HF 997

1st Engrossment - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to the legislature; providing for the 
  1.3             organization and direction of various joint 
  1.4             legislative services; abolishing certain legislative 
  1.5             commissions and programs; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.6             1994, sections 3.303; 3.305; 3.85, subdivisions 5 and 
  1.7             12; 3.855, by adding a subdivision; and 3.885, 
  1.8             subdivisions 3 and 5; repealing Minnesota Statutes 
  1.9             1994, sections 3.304, subdivision 2; 3.855, 
  1.10            subdivision 1; 3.861; 3.863; 3.864; 3.873; 3.881; 
  1.11            3.882; 3.885, subdivisions 1a, 6, 7, and 8; 3.9227; 
  1.12            and 256B.504. 
  1.13  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.14     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 3.303, is 
  1.15  amended to read: 
  1.16     3.303 [LEGISLATIVE COORDINATING COMMISSION; CREATION AND 
  1.17  ORGANIZATION.] 
  1.18     Subdivision 1.  [PURPOSE.] The legislative coordinating 
  1.19  commission is created to coordinate the legislative activities 
  1.20  of the senate and house of representatives. 
  1.21     Subd. 2.  [MEMBERS.] The commission consists of the 
  1.22  majority leader of the senate, the president of the senate, two 
  1.23  senators appointed by the majority leader, the minority leader 
  1.24  of the senate, and one senator appointed by the minority leader; 
  1.25  and the majority leader of the house of representatives, the 
  1.26  speaker of the house of representatives, two representatives 
  1.27  appointed by the speaker, the minority leader of the house of 
  1.28  representatives, and one representative appointed by the 
  1.29  minority leader.  Each member shall serve until a successor is 
  2.1   named during a regular session following appointment.  A vacancy 
  2.2   shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as the 
  2.3   original appointment. 
  2.4      Subd. 3.  [CHAIR.] The president of the senate and the 
  2.5   speaker of the house shall alternate annually as chair of the 
  2.6   commission. 
  2.7      Subd. 4.  [EXPENSES.] The members of the commission shall 
  2.8   serve without compensation but be reimbursed in the same manner 
  2.9   as members of standing committees of the senate and the house of 
  2.10  representatives. 
  2.11     Subd. 5.  [VISITORS.] The commission shall represent the 
  2.12  legislature and assist state agencies to make arrangements to 
  2.13  accommodate and appropriately recognize individuals or groups 
  2.14  visiting Minnesota as direct or indirect representatives of 
  2.15  foreign governments, other states, or subdivisions or agencies 
  2.16  of foreign governments or other states and to provide other 
  2.17  services determined by the commission.  
  2.18     Subd. 6.  [ADMINISTRATION; STAFF.] The commission may make 
  2.19  grants, employ an executive director and other staff, and obtain 
  2.20  office space, equipment, and supplies necessary to perform its 
  2.21  duties. 
  2.22     Subd. 7.  [JOINT GROUPS.] The commission may establish 
  2.23  joint committees, subcommittees, task forces, and similar joint 
  2.24  working groups to assist and advise the commission in carrying 
  2.25  out its duties.  The commission may delegate to a joint entity, 
  2.26  in writing, specific duties of the commission.  All joint 
  2.27  entities established by the commission expire on January 1 of 
  2.28  each odd-numbered year, unless renewed by affirmative action of 
  2.29  the commission. 
  2.30     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 3.305, is amended 
  2.31  to read: 
  2.32     3.305 [LEGISLATIVE COORDINATING COMMISSION; BUDGET 
  2.33  AUTHORITY BICAMERAL LEGISLATIVE ADMINISTRATION.] 
  2.34     Subdivision 1.  [REVIEW DEFINITIONS.] (a) "Legislative 
  2.35  commission" means a joint commission or committee in the 
  2.36  legislative branch composed of members of the senate and the 
  3.1   house of representatives. 
  3.2      (b) "Joint offices" means the revisor of statutes, 
  3.3   legislative reference library, the office of legislative 
  3.4   auditor, and any other joint legislative service office.  
  3.5      Subd. 1a.  [APPROVAL OF COMMISSION BUDGETS; ADDITIONAL 
  3.6   STAFF; COMPENSATION.] The administrative budget request of any 
  3.7   statutory a legislative commission the majority of whose members 
  3.8   are members of the legislature or joint office shall be 
  3.9   submitted to the legislative coordinating commission for review 
  3.10  and comment approval before its submission to the finance 
  3.11  committee of the senate and the appropriations committee of the 
  3.12  house of representatives.  No such commission shall employ 
  3.13  additional personnel without first having received the 
  3.14  recommendation of the legislative coordinating commission.  In 
  3.15  reviewing the budgets, the legislative coordinating commission 
  3.16  shall evaluate and make recommendations on how to improve the 
  3.17  efficiency and effectiveness of bicameral support functions and 
  3.18  services and on whether there is a continuing need for the 
  3.19  various legislative commissions.  The executive director of the 
  3.20  legislative coordinating commission shall recommend and the 
  3.21  commission shall establish the compensation of all employees of 
  3.22  any statutory legislative commission or joint office, except 
  3.23  classified employees of the legislative audit commission, the 
  3.24  majority of whose members are members of the legislature.  
  3.25     Subd. 2.  [TRANSFERS.] The legislative coordinating 
  3.26  commission may transfer unobligated balances among general fund 
  3.27  appropriations to the legislature. 
  3.28     Subd. 3.  [EMPLOYEES.] All employees of legislative 
  3.29  commissions and joint offices are employees of the legislature 
  3.30  in the unclassified service of the state, except classified 
  3.31  employees in the legislative auditor's office.  
  3.32     Subd. 4.  [ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF FOR COMMISSIONS.] The 
  3.33  executive director of the legislative coordinating commission 
  3.34  shall provide and manage office space and equipment and hire, 
  3.35  supervise, and manage all administrative, clerical, and 
  3.36  secretarial staff for all legislative commissions, except the 
  4.1   legislative advisory commission and the legislative audit 
  4.2   commission.  
  4.3      Subd. 5.  [MEMBERSHIP ON LEGISLATIVE COMMISSIONS.] The 
  4.4   appointment of a member to a legislative commission, except a 
  4.5   member serving ex officio, is rendered void by three unexcused 
  4.6   absences of the member from the meetings of the commission.  If 
  4.7   an appointment becomes void, the legislative commission shall 
  4.8   notify the appointing authority of this and request another 
  4.9   appointment. 
  4.10     Subd. 6.  [GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS.] The executive 
  4.11  director of the legislative coordinating commission shall 
  4.12  maintain a geographic information systems office.  The office 
  4.13  shall maintain the data, facilities, and technical capacity to 
  4.14  draw electoral district boundaries.  The office shall provide 
  4.15  members of the house and senate with geographic information and 
  4.16  mapping services on request. 
  4.17     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 3.85, subdivision 
  4.18  5, is amended to read: 
  4.19     Subd. 5.  [STAFF.] The commission may employ professional, 
  4.20  clerical, and technical assistants as it deems necessary to 
  4.21  perform the duties prescribed in this section.  
  4.22     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 3.85, subdivision 
  4.23  12, is amended to read: 
  4.24     Subd. 12.  [ALLOCATION OF ACTUARIAL COST.] (a) The 
  4.25  commission shall assess each retirement plan specified in 
  4.26  subdivision 11, paragraph (b), for a portion of the compensation 
  4.27  paid to the actuary retained by the commission for the actuarial 
  4.28  valuation calculations and quadrennial experience studies.  The 
  4.29  assessment is 72 100 percent of the amount of contract 
  4.30  compensation for the actuarial consulting firm retained by the 
  4.31  commission for actuarial valuation calculations, including the 
  4.32  public employees police and fire plan consolidation accounts of 
  4.33  the public employees retirement association, annual experience 
  4.34  data collection and processing, and quadrennial experience 
  4.35  studies.  
  4.36     The portion of the total assessment payable by each 
  5.1   retirement system or pension plan must be determined as follows: 
  5.2      (1) Each pension plan specified in subdivision 11, 
  5.3   paragraph (b), clauses (1) to (14), must pay the following 
  5.4   indexed amount based on its total active, deferred, inactive, 
  5.5   and benefit recipient membership: 
  5.6          up to 2,000 members, inclusive         $2.55 per member 
  5.7          2,001 through 10,000 members           $1.13 per member 
  5.8          over 10,000 members                    $0.11 per member  
  5.9      The amount specified is applicable for the assessment of 
  5.10  the July 1, 1991, to June 30, 1992, fiscal year actuarial 
  5.11  compensation amounts.  For the July 1, 1992, to June 30, 1993, 
  5.12  fiscal year and subsequent fiscal year actuarial compensation 
  5.13  amounts, the amount specified must be increased at the same 
  5.14  percentage increase rate as the implicit price deflator for 
  5.15  state and local government purchases of goods and services for 
  5.16  the 12-month period ending with the first quarter of the 
  5.17  calendar year following the completion date for the actuarial 
  5.18  valuation calculations, as published by the federal Department 
  5.19  of Commerce, and rounded upward to the nearest full cent. 
  5.20     (2) The total per-member portion of the allocation must be 
  5.21  determined, and that total per-member amount must be subtracted 
  5.22  from the total amount for allocation.  Of the remainder dollar 
  5.23  amount, the following per-retirement system and per-pension plan 
  5.24  charges must be determined and the charges must be paid by the 
  5.25  system or plan: 
  5.26     (i) 37.87 percent is the total additional per-retirement 
  5.27  system charge, of which one-seventh must be paid by each 
  5.28  retirement system specified in subdivision 11, paragraph (b), 
  5.29  clauses (1), (2), (6), (7), (9), (10), and (11). 
  5.30     (ii) 62.13 percent is the total additional per-pension plan 
  5.31  charge, of which one-thirteenth must be paid by each pension 
  5.32  plan specified in subdivision 11, paragraph (b), clauses (1) to 
  5.33  (13), if there are not any participants in the plan specified in 
  5.34  subdivision 11, paragraph (b), clause (14), or of which 
  5.35  one-fourteenth must be paid by each pension plan specified in 
  5.36  subdivision 11, paragraph (b), clauses (1) to (14), if there are 
  6.1   participants in the plan specified in subdivision 11, paragraph 
  6.2   (b), clause (14). 
  6.3      (b) The assessment must be made following the completion of 
  6.4   the actuarial valuation calculations and the experience 
  6.5   analysis.  The amount of the assessment is appropriated from the 
  6.6   retirement fund applicable to the retirement plan.  Receipts 
  6.7   from assessments must be deposited in the state treasury and 
  6.8   credited to the general fund. 
  6.9      Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 3.855, is amended 
  6.10  by adding a subdivision to read: 
  6.11     Subd. 1a.  [DEFINITIONS.] "Commission" means the 
  6.12  legislative coordinating commission. 
  6.13     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 3.885, 
  6.14  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  6.15     Subd. 3.  [STAFF.] (a) The commission may: 
  6.16     (1) employ and fix the salaries of professional, technical, 
  6.17  clerical, and other staff of the commission; 
  6.18     (2) employ and discharge staff solely on the basis of their 
  6.19  fitness to perform their duties and without regard to political 
  6.20  affiliation; 
  6.21     (3) buy necessary furniture, equipment, and supplies; 
  6.22     (4) enter into contracts for necessary services, equipment, 
  6.23  office, and supplies; 
  6.24     (5) provide its staff with computer capability necessary to 
  6.25  carry out assigned duties.  The computer should be capable of 
  6.26  receiving data and transmitting data to computers maintained by 
  6.27  the executive and judicial departments of state government that 
  6.28  are used for budgetary and revenue purposes; and 
  6.29     (6) use other legislative staff. 
  6.30     (b) The commission may hire an executive director and 
  6.31  delegate any of its authority under paragraph (a) to that 
  6.32  person.  The executive director shall be appointed by the chair 
  6.33  and vice-chair to a four-year term, shall serve in the 
  6.34  unclassified service, and is subject to removal by a majority 
  6.35  vote of the members of either the senate or the house of 
  6.36  representatives. 
  7.1      (c) The legislative coordinating commission shall provide 
  7.2   office space and administrative support to the committee.  
  7.3      Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 3.885, 
  7.4   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  7.5      Subd. 5.  [DUTIES.] (a) The commission shall, when directed 
  7.6   by the legislative coordinating commission: 
  7.7      (1) provide the legislature with research and analysis of 
  7.8   current and projected state revenue, state expenditures, and 
  7.9   state tax expenditures; 
  7.10     (2) provide the legislature with a report analyzing the 
  7.11  governor's proposed levels of revenue and expenditures for 
  7.12  biennial budgets submitted under section 16A.11 as well as other 
  7.13  supplemental budget submittals to the legislature by the 
  7.14  governor; 
  7.15     (3) provide an analysis of the impact of the governor's 
  7.16  proposed revenue and expenditure plans for the next biennium; 
  7.17     (4) conduct research on matters of economic and fiscal 
  7.18  policy and report to the legislature on the result of the 
  7.19  research; 
  7.20     (5) provide economic reports and studies on the state of 
  7.21  the state's economy, including trends and forecasts for 
  7.22  consideration by the legislature; 
  7.23     (6) conduct budget and tax studies and provide general 
  7.24  fiscal and budgetary information; 
  7.25     (7) review and make recommendations on the operation of 
  7.26  state programs in order to appraise the implementation of state 
  7.27  laws regarding the expenditure of funds and to recommend means 
  7.28  of improving their efficiency; 
  7.29     (8) recommend to the legislature changes in the mix of 
  7.30  revenue sources for programs, in the percentage of state 
  7.31  expenditures devoted to major programs, and in the role of the 
  7.32  legislature in overseeing state government expenditures and 
  7.33  revenue projections; 
  7.34     (9) make a continuing study and investigation of the 
  7.35  building needs of the government of the state of Minnesota, 
  7.36  including, but not limited to the following:  the current and 
  8.1   future requirements of new buildings, the maintenance of 
  8.2   existing buildings, rehabilitating and remodeling of old 
  8.3   buildings, the planning for administrative offices, and the 
  8.4   exploring of methods of financing building and related costs; 
  8.5   and 
  8.6      (10) conduct a continuing study of state-local finance, 
  8.7   analyzing and making recommendations to the legislature on 
  8.8   issues including levels of state support for political 
  8.9   subdivisions, basic levels of local need, balances of local 
  8.10  revenues and options, relationship of local taxes to 
  8.11  individuals' ability to pay, and financial reporting by 
  8.12  political subdivisions.  In conducting this study, the 
  8.13  commission shall consult with the governor, the staff of 
  8.14  executive branch agencies, and the governor's advisory 
  8.15  commission on state-local relations. 
  8.16     (b) In performing its duties under paragraph (a), the 
  8.17  commission shall consider, among other things: 
  8.18     (1) the relative dependence on state tax revenues, federal 
  8.19  funds, and user fees to support state-funded programs, and 
  8.20  whether the existing mix of revenue sources is appropriate, 
  8.21  given the purposes of the programs; 
  8.22     (2) the relative percentages of state expenditures that are 
  8.23  devoted to major programs such as education, assistance to local 
  8.24  government, aid to individuals, state agencies and institutions, 
  8.25  and debt service; and 
  8.26     (3) the role of the legislature in overseeing state 
  8.27  government expenditures, including legislative appropriation of 
  8.28  money from the general fund, legislative appropriation of money 
  8.29  from funds other than the general fund, state agency receipt of 
  8.30  money into revolving and other dedicated funds and expenditure 
  8.31  of money from these funds, and state agency expenditure of 
  8.32  federal funds. 
  8.33     (c) The commission's recommendations must consider the 
  8.34  long-term needs of the state.  The recommendations must not 
  8.35  duplicate work done by standing committees of the senate and 
  8.36  house of representatives. 
  9.1      The commission shall report to the legislature on its 
  9.2   activities and recommendations by January 15 of each 
  9.3   odd-numbered year. 
  9.4      The commission shall provide the public with printed and 
  9.5   electronic copies of reports and information for the legislature.
  9.6   Copies must be provided at the actual cost of furnishing each 
  9.7   copy. 
  9.8      Sec. 8.  [BICAMERAL ADMINISTRATION.] 
  9.9      By January 1, 1996, the legislative coordinating commission 
  9.10  shall make recommendations to the house of representatives and 
  9.11  senate on how to provide more efficient and effective 
  9.12  legislative support facilities, functions, and services on a 
  9.13  bicameral basis.  The recommendations must address at least the 
  9.14  following subjects:  accounting, procurement, contracts, 
  9.15  payroll, and other similar business services and systems; 
  9.16  computers, telephones, and other office technology; and public 
  9.17  access facilities and services, including television and public 
  9.18  information.  
  9.19     Sec. 9.  [REVISOR INSTRUCTION.] 
  9.20     (a) In the next and subsequent editions of Minnesota 
  9.21  Statutes, the revisor shall substitute the term "legislative 
  9.22  coordinating commission" for the term "legislative commission on 
  9.23  employee relations" in the following sections:  15A.081, 
  9.24  subdivisions 1, 7, and 7b; 43A.04, subdivision 7; 43A.05, 
  9.25  subdivisions 3, 5, and 6; 43A.06, subdivision 4; 43A.17, 
  9.26  subdivision 9; and 43A.18, subdivisions 2 and 3. 
  9.27     (b) In the next and subsequent editions of Minnesota 
  9.28  Statutes, the revisor shall substitute the term "legislative 
  9.29  coordinating commission" for the term "legislative commission on 
  9.30  planning and fiscal policy" in the following sections:  15.91, 
  9.31  subdivision 2; and 16A.712. 
  9.32     Sec. 10.  [REPEALER.] 
  9.33     Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 3.304, subdivision 2; 
  9.34  3.855, subdivision 1; 3.861; 3.863; 3.864; 3.873; 3.881; 3.882; 
  9.35  3.885, subdivisions 1a, 6, 7, and 8; 3.9227; and 256B.504, are 
  9.36  repealed.