Purpose

• Align and extend how correctional fees are charged and reported in Minnesota, including defining what counts as a correctional fee and which services may have fees assessed.
• Remove the sunset on correctional fees, keeping them in place while introducing specific rules and reporting requirements.
• Change how supervision fees (the fees tied to supervision) are handled, including prohibiting increases for a set period and moving toward a phased-out approach (as described in the bill’s sunset provisions).

Main provisions

• Definition and scope of correctional fees

  • Correctional fees are fees charged or contracted for by a probation agency or the commissioner of corrections for court-ordered or community-provided correctional services.
  • Services include, but are not limited to, drug testing, electronic home monitoring, treatment, and programming.
  • Effective dates:
  • Through July 31, 2027: Fees may be charged for specific listed services including community service work placement and supervision; restitution collection; supervision; court-ordered investigations; any other court-ordered service; post-prison supervision or other release; and supervision or other probation-related services provided by a probation agency or the Department of Corrections for those supervised by the commissioner of corrections.
  • Beginning August 1, 2027: The definition broadens to encompass correctional services more generally, with fees defined for court-ordered or community-provided correctional services (as listed above).

• Definitions and who is covered

  • Probation has the meaning given in Minnesota law.
  • A probation agency includes a Tribal Nation organized under designated statutes (covering tribal jurisdictions).

• Annual reporting on fees

  • By January 15 each year, the commissioner must file an annual report on implementing duties under this section.
  • The report must include: the types of correctional services for which fees were imposed, the total amount of fees imposed, and the amount collected.
  • The annual reporting requirement expires August 1, 2027.

• Repeal of the sunset-related provision

  • The bill repeals the current provision in Minn. Stat. 244.18, section 244.18, subdivision 9, relating to a sunset plan for supervision fees.

• Related sunset/planning provisions (as reflected in the appendix)

  • The bill references a prior plan to sunset supervision fees, including timelines to phase out such fees by dates like August 1, 2025 and August 1, 2027, and requirements to inform affected individuals. Those sunset-related provisions are repealed under the bill, removing the existing phased-out timelines.

Significant changes from current law

• Keeps correctional fees in place beyond the previous sunset, while expanding the span of services that may be subject to fees and establishing two temporal windows (2023–2027 and post-2027) for how those fees are defined and charged.
• Adds formal annual reporting to track which services are charged and how much revenue is generated from correctional fees.
• Repeals the existing sunset plan for supervision fees, eliminating the current phased-out timeline for reducing or stopping these fees (though the bill’s text also contains prior phasing-out language that is being repealed).
• Addresses scope broadly to include tribal nations as probation entities and ensures clarity about which agencies can assess and collect fees.

Potential impact

• Individuals under supervision may continue to encounter a broader set of services for which fees can be charged, with a prohibition on fee increases during 2023–2027.
• Agencies will have enhanced reporting requirements to track and justify correctional fee activity.
• The sunset mechanism for supervision fees would be removed, delaying or altering any planned end to those fees under the current repeal.

Relevant terms

• correctional fees
• probation agency
• commissioner of corrections
• court-ordered services
• community-provided correctional services
• drug testing
• electronic home monitoring
• treatment
• programming
• community service work placement
• restitution collection
• supervision
• court-ordered investigations
• post-prison supervision
• supervision-related services
• probation (Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 609.02, subdivision 15)
• Tribal Nation (under section 244.19 or chapter 401)
• Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 244.18
• annual report
• August 1, 2023
• August 1, 2027
• sunsetting supervision fees
• phase-out plan
• fees collected and fees imposed
• language accessibility for individuals under supervision
• Department of Corrections