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S.F. No. 3973 - Local government aid for public safety purposes; first class cities
 
Author: Senator Roger C. Chamberlain
 
Prepared By: Bjorn E. Arneson, Senate Analyst (651/296-3812)
 
Date: March 9, 2020



 

 Section 1. First class cities; dedicated uses.

Paragraph (a) requires a first class city in the metropolitan area to dedicate a portion of its local government aid (LGA) to hire additional peace officers beyond the number of officers that were funded by the city’s 2020 budget. The requirement first applies for LGA payable to the city in 2021.

Paragraph (b) requires each city to dedicate an increasing proportion of LGA to fund new officers until that city reaches a ratio of 3 officers per 1000 population. The LGA dedication is phased in in 10% increments beginning for aids payable in 2021.

Paragraph (c) by February 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, requires each city to certify the actual amount of LGA it dedicated to hire new peace officers in the previous aids payable year. The city must certify this information to the state auditor. The state auditor determines whether the city complied with the dedication requirement under this subdivision and then notifies the commissioner of revenue whether the city complied with the requirement.

Paragraph (d) requires the commissioner of revenue to reduce LGA in a future year for a city that did not comply with the dedication requirement. The aid reduction is equal to the dollar amount by which the city fell short of the required dedication amount under paragraph (b) and is applied to the LGA aid amounts for the next payable year. (For example, if a city fell short of the dedication requirement by $1 million in 2021, that city’s 2023 LGA aid amount would be reduced by $1 million.) Any reduction must be returned to the state general fund.

 
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