Republican lawmakers are trying to override a special panel which capped probation at five years for some felony offenses in Minnesota. Maple Grove Senator Warren Limmer contends the Sentencing Guidelines Commission did not follow proper procedure. “To have a member say, let’s just move on it now and get it over with — kinda that almost cavalier attitude,” Limmer says.
Commission Chair Kelly Mitchell acknowledged the process was not pretty and she could have handled it better, but says, “We have a long process of public input for any issue before a policy becomes final, and so I think that process cures any defect in the initial way that the proposal may have been brought forward.”
The dispute has become a lightning rod for continued disagreement between Republicans and Democrats over the length of prison sentences in Minnesota.