The bill amends the membership and appointing authority of the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission, specifically altering the composition of its members. It reduces the number of voting members from 11 to 9 and introduces a nonvoting member, the commissioner of corrections or a designee. The bill also specifies that the governor must consider slates of candidates submitted by relevant associations when appointing certain members, such as the public defender and county attorney. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of appointing qualified members from protected groups.

Furthermore, the bill modifies the qualifications for some members, replacing the commissioner of corrections with a peace officer who is a chief of a municipal police department and adding a peace officer who is a county sheriff or deputy sheriff. It also removes the requirement for a member who is an academic in criminal justice or corrections and a member who works for an organization providing treatment for felony offenders. The bill includes provisions for the commission to elect voting members and mandates that the authority make reasonable efforts to appoint qualified individuals from protected groups. The effective date for these changes is the day following final enactment.

Statutes affected:
Introduction: 244.09