Madam Chair convened the Advisory Committee on Capital Area Security on Jan. 13 and emphasized the committee’s intent to provide guidance to the governor and Legislature on making the Minnesota Capitol Complex safer.

“This committee’s goals have always remained the same, to provide recommendations to the governor and legislature on how to improve the security of the capital complex,” the chair said, noting months of work and outside input. The chair added that “Minnesotans deserve to be able to engage in civil debate, petitioning their government, and even rallies at the Capitol without worrying that they could face violence.”

Members discussed findings from an external security audit by the Akstel group. The audit’s first recommendation, as summarized by the chair, is to “establish a consistent screening model for weapons or hazardous materials across the Minnesota Capitol Complex.” Committee members framed that recommendation as an option for state policymakers to consider; ACAS does not have authority to appropriate funds or change statutes.

The committee carried a routine procedural action: Senator Wesselin moved to adopt the minutes from the Jan. 7, 2026 meeting; the motion was approved by voice vote and the minutes were adopted.

Following public remarks and operational updates, the chair said the committee would move to a closed session to review nonpublic operational details from the full security assessment and would later reconvene to hold a vote on whether certain provisions of the public executive summary should be included as ACAS recommendations.

Next steps: committee advisers will continue reviewing the Akstel report in more detail; the committee will meet in closed session to examine classified operational findings and then return to the public room to vote on which public recommendations to include in the final ACAS report.