Committee lays over bill to narrow which duties must be performed only by licensed peace officers

Vice Chair Woody presented House File 4043, a bill intended to clarify which law-enforcement activities must be performed exclusively by licensed peace officers. Jim Michaels, a labor attorney representing police and fire unions, testified the current statute (cited in testimony as Minn. Stat. §626.83) addresses only a few functions and that HF4043 would add specificity for activities such as preparing arrest/search-warrant applications, presenting cases to prosecutors, accepting primary responsibility for investigations, interviewing criminal suspects, and operating marked squad cars with lights and sirens.

Members asked detailed questions about the bill's breadth. Representative Pinto and others raised concerns that clauses could conflict with existing impersonation and unauthorized-practice statutes (testimony referenced Minn. Stat. §609.4751 and Minn. Stat. §626.6863) and sweep in civil investigators, defense attorneys, journalists or other legitimate interviewers. Michaels said the bill was not intended to prohibit ordinary investigative work by civilians or investigators in other offices, and indicated he would work on narrower drafting.

Several members urged more stakeholder outreach; Vice Chair Woody said chiefs and sheriffs had been consulted and that unions brought the idea forward. Given the level of concern about breadth and possible unintended consequences, the sponsor moved to lay the bill over to allow drafting and stakeholder engagement.