HF 3937

1st Engrossment - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 02/26/2024 04:31pm

A bill for an act
relating to corrections; modifying membership and meetings of state correctional
facilities security audit group; amending Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 241.021,
subdivision 1h.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2022, section 241.021, subdivision 1h, is amended to read:

Subd. 1h.

State correctional facilities security audit group.

(a) Beginning in fiscal
year 2022, the commissioner shall form a state correctional facilities security audit group.
The group must consist of the following members:

(1) a Department new text begin of Corrections new text end employee who is not assigned to the correctional
institutions division, appointed by the commissioner;

(2) the ombudsperson for corrections new text begin or a designee new text end ;

(3) an elected sheriff or designee nominated by the Minnesota Sheriffs' Association and
appointed by the commissioner;

deleted text begin (4) a physical plant safety consultant, appointed by the governor;
deleted text end

deleted text begin (5) a private security consultant with expertise in correctional facility security, appointed
by the governor;
deleted text end

new text begin (4) an individual with expertise in security related to infrastructure and operational
logistics of correctional facilities who is not required to reside in Minnesota, appointed by
the governor;
new text end

new text begin (5) the commissioner of health or a designee;
new text end

new text begin (6) the commissioner of administration or a designee;
new text end

deleted text begin (6) deleted text end new text begin (7) new text end two senators, one appointed by the senate majority leader and one appointed by
the minority leader; and

deleted text begin (7) deleted text end new text begin (8) new text end two representatives, one appointed by the speaker of the house and one appointed
by the minority leader of the house of representatives.

(b) deleted text begin By January 1, 2022, deleted text end new text begin The ombudsperson or a designee shall chair the group. new text end The
group shall establish security audit standards for state correctional facilities. In developing
the standards, the group, or individual members of the group, may gather information from
state correctional facilities and state correctional staff and inmates. The security audit group
must periodically review the standards and modify them as needed. The group must report
the standards to the chairs and ranking minority members of the house of representatives
and senate committees with jurisdiction over public safety policy and finance deleted text begin by February
15, 2022 deleted text end new text begin whenever the standards are updated new text end .

(c) The group shall new text begin meet twice a year to new text end review facility audit reports submitted to the
group by the agency's inspection unit. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the group
is entitled to review the full audit reports including nonpublic security information and
corrections and detention confidential data. Within 60 days of deleted text begin receiving an deleted text end new text begin meeting to review new text end
audit deleted text begin report deleted text end new text begin reports new text end from the department's inspection unit, the group must make
recommendations to the commissioner. Within 45 days of receiving the group's
recommendations, the commissioner must reply in writing to the group's findings and
recommendations. The commissioner's response must explain whether the agency will
implement the group's recommendations, the timeline for implementation of the changes,
and, if not, why the commissioner will not or cannot implement the group's recommendations.

(d) Beginning in 2023, the commissioner must include a written aggregate of the group's
recommendations based on each security audit and assessment of a state correctional facility
and the commissioner's responses to the recommendations in the biennial report required
under section 241.016, subdivision 1. The commissioner shall not include corrections and
detention confidential data, as defined in section 13.85, subdivision 3, and nonpublic security
information, as defined in section 13.37, subdivision 1, in the commissioner's report to the
legislature.

(e) The commissioner shall provide staffing and administrative support to the group.

new text begin (f) The state correctional facilities security audit group is not subject to chapter 13D.
new text end

new text begin (g) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the terms, compensation, and removal
of members of the group are governed by section 15.059. Members of the group serve
without compensation but shall receive expense reimbursement. Notwithstanding section
15.059, subdivision 6, the group does not expire.
new text end