Senate passes judiciary and public-safety omnibus after heated debate over training, victim services and Stillwater Prison

The Minnesota Senate narrowly adopted the conference committee report on House File 2432, an omnibus judiciary and public‑safety policy and appropriations bill, in a recorded vote the secretary announced as 34 ayes and 33 nays.

Senator Scott Latz (conference committee author) presented the bill package as a targeted, if constrained, set of investments for courts, corrections and public safety that sought to protect crime victims, support law enforcement and fund technical changes to state law. "This is a slim but effective and carefully targeted judiciary and public safety bill," Latz said on the floor.

The conference report set specific funding targets and appropriations that drew disagreement about tradeoffs. Latz said the judiciary target was $19,163,000 with tails of $54,882,000, and a separate public safety target of $88,260,000 with tails of $57,257,000. The bill includes appropriations for victim services, the Philando Castile training fund, prosecutor training grants, use‑of‑force training and critical radio infrastructure, among other items. Latz cited a $9,884,000 appropriation for the Philando Castile training fund and $7,232,000 for crime victim…