House adopts conference report on public-safety and judiciary bill, includes 4-year phase-out of Stillwater prison

The Minnesota House on an up-or-down voice vote adopted the conference committee report on House File 2432, a public-safety and judiciary omnibus bill, and repassed the bill as amended by the conference committee.

Representative Novotny, the bill author and conference co-chair, moved adoption and described the package as a fiscally constrained compromise that preserves priorities from both parties. "We think that it's a responsible bill that has cut spending, but still keeps priorities for both parties in place," Novotny said.

The conference report combines provisions from separate House and Senate public-safety and judiciary bills. Key policy and funding items mentioned on the floor include continued, though reduced, funding for the Philando Castile Law Enforcement Training program; additional funding for crime-victim advocacy programs; increases in penalties or sentencing provisions for offenses including first-degree human trafficking and first-degree arson; statutory changes addressing fentanyl exposure to children; and acceptance of senate language addressing AI-generated child sexual-abuse images.

Representative Moller, a conference co-chair, highlighted provisions adopted from both chambers, including language on tracking fleeing and stolen vehicles and funding to address operating adjustments for corrections and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's crime lab. Moller also described a plan included in the package for the phase-out of the Stillwater Correctional Facility, saying the facility is "not sustainable" from infrastructure and safety standpoints and that the bill authorizes a four-year phase-out. "We really wanna make sure as well that they have a great plan and work in collaboration with the correctional officers and other staff there as they're implementing this closure," Moller said.

Several members spoke about the closure. Representative Hill said she was conflicted but emphasized the facility's poor conditions and the need to protect both incarcerated people and staff. "There is no question that this facility needs to be retired," Hill said, and she urged careful planning for the roughly 1,200 people housed there and for staff impacts. Representative Finke called the closure a "human rights victory," noting the facility's age and long-standing infrastructure problems and referencing past reports that criticized conditions.

Other items noted by members included a $250,000 appropriation for supplemental nonprofit security grants; a requirement that the Department of Corrections maintain Narcan to respond to overdoses in prisons; expanded missing-and-endangered-person protections to include people with diagnosed dementia, Alzheimer's, traumatic brain injury and autism; expanded law-enforcement authority or provisions related to the use of drones; and pay increases or funding adjustments for forensic examiners, supervisors for guardian ad litem staff, and other judiciary-related personnel. Representative Scott said the bill includes $4 million in one-time funding to improve public access to court documents through an automated system for justice partners.

Representative Liebling, a conference co-chair, thanked staff and colleagues but also expressed concern that the conference-level funding underfunds the judicial branch, saying operating adjustments in the bill would support less than a 1% raise for judicial staff and that there is no increase for judicial salaries in the next two years.

After debate the clerk called the roll for voice or recorded voting by remote members; the clerk reported 131 ayes and 3 nays, and the House repassed the bill as amended by the conference committee.

Votes at a glance: House File 2432 (conference report) — adopted by the House 131–3 and repassed as amended by the conference committee.

The bill will proceed to whatever enactment steps follow in current legislative practice (not specified on the floor during this sequence).