1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to children; proposing an amendment to the 
  1.3             Minnesota Constitution by adding a section to article 
  1.4             XI; establishing the children's endowment fund; 
  1.5             proposing coding for new law as Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.6             chapter 119C. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.] 
  1.9      An amendment to the Minnesota Constitution is proposed to 
  1.10  the people.  If the amendment is adopted, a section shall be 
  1.11  added to article XI to read: 
  1.12     Sec. 15.  The endowment fund for Minnesota's children is 
  1.13  established in the state treasury.  The assets of the fund must 
  1.14  be appropriated by law for purposes that will enhance children's 
  1.15  physical, emotional, and intellectual development through the 
  1.16  age of four years so that children in Minnesota begin school 
  1.17  ready to learn.  The amount appropriated each fiscal year may 
  1.18  not exceed 5-1/2 percent of the market value of the fund one 
  1.19  year before the start of the biennium. 
  1.20     Sec. 2.  [SCHEDULE AND QUESTION.] 
  1.21     The amendment shall be submitted to the people at the 1998 
  1.22  general election.  The question submitted shall be: 
  1.23     "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to create a 
  1.24  permanent endowment fund to enhance the development of young 
  1.25  children through the age of four? 
  1.26                                     Yes .......
  2.1                                      No ........"
  2.2                             CHAPTER 119C
  2.3                  ENDOWMENT FOR MINNESOTA'S CHILDREN
  2.4      Sec. 3.  [119C.01] [DEFINITIONS.] 
  2.5      Subdivision 1.  [APPLICABILITY.] The definitions in this 
  2.6   section apply to sections 119C.01 to 119C.05. 
  2.7      Subd. 2.  [ENDOWMENT FUND.] "Endowment fund" means the 
  2.8   children's endowment fund established in the Minnesota 
  2.9   Constitution, article XI, section 15. 
  2.10     Subd. 3.  [YOUNG CHILDREN.] "Young children" means children 
  2.11  through the age of four. 
  2.12     Sec. 4.  [119C.02] [ENDOWMENT FUND NOT TO SUPPLANT EXISTING 
  2.13  FUNDING.] 
  2.14     The endowment fund may not be used as a substitute for 
  2.15  traditional sources of funding activities for young children and 
  2.16  their parents, but the endowment fund shall be used to 
  2.17  supplement the traditional sources, including those sources used 
  2.18  to support the activities in section 119C.04. 
  2.19     Sec. 5.  [119C.03] [ENDOWMENT FUND ACCOUNT.] 
  2.20     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT AND INVESTMENT.] 
  2.21  The children's endowment fund, under the Minnesota Constitution, 
  2.22  article XI, section 15, is established as an account in the 
  2.23  state treasury.  The commissioner of finance shall credit to the 
  2.24  endowment fund the amounts authorized under this section and 
  2.25  section 119C.05.  The state board of investment shall ensure 
  2.26  that endowment fund money is invested under section 11A.24.  All 
  2.27  money earned by the endowment fund must be credited to the 
  2.28  endowment fund.  The principal of the endowment fund and any 
  2.29  unexpended earnings must be invested and reinvested by the state 
  2.30  board of investment.  
  2.31     Subd. 2.  [REVENUE.] Nothing in sections 3 to 8 limits the 
  2.32  source of contributions to the endowment fund. 
  2.33     Subd. 3.  [GIFTS AND DONATIONS.] Gifts and donations may be 
  2.34  made to the endowment fund.  Noncash gifts and donations must be 
  2.35  disposed of for cash as soon as the board prudently can maximize 
  2.36  the value of the gift or donation.  Gifts and donations of 
  3.1   marketable securities may be held or disposed of for cash at the 
  3.2   option of the board.  The cash receipts of gifts and donations 
  3.3   of cash or capital assets and marketable securities disposed of 
  3.4   for cash must be credited immediately to the principal of the 
  3.5   endowment fund.  The value of marketable securities at the time 
  3.6   the gift or donation is made must be credited to the principal 
  3.7   of the endowment fund and any earnings from the marketable 
  3.8   securities are earnings of the endowment fund. 
  3.9      Subd. 4.  [AUDITS REQUIRED.] The legislative auditor shall 
  3.10  audit endowment fund expenditures to ensure that the money is 
  3.11  spent for the purposes under section 119C.04. 
  3.12     Sec. 6.  [119C.04] [ENDOWMENT FUND EXPENDITURES.] 
  3.13     Money in the endowment fund may be spent for: 
  3.14     (1) research activities and programs that emphasize results 
  3.15  in children through age three; 
  3.16     (2) research that contributes to increasing the 
  3.17  understanding of the development of young children's brains or 
  3.18  to developing new methods to increase the effectiveness of 
  3.19  stimulation and educational activities that will improve brain 
  3.20  development in young children; 
  3.21     (3) collection and analysis of information that assists in 
  3.22  enhancing the development of young children so they begin school 
  3.23  ready to learn; 
  3.24     (4) enhancement of public education, awareness, and 
  3.25  understanding necessary for the promotion and encouragement of 
  3.26  activities that protect and stimulate young children's 
  3.27  development so that they begin school ready to learn; 
  3.28     (5) supplemental funding to those projects and programs 
  3.29  that have demonstrated successful outcomes in improving and 
  3.30  enhancing the development of young children so they begin school 
  3.31  ready to learn; 
  3.32     (6) activities that link parenting education for parents to 
  3.33  early childhood learning services for young children; 
  3.34     (7) activities that are designed to strengthen the quality 
  3.35  of child care for young children and expand the supply of high 
  3.36  quality child care services for young children; 
  4.1      (8) activities that increase the level of immunization and 
  4.2   preventive health care screening and education for young 
  4.3   children; 
  4.4      (9) activities that assist in the development and improved 
  4.5   efficiency of community-based assistance activities for young 
  4.6   children; 
  4.7      (10) activities that establish methods to evaluate how 
  4.8   services can be more effectively delivered to young children and 
  4.9   parents of young children; 
  4.10     (11) activities that strengthen families, neighborhoods, 
  4.11  and communities by encouraging partnerships and collaborations 
  4.12  on behalf of young children; 
  4.13     (12) activities that provide all three- and four-year-olds 
  4.14  with access to a setting that offers both a high quality 
  4.15  preschool experience and child care during the hours that 
  4.16  parents work; 
  4.17     (13) activities that support every neighborhood in efforts 
  4.18  to provide a family-friendly place from which infants and 
  4.19  toddlers and their families would be provided home visiting, 
  4.20  family support, early education, and other community-based 
  4.21  supports reaching out to the youngest children and their 
  4.22  parents; 
  4.23     (14) activities that ensure that all young children and 
  4.24  pregnant women receive the health care they require; 
  4.25     (15) administrative and investment expenses incurred by the 
  4.26  state board of investment in investing deposits to the endowment 
  4.27  fund; and 
  4.28     (16) administrative expenses subject to the limits in 
  4.29  section 119C.09. 
  4.30     Activities in clauses (6) to (14) may include pilot 
  4.31  projects or demonstration projects. 
  4.32     Sec. 7.  [119C.05] [ROYALTIES; COPYRIGHTS; PATENTS.] 
  4.33     This section applies to projects supported by the endowment 
  4.34  fund.  The endowment fund owns and shall take title to the 
  4.35  percentage of a royalty, copyright, or patent resulting from a 
  4.36  project supported by the fund equal to the percentage of the 
  5.1   project's total funding provided by the fund.  Cash receipts 
  5.2   resulting from a royalty, copyright, or patent, or the sale of 
  5.3   the endowment fund's rights to a royalty, copyright, or patent, 
  5.4   must be credited immediately to the principal of the endowment 
  5.5   fund.  
  5.6      Sec. 8.  [GOVERNANCE.] 
  5.7      The governor, the subcommittee on committees of the 
  5.8   committee on rules and administration of the senate, and the 
  5.9   speaker of the house of representatives shall jointly appoint a 
  5.10  work group of legislators and community and foundation 
  5.11  representatives to develop a proposal for governance of the 
  5.12  endowment for Minnesota's children.  The work group shall 
  5.13  prepare a report and submit recommendations to the legislature 
  5.14  by January 15, 1999, which include the governance structure, 
  5.15  composition of the governing body, authority and responsibility 
  5.16  for managing funds, and how to best focus the children's 
  5.17  endowment funds to improve outcomes for children through the age 
  5.18  of six years. 
  5.19     Sec. 9.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.20     Sections 3 to 8 are effective the day after the 
  5.21  constitutional amendment proposed in sections 1 and 2 is adopted.