1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; establishing a board of 
  1.3             technical colleges; transferring authority over the 
  1.4             technical colleges from the board of trustees of the 
  1.5             Minnesota state colleges and universities to the board 
  1.6             of technical colleges; requiring a study; 
  1.7             appropriating money; proposing coding for new law as 
  1.8             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 136G. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  [136G.01] [BOARD OF TECHNICAL COLLEGES.] 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [MEMBERSHIP.] The board of technical 
  1.12  colleges, referred to in sections 136G.01 to 136G.04 as "the 
  1.13  board," is established.  The board consists of nine members 
  1.14  appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the 
  1.15  senate.  One member must be a student or a person who has 
  1.16  graduated from an institution governed by the board within one 
  1.17  year of the date of appointment. 
  1.18     Subd. 2.  [TERM; COMPENSATION; REMOVAL; VACANCIES.] The 
  1.19  compensation, removal of members, and filling of vacancies on 
  1.20  the board are as provided in section 15.0575.  Members are 
  1.21  appointed for a term of four years.  Terms end on June 30.  
  1.22     Subd. 3.  [BOARD ADMINISTRATION.] The board shall elect a 
  1.23  chair and other officers as it may desire.  It shall determine 
  1.24  its meeting dates and places. 
  1.25     Sec. 2.  [136G.02] [MISSION.] 
  1.26     The mission of the board is to provide programs of study 
  1.27  that meet the needs of students for occupational and technical 
  2.1   education.  The board shall develop administrative arrangements 
  2.2   that make possible the efficient use of the facilities and staff 
  2.3   of the technical colleges for providing these programs of study. 
  2.4      Sec. 3.  [136G.03] [POWERS AND DUTIES.] 
  2.5      Subdivision 1.  [GENERAL AUTHORITY.] The board shall 
  2.6   manage, supervise, and control the technical colleges and all 
  2.7   related property.  It shall prescribe courses of study and 
  2.8   conditions of admission, prepare and confer diplomas, and adopt 
  2.9   suitable policies for the institutions it manages.  Sections 
  2.10  14.01 to 14.47 do not apply to policies and procedures of the 
  2.11  board.  
  2.12     Subd. 2.  [PERSONNEL.] The board shall appoint all 
  2.13  presidents, teachers, and other necessary employees.  Salaries 
  2.14  and benefits of employees must be determined according to 
  2.15  chapters 43A and 179A.  
  2.16     Subd. 3.  [BUDGET.] The board shall submit to the governor 
  2.17  and the legislature the budget request for its programs of study.
  2.18     Subd. 4.  [OCCUPATIONAL AND VOCATIONAL PROGRAM 
  2.19  INFORMATION.] In its biennial budget request, the board shall 
  2.20  provide to the governor and legislature information on its 
  2.21  occupational and vocational programs specifying revenues, 
  2.22  expenditures, trends for expenditures, expenditures for 
  2.23  instructional equipment, and other relevant information related 
  2.24  to those programs.  The board shall provide the governor and 
  2.25  legislature in its biennial budget request information on the 
  2.26  accountability measures it uses to determine the efficiency and 
  2.27  effectiveness of the occupational and vocational programs. 
  2.28     Subd. 5.  [PROGRAM DELIVERY.] The board shall avoid 
  2.29  duplicate program offerings.  After consulting with the local 
  2.30  advisory committees, the board shall develop programs to meet 
  2.31  the needs of students and the state. 
  2.32     Subd. 6.  [TRANSFERABILITY.] The board shall place a high 
  2.33  priority on ensuring the transferability of credit among the 
  2.34  institutions it governs.  
  2.35     Subd. 7.  [REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL AID.] The board shall 
  2.36  devise a registration system that simplifies and combines 
  3.1   registration for the institutions it governs, improves the 
  3.2   financial aid application process for students, and provides 
  3.3   registration at common locations. 
  3.4      Sec. 4.  [136G.04] [LOCAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES.] 
  3.5      The president of a technical college, with the approval of 
  3.6   the board, may appoint a local advisory committee for each 
  3.7   campus.  Committee members must be qualified people who have a 
  3.8   knowledge of and interest in the campus.  The board shall define 
  3.9   the role and authority of the advisory committees and establish 
  3.10  procedures for the appointment, terms, and termination of 
  3.11  members.  The president or an appointee of the president shall 
  3.12  regularly meet and consult with the local advisory committee. 
  3.13     Sec. 5.  [TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS.] 
  3.14     Subdivision 1.  [APPOINTMENTS TO BOARD.] Appointments to 
  3.15  the board of technical colleges must be made by July 1, 2000.  
  3.16  Notwithstanding section 1, subdivision 2, the initial members of 
  3.17  the board must be appointed so that an equal number of 
  3.18  nonstudent members will have terms expiring in 2002 and 2004. 
  3.19     Subd. 2.  [PERSONNEL.] The board of technical colleges may 
  3.20  hire employees necessary to carry out the transitional duties 
  3.21  imposed by this section.  The commissioner of employee relations 
  3.22  shall cooperate with the board to expedite the hiring of these 
  3.23  employees.  
  3.24     Subd. 3.  [TRANSITIONAL PLANNING PROCESS.] The board of 
  3.25  technical colleges shall, immediately after appointment, 
  3.26  commence planning for the transfer of authority over the 
  3.27  technical colleges from the board of trustees of the Minnesota 
  3.28  state colleges and universities on July 1, 2001, to the board of 
  3.29  technical colleges. 
  3.30     Subd. 4.  [CONSOLIDATED COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGES; 
  3.31  STUDY.] The board of technical colleges and the board of 
  3.32  trustees of the Minnesota state colleges and universities shall 
  3.33  conduct a joint study regarding the governance of the 
  3.34  consolidated community and technical colleges.  The study shall 
  3.35  recommend whether consolidated status should be retained or 
  3.36  reversed for each consolidated community and technical college.  
  4.1   For those institutions where consolidated status is retained, 
  4.2   the study shall include a plan for continued governance and 
  4.3   administration.  For those institutions where consolidated 
  4.4   status is to be reversed, the study shall recommend a plan for 
  4.5   transfer of authority, duties, and responsibilities for 
  4.6   technical programs to the board of technical colleges, including 
  4.7   a timetable for the transfer.  The boards shall report the 
  4.8   results of the study to the higher education finance divisions 
  4.9   of the legislature by February 1, 2001. 
  4.10     Sec. 6.  [TRANSFER OF POWERS.] 
  4.11     The board of trustees of the Minnesota state colleges and 
  4.12  universities retain responsibility for operating and managing 
  4.13  the technical colleges until July 1, 2001.  On July 1, 2001, the 
  4.14  technical colleges and all authority, duties, and 
  4.15  responsibilities related to the technical colleges are 
  4.16  transferred to the board of technical colleges under Minnesota 
  4.17  Statutes, section 15.039. 
  4.18     Sec. 7.  [COOPERATION.] 
  4.19     The board of trustees of the Minnesota state colleges and 
  4.20  universities shall cooperate with the board of technical 
  4.21  colleges in effecting the transition. 
  4.22     Sec. 8.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.23     $....... is appropriated in fiscal year 2001 from the 
  4.24  general fund to the board of technical colleges for transitional 
  4.25  planning as provided in section 5. 
  4.26     Sec. 9.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.27     This act is effective the day following final enactment.