House files its bill with 200+ Amendments
From the desk of NEPBA attorneys Nolan – Perroni – July 21, 2020
What started as an 11-page “conversation starter” by the Governor has exploded into a 140 page, 219 amendment House Bill.
This exercise has become a runaway train and everyone is in its path.
If requested to sign an affidavit under oath swearing that they have read and understand the whole bill, how many legislators would agree? For example, even today, some legislators were under the impression that this bill only allows an officer to be decertified if convicted of a crime.
Trying to address this 140 page bill, which lacked any real public input, by way of a 24-hour amendment submission process is like telling someone to spruce up a house that has been burnt to the ground in order to make it move-in ready overnight. This common sense POST idea by the Governor – for which there is an easy to follow, working example in nearby NH – has turned into a debacle with an artificially created emergency deadline, and which has thousands of families and public employees, cities and towns, labor organizations and management collectively wondering why our political leaders are so willing to turn a blind eye. Common sense reform is possible without openly trampling the rights of public employee, or carelessly upending the safety and security of our communities and institutions.
This House bill is very problematic. Many of the concerns in the Senate’s bill remain. Officer’s due process rights are still weakened and in most cases obliviated. Much of this has not been thought through.
There is also a new twist on the Qualified Immunity issue. By amending the State civil rights act to now include a new right to “bias free policing,” this bill attempts to create a new state law cause of action against police officers in addition to traditional civil rights claims. Also, the bill provides that any conduct that results in the loss of certification will be a “prima facie” violation of the civil rights act, suggesting that frivolous cases will not be weeded out by courts. This is even more egregious because the legislation attempts to remove any legitimate due process appeals in decertification cases. In other words, a political body can decertify an officer for almost any reason it alone deems appropriate, and in the process, make the officer individually liable for this newly created state law civil rights claim – a sort of a weakening of qualified immunity in disguise.
The NEPBA has filed several amendments to tackle some of these issues, including proposing due process protection, grandfathering past closed matters, and amending the indemnification act to include mandatory coverage for municipal employees. This was a very difficult process to do in the artificially shortened time allowed.
Click here for the NEPBA proposed amendment explanations. PLEASE ASK YOUR LOCAL REP TO SUPPORT THEM.
There are more than 200 amendments to the bill – some good, some bad. To view them, click here. Let your rep know which you support. Talk to each other and your union and department leadership.
Speak up – tell your House Reps to stop this runaway train. This is not Minnesota. We have the time, cooperation and resources to make good reforms. This is not that. ASK THAT THEY VOTE NO AND SEND THIS TO A REAL COMMITTEE PROCESS AND GET IT RIGHT. WHILE YOU HAVE THEM, YOU MAY AS WELL ASK THEM IF THEY CAN EXPLAIN THE WHOLE BILL TO YOU?