1.1A bill for an act1.2relating to employment; regulating the dissemination and calculation of the 1.3state unemployment rate; authorizing the use of funds; amending Minnesota 1.4Statutes 2008, section 116J.401, subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law 1.5in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116J.1.6BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:1.7    Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 116J.401, subdivision 2, is amended to 1.8read:1.9    Subd. 2. Duties. The commissioner of employment and economic development 1.10shall:1.11(1) provide regional development commissions, the Metropolitan Council, and 1.12units of local government with information, technical assistance, training, and advice on 1.13using federal and state programs;1.14(2) receive and administer the Small Cities Community Development Block Grant 1.15Program authorized by Congress under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1.161974, as amended;1.17(3) receive and administer the section 107 technical assistance program grants 1.18authorized by Congress under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as 1.19amended;1.20(4) receive, administer, and supervise other state and federal grants and grant 1.21programs for planning, community affairs, community development purposes, 1.22employment and training services, and other state and federal programs assigned to the 1.23department by law or by the governor in accordance with section 
         4.07;  1.24(5) receive applications for state and federal grants and grant programs for planning, 1.25community affairs, and community development purposes, and other state and federal 2.1programs assigned to the department by law or by the governor in accordance with section 2.24.07
         ;  2.3(6) act as the agent of, and cooperate with, the federal government in matters of 2.4mutual concern, including the administration of any federal funds granted to the state to 2.5aid in the performance of functions of the commissioner;2.6(7) provide consistent, integrated employment and training services across the state;2.7(8) administer the Wagner-Peyser Act, the Workforce Investment Act, and other 2.8federal employment and training programs;2.9(9) establish the standards for all employment and training services administered 2.10under this chapter and chapters 116L, 248, 268, and 268A;2.11(10) administer the aspects of the Minnesota family investment program, general 2.12assistance, and food stamps that relate to employment and training services, subject to the 2.13contract under section 
         116L.86, subdivision 1;  2.14(11) obtain reports from local service units and service providers for the purpose of 2.15evaluating the performance of employment and training services;2.16(12) as requested, certify employment and training services, and decertify services 2.17that fail to comply with performance criteria according to standards established by the 2.18commissioner;2.19(13) develop standards for the contents and structure of the local service unit plans 2.20and plans for Indian tribe employment and training services, review and comment on those 2.21plans, and approve or disapprove the plans;2.22(14) supervise the county boards of commissioners, local service units, and any other 2.23units of government designated in federal or state law as responsible for employment and 2.24training programs;2.25(15) establish administrative standards and payment conditions for providers of 2.26employment and training services;2.27(16) enter into agreements with Indian tribes as necessary to provide employment 2.28and training services as appropriate funds become available;2.29(17) cooperate with the federal government and its employment and training 2.30agencies in any reasonable manner as necessary to qualify for federal aid for employment 2.31and training services and money;2.32(18) administer and supervise all forms of unemployment insurance provided for 2.33under federal and state laws;2.34(19) provide current state and substate labor market information and official2.35forecasts, in cooperation with other agencies. The commissioner must also collect, 2.36analyze, and produce labor market information as provided for in section 116J.4011;3.1(20) require all general employment and training programs that receive state funds 3.2to make available information about opportunities for women in nontraditional careers 3.3in the trades and technical occupations;3.4(21) consult with the Rehabilitation Council for the Blind on matters pertaining to 3.5programs and services for the blind and visually impaired;3.6(22) enter into agreements with other departments of the state and local units of 3.7government as necessary; and3.8(23) establish and maintain administrative units necessary to perform administrative 3.9functions common to all divisions of the department.3.10EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.3.11    Sec. 2. [116J.4011] EXPANSION OF MEASUREMENT OF UNEMPLOYED 3.12AND UNDEREMPLOYED MINNESOTANS.3.13 (a) By July 1, 2010, the commissioner of employment and economic development 3.14shall design and implement a comprehensive measure of unemployment and 3.15underemployment in the state to be used by the Labor Market Information Office within 3.16the Department of Employment and Economic Development to analyze and produce 3.17estimates of total unemployment. The measurement required under this section is in 3.18addition to methods currently utilized by the commissioner to produce official forecasts 3.19and must include, but is not limited to, data on workers who are employed on a part-time 3.20basis but would prefer and accept full-time employment if it was available, and those who 3.21are currently unemployed and not actively seeking employment due to impediments 3.22to work including the lack of child care or transportation. The new measurement must 3.23also include information on state and substate unemployment and underemployment and 3.24the incidence of unemployment and underemployment across demographic categories 3.25including, but not limited to, race, age, and gender. The commissioner must report 3.26monthly to the chairs and ranking minority members of the committees of the senate and 3.27house of representatives having jurisdiction over workforce issues on the most recent 3.28monthly state unemployment rate under both the traditional measure, commonly referred 3.29to as the U-3 measure, and the measure required to be designed by this section.3.30(b) The comprehensive measure required in paragraph (a) may, in addition to other 3.31information, utilize information from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Current 3.32Population Survey and the United States Census Bureau American Community Survey as 3.33the base for identifying, evaluating, and utilizing correlations with other relevant data to 3.34be used in econometric modeling of measures of unemployment and underemployment.4.1EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.4.2    Sec. 3. USE OF FUNDS.4.3Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 268.18, subdivision 2, up to $120,000 4.4of the funds collected for unemployment insurance administration under that subdivision 4.5must be used to implement section 116J.4011.