Senate Republicans rolled out a series of bills they say will enhance public safety by keeping more criminals behind bars.

“We all know that no matter what the statistics are, crime is making people feel less safe,” said Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson. “Whether it’s a Ring camera that catches a robbery or a carjacking on your street or the tragic attacks on our first responders across the state. Or a victim that learns her attacker is being let loose early on good behavior.”

The Republican bills include a few aimed at more transparency in the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission, like a mandatory public broadcast of their meetings and a searchable database so Minnesotans can see what’s happening with sentences for prisoners.

They also have a bill to repeal the Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act (MRRA) passed by Democrats in 2023. The Minnesota Commissioner of Corrections, Paul Schnell, calls MRRA a “massive shift in the state’s approach to corrections.” 

In late December, he said, “We are engaged in the final review of the high-level and core policies that will govern MRRA. We are developing and refining retroactive review procedures for a staged implementation process that will begin with a limited pilot at certain facilities.” It will allow some offenders to be released from prison early if they satisfy certain rehabilitation conditions.

Republicans say they’re concerned that too many potentially dangerous prisoners will be released early.

“We understand that for many, rehabilitation in prison can be a life-changing opportunity, but when it’s retroactively applied to nearly every prisoner, you are allowing the hardened criminals to game the system and earn an early release by simply checking boxes off a list,” said Sen. Michael Kreun, R-Blaine, author of the bill to repeal MRRA.

Before the Republican news conference, the chair of the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, defended the DFL public safety initiatives passed in recent years.

“Since the 2023 legislative session, we’ve taken a comprehensive approach to public safety that included over $460 million in combined investments in public safety, youth programs, and victim services,” Latz said in a statement. “We have bolstered community crime prevention, improved police training, recruitment and retention, and supported restorative justice and intervention initiatives that address the root causes of crime. Thanks to these efforts, we’ve seen a meaningful decline in property and violent crime, and Minnesotans are safer in their communities.”