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A bill for an act
relating to corrections; clarifying in law the multiple levels of substance abuse
care provided by the commissioner of corrections; expanding access to mental
health unit beds for incarcerated persons; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024,
sections 241.021, subdivision 4a; 241.69, subdivisions 1, 3, 4, 5, 6.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 241.021, subdivision 4a, is amended to read:
Subd. 4a.
Substance use disorder treatment programs.
All
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residential
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substance use
disorder treatment programs operated by the commissioner of corrections to treat
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adults
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individuals
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committed to the commissioner's custody
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shall
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or to treat juveniles in
state-operated juvenile correctional facilities that have a correctional program services
certification per Minnesota Rules, chapter 2960, must
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comply with the standards mandated
in chapter
245G
for treatment programs operated by community-based treatment facilities.
When the commissioners of corrections and human services agree that these established
standards for community-based programs cannot reasonably apply to correctional facilities,
alternative equivalent standards shall be developed by the commissioners and established
through an interagency agreement.
Sec. 2.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 241.69, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1.
Authority; rules.
The commissioner of corrections shall, in accordance
with applicable rules and standards prescribed by the Department of Human Services,
establish, staff, equip, maintain, and operate
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in
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at
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least
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one of the adult correctional
institutions under the commissioner's control a mental health unit for the care and treatment
of those inmates of state correctional institutions who become mentally ill.
Sec. 3.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 241.69, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3.
Transfer.
If the licensed mental health professional finds the person to be a
person who is mentally ill and in need of short-term care,
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assessment, evaluation, or
stabilization,
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the licensed mental health professional may recommend transfer by the
commissioner of corrections to
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the
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a
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mental health unit established pursuant to subdivision
1.
Sec. 4.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 241.69, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4.
Commitment.
If the licensed mental health professional finds the person to be
a person who is mentally ill and in need of long-term care in a hospital,
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or if an inmate
transferred pursuant to subdivision 3 refuses to voluntarily participate in the treatment
program at the mental health unit,
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the director of psychological services of the institution
or the mental health professional shall initiate proceedings for judicial commitment as
provided in section
253B.07
. Upon the recommendation of the licensed mental health
professional and upon completion of the hearing and consideration of the record, the court
may commit the person to
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the
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a
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mental health unit established in subdivision 1 or to another
hospital. A person confined in a state correctional institution for adults who has been
adjudicated to be a person who is mentally ill and in need of treatment may be committed
to the commissioner of corrections and placed in
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the
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a
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mental health unit established in
subdivision 1.
Sec. 5.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 241.69, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5.
Discharge.
The director of psychological services of
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the
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a
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mental health unit
established under this section may, subject to the provisions of chapter 253B, provisionally
discharge any inmate patient admitted as a person who is mentally ill without discharging
the commitment and order the inmate patient's release into the general population of the
institution from which admitted, subject to return to the facility for further treatment.
When the director of psychological services of the facility certifies that a patient is no
longer in need of institutional care for mental illness the director of psychological services
shall discharge the patient to the institution from which committed, and the discharge shall
also discharge the mental illness commitment.
A copy of the certification that the inmate is no longer in need of care for mental illness
shall be transmitted to the commissioner of corrections. The commissioner of corrections
shall give serious consideration to the aforementioned certification for purposes of their
supervision over the inmate upon the inmate's release.
Sec. 6.
Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 241.69, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6.
Transfer upon expiration of sentence.
If the sentence of a person who has
been adjudicated to be mentally ill and committed to
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the
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a
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mental health unit established
under this section should expire before the person recovers and is discharged therefrom,
and, in the judgment of the director of psychological services of the unit, the person requires
further hospitalization for mental illness, the person shall be transferred by the commissioner
of corrections to a state hospital designated by the Direct Care and Treatment executive
board, there to be detained as in the case of other mentally ill persons under judicial
commitment.