1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; modifying coverage through 
  1.3             purchasing alliances for seasonal employees; amending 
  1.4             Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 62T.02, by adding a 
  1.5             subdivision. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 62T.02, is 
  1.8   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.9      Subd. 3.  [SEASONAL EMPLOYEES.] A purchasing alliance may 
  1.10  define eligible employees to include seasonal employees.  For 
  1.11  purposes of this chapter, "seasonal employee" means an employee 
  1.12  who is employed on a full-time basis for at least six months 
  1.13  during the calendar year and is unemployed for no longer than 
  1.14  four months during the calendar year.  If seasonal employees are 
  1.15  included: 
  1.16     (1) the alliance must not show bias in the selection of 
  1.17  members based on the percentage of seasonal employees employed 
  1.18  by an employer member; 
  1.19     (2) prior to issuance or renewal, the employer must inform 
  1.20  the alliance that it will include seasonal employees; 
  1.21     (3) the employer must cover seasonal employees for the 
  1.22  entire term of its plan year; and 
  1.23     (4) the purchasing alliance may require an employer-member 
  1.24  contribution of at least 50 percent of the cost of employee 
  1.25  coverage during the months the seasonal employee is unemployed.