Capitol Update 17

We are down to the last two weeks of the 2015 Legislative Session and the theme around the Capitol is
wrapping up. Not only are we finalizing budget agreements and looking to close up conference
committees, we are also getting ready to vacate the Capitol building by cleaning out our offices in
anticipation of the impending construction.
Capitol Renovation
I still receive e-mails and calls regarding the new office
building and the Capitol renovation. As someone who has
worked through a construction zone all Session, has seen
the Senate Office Building take shape across the street
and is now packing up her office, I can tell you there is no
more debate it is happening. The spring cleaning is not
all that bad; it is fun to sift through old legislation and
other memorabilia that I have collected throughout the
years.
We are preparing for the next phase of construction,
when the Capitol Renovation team will begin tearing up
the West Wing of the Capitol. This includes my office, as
well as the Senate Chamber, which will be under
renovation this summer. Obviously, this will present
difficulties in the summer as I will not have an office so
expect more in-district meetings! My staff will be
relocated and the phones and e-mail systems should still
be functioning. This is not an ideal situation, but we are
where we are and we will move forward to the best of our
ability.

Scaffolding surrounds the outer

faade of the capitol building

Conference Committee
On Wednesday of this week, the Higher Education Committees of the House and Senate had our first meeting as
a conference committee to work through the (vast) differences in the bill and come to an agreement on how
best to fund Higher Education this biennium. The first meeting is always a run-through of each bill. Our staff put
together side-by-sides that compare and contrast the two pieces of legislation and offer an overview of the
Omnibus bills. Before we can move forward with any further action, we need leadership: the Governor, the
Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker of the House to agree on global targets. Without a target, my House
counterpart and I have agreed that meeting is futile. With a week and a half left to go, I expect leadership to
break this impasse and allow legislators to prepare the final budget.

Body Cameras/License Plate Readers

The Senate had a lengthy debate on Thursday when we discussed the regulations for body cameras and license
plate readers by our Police. We were not debating whether or not to legalize these two items, they are already
legal and in use. We were discussing the storage of data that these items record and how best to maintain that
data.
With regard to the license plate readers, the Senate settled on a 90-day storage period in which the police can
keep footage. After 90 days, they are required to delete anything that they have on file. This technology is
important and often times critical for solving crimes. We saw a clear example of this in the tragic case of the
murder of Officer Scott Patrick. The police were able to track down his murderer after using this technology to
track the movements of Brian Fitch.
The body camera issue is something that we have heard a lot about in the last year. The public has demanded
greater use of these body cameras and our police forces have responded by implementing their use. However,
the collection of the recorded data is not regulated. The legislation that we debated on Thursday clarified
when data was private or public and also set guidelines for how long the police could store this data. I believe
we found the proper balance of ensuring personal privacy, while allowing data to be public when there is an
incident up for debate. I thank Senator Ron Latz for his leadership on these two, very tough issues.
I must admit that I was on the fence about both of these provisions in the days leading up to the vote. When I
find myself in this mindset on an issue regarding public safety, I rely on the expertise of our own police. The
day before the vote I received two phone calls one from Minnetonka Chief of Police, Jeff Sebenaler, and
Plymouth Chief of Police, Mike Goldstein. Senate District 44 is very lucky to have these two serving and I
appreciate them reaching out to me and letting me know that they supported both of these bills. I stood with
them on Thursday and voted in support of these measures. You can view my comments on the floor using this
link.

This weekend provides us an occasion to celebrate the human source of life, our moms, and to also take part
in a Minnesota favorite pastime fishing. Happy Mothers Day to each and every Mother and good fishing for
all who have the opportunity!