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State Representative Tony Cornish
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4240
For more information contact: Jason Wenisch 651-296-2317
NEWS RELEASE
REP. CORNISH HELPS APPROVE MINNESOTA HOUSE PUBLIC SAFETY BILL
ST. PAUL – By a vote of 96 to 34, the Minnesota House of Representatives has approved a comprehensive proposal that fights crime and funds state public safety needs. State Representative Tony Cornish (R-Good Thunder) supported the measure.
“As with any comprehensive legislation, there will always be something you’d rather not see included,” Cornish said. “But in this public safety proposal, the positives far outweigh the negatives and I was happy to support it.”
Cornish said the bill strengthens crime prevention in several areas, such as tightening the law to more easily convict predators who prey on children over the Internet, and allowing innocent persons who have their identities stolen to have their personal information removed from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension database.
Cornish also defended current driving while intoxicated penalties. Currently there is a lifetime no alcohol at any time” restriction after three drunken driving offenses. During the debate, one lawmaker offered an amendment stating that if a person with three drunken driving offenses was pulled over having an alcohol level of .02 or less, that it wouldn’t count and would not go on the person’s record. Cornish spoke against the proposal and it was defeated.
The $1.89 billion also provides funding to public safety divisions within Minnesota government, like the Department of Corrections, Minnesota courts, and the Department of Public Safety.
Three bills chief-authored by Rep. Cornish were also included in the comprehensive plan. The first adds legislators as nonvoting members of the Gang and Drug Oversight Council and the Financial Crimes Oversight Council. Another provides funding to the Peace Officers Standards and Training Board to develop training courses for officers in dealing with no-contact orders in domestic violence cases. The final bill implements a uniform statewide form for domestic abuse no-contact orders, requiring a photograph of the subject of the order and the most pertinent information on the subject collected under the CriMNet system.
“The goal of this bill is to give law enforcement the resources they need to effectively do their jobs, and to strengthen the penalties against those who commit crime,” Cornish said. “I believe we made progress on both of those fronts by approving the omnibus public safety bill.”
Cornish said a joint House/Senate conference committee will now craft a final proposal that can be passed by both bodies. Once that happens, the compromise public safety bill will be sent to Governor Pawlenty for his signature.
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