1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to crime prevention; requiring affirmative 
  1.3             approval by the legislature of modifications to 
  1.4             sentencing guidelines proposed by the sentencing 
  1.5             guidelines commission; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.6             1994, section 244.09, subdivision 11. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 244.09, 
  1.9   subdivision 11, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 11.  [MODIFICATION.] The commission shall meet as 
  1.11  necessary for the purpose of modifying and improving the 
  1.12  guidelines.  Any modification which amends the sentencing 
  1.13  guidelines grid, including severity levels and criminal history 
  1.14  scores, or which would result in the reduction of any sentence 
  1.15  or in the early release of any inmate, with the exception of a 
  1.16  modification mandated or authorized by the legislature or 
  1.17  relating to a crime created or amended by the legislature in the 
  1.18  preceding session, shall be submitted to the legislature by 
  1.19  January 1 of any year in which the commission wishes to make the 
  1.20  change and shall be effective on August 1 of that year, unless 
  1.21  if it has been specifically approved by the legislature by law 
  1.22  provides otherwise.  All other modifications shall take effect 
  1.23  according to the procedural rules of the commission.  On or 
  1.24  before January 1 of each year, the commission shall submit a 
  1.25  written report to the committees of the senate and the house of 
  1.26  representatives with jurisdiction over criminal justice policy 
  2.1   that identifies and explains all modifications made during the 
  2.2   preceding 12 months and all proposed modifications that are 
  2.3   being submitted to the legislature that year.