This week 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.

“Though I’m glad Senate Democrats were willing to hear our concerns and were willing to accept many of our commonsense amendments, this bill still needed a lot of work before it came to the floor for a final vote,” said Senator Jeff Howe (R-Rockville). “One particular area I take issue with is the fact that much of the funding in this bill is one-time appropriations for projects that need ongoing funding. Our judicial branch and the Department of Corrections are facing a budget shortfall, and the funding in this bill means they will face a massive financial cliff in coming years. Democrats spent the entire surplus last year, raised taxes by nearly $10 billion, and failed to address these areas that needed immediate attention.”

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.

Sen. Howe successfully offered three amendments that were adopted onto the bill. The first amendment requires DPS to do a report on the increased highway blocking by protestors, which have created unsafe circumstances for many. The second amendment set penalties for using a car that was knowingly stolen. Though there are penalties for stealing a car, there is no clear law regarding using a car that a person knows was stolen. The final amendment was a technical amendment.

“A few years ago, we had a protest that shut down access to one of the terminals at the airport. My daughter was flying into the cities that day, and we saw firsthand the turmoil and destruction these protests can cause. We’ve seen similar safety issues with protests that block freeways. It’s commonsense to address this issue before more people get hurt, and I’m happy that this measure had bipartisan support,” finished Howe.

Republicans voted for additional key amendments aimed at targeting unlawful behaviors and increasing penalties:

• Increase penalties for swatting calls on elected officials, judges, law enforcement officers, and correction officers
• 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 conducta 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
• Allow charges of attempted sexual exploitation

Democrats last year passed a “Get Out of Jail Free” public safety bill that gave early release to 92% of the prison population and had many vocal critics from law enforcement and victims. The adoption of two amendments in particular indicate the Democrats may have overreached with last year’s bill. Several Democrats voted with Republicans to remove those convicted of human trafficking, criminal sexual conduct, manslaughter, or murder from early release through the Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act.