National Night Out gets House support

The House moved to untie local government purse strings for National Night Out and similar events.

Rep. Jeff Howe

Sponsored by Rep. Jeff Howe (R-Rockville) and Sen. Andrew Mathews (R-Milaca), HF1101/SF870* was passed 131-1 Monday. Its next stop is Gov. Mark Dayton. The Senate passed the bill 64-0 March 20.

Howe called it “a very important bill at this time in our juncture because we’ve got strained relationships between our police departments and our communities.”

The bill would make it legal for counties, cities, towns and school districts to raise and spend money for events meant to “foster positive relationships between law enforcement and the community” unless another local law or ordinance prohibits such fundraising.

The events would have to be held in the jurisdiction of the local unit of government.