Minnesota Agencies

Review existing policies and laws, recommend changes, and identify best practices from around the country so that the public is better protected from sex offenders. Focuses first on placement of elderly and disabled sex offenders, conditional medical release requirements, civil commitment procedures, and sex offender sentencing and supervision practices.

In August of 2004, Governor Tim Pawlenty declared that "recent events have highlighted that Minnesota's laws regarding sex offenders need to be improved. We can and should do more to strengthen our laws and policies to better deal with these offenders."

The recent events referred to by Governor Pawlenty were the abduction and murder of a Minnesota college student, and later, a set of offenses by nursing home patients who had histories of criminal sexual conduct.

Governor Pawlenty appointed a 12-member, all-volunteer Commission of experienced professionals to review relevant policies
and suggest improvements. To assure the public that the Commission's inquiry would be an "arms-length review" of state and local practices, none of the Members appointed to the Commission were current state policy-makers.

Between September 8, 2004 and January 4, 2005 the Governor's Commission on Sex Offender Policy convened 14 hearings and held 3 off-site seminars. During these meetings the Commission heard from 50 expert witnesses on matters relating to the sentencing, supervision, treatment and registration of sex offenders. In drafting sessions on October 20, November 24, December 1 and January 4, the Commission developed a series of recommendations for review by Governor Pawlenty and the Minnesota Legislature. Please see the 2005 report linked below for the Commission's recommendations.

12 members. The members of the commission include:
The Honorable Esther Tomljanovich, former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice (chair)
Jim Backstrom, Dakota County Attorney
Laura Budd, Public Defense Board Chair
Terry Dempsey, Minnesota Board on Aging
Carla Ferrucci, Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault Executive Director
Kris Flaten, State Advisory Council on Mental Health Chair
Gerald Kaplan, Alpha Human Services Executive Director
Brian Schlueter, Otter Tail County Sheriff
Jerry Soma, Anoka County Human Services Director
Steve Strachan, Lakeville Chief of Police and former state representative
John Stuart, State Public Defender
Susan Voigt, attorney, representative of care providers