Body cam bill, drug sentencing changes move forward

Two closely watched criminal justice measures have made big advances at the state Capitol. The Minnesota Senate voted convincingly Monday to rewrite drug sentencing laws, while the House adopted a police body camera bill setting state guidelines for their use and limitations on access to the resulting footage.

Both bills have at least one more hurdle to clear, and detractors aren't giving in yet.

Since last summer, lawmakers, corrections officials, prosecutors and others on a special task force have wrestled with the reality that Minnesota's prisons are filling up fast. Over and over they heard one of the root causes — many of the prison beds are occupied by drug-law violators.

At the same time, the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission decided it would reduce the presumptive prison sentences for many drug crimes. That guidance for judges was to take effect this August unless legislators stepped in.

Sen. Ron Latz said state legislators had to confront the issue.

"We can be stuck in the past and pretend that what we've been doing in the last 30 years that's not working is somehow going to change in the next five years (and) is going to start working. But it won't," Latz said. "Or we could change our thinking."

The St. Louis Park DFLer's bill grew out of negotiations between prosecutors, defense attorneys, corrections officials and substance abuse experts.

It would give more leniency to first-time offenders, making it more likely that they get treatment than time behind bars. Some crimes would be knocked from felonies to gross misdemeanors.

Latz' proposal also raises the amount of illegal drug possession before the most severe charges kick in.

But dealers using firearms or violence would face stiffer sentences.

The tradeoff wasn't enough to sway senators like Julie Rosen. The Vernon Center Republican says it's a mistake to back off sentences when overdose deaths are rising.

"I believe that the majority of the public wants the law enforcement and prosecutors to do more and not do less with drug dealers and deaths and drug addiction," Rosen said.

Lawmakers shared stories about friends or relatives who have battled drug abuse or lost a loved one. Some said the personal experiences led them to oppose lesser sentences. Others said they now support alternative approaches to dealing with chemical dependency.

State Sen. Jim Abeler of Anoka urged colleagues to set aside election-year concerns they'll be portrayed as soft on crime.

"I hope at the end of the day we can get this done. And I stand up as a Republican to encourage my fellow members in the House to do something about this as well," Abeler said. "The easy vote would be to vote 'no' just for fear that it would be misconstrued."

The Republican-led House has yet to vote on the drug sentence overhaul bill. State Rep.Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, is sponsoring the bill even though he's not enthusiastic about the revisions.

Cornish was busy on something else Monday. The Republican's other marquee bill this session would enact police body camera regulations as the technology spreads through Minnesota law enforcement. The House passed it after hours of debate and several failed attempts to alter the bill.

"This has been a long tough road. We've made a lot of compromises and an agreement we've had to get this bill through."

Agencies that equip officers with the wearable cameras would have to adopt policies after public input. There would be regular audits to make sure the rules are being followed.

Most footage would be off-limits to the general public unless severe force is used in an incident. Subjects of the videos would have right to obtain possibly redacted versions. Officers could view interactions they film, including prior to filing reports or as part of an investigation.

Rep. Rena Moran, DFL-St. Paul, says the bill doesn't do enough to foster trust between police and the communities they patrol.

"There's an outright cry about justice, about fairness, about accountability, about transparency and this bill does not hold transparency and it is very, very, heavy. Who is supporting this bill right now? We have the Minnesota law enforcement coalition," Moran said.

Efforts to require some level of consent before officers record in a private dwelling also were turned back.

There are six days to match it up with a different police body camera bill passed by the Senate.