2027
Legislative
priorities

PRO-Union and Due Process

1. Brady/Giglio Due Process Protections

Establish statewide procedures for Brady/Giglio determinations affecting law enforcement officers, including timely written notice, access to the information relied upon, an opportunity to submit supplemental information and request reconsideration, appropriate protection of personnel data, and a prohibition on blanket do-not-call lists, while preserving prosecutors' constitutional disclosure obligations.

2. Allow Peace Officer Grievance Arbitrators to Serve in Other Labor Arbitrations

Minn. Stat. § 626.892, subd. 4

Delete the restriction barring arbitrators appointed to the peace officer grievance roster from serving in other labor arbitrations. This would preserve the six-person roster and its qualification requirements while allowing experienced arbitrators to maintain a broader labor-arbitration practice.

3. Protect Confidential CISM and Peer Support Communications

Minn. Stat. § 595.02 and related data-practices provisions

Establish evidentiary privilege and statutory confidentiality protections for communications between public safety professionals and qualified Critical Incident Stress Management team members or peer support counselors, subject to clearly defined exceptions and waiver provisions.

Pension and Recruitment & Retention

1. Fund Law Enforcement Recruitment and Training Initiatives

Appropriate funding to the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training for peace-officer training reimbursements and to the Department of Public Safety's Office of Justice Programs for Pathways to Policing reimbursement grants that help eligible law enforcement agencies recruit and train candidates from nontraditional career backgrounds. Require statewide eligibility standards, reporting, and measurable recruitment and retention outcomes.

2. Increase Postretirement Adjustments for PERA Police and Fire and MSRS State Patrol Plan Recipients

Minn. Stat. § 356.415, subd. 1c and 1e

Increase the annual postretirement adjustment from 1% to 1.5% for PERA Police and Fire Plan recipients and from 1.25% to 1.5% for MSRS State Patrol Plan recipients.

Injury/Death Benefits

1.    Restore Continued Health Care Coverage for Physically Injured Officers and Firefighters

Minn. Stat. §§ 299A.465, subd. 1, and 353.01, subd. 19; Laws 2025, ch. 37, art. 15, § 1; Laws 2026, ch. 106, art. 12, § 2

In 2025, the Legislature limited employer-paid health coverage to 60 months for PERA Police and Fire members newly approved for duty disability who do not meet the total-and-permanent standard, rather than continuing coverage to age 65. That standard requires an inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity, leaving members with career-ending physical injuries at risk of losing coverage well before Medicare eligibility.

Restore the employer-paid health care coverage available before May 24, 2025, for PERA Police and Fire members with qualifying duty disabilities not based solely on a psychological condition, including physically injured members age 55 or older with at least 20 years of allowable service who were excluded from duty-disability eligibility under the 2025 changes. Apply the restoration retroactively to May 24, 2025. The existing 60-month limitation would remain for disabilities based solely on a psychological condition.

State Law Enforcement Officers

1.    Continue the OLA State Patrol Compensation Survey Beyond 2030

Minn. Stat. § 299D.03, subd. 2a

Current law requires the Office of the Legislative Auditor to conduct compensation and benefit surveys in 2027 and 2030, with no survey required after 2030. The survey compares the Minnesota State Patrol with specified metropolitan-area and first-class-city police departments and provides an objective benchmark for State Patrol compensation.

Extend the survey schedule beyond 2030 and coordinate future report dates with bargaining requirements so state compensation decisions continue to rely on current, objective market data.

2. Extend the Use of OLA Survey Data in State Law-Enforcement Bargaining

Minn. Stat. § 43A.17, subd. 13

Current law requires the commissioner of management and budget to use the most recent OLA survey when negotiating compensation for covered state-employed licensed peace officers, including State Patrol troopers, BCA agents, conservation officers, and Department of Corrections Fugitive Apprehension Unit members. The requirement expires January 1, 2032.

 Extend the January 1, 2032 expiration and coordinate it with the continuing OLA survey schedule so bargaining remains informed by current compensation data.

3. Authorize Minnesota State Patrol Volunteer Chaplains

Proposed new section in Minn. Stat. § 299D

Authorize the commissioner or chief supervisor of the Minnesota State Patrol to recruit, train, and accept the services of uncompensated volunteer chaplains and reimburse reasonable incidental expenses, including transportation, lodging, and subsistence. Volunteer chaplains would not be state employees or entitled to state employee compensation or benefits.

4. Preserve Peace-Officer Escorts for Over Dimensional Loads

Minn. Stat. § 169.812, subd. 2

Current law requires a lead licensed peace officer when an over dimensional load crosses the centerline on an undivided roadway and permits additional peace-officer escorts when needed to protect public safety.

Preserve the commissioner's authority to require licensed peace-officer escorts when necessary to protect public and roadway safety, and oppose legislation that weakens this authority.