Today the Senate passed a public safety bill without bipartisan support after the last-minute decision to close the state’s second largest prison without a single legislative hearing was included in the bill. The decision to close the Stillwater prison was made behind closed doors, without giving the public, committee members, employees, or advocates the opportunity to learn more and share their concerns.

“This is a shortsighted and alarming development – there were no committee hearings and no bill language on the issue, and I am very concerned that this proposal lacks the thorough vetting necessary for such a large change,” said Sen. Warren Limmer (R- Maple Grove) the lead Republican on the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee. “I’m concerned that this decision and the long-term ramifications put the public at risk. We should not move forward with this proposal until we have an adequate plan in place to house the inmates and relocate the staff,” he said.

Minnesota has consistently ranked among the states with the lowest incarceration rates. That didn’t stop Democrats from making 92% of the prison population eligible for early release through the Minnesota Reinvestment and Rehabilitation Act in 2023.

The conference committee did make some improvements since the bill passed the Senate:

• Removed changes to felony murder that would release more than 100 prisoners in the next ten years
• Removed the controversial change that pregnant women who use drugs may not be charged with child endangerment
• Removed the civil commitment division in the Attorney General’s office that was not supported by mental health advocates
• Includes a mandatory minimum sentence for first-degree criminal sex trafficking
• Extends the statute of limitations for first-degree arson from five years to 10 years
• Jail inmates who assault corrections officers will now serve sentences consecutively, rather than concurrently

A proposal by Sen. Paul Utke to create a felony offense for exposing a child to fentanyl was preserved by the conference committee.

The conference committee also removed funding that had broad bipartisan support in the Senate including:

• $1.75 million in funding for Violent Crime Enforcement Teams, specifically tasked with stopping drug and gang-related criminal activity
• Reduced from $6 million to $4.9 million funding for law enforcement training programs