Increased penalties for straw purchasing among new laws taking effect in Minnesota on Thursday

(KSTP) – Gov. Tim Walz will be in Bloomington on Thursday afternoon to highlight the new increased penalties for anyone caught making straw purchases of guns.

Straw purchasing is when someone buys a firearm for someone who can’t legally own one. The penalty now increases to a felony, which is punishable by up to two years in prison. In June, Walz did a ceremonial signing of the bill, which also allows an aggravating factor that could push the penalty up to five years in prison.

The bill passed in the state Senate in early May on a party-line vote of 34-33, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans voting against. A few days before that, the bill passed in the House by a vote of 71-59.

Walz is expected to be joined by Bloomington Mayor Tim Busses, Bloomington police Chief Booker Hodges, as well as Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans.

That news conference is scheduled to begin at 10:15 a.m. Check back for a stream and for updates.

Other new laws taking effect Thursday include:

• Swatting – the crime of someone making false emergency calls that send first responders to a home or other areas they’re not needed – is increased from a gross misdemeanor to a felony.
• A child safety seat law that has new requirements for kids riding in vehicles that were previously just a recommendation. Anyone in violation of the new statute may be issued a citation or be educated by law enforcement. If drivers make the correction in 14 days, the citation will be dropped. New guidelines include rear-facing infant seats with an internal harness or a convertible child safety seat for kids up to two years of age; forward-facing seat with an internal harness once the child has outgrown the rear-facing seat by height or weight for kids ages 2 to 4; a booster seat with a lap and shoulder belt for kids ages 4 to 9 once they’ve outgrown the forward-facing seat by height or weight; and all kids under the age of 14 must ride in the back seat if possible.
• Rideshare drivers who were deactivated after Jan. 1, 201 but before Aug. 1, 2024, may request an appeal of the deactivation if notice of the appeal is provided by the driver within 90 days of the date of enactment and the deactivation wasn’t due to serious misconduct. CLICK HERE for the full bill.

These laws follow those which went into effect on July 1. Those include a controversial retail delivery fee, non-compete clauses in employment contracts, and penalties for candidates who may benefit from the distribution of artificial images or videos about an opponent. In addition, a law went into effect on that date that allows Minnesotans to use a digital image of a hunting or fishing license to provide proof of a license.