MN House Tables Measure For $35M Fund For Chauvin Trial Security

By Ricardo Lopez, Minnesota Reformer

February 15, 2021

In a major setback for DFL Gov. Tim Walz and House Democratic leadership, the Minnesota House tabled a bill on Monday to create a $35 million fund to pay for security during the high-profile murder trial of ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

The Legislature had been poised to debate and vote on two competing proposals on how to pay for law enforcement costs during the trial.

Senate Republicans voted 35-to-32 on a bill cutting local government aid that would ordinarily go to Minneapolis and divert it to pay for other law enforcement agencies to help during the trial.

Walz has proposed a $35 million plan that would use state money to reimburse other police agencies that help out in Minneapolis. The House had intended to debate their measure Monday afternoon.

The impasse means that just weeks before the scheduled start of the trial, Walz is left without legislative backing for a plan to prevent civic unrest during the trial or in the wake of a verdict.
The defection of some House DFL members, including some from Minneapolis, jeopardized the bill’s prospects. Other DFLers who had expressed reservations previously included rural members like Reps. Paul Marquart of Dilworth and Gene Pelowski of Winona.

Shortly after the House came into session, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, DFL-Golden Valley, made a motion to table the bill. In his remarks from the floor, he blamed Senate Republicans for the passage of their bill, complicating a deal on how to pay for security.

In remarks to reporters, House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, blamed her Republican colleagues.

“The reason the bill was tabled today was because we did not have a single GOP vote,” she said.
Pressed on whether the lack of DFL votes sank the bill Monday, she said: “That’s right and we did not have 68 votes on the DFL side.”

Winkler bristled at the notion that Minneapolis DFL legislators were to blame:

“A storyline that says that concerns about this bill only come from particular parts of the state or particular members of one party is not accurate,” he said. “There are concerns about this bill from all corners.”

The divisions illustrated the complex dynamics that threaten to shape or scuttle a potential bipartisan agreement on how the state should prepare for the high-profile murder trial, nearly a year after large protests, riots, arson and looting caused millions of dollars in damage to public and private property throughout the Twin Cities metro.

Some Minneapolis lawmakers — especially from the People of Color Indigenous Caucus — said the $35 million fund is a giveaway to law enforcement that fails to hold police accountable for what they called an overly aggressive and antagonistic response to protests last summer.

Moreover, they expressed frustration over what they called an abandonment of the city during the widespread acts of arson and looting.

In an interview, state Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul, confirmed the divisions among his DFL colleagues. He said he is dedicated to seeing policing reforms enacted, along with the creation of the governor’s $35 million State Aid for Emergencies (“SAFE”) account.

“I don’t think there’s a single legislator who’s 100% confident about supporting the SAFE Act,” he said. But lawmakers, he said, are weighing any reservations they have against the consequences of not being prepared for the Chauvin trial.

Chauvin has been charged in the May 25 death of George Floyd after bystander video captured him kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can't or won't tell.