7th Engrossment - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 05/15/2014 09:20am
A bill for an act
relating to insurance; amending provisions relating to health coverage for school
district employees; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 43A.316,
subdivision 10, by adding a subdivision; 123B.09, subdivision 12; 123B.75, by
adding a subdivision; 471.6161, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, by adding a subdivision;
471.617, subdivision 2; 471.895, subdivision 1; Minnesota Statutes 2013
Supplement, section 124D.10, subdivisions 4a, 11, 21.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 43A.316, subdivision 10, is amended to
read:
The public employee insurance program and, where
applicable, the employers participating in it are exempt from chapters 60A, 62A, 62C,
62D, 62E, and 62H, section 471.617, subdivisions 2 and 3, and the bidding requirements of
section 471.6161.new text begin The public employee insurance program must follow the requirements
of section 471.6161, subdivision 8.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 43A.316, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
new text begin
Upon receipt of a
request for a proposal from a school district pursuant to section 471.6161, subdivision 8,
the public employees insurance program shall respond to the request within 60 days.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 123B.09, subdivision 12, is amended to read:
The clerk, treasurer, and superintendent
of any district shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by the board. Unless
otherwise provided by law, the other members of the board shall also receive such
compensation as may be fixed by the board. All members of the board may receive
reimbursement for transportation at the rate provided for in section 471.665.new text begin No board
member or school district employee shall receive any compensation or benefits based on
incentives or other money provided to the school district by or from a source of group
insurance coverage referenced in section 471.6161, subdivision 1, except for a refund
provided under section 123B.75, subdivision 10, or a wellness plan that is mutually agreed
upon by the district and the exclusive representatives of employees.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 123B.75, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:
new text begin
(a) If money collected by an entity
providing group insurance under section 471.6161, subdivision 1, for the payment of
insurance premiums is above the cost of that coverage and returned to the school district
purchasing that coverage as a refund, that school district must negotiate with the exclusive
representative regarding the refund amount attributable to the proportionate number of
insured lives covered by that exclusive representative.
new text end
new text begin
(b) If there is no exclusive representative or if the employer and the exclusive
representative are unable to come to an agreement within 150 days, the remaining refunds
shall be used to pay the full premium to the program for any employees not covered by
an agreement negotiated under this section until the proportionate refunds are depleted.
These refunds shall be used for a proportional premium payment at the time it is necessary
to deplete the balance.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, section 124D.10, subdivision 4a, is
amended to read:
(a) An individual is prohibited from serving as a
member of the charter school board of directors if the individual, an immediate family
member, or the individual's partner is a full or part owner or principal with a for-profit or
nonprofit entity or independent contractor with whom the charter school contracts, directly
or indirectly, for professional services, goods, or facilities. An individual is prohibited
from serving as a board member if an immediate family member is an employee of the
school. A violation of this prohibition renders a contract voidable at the option of the
commissioner or the charter school board of directors. A member of a charter school
board of directors who violates this prohibition is individually liable to the charter school
for any damage caused by the violation.
(b) No member of the board of directors, employee, officer, or agent of a charter
school shall participate in selecting, awarding, or administering a contract if a conflict
of interest exists. A conflict exists when:
(1) the board member, employee, officer, or agent;
(2) the immediate family of the board member, employee, officer, or agent;
(3) the partner of the board member, employee, officer, or agent; or
(4) an organization that employs, or is about to employ any individual in clauses
(1) to (3),
has a financial or other interest in the entity with which the charter school is contracting.
A violation of this prohibition renders the contract void.
(c) Any employee, agent, or board member of the authorizer who participates
in the initial review, approval, ongoing oversight, evaluation, or the charter renewal or
nonrenewal process or decision is ineligible to serve on the board of directors of a school
chartered by that authorizer.
(d) An individual may serve as a member of the board of directors if no conflict of
interest under paragraph (a) exists.
(e) The conflict of interest provisions under this subdivision do not apply to
compensation paid to a teacher employed as a teacher by the charter school or a teacher
who provides instructional services to the charter school through a cooperative formed
under chapter 308A when the teacher also serves on the charter school board of directors.
new text begin
(f) A charter school board member, employee, or officer is a local official for
purposes of section 471.895 with regard to receipt of gifts as defined under section
10A.071, subdivision 1, paragraph (b). A board member, employee, or officer must not
receive compensation from a group health insurance provider.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, section 124D.10, subdivision 11, is
amended to read:
(a) A charter school must
employ or contract with necessary teachers, as defined by section 122A.15, subdivision 1,
who hold valid licenses to perform the particular service for which they are employed in
the school. The charter school's state aid may be reduced under section 127A.43 if the
school employs a teacher who is not appropriately licensed or approved by the board of
teaching. The school may employ necessary employees who are not required to hold
teaching licenses to perform duties other than teaching and may contract for other services.
The school may discharge teachers and nonlicensed employees. The charter school board
is subject to section 181.932. When offering employment to a prospective employee, a
charter school must give that employee a written description of the terms and conditions
of employment and the school's personnel policies.
(b) A person, without holding a valid administrator's license, may perform
administrative, supervisory, or instructional leadership duties. The board of directors shall
establish qualifications for persons that hold administrative, supervisory, or instructional
leadership roles. The qualifications shall include at least the following areas: instruction
and assessment; human resource and personnel management; financial management;
legal and compliance management; effective communication; and board, authorizer, and
community relationships. The board of directors shall use those qualifications as the basis
for job descriptions, hiring, and performance evaluations of those who hold administrative,
supervisory, or instructional leadership roles. The board of directors and an individual
who does not hold a valid administrative license and who serves in an administrative,
supervisory, or instructional leadership position shall develop a professional development
plan. Documentation of the implementation of the professional development plan of these
persons shall be included in the school's annual report.
(c) The board of directors also shall decide and be responsible for policy matters
related to the operation of the school, including budgeting, curriculum programming,
personnel, and operating procedures. The board shall adopt a policy on nepotism in
employment. The board shall adopt personnel evaluation policies and practices that,
at a minimum:
(1) carry out the school's mission and goals;
(2) evaluate the execution of charter contract goals and commitments;
(3) evaluate student achievement, postsecondary and workforce readiness, and
student engagement and connection goals;
(4) establish a teacher evaluation process under subdivision 8, paragraph (t); and
(5) provide professional development related to the individual's job responsibilities.
new text begin
(d) A charter school board with at least 25 employees or a teacher cooperative
of licensed teachers providing instruction under a contract between a school and a
cooperative that provides group health insurance coverage shall:
new text end
new text begin
(1) request proposals for group health insurance coverage from a minimum of three
sources at least every two years; and
new text end
new text begin
(2) notify employees covered by the group health insurance coverage before the
effective date of the changes in the group coverage policy contract.
new text end
new text begin
A charter school board or a cooperative of teachers that provides group health insurance
coverage must establish and publish on its Web site the policy for the purchase of group
health insurance coverage. A charter school board policy must include a sealed proposal
process, which requires all proposals to be opened at the same time. Upon the openings of
the proposals in accordance with the school or cooperative policy, the proposals become
public data under chapter 13.
new text end
new text begin
Nothing in this section supersedes the right of an exclusive representative to negotiate
over terms and conditions of employment.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, section 124D.10, subdivision 21, is
amended to read:
Employees of the board of directors of a charter
school may, if otherwise eligible, organize under chapter 179A and comply with its
provisions. The board of directors of a charter school is a public employer, for the
purposes of chapter 179A, upon formation of one or more bargaining units at the school.
Bargaining units at the school must be separate from any other units within an authorizing
district, except that bargaining units may remain part of the appropriate unit within an
authorizing district, if the employees of the school, the board of directors of the school, the
exclusive representative of the appropriate unit in the authorizing district, and the board
of the authorizing district agree to include the employees in the appropriate unit of the
authorizing district.new text begin The board of directors of a charter school with employees organized
under this subdivision must comply with sections 471.6161 and 471.895.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 471.6161, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
new text begin For purposes of this section, new text end "group
insurance coverage" means benefit coverage provided to a group through deleted text begin a carrierdeleted text end new text begin an
entitynew text end authorized under deleted text begin chaptersdeleted text end new text begin section 43A.316 or 123A.21, subdivision 7; or chapter
new text end 61A, 62A, 62C, deleted text begin anddeleted text end new text begin ornew text end 62D to do business in the state.
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 471.6161, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Every political subdivision authorized by law to
purchase group insurance for its employees and providing or intending to provide group
insurance coverage and benefits for 25 or more of its employees shall request proposals
from and enter into contracts with deleted text begin carriersdeleted text end new text begin entities referenced in subdivision 1new text end that in the
judgment of the political subdivision are best qualified to provide coverage. The request
for proposals shall be in writing and at a minimum shall include: coverage to be provided,
criteria for evaluation of deleted text begin carrierdeleted text end proposalsnew text begin from entities referenced in subdivision 1new text end , and
the aggregate claims records for the appropriate period. A political subdivision may
exclude from consideration proposals requiring self-insurance. Public notice of the request
for proposals must be provided in a newspaper or trade journal at least 21 days before the
final date for submitting proposals.
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 471.6161, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
The political subdivision shall make benefit and
cost comparisons and evaluate the proposals using the written criteria. The political
subdivision may negotiate with deleted text begin the carrierdeleted text end new text begin an entity referenced in subdivision 1new text end on benefits,
premiums, and other contract terms. deleted text begin Carriers applyingdeleted text end new text begin Any entity providing group
insurance coverage to the political subdivisionnew text end must provide the political subdivision
with aggregate claims records for the appropriate period. The political subdivision must
prepare a written rationale for its decision before entering into a contract with deleted text begin a carrierdeleted text end new text begin an
entity referenced in subdivision 1new text end .
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 471.6161, is amended by adding a
subdivision to read:
new text begin
(a) Any entity
providing group health insurance coverage to a school district must provide the school
district with school district-specific nonidentifiable aggregate claims records for the most
recent 24 months within 30 days of the request.
new text end
new text begin
(b) School districts shall request proposals for group health insurance coverage as
provided in subdivision 2 from a minimum of three potential sources of coverage. One of
these requests must go to an administrator governed by chapter 43A. Entities referenced
in subdivision 1 must respond to requests for proposals received directly from a school
district. School districts that are self-insured must also follow these provisions, except
as provided in paragraph (f). School districts must make requests for proposals at least
150 days prior to the expiration of the existing contract but not more frequently than once
every 24 months. The request for proposals must include the most recently available
24 months of nonidentifiable aggregate claims data. The request for proposals must be
publicly released at or prior to its release to potential sources of coverage.
new text end
new text begin
(c) School district contracts for group health insurance must not be longer than
two years unless the exclusive representative of the largest employment group and the
school district agree otherwise.
new text end
new text begin
(d) All initial proposals shall be sealed upon receipt until they are all opened no less
than 90 days prior to the plan's renewal date in the presence of up to three representatives
selected by the exclusive representative of the largest group of employees. Section 13.591,
subdivision 3, paragraph (b), applies to data in the proposals. The representatives of
the exclusive representative must maintain the data according to this classification and
are subject to the remedies and penalties under sections 13.08 and 13.09 for a violation
of this requirement.
new text end
new text begin
(e) A school district, in consultation with the same representatives referenced in
paragraph (d), may continue to negotiate with any entity that submitted a proposal under
paragraph (d) in order to reduce costs or improve services under the proposal. Following
the negotiations any entity that submitted an initial proposal may submit a final proposal
incorporating the negotiations, which is due no less than 75 days prior to the plan's
renewal date. All the final proposals submitted must be opened at the same time in the
presence of up to three representatives selected by the exclusive representative of the
largest group of employees. Notwithstanding section 13.591, subdivision 3, paragraph (b),
following the opening of the final proposals, all the proposals, including any made under
paragraph (d), and other data submitted in connection with the proposals are public data.
The school district may choose from any of the initial or final proposals without further
negotiations and in accordance with subdivision 5, but not sooner than 15 days after
the proposals become public data.
new text end
new text begin
(f) School districts that are self-insured shall follow all of the requirements of this
section, except that:
new text end
new text begin
(1) their requests for proposals may be for third-party administrator services, where
applicable;
new text end
new text begin
(2) these requests for proposals must be from a minimum of three different sources,
which may include both entities referenced in subdivision 1 and providers of third-party
administrator services;
new text end
new text begin
(3) for purposes of fulfilling the requirement to request a proposal for group
insurance coverage from an administrator governed by chapter 43A, self-insured districts
are not required to include in the request for proposal the coverage to be provided;
new text end
new text begin
(4) a district that is self-insured on or before the date of enactment, or that is
self-insured with more than 1,000 insured lives, may, but need not, request a proposal
from an administrator governed by chapter 43A;
new text end
new text begin
(5) requests for proposals must be sent to providers no less than 90 days prior to
the expiration of the existing contract; and
new text end
new text begin
(6) proposals must be submitted at least 60 days prior to the plan's renewal date
and all proposals shall be opened at the same time and in the presence of the exclusive
representative, where applicable.
new text end
new text begin
(g) Nothing in this section shall restrict the authority granted to school district boards
of education by section 471.59, except that districts will not be considered self-insured for
purposes of this subdivision solely through participation in a joint powers arrangement.
new text end
new text begin
(h) An entity providing group health insurance to a school district under a multiyear
contract must give notice of any rate or plan design changes applicable under the contract
at least 90 days before the effective date of any change. The notice must be given to the
school district and to the exclusive representatives of employees.
new text end
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 471.617, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Any two or more statutory or home rule charter cities, counties,
school districts, or instrumentalities thereof which together have more than 100 employees
may jointly self-insure for any employee health benefits including long-term disability, but
not for employee life benefits, subject to the same requirements as an individual self-insurer
under subdivision 1. Self-insurance pools under this section are subject to section 62L.045.
A self-insurance pool established and operated by one or more service cooperatives
governed by section 123A.21 to provide coverage described in this subdivision qualifies
under this subdivisionnew text begin , but the individual school district members of such a pool shall not
be considered to be self-insured for purposes of section 471.6161, subdivision 8, paragraph
(f)new text end . The commissioner of commerce may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 14, providing
standards or guidelines for the operation and administration of self-insurance pools.
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 471.895, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
(a) The definitions in this subdivision apply to this
section.
(b) "Gift" has the meaning given it in section 10A.071, subdivision 1.
(c) "Interested person" means a person or a representative of a person or association
that has a direct financial interest in a decision that a local official is authorized to make.
(d) "Local official" meansnew text begin :
new text end
new text begin (1)new text end an elected or appointed official of a county or city or of an agency, authority,
or instrumentality of a county or citynew text begin ; and
new text end
new text begin (2) an elected or appointed member of a school board, a school superintendent, a
school principal, or a district school officer of any independent school districtnew text end .
new text begin
Sections 3 to 7 and 13 are effective July 1, 2014. Sections 1, 2, 8 to 10, and 12 are
effective the day following final enactment. Section 11 is effective the day following final
enactment and applies to requests for proposals for group insurance coverage issued
on or after that date.
new text end