St. Paul, MN – Yesterday, the Minnesota House passed the compromise Public Safety and Judiciary budget bill. In addition to funding the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Human Rights, and the judicial branch, the legislation included several criminal justice and police accountability reforms for which House DFLers have been advocating all session. Also included in the bill is legislation authored by State Representative Dan Wolgamott (DFL - St. Cloud) that would make doxing a member of law enforcement a misdemeanor.
“I’m proud to stand up for police officers in St. Cloud by passing my legislation making it a crime to publicize the home address of law enforcement personnel or their family members without their consent,” Wolgamott said. “Peaceful protests are an important way to exercise one’s first amendment rights, but doing so outside of the private homes of law enforcement and their families is too far. Police officers and their families deserve a right to privacy, and they should be focused on doing their jobs to keep our community safe, not worrying about the safety and security of their loved ones.”
The legislation makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly and without consent share the home address of a peace officer, and a gross misdemeanor if the subsequent doxing results in bodily harm to a peace officer, their family, or a member of their household. Rep. Wolgamott also authored a provision in the bill that funds a grant program to provide a curriculum and corporate mentors for inmates, helping them to find meaningful employment.
The bill also enacted new regulations on no-knock warrants, modifications to the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board’s police misconduct database to create an early warning system to keep bad officers off the streets, and Travis’s Law, which requires every law enforcement agency, when responding to a mental health crisis call, to include a referral to mental health crisis teams when one is available. The budget also includes Matthew’s Law, which requires departments to have a model policy on confidential informants, the Hardel Sherrell Act, which includes jail safety reforms, and funding for community organizations working to prevent crime and perform youth outreach.
A spreadsheet listing budget appropriations is available here. Video of the House Floor session will be published on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel.