1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to military affairs; creating a military
1.3 	assistance trust fund and specifying uses of the fund;
1.4 	authorizing rulemaking; appropriating money; proposing
1.5 	coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 190.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. [190.19] MILITARY ASSISTANCE TRUST FUND.
1.8 	(a) The military assistance trust fund is established in
1.9 	the state treasury.  The trust fund consists of those funds
1.10 	designated to the trust fund by law.
1.11 	(b) Money deposited in the trust fund established in
1.12 	paragraph (a) is inviolate and constitutes a permanent and
1.13 	perpetual trust fund.  Money designated to the trust fund must
1.14 	be transmitted to the State Board of Investment for credit to
1.15 	the trust fund and invested by the State Board of Investment so
1.16 	as to obtain the highest return possible consistent with the
1.17 	preservation of the corpus.  The interest earned from investment
1.18 	of the corpus of the trust fund must be credited by the
1.19 	commissioner of finance not later than June 30 of each year into
1.20 	a separate account within the state treasury and distributed as
1.21 	provided in section 190.20.

1.22 	Sec. 2. [190.20] USES OF TRUST FUND; APPROPRIATION;
1.23 	RULEMAKING.
1.24 	(a) The investment income from the military assistance
1.25 	trust fund created by section 190.19 is appropriated to the
2.1 	adjutant general to alleviate financial hardships faced by:
2.2 	(1) any member of the Minnesota National Guard or a reserve
2.3 	unit that is based in Minnesota who has been called to active
2.4 	duty or active state service;
2.5 	(2) any Minnesota resident who is a member of a military
2.6 	reserve unit that is not based in Minnesota, if the member is
2.7 	called to active duty;
2.8 	(3) any other Minnesota resident performing active duty
2.9 	service for any branch of the military of the United States; and 
2.10 	(4) members of the immediate family of a person identified
2.11 	in clauses (1) to (3).  For purposes of this clause, "immediate
2.12 	family" means the spouse and each child and, if they are
2.13 	dependents of the member of the military, the parents,
2.14 	grandparents, siblings, stepchildren, and adult children of the
2.15 	member of the military.
2.16 	(b) The interest income earned from the military assistance
2.17 	trust fund must only be used as a last resort to assist eligible
2.18 	military personnel and families dealing with financial hardship
2.19 	resulting from the military member's active duty status and must
2.20 	not be used to supplant any other private or public funds to the
2.21 	extent funds are available.
2.22 	(c) The adjutant general must adopt rules to establish
2.23 	eligibility requirements for assistance under this section.  In
2.24 	developing rules, the adjutant general shall consult with
2.25 	military support groups including, but not limited to, the
2.26 	family assistance fund and family assistance centers.

2.27 	Sec. 3. [190.21] ANNUAL REPORT.
2.28 	(a) By January 15 of each year, the adjutant general shall
2.29 	provide a report to the governor and the senate and house
2.30 	committees with jurisdiction over military affairs policy and
2.31 	finance specifying:
2.32 	(1) the total amount of interest income earned from the
2.33 	military assistance trust fund during the preceding fiscal year;
2.34 	(2) the total amount of assistance provided from the
2.35 	interest income earned from the military assistance trust fund;
2.36 	and 
3.1 	(3) the amount of assistance provided from the interest
3.2 	income earned from the military assistance trust fund by branch
3.3 	of service, regular or reserve duty classification, amounts of
3.4 	individual assistance provided, the reasons that qualified a
3.5 	member of the military or the member's family for assistance,
3.6 	and the balance remaining within the interest income account for
3.7 	future disbursements.
3.8 	(b) The adjutant general may request assistance from the
3.9 	State Board of Investment to prepare the annual report required
3.10 	by this section.

3.11 	Sec. 4. TRANSFER.
 3.12 	By July 1, 2005, the commissioner of finance shall transfer
3.13 	$....... from the general fund to the military assistance trust
3.14 	fund.