Clemency Review Commission and Board of Pardons procedures expanded and refined, rulemaking authorized, and money appropriated.

A bill for an act

relating to public safety; expanding and refining the procedures of the Clemency

Review Commission and Board of Pardons; authorizing rulemaking; appropriating

money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 638.09, by adding a

subdivision; 638.12, subdivision 2; 638.14, subdivision 5; 638.16, subdivision 1;

638.18, subdivision 2; 638.19, subdivision 1; 638.23; Laws 2025, chapter 35,

article 2, section 8.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 638.09, is amended by adding a subdivision

to read:

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Subd. 6.

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Panel of members; prescreening applications.

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(a) The commission may

appoint panels of three members to prescreen clemency and waiver applications. Each panel

must be composed of a member appointed by the governor, the attorney general, and the

chief justice of the supreme court.

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(b) A panel's meeting must be open to the public. The third-party notification provisions

of section 638.11 do not apply to panel meetings. The applicant is not required to attend

the panel meeting where the panel reviews the applicant's application. In addition to the

information contained in the application, the panel may consider any other statements or

information submitted by an interested party.

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(c) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (d), a panel may take one of the following

actions:

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(1) recommend that the board deny the application without a commission hearing, if the

vote is unanimous; or

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(2) refer the application to the commission for a hearing.

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(d) Panels may be used to review requests for expedited processing of pardon applications

if the commission and board adopt rules that establish objective criteria for determining

which applications are eligible for expedited processing. A panel may take one of the

following actions on applications eligible for expedited processing:

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(1) recommend that the board deny the application without a commission hearing, if the

vote is unanimous;

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(2) refer the application to the commission for a hearing; or

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(3) recommend that the board grant the application without a hearing, if the vote is

unanimous.

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Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 638.12, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Pardon eligibility; waiver.

(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c),

an individual convicted of a crime in a court of this state may apply for a pardon of the

individual's conviction on or after five years from the sentence's expiration or discharge

date.

(b) An individual convicted before August 1, 2023, of a violation of section
609.19
,

subdivision 1, clause (1), under the theory of liability for crimes of another may apply for

a pardon upon the sentence's expiration or discharge date if the individual:

(1) was charged with a violation of section
609.185
, paragraph (a), clause (3), and:

(i) thereafter pled guilty to a violation of section
609.19, subdivision 1
, clause (1);

(ii) did not cause the death of a human being; and

(iii) did not intentionally aid, advise, hire, counsel, or conspire with or otherwise procure

another with the intent to cause the death of a human being; or

(2) was charged with a violation of section
609.19, subdivision 2
, and:

(i) thereafter pled guilty to a violation of section
609.19, subdivision 1
, clause (1);

(ii) did not cause the death of a human being; and

(iii) was not a major participant, as defined in section
609.05, subdivision 2a
, paragraph

(c), in the underlying felony or did not act with extreme indifference to human life.

(c) An individual may request the board to waive the waiting period if there is a showing

of unusual circumstances and special need.

(d) The commission must review a waiver request and recommend to the board whether

to grant the request. When considering a waiver request, the commission
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is
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and the board

are
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exempt from the meeting requirements under section
638.14
and chapter 13D.

(e) The board must grant a waiver request unless the governor or a board majority opposes

the waiver.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 638.14, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Applicant appearance; third-party statements.

(a)
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Except as provided in

paragraph (e),
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an applicant for clemency must appear before the commission either in person

or through available forms of telecommunication.

(b) The victim of an applicant's crime may appear and speak at the meeting or submit a

written statement to the commission.
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At the request of a victim,
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the commission may
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allow

the victim to speak in a closed meeting or
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treat a victim's written statement as confidential

and not disclose the statement to the applicant or the public
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if there is or has been an order

for protection, harassment restraining order, or other no-contact order prohibiting the

applicant from contacting the victim
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.

(c) A law enforcement agency's representative may provide the agency's position on

whether the commission should recommend clemency by:

(1) appearing and speaking at the meeting; or

(2) submitting a written statement to the commission.

(d) The sentencing judge and the prosecuting attorney, or their successors, may provide

their positions on whether the commission should recommend clemency by:

(1) appearing and speaking at the meeting; or

(2) submitting their statements under section
638.11, subdivision 2
.

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(e) The governor may waive the hearing requirement under paragraph (a) if:

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(1) the applicant's petition requires immediate review by the board;

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(2) waiver of the hearing serves a significant public interest;

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(3) the applicant has previously appeared before the board; or

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(4) the applicant provides good cause to do so.

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Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 638.16, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Frequency.

(a) The board must meet at least two times each year to

consider and vote on clemency applications.

(b) If the commission recommends that an application receive a hearing, the board must

hold a hearing on the application unless all the board members decline a hearing.

(c) If the commission recommends that an application not receive a hearing, the board

must not hold a hearing on the application unless at least one board member requests a

hearing.

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(d) Pursuant to section 638.09, subdivision 6, if a panel of the commission recommends

granting or denying an application without a full commission hearing, the board may:

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(1) adopt the panel's recommendation; or

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(2) direct the full commission to conduct a hearing on the application.

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Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 638.18, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Court action; pardon.

(a) For a pardon, the court must:

(1) order the conviction set aside;

(2) include a copy of the pardon in the court file;

(3) order all records wherever held relating to the arrest, indictment or information, trial,

verdict, and pardon sealed and prohibit the disclosure of the existence of the records or the

opening of the records except
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:
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(i)
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under court order
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;
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(ii) by the Clemency Review Commission with written consent of the person who

received the pardon;
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or

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(iii)
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pursuant to section
609A.03, subdivision
7a, paragraph (b), clause (1), (7), or (8);

and

(4) send a copy of the order and the pardon to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and

all other government entities that hold affected records.

(b) Consistent with section
609A.03, subdivision 8
, the court administrator shall send a

copy of the expungement order to each government entity whose records are affected by

the order, including but not limited to the Department of Corrections, the Department of

Public Safety, and law enforcement agencies.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 638.19, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Time-barred from reapplying; exception.

(a) After the board has

considered and denied a clemency application on the merits, an applicant may not file a

subsequent application for five years after the date of the most recent denial. This paragraph

applies if an application is denied according to section
638.17, subdivision 1
, paragraph

(b).

(b) An individual may request permission to reapply before the five-year period expires

based only on new and substantial information that was not and could not have been

previously considered by the board or commission.

(c) If a waiver request contains new and substantial information, the commission must

review the request and recommend to the board whether to waive the time restriction. When

considering a waiver request, the commission
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is
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and board are
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exempt from the meeting

requirements under section
638.14
and chapter 13D.

(d) The board must grant a waiver request unless the governor or a board majority

opposes the waiver.

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 638.23, is amended to read:

638.23 RULEMAKING.

(a) The board and commission may jointly adopt rules, including amending Minnesota

Rules, chapter 6600, to:

(1) enforce their powers and duties under this chapter and ensure the efficient processing

of applications; and

(2) establish a process for expedited review of applications requesting clemency for a

nonviolent crime.

(b) A rule adopted under paragraph (a), clause (2), must specify the types of nonviolent

crimes eligible for expedited review and the level of support needed from the sentencing

judge or successor, the prosecuting attorney or successor, and any victims of the crime for

the board to consider the application under the expedited review process.

(c) The time limit to adopt rules under section
14.125
does not apply.

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(d) The board and commission may adopt rules using the expedited rulemaking process

in section 14.389.

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Sec. 8.

Laws 2025, chapter 35, article 2, section 8, is amended to read:

Sec. 8.
CLEMENCY REVIEW COMMISSION

$

995,000

$

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1,005,000

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.......

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The supplemental appropriation for fiscal year

2027 may be used to:

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(1) hire additional staff;

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(2) offset the costs of the agency's integrated

case management system;

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(3) fund paid training for commission

members; and

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(4) fund office relocation expenses.

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The base for this activity is $....... beginning

in fiscal year 2028 and thereafter.

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