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Panel advances technical fix to establish Office of Appellate Counsel and Training
Summary
Senate File 2006 would correct implementation language for the Office of Appellate Counsel and Training originally authorized in 2023, clarifying the office will be housed in the executive branch so it can complete staffing and payroll steps; the committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion.
Senate File 2006 would resolve implementation language that stalled the Office of Appellate Counsel and Training, a 2023 enactment intended to provide appellate counsel and training to parents in termination-of-parental-rights appeals and to support implementation of the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act and the African American Family Preservation Act.
Senator Clare Kunish (bill sponsor) said the office was authorized in 2023 but could not be launched because language did not make clear which branch of government would administer personnel and administrative functions. Joanna Wollman (professor and advocate) and other supporters told the committee the bill corrects that omission by placing the office in the executive branch, allowing HR, payroll, and hiring to proceed.
Wollman said the centralized appointment system will help counties that lack resources to provide timely appellate counsel and that the office’s training function is important to ensure equitable parent representation statewide. Committee members noted the bill previously passed the House and observed that the missing implementation detail required a technical fix. Senate File 2006 was laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus.
Speakers quoted are those who testified on this bill.
