HF 1859

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; creating the department 
  1.3             of economic and workforce development; transferring 
  1.4             certain duties of the departments of trade and 
  1.5             economic development, economic security, and labor and 
  1.6             industry; providing for a transition team; 
  1.7             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, 
  1.8             section 15.01. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 15.01, is 
  1.11  amended to read: 
  1.12     15.01 [DEPARTMENTS OF THE STATE.] 
  1.13     The following agencies are designated as the departments of 
  1.14  the state government:  the department of administration; the 
  1.15  department of agriculture; the department of commerce; the 
  1.16  department of corrections; the department of children, families, 
  1.17  and learning; the department of economic security; the 
  1.18  department of trade and economic the department of economic and 
  1.19  workforce development; the department of finance; the department 
  1.20  of health; the department of human rights; the department of 
  1.21  labor and industry; the department of military affairs; the 
  1.22  department of natural resources; the department of employee 
  1.23  relations; the department of public safety; the department of 
  1.24  public service; the department of human services; the department 
  1.25  of revenue; the department of transportation; the department of 
  1.26  veterans affairs; and their successor departments. 
  1.27     Sec. 2.  [NEW AGENCY.] 
  2.1      (a) Responsibility for administration of those Workforce 
  2.2   Investment Act (United States Code, title 29), title I and title 
  2.3   III programs administered by the department of trade and 
  2.4   economic development is transferred to the new agency, the 
  2.5   department of economic and workforce development. 
  2.6      (b) Responsibility for administration of those Workforce 
  2.7   Investment Act (United States Code, title 29), title I and title 
  2.8   III programs administered by the department of economic security 
  2.9   is transferred to the new agency, the department of economic and 
  2.10  workforce development. 
  2.11     (c) Responsibility for administration of the apprenticeship 
  2.12  program in the department of labor and industry is transferred 
  2.13  to the new agency, the department of economic and workforce 
  2.14  development. 
  2.15     (d) Responsibility for administration of the job skills 
  2.16  partnership program in the department of trade and economic 
  2.17  development is transferred to the new agency, the department of 
  2.18  economic and workforce development. 
  2.19     (e) The head of the new agency, the department of economic 
  2.20  and workforce development, is a commissioner for the purposes of 
  2.21  Minnesota Statutes, section 15.06. 
  2.22     Sec. 3.  [TRANSITION TEAM.] 
  2.23     (a) The governor shall appoint the head of a workforce 
  2.24  transition team.  The head of the transition team shall 
  2.25  recommend to the governor and the legislature the transfer to 
  2.26  the appropriate state agency of the responsibility for 
  2.27  administration of those programs of the department of trade and 
  2.28  economic development and the department of economic security not 
  2.29  specified in this act.  The head of the transition team may 
  2.30  recommend, where appropriate, the transfer of a program, 
  2.31  including those programs under the Workforce Investment Act 
  2.32  (United States Code, title 29), title I and title III, to local 
  2.33  workforce boards. 
  2.34     (b) The head of the workforce transition team shall report 
  2.35  to the legislature no later than March 15, 2002, on 
  2.36  recommendations under paragraph (a). 
  3.1      (c) The head of the workforce transition team shall consult 
  3.2   with all appropriate state authorized councils, including, but 
  3.3   not limited to, the state rehabilitation advisory council, the 
  3.4   statewide independent living council, the rehabilitation 
  3.5   advisory council for the blind, and the governor's council on 
  3.6   developmental disabilities, prior to making recommendations to 
  3.7   the legislature on the appropriate transfer of responsibilities 
  3.8   for administration of those programs for which the councils are 
  3.9   authorized. 
  3.10     (d) The head of the workforce transition team shall consult 
  3.11  with the SAFE coordinating council, prior to making any 
  3.12  recommendation to the legislature, on the appropriate state 
  3.13  agency of the juvenile justice program, the Minnesota city 
  3.14  grants program, and the youth intervention program in the 
  3.15  department of economic security. 
  3.16     (e) The head of the workforce transition team shall consult 
  3.17  with the commissioners of economic security, trade and economic 
  3.18  development, and labor and industry, and the cochairs of the 
  3.19  legislative task force on workforce development prior to making 
  3.20  any recommendation to the legislature under paragraph (a). 
  3.21     (f) The commissioners of trade and economic development, 
  3.22  economic security, and labor and industry, must cooperate with 
  3.23  and provide staff support to the workforce transition team.  The 
  3.24  support includes, but is not limited to, professional, 
  3.25  technical, and clerical staff necessary to fully assess the 
  3.26  programs under paragraph (a). 
  3.27     (g) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the head of 
  3.28  the workforce transition team shall have access to private or 
  3.29  nonpublic data necessary to carry out the objective of paragraph 
  3.30  (a). 
  3.31     (h) The head of the workforce transition team shall be in 
  3.32  the unclassified service of the state and may hire employees in 
  3.33  the unclassified service. 
  3.34     (i) This section shall expire June 30, 2002. 
  3.35     Sec. 4.  [TRANSFER.] 
  3.36     (a) The responsibility for administration of the 
  4.1   unemployment insurance program and the disability determination 
  4.2   programs in the department of economic security is transferred 
  4.3   to the department of labor and industry. 
  4.4      (b) The responsibility for administration of the energy 
  4.5   assistance, reach out for warmth, and weatherization programs in 
  4.6   the department of economic security is transferred to the 
  4.7   department of commerce. 
  4.8      Sec. 5.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.9      $250,000 is appropriated from the general fund in fiscal 
  4.10  year 2002 to the head of the transition team established in 
  4.11  section 3 for salary and employment benefit costs as well as 
  4.12  expenses incurred by the workforce transition team. 
  4.13     Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.14     Sections 1, 2, and 4 are effective July 1, 2002.  Sections 
  4.15  3 and 5 are effective July 1, 2001.