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Committee hears trooper recruitment bills; lays funding proposals on the table for finance negotiations
Summary
Senators discussed two measures (Senate Files 292 and 396) to fund additional state troopers and recruitment initiatives. Committee laid both bills on the table to consider in future finance work and noted trunk‑highway funds currently cover much of State Patrol operations.
Senators Limmer and Jasinski presented companion proposals (Senate Files 292 and 396) on March 5, 2025 to fund additional Minnesota State Patrol positions and recruitment efforts. Both authors said the bills would provide funding to hire and train new troopers and address vacancies and impending retirements.
Senator Limmer described the bills as a way to ensure troopers have “proper resources and funding” for non‑trunk‑highway responsibilities and said the amendment before the committee would fund roughly 21 additional troopers (the amendment text in the packet specified updated numbers). Senator Jasinski said a similar bill would use trunk‑highway funds rather than general fund sources.
Col. Christina Bogojevic, colonel of the Minnesota State Patrol, told the committee the patrol currently has roughly 90 vacancies out of about 710 trooper positions, with an ongoing cadet class of 42 and an expectation that about 100 troopers will be eligible to retire over the next four years. She said recruitment and hiring resources — marketing, academy capacity and retention measures — were the patrol’s most urgent needs.
Committee discussion addressed costs and how additional funding would be spent. Members asked about academy costs and training capacity; the patrol told the committee an academy costs roughly $230,000 per recruit for training and outfitting. Colonel Bogojevic and senators said additional appropriations could support marketing, recruitment and the ability to hold two academies per year.
Committee leadership laid Senate Files 292 and 396 on the table for consideration in forthcoming finance bills so the measures and agency budget requests can be reconciled. Senators and the colonel said they intend to work together on recruitment, training slots, and pay/retention strategies.
No final appropriation or roll‑call vote was recorded in committee; the bills were held for future finance deliberations.
