St. Paul, MN - Today, as a coalition of County Attorneys, County Sheriffs, and Civil Rights Attorneys speak out against proposed changes to the state’s “48-Hour Rule,” which requires the Department of Human Services to transfer inmates to a state-run facility within 48 hours of a civil commitment, State Representative Mohamud Noor (DFL - Minneapolis), the Chair of the House Human Services Finance Committee, provided the following statement on the change:
“The 48-hour rule, as it currently stands, is no help to anyone when we do not have enough beds available. The rule is not being removed, but altered, starting the 48-hour ‘clock’ at the time a bed becomes available. Meeting the needs of people with mental illness who are involved in the criminal justice system is a shared responsibility that requires thoughtful solutions that don’t pit stakeholders against each other, or merely shift the responsibilities from one stakeholder to another.
“An immediate but temporary change in the law is necessary to clearly establish when the requirement to admit patients from jails within 48 hours begins. To that end, we are proposing a task force of stakeholders who can then evaluate the impact of the law and make recommendations about how to meet the needs of people with mental illnesses who are involved with the criminal justice system, with recommendations due to the legislature for the 2025 session.”
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