HF5097

Purpose

• Establish formal structures to improve collaboration between community leaders and government, enhance preparedness for civil unrest and political instability, and expand options for dispute resolution. The bill also aims to require regular reporting and provide state support to these new bodies.

What the bill creates

• Advisory Council on Community Collaboration Stability and Preparedness
• Minnesota Common Ground Task Force
• Provisions to support dispute resolution and public reporting
• Potentially codifies these provisions into Minnesota Statutes chapter 16B and related elements

Advisory Council on Community Collaboration Stability and Preparedness (Section 16B.363)

• Membership
  • 1 member representing the Association of Minnesota Counties
  • 1 member representing the League of Minnesota Cities
  • 1 member who is the commissioner of public safety or their designee
  • 1 member representing the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association
  • 1 member representing the Minnesota Sheriffs Association
  • 1 colonel of the Minnesota State Patrol or designee
  • 1 licensed behavioral health practitioner (appointed by the governor)
  • 1 mediation and conflict resolution practitioner (appointed by the governor)
  • 1 member with expertise in peace and diplomacy (appointed by the governor)
  • 1 member with academic expertise in violence prevention (appointed by the governor)
  • 2 representatives of community organizations addressing safety and de-escalation (appointed by the governor)
  • 1 communications strategist with expertise in public messaging and addressing misinformation (appointed by the governor)
  • 1 legal expert in civil liberties (appointed by the governor)
  • 1 faith leader with a multifaith perspective (appointed by the governor)
• Representation: The governor must ensure broad geographic and sector representation from Minnesota.
• Support: The Office of Collaboration and Dispute Resolution provides meeting space, administrative, and research support.
• Leadership: The council elects a chair and vice-chair from among its members at the first meeting of every odd-numbered year.
• Duties
  • Promote proactive collaboration between trusted community leaders and public officials.
  • Submit findings and recommendations to the legislature and the governor on preparedness for civil unrest and political instability.
  • Topics include shared principles and best practices for collaboration during unrest, gaps in statewide preparedness, strategies to strengthen trust and communication among officials, law enforcement, and the public, and toolkits for community leaders on response, de-escalation, and coordination.
• Meetings: Public meetings; subject to open meeting laws.
• Terms, compensation, and removal: As provided in existing statutes.
• Reports: Annually by February 1, report on activities, findings, and recommendations from the prior year.
• Expiration: Section provisions expire in a specified future year (date shown in the bill).

Minnesota Common Ground Task Force (Section 2)

• Membership
  • 2 members of the House of Representatives (one appointed by the Speaker, one by the minority leader)
  • 2 members of the Senate (one appointed by the majority leader, one by the minority leader)
  • 1 member representing the Association of Minnesota Counties
  • 1 member representing the League of Minnesota Cities
  • 1 member representing school districts (appointed by the governor)
  • 7 members appointed by the governor representing organizations with expertise in areas such as civic education and youth leadership, bridging urban–rural divides, civil discourse, bipartisanship, interfaith understanding, and media/storytelling
• Appointments deadline: Each appointing authority must submit its appointments by August 15, 2026.
• Support: The Office of Collaboration and Dispute Resolution provides meeting space and administrative and research support; first meeting to be convened by October 15, 2026.
• Leadership: The task force elects a chair and a vice-chair from its members at the first meeting.
• Duties
  • Develop specific policy recommendations to increase common ground and Minnesota’s resilience to polarization and social division.
  • Review current policies and practices in the Minnesota legislature and make recommendations that support civility and bipartisan co-governance.
• Meetings: Public meetings; the task force must seek input from the public; subject to chapter 13D (open meetings law).
• Compensation and removal: As provided in Minnesota Statutes section 15.059, subdivision 6.
• Reports
  • By January 15, 2028, submit a report containing policy recommendations to the legislature and the governor.
• Expiration: The task force expires January 16, 2028, or the day after it submits its required report, whichever comes first.

Additional context

• The bill references increasing capacity for dispute resolution and establishing a civil health dashboard, and it suggests appropriating funds to support these efforts. It also involves coding these provisions into Minnesota law (Chapter 16B) for formal state statute status.

Summary of changes to law

• Creates two new formal bodies with statutory duties to study, advise, and make policy recommendations on reducing polarization, improving civil discourse, and enhancing preparedness for civil unrest.
• Establishes public, transparent processes (public meetings and public input) for these bodies.
• Formalizes state support via the Office of Collaboration and Dispute Resolution.
• Sets specific timelines for appointments, meetings, reports, and eventual expiration of the entities.

Relevant Terms - Advisory Council on Community Collaboration Stability and Preparedness - Minnesota Common Ground Task Force - civil unrest - political instability - dispute resolution - Office of Collaboration and Dispute Resolution - public meetings / Minnesota Statutes chapter 13D - bipartisan co-governance - civility - trust-building - de-escalation - shared principles and best practices - community leadership - urban–rural bridging - civil discourse - interfaith understanding - public input - reporting requirements - expiration date / sunset provision - Minnesota Statutes section 15.059 - Minnesota Statutes chapter 16B (codification target)