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I am beyond frustrated that the Senate GOP walked away from criminal justice reform. The media @StarTribune @MPRpolitics @MinnPost @MNReformer needs to report on what actually happened this special session:
1) @paulgazelka announced an ARBITRARY session deadline of June 19th. When session started on 6/12, the House DFL worked around the clock to meet this arbitrary deadline.
2) The House DFL held multiple committee hearings on the criminal justice reform measures. I personally had about 14 hours of committee hearings on the bills, an 8-hour floor session, and probably 15+ hours spent on meetings and bill drafting and preparation.
@Cmarianirosa and @renamoran and other members of the POCI (People of Color and Indigenous) Caucus spent even more time. The Senate had no official committee action. They had one informational hearing that lasted less than 3 hours.
3) During our 7-hour hearing last Saturday, the House DFL heard from numerous community members and stakeholders. In the past 2 years, the House DFL considered many of these bills & took testimony from a lot of people. Sen. Limmer was not interested in hearing these proposals.
4) The House DFL bill was led by members of the POCI Caucus. Sen. Limmer did not even consult with the POCI Caucus. The Senate majority made an offer that the POCI Caucus members (and others) did not support because it did not do enough.
5) The House made a counter-offer before midnight to the Senate's proposal. The Senate majority adjourned at 5:00 a.m. without responding to that offer.
6) The Senate majority rejected the Senate DFL's @SusanKentMN motion to recess and come back next week to work on criminal justice reform and other bills.
