Dear Neighbors, It’s hard to believe we’re over halfway through February. Our work continues in St. Paul. Here’s an update from the Capitol. A Plan to Solve Minnesota's Housing CrisisEvery Minnesotan deserves a safe and affordable place they can call home. The House DFL Housing Plan puts Minnesota on a course to solve our state's housing crisis with investments across the entire housing continuum, lowering the cost of housing in our state.  As I mentioned in my previous update, I am honored to be a keynote presenter and to participate in an important discussion with the Anoka County chapter of Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing (MICAH ) around affordable housing. ABC Newspapers covered the event and our conversation, which you can read here. RedistrictingBased on the results of the 2020 Census, boundaries of voting districts were redrawn as they are every decade, and this week the new maps were released, reflecting new legislative and congressional districts. You can read more in this Session Daily article and go to the Legislative Coordinating Commission website for more detailed information. No-Knock Warrants Gets a HearingToday, the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Committee, held a remote hearing on legislation that creates tougher restrictions on the use of no-knock warrants. HF 3398 prohibits the use of no-knock warrants in all but the most narrowly tailored exceptions, when a captive’s life is at risk. I'm an author of this bill, which would require all officers statewide to be trained on how to execute arrest and search warrants in ways that emphasize civilian and officer safety. By way of background, the use of no-knock warrants became common practice during the 1980s war on drugs. Over the years these raids have proven to be dangerous for both civilians and police officers alike. According to data reported in the New York Times, the use of both no-knock and knock-style raids led to nearly 100 deaths (81 civilians and 13 officers) from 2010-2016. More recently, Breonna Taylor was killed while sleeping in her bed in Kentucky in March 2020 and just days ago Amir Locke was killed while sleeping on his cousin’s couch in Minneapolis. I believe with this bill, we can keep more members of our BIPOC communities and police officers, safe. Keep in TouchPlease continue to reach out anytime at rep.connie.bernardy@house.mn or 651-296-5510 with questions or input. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you and our communities at the State Capitol. Warmly, Connie Bernardy
State Representative |