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Sentencing Guidelines Commission approves 2026 report to legislature, authorizes staff to make technical edits
Summary
The Sentencing Guidelines Commission on Jan. 8, 2026, voted unanimously to approve its 2026 report to the legislature and granted staff authority to make editorial, non‑substantive corrections and add late data prior to formal submission on or before Jan. 15, 2026.
The Sentencing Guidelines Commission voted unanimously on Jan. 8, 2026, to approve its draft 2026 report to the Minnesota Legislature and authorized staff to make editorial, non‑substantive corrections and to add any late data before submission.
Director Reitz, who walked commissioners through changes to the draft, said the edits highlighted in yellow were largely those previously discussed and asked that the motion include authority for staff to correct typographical errors and insert last‑minute data from straggler counties. “Do so with the caveat that the staff is empowered to make editorial, non substantive corrections, to that as well as add any last minute data that we might get from some of the straggler counties, between now and whenever we actually get it out,” Reitz said.
Commissioner Reeves moved the motion; Commissioner Mazaros seconded. On roll call the commission recorded 13 votes in favor and no votes opposed. Director Reitz said the agency will submit the final report, as required by law, to the chairs and leadership of the House and Senate crime committees on or before Jan. 15, 2026.
Reitz also identified a small set of outstanding clerical issues staff will correct before finalizing the PDF (broken bookmarks and incorrect page references) and noted a footnote explaining why outgoing Vice Chair Judge Michelle Larkin remains on the masthead while incoming commissioner Judge Kayla Eid is noted in the footnote.
The approved report consolidates four legislative recommendations and two less‑prescriptive suggestions; Reitz said one suggestion was intentionally reframed to urge reconsideration of statutory maximum penalties rather than prescribe specific maximums. Appendix 3 of the report contains the prison‑bed impact analysis and related demographic projections, Reitz said; staff acknowledged a broken PDF bookmark that will be fixed prior to release.
The commission’s action permits staff to finalize the document without returning to the full commission for minor typographical changes, while leaving substantive choices to future commission action or explicit direction.
