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Omnibus bill proposed

Published (4/3/2009)
By Mike Cook
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A House committee has approved changes to predatory offenders, crime victims, courts, licensing of drivers, public safety and corrections.

Sponsored by Rep. Debra Hilstrom (DFL-Brooklyn Center), HF1301 was approved, as amended, March 26 by the House Public Safety Policy and Oversight Committee. The omnibus public safety policy bill, which contains nearly three-dozen bills, awaits action by the full House.

The bill takes aim at registered predatory offenders by prohibiting those on intensive supervised release from accessing or using instant messaging, chat room or social networking Web sites that permit minors to participate.

“It also clarifies that the registration period for a predatory offender restarts if they are arrested for a new offense or determined to have violated probation or parole,” Hilstrom said.

Three provisions would assist crime victims.

Under the bill, a prosecutor would be required to provide victims of criminal sexual conduct with information on civil protection orders. The statute already applies to domestic assault and harassment victims. It also increases from 12 to 24 hours the time an officer may arrest a person who the officer has probable cause to believe committed domestic abuse and expands the ability of judicial districts to create domestic fatality review teams.

A potential highlight of the courts section is the establishment of criteria to determine public defender eligibility based on the person’s income and severity of the charge.

For a misdemeanor, a defendant could receive the aid of a public defender if their annual income does not exceed 150 percent of federal poverty guidelines. The percentages increase to 175 percent for a gross misdemeanor and 200 percent for a felony. Under current law, a person or their dependent residing in the same household who receives “means-tested government benefits” is eligible for a public defender.

“We want to make certain we give lawyers for free to those who really can’t afford it, and those that can afford it pay,” Hilstrom said.

Included in the public safety and corrections portion of the bill is:

• a prohibition on retailers from selling any toy designed primarily for use by children under age 12 that has been recalled for safety related reasons;

• officers could use forcible entry into a home to return an escaped juvenile to custody;

• a public employer would be barred from considering the criminal history of an employment applicant until the applicant has been selected for an interview;

• creation of a gross misdemeanor penalty for a person possessing a device or substance used to enhance an animal’s ability to fight;

• a clarification that inmates convicted of assaulting a correctional officer must serve their additional sentence consecutively, not concurrently; and

• an amending of the trespass law to include entering any public or private area lawfully cordoned off by a peace officer.

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