Judiciary, public safety conference committee announces $3.5 billion budget deal

The overall budget deal announced Thursday by legislative leaders and Gov. Tim Walz outlined a $107.42 million increase in spending over current budget levels to fund Minnesota courts and public safety agencies in the 2026-27 biennium.

With that global deal in place, the omnibus public safety and judiciary finance and policy conference committee moved quickly and announced an agreement late Friday.

House action is expected after the conference committee report on HF2432 is signed and filed. If passed, the Senate would act on the report. Rep. Paul Novotny (R-Elk River) is the sponsor.

General Fund spending in the 2026-27 biennium would be $3.5 billion, a $107.42 million increase over base per the global target agreement. Budget targets set by House leaders had an $80 million increase; the Senate target was a $106.23 million increase.

In the public safety sphere, the agreement would appropriate $2.07 billion, a $88.26 million increase over base, to fund the Corrections and Public Safety departments, Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission, Peace Officer Standards and Training Board, Private Detective Board, Ombudsperson for Corrections, and Clemency Review Commission.

In the judiciary sphere, the agreement would appropriate $1.42 billion, a $19.16 million increase over base, to fund the courts, civil legal services, Guardian ad Litem Board, Tax Court, Uniform Laws Commission, Board on Judicial Standards, Board of Public Defense, and Human Rights Department.

[MORE: View the spreadsheet]

The agreement would include operating adjustments for the Public Safety and Corrections departments as set forth in the global agreement, but the judiciary areas would not receive operating adjustments.

Of note, the committee report did not include several Senate provisions that would have funded 1.5% salary increases for judges and court employees.

Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson said inadequate funding for the judicial branch will undermine the justice system, where compensation lags far behind the public sector.

“The agreement before you today does not meaningfully address what remains the most urgent and unsolved challenge facing our courts," she said. "Without a stable, well-supported workforce, our ability to provide timely access to justice will be at serious risk.”

What policy is in the agreement?

Hanging over the committee was the planned closure of the Stillwater prison in 2029 with its inmates transferred to other state prisons.

An amendment successfully offered by Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview) would appropriate $1 million in fiscal year 2026 to fund a decommissioning study including “considerations for a wide range of future uses of the site with a focus on the economic stability and development of the communities surrounding the facility.”

Notable policy items from the House side in the agreement include:

• extending the statute of limitations for first-degree arson from five to 10 years;
• transferring the Commerce Department’s Fraud Bureau to the BCA;
• increasing electronic access to judicial court records;
• increasing penalties for first-degree sex trafficking; and
• requiring correctional facilities to provide inmates with the same medications prescribed to them prior to their incarceration.

Senate policy items include:

• authorizing county attorneys to use administrative subpoenas in wage theft investigations;
• expanding the police use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) without warrants; and
• expanding the crime of destruction of public utilities to include street lights, EV charging stations, traffic signals and electronic warning signs.

Procedural concerns

Conference Committee Co-chair Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL-Rochester) expressed disappointment that the lengthy process of negotiating the global deal itself unnecessarily delayed the committee’s work.

She also said the deal inappropriately dictates much of the policy and fiscal decisions contained in the final agreement, an “inappropriate interference with the legislative prerogative from the executive branch.”

Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover) agreed, saying there is no reason for the executive branch to give a stamp of approval before the conference committee can do its work.