The Republican controlled Minnesota Senate passed SF 3463 on May 22, 2018 at the close of the 90th Legislative session. SF 3463, which became known as the “Guilty by Association” bill, was designed to preemptively increase penalties for “water protectors” before the Line 3 Tar Sands Oil Pipeline Replacement Project becomes a stage for a similar public response as what happened at “Standing Rock” in North Dakota with the Dakota Access Pipeline Project.
As part of the bill, trespassing laws for critical infrastructure, such as pipelines, in the “Critical Infrastructure; Joint and Several Liability” section expanded to include the following:
(a) A person who is convicted of trespass under section 609.6055 or damage to property under section 609.594, or is arrested for a violation of one or both of those sections and convicted of another offense arising out of the same behavioral incident, may be held liable for any damages to personal or real property committed by the person while trespassing or causing damage to property.
(b) A person or entity that knowingly recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels,
conspires with, or otherwise procures another for the purpose of trespassing or causing
damage to property as described in paragraph (a) may also be jointly and severably liable
for the damages under paragraph (a). *Bold added for emphasis
Furthermore, the PROHIBITED CONDUCT; PENALTY section was modified to include the text below, which upped the charges & fines for the above:
(c) Unless a greater penalty is provided elsewhere, whoever violates this section with
intent to damage, destroy, or tamper with equipment, or significantly impede or inhibit
operation, is guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than
three years or to payment of a fine of not more than $5,000, or both.
Why we care:
One type of direct action that has been used in the past years against the fossil fuel industry is called “valve turning” where-in activists would literally trespass into a pumping station and manually turn off the flow of oil through the pipeline. Some of these activists have gotten off on reduced and/or dropped charges by pleading a “necessity defense” – meaning that action was necessary to combat climate change (and therefore the future of our species).
Many groups, including us here at SEEKJOY, feared that the bill’s clause “knowingly recruits, trains, aids, advises, hires, counsels, conspires with, or otherwise procures another for the purpose of trespassing or causing damage to a property” could expose ANYONE involved with the #StopLine3 effort to be held criminally liable for anything that took place on the ground.
If, say, someone turned a valve here in Minnesota and the individual was brandishing a “#StopLine3” banner as they did so, it could theoretically expose ANYONE who is also supporting the #StopLine3 effort, even if they weren’t involved with planning THAT particular action, as guilty of a gross misdemeanor “by association.”
As of this morning, Governor Mark Dayton of Minnesota has vetoed SF 3463, the “Guilty by Association” bill. In his veto letter he writes,
“Although this bill is called an act of public safety, its contents would have the opposite effect. I will not support a bill that potentially holds Minnesotans responsible for other people’s actions with which they had no direct involvement.”
Dayton closes the Veto letter after summarizing the existing trespass laws in Minnesota by writing, “Those statutes are sufficient to protect the public safety, while still respecting the First Amendment rights of members of that public.”
We would like to extent our gratitude to Governor Mark Dayton and thank him for standing with the people and the water, as well as everyone involved with calling in to voice their opposition to this bill.
Sending love!
Original SF File: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF3463&session=ls90&session_year=2018&session_number=0&version=latest
Veto Announcement via the MN.gov Newsroom: https://mn.gov/governor/newsroom/?id=1055-341069
Veto Letter: http://mn.gov/gov-stat/pdf/2018_05_30_LETTER_VETO_MNLARS%20Chapter_206_HF3463.pdf