1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to juvenile
delinquency; establishing that the age of delinquency for certain
1.3 serious offenses is ten years
of age;amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections
1.4 260B.007, subdivision 6;
260C.007, subdivision 6.
1.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes
2024, section 260B.007, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
1.7 Subd. 6.Delinquent
child. (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (b), (c), and
1.8 (d), "delinquent
child" means a child:
1.9 (1) who has violated any
state or local law, except as provided in section 260B.225,
1.10 subdivision 1, and except for
juvenile offenders as described in subdivisions 16 to 18;
1.11 (2) who has violated a federal
law or a law of another state and whose case has been
1.12 referred to the juvenile court
if the violation would be an act of delinquency if committed
1.13 in this state or a crime or
offense if committed by an adult;
1.14 (3) who has escaped from
confinement to a state juvenile correctional facility after being
1.15 committed to the custody of the
commissioner of corrections; or
1.16 (4) who has escaped from
confinement to a local juvenile correctional facility after being
1.17 committed to the facility by
the court.
1.18 (b) The term delinquent child
does not include a child alleged to have committed murder
1.19 in the first degree after
becoming 16 years of age, but the term delinquent child does include
1.20 a child alleged to have
committed attempted murder in the first degree.
1.21 (c) The term delinquent child
does not include a child alleged to have engaged in conduct
1.22 which would, if committed by an
adult, violate any federal, state, or local law relating to
2.1 being hired, offering to be
hired, or agreeing to be hired by another individual to engage in
2.2 sexual penetration or sexual
conduct.
2.3 (d) Effective August 1, 2026,
and applied to acts committed on or after that date, the
2.4 term delinquent child does
not include a child alleged to have committed a delinquent act
2.5 before becoming 13 years old
unless the child was at least ten years old and alleged to have
2.6 committed a crime of violence
as defined in section 624.712, subdivision 5.
2.7 EFFECTIVE DATE.
This section is effective August 1, 2026.
2.8 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes
2024, section 260C.007, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
2.9 Subd. 6.Child
in need of protection or services. "Child in need of protection or
2.10 services" means a child
who is in need of protection or services because the child:
2.11 (1) is abandoned or without
parent, guardian, or custodian;
2.12 (2)(i) has been a victim of
physical or sexual abuse as defined in section 260E.03,
2.13 subdivision 18 or 20, (ii)
resides with or has resided with a victim of child abuse as defined
2.14 in subdivision 5 or domestic
child abuse as defined in subdivision 13, (iii) resides with or
2.15 would reside with a perpetrator
of domestic child abuse as defined in subdivision 13 or child
2.16 abuse as defined in subdivision
5 or 13, or (iv) is a victim of emotional maltreatment as
2.17 defined in subdivision 15;
2.18 (3) is without necessary food,
clothing, shelter, education, or other required care for the
2.19 child's physical or mental
health or morals because the child's parent, guardian, or custodian
2.20 is unable or unwilling to
provide that care;
2.21 (4) is without the special care
made necessary by a physical, mental, or emotional
2.22 condition because the child's
parent, guardian, or custodian is unable or unwilling to provide
2.23 that care;
2.24 (5) is medically neglected,
which includes, but is not limited to, the withholding of
2.25 medically indicated treatment
from an infant with a disability with a life-threatening
2.26 condition. The term
"withholding of medically indicated treatment" means the failure to
2.27 respond to the infant's
life-threatening conditions by providing treatment, including
2.28 appropriate nutrition,
hydration, and medication which, in the treating physician's, advanced
2.29 practice registered nurse's, or
physician assistant's reasonable medical judgment, will be
2.30 most likely to be effective in
ameliorating or correcting all conditions, except that the term
2.31 does not include the failure to
provide treatment other than appropriate nutrition, hydration,
2.32 or medication to an infant
when, in the treating physician's, advanced practice registered
2.33 nurse's, or physician
assistant's reasonable medical judgment:
3.1 (i) the infant is chronically
and irreversibly comatose;
3.2 (ii) the provision of the
treatment would merely prolong dying, not be effective in
3.3 ameliorating or correcting
all of the infant's life-threatening conditions, or otherwise be
3.4 futile in terms of the
survival of the infant; or
3.5 (iii) the provision of the
treatment would be virtually futile in terms of the survival of
3.6 the infant and the treatment
itself under the circumstances would be inhumane;
3.7 (6) is one whose parent,
guardian, or other custodian for good cause desires to be relieved
3.8 of the child's care and
custody, including a child who entered foster care under a voluntary
3.9 placement agreement between
the parent and the responsible social services agency under
3.10 section 260C.227;
3.11 (7) has been placed for
adoption or care in violation of law;
3.12 (8) is without proper parental
care because of the emotional, mental, or physical disability,
3.13 or state of immaturity of the
child's parent, guardian, or other custodian. A child is not
3.14 considered to be without proper
parental care based solely on the disability of the child's
3.15 parent, guardian, or custodian;
3.16 (9) is one whose behavior,
condition, or environment is such as to be injurious or
3.17 dangerous to the child or
others. An injurious or dangerous environment may include, but
3.18 is not limited to, the exposure
of a child to criminal activity in the child's home;
3.19 (10) is experiencing growth
delays, which may be referred to as failure to thrive, that
3.20 have been diagnosed by a
physician and are due to parental neglect;
3.21 (11) is a sexually exploited
youth;
3.22 (12) is a labor trafficked
youth;
3.23 (13) has committed a delinquent
act or a juvenile petty offense before becoming ten
3.24 years old. This clause expires
July 31, 2026;
3.25 (14) is a runaway;
3.26 (15) is a habitual truant;
3.27 (16) has been found incompetent
to proceed or has been found not guilty by reason of
3.28 mental illness or mental
deficiency in connection with a delinquency proceeding, a
3.29 certification under section
260B.125, an extended jurisdiction juvenile prosecution, or a
3.30 proceeding involving a juvenile
petty offense;
4.1 (17) has a parent whose
parental rights to one or more other children were involuntarily
4.2 terminated or whose custodial
rights to another child have been involuntarily transferred to
4.3 a relative and there is a
case plan prepared by the responsible social services agency
4.4 documenting a compelling
reason why filing the termination of parental rights petition under
4.5 section 260C.503, subdivision
2, is not in the best interests of the child; or
4.6 (18) effective August 1,
2026, has committed a delinquent act or a juvenile petty offense
4.7 before becoming 13 years old
unless the child was at least ten years old and alleged to have
4.8 committed a crime of
violence as defined in section 624.712, subdivision 5.
4.9 EFFECTIVE DATE.
This section is effective August 1, 2026.
