Dayton signs body cam bill

Updated at 2:30 p.m.

Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill into law Tuesday that regulates the use of police body cameras.

The measure passed in the final weekend of the 2016 session will make most of the video recordings inaccessible to the public.

Related: Debating the body camera legislation

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Lawmakers removed a provision to allow law enforcement officers to review recordings before writing incident reports. Dayton said he wouldn’t sign the bill unless that change was made.

“I have signed this bill to honor my promise to the legislative sponsors that I would do so, if an objectionable provision were removed,” Dayton said in a letter to legislative leaders.

Even supporters of the legislation expect the debate over body camera data to continue. State Rep. Dan Schoen, DFL-St. Paul Park, said in an MPR News interview Tuesday that he anticipates proposed changes to come up next session.

“This is a conversation we should continue to have," Schoen said.

Senator Ron Latz, DFL -St. Louis Park said the measure will ultimately bring greater accountability.

"It's going to make it very possible for any law enforcement agency that wants to adopt body cameras to go ahead and do so," Latz said. "That's the most important achievement here."

Latz said he wants to give law enforcement agencies time to work with the new law before making any changes.

In other action, Gov. Dayton vetoed the omnibus pension bill. Dayton explained in his veto message that the bill fell short on overall sustainability goals and would have held current retirees solely responsible for reducing plan liabilities.

“It is not fair, and I cannot agree to it,” he wrote.

Dayton signed the Legislative-Citizens Commission on Minnesota’s Resources appropriation bill. But he line-item vetoed seven projects.

Dayton criticized the Legislature for not working more closely with the LCCMR Board on recommended projects.

Dayton also signed at batch of 19 smaller bills, including the ratification of state employee contracts, creation of a child care affordability task force and increased penalties for interfering with the scene of a death.

Dayton still must act on the supplemental budget bill and the tax bill that lawmakers passed on the session’s last day.

He raised concerns last week about a provision in the tax bill that stops automatic tax increases on tobacco products and criticized lawmakers for leaving out a sales tax provision for the Minnesota State High School League.