HF 5135

04/22/26   REVISOR  VH/BH  26-08514
This Document can be made available
in alternative formats upon request  State of Minnesota
  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
  H. F. No.   5135
05/12/2026     Authored by Duran
  The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Public Safety Finance and Policy
1.1A bill for an act
1.2relating to juvenile delinquency; delaying amendments to the age at which a child
1.3may be considered a delinquent child; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections
1.4260B.007, subdivision 6; 260C.007, subdivision 6.
1.5BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 260B.007, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
1.7Subd. 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,
1.10subdivision 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
1.12referred to the juvenile court if the violation would be an act of delinquency if committed
1.13in 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
1.15committed 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
1.17committed to the facility by the court.
1.18(b) The term delinquent child does not include a child alleged to have committed murder
1.19in the first degree after becoming 16 years of age, but the term delinquent child does include
1.20a 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
1.22which would, if committed by an adult, violate any federal, state, or local law relating to
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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 2027, and applied to acts committed on or after that date,
2.4  the term delinquent child does not include a child alleged to have committed a delinquent
2.5  act before becoming 13 years old.
2.6      EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2026.
2.7    Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 260C.007, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
2.8      Subd. 6. Child in need of protection or services. "Child in need of protection or
2.9  services" means a child who is in need of protection or services because the child:
2.10     (1) is abandoned or without parent, guardian, or custodian;
2.11     (2)(i) has been a victim of physical or sexual abuse as defined in section 260E.03,
2.12 subdivision 18 or 20, (ii) resides with or has resided with a victim of child abuse as defined
2.13 in subdivision 5 or domestic child abuse as defined in subdivision 13, (iii) resides with or
2.14 would reside with a perpetrator of domestic child abuse as defined in subdivision 13 or child
2.15 abuse as defined in subdivision 5 or 13, or (iv) is a victim of emotional maltreatment as
2.16 defined in subdivision 15;
2.17     (3) is without necessary food, clothing, shelter, education, or other required care for the
2.18 child's physical or mental health or morals because the child's parent, guardian, or custodian
2.19 is unable or unwilling to provide that care;
2.20     (4) is without the special care made necessary by a physical, mental, or emotional
2.21 condition because the child's parent, guardian, or custodian is unable or unwilling to provide
2.22 that care;
2.23     (5) is medically neglected, which includes, but is not limited to, the withholding of
2.24 medically indicated treatment from an infant with a disability with a life-threatening
2.25 condition. The term "withholding of medically indicated treatment" means the failure to
2.26 respond to the infant's life-threatening conditions by providing treatment, including
2.27 appropriate nutrition, hydration, and medication which, in the treating physician's, advanced
2.28 practice registered nurse's, or physician assistant's reasonable medical judgment, will be
2.29 most likely to be effective in ameliorating or correcting all conditions, except that the term
2.30 does not include the failure to provide treatment other than appropriate nutrition, hydration,
2.31 or medication to an infant when, in the treating physician's, advanced practice registered
2.32 nurse's, or physician assistant's reasonable medical judgment:
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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;
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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 2027, has committed a delinquent act or a juvenile petty
4.7 offense before becoming 13 years old.
4.8     EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2026.
      Sec. 2.  4