Lawmakers have finally agreed on something. Both Democrats and Republicans say we need tougher penalties for criminals. Too bad the prisons are full. The problems are real, especially with methamphetamine.

Laura McCallum lays it out on MPR:

Law enforcement officers who see the growing impact of methamphetamine firsthand say meth is far more dangerous than any other drug they've encountered. Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher says meth is easier to make and more addictive than marijuana, cocaine and crack.

"The drug keeps changing. It evolves. The chemistry to produce these things keeps getting better on the criminal side, and it becomes more powerful and more addictive," he said.

Fletcher supports legislation proposed by Democrats that would restrict access to the products used in making meth. A main ingredient is ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, found in common over-the-counter cold medicine like Sudafed.

Republicans say they agree with many elements of the DFL plan. They introduced a similar bill last year, and Gov. Tim Pawlenty has already proposed a plan this year. All the plans would enhance penalties for people who manufacture meth, and for those who dispose of meth waste, which is particularly nasty. (For more background on the meth problem, check out MPR's excellent series)

Lawmakers are also likely to revisit the issue of sex offender sentencing. It was a big issue after the kidnapping and murder of Dru Sjodin, but nothing happened as the session imploded last year. MPR's Tom Scheck notes the tougher sentences come with a big pricetag:

While lawmakers negotiate over which penalty fits best for Minnesota, state corrections officials are trying to fit the current inmate population in its existing prisons.

Joan Fabian is commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

"We need to figure out where to put these offenders," Fabian said.

Fabian says the state's prison population has increased 45 percent in the past five years. Fabian says her agency is using several strategies to address the trend: double bunking inmates in cells designed to hold one; keeping low level offenders in local jails; and housing inmates in a privately run prison in Appleton, Minnesota. Fabian and her boss, Gov. Pawlenty, say it's important now to add prison space. Fabian wants lawmakers to borrow $106 million to expand the Faribault and Stillwater prisons.

"With this Faribault expansion, we'll get about 1,060 beds and that will take care of the problem for a while," she said.

Sen. Jane Ranum, DFL-Minneapolis, says her caucus supports Pawlenty's expansion plans but she's concerned the state could still run out of space. Ranum says because a quarter of the state's inmates are in prison because of non-violent drug crimes it may be time to rethink sentences for those offenses. It costs about $77 a day to house an inmate in Minnesota. Ranum says an increased inmate population could add to the state's budget problems. Minnesota has a projected $700 million deficit. Ranum says drug treatment may be a better option for some inmates.

Scheck notes that House Republicans favor expanding rented space at a private prison in Appleton, at least in the short run. It could be that the state needs to do both rent more state and build new prison space. Ranum says the drug treatment option may be the hardest to pass, but the most cost efficient in the long run.

As lawmakers begin looking for solutions to the state's budget woes, they've found a way to help themselves. Patrick Condon of the Associated Press had this story:

A House committee voted Thursday to bump up the per diem, or daily expense check, for the chamber's 134 members. It was increased by $10, to a total of $66 a day.

It was approved on a voice vote in the House Rules Committee,
though several members voted against it. Some said it sent the
wrong message as the Legislature begins grappling with a projected
budget deficit of at least $700 million.

House Majority Leader Erik Paulsen, R-Eden Prairie and chairman
of the committee, defended the move.

"It's been a long time since it was raised," he said. "It
reflects the current times and the amount members incur on
expenses. It's a modest increase."

Hey, isn't that what Citizens for Tax Justice has been saying about the income tax?