Central Office m, 1450 Energy Park Drive, Suite 200, St. Paul, MN 55108 DEPARTMENT Main: 651.361.7200 / Fax: 651.642.0223 / TTY: 800.627.3529 OF CORRECTIONS www.mn.gov/DOC

May 5, 2021

Senator Warren Limmer Representative 3221 Senate Bldg. 479 State Office Building St. Paul, MN 55155 St. Paul, MN 55155

Senator Andrew Mathews Representative Jamie Becker-Finn 2105 Bldg. 559 State Office Building St. Paul, MN 55155 St. Paul, MN 55155

Senator Mark Johnson Representative 3111 Minnesota Senate Bldg. 569 State Office Building St. Paul, MN 55155 St. Paul, MN 55155

Senator Bill lngebrigtsen Representative 3207 Minnesota Senate Bldg. 439 State Office Building St. Paul, MN 55155 St. Paul, MN 55155

Senator Ron Latz Representative 2215 Minnesota Senate Bldg. 329 State Office Building St. Paul, MN 55155 St. Paul, MN 55155

Dear Judiciary Conference Committee Conferees:

I am writing to, first, thank you all for your incredible work so far this session which I expect was made even more challenging by the continued global pandemic. I recognize that the task before this conference committee is monumental as is this pivotal moment in our state's history. While a sound budget is critical to the operations of the Department of Corrections (DOC), we also recognize the utmost importance of policy reforms during this time of reckoning in our state.

The Governor's Budget reflects robust investments in public safety that promote equity, build community connectedness, and create more transparency in corrections, all of which further DOC's mission to transform lives for a safer Minnesota. It is important to note that the DOC was judicious with our budgeting, showing savings amounting to almost $21 million due to our population reduction. DOC has already become more efficient with existing resources, producing savings in FY2021 and continuing into FY2022 and FY2023, but cost growth will continue to pressure DOC's budget. As such, while we have big savings, we also have big needs, such as our operating adjustment and investments in critical staffing and technology needs.

Transforming Lives for a safer Minnesota EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER Omnibus Judiciary and Public Safety Policy and Finance Bill SF970/HF1030 Page 2 May 4, 2021

I am pleased to see support in both the Senate and House versions of SF 970 for the "Healthy Start Act" for pregnant incarcerated mothers and their newborns and release planning and homelessness mitigation services for individuals releasing from prison into our communities, as well as some funding for DOC's operating adjustment and information technology nee-ds. Though, we are concerned that the Senate's position does not fully fund necessary healthcare and compensation costs for DOC employees in FY2024-2025, further deepens the cuts to the Department, and omits key legislative initiatives responding to public safety crises that are supported by the House Public Safety Committee and included in the Governor's budget proposal.

I understand that lawmakers have difficult decisions to make when considering the various budget proposals that are before this conference committee. I would be remiss not to raise my concerns about the House's use of the cash balance in DOC's correctional industries program (MINNCOR) account. As you may know, the legislature established MINNCOR program "for the purpose of providing adequate, regular and suitable employment, educational training, and to aid" incarcerated individuals (M.S. 241.27) and mandated that MINNCOR be financially self-sufficient. As such, depletion of the $5.265 million reserves of MINNCOR would devastate the program and make its viability virtually impossible. If MINNCOR were forced to cease operations, approximately 120 full-time employees and 1,400 incarcerated people would be impacted, and I hope to work with you all in this conference committee to make sure that doesn't happen.

The Governor's Revised COVID-19 Recovery Budget and House version of SF 970 contain the following outcome focused investments in public safety that the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety budget omits:

• The Operating Adjustment, in full, is critical funding to maintain the current level of service delivery at the DOC. DOC has already become more efficient with existing resources, producing savings in FY2021 and continuing into FY2022 and FY2023, but cost growth will continue to pressure DOC's budget. With the current level of funding included in the Senate's budget proposal for the FY2024-25 biennium ($3.897M less per year), DOC may need to eliminate up to 42 existing FTEs. • Information Technology Operating Adjustment is required to maintain the current level of services, as DOC is the steward of criminal justice systems data and responsible for application development and support of over 150 applications used by criminal justice partners and supports more than 5,000 workstations and 400 servers. Without this funding in full ($966K less in FY22 and $1.021M less in subsequent years), DOC is unable to safeguard the current level of data for which it is responsible. • Creating a juvenile justice data repository ensures that policymakers can make evidence- and data­ based decisions around how youth are interacting with the child welfare and justice systems and where they are placed in Minnesota. Without this funding for a centralized statewide collection of data, youth will continue to slip through the cracks which will have a profound impact on multiple stakeholders across the state that desire to operate with solid data and information about youth in Minnesota. • Minnesota currently faces a crisis situation regarding the state's responsibility to license, provide oversight, and ensure the health and safety of those incarcerated in state and local correctional facilities. The DOC's statutory authority has not been substantively revised for 45 years and the legislature has not meaningfully updated the Corrections use of force statute in 115 years. The inspection and enforcement unit requires funding to provide improved oversight and enforcement of Omnibus Judiciary and Public Safety Policy and Finance Bill SF970/HF1030 Page 3 May 4, 2021

standards in licensed and state facilities (SF1427). Without this funding and strengthened licensing authority, the safety of incarcerated people in Minnesota state and local correctional facilities will remain in jeopardy. • Healthy Start Act (SF1315) authority and investment is a bipartisan solution to the profound and devastating impact on Minnesota families when mothers are incarcerated and separated from their newborns. Without full funding ($100,000 more per year), DOC's capacity to place pregnant women and new mothers in alternative settings is reduced. • The creation of an Indeterminate Sentence Release Board (SF899) establishes a fair and equitable process for those individuals sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. Currently, Minnesota is one of only four states where a single person makes these decisions and there are significant differences in commissioner approaches. Without this funding and authority, a shared and transparent decision­ making process cannot be achieved. • The DOC operating reduction as proposed in the Governor's budget was based on creative and efficient uses of already stretched resources through renegotiation of the health care contract for incarcerated individuals, reducing the amount of leased office space by the DOC, and organizational restructuring. The deepening of cuts in the operating reduction in correctional institutions would have to be accomplished by cuts in existing operations and programs. The proposed deepening of cuts equates to approximately 16 FTEs. • The Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act (SF2295) is rooted in bipartisan criminal justice reforms that have proven successful in a majority of other states. By measuring success in corrections by how people spend their time, rather than only by how much time is spent, money is saved and can be reinvested in supportive services for crime victims, supervision by counties and the DOC, treatment and prevention programming across the state and in our prisons, and even the state's general fund. Without this funding and authority, Minnesota will continue to use a one-size fits all approach, wasting state resources by treating individuals who engage in rehabilitative and transformational programming the same as individuals who refuse to engage. • The county grants report related to Community Corrections Act and County Probation Officer pass­ through funding and recommendations for system-wide services and an equitable funding structure are critical to public safety in Minnesota. Modernization of the existing three-delivery system approach is long overdue. It is critical to establish standards for a base-level of supervision, strengthen supervision practices, and develop an equitable and sustainable funding structure. Without the one-time funding and legislative report requirement, innovation and implementation of supervision best-practices will continue to go unrewarded and the use of important public safety resources will remain inefficient.

Investments in the Department of Corrections are investments in public safety. The state's budget must align with evidence-based strategies to ensure people transform behaviors. As you know, over 95% of those who are sentenced to prison will be returning as our neighbors and community members. Taxpayers rightly expect that state funds are spent to make our communities safer. The funding contained in the Governor's COVID-19 Recovery Budget envision an outcome-driven framework for community safety and criminal justice effectiveness. DOC is committed to working with you as this process moves further and appreciate your work to ensure the safety of our staff, those incarcerated, and our communities. Omnibus Judiciary and Public Safety Policy and Finance Bill SF970/HF1030 Page 4 May 4, 2021

Like all states across the country, Minnesota must engage in critical and difficult conversations about the efficiency and effectiveness of criminal justice system interventions, our performance in preventing and detecting crime, and our ability to provide responsive services to crime victims. There are no easy answers to the complex challenges we face, but we know that state investments in the criminal justice system must reflect effective stewardship of resources to achieve our shared justice objectives. The importance of police reform and re-envisioning our public safety system cannot be overstated. This session we saw bills introduced supporting critical initiatives that bolster public safety and reduce inequities and that are designed to advance human rights and community safety, including prohibiting strip searches of youth in detention facilities, creating alternatives to youth arrest, raising the age of delinquency and detention to 13 to better serve children in need of protection or services, strengthening reporting obligations to the legislature around state prison security and extended jurisdiction juveniles, incorporating consideration of veteran experiences and traumatic brain injury into sentencing practices, and addressing the substantial gaps in Minnesota's criminal sexual conduct statutory framework to better serve victim survivors, to name a few.

Protecting and advancing public safety in Minnesota requires a commitment to reducing harm and promoting racial and geographic equity within all aspects of our criminal justice system. It is imperative to incorporate input from incarcerated and other system-involved people, crime victims, agency staff, and community members in every corner of our state. DOC is committed to working with you as this process moves further, urges you to incorporate recommendations from the Governor's revised budget, and appreciates your work to ensure the safety of our staff, those incarcerated, and our communities.

Sincerely, 1:1:si.11 ~ ------"'l Commissioner, Department of Corrections

cc: Speaker Majority Leader Paul Gazelka Representative Senator Susan Kent