S.F. No. 970 Summary

• Appropriations: Allocates funding for courts, corrections, public safety agencies, and related judicial bodies for fiscal years 2022-2023, with increases to Supreme Court operations, district court judgeships, and Board of Public Defense.

• Criminal Sexual Conduct Reforms: Reorganizes criminal sexual conduct statutes by victim age, establishes new crime of sexual extortion (threats for sexual contact), increases penalties for trafficking and prostitution offenses, and creates new crime of child torture.

• Sex Offender Sentencing: Strengthens mandatory sentencing provisions for dangerous sex offenders including life sentences without release for egregious offenses, expanded heinous elements, and longer conditional release terms.

• Corrections and Release: Authorizes conditional release of pregnant and postpartum female inmates to community-based programs, requires provision of medications and identification cards to released inmates, and establishes homelessness mitigation plan for releases.

• Procedural and Administrative Changes: Extends statute of limitations for sexual assault crimes, clarifies criminal sexual conduct definitions, establishes 911 telecommunicator standards working group, and reestablishes Legislative Commission on Data Practices and Personal Data Privacy.