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Department of Corrections asks Legislature for supplemental funding, larger ongoing operating adjustment
Summary
Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell told the House Public Safety Committee the agency needs a fiscal-year 2025 deficiency appropriation to cover higher staffing costs and that the governor's request includes substantial ongoing operating increases for 2026–27.
Paul Schnell, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, told the House Public Safety Committee that the agency had moved from chronic staffing shortages to a near‑full complement after recent bargaining and recruitment work but now faces a budget shortfall because vacancy savings the department historically used are no longer available.
Commissioner Schnell said the DOC is requesting a fiscal 2025 deficiency of $9.1 million from the general fund and authority to reallocate $10.0 million of existing rider/spent program appropriations to help close the gap. He said the agency also seeks an ongoing operating adjustment of $43.3 million for FY 2026 and $66.9 million for FY 2027 and each year after to sustain full staffing and cover step/benefit costs and other operating pressures.
Schnell provided the committee with context: the DOC operates 11 prisons with capacity up to 9,500 beds, currently houses about 8,300 people, supervises roughly 20,000 people in the community, and employs about 4,300 staff. He said 97 percent of the DOC's budget comes from the general fund and that maintaining a fully staffed workforce is foundational to safety and operations.
The commissioner also discussed several program-level proposals included in the administration’s package: sunsetting state funding for the Statewide Sentencing-to-Service (STS) crews at the close of the fiscal year (a change the DOC estimates saves about $1.8 million annually because county participation and crew sizes have declined), extending a pilot Mental Health Unit at MCF Oak Park Heights through August 1, 2027 (and clarifying referral language), changes to how interstate compact and tribal supervision funds are distributed, and a fiscal estimate tied to criminal penalty increases for theft of public funds.
Committee members asked about phone/tablet security, the volume of free phone minutes (the DOC reported about 7 million minutes per month and said the appropriation covers that cost), a prior tablet security breach at Faribault, and rollout plans for MRRA (the commissioner said the DOC had finalized policy and would begin deliberate implementation on a small cohort). Schnell said Office of Professional Accountability investigations aim for fast turnaround (four to six weeks) and that the security staff and other units have been strengthened as staffing improved.
