<div class="xtend">


<div class="xtend_ce"><a id="pl.1.1"></a> 1.1 A bill for an act<br />

</div><a id="pl.1.2"></a> 1.2 relating to public safety; establishing penalty for heads of law enforcement <br />

<a id="pl.1.3"></a> 1.3 agencies who allow employees and agents who are nonlicensed peace officers to <br />
<a id="pl.1.4"></a> 1.4 carry a firearm;amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 626.84, subdivision <br />
<a id="pl.1.5"></a> 1.5 2.<br />
<a id="pl.1.6"></a> 1.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:<br />
<br />

<a id="bill.0.1.0"></a><a id="pl.1.7"></a> 1.7 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 626.84, subdivision 2, is amended to read:<br />
<a id="pl.1.8"></a> 1.8 Subd. 2. <b>Scope.</b> <u>(a) </u>Notwithstanding sections
<statute_ref>12.03, subdivision 4</statute_ref>,
<statute_ref>12.25</statute_ref>, or any <br />
<a id="pl.1.9"></a> 1.9 other law to the contrary, no individual employed or acting as an agent of any political <br />

<a id="pl.1.10"></a> 1.10 subdivision shall be authorized to carry a firearm when on duty unless the individual <br />
<a id="pl.1.11"></a> 1.11 has been licensed under sections
<statute_ref>626.84</statute_ref> to
<statute_ref>626.863</statute_ref>. Nothing herein shall be construed <br />
<a id="pl.1.12"></a> 1.12 as requiring licensure of a security guard as that term is defined in section
<statute_ref>626.88, <br />

<a id="pl.1.13"></a> 1.13 subdivision 1
</statute_ref>, paragraph (c). <br />
<a id="pl.1.14"></a> 1.14 <u>(b) The board shall suspend for a minimum of 30 days the license of the head of a </u><br />
<a id="pl.1.15"></a> 1.15 <u>law enforcement agency who allows an unlicensed employee or agent of the agency to </u><br />
<a id="pl.1.16"></a> 1.16 <u>carry a firearm while on duty. The board shall investigate violations of this subdivision </u><br />

<a id="pl.1.17"></a> 1.17 <u>following the procedures set forth in section 214.10, except that the board shall not direct </u><br />
<a id="pl.1.18"></a> 1.18 <u>the appropriate law enforcement agency, as defined in section 214.10, subdivision 13, to </u><br />
<a id="pl.1.19"></a> 1.19 <u>conduct the initial investigation as required under section 214.10, subdivision 10. The </u><br />
<a id="pl.1.20"></a> 1.20 <u>board shall perform all phases of investigations of violations of this subdivision.</u><br />
<a id="pl.1.21"></a> 1.21 <u><b>EFFECTIVE DATE.</b></u><u>This section is effective August 1, 2009, and applies to </u><br />

<a id="pl.1.22"></a> 1.22 <u>violations committed on or after that date.</u><br />

</div>

1.9 other law to the contrary, no individual employed or acting as an agent of any political

1.10 subdivision shall be authorized to carry a firearm when on duty unless the individual

This is an overreaching bill, and needs to be fought.

The headline to this thread is a bit misleading, the bill is punish police chiefs/sheriffs who allow people employed by them who are not licensed peace officers carry firearms, like say the chief's secretary.

So this doesn't affect those of us who are not the chief law enforcement officer for a public safety agency. It also appears to be a solution in search of a problem, but then I'm not a member of the union who I suspect got this bill introduced.

I disagree. This bill will restrict public employees from carrying. What if the secretary in your example has a P2C under 624.714?

629.30 ARRESTS; BY WHOM MADE; AIDING OFFICER.
Subdivision 1.Definition.

Arrest means taking a person into custody that the person may be held to answer for a public offense. "Arrest" includes actually restraining a person or taking into custody a person who submits.
Subd. 2.Who may arrest.

An arrest may be made:

(1) by a peace officer under a warrant;

(2) by a peace officer without a warrant;

(3) by an officer in the United States Customs and Border Protection or the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services without a warrant;

(4) by a private person.

A private person shall aid a peace officer in executing a warrant when requested to do so by the officer.
History:

(10566) RL s 5225; 1981 c 108 s 1; 1985 c 265 art 10 s 1; 2007 c 13 art 1 s 25

I asked Paymar anyhow to see what he thinks.

I discussed this with staff. As you know, citizen arrests are authorized pursuant to section 629.37 under the following circumstances:

629.37 WHEN PRIVATE PERSON MAY MAKE ARREST.
A private person may arrest another:

(1) for a public offense committed or attempted in the arresting person's presence;

(2) when the person arrested has committed a felony, although not in the arresting person's presence; or

(3) when a felony has in fact been committed, and the arresting person has reasonable cause for believing the person arrested to have committed it.

My bill deals with two situations. One, the case where a person impersonates an officer. That is not the case in valid citizen arrests. Two, the case were a person performs or attempts to perform an act that is reserved to law enforcement. As you can see from section 629.37, arresting a person is not "reserved" to law enforcement as the statute permits citizens to make arrests in certain cases. It should also be noted that if there were a conflict between the statute that I am amending (609.863) and the right to make a citizen's arrest, that conflict would have been ongoing for years as the language that has been on the books for years.

Let me know if you still have questions.

Best,

Rep Michael Paymar

Wouldn't this mean that any governmental worker (city, county, state) be immediately restricted from carrying while on duty?