1.1    .................... moves to amend H.F. No. 2996, the first engrossment, as follows:
1.2Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:

1.3    "Section 1. WORKING GROUP ON CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE LAWS;
1.4REPORT TO LEGISLATURE.
1.5    Subdivision 1. Establishment; membership; staff. (a) By July 1, 2008, the chair
1.6of the house Public Safety Finance Division and the chair of the senate Public Safety
1.7Budget Division shall jointly appoint a working group on the state's controlled substance
1.8laws. The working group shall include:
1.9    (1) two representatives of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association;
1.10    (2) two representatives of the Board of Public Defense;
1.11    (3) three representatives of state law enforcement associations, including one
1.12sheriff, one chief of police, and one member of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers
1.13Association;
1.14    (4) two representatives of the Judicial Council;
1.15    (5) one representative from community corrections or probation;
1.16    (6) one expert in the fields of drug treatment and controlled substance laws;
1.17    (7) one individual who is not affiliated with any of the associations in clauses (1) to
1.18(6) and who has relevant experience related to sentencing policy or the criminal justice
1.19field; and
1.20    (8) two community members who reside in an area adversely affected by controlled
1.21substance crimes and violent crimes, one of whom is a member of a community crime
1.22prevention organization.
1.23    (b) Staff support for the working group shall be provided by the Sentencing
1.24Guidelines Commission.
1.25    Subd. 2. Subject matter. (a) The working group must review, assess, and make
1.26specific recommendations regarding the following alternatives for modification and
1.27application of Minnesota's controlled substance laws:
2.1    (1) revising the threshold amounts for Minnesota's controlled substance crimes;
2.2    (2) establishing a separate sentencing guidelines grid for drug offenses;
2.3    (3) establishing additional aggravating factors so as to target certain particularly
2.4dangerous offenders;
2.5    (4) revising the criminal history point calculations for repeat drug offenders;
2.6    (5) maximizing the use of deferred prosecutions for low-level drug offenders under
2.7section 152.18 throughout the state; and
2.8    (6) increasing the use of the early release program for nonviolent controlled
2.9substance offenders who successfully complete drug treatment while incarcerated as
2.10provided in section 244.055.
2.11    (b) As part of its review of the various possible reforms, the working group may
2.12also study and consider:
2.13    (1) the significance, if any, of current rates of departure from presumptive guidelines
2.14sentences for controlled substance crimes;
2.15    (2) the significance, if any, of current rates of departure from presumptive guidelines
2.16sentences for controlled substance crimes for identifiable categories of offenders;
2.17    (3) the impact that recent United States Supreme Court criminal sentencing decisions
2.18have on implementing further reform;
2.19    (4) the barriers to comparing Minnesota's sentencing data with data from other states;
2.20    (5) strategies for imposing probation and supervised release violations on drug
2.21offenders;
2.22    (6) strategies for increasing the efficacy of programs that are now available to treat
2.23drug offenders;
2.24    (7) the likely impact of any recommended change in policy upon victims of
2.25drug-related crimes and the neighborhoods in which these crimes occur;
2.26    (8) the likely impact of any recommended change in policy upon the efficacy of law
2.27enforcement, prosecution, public defender, or court personnel; or
2.28    (9) any other sentencing-related matter that the working group sees fit to consider.
2.29    Subd. 3. Report to legislature. The working group shall report its findings and
2.30recommendations to the chair of the house Public Safety Finance Division and the chair of
2.31the senate Public Safety Budget Division by January 16, 2009.
2.32EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment."
2.33Amend the title accordingly