SF 1938

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to the legislature; changing provisions
governing the Legislative Coordinating Commission and
subordinate agencies; eliminating a commission;
changing membership and operation of the Compensation
Council; appropriating money; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2004, sections 3.303, subdivision 3, by
adding a subdivision; 3.85, subdivisions 8, 9;
15A.082, subdivisions 1, 2, 3; 216C.051, subdivision
6; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 3.304,
subdivisions 1, 5; 3.884.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 3.303,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Chair.

The president of the senate and the
speaker of the house shall alternate annually as chair of the
commission. new text begin The chair may designate another member of the
commission to serve as chair for the reminder of the year during
which the designating member would otherwise be chair. The
designee must be a member of the same legislative body as the
chair making the designation.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 3.303, is amended
by adding a subdivision to read:

new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Acceptance of grants and gifts. new text end

new text begin The commission
may accept gifts and grants for purposes related to the duties
of the commission. Money received by the commission from a gift
or grant is appropriated to the commission for purposes
specified in the gift or grant. new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 3.85, subdivision
8, is amended to read:

Subd. 8.

Expenses, reimbursement.

The members of the
commission and its deleted text begin assistants shall deleted text end new text begin staff must new text end be reimbursed for
all expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the
performance of their duties. Reimbursement for expenses
incurred deleted text begin shall deleted text end new text begin must new text end be made deleted text begin under the rules governing state
employees deleted text end new text begin in accordance with policies adopted by the commission new text end .

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 3.85, subdivision
9, is amended to read:

Subd. 9.

Expenses and reports.

Expenses of the
commission shall be approved by the chair or another member as
the rules of the commission provide. deleted text begin The expenses shall then be
paid like other state expenses. A general summary or statement
of expenses incurred by the commission and paid shall be made to
the legislature by November 15 of each even-numbered year.
deleted text end

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 15A.082,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Creation.

A Compensation Council is
created each deleted text begin even-numbered deleted text end new text begin odd-numbered new text end year to assist the
legislature in establishing the compensation of constitutional
officers, members of the legislature, justices of the Supreme
Court, judges of the Court of Appeals and district court, and
the heads of state and metropolitan agencies included in section
15A.0815.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 15A.082,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Membership.

The Compensation Council consists
of 16 members: two members new text begin , who are not members new text end of the house of
representatives new text begin , new text end appointed by the speaker of the house of
representatives; two members new text begin , who are not members new text end of the senate new text begin ,
new text end appointed by the majority leader of the senate; one member new text begin , who
is not a member new text end of the house of representatives new text begin , new text end appointed by
the minority leader of the house of representatives; one member new text begin ,
who is not a member new text end of the senate new text begin , new text end appointed by the minority
leader of the senate; two nonjudges appointed by the chief
justice of the Supreme Court; and one member from each
congressional district appointed by the governor, of whom no
more than four may belong to the same political party.
Appointments must be made deleted text begin by October 1 deleted text end new text begin after the first Monday in
January and before January 15 new text end . The compensation and removal of
members appointed by the governor or the chief justice shall be
as provided in section 15.059, subdivisions 3 and 4. The
Legislative Coordinating Commission shall provide the council
with administrative and support services.

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 15A.082,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Submission of recommendations.

(a) By deleted text begin May deleted text end new text begin April
new text end 1 in each odd-numbered year, the Compensation Council shall
submit to the speaker of the house of representatives and the
president of the senate salary recommendations for
constitutional officers, legislators, justices of the Supreme
Court, and judges of the Court of Appeals and district court.
The recommended salary for each office must take effect on the
first Monday in January of the next odd-numbered year, with no
more than one adjustment, to take effect on January 1 of the
year after that. The salary recommendations for legislators,
judges, and constitutional officers take effect if an
appropriation of money to pay the recommended salaries is
enacted after the recommendations are submitted and before their
effective date. Recommendations may be expressly modified or
rejected. The salary recommendations for legislators are
subject to additional terms that may be adopted according to
section 3.099, subdivisions 1 and 3.

(b) The council shall also submit to the speaker of the
house of representatives and the president of the senate
recommendations for the salary ranges of the heads of state and
metropolitan agencies, to be effective retroactively from
January 1 of that year if enacted into law. The recommendations
shall include the appropriate group in section 15A.0815 to which
each agency head should be assigned and the appropriate
limitation on the maximum range of the salaries of the agency
heads in each group, expressed as a percentage of the salary of
the governor.

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 216C.051,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Assessment; appropriation.

On request by the
cochairs of the Legislative Task Force and after approval of the
new text begin chair of the new text end Legislative Coordinating Commission, the
commissioner of commerce shall assess from all public utilities,
generation and transmission cooperative electric associations,
and municipal power agencies providing electric or natural gas
services in Minnesota, in addition to assessments made under
section 216B.62, the amount requested for the operation of the
task force not to exceed $250,000 in a fiscal year. The amount
assessed under this section is appropriated to the director of
the Legislative Coordinating Commission for those purposes, and
is available until expended. The department shall apportion
those costs among all energy utilities in proportion to their
respective gross operating revenues from the sale of gas or
electric service within the state during the last calendar
year. For the purposes of administrative efficiency, the
department shall assess energy utilities and issue bills in
accordance with the billing and assessment procedures provided
in section 216B.62, to the extent that these procedures do not
conflict with this subdivision.

Sec. 9. new text begin REPEALER.
new text end

new text begin Minnesota Statutes 2004, sections 3.304, subdivisions 1 and
5; and 3.884, are repealed.
new text end