Senate Republicans recently held a press conference to introduce their legislative package aimed at putting Minnesotans’ safety first. The package of bills focuses on 3 key tenets: repealing the “Get Out of Jail Free” law, bringing transparency sentencing guidelines, and investing in law enforcement training.

“What we’re proposing are common sense solutions that address public safety concerns across the state – we want Minnesotans to feel safe and secure in their homes and communities, and we want to support law enforcement as they work to make that happen,” said Senator Karin Housley (R-Stillwater).

The first set of bills targets the Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act (MRRA)—a 2023 law passed on a party-line vote that makes 92% of the prison population eligible for early release. While Democrats promoted it as a rehabilitation initiative, Republicans have called it a “Get Out of Jail Free” card. Though Republicans support some compromises to allow rehabilitation for certain offenders, many believe the MRRA’s blanket approach went too far.

The second set of bills seeks to increase transparency and accountability in Minnesota’s sentencing process. These bills would require the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission (MSGC) to record and publicly share its meetings, create a publicly searchable database of sentencing decisions statewide, and require legislative approval of all MSGC recommendations—ensuring sentencing decisions reflect public safety priorities.

The final proposal focuses on funding two major law enforcement training initiatives. Two bills allocate $6 million in ongoing funding for the Philando Castile Memorial Training Fund – identified as priority by law enforcement – and $3.5 million for the Violent Crime Enforcement Training Fund.

Notably, Housley is also an author on a number of additional bills aimed at addressing other public safety concerns including the following:

• Establishing a crime of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle
• Funding the Lakes Area Police Commission regional training facility
• Funding for Additional State Patrol troopers
• Increasing mandatory fines enactment for violations of the school bus stop arm
• Increasing penalties for assaulting a police officer

“If we are serious about addressing the public safety needs of our state, we need to support law enforcement and prioritize legislation that keeps violent criminals off the streets. These things have fallen to the wayside for far too long, and Minnesota is less safe because of it. We need to keep families in our state safe and that means prioritizing these bills that get crime under control,” finished Housley.