Sen. Ron Latz

Maddy summarySF 3290 establishes the Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crimes Advisory Board to advise Minnesota's Commissioner of Public Safety on combating organized retail theft and supply chain crime. The board includes 16 members representing law enforcement (police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors), retailers (Minnesota Retailers Association, grocers, trucking associations), tribal representatives, and federal agencies. Its key duties are to develop statewide strategies, identify crime trends and connections to other crimes (like drug trafficking), address online retail impacts, and recommend protocols for multijurisdictional enforcement. The bill also creates a statewide coordinator role to oversee enforcement coordination, training, and business education programs, with no expiration date for the advisory board.

Maddy summarySF 1492 establishes a Civil Commitment Coordinating Division within the Minnesota Attorney General's Office, led by a coordinator appointed by the attorney general. This division creates a Civil Commitment Advisory Committee (with 11-20 members representing courts, counties, treatment providers, civilly committed individuals, and family members) to develop best practices and guidance for engagement services, outpatient civil commitment, and provisional discharge. The bill also authorizes grant programs to support these services and requires data collection, analysis, and public awareness campaigns to improve outcomes for people under civil commitment. It directly affects courts, counties, treatment facilities, community programs, and individuals subject to civil commitment under Minnesota law.

Maddy summarySF 2568 amends Minnesota law to allow private attorneys to access electronic court records through the Minnesota Government Access system, which currently provides free access to government attorneys and civil legal services. Private attorneys would need to pay a fee set by the judicial branch to view or print case documents in state district courts. The bill directly affects private attorneys who currently lack automatic access to court records without cost. It establishes a fee-based system for private attorneys while maintaining free access for government-employed legal professionals.

Maddy summarySF 2146 creates a new legal process for vulnerable adults (Minnesota residents aged 18+ with diminished capacity) or their representatives to seek court orders preventing financial exploitation. It allows petitions to be filed in any county where the vulnerable adult, petitioner, or respondent lives (no residency requirement), with waived filing fees and a court hearing within 14 days. The court must consider factors like prior exploitation history, the adult's financial decision-making capacity, and investigative findings from agencies. Petitioners must also file a maltreatment report within five days of filing the petition.

Maddy summaryThis Senate resolution expresses the chamber's condemnation of President Trump's decision to pardon individuals convicted of violent crimes related to the January 6 insurrection. The measure states that erasing these convictions undermines the justice system and devalues the sacrifices made by law enforcement officers who were injured during the attack. It further directs the Secretary of the Senate to send a copy of the resolution to Governor Tim Walz and rejects any attempts to ignore judicial decisions regarding these cases.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes the "Minnesota Partition Act" (Chapter 558A) to govern how co-owners of real property can legally divide shared ownership after August 1, 2025. It replaces Minnesota's current Chapter 558 for all partition cases starting that date, allowing courts to order property sales, physical divisions, or other equitable solutions when joint tenants, tenants-in-common, or remainder interest holders seek division. Key provisions include new notice requirements (like posting signs on properties for unlocated owners), preventing disputes between parties from blocking partition actions, and granting courts authority to adjust property liens between parcels. The law directly affects individuals or entities co-owning real estate who face disagreements about dividing property.

Maddy summarySF 3051 allows individuals involved in traffic collisions (who receive official collision reports under Minnesota law) to access unredacted video or audio recordings from all police body cameras or dashcams used during the investigation. Previously, other people's identities in recordings might have been redacted, but this bill requires full access unless specific exceptions apply. Law enforcement can deny access only if it would interfere with an active investigation, the data is offensive, or it’s classified under other laws. If denied, agencies must provide written reasons and information about seeking court review.

Maddy summarySF 1407 modifies Minnesota's process for evaluating proposed laws that would require health insurance plans to cover specific treatments, drugs, or services (called "mandated health benefit proposals"). It requires the commissioner of commerce, working with other state agencies, to provide the legislature with detailed analysis covering scientific evidence, costs to consumers and insurers, existing coverage, and public health impacts for each proposal. This change directly affects health insurance companies, state health programs, and the legislative body, as it mandates more comprehensive evaluations before such mandates can be enacted. The bill specifies that evaluations must include results from clinical trials, cost comparisons, and an assessment of how widely the treatment is already used in Minnesota.

Maddy summaryThis bill (SF 3053) modifies Minnesota's definition of "available for suitable employment" for unemployment benefit eligibility under Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 268.085, subdivision 15. It requires applicants to be genuinely ready, willing, and able to accept suitable work without self-imposed restrictions (e.g., refusing night shifts if daytime work is available) or circumstances preventing job acceptance. Specifically, students must show they cannot adjust class schedules to take a job, and applicants absent from their local labor market for personal reasons (not job searching) lose eligibility. The change directly affects individuals applying for unemployment benefits who may face scheduling conflicts or work-hour limitations.

Maddy summaryThis bill (SF 1909) amends Minnesota law to allow county attorneys to use administrative subpoenas specifically in wage theft investigations. It authorizes county attorneys to subpoena employer records like payroll, banking, and financial documents related to wages, hours, and employment conditions. The bill directly affects employers who may be investigated for wage theft and gives county attorneys a new tool to gather evidence. The change takes effect August 1, 2025, and applies only to ongoing investigations into wage theft violations.