CR 2003-148 Revise Legislative Policy
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October 7, 2003
Council Report 2003-148
REVISE LEGISLATIVE POLICY 5-C
USE OF CITY BUILDINGS
Proposed Action
Staff recommends approval of the following motion: Move that the Hopkins City Council adopt
Resolution 2003-089 revising Le!!islative Policy 5-C, Use of City Buildings.
Approval of this motion will amend Legislative Policy 5-C to provide guidance to facility
managers regarding requests to post signs at city facilities prohibiting firearms.
Overview
According to state law, the City of Hopkins may not prohibit firearms on property it owns or
leases. However, state law does allow schools and "private establishments" to prohibit weapons
in buildings that they use or lease.
Wynn Curtiss, Hopkins City Attorney, has drafted the proposed amendment to Legislative Policy
5-C. He would also advise the facility managers on what constitutes legal signage.
Primary Issues to Consider
. What is the state law regarding prohibiting firearms?
. Sho~ld the City require facility users to prohibit firearms?
Supportine: Documents
. Resolution 2003-089
. Memorandum from Wynn Curtiss
~
es A. Genellie
ssistant City Manager
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Council Report 2003-148
Page 2
What is the state law regarding prohibiting firearms?
Minnesota Statute 609.99, Subd. 1d prohibits carrying firearms on school property, which is
defined in part as: "(iv) that portion of a building or facility under the temporary, exclusive
control of a public or private school, a school district, or an association of such entities where
conspicuous signs are prominently posted at each entrance that give actual notice to persons of
the school-related use."
Private individuals or groups using City property can prohibit firearms from the property during
their use. State law allows "private establishments" to prohibit firearms. Minnesota Statute
624.714, Subd. 17 defines "private establishments" as "a building, structure, or portion thereof
that is owned, leased, controlled, or operated by a nongovernmental entity for a nongovernmental
purpose. "
. Groups that are able to prohibit weapons at City buildings include the Hopkins School District,
Stages Theatre, and HCA, Inc. Other private groups that use City buildings would also be able to
prohibit firearms.
.. Should the City require facility users to prohibit firearms?
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The Hopkins City Council could require every group, as condition of the lease or use of any City
building, to prohibit firearms. The City Attorney could draft language that would be added to
every new lease or use agreement requiring groups or individuals to prohibit firearms at City
buildings during their use. This requirement could be waived if another group has already posted
SIgns.
If the Council wishes to take this step, it should add the following section to Resolution 2003-
089:
Section 2.05. Groups leasing or using space at a Hopkins facility shall, as a condition of the
lease or use, agree to prohibit the possession of firearms during the event or activity at the
Hopkins property. No person participating in the event or activity, including the
members, employees, volunteers, or vendors of the group sponsoring the event and
including any person attending the event or activity, shall carry a firearm during the event
or activity. Groups shall post signs that meet the notice requirements for "private
establishments", as set forth in state law, to prohibit persons from carrying firearms at the
event or activity.
This would, of course, prevent any activity involving weapons, such as a sporting goods show,
from using a City facility.
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Council Report 2003-148
Page 3
Alternatives:
1. . Adopt Resolution 2003-089.
2. Adopt Resolution 2003-089 with changes. This alternative would make other changes to
Policy 5-C.
3. Do not adopt Resolution 2003-089. This alternative would leave the Policy 5-C
unchanged.
4. Continue this item for more information or additional discussion.
Staff recommends Alternative #1.
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City of Hopkins
Hennepin County, Minnesota
RESOLUTION NO. 2003-089
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Hopkins has approved a document entitled
the Legislative Policy Manual to provide uniform guidelines on City policies
so that actions taken are consistent and fair; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has established Legislative Policy 5-C in order to regulate
the use of City buildings; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that the existing policy needs to be
revised in order to provide guidance to facility managers in regards to the
prohibition of weapons at City facilities,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Hopkins
hereby adopts the following changes to Legislative Policy 5-C, Use of City
Buildings:
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2.04 Facilities managers shall allow any group using space at a Hopkins facility to post signs
banning guns at the Hopkins facility. Facility managers shall review such requests to
ensure that the group is legally entitled to post signs and to ensure that the signs meet the
requirements set out in the state statutes, are uniform in appearance, and are posted in the
appropriate places. Licensed police officers are exempted from any prohibition on
carrying firearms.
Adopted by the City Council of the City of Hopkins this ih day of October 2003.
By
Gene Maxwell, Mayor
ATTEST:
James Genellie, Assistant City Manager
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TO:
JIM GENELLIE, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
FROM:
WYNN CURTISS, CITY ATTORNEY
RE:
GUN RESTRICTIONS ON CITY PROPERTY
DATE:
MAY 22, 2003
The purpose of this memorandum is to discuss the City of Hopkins' ("Hopkins") authority
to restrict the possession of firearms on Hopkins property.
BACKGROUND
Minn. Stat. Section 624.714, as amended by the 2003 Minnesota Legislature (the "Law"),
expands the rights of a person to carry a concealed handgun, assuming the person has received
the required permit to carry (hereafter, a "Permit Holder"). The Law further establishes the nature
and scope ofrestrictiollS. that might be placed on a Permit Holder's.right to carry a concealed
handgun, including restrictions on the authority of public bodies and private establishments.
SUMMARY
Hopkins has no authority under the Law to absolutely prohibit a Permit Holder
from bringing a firearm onto Hopkins property, but Hopkins is able to limit where a
firearm may be carried.. Hopkins can, however, restrict its own employees' possession of
firearms. In addition, firearms are prohibited on Hopkins property defined by the law as
"school property." Finally, Hopkins probably has the authority to condition participation
in Hopkins-sponsored events and the use of Hopkins facilities on the participating
individual or group agreeing not to carry firearms during the event on Hopkins property.
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I. HOPKINS CANNOT ABSOLUTELY PRECLUDE FIREARMS ON ITS
PROPERTY.
The Law prohibits Hopkins and most other public bodies from banning firearms
on its property, except in limited circumstances. While the Law does provide that "private
establishments" may prohibit firearms on their premises, property owned, leased or
occupied by a public body is excluded from the definition of a "private establishment."
The League of Minnesota Cities ("LMC") suggests designating certain portions of
public property as being accessible to employees only. Since the Law does allow all
employers, including public bodies, to prohibit employees from carrying firearms on
public property, the extent of public property offlimits to firearms could be substantial.
Only those areas in which a member ofthe public has a reasonable basis for conducting
business would be accessible. This would substantially limit the Hopkins property where
Permit Holders could carry firearms.
Hopciv\FireannsLawMemo
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II.
HOPKINS CAN PROHIBIT ITS EMPLOYEES FROM CARRYING
FIREARMS WHILE ENGAGED IN PUBLIC BUSINESS.
Hopkins can prohibit its employees from carrying firearms while engaged in
public business even ifthe employee is a Permit Holder. Elected officials and
"volunteers" are not necessarily treated as employees.
A. HOPKINS CAN PROHIBIT EMPLOYEES FROM CARRYING
FIREARMS.
An employer, including a municipal corporation, "may establish policies that
restrict the carry or possession of firearms by its employees while acting in the course and
scope of employment."
Hopkins can prohibit an employee from carrying or possessing a firearm while:
working on Hopkins property;
working anywhere else on behalf of Hopkins;
driving or riding while on Hopkins business;
performing emergency on call work after normal business hours;
attending training or other meetings/conferences on behalf of Hopkins.
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The Law does allow a public employee to carry/possess a firearm in a public
parking lot, so a Hopkins employee could not be prohibited from having a firearm in his
or her personal vehicle in a public parking lot. However, if the employee drives his or her
personal vehicle during the work day on Hopkins business, Hopkins can require that the
employee deposit any firearm brought to a public parking lot to be stored during the
workday with the Hopkins police department.
B. ELECTED OFFICIALS AND VOLUNTEERS
Elected officials mayor may not be considered employees subject to the firearm
policy depending on how they are treated by the city in other aspects of their duties. If the
city considers and treats them as employees, elected officials are like other public
employees and any firearm policy would apply to them. Ifthe city does not treat its
elected officials as employees, it might not be able to apply the firearm policy to them.
Individuals who want to volunteer or otherwise serve on public boards, etc...
probably can be required to forego the right to carry a firearm while on public business as
a condition of being allowed to serve. So-called volunteer firefighters might actually be
considered public employees subject to the firearm policy ifthey are treated as "paid on
call" employees rather than true volunteers.
A sample fireann policy from the LMC memo is attached.
Hopciv\FirearmsLawMemo
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III. HOPKINS PROPERTY USED BY SCHOOLS IS DEEMED SCHOOL
PROPERTY FROM WHICH FIREARMS CAN BE PROHIBITED.
The Law prohibits carrying firearms on "school property," which is defined in
part as follows:
"that portion of a building or facility under the temporary, exclusive control of a
public or private school, a school district, or an association of such entities where
conspicuous signs are prominently posted at each entrance that give actual notice to
persons of the school-related use."
Minn. Stat. Sect. 609.99 Subd. Id. (d) (4)(iv).
Any Hopkins property in use by a school or school district is considered school
property from which firearms are banned, but only if the property is posted as being in
use by the school/district. If a Hopkins facility is being used by a school, but the use is
not posted, it is not considered school property and a firearm is allowed. The question is
whether it is Hopkins' obligation to post the property or the school's obligation to do so.
The Law does not say whether either party is obligated or authorized to post.
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For Hopkins property occasionally used by a school, the Law is unclear whether
the firearm ban based on the school use applies when a non-school group is using the
property. My opinion ofthe statutory language is that such a "school property" based.
prohibition likely could not be the basis for a general, permanent prohibition within the
property. Rather, I believe that the "school property" prohibition only would apply when
a school group was using the property. However, notwithstanding the statutory language
that attempts to restrict the "school property" prohibition to "that portion of a building"
used by a school group, given the significant practical difficulties of enforcing the Law
only in a portion of a building, I believe the prohibition could be applied to an entire
building while any portion is being used by a school so long as the building is properly
posted.
IV. PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS USING HOPKINS PROPERTY
CAN PROHIBIT FIREARMS FROM THE PROPERTY.
Private individuals or groups using Hopkins property can prohibit firearms from
the property during their use. Further, it might be possible for Hopkins to condition the
use of its property on an agreement that the user will prohibit firearms on the property
during the use.
The Law's definition of "private establislunent" reads in part as follows:
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"Private establishment means a building, structure, or portion thereof that is
owned, leased, controlled or operated by a nongovernmental entity for a
nongovernmental use."
Hopciv\FireannsLawMemo
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Minn. Stat. Sect. 624.714 Subd. 17 (b) (4).
Private groups using a Hopkins property are treated as a "private establishment"
under the Law and as such, can ban firearms by following the Law's requirements for
doing so in a private establishment. To prohibit firearms as a private establishment, the
owner/operator must post signs at all facility entrances that recite the Law's language
regarding firearms and, the owner/operator "personally informs the person of the posted
request and demands compliance." The Law sets forth the form and content of the
posting.
Private individuals and groups that desire to use Hopkins property or participate
in a Hopkins-sponsored event might be permitted to do so only on the condition they
agree not to possess or allow others to possess firearms during the event or activity while
on Hopkins property. Individual participants might be required to forego canying
firearms as a condition of being allowed to participate in recreational or other similar
activities. Groups seeking a permit to conduct an event also might be required to agree
that none of the group's members, employees or volunteers can carry a firearm during the
event and further agree to meet the notice requirements for "private establishments" to
prohibit others from carrying firearms at the event.
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Current tenants of Hopkins properties probably cannot be prevented from
allowing firearms during their events, although renewal of their lease might be so
conditioned.
CONCLUSIONS
Hopkins cannot prohibit a person holding the appropriate permit from bringing a
firearm onto Hopkins property, but Hopkins may limit where on Hopkins property the
firearm may be carried. Hopkins can restrict its own employees' possession of firearms.
Firearms can be prohibited on Hopkins property when a school or school district is using
the property. Private individuals and groups using Hopkins property can prohibit firearms
by following the Law's notice requirements. Finally, Hopkins probably can condition the
use of Hopkins facilities and participation in Hopkins sponsored events on the
participating individual or group agreeing not to carry or allow others to carry firearms
while on Hopkins property.
The League of Cities is holding a conference in June 2003 to provide additional
information and guidance on the implementation of the Law. Contact me if you have any
additional questions or wish to further discuss this matter.
WC
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Hopciv\FireannsLawMemo