Senator Rich Draheim said the Public Safety Package that is making its way through the state House of Representatives shows just how much space and difference there is between the Republicans and the Democrats right now.
Republicans in both the House and the Senate have made law and order a top priority during this session, introducing a host of bills that are designed to help with hiring and retention of police officers, strengthen sentencing guidelines, and even review decisions by prosecuting attorneys who choose not to bring charges in a case when there is probable cause.
The House bill, while providing for hiring and retention, includes $86 million for community innovation programs in areas with the highest and fastest-growing crime rates. The money can be used to recruit officers, fund mobile crisis teams or violence interrupters. The bill would create a Public Safety Innovation Board to monitor crime trends, review research on public safety and award grants. It would allocate $15 million for one-time emergency community safety grants, provide $10 million for grants to be used on co-responder programs, such as social workers that work with law enforcement agencies on mental health calls, and it would allocate another $10 million for opiate epidemic response programs.
The bill would also allow for the creation of local civilian oversight councils to review complaints against officers and recommend discipline.
Draheim said the two parties have very different approaches to public safety and law enforcement.
“Theirs is geared more, I would say, towards community engagement, which isn’t a bad thing, but if you talk to the people in Minneapolis, they just want boots on the ground. They want officers in the police carts driving around and protecting them.”
The Senator said he is not confidant that any of the public safety bills being offered in this session will pass, because he isn’t confidant that any bill will pass in this session. He said the two parties, as well as the governor, have all agreed that replenishing the unemployment trust fund is something that needs to happen, but they can’t agree on how to do that.
“If we can’t get unemployment done, when it’s costing us $50,000 a day,” he said, “nothing will get done.”
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Senator Rich Draheim can be heard here
Lippert fears state could miss opportunity to meet its needs
Meanwhile, Representative Todd Lippert is speaking out against the Republican tax plan currently being discussed in the Senate.
Lippert said he had a meeting with members of the board of Laura Baker Services Association. LBSA is currently in the midst of a staffing crisis which is causing them to limit the number of people they can serve. Last week LBSA Executive Director Sandy Gerdes said they need to increase their wages by 30% in order to be competitive in a very tight job market. However, the vast majority of the clients they serve are funded by Medicaid, and the state reimburses organizations like Laura Baker at 60%. LBSA, along with other organizations, needs a stronger reimbursement rate to better serve their clients.
Helping the most vulnerable Minnesotans, Lippert said, is a priority within his party, and with a record $9 Billion state budget surplus, he feels there is great opportunity to do just that. However, he does not see the same commitment from his Republican colleagues.
“We have an opportunity to really address these needs, especially with the surplus that we have, and other significant needs too. But what’s disappointing is my GOP Colleagues in the Senate are talking about permanent tax cuts. We can’t meet these needs if we’re putting permanent tax cuts on the table.”
According to Lippert, Senator Jim Abeler, the chair of the Senate Human Services Reform Committee said it would cost $1 Billion to fully assist organizations like LBSA statewide.
“Now that’s a big number,” said Lippert, “and it’s a big need.”
He said what he finds so agitating, and frustrating is that his Republican colleagues are more interested in cutting taxes than they are in actually helping the Minnesotans who need it the most.
It is his feeling that the state should be addressing issues like helping direct care and long-term health care facilities or increasing the funding for education instead of watching the Northfield School District find a way to cut $4.5 million dollars out of its budget.
“We can address these problems with the surplus if we do it the right way,” he said.
“We’re really in a values struggle.”
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Representative Todd Lippert can be heard here
Rice County taking measures to increase election transparency
The Rice County Board of Commissioners has approved a measure that will increase transparency in local elections and the handling of absentee ballots.
The approval includes hiring four temporary election clerks to supplement county staff and also calls for the installation of a camera in the Elections Department conference room so members of the public can watch a live video feed as elections workers process, receive, and accept or reject absentee ballots.
The approved process is similar to those instituted in Ramsey and Olmsted counties. Those processes were challenged in court but upheld by both the Minnesota Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.
Temporary election clerks have previously supplemented county staff, but this year those job postings will be sent to the state’s four major political parties — Democratic-Farmer- Labor, Grassroots Legalize Cannabis, Legal Marijuana Now and Republican –- to help assure party balance on the four absentee ballot boards.
The camera installation will put a motion-sensing camera in the Elections Department conference room where ballots will be processed. A live feed of the proceedings will be displayed in a public viewing room in the Rice County Government Services Building.
Funding for the temporary clerks and video equipment is available in the 2022 Elections Department budget, according to Property Tax & Elections Director Denise Anderson.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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