Minnesota Agencies

The audit group must establish security audit standards for state correctional facilities. In developing the standards, the audit group, or individual members of the audit group, may gather information from state correctional facilities and state correctional staff and inmates. The audit group must:

• periodically review and modify the standards as needed; and
• report the standards to the chairs and ranking minority members of the house of representatives and senate committees with jurisdiction over public safety policy and finance when the standards are modified.

The audit group must meet twice annually to review facility audit reports submitted to the audit group by the department's inspection unit. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the audit group may review the full audit reports, including but not limited to corrections and detention confidential data and security information. Within 60 days of meeting to review an audit report from the department's inspection unit, the audit group must make recommendations to the commissioner. Within 45 days of receiving the audit group's recommendations, the commissioner must respond in writing to the audit group's findings and recommendations. The commissioner's response must explain:

• whether the commissioner will implement the audit group's recommendations;
• the timeline for implementing the recommendations; and
• if the commissioner will not implement the recommendations, why the commissioner will not or cannot implement the recommendations.

The commissioner must include a written aggregate of the audit group's recommendations based on each security audit and assessment of a state correctional facility and the commissioner's responses to the recommendations in the biennial report under Minn. Stat, 241.016, subd. 1. The commissioner must not include corrections and detention confidential data and security information in the commissioner's report.

A 2020 OLA program evaluation of safety in state correctional facilities recommended the Legislature "require that the Department of Corrections [DOC] regularly inspect state prisons according to defined security standards."

Their report included further details about this recommendation: "The Legislature, in consultation with DOC, should determine whether this recommendation is best addressed by: (1) requiring that DOC license and inspect its prisons, or (2) adding the security audit process to state law. A formal requirement that DOC regularly inspect its correctional facilities would prevent the department from either discontinuing regular security reviews or from falling behind its review schedule. The Legislature could also require more formal and consistent documentation from prison leaders regarding actions taken following reviews of the prisons’ security practices" (pg. 83).

In 2024 the Legislature made some changes to the composition of the group and to meeting and reporting requirements (see Laws of Minn. 2024, chap. 123, art. 8, sec. 3).

The Legislature repealed the group's original enabling legisation in 2026 and at the same time re-established the group, codifying it in a new statute and adjusting the group's charge and mandate (see Laws of Minn. 2026, chap. 97, art. 5, sec. 4, 10).

The audit group must consist of the following members:

• a department employee who is not assigned to the correctional institutions division, appointed by the commissioner;
• the ombudsperson for corrections or a designee;
• an elected sheriff or designee nominated by the Minnesota Sheriffs' Association, appointed by the commissioner;
• an individual with expertise in security related to infrastructure and operational logistics of correctional facilities who is not required to reside in Minnesota, appointed by the governor;
• the commissioner of health or a designee;
• the commissioner of administration or a designee;
• two senators, one appointed by the senate majority leader and one appointed by the senate minority leader; and
• two representatives, one appointed by the speaker of the house and one appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives.

The ombudsperson chairs the audit group.