11 Mar 2024

MN Senate advances school resource officers bill, but more work remains

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A bill aimed at clarifying the kinds of force police can use in public schools passed the Minnesota Senate on Monday, but will still need a little more work before it reaches the governor’s desk.

Members of the Senate voted 57-9 to approve the bill, which is designed to address what law enforcement said was a confusing 2023 policy restricting the situations where officers can hold students face-down.

More than 40 agencies suspended their school resource officer programs last year in response to a 2023 law. Most agencies returned after Attorney General Keith Ellison issued guidance that addressed most of their concerns, but it remains one of the top issues in this legislative session.

The bill moving forward in the Legislature clarifies that police can use prone restraints in situations where physical danger warrants doing so. It directs the state’s Peace Officers Standards and Training Board to create a new set of standards for school resource officers with the input of schools and community organizations, and also prohibits school resource officers from administering school discipline.

“It provides clarity for our school resource officers regarding their role in the school and how they can best support our students,” said bill sponsor Sen. Bonnie Westlin, DFL-Plymouth. “This is a child-focused, child-centered approach to SROs within our schools and promotes a positive learning environment for all students.”

Senate GOP amendment

House Republicans joined their DFL colleagues to pass the bill last week, and while the Senate bill also had broad bipartisan support Monday, the process in that chamber was not as smooth.

Senate Republicans successfully amended the SROs bill to include the destruction of property as a justification for police to use force. And before that amendment, they tried to scrap the bill altogether and simply repeal the SROs law from last year.

“I think going back, eliminating what happened last year is the best repair but this is an improvement,” said Sen. John Jasinski, R-Faribault. “We can not take the tools away from law enforcement to keep our citizens safe.”

Since the bill was changed in the Senate to include the destruction of property factor, there’ll be more work to do before it can get to Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gov. Tim Walz, who has said he will sign it when it reaches his desk.

The Senate will have to come together for a conference committee with the House to reconcile the difference between the bills.

Debate on SROs

Backers of this year’s SRO bill say letting police hold students face down when the situation demands helps police keep schools safe. But opponents say there’s no circumstance where officers should use prone holds, which they say are excessively dangerous as students may not be able to communicate distress.

Police groups such as the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association and the Minnesota Peace And Police Officers Association back the bill. Activist groups like the Solutions Not Suspensions Coalition remain opposed, as they don’t want a rollback of restrictions on face-down restraints.

Opponents of the bill and sympathetic DFL lawmakers have put Democrats in a position where they’ve needed GOP votes to get a bill passed. As a result, the bill has become more amicable to the interests of law enforcement.

All the no votes so far have been a handful of DFL lawmakers, including Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, who said she was “deeply uncomfortable” with the bill, which she said did not have sufficient input from disability groups and others with concerns about police force on students in schools.

“This will open people up to far more harm, particularly children in schools,” she said Monday during Senate floor debate.

Issue since last August

Republicans called for a special legislative session last fall to pass a bill to address the SROs issue, and they’ve criticized their DFL colleagues for not acting on the issue sooner. The issue first came to light in August 2023 as students prepared to return to school.

The bill could have been on its way to the governor’s desk Monday, though now there’ll be more work to do. Sen. Zach Duckworth, a Lakeville Republican who has taken the lead on the issue for his party in the Senate, says the change is necessary to make it clear police can use prone restraints in more situations.

Asked if the amendments and added steps were justified given the GOP’s complaints of how long it is taking to get a bill passed, Duckworth said there wouldn’t have been action if Republicans didn’t push on the issue in the first place.

“We can take an additional day or two to get a final product that protects our teachers kids and schools,” he said.

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11 Mar 2024

St. Paul man who threatened to kill woman after attending domestic assault class gets 5-year prison sentence

by | posted in: News | 0

A St. Paul man with a decade-long history of domestic violence-related convictions was sentenced to five years in prison Monday after charges say he ordered his son to get an AR-15 rifle, threatened to shoot a woman and himself in front of six kids and then fired a round into a living room wall.

Greg Vang, 37, was on probation for a prior domestic assault conviction at the time of the June incident, which began shortly after he arrived at the family’s East Side home following a domestic abuse class, the charges say. He surrendered after a standoff with SWAT officers.

Greg Vang (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Vang reached a plea agreement with the Ramsey County attorney’s office in December, admitting to being in possession of a firearm after conviction of a crime of violence. Two other charges filed in connection with the case were dismissed at sentencing: second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, and possessing a firearm with an altered serial number.

Judge DeAnne Hilgers denied Vang’s request for a downward departure to probation and sentenced him to the five-year prison term, which was the mandatory minimum on the charge.

Hour-long standoff

Officers responded to a shots-fired call at the home in the 900 block of Sims Avenue about 5:15 p.m. June 19, 2023.

A woman was reluctant to speak to officers, who learned later that the suspect, identified as Vang, threatened to harm her if she talked to police, according to the criminal complaint. She said he got home angry after attending a domestic abuse class for a prior incident between the two of them. He started breaking things in the living room, then told his 10-year-old son to get his AR-15 rifle from upstairs.

Once Vang had the rifle, he pointed it at the woman and said, “I’m going to kill us in front of the kids” and “I’m going to kill you if you call the police,” the complaint says. Vang broke her phone so she couldn’t call the police, and blamed her for him going to jail.

Vang then shot one round into the living room wall, while the children — between the ages of 13 years to one-month old — were in the room with him.

Officers spoke to Vang while he barricaded himself in the garage for more than an hour, during which time he said he would not come out and would rather die, the complaint says. He was eventually taken into custody by the SWAT team. An AR-15 rifle with no serial number was found hidden in the garage.

A search of the home turned up a handgun in a bedroom, a gun scope, gun magazines and a large amount of ammunition.

Officers found a spent casing in the living room and “fresh” bullet holes in the garage.

In an interview with police, Vang said he got upset when the woman looked through his phone. He admitted the guns in the home belonged to him, but denied handling one in the house, the complaint says. He claimed the loud sound came from him throwing an ammo case.

Court records show Vang was convicted of misdemeanor domestic assault in 2014, felony domestic assault, felony terroristic threats and felony drug possession in 2017, felony domestic assault in 2019, felony threats of violence in 2021 and gross misdemeanor domestic assault last year.

Vang was convicted of violating a domestic abuse no-contact order in 2014 and 2015 and a domestic abuse order for protection in 2016.

‘Risk to public safety’

Vang’s public defender, Tyler Dehaven, told Hilgers on Monday that the latest “series of events” has been “something of a wake-up call for Vang in terms of an opportunity for him to really turn things around.”

Vang has recently completed his GED and the initial phase of a drug treatment program through Minnesota Teen Challenge, which Dehaven said are steps that show he is amenable to probation.

Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Cory Tennison disagreed, noting how Vang violated probation in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2023. “Your honor has to weigh the last six weeks in treatment versus the last 10 years violating probation,” he said.

Tennison asked the judge to hand down the five-year prison term, saying: “The risk to public safety warrants prison here, and the punishment should fit the gravity of what he did.”

Hilgers mentioned the seriousness of Vang’s offense, including how it happened in front of children, as well as his prior criminal history.

“I do not have faith that you would complete (probation) successfully,” she said. “You haven’t demonstrated that in the past.”

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11 Mar 2024

Biden’s budget proposal for a second term offers tax breaks for families and lower health care costs

by | posted in: Politics | 0

MANCHESTER, N.H. — President Joe Biden on Monday released a budget proposal aimed at getting voters’ attention: It would offer tax breaks for families, lower health care costs, smaller deficits and higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations.

Unlikely to pass the House and Senate to become law, the proposal for fiscal 2025 is an election year blueprint about what the future could hold if Biden and enough of his fellow Democrats win in November. The president and his aides previewed parts of his budget going into last week’s State of the Union address, and they provided the fine print on Monday.

If the Biden budget became law, deficits could be pruned $3 trillion over a decade. It would raise tax revenues by a total of $4.9 trillion over that period and use roughly $1.9 trillion to fund various programs, with the rest going to deficit reduction.

The president traveled Monday to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he called on Congress to apply his $2,000 cap on drug costs and $35 insulin to everyone, not just people who have Medicare. He also advocated for making permanent some protections in the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire next year.

“I’m here in New Hampshire to talk about the budget I released today that would, I think, help in a big way,” Biden said.

Biden aides said their budget was realistic and detailed while rival measures from Republicans were not financially viable.

“Congressional Republicans don’t tell you what they cut, who they harm,” White House budget director Shalanda Young said. “The president is transparent, details every way he shows he values the America people.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, issued a joint statement with other GOP leaders calling the Biden proposal a “glaring reminder of this Administration’s insatiable appetite for reckless spending.”

“Biden’s budget doesn’t just miss the mark — it is a roadmap to accelerate America’s decline,” the House Republican leaders said.

Under the proposal, the government would spend $7.3 trillion next fiscal year and borrow $1.8 trillion to cover the shortfall from tax receipts. Biden’s 188-page plan covers a decade’s worth of spending, taxes and debt.

Parents could get an increased child tax credit in 2025, as payments would return briefly to the 2021 level funded by Biden’s coronavirus pandemic relief package. Homebuyers could get a tax credit worth up to $10,000 and $10 billion in down payment aid for first-generation buyers. Corporate taxes would jump upward, while billionaires would be charged a minimum tax of 25%.

Biden said in his State of the Union that Medicare should have the ability to negotiate prices on 500 prescription drugs, which could save $200 billion over 10 years. Aides said his budget does not specify how many drug prices would be subject to negotiations.

Biden’s plan would permanently keep Medicare solvent, according to aides, but as noted by Maya MacGuineas, president of the fiscal group Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, it does not appear to fix Social Security, which projections say will be unable to pay full benefits starting in 2033.

The proposal would provide about $900 billion for defense in fiscal 2025, about $16 billion more than the baseline.

The Biden administration is still seeking money to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia and aid for Israel. His budget plan reiterates the supplemental funding request made last October for Ukraine, Israel and humanitarian relief for Palestinians

It’s also requesting funding to expand personnel and resources at the U.S. southern border. Still, military spending over 10 years would decline $146 billion to $9.57 trillion.

One key theme in the budget plan is an effort to help families afford their basic needs, as the impact of inflation hitting a four-decade high in 2022 continues to leave many voters feeling as though they’re worse off under Biden.

The budget proposal includes $258 billion to help build or preserve 2 million homes, helping to address a national shortage that has kept housing prices high. Parents making under $200,000 annually would have access to child care, with most eligible families paying no more than $10 a day.

It would eliminate origination fees on government student loans, possibly saving borrowers $1,000 over the life of the debt. It also includes $12 billion to help universities develop strategies for reducing their costs.

All of this is a chance for Biden to try to define the race on his preferred terms, just as the all-but-certain Republican nominee, Donald Trump, wants to rally voters around his agenda.

Trump, for his part, would like to increase tariffs and pump out gushers of oil. He called for a “second phase” of tax cuts as parts of his 2017 overhaul of the income tax code would expire after 2025. The Republican has also said he would slash government regulations. He has also pledged to pay down the national debt, though it’s unclear how without him detailing severe spending cuts.

In a Monday interview with CNBC, Trump indicated that he would be willing to reduce spending for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, though he did not offer a full policy.

“There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting,” Trump said.

The interview drew Biden’s attention, prompting him to tell the audience in New Hampshire that cuts were off the table: “The bottom line is he’s still at it. I’m never going to allow that to happen.”

House Republicans on Thursday voted their own budget resolution for the next fiscal year out of committee, saying it would trim deficits by $14 trillion over 10 years. But their measure would depend on rosy economic forecasts and sharp spending cuts, reducing $8.7 trillion in Medicare and Medicaid expenditures. Biden has pledged to stop any cuts to Medicare.

Meanwhile, Congress is still working on a budget for the current fiscal year. On Saturday, Biden signed into law a $460 billion package to avoid a shutdown of several federal agencies, but lawmakers are only about halfway through addressing spending for this fiscal year.

___

Boak reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Colleen Long in Washington also contributed to this report.

 

11 Mar 2024

NAACP urges student-athletes to reconsider Florida colleges after state eliminates DEI programs

by | posted in: Politics | 0

By MARK LONG (AP Sports Writer)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Black student-athletes should reconsider attending public colleges and universities in Florida, the NAACP said in a letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker on Monday.

The letter was in response to the University of Florida and other state schools that have eliminated their diversity, equity and inclusion programs. It was also addressed to current and prospective student-athletes.

“This is not about politics,” the letter read. “It’s about the protection of our community, the progression of our culture, and most of all, it’s about your education and your future.”

The letter was signed by NAACP National Board of Directors Chairman Leon W. Russell and NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson.

Last year, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill prohibiting the use of state funds for any DEI programs. The University of Florida responded in March by closing the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, eliminating 13 full-time DEI positions and 15 administrative appointments, and ending DEI-focused contracts with outside vendors.

Other state schools like North Florida and Florida International also have shut down DEI programs.

“While it is our duty to spread awareness and encourage action around these egregious assaults, we also recognize that protest can come at a price,” the letter read. “The sad reality is, for many Black student-athletes, collegiate sports may be their sole opportunity at achieving the upward mobility necessary to propel them into their rightful places in society.”

NFL Hall of Famer and Florida legend Emmitt Smith asked minority athletes at his alma mater to “be aware and vocal” about the decision.

Johnson took it a step further Monday.

“Florida’s rampant anti-Black policies are a direct threat to the advancement of our young people and their ability to compete in a global economy,” Johnson said in a statement. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion are paramount (to) ensuring equitable and effective educational outcomes.

“The value Black and other college athletes bring to large universities is unmatched. If these institutions are unable to completely invest in those athletes, it’s time they take their talents elsewhere.”

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports