Senate committee advances plan for consumer restitution fund capped at $1 million

The Minnesota Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on March 17 advanced Senate File 447, a bill to create a state consumer protection restitution account intended to help victims recover money when defendants are insolvent or otherwise unable to pay.

The measure, sponsored by Senator Rest and co-authored by Senators Carlson, Curran, Klein and Doornick, was sent to the Senate Finance Committee after the committee adopted an author amendment (A7) that made technical and tax-year clarifications and rejected a separate amendment (A6) that would have changed data-classification and transparency rules tied to the fund.

Supporters say the account would channel a portion of monies already collected in consumer enforcement actions into restitution for Minnesota victims who otherwise would receive nothing. Professor Prentiss Cox, a University of Minnesota law professor and former assistant attorney general, told the committee that the bill would place "50% of that…