Minnesota Agencies

The Clemency Review Commission is established to:

1. Review each eligible clemency application and waiver request that it receives;
2. Recommend to the Board of Pardons, in writing, whether to grant or deny the application or waiver request, with each member's vote reported;
3. Recommend to the Board of Pardons, in writing, whether the board should conduct a hearing on a clemency application, with each member's vote reported; and
4. Provide victim support services, assistance to applicants, and other assistance as the board requires.

Beginning February 15, 2025, and every February 15 thereafter, the commission must submit a written report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the house of representatives and senate committees with jurisdiction over public safety, corrections, and judiciary that contains at least the following information:

1. The number of clemency applications received by the commission during the preceding calendar year;
2. The number of favorable and adverse recommendations made by the commission for each type of clemency;
3. The number of applications granted and denied by the board for each type of clemency;
4. The crimes for which the applications were granted by the board, the year of each conviction, and the individual's age at the time of the crime; and
5. Summary data voluntarily reported by applicants, including but not limited to demographic information on race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, and age, of applicants recommended or not recommended for clemency by the commission.

Beginning August 1, 2023, through February 29, 2024, the Department of Corrections must provide the Clemency Review Commission with administrative assistance, technical assistance, office space, and other assistance necessary for the commission to carry out its duties.

Beginning July 1, 2024, the Clemency Review Commission must begin reviewing applications for pardons, commutations, and reprieves in accordance with Minnesota Statutes, chapter 638. By July 1, 2024, the commission must develop application forms in consultation with the board.

The commission must meet at least four times each year for one or more days at each meeting to hear eligible clemency applications and recommend appropriate action to the board on each application. One or more of the meetings may be held at a department-operated correctional facility.

All commission meetings are open to the public as provided under chapter 13D, but the commission may hold closed meetings:

• as provided under chapter 13D; or
• as necessary to protect sensitive or confidential information, including (i) a victim's identity, and (ii) sensitive or confidential victim testimony.

When possible, the commission must record its meetings by audio or audiovisual means.

The commission consists of nine members, each serving a term coterminous with the governor. The governor, the attorney general, and the chief justice of the supreme court must each appoint three members to serve on the commission and replace members when the members' terms expire. Members serve at the pleasure of their appointing authority.