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Public Safety Aid Reporting Bill Heard in Senate Taxes Committee
The bill would require cities to report how they spent their public safety aid.
On March 26, the Senate Taxes Committee heard SF 4186 (Sen. Heather Gustafson, DFL-Vadnais Heights), which would require cities to report how they spent their public safety aid. The bill was laid over for possible inclusion in an omnibus tax bill.
League staff have been in communication with the bill authors about the public safety aid survey, which the League made available to members on March 4 at the request of lawmakers, and will continue to monitor this legislation.
The 2023 omnibus tax bill authorized $300 million in public safety aid, $210 million of which was distributed to cities. The authorizing language did not include any reporting requirements. This bill would require cities to report exactly how they spent this state aid to the Department of Public Safety by Jan. 15, 2025. The form and manner of the reporting would be determined by the Department of Public Safety.
What’s in the bill?
Sen. Bill Weber (R-Luverne) proposed an amendment to the bill that would exempt cities under 2,500 population from the reporting requirement. The amendment was not adopted, though the Senate Taxes Committee Chair Sen. Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope) said it would remain under consideration for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill language, which will be released in late April.
Companion bill status
On March 19, the House companion bill HF 4370 (Rep. Aisha Gomez, DFL-Minneapolis), was heard in the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee. That committee approved the bill on a voice vote, sending it to the House Taxes Committee, where it has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.