Legislative Session number- 81

Bill Name: SF1586

Creating the Minnesota center for crime victims services as an independent
office under the supervision of a director to be appointed by the governor;
specifying duties, transferring certain powers and duties of the commissioners
of corrections and public safety to the center and requiring the department of
public safety to provide the center with certain support services; requiring the
director to consider recommendations of the appropriate advisory council before
awarding grants or adopting rules, policies or procedures relating to programs
and services for victims; prohibiting certain conflicts of interest; specifying
certain duties of grantees; requiring and providing for the director in
consultation with the sexual assault advisory council to award grants in aid to
sexual assault programs and providing for application by nonprofit agencies and
tribal governments providing direct advocacy services; modifying certain
membership requirements and duties of the sexual assault advisory council;
requiring and providing for director employment of a sexual assault program
manager; providing for grants to battered women programs in consultation with
the battered women advisory council, making the council a temporary council,
requiring diversity in membership and modifying certain duties of the council
and the general crime victims advisory council; requiring the director to employ
battered women and general crime victims programs managers and providing for
grants to general crime victim programs; transferring the crime victims
reparations board from the department of public safety to the center and
requiring diversity in membership and director appointment of a program manager
for claims decision making purposes; transferring the responsibility for grants
to prosecutors and victim assistance programs from the crime victim and witness
advisory council to the general crime victims advisory council and modifying
certain crime victim and witness advisory council membership representation
requirements and duties, requiring a program manager; transferring the
responsibility for the crime victim services telephone line from the
commissioner of public safety to the office of the crime victims ombudsman;
providing for the transfer of certain penalty assessments to the center;
defining or redefining certain terms under general crime victims provisions;
requiring prosecution plans to be kept on file with the center and requiring the
director to evaluate the effectiveness of the prosecution plan pilot program;
repealing the statewide program developed by the commissioner of corrections to
aid victims of reported sexual attacks, certain powers of the commissioner,
certain definitions, crime victim crisis centers and the crime victim services
roundtable (ra)