1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; establishing Minnesota 
  1.3             office of technology; creating North Star information 
  1.4             access account; authorizing rulemaking; appropriating 
  1.5             money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 
  1.6             13.99, by adding a subdivision; proposing coding for 
  1.7             new law as Minnesota Statutes, chapter 237A. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 13.99, is 
  1.10  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 65f.  [OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY DATA.] Data received, 
  1.12  compiled, or created by the Minnesota office of technology are 
  1.13  governed by section 237A.05. 
  1.14     Sec. 2.  [237A.01] [OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY; ESTABLISHMENT; 
  1.15  GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES.] 
  1.16     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.] The Minnesota 
  1.17  office of technology is established as a state agency.  The 
  1.18  purpose of the office is to provide leadership and direction for 
  1.19  information and communications technology policy for the state.  
  1.20  The office shall serve as a single point of contact for 
  1.21  technology-related issues and shall facilitate the development 
  1.22  of the state's emerging competitive market for information and 
  1.23  communications technology.  The primary focus of the office is 
  1.24  the coordination of public and private efforts to advance a 
  1.25  statewide information and communications infrastructure.  The 
  1.26  office shall also coordinate strategic investments in 
  2.1   information and communications technology to encourage the 
  2.2   development of a technically literate society and to ensure 
  2.3   sufficient access to and efficient delivery of government 
  2.4   information services. 
  2.5      Subd. 2.  [DISCRETIONARY POWERS; APPROPRIATION.] (a) The 
  2.6   office may: 
  2.7      (1) enter into contracts for goods or services with public 
  2.8   or private organizations; 
  2.9      (2) apply for, receive, and expend money from municipal, 
  2.10  county, regional, and other public agencies; 
  2.11     (3) apply for, accept, and disburse grants and other aids 
  2.12  from the federal government and from other public or private 
  2.13  sources; 
  2.14     (4) enter into contracts with agencies of the federal 
  2.15  government, local governmental units, the University of 
  2.16  Minnesota and other educational institutions, and private 
  2.17  persons and other nongovernmental organizations as necessary to 
  2.18  perform its statutory duties; 
  2.19     (5) appoint committees and task forces to assist the office 
  2.20  in carrying out its duties; 
  2.21     (6) sponsor and conduct conferences and studies, collect 
  2.22  and disseminate information, and issue periodic reports relating 
  2.23  to information and communications technology issues; 
  2.24     (7) represent the state at appropriate interstate, 
  2.25  national, and international conferences; 
  2.26     (8) review the technology infrastructure of various regions 
  2.27  of the state and cooperate with and make recommendations to the 
  2.28  legislature, state agencies, local governments, local technology 
  2.29  development agencies, the federal government, private 
  2.30  businesses, and individuals for the realization of 
  2.31  infrastructure development potential; and 
  2.32     (9) sponsor, support, and facilitate innovative and 
  2.33  collaborative economic development and government services 
  2.34  projects with public and private organizations. 
  2.35     (b) Money received by the office pursuant to this 
  2.36  subdivision must be deposited in the state treasury and is 
  3.1   appropriated to the office for the purposes for which the money 
  3.2   has been received.  The money shall not cancel and is available 
  3.3   until spent. 
  3.4      Subd. 3.  [DUTIES.] The office shall: 
  3.5      (1) foster the efficient use of available federal, state, 
  3.6   local, and private resources for developing the statewide 
  3.7   information and communications infrastructure; 
  3.8      (2) review state agency and intergovernmental information 
  3.9   and communications systems development efforts involving state 
  3.10  or intergovernmental funding and encourage cooperation and 
  3.11  collaboration among state and local governments in developing 
  3.12  those information systems; 
  3.13     (3) continue the development of North Star, the state's 
  3.14  official presence on the World Wide Web; 
  3.15     (4) assist in developing a statutory framework to support 
  3.16  electronic commerce at the international, national, state, and 
  3.17  local levels; 
  3.18     (5) facilitate the development of standards for information 
  3.19  systems, data practices and privacy, and electronic commerce 
  3.20  among international, national, state, and local organizations 
  3.21  public and private; 
  3.22     (6) work with the information policy office and others to 
  3.23  ensure that information systems and systems policies developed 
  3.24  by state agencies and local government will be reviewed to 
  3.25  determine their impact on the statewide information 
  3.26  infrastructure; and 
  3.27     (7) work with others to avoid unnecessary duplication of 
  3.28  existing services or activities provided by other public and 
  3.29  private organizations while building on the existing 
  3.30  educational, business, health care, and economic development 
  3.31  infrastructures. 
  3.32     Sec. 3.  [237A.02] [OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY PERSONNEL.] 
  3.33     Subdivision 1.  [GENERALLY.] The office is managed by the 
  3.34  executive director, who shall serve as the chief technology 
  3.35  advisor to the governor and the legislature.  The governor shall 
  3.36  appoint and set the compensation for the executive director, who 
  4.1   shall serve at the pleasure of the governor.  The salary of the 
  4.2   executive director may not exceed 95 percent of the governor's 
  4.3   salary.  The executive director may employ a deputy director and 
  4.4   other employees, consultants, and agents the executive director 
  4.5   considers necessary.  The staff of the office must include 
  4.6   individuals knowledgeable in information and communications 
  4.7   technology.  The executive director shall define the duties and 
  4.8   designate the titles of the employees and agents. 
  4.9      Subd. 2.  [STATUS OF EMPLOYEES.] The executive director, 
  4.10  the deputy director, and a confidential secretary are placed in 
  4.11  the unclassified service and are subject to all laws governing 
  4.12  unclassified state employees.  All other employees are placed in 
  4.13  the classified service and are subject to all laws governing 
  4.14  classified state employees. 
  4.15     Sec. 4.  [237A.03] [NORTH STAR INFORMATION ACCESS ACCOUNT.] 
  4.16     The North Star information access account is in the special 
  4.17  revenue fund.  Money in the account not needed for the immediate 
  4.18  purposes of the office may be invested by the state board of 
  4.19  investment in any way authorized by section 11A.24.  Money in 
  4.20  the account is appropriated to the office to be used as provided 
  4.21  in this chapter.  The account consists of: 
  4.22     (1) money appropriated and transferred from other state 
  4.23  funds; 
  4.24     (2) fees and charges collected by the office; 
  4.25     (3) income from investments and purchases; 
  4.26     (4) revenue from loans, rentals, royalties, dividends, and 
  4.27  other proceeds collected by the office in connection with its 
  4.28  operations; 
  4.29     (5) gifts, donations, and bequests made to the office; and 
  4.30     (6) other funds credited to the account by law. 
  4.31     Sec. 5.  [237A.04] [RULES.] 
  4.32     The office may adopt rules necessary for the implementation 
  4.33  of its statutory duties. 
  4.34     Sec. 6.  [237A.05] [DATA.] 
  4.35     The following data received, compiled, or created by the 
  4.36  office are classified as nonpublic data under chapter 13: 
  5.1      (1) financial data, statistics, and similar confidential or 
  5.2   proprietary information furnished to the office, including 
  5.3   credit reports, financial statements, statements of net worth, 
  5.4   income tax returns, either personal or corporate, and any other 
  5.5   business and personal financial records; or 
  5.6      (2) security information, trade secret information, or 
  5.7   labor relations information, as defined in section 13.37, 
  5.8   subdivision 1, disclosed to the office or employees of the 
  5.9   office. 
  5.10     Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.11     Sections 1 to 6 are effective the day following final 
  5.12  enactment.