House panel OKs tougher sex-offender sentences

Gov. Tim Pawlenty's proposal to double the sentences for serious sex offenders got preliminary approval Thursday from a House panel, but with concerns about its potential cost and effectiveness.

The bill would increase the recommended prison sentence for those convicted of first-degree sex crimes to 25 years. Current law sets the recommended sentence at a minimum of 12 years.

First-degree sex offenses involve force or threats of physical harm, dangerous weapons, or underage or mentally impaired victims.

Unanimous passage by the House Public Safety Policy and Oversight Committee followed testimony by a woman outraged by the early prison release of a man who sexually assaulted her daughter.

"She was unable to feel safe that he wasn't in prison anymore," said Sue Skarsten of Champlin.

Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, said the testimony and similar accounts were heart-rending, but questioned whether the proposal is justified.

"Evidence-based policy is really important," Paymar said.

Pawlenty first pushed for a crackdown on sex offenders after the 2003 abduction and murder of Dru Sjodin by convicted rapist Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., who had been released from a Minnesota prison several months earlier.

When Pawlenty announced his proposal last month to double some sentences, he said keeping sex offenders in prison longer would save the state money. Prison costs $63 a day, compared with $325 a day for sex offenders committed to a state treatment program after serving their time in prison.

But Paymar said Thursday that a preliminary fiscal analysis showed that the proposal to double minimum recommended sentences would increase prison costs gradually to $12 million a year by 2037 by adding 520 more beds.

"We're kind of kicking the can down the road," Paymar said.

"We're not having the kind of thoughtful dialogue we should."

The bill to double prison time for serious sex offenders was sent to the House finance committee.

Rep. Debra Hilstrom, DFL-Brooklyn Center, who sponsored the bill, said the passage would enable legislators to "continue to debate what we should be doing" with laws for sex offenders.