1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to state government; proposing an amendment to the Minnesota 
1.3 	Constitution, article IV, section 9; article V, section 4; and by adding an article;  
1.4 	creating a council to prescribe salaries for legislators and executive officer;
1.5 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 15A.082.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	ARTICLE 1
1.8 	CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

1.9 	Section 1. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS PROPOSED.
 1.10 	An amendment to the Minnesota Constitution is proposed to the people. If the 
1.11 	amendment is adopted: 
1.12 	article IV, section 9, will read:

1.13 	Sec. 9.  The compensation base salary of senators  and representatives shall be prescribed 
1.14 	by law.  No increase of compensation shall take effect during the period for which the 
1.15 	members of the existing house of representatives may have been  elected the compensation 
1.16 	council. Other items of compensation for legislators shall be prescribed by law.  
1.17 	article V,  section 4, will read:

1.18 	Sec. 4.   The term of office of the secretary of state, attorney general  and state auditor 
1.19 	is four years and until a successor is chosen  and qualified.  The duties and salaries of 
1.20 	the executive  officers shall be prescribed by law.  The base salaries of the executive 
1.21 	officers shall be prescribed by the compensation council. Other items of compensation for 
1.22 	executive officers shall be prescribed by law.
1.23 	A new article shall be added to read:
2.1 	ARTICLE XV
2.2 	COMPENSATION COUNCIL

2.3 	Section 1. A compensation council is created each odd-numbered year to prescribe base 
2.4 	salaries for legislators and executive officers. Other items of compensation for legislators 
2.5 	and executive officers, including insurance and retirement benefits, shall be prescribed 
2.6 	by law. The council must prescribe salaries by April 1 of each odd-numbered year, with 
2.7 	any changes in salary to take effect on January 1 of the next even-numbered year, with no 
2.8 	more than one adjustment, to take effect on the first Monday in January of the following 
2.9 	odd-numbered year. Each council expires on April 1 in the year it was created.
2.10 	The council consists of 16 members, who must be residents of this state and no more 
2.11 	than four of whom have held any office elective under this constitution. The appointment, 
2.12 	compensation, and removal of members of the council shall be prescribed by law.

2.13 	Sec. 2. SCHEDULE AND QUESTION.
 2.14 	The proposed amendment must be submitted to the people at the 2008 general 
2.15 	election. The question submitted must be:
2.16 	"Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to transfer from the legislature to a 
2.17 	citizens' council the authority to set salaries for legislators and executive officers?

2.18	Yes .......
	
2.19	No ......."

2.20 	ARTICLE 2
2.21 	STATUTORY CHANGES

2.22 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 15A.082, is amended to read:
2.23 	15A.082 COMPENSATION COUNCIL.
2.24 		Subdivision 1.Creation. A Compensation Council is created each even-numbered
2.25 	odd-numbered year to prescribe base salaries for legislators and constitutional officers 
2.26 	and to assist the legislature in establishing the compensation of constitutional officers, 
2.27 	members of the legislature, justices of the Supreme Court, judges of the Court of Appeals 
2.28 	and district court, and the heads of state and metropolitan agencies included in section 
2.29 	15A.0815. 
2.30 		Subd. 2.Membership. The Compensation Council consists of 16 members, 
2.31 	who must be residents of this state and no more than four of whom may have held any 
2.32 	office elective under the Minnesota Constitution, and who must be appointed as follows: 
2.33 	two members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of 
2.34 	representatives; two members of the senate appointed by the majority leader of the 
3.1 	senate; one member of the house of representatives appointed by the minority leader of 
3.2 	the house of representatives; one member of the senate appointed by the minority leader 
3.3 	of the senate; two nonjudges appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court; and 
3.4 	one member from each congressional district appointed by the governor, of whom no 
3.5 	more than four may belong to the same political party. Appointments must be made by 
3.6 	October 1 January 15 of each odd-numbered year. The chief justice shall select one of 
3.7 	the members appointed by the chief justice to convene the first meeting of the council no 
3.8 	later than 14 days after the appointments are completed. The council shall select a chair 
3.9 	from its membership at its first meeting. The compensation and removal of members 
3.10 	appointed by the governor or the chief justice shall be as provided in section 15.059, 
3.11 	subdivisions 3 and 4. The Legislative Coordinating Commission shall provide the council 
3.12 	with administrative and support services. 
3.13 		Subd. 3.Submission of salaries and recommendations. (a) By May April 1 
3.14 	in each odd-numbered year, the Compensation Council shall post on the official state 
3.15 	Web site the base salaries for legislators and constitutional officers and shall submit 
3.16 	to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate salary 
3.17 	recommendations for constitutional officers, legislators, justices of the Supreme Court, 
3.18 	and judges of the Court of Appeals and district court. The recommended salary prescribed 
3.19 	or recommended for each office must take effect on the first Monday in January 1 of the 
3.20 	next odd-numbered even-numbered year, with no more than one adjustment, to take effect 
3.21 	on the first Monday in January 1 of the year after that. The salary recommendations for 
3.22 	legislators, judges, and constitutional officers take effect if an appropriation of money to 
3.23 	pay the recommended salaries is enacted after the recommendations are submitted and 
3.24 	before their effective date. Recommendations may be expressly modified or rejected. The 
3.25 	salary recommendations prescribed for legislators are is  subject to additional terms that 
3.26 	may be adopted according to section 3.099, subdivisions 1 and 3. 
3.27 	(b) The council shall also submit to the speaker of the house of representatives and 
3.28 	the president of the senate recommendations for the salary ranges of the heads of state 
3.29 	and metropolitan agencies, to be effective retroactively from January 1 of that year if 
3.30 	enacted into law. The recommendations shall include the appropriate group in section 
3.31 	15A.0815 to which each agency head should be assigned and the appropriate limitation 
3.32 	on the maximum range of the salaries of the agency heads in each group, expressed as a 
3.33 	percentage of the salary of the governor. 
3.34 		Subd. 4.Criteria. In prescribing base salaries and making other compensation 
3.35 	recommendations, the council shall consider the amount of compensation paid in 
3.36 	government service and the private sector to persons with similar qualifications, the 
4.1 	amount of compensation needed to attract and retain experienced and competent 
4.2 	persons, and the ability of the state to pay the recommended compensation. In making 
4.3 	recommendations for legislative compensation prescribing base salaries for legislators, the 
4.4 	council shall also consider the average length of a legislative session, the amount of work 
4.5 	required of legislators during interim periods, and opportunities to earn income from other 
4.6 	sources without neglecting legislative duties.
4.7 		Subd. 4a.Constitutional officers. No constitutional officer whose compensation is 
4.8 	set under this section may receive monetary compensation for unused vacation or sick 
4.9 	leave accruals.
4.10 		Subd. 6.Expiration. Each Compensation Council shall expire upon submission of 
4.11 	the recommendations required by subdivision 3 on April 1 in the year it was created.

4.12 	Sec. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.
 4.13 	This article is effective upon approval of the constitutional amendment proposed in 
4.14 	article 1.