House panel adopts amendment and sends police training reimbursement bill to Public Safety

The Minnesota House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee on March 1 adopted an author's amendment to House File 541, then voted to recommend the bill be re‑referred to the Committee on Public Safety.

Representative Aaron Steer, the bill author, told the committee HF 541 is intended to fund professional training for peace officers on use of force, deadly force, duty to intercede, de‑escalation, bias and force‑on‑force scenarios. Steer said the bill would appropriate $2,500,000 to the Office of Higher Education for reimbursement grants to post‑secondary institutions that provide the training and described the required elements of the reimbursable courses, including scenario‑based training that uses nonlethal projectiles and training on psychological effects of stress.

The committee adopted an author’s amendment (A2) that set a 2.5% retention for the Office of Higher Education to cover administrative costs. Representative Steer presented the amendment as technical; the committee voice‑voted to adopt it.

Members then discussed whether 2.5% would be sufficient to cover grant administration. Megan Fitzgibbon, manager of grants and workforce initiatives at the Office of Higher Education, told the panel her office prefers the existing statutory default (up to 5% for administrative retention on formula‑funded grants) and that administering the program — including grant contracts, reimbursement processing, progress reporting and in‑person monitoring for grants above $50,000 — can require substantial staff time and travel. Fitzgibbon said a 5% retention more closely matches the Office’s administrative costs and staffing needs for monitoring grantees across the state.

Representative Clyburn suggested an oral amendment to remove the specific 2.5% figure in favor of the statutory administrative percentage; nonpartisan staff described the oral amendment language that would delete the text after “peace officers” on page 1. The committee discussed but did not adopt that oral amendment. Representative Steer ultimately withdrew his earlier oral amendment attempt and allowed the bill to proceed with the A2 text on the record.

After additional questions about program costs, provider capacity and whether the $450 per‑officer reimbursement would cover expected training provider fees, the committee approved a motion to recommend House File 541, as amended, be re‑referred to the Committee on Public Safety. The committee conducted a voice vote; members present said “aye” and the chair announced the motion prevails. Committee members said the Public Safety Committee would continue deliberations, including issues of whether 2.5% adequately covers administrative costs and how the program would be monitored.

HF 541 requires participating colleges to offer the training at no charge to the officer or the officer’s employing agency; colleges would be reimbursed $450 for each officer trained. The bill description in committee testimony named Alexandria Technical & Community College and Hennepin Technical College as examples of institutions that currently provide or could provide such training.

No public testimony was heard at the Higher Education committee beyond the author’s presentation; Representative Steer said prior testimony in the Public Safety Committee included training coordinators from Alexandria Technical College and Hennepin Technical College who supported the proposal.