Certain Bureau of Criminal Apprehension grants to local law enforcement as reimbursements clarification provision, recording of crimes law modifications, determination of how certain criminal records are ineligible for sealing process establishment, and orders of protection for access by law enforcement provided by the court requirement provision

A bill for an act

relating to public safety; clarifying certain grants from the Bureau of Criminal

Apprehension to local law enforcement as reimbursements; updating law related

to recording of crimes; establishing process for determining how certain criminal

records are ineligible for sealing; requiring court to provide orders for protection

for access by law enforcement; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections

299C.05; 299C.065; 299C.46, subdivision 6; 609A.015, subdivision 5; Minnesota

Statutes 2025 Supplement, section 609.2334, subdivision 11; repealing Minnesota

Statutes 2024, section 299C.12.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 299C.05, is amended to read:

299C.05 CRIME DATA COLLECTION.

It shall be the duty of this division to collect, and preserve as a record of the bureau,

information concerning the number and nature of offenses known to have been committed

in the state, of the legal steps taken in connection therewith from the inception of the

complaint to the final discharge of the defendant, and such other information as may be

useful in the study of crime and the administration of justice.
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The information shall be

provided in a form prescribed by the superintendent.
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The information so collected and

preserved shall include such data as may be requested by the United States Department of

Justice, at Washington, under its national system of crime reporting. To the extent possible,

the superintendent must utilize a nationally recognized system or standard approved by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation to collect and preserve crime data.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 299C.065, is amended to read:

299C.065 UNDERCOVER BUY FUND; WITNESS AND VICTIM PROTECTION.

Subdivision 1.

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Grants
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Reimbursements
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.

The commissioner of public safety shall make
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grants
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reimbursements
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to local officials for the following purposes:

(1) the cooperative investigation of cross jurisdictional criminal activity relating to the

possession and sale of controlled substances;

(2) receiving or selling stolen goods;

(3) participating in gambling activities in violation of section
609.76
;

(4) violations of section
609.322
or any other state or federal law prohibiting the

recruitment, transportation, or use of juveniles for purposes of prostitution;

(5) for partial reimbursement of local costs associated with unanticipated, intensive,

long-term, multijurisdictional criminal investigations that exhaust available local resources,

except that the commissioner may not reimburse the costs of a local investigation involving

a child who is reported to be missing and endangered unless the law enforcement agency

complies with section
299C.53
and the agency's own investigative policy; and

(6) for partial reimbursement of local costs associated with criminal investigations into

the activities of violent criminal gangs and gang members.

Subd. 1a.

Witness and victim protection fund.

(a) A witness and victim protection

fund is created under the administration of the commissioner of public safety. The

commissioner may make
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grants
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reimbursements
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to local officials to provide for the relocation

or other protection of a victim, witness, or potential witness who is involved in a criminal

prosecution and who the commissioner has reason to believe is or is likely to be the target

of a violent crime or a violation of section
609.498
or
609.713
, in connection with that

prosecution. The awarding of
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grants
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reimbursements
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under this subdivision is not limited

to the crimes and investigations described in subdivision 1.

(b) The commissioner may award
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grants
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reimbursements
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for any of the following actions

in connection with the protection of a witness or victim under this subdivision:

(1) to provide suitable documents to enable the person to establish a new identity or

otherwise protect the person;

(2) to provide housing for the person;

(3) to provide for the transportation of household furniture and other personal property

to the person's new residence;

(4) to provide the person with a payment to meet basic living expenses for a time period

the commissioner deems necessary;

(5) to assist the person in obtaining employment; and

(6) to provide other services necessary to assist the person in becoming self-sustaining.

Subd. 2.

Application for
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grant
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reimbursement
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.

A county sheriff or the chief

administrative officer of a municipal police department may apply to the commissioner of

public safety for a
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grant
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reimbursement
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for any of the purposes described in subdivision 1

or 1a, on forms and pursuant to procedures developed by the superintendent. For
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grants
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reimbursements
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under subdivision 1, the application shall describe the type of intended

criminal investigation, an estimate of the amount of money required, and any other

information the superintendent deems necessary.

Subd. 3.

Investigation report.

A report shall be made to the commissioner at the

conclusion of an investigation for which a
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grant
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reimbursement
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was made under subdivision

1 stating (1) the number of persons arrested, (2) the nature of charges filed against them,

(3) the nature and value of controlled substances or contraband purchased or seized, (4) the

amount of money paid to informants during the investigation, and (5) a separate accounting

of the amount of money spent for expenses, other than "buy money," of bureau and local

law enforcement personnel during the investigation. The commissioner shall prepare and

submit to the chairs of the committees in the senate and house of representatives with

jurisdiction over criminal justice policy by January 1 of each even-numbered year a report

of investigations receiving
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grants
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reimbursements
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under subdivision 1.

Subd. 3a.

Accounting report.

The head of a law enforcement agency that receives a
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grant
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reimbursement
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under subdivision 1a shall file a report with the commissioner at the

conclusion of the case detailing the specific purposes for which the money was spent. The

commissioner shall prepare and submit to the chairs of the committees in the senate and

house of representatives with jurisdiction over criminal justice policy by January 1 of each

even-numbered year a summary report of witness assistance services provided under this

section.

Subd. 4.

Data classification.

An application to the commissioner for money is a

confidential record. Information within investigative files that identifies or could reasonably

be used to ascertain the identity of assisted witnesses, sources, or undercover investigators

is a confidential record. A report at the conclusion of an investigation is a public record,

except that information in a report pertaining to the identity or location of an assisted witness

is private data.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 299C.46, subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Orders for protection; no contact orders; harassment restraining orders.

(a)

As used in this subdivision, "no contact orders" include orders issued as pretrial orders

under section
629.72, subdivision 2
, orders under section
629.75
, and orders issued as

probationary or sentencing orders at the time of disposition in a criminal domestic abuse

case.

(b) The data communications network must include orders for protection issued under

section
518B.01
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or 609.2334
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, harassment restraining orders, and no contact orders issued

against adults and juveniles. A no contact order must be accompanied by a photograph of

the offender for the purpose of enforcement of the order, if a photograph is available and

verified by the court to be an image of the defendant.

(c) Data from orders for protection, harassment restraining orders, or no contact orders

and data entered by law enforcement to assist in the enforcement of those orders are classified

as private data on individuals as defined in section
13.02, subdivision 12
. Data about the

offender can be shared with the victim for purposes of enforcement of the order.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2025 Supplement, section 609.2334, subdivision 11, is amended

to read:

Subd. 11.

Copy to law enforcement agency; lead investigative agency.

Within 24

hours of issuance of an order or continuance of an order under this section, the court

administrator must forward the order for protection and any continuance of the order for

protection to the local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the residence of the

vulnerable adult and the lead investigative agency that received the report pursuant to

subdivision 6.
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The court administrator shall make available to law enforcement officers in

Minnesota, through a system of verification, information as to the existence and status of

an order for protection issued under this section.
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Section
518B.01, subdivision 13
,
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applies
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paragraphs (b) and (c), apply
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to orders granted under this section.

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EFFECTIVE DATE.

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This section is effective January 1, 2027.

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Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 609A.015, subdivision 5, is amended to read:

Subd. 5.

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to identify eligible persons and grant

expungement relief.

(a) The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shall identify any records

that qualify for a grant of expungement relief pursuant to this subdivision or subdivision 1,

2, or 3. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shall make an initial determination of

eligibility within 30 days of the end of the applicable waiting period. If a record is not

eligible for a grant of expungement at the time of the initial determination, the Bureau of

Criminal Apprehension shall make subsequent eligibility determinations annually until the

record is eligible for a grant of expungement.

(b) In making the determination under paragraph (a), the Bureau of Criminal

Apprehension shall identify individuals who are the subject of relevant records through the

use of fingerprints and thumbprints where fingerprints and thumbprints are available. Where

fingerprints and thumbprints are not available, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shall

identify individuals through the use of the person's name and date of birth. Records containing

the same name and date of birth shall be presumed to refer to the same individual unless

other evidence establishes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that they do not refer to the

same individual. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is not required to review any other

evidence in making a determination.

(c) The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shall grant expungement relief to qualifying

persons and seal its own records without requiring an application, petition, or motion.

Records shall be sealed 60 days after notice is sent to the judicial branch pursuant to

paragraph (e) unless an order of the judicial branch prohibits sealing the records or additional

information establishes that the records are not eligible for expungement.

(d) Nonpublic criminal records maintained by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension

and subject to a grant of expungement relief shall display a notation stating "expungement

relief granted pursuant to section
609A.015
."

(e) The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shall inform the judicial branch of all cases

for which expungement relief was granted pursuant to this section. Notification may be

through electronic means and may be made in real time or in the form of a monthly report.

Upon receipt of notice, the judicial branch shall seal all records relating to an arrest,

indictment or information, trial, verdict, or dismissal and discharge for any case in which

expungement relief was granted and shall issue any order deemed necessary to achieve this

purpose.

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(f) If the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension subsequently determines that a sealed record

did not qualify for expungement relief under this section, the Bureau of Criminal

Apprehension shall unseal the record and notify the judicial branch. Upon notification, the

judicial branch shall unseal all records relating to an arrest, indictment or information, trial,

verdict, or dismissal and discharge. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shall make this

determination based only on a record stored in its criminal history system.

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(f)
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(g)
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The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension shall inform each law enforcement agency

that its records may be affected by a grant of expungement relief. Notification may be

through electronic means. Each notified law enforcement agency that receives a request to

produce records shall first determine if the records were subject to a grant of expungement

under this section. The law enforcement agency must not disclose records relating to an

arrest, indictment or information, trial, verdict, or dismissal and discharge for any case in

which expungement relief was granted and must maintain the data consistent with the

classification in paragraph
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(g)
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(h)
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. This paragraph does not apply to requests from a criminal

justice agency as defined in section
609A.03, subdivision 7a
, paragraph (f).

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(g)
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(h)
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Data on the person whose offense has been expunged under this subdivision,

including any notice sent pursuant to paragraph
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(f)
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(g)
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, are private data on individuals as

defined in section
13.02, subdivision 12
.

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(h)
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(i)
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The prosecuting attorney shall notify the victim that an offense qualifies for

automatic expungement under this section in the manner provided in section
611A.03,

subdivisions 1
and 2.

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(i)
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(j)
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In any subsequent prosecution of a person granted expungement relief, the expunged

criminal record may be pleaded and has the same effect as if the relief had not been granted.

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(j)
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(k)
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The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is directed to develop, modify, or update

a system to provide criminal justice agencies with uniform statewide access to criminal

records sealed by expungement.

Sec. 6.
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REPEALER.
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Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 299C.12,

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is repealed.

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APPENDIX

Repealed Minnesota Statutes: 26-06121

299C.12 RECORD KEPT BY PEACE OFFICER; REPORT.

Every peace officer shall keep or cause to be kept a permanent written record, in such form as the superintendent may prescribe, of all felonies reported to or discovered by the officer within the officer's jurisdiction and of all warrants of arrest for felonies and search warrants issued to the officer in relation to the commission of felonies, and shall make or cause to be made to the sheriff of the county and the bureau reports of all such crimes, upon such forms as the superintendent may prescribe, including a statement of the facts and a description of the offender, so far as known, the offender's method of operation, the action taken by the officer, and such other information as the superintendent may require.