Minnesota Session Laws - 1984, Regular Session

  

                         Laws of Minnesota 1984 

                        CHAPTER 589-H.F.No. 1382 
           An act relating to crimes; clarifying the definition 
          of "inmate" and "term of imprisonment"; providing for 
          the manner of modifying sentencing guidelines and 
          resentencing affected inmates; amending Minnesota 
          Statutes 1982, section 244.01, subdivisions 2 and 8; 
          244.09, subdivision 5, and by adding subdivisions; and 
          Minnesota Statutes 1983 Supplement, section 244.09, 
          subdivision 11. 
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
    Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 244.01, 
subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 2.  "Inmate" means any person who is convicted of a 
felony, is committed to the custody of the commissioner of 
corrections and is confined in a state correctional facility or 
released from a state correctional facility pursuant to sections 
244.05, section 244.065, and or 244.07.  
    Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 244.01, 
subdivision 8, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 8.  "Term of imprisonment" is a the period of time 
equal to the period of time to which the an inmate is committed 
to the custody of the commissioner of corrections following a 
conviction for a felony minus earned good time. 
    Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 244.09, 
subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 5.  The commission shall, on or before January 1, 
1980, promulgate sentencing guidelines for the district court.  
The guidelines shall be based on reasonable offense and offender 
characteristics.  The guidelines promulgated by the commission 
shall be advisory to the district court and shall establish: 
    (1) The circumstances under which imprisonment of an 
offender is proper; and 
    (2) A presumptive, fixed sentence for offenders for whom 
imprisonment is proper, based on each appropriate combination of 
reasonable offense and offender characteristics. The guidelines 
may provide for an increase or decrease of up to 15 percent in 
the presumptive, fixed sentence. 
    The sentencing guidelines promulgated by the commission may 
also establish appropriate sanctions for offenders for whom 
imprisonment is not proper.  Any guidelines promulgated by the 
commission establishing sanctions for offenders for whom 
imprisonment is not proper shall make specific reference to 
noninstitutional sanctions, including but not limited to the 
following:  payment of fines, day fines, restitution, community 
work orders, work release programs in local facilities, 
community based residential and nonresidential programs, 
incarceration in a local correctional facility, and probation 
and the conditions thereof. 
    In establishing the sentencing guidelines, the commission 
shall take into substantial consideration current sentencing and 
release practices and correctional resources, including but not 
limited to the capacities of local and state correctional 
facilities. 
    The provisions of sections 14.01 to 14.70 do not apply to 
the promulgation of the sentencing guidelines., and the 
sentencing guidelines, including severity levels and criminal 
history scores, are not subject to review by the legislative 
commission to review administrative rules.  However, on or 
before January 1, 1986, the commission shall adopt rules 
pursuant to sections 14.01 to 14.70 which establish procedures 
for the promulgation of the sentencing guidelines, including 
procedures for the promulgation of severity levels and criminal 
history scores, and these rules shall be subject to review by 
the legislative commission to review administrative rules.  
    Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1983 Supplement, section 
244.09, subdivision 11, is amended to read: 
    Subd. 11.  [MODIFICATION; RETROACTIVE EFFECT.] The 
commission shall meet as necessary for the purpose of modifying 
and improving the guidelines.  Any modification which amends the 
sentencing guidelines grid, including severity levels and 
criminal history scores, or which would result in the reduction 
of any sentence or in the early release of any inmate, with the 
exception of a modification mandated or authorized by the 
legislature or relating to a crime created or amended by the 
legislature in the preceding session, shall be submitted to the 
legislature by January 1 of any year in which the commission 
wishes to make the change and shall be effective on August 1 of 
that year, unless the legislature by law provides otherwise. All 
other modifications shall take effect according to the 
procedural rules of the commission.  On or before November 1 of 
each year, the commission shall submit a written report to the 
judiciary committees of the senate and the house of 
representatives that identifies and explains all modifications 
made during the preceding 12 months and all proposed 
modifications that will be submitted to the legislature on 
January 1.  Any modification of the guidelines that causes a 
duration change shall be retroactive for all inmates serving 
sentences imposed pursuant to the Minnesota sentencing 
guidelines if the durational change reduces the appropriate term 
of imprisonment.  
    Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 244.09, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read:  
    Subd. 11a.  [RETROACTIVITY.] Any person who is serving a 
sentence for which there is a modification in the numbers in the 
cells of the guidelines grid may institute a proceeding applying 
for retroactive application of the modification and the court 
may grant a petition for retroactivity subject to the same 
procedures, standards and conditions as set forth for post 
conviction remedies in section 590.01, subdivision 3.  The right 
to petition for relief pursuant to this subdivision does not 
apply to modifications in the sentencing guidelines other than 
modification of the numbers in the cells of the guidelines 
grid.  The right to petition for relief pursuant to this 
subdivision does not apply to offfenders on supervised release 
or to offenders who have had their supervised release revoked 
and who have been reimprisoned.  
    Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1982, section 244.09, is 
amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
    Subd. 13.  [RULEMAKING POWER.] The commission shall have 
authority to promulgate temporary and permanent rules to carry 
out the purposes of section 3.  
    Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
    Sections 1 to 6 are effective the day following final 
enactment. 
    Approved April 26, 1984