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Senate passes bill allowing expanded local criminal background checks to aid trafficking investigations, 65-0
Summary
House File 286 authorizes certain local units of government to conduct enhanced criminal background checks; sponsors said local law enforcement supports it to combat human trafficking.
The Minnesota Senate on May 5, 2025, passed House File 286, a bill authorizing local units of government under certain circumstances to conduct federal criminal background checks, on a 65-0 recorded roll call.
A sponsor told the Senate the measure "gives the local police departments the ability to do more extensive federal background checks instead of just the statewide background checks," and said organizations including the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association support the bill. The sponsor emphasized that statewide checks sometimes do not provide the criminal history information needed for some investigations, including those connected to human trafficking.
The secretary gave the bill its third reading and, after the roll call, announced 65 ayes, 0 nays and declared the bill passed and its title agreed to. Floor debate on the bill was limited to sponsor remarks and procedural votes; no amendments were recorded on the floor in the provided transcript segment.
Sponsors characterized the bill as a law-enforcement tool intended to give local agencies access to additional federal background data in specified situations.
