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that can result from preventing local control <br />of their own facilities. <br />Further, the law gives private property <br />owners the right to prohibit guns in their <br />establishments, but prohibits landowners <br />from restricting firearm possession by <br />tenants and their guests without <br />distinguishing between residential and <br />commercial properties. This creates <br />confusion for shopping malls and other retail <br />properties with large common areas that are <br />not occupied by the tenants but which the <br />tenants and their customers must cross to <br />access the tenant's space. <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities requests an amendment to the <br />Citizens Personal Protection Act that <br />would allow cities to prohibit handguns in <br />city -owned buildings, facilities, and parks. <br />The League is not seeking a repeal of the <br />Citizens Personal Protection Act, nor <br />authority to prohibit legal weapons in <br />parking lots or on city streets and <br />sidewalks. The League also supports <br />efforts by commercial property owners to <br />clarify that the prohibition on restricting <br />possession by tenants and their guests <br />applies only to residential rental property. <br />SD-31. Public Safety <br />Communications <br />Issue: The state role in financing public <br />safety communications has important cost <br />implications for cities. The state needs to <br />accept financial responsibility for use by <br />cities of the state public safety radio <br />communications backbone. Cities have <br />struggled to pay high expenses to participate <br />in the 800 MHz statewide public safety <br />system. <br />In previous state budgets, the Legislature <br />turned to revenue sources upon which cities <br />depend to cover costs to purchase and <br />operate new communications technology <br />and hardware for computer -aided dispatch, <br />911 public safety answering points (PSAPs), <br />and interoperable radio communications <br />equipment and subsystems in order to <br />finance the build -out of the state backbone <br />for the new system. As a result, fees were <br />directed to fund revenue bond debt service <br />used to complete the statewide build -out of <br />the Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency <br />Response (ARMER) and the cost of <br />operations of the state public safety radio <br />communications backbone. <br />At the federal level, the Federal <br />Communications Commission (FCC) has <br />ordered reservation of 700 MHz wireless <br />spectrum for a national interoperable <br />broadband network to meet public safety <br />communications needs. But no successful <br />proposal for development of such public <br />safety uses has yet been forthcoming. <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities supports continued and increased <br />state financing of substantial local costs to <br />participate in ARMER, including the <br />acquisition and modernization of <br />subscriber equipment, such as portable <br />and mobile radios required for ARMER <br />users. The League also opposes efforts to <br />divert dedicated ARMER funds to the <br />state's general fund. The Legislature <br />should fund regional cooperation and <br />partnerships for effective delivery of 911 <br />service, training and use of ARMER. <br />The League also urges the FCC to <br />continue to support availability of <br />wireless spectrum necessary to expand <br />channel capacity that allows local public <br />safety agencies to meet future needs of <br />cities and other local units of government. <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2015 City Policies Page 21 <br />