The governor last renewed his peacetime emergency powers on March 15, which expire tomorrow, April 14.

Walz also announced that there would be no state-mandated curfew for this evening. However, local jurisdictions may still decide to set their own curfews for today.

POCI Caucus and UBLC Outline Police Accountability Bills

Today, members of the Minnesota Legislature’s People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus and United Black Legislative Caucus (UBLC) discussed the police shooting of Daunte Wright and actions DFL legislators are proposing to improve accountability for law enforcement, including:

• allowing local governments to establish civilian oversight councils
• banning the alteration, erasure, or destruction of body-worn camera recordings and withholding footage
• prohibiting peace officers from affiliating with white supremacist groups
• providing funding for community organizations working to prevent crime 

“We are once again dealing with the trauma of the killing of a Black man by police. It feels like we are taking one step forward, and two steps back,” said Rep. Samantha Vang, Chair of the POCI Caucus (DFL - Brooklyn Center). “My city is hurting to see a beloved member of our community killed so recklessly as we are left with an occupied city that is damaged nearly beyond recognition. We cannot keep doing the same things and expect a different result, we must do better to ensure justice for victims and peace for our future.”

“While our community is in pain, grieving the loss of yet another Black man in Minnesota, law enforcement groups and so many others across the aisle are playing politics. We’ve held dozens of hearings over the course of the session that were met with resistance and dismissiveness from law enforcement groups and Republican members in both the Senate and the House,” said Rep. Cedrick Frazier (DFL - New Hope), Vice Chair of the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Committee. “The people of Minnesota deserve and demand a future where community trust is sacred, police officers are held accountable for misconduct, and justice is served. We cannot normalize waking up to a piling list of Black men killed by law enforcement officers.”  

The POCI Caucus, UBLC, House DFL, and Senate DFL will continue a strong push to pass these reforms before the 2021 Legislative Session adjourns in May.

Gazelka Announces Police Accountability Hearings

This afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-East Gull Lake) announced that the Minnesota Senate will hold hearings on police accountability proposals in response to heightened calls for passage of such legislation following the officer-involved shooting of Daunte Wright on Sunday.

Gazelka said that the Senate Transportation Finance and Policy Committee, chaired by Senator Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson), and the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee, chaired by Senator Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove) will hold hearings in the next two weeks. The Senate majority leader said that passing budget bills remains the Senate’s top priority and that he cannot promise that any new police accountability legislation would pass this session.

State Advises Providers to Follow Federal Pause on Use of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine During Review

This morning, the Minnesota Department of Health sent a message to health care providers around the state advising that they follow the federal recommendation to pause use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review data about an extremely rare type of blood clot that has been reported in six people who received that vaccine in the United States.

As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC and FDA are reviewing data involving a rare and severe type of blood clot that was reported in six people after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. All six cases occurred among women between the ages of 18 and 48, and symptoms occurred 6 six to 13 days after vaccination.

While Minnesota officials are not aware of any cases occurring among the more than 184,000 Minnesotans who have received this vaccine, Minnesotans who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination should contact their health care provider.

CDC will convene a meeting of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday, April 14, 2021, to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates the cases. Meanwhile, Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm said that until that process is complete, Minnesota health officials have advised a pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine out of an abundance of caution.

“While this issue appears to be extremely rare, CDC and FDA are acting in a very cautious manner that underscores our commitment to vaccine safety,” Commissioner Malcolm said. “We will be closely monitoring the federal review process and use that information to help guide our efforts here in Minnesota in the days ahead.”

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine represents about 6.6% of the total supply of vaccines Minnesota has received to date, so the pause is not expected to dramatically slow the pace of vaccinations in the state. However, anyone who currently has an appointment to receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should watch for a notification from their provider about canceling, postponing, or rescheduling the appointment. If your appointment is cancelled, you can look for other vaccination appointments through the Vaccine Locator map, local pharmacies or your health care provider. More information is available on the MDH website at Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Amos A. Briggs | Government Relations
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