calls on elected officials
• Make law enforcement body camera footage publicly available if the subject is an elected official
• Increase penalties on highway demonstrations
• Require the State Patrol to conduct a comprehensive study for the swift and safe removal of highway protests
• Close a loophole and create a specific crime of fleeing police in a car
• Create a crime of knowingly being in a stolen vehicle
• Allows for charges of attempted sexual exploitation

“Senate Republicans offered a number of commonsense amendments that truly made this bill better in numerous ways. Minnesotans deserves to feel safe in their homes and communities, and thanks to the bipartisan work done on the floor, this bill includes many amendments that will make Minnesota safer for everyone,” said Housley.