The Minnesota Advisory Committee on Capitol Security is finalizing it's key safety recommendations ahead of the upcoming legislative session.
One of the committees recommendations implements a trauma-informed safety drill including active threat and evacuation exercises for all elected officials and staff across the Capitol complex.
DFL Senator Bonnie Westlin spoke in favor of the change.
"I also know that those things can also be triggering and traumatizing, and yet I think I would feel better to actually go through a process of it," says Westlin. "I'm in this building, this is what's happening, this is where I need to go, and this is what I need to do."
These recommendations, along with a third-party security assessment, will inform the final list of recommendations set to be discussed sometime next month.
Recommendations include tighter decorum rules for hearings, and restricting public disruptions like clapping or signs.
"The committee recommends these rules state the type of conduct that is expected and the type of conduct that is not allowed," Sergeant-at-Arms for the Minnesota Senate Sven Lindquist explains. "For example, disruptive behavior, video cameras, or signs."
The groups final recommendation report is set to be discussed in their next meeting sometime in December.
Safety concerns ramped up at the State Capitol complex after state lawmakers were targeted for alleged political assassination, including the killing of House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, plus a breach of the capitol when a naked and non-violent person was found inside the facility in July.