1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to state government; abolishing the Department of Employee Relations; 
1.3 	transferring duties; providing certain protections for employees.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYEE RELATIONS ABOLISHED; 
1.6 	DUTIES TRANSFERRED.
 1.7 	(a) The Department of Employee Relations and the position of the commissioner 
1.8 	of employee relations are abolished as of June 1, 2008. Duties of the Department of 
1.9 	Employee Relations and the commissioner of employee relations are transferred on or 
1.10 	before June 1, 2008, to the commissioner of finance, except as follows:
1.11 	(1) duties relating to administration of the state employees workers' compensation 
1.12 	program are transferred on or before June 1, 2008, to the commissioner of administration; 
1.13 	and
1.14 	(2) duties relating to health care purchasing improvement under Minnesota Statutes, 
1.15 	section 43A.312, are transferred on or before June 1, 2008, to the commissioner of health.
1.16 	(b) The commissioner of employee relations, in consultation with the commissioner 
1.17 	of finance, may specify one or more dates before June 1, 2008, on which any or all of the 
1.18 	transfers provided in paragraph (a) will occur.
1.19 	(c) The governor may, in consultation with the commissioner of employee relations, 
1.20 	the commissioner of finance, the commissioner of administration, and the director of the 
1.21 	Office of Enterprise Technology, transfer other duties of the Department of Employee 
1.22 	Relations to other state agencies in order to most effectively and efficiently accomplish the 
1.23 	reorganization required by this act.
2.1 	(d) Transfer of duties under this section is subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 
2.2 	15.039.

2.3 	Sec. 2. WORKER PROTECTION.
 2.4 	In addition to any other protection, no employee in the classified service shall 
2.5 	suffer job loss, have a salary reduced, or have employment benefits reduced as a result 
2.6 	of a reorganization mandated or recommended under authority of section 1. No action 
2.7 	taken after July 1, 2009, shall be considered a result of reorganization for the purposes 
2.8 	of this section.

2.9 	Sec. 3. REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.
 2.10 	In the next and subsequent editions of Minnesota Statutes and Minnesota Rules, the 
2.11 	revisor of statutes must replace references to the Department of Employee Relations and 
2.12 	commissioner of employee relations with references to the appropriate department and 
2.13 	commissioner specified in section 1. The revisor of statutes, in consultation with affected 
2.14 	commissioners of state agencies, must prepare a bill for introduction in the 2008 legislative 
2.15 	session making other statutory changes needed to implement or conform with section 1.

2.16 	Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
 2.17 	Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day following final enactment.