For a complete look at new laws from the 2001 legislative session, including those affecting crime, the House Public Information Office has published a complete summary. Click here for New Laws 2001.

Public safety funding, criminal justice provisions
Public safety, courts, and corrections funding and policy provisions were included in two different omnibus funding laws passed during the 2001 legislative session.
The first, a $3.5 billion transportation and public safety funding law, funds public safety and a number of criminal justice functions during the 2002-03 biennium.
The law also provides a number of policy items relating to public safety.
About $534 million in general fund spending is included in the law to fund operations for the Department of Public Safety, the state court system, and other criminal justice programs. About $95 million is new money, including approximately $27 million for the continuation of the state's CriMNet criminal justice information network.
The law is sponsored by Rep. Carol Molnau (R-Chaska) and Sen. Dean Johnson (DFL-Willmar).
2001 Special Session: HF7/SF7*/CH8
The other new law containing criminal justice provisions is the $8.5 billion omnibus health, human services, and corrections funding law. That measure provides $842 million pays for corrections and other criminal justice expenditures. In addition, that law creates a felony drunken driving penalty for people convicted of four DWIs within a 10-year period.
The law is sponsored by Rep. Kevin Goodno (R-Moorhead) and Sen. Linda Berglin (DFL-Mpls).
2001 Special Session: HF3/SF4*/CH9
Specific criminal justice issues included in the laws are explained below.

Policy to combat racial profiling
A measure that addresses racial profiling was included in the omnibus public safety and transportation funding law.
The measure (HF505/SF982) , sponsored by Rep. Rich Stanek (R-Maple Grove) and Sen. Tom Neuville, defines racial profiling, requires the establishment of a statewide model policy, mandates training requirements, and provides for administrative oversight of police departments by the Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training.
It does not require mandatory collection of racial profiling data or of the badge numbers of officers involved in possible racial profiling. However, departments will be required to develop a policy and submit statistics regarding the reasons prompting traffic stops. In addition, local law enforcement agencies must report any complaints and the disposition of those complaints to the POST Board.
The law also provides about $4.3 million in funding for grants to agencies that adopt a racial profiling policy to purchase video camera equipment for patrol cars. And a toll-free line will be established by the state attorney general's office for people to call with racial profiling complaints.

Gang strike force
The public safety funding law provides a total of $1.5 million in 2002-03 for the Minnesota Gang Strike Force to provide grants to local law enforcement. The amounts are one-time appropriations.
A bill discussed during the 2001 session would have increased base funding for the gang strike force to $5.6 million a year for grants. That bill (HF1824/SF1718) was sponsored by Rep. Rich Stanek (R-Maple Grove) and Sen. Randy Kelly (DFL-St. Paul).
The strike force's base funding was not increased under the law.

Criminal information system funded
A total of $27 million was included in the omnibus public safety funding measure for the CriMNet statewide criminal justice information system.
Originally, a bill (HF260/SF38), sponsored by Rep. Rich Stanek (R-Maple Grove) and Sen. Jane Ranum (DFL-Mpls), would have provided $41.5 million to further the development of the system.
A task force recommended funding the system at $41.5 million for the 2002-03 biennium.

Auto theft prevention board
The omnibus funding law changes some provisions for the auto theft prevention board but does not eliminate it completely, as Gov. Jesse Ventura originally recommended in his budget.
The law changes how the money from the fund may be used, allows the commissioner of public safety to spend all the money in the fund no matter how much is collected, changes the criteria for auto theft prevention grants, and creates an advisory board.

Other Crime stories

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