MINNEAPOLIS — So far, Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, is not impressed with the special session of the Legislature.

“Four days of this special session have passed and the biggest headlines so far include good news for small businesses with grant funding we approved and disappointment over the House majority allowing the governor to extend his unilateral rule by 30 more days,” Swedzinski said Tuesday.

“Otherwise, this feels an awful lot like the beginning of a regular session, where most of our time is being spent moving bills through the committee process,” he said.

The Senate approved compromise legislation creating a formula to fairly distribute the share federal COVID-19 assistance that can be used to help local governments, according to State Sen. Gary Dahms, R-Redwood Falls.

Dahms said Gov. Tim Walz currently has the sole authority over the federal coronavirus aid, and concerns have been raised about both transparency and accountability in how the aid is distributed.

“This bill is the result of a lot of hard work and effort towards evenhandedness,” Dahms said. “The people of rural Minnesota need a guarantee that they will be given what they are due and not shortchanged once again in favor of Minneapolis and St. Paul. This legislation fills that requirement and will put relief funds exactly where they should be.”

Minnesota received more than $2 billion from the federal government to help local governments, health professionals, and businesses fight COVID. That money went into an account called the Federal Coronavirus Relief Fund, so it could be quickly deployed to places it is needed most. 

The compromise agreement, authored by Senate Finance Chair Julie Rosen, R-Vernon Center, distributes the local government portion of that funding (about $841 million) fairly to Minnesota counties, cities, and townships based on a formula using their population. 

Swedzinski also said he is looking forward to discussions on a bill that provides state sales tax forgiveness on materials used to rebuild sections of Minneapolis after the recent destruction caused during riots.

“This approach is similar to bills I successfully authored to help with local projects such as the Minneota school and the Marshall library,” he said. “We will see what else this special session has in store, but right now key issues such as public safety reform and a potential bonding bill remain in a major state of flux.”

Meanwhile, the Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday debated a package of police accountability measures drawn up following the death of George Floyd but, with a more extensive set of bills advancing in the Democrat-dominated House, critics said the Senate proposals don’t go far enough.

The full House is expected to vote this week on a package developed by the bicameral People of Color and Indigenous Caucus that has some elements in common with the Senate plan.

But the House slate also includes proposals that Republicans have ruled out, including having the state attorney general prosecute all police-involved deaths. Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison is already prosecuting the four former Minneapolis police officers charged in Floyd’s May 25 death. GOP leaders oppose giving more power to Ellison, a fiery progressive and longtime police critic.

Earlier Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to encourage better police practices and establish a database to keep track of officers with a history of excessive use-of-force complaints. Mirroring the partisan divide in the Minnesota Legislature, the GOP-led U.S. Senate and Democratic-controlled House are working on competing policing reform packages.

It remains to be seen whether the Minnesota chambers will agree on any changes during the special session. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, of East Gull Lake, reiterated that he intends to adjourn Friday, regardless of what the House does.

The main thrust of the Senate plan is to ban the use of chokeholds and neck restraints in all but the most dire situations, and add a duty to intervene and report when one officer sees another officer using excessive force. The rewrite of a statewide model policy would stress the importance of the sanctity of life. Law enforcement agencies would be obligated to update their use-of-force policies accordingly.

The Senate package would also preserve a $9 million annual funding stream that supports diversity training for officers, which is due to revert to $3 million after next year. It would require that any use of force resulting in death or great bodily harm be reported to the state Ã’ something most Minnesota law enforcement agencies already do. Confidentiality would be protected for officers and other first responders who get peer support after critical incidents. Background checks, currently required during officer hiring, would be extended to other police employees.

“These are important first steps. This is laying foundation stones for more subjects to be addressed in the future,” Senate Judiciary Chairman Warren Limmer, of Maple Grove, said at a news conference ahead of the Senate’s floor debate.

None of the GOP proposals has attracted significant opposition, and they have the support of law enforcement groups. But state Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero and several others who testified at a hearing Tuesday said the Senate is wasting an opportunity to make bold change.

State Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said the Legislature needs to ensure that law enforcement serves black, brown and indigenous communities fairly and equitably.

“While the policy proposals before you today address some of those concerns, I don’t believe they go far enough,” Schnell said.