1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to employment; providing grants to create employment opportunities in 
1.3 	the private sector for former correctional facility inmates; appropriating money.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. PRIVATE EMPLOYMENT OF FORMER INMATES; 
1.6 	APPROPRIATION.
 1.7 	(a) $1,500,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of 
1.8 	employment and economic development for the biennium ending June 30, 2009, for the 
1.9 	purpose of this section. This is a onetime appropriation.
1.10 	(b) The commissioner of employment and economic development must solicit 
1.11 	proposals for grants to private employers for the purpose of providing employment to 
1.12 	former inmates of Minnesota correctional facilities. The solicitation must require that:
1.13 	(1) at least 75 percent of all employees of the business must consist of individuals 
1.14 	who have been released from a Minnesota correctional facility within the preceding three 
1.15 	years, with a special emphasis on employing former inmates during the first six months of 
1.16 	release from incarceration;
1.17 	(2) the business must have a plan to employ at least 100 former inmates within one 
1.18 	year of receipt of the grant and have a plan for increasing former inmate employment to at 
1.19 	least 250 within five years of receiving a grant; and
1.20 	(3) the business must have a cooperative plan with the Minnesota correctional 
1.21 	industry, commonly known as MINNCOR, for employing individuals who have been 
1.22 	successfully employed by MINNCOR while incarcerated.
1.23 	(c) Jobs that are proposed must be those that develop work skills that are transferable 
1.24 	to other private sector industries. The jobs must pay a wage of at least $10 per hour and 
2.1 	provide at least 40 hours of work per week. The site of employment must be located in an 
2.2 	area where there is sufficient affordable housing to accommodate the employees.
2.3 	(d) The commissioner shall make three grants. One grant must be in the metropolitan 
2.4 	area, one in the northern area of Minnesota, and one in the southern area of Minnesota. 
2.5 	One-half of a grant must be disbursed when 50 former inmates are employed and the 
2.6 	other half when 100 former inmates are employed. The commissioner of employment 
2.7 	and economic development must consult with the commissioner of corrections before 
2.8 	awarding any grant.