On Aug. 1, 2026, a new Minnesota state law will go into effect which prevents children younger than 13 from being charged with a crime. That new law was passed in 2024 when the DFL had full control of Minnesota state government.
“Did you know that in [Minnesota] prosecutors can criminally charge 10, 11, and 12 year olds? That will stop on August 1st which will help kids get the services they actually need,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty wrote in a recent social media post.
Moriarty was referring to HF 5216, a public safety omnibus bill that was passed in 2024. That bill contained many different provisions relating to public safety law in Minnesota, but one of those provisions was something called “raise the age.”
In short, Minnesota’s “raise the age” law prevents prosecutors from prosecuting children younger than 13 for “delinquent acts.” In Minnesota, delinquent acts are acts that would be violations of law if the person who committed them was 18 or older.
While HF 5216 was passed in 2024, the bill’s language stated that the “raise the age” portion would not become effective until Aug. 1, 2026. The bill was passed in a 34-33 vote in the Minnesota Senate with Democrats in support and Republicans opposed.
Meanwhile, HF 5216 was passed 107-19 in the Minnesota House of Representatives with Republican support. Gov. Tim Walz signed the bill into law in May of that year.
Earlier this week, Moriarty discussed the new law on her podcast alongside DFL State Rep. Sandra Feist, who voted for HF 5216. Feist said “it was really important that we don’t put little kids who need help in jail.”
Feist pushed back against critics of the new law, saying “it’s really clear that the status quo is not working” and the current system gets in the way of figuring out what kind of help children need.
The DFL lawmaker said Minnesota is “the only state that will have that threshold at 13.”
Feist said other states have “carve-outs” allowing children to be charged for certain offenses, but she said “that really doesn’t make any sense because the seriousness of the offense does not somehow correlate with competency to stand trial.”
In a video about the “raise the age” law, Moriarty said “what this legislation really means is that instead of charging 10, 11, 12 year-olds with criminal offenses, they will get the help that they really need, and not in a jail setting.”
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
