Committee advances bill to increase penalties for fleeing police and expand license‑revocation grounds

The Transportation Finance and Policy Committee on March 17 recommended passage of House File 340 and referred it to the Judiciary, Finance and Civil Law Committee. The bill makes technical updates to existing statutory language, adds new provisions addressing reckless fleeing from police, and expands grounds and durations for driver license revocations.

Representative Steer, the bill’s sponsor, summarized the measure as ‘‘a technical update to existing subdivision language’’ to add provisions for negligence and failure to obey traffic control devices tied to fleeing from law enforcement, and to increase felony classifications in some circumstances.

Jay Henthorn, chief of police for the city of Richfield, testified on behalf of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, saying pursuits and fleeing incidents remain ‘‘at a very high level’’ and requesting stronger statutes to reflect increased danger. ‘‘Situations where people flee from police officers remains at a very high level,’’ Henthorn said, and he described 2,262 agency‑initiated pursuits in 2023 as background for the change.

Shane Myrie, president of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, also voiced support and associated the organization with the chiefs’ comments, saying the bill addresses a ‘‘public safety crisis’’ from fleeing motor vehicles.

Committee chair and members thanked law enforcement for the testimony, and the committee voted to recommend HF 340 to pass and be referred to the Judiciary, Finance and Civil Law Committee.

The committee record shows bipartisan acknowledgment of law enforcement concerns; the bill moves to the committee with jurisdiction over licensing and related penalties for further review.