Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Quartet of payments comprise claims bill that clears House

Each year, a Joint House-Senate Subcommittee on Claims decides which claims against the state should be funded.

This year’s proposal calls for nearly $72,381 in fiscal year 2026 payments, including $65,000 to the estate of Vincent Beaulieu which sought relief under the Imprisonment and Exoneration Remedies Act which provides a compensation process for cases where a person was exonerated of a felony for which they were wrongfully incarcerated.

Beaulieu spent 246 days in prison after pleading guilty to 5th-degree controlled substance possession. Lab results later determined the substance was not a controlled substance and Beaulieu’s conviction was vacated.

Sponsored by Rep. Luke Frederick (DFL-Mankato) and Sen. Doron Clark (DFL-Mpls), HF3247/SF3446* was passed 133-0 by the House Wednesday and sent to the governor. It was passed 66-1 by the Senate May 8.

The bill also contains payments related to personal injury claims against the Department of Corrections: $6,531.25 to Victor Lynch, who sustained permanent injuries to his left hand while performing assigned duties at the Stillwater prison, and $849.86 to reimburse the department for claims under $7,000 and other claims already paid by the department between April 2023 and April 2025 for injuries under the community work service or sentence-to-service programs. There are two claims.

 


Related Articles


Priority Dailies

Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, husband killed in attack
House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, pictured during the 2023 legislative session. (House Photography file photo) House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) and her husband, Mark, were fatally shot in their home early Saturday morning. Gov. Tim Walz announced the news dur...
Lawmakers deliver budget bills to governor's desk in one-day special session
House Speaker Lisa Demuth gavels out the one-day, June 9 special session. Members are scheduled to be back together in St. Paul on Feb. 17, 2026. (Photo by Michele Jokinen) About that talk of needing all 21 hours left in a legislative day to complete a special session? House members were more than up to the challenge Monday. Beginning at 10 a.m...