Criminal Justice Bill
Yesterday, we voted on a bill combining many of the DFL's legislative provisions addressing criminal justice, police reform, and other issues. While there are some provisions of this bill that we can all agree on, like banning chokeholds, increasing use of force reporting, and allowing police departments to fire officers who violate department policies, there are other provisions that are very controversial, or simply don't belong in a bill dealing with police reform.
For example, the bill included a provision to restore voting rights for felons upon release from prison, instead of after they finish out the rest of their sentence. This provision has been introduced for years as an elections bill, and does not belong in a public safety bill. The bill also included provisions that could deny officers due process, and would require that nonpartisan County Attorneys relinquish prosecution of officer-involved death cases to the partisan Attorney General.
CARES Act Funding for Local Governments
The CARES Act local government funding bill allocates federal dollars to be used for COVID-19 relief for local governments across the state. Under this bill, Anoka County is slated to receive over $43 million, Andover would get almost $2.5 million, and Coon Rapids would receive $4.8 million.
Our cities and counties are in desperate need of this funding, which could help fund COVID-19 testing, COVID-19 response for hospitals, PPE for front-line workers, and help our local governments deal with shortfalls due to the COVID-19 shutdown.
All four caucuses agreed to the language of the bill, and it was passed with overwhelming support by the Senate. Unfortunately, House Democrats refuse to pass the agreed-upon bill, instead loading it up with spending that will drive us even deeper into our already large budget deficit. Our communities can't wait any longer for this funding.
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