This story was originally published on Minnesota Reformer. [1]
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Walz, faith, business leaders renew calls for action on police reform measures
By:   ['Ricardo Lopez Is The Senior Political Reporter For The Reformer. Ricardo Is Not New To Minnesota Politics', 'Previously Reporting On The Dayton Administration', 'Statehouse For The Star Tribune To', 'The Republican National Convention In Previously', "He Was A Staff Writer At The Los Angeles Times Covering The California Economy. He'S A Las Vegas Native Who Has Adopted Minnesota As His Home State. In His Spare Time", 'He Likes To Run', 'Cook', 'Volunteer With Save-A-Bull', 'A Minneapolis Dog Rescue Group.', 'Ricardo Lopez']
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More than a dozen faith, business leaders and activists joined DFL Gov. Tim Walz on Wednesday calling on Senate Republicans to approve new police reform and accountability measures.

“If it looks like we have a community up here, that’s our intent,” Walz said, saying he was not sorry for the long list of speakers.

Less than a week remains until the conclusion of the regular legislative session, but the DFL-led House and GOP-majority Senate remain at odds over a number of policy proposals, including restricting no-knock warrants, the creation of a civilian oversight board, and additional reporting requirements for police, among other measures.

“We need change. And the Legislature is in a position to take meaningful action,” said Rev. Alfred Babington-Johnson, President and CEO of Stairstep Foundation.

Walz said he had called Republican lawmakers to see where some common ground could be found, but he did not say whether there had been any agreement reached on new policy changes.

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, characterized some of the DFL proposals as “anti-police,” echoing many Republican attacks on DFL-led legislation.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, characterized her caucus’s insistence on police reform as a “lynchpin” of House DFL lawmakers’ legislative offer.

Law enforcement officials, from leaders to the rank-and-file, testified at a hearing earlier this week in opposition to the proposals, which they said would make it harder to fight crime.

Still, pressure has grown at the Capitol for additional measures, particularly after the April 11 killing of Daunte Wright by a Brooklyn Center police officer. Senate Republicans initially agreed to hold hearings on police reform proposals, but backtracked shortly after the murder conviction of ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the slaying of George Floyd, saying justice had been served.

The House and Senate are taking divergent approaches. The GOP-crafted Senate public safety budget bill is drastically smaller than the House public safety bill. Republicans have largely deferred to law enforcement, seeking their input on the measures, while House Democratic legislators have sought input from families of victims of police violence.

Little progress has been made, at least publicly.

State Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, expressed disappointment that Senate Republicans have not yet responded to offers by their House counterparts on police reform.

Senate Republicans, who had the gavel on Wednesday, did not call the public safety conference committee to meet, spurring criticism from state Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park.

“I call it dereliction of duty, abdication of responsibility, legislative malpractice. We should be working, not stonewalling,” Latz tweeted.

State Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, who chairs the Senate public safety committee, says they are waiting for legislative leaders and Walz to agree to budget targets that would allow various conference committees to then hash out differences.

State Rep. Carlos Mariani, DFL-St. Paul, and other House DFL leaders argue that policy changes should be debated while leaders and Walz continue negotiations on the size of the next two-year budget.

[1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/walz-faith-business-leaders-renew-calls-for-action-on-police-reform-measures/