Sentencing Guidelines Commission approves staff recommendations on 2025 session changes, sends proposals to July public hearing

The Sentencing Guidelines Commission voted Thursday to adopt staff-recommended rankings and conforming edits to reflect bills enacted in Minnesota’s 2025 legislative session and sent the package to a public hearing in July.

The commission approved staff recommendations on two newly created crimes (part A of the staff packet), adopted a set of conforming technical and title edits (part B, including one change to a section heading), and approved additional technical updates proposed in document 5. Commission members set a public hearing for July 17 and a follow-up meeting for July 24 to consider any public comment before finalizing the changes for publication in the August 1, 2025 edition of the guidelines.

Director Reitz, who presented the packet to the commission, told members their recommendations were circulated to the 2025 conference committee and “I believe it made an impact on the ultimate product,” underscoring staff’s view that the commission’s input is considered at the Legislature. The staff memo said the changes adopted Thursday are preliminary and will be subject to public comment and final commission action following the July hearing.

Among the substantive items the commission advanced: staff suggested severity-level rankings for two new offenses created by session law — an order-for-protection–style criminal penalty tied to violating protective orders for the financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult, and a new anti‑kickback statute aimed at publicly funded health, behavioral health, and child-care programs. Staff recommended ranking the financial‑exploitation protection‑order violation at severity level 4 and proposing a three-tier felony structure for the anti‑kickback offense (staff recommended severity levels 2, 3 and 6 for the under-$5,000, $5,000–$35,000, and over-$35,000 tiers, respectively). Commissioner discussion noted concerns that the anti‑kickback statute’s dollar thresholds are tied to the value of the kickback rather than to loss to government programs, which may diverge from how Medicaid fraud is prosecuted.

On the conforming edits (part B), staff walked members through statutory changes that required updates to offense names and comments — for example, adding fentanyl exposure to an offense group dealing with controlled-substance exposure to children — and a title edit to clarify that certain offenses are those “committed while confined under state or local authority.” The commission accepted a small suggested wording change to that heading to avoid underinclusiveness.

Commissioners voted unanimously on the major motions. Commissioner Larkin moved adoption of part A recommendations; Commissioner Moore seconded. The motion passed by voice vote with 10 members recorded in favor and none opposed. Commissioner Knudson moved adoption of part B recommendations with the retitling edit; Commissioner Middlebrook seconded and the motion passed 10–0. A separate motion to adopt the staff technical updates in document 5 (codified citation fixes and appendix updates) carried 10–0 after a motion from Commissioner Moore and second from Commissioner Larkin.

The commission’s approval sends the recommended guideline changes to a public hearing on July 17; the commission will take final votes on July 24. If adopted after that process, the changes will be published in the commission’s August 1, 2025 update.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Adopt meeting agenda (procedural). Mover: Commissioner Middlebrook; second: Commissioner Larkin. Outcome: Approved (recorded 8 votes in favor at that time; no votes opposed). - Motion: Adopt draft meeting minutes (05/08/2025). Mover: Commissioner Reeves; second: Commissioner Knudson. Outcome: Approved (recorded 8 votes in favor at that time; no votes opposed). - Motion: Adopt staff recommendations in part A (ranking two new offenses, as presented). Mover: Commissioner Larkin; second: Commissioner Moore. Outcome: Approved, 10–0. - Motion: Adopt staff recommendations in part B with a title edit (retitle guideline section 2(c)(3)(e) to "offenses committed while confined under state or local authority"). Mover: Commissioner Knudson; second: Commissioner Middlebrook. Outcome: Approved, 10–0. - Motion: Adopt staff recommendations in document 5 (technical modifications and appendix updates). Mover: Commissioner Moore; second: Commissioner Larkin. Outcome: Approved, 10–0.

Why it matters: The votes commit the commission to a public hearing in July and set up a July 24 meeting where the panel may finalize changes to offense rankings, guideline text, and technical tables that will appear in the August 1, 2025 edition of the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines. That schedule gives practitioners, affected parties and members of the public an opportunity to comment before any changes become final.

Background and next steps: Staff said the new offense rankings reflect both statutory language adopted by the Legislature and staff’s fiscal-note assumptions about likely frequency and bed impacts. The commission repeatedly cautioned that the recommended rankings are preliminary; members and staff flagged areas where the statutory language may produce interpretive questions that are more properly addressed at a public hearing or by the Legislature (for example, whether anti‑kickback tiers should be tied to the kickback amount or to program loss). The commission’s staff will post hearing materials and collect public comment ahead of the July 17 session.