Article 1 – Appropriations

Article 1 appropriates money to the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, district courts, civil legal services, Guardian Ad Litem Board, Tax Court, Uniform Laws Commission, Board on Judicial Standards, Board of Public Defense, Sentencing Guidelines Commission, Department of Public Safety, Peace Officers Standards and Training Board, Private Detective Board, Department of Human Rights, and Department of Corrections. Transfers sums from the MINNCOR revolving fund and the fire safety account to the general fund.   

State Employee Salaries and Insurance

• 1.8 percent annual increase for all employees except for the Courts, Public Defender and Department of Corrections.

Courts (Supreme, Appeals, and District)

• Judges’ salary increase of four percent each year.
• Employee salary increase of four percent each year.
• Doubling of juror mileage and per diem rates.

Tax Court

• Judges’ salary increase of four percent each year.
• Employee salary increase of three percent each year.
• New case management system.

Public Defense

• Salary and insurance increase of five percent each year equivalent.
• $5.4 million for caseload reduction (new attorneys and staff).

Public Safety – Homeland Security and Emergency Management

• $1 million for disaster contingency account. If the general fund balance at the end of the 2014-2015 biennium exceeds the projected fund balance by at least $12.5 million, $10 million will be transferred into the disaster contingency account. (See also fire safety account transfer, below.)
• $250,000 to combat the recruitment of Minnesota residents by terrorist organizations.
• $492,000 for additional Chemical Assessment and HazMat teams.

Public Safety – Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

• $5.7 million for additional personnel and equipment.
• $1.3 million for replacement of Livescan machines.

Public Safety – Fire Marshal

• $3.4 million for firefighter training and education.
• $2.22 million for Minnesota Task Force 1
• $380,000 for Minnesota Air Rescue Team

Public Safety – Office of Justice Policy

• $3.9 million for crime prevention and victim services grants.

Public Safety – Emergency Communication Networks

• $26.9 million for Next Generation 911 and ARMER upgrades and maintenance.

Private Detective Board

• One administrative assistant.

Human Rights

• $1.26 million base increase (17 percent).

Corrections – Institutions

• Food service conversion from contract to state employees.
• $3.4 million health services increase.
• 2 new fugitive apprehension agents.

Corrections – Community Services

• 8 new Intensive Supervised Release agents.
• 2.5 new Challenge Incarceration agents.
• $3.1 million CCA subsidy increase.
• $400,000 county probation officer reimbursement increase.
• $170,000 Scott County caseload/workload reduction grant.

Corrections – Operations Support

• $1.8 million for information technology upgrades and staffing.

Transfers

• $1 million from the MINNCOR account to the general fund.
• $2.5 million from the fire safety account to the general fund. If the general fund balance at the end of the 2014-2015 biennium exceeds the projected fund balance by at least $12.5 million, $2.5 million will be transferred into the fire safety account and appropriated to the commissioner of public safety for activities under section 299F.012. (See also disaster contingency account, above.)

Please refer to the spreadsheet for more specific information.

Article 2 – Grant Programs and other Fiscal-related Changes

Sections 1 to 5 address the distribution of disaster assistance. (S.F. 878, Latz)

Section 1 authorizes the use of money from the disaster assistance account to provide matching funds received from the Federal Highway Administration emergency relief program and the United States Department of Agriculture emergency watershed protection program.

Section 2 authorizes state government agencies to apply for disaster assistance matching grants from the disaster assistance contingency account.

Section 3 adds a definition of "county" to the public disaster assistance chapter.

Section 4 replaces a reference to "local" government with a reference to "county" government clarifying that the criteria for disaster assistance includes a declaration of a disaster or emergency by the state or county government.

Section 5 establishes timelines for counties to request that the governor declare a state disaster and specifies what a county's request for a declaration of a state disaster must include.

Section 6 requires a mandatory $300 fine for persons who violate the prohibition on texting while driving a second or subsequent time. (S.F. 1556, Carlson)

Section 7 authorizes the commissioner of corrections, in consultation with the commissioner of health, to award grants for doula services to incarcerated women. (S.F. 1269, Sieben)

Section 8 amends the youth intervention program statute. Lowers the required match for first-time grant recipients from two times the amount of the grant sought to an amount that is equal to the grant sought. (Retains the two times the amount standard for recipients who have received previous grants.) Increases the cap on grants from $50,000 to $75,000. (S.F. 184, Franzen)

Section 9 statutorily appropriates any balance remaining in the fire safety account after the first year of the biennium to the commissioner of public safety for activities under section 299F.012.

Section 10 provides than an Application for Discharge of Judgment is exempt from the $310 civil filing fee. Specifies that the filing fee in section 548.181 applies instead ($5 for each judgment to be discharged). (S.F. 999, Limmer) Also lowers the child support modification motion fee by $50 (from $100 to $50). (Chair's recommendation)

Section 11 modifies how the base funding amounts and the aggregate base funding amounts are calculated in the formula that the commissioner of corrections uses to determine the community corrections aid amount to be paid to each participating county. Requires that caseload/workload reductions, felony caseload reductions, and sex offender supervision grants from fiscal year 2015 be included. (S.F. 1831, Limmer)

Section 12 amends the 2013 appropriation rider for the Tax Court to allow funds dedicated to law clerks, CLE costs, and Westlaw to be used for operating expenses. Makes funds in the first year of the biennium available in the second year. (S.F. 1354, Rest)

Section 13 amends the 2013 appropriation rider for the Board on Judicial Standards to provide that only unencumbered and unspent balances carry over to subsequent fiscal years. (S.F. 878, Latz)

Section 14 permits the commissioner of public safety, acting through the Office of Justice Programs, to award a grant to be used to conduct training, technical support, and peer learning opportunities for counties across the state. The intent of the grant is to eliminate the inappropriate or unnecessary use of secure detention, minimize re-arrest and failure to appear rates pending adjudication, ensure appropriate conditions of confinement in secure facilities, and reduce racial and ethnic disparities for juvenile offenders. Specifies the grant criteria and requires the grant recipient to conduct a program evaluation relating to the grant. (S.F. 1590, Dibble)

Section 15 establishes a grant program for child advocacy center grants. Authorizes the commissioner of public safety to award grants to child advocacy centers whose primary purpose is to coordinate the investigation, treatment, and management of abuse cases and provide direct services to children and vulnerable adults. Specifies what the grants may be used for and the organizations that are eligible. (S.F. 512, Jensen)

Section 16 requires the commissioner of public safety to establish a Lifesaver grant program to assist local law enforcement agencies with the cost of developing rapid response programs to quickly find individuals with medical conditions that cause wandering or result in them becoming lost and missing. Specifies the agencies that are eligible to receive grants and what a grant application must include. Authorizes the commissioner to award, on a first-come, first-served basis, grants of up to $4,000 to eligible applicants to develop new Lifesaver programs and up to $2,000 to eligible applicants to expand existing programs. Addresses how grant recipients may use the grants and requires them to file reports with the commissioner on how the money was spent.  (S.F. 1123, Senjem)

Section 17 establishes a grant program under which the commissioner of public safety must award grants to programs that provide sexual assault primary prevention services. Describes the application process and the duties of grantees. (S.F. 1489, Kent)

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