Dear Neighbors,
The Minnesota Legislature went into a special session on June 12, 2020 with the hopes of passing some much needed legislation. The House DFL, and the POCI caucus in particular have been hard at work creating and passing the legislation you all have called for. We are committed to as many special sessions as it takes to bring about the change our state needs today.
Minnesota Police Accountability Act of 2020
The House debated several police reform bills for several hours last night until early this morning. The House DFL recognizes that we need massive systemic reform if we are to ever have a public safety system that makes all Minneostans safer. Our Republican colleagues refused to join us in calling for these changes and are unwilling to listen to our perspective. So while these bills have passed the House and are on their way to the Senate, it is doubtful that they will listen to our calls for justice. We have laid the groundwork and can envision the Minnesota that we need, and it is a fight we will continue, but this may be a problem that will have to wait until November to be solved. You can watch me speak on this issue here. Here is the full list of reforms we passed today:
Reclaiming Community Oversight
Putting power into the hands of the people and neighborhoods that police officers are sworn to serve and protect.
- Retroactive Repeal of Statutes of Limitations (Vang)
- Warrior Training Prohibited (Richardson)
- Choke Hold Ban (Moran)
- Duty to Intercede (Becker-Finn)
- Police Residency Reform (Hassan)
- Data Collection and Regulatory Reform/etc. (Mariani)
- Arbitration Reform (Her)
- Law Enforcement Oversight Council Reform (Gomez)
Reforming Accountability
Restoring confidence and trust in the systems that are meant to provide justice for all Minnesotans.
- Use of Force Reform (Moran)
- Prosecutorial Reform (Becker-Finn)
- Investigatory Reform (Mariani)
- Cash Bail Reform (Noor)
Re-Imagining Public Safety
Ending the unacceptable culture that is responsible for the murder of George Floyd and far too many others who look like him.
- Public Safety Peer Counseling Debriefing (Noor)
- Police Officer Critical Incident Review (Kunesh-Podein)
- Community Led Public Safety (Gomez)
- Mental Health Training (Richardson)
- Autism Training (Richardson)
- Restore the Vote (Moran)
House DFL PROMISE ACT
We reconvened session to pass the PROMISE Act to provide immediate assistance in rebuilding our neighborhoods in an equitable and community-led manner. I see and share the pain many of us face every day as we confront the damage our community has sustained. We need to take action now and support our communities before it is too late. You can watch our press conference on this legislation here, and our debate on the issue when it is uploaded, here. The legislation would:
- Create a special panel to review cases and provide direct compensation to impacted individuals.
- Partner with cities and community organizations to create economic relief programs for impacted businesses and organizations.
- Give local units of government flexibility and tools to prevent gentrification.
- Direct the Minnesota Department of Commerce to assist business owners, and require insurance companies to notify the department of any rejected claims.
- Help with the rising cost of leases for eligible residential and commercial properties.
- Eliminate the sales tax on the purchase of construction materials used to rebuild damaged or destroyed properties.
- Provide property and sales tax cuts for eligible properties.
- Establish a “Metropolitan Area Redevelopment Corporation” to create a long-term plan for equity-driven redevelopment and transformation
Keep in touch
If you have friends, neighbors, or co-workers who might be interested in subscribing to this newsletter, they can do so here, and follow me on Facebook here. I’m grateful for the honor of serving you and our community. Please, now more than ever, feel free to reach out to my office.
Rep. Hodan Hassan,
531 State Office Building
(651) 296-0294
www.house.leg.state.mn.us/62A