SF324

Purpose

The bill requires the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission to create and maintain a publicly accessible, searchable database on a public website. This database would provide information about criminal sentences that courts have stayed or imposed, making sentencing data more transparent while only using information that is public data.

Main Provisions

• New requirement: Add a subdivision (6a) to Minnesota Statutes 244.09 to create a publicly searchable database.
• Public website: The Commission must maintain a public website with a searchable database showing information about sentences stayed or imposed by the courts. The site must only include data that is public under Minnesota law (not public data is excluded).
• Data sources: The database must include all information transmitted from the sentencing court to the Commission, including:
  • The sentencing worksheet (as transmitted under section 609.115 subdivision 2a)
  • The sentencing order
  • The departure report (if any), sent under Rule 27.03 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure
• Data organization: Information must be entered into separate fields in the database.
• Searchable fields: Users must be able to search by multiple specific fields, including:
  • Case number
  • Defendant name
  • Date of offense
  • Judicial district and county
  • Year of sentence stayed or imposed
  • Judge who stayed or imposed the sentence
  • The crime for which the sentence was stayed or imposed
  • Defendant’s criminal history score
  • Severity level of the offense
  • Executed sentences (length of sentence imposed and executed)
  • Stayed sentences (length of probation, and if applicable, length of sentence imposed but not executed)
  • Whether the sentence was a departure from the Sentencing Guidelines and, if so, the type of departure (aggravated durational, aggravated dispositional, mitigated durational, mitigated dispositional, or hybrid)
  • Whether a departure was ordered with prosecutor agreement
• Functionality: The database must allow:
  • Searches using at least two fields
  • Sorting by each field
  • Aggregation or grouping of data by fields where feasible
  • Downloading data into a user-controlled database
• Data completeness: The site must include all information transmitted from the court to the Commission.

Funding and Implementation

• Appropriations: For fiscal years 2026 and 2027, the general fund must provide money to the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission to develop and maintain the publicly searchable database.
• Long-term funding: The base funding for this appropriation begins in fiscal year 2028 and continues thereafter.

Significance and Changes to Law

• This bill adds a new publicly accessible, field-rich database to public safety transparency efforts.
• It codifies a standardized set of data elements drawn from court documents (sentencing worksheet, sentencing order, departure report) and requires precise data entry into separate fields.
• It creates new funding to build and sustain the database, signaling a shift toward ongoing public access to detailed sentencing information.

Relevant terms publicly searchable database; Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission; Minnesota Statutes 244.09; subdivision 6a; public data; 13.02 subdivision 8a; sentencing worksheet; 609.115 subdivision 2a; sentencing order; departure report; Rule 27.03; Rules of Criminal Procedure; stayed sentences; executed sentences; length of probation; departure from the Sentencing Guidelines; aggravated durational; aggravated dispositional; mitigated durational; mitigated dispositional; hybrid departure; prosecutor agreement; case number; defendant name; date of offense; judicial district; county; year; judge; crime; criminal history score; severity level; aggregate data; download data; general fund; fiscal years 2026, 2027; fiscal year 2028.