HF 3796

3rd Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to state government; proposing an amendment to the Minnesota
Constitution, article IV, section 9; authorizing a council to establish salaries and
per diem for legislators; changing the composition of the Citizen Compensation
Council; amending Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 15A.082, subdivisions
1, 2, 3, 4.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. new text begin CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT PROPOSED.
new text end

new text begin An amendment to the Minnesota Constitution is proposed to the people. If the
amendment is adopted, article IV, section 9, will read:
new text end

Sec. 9.

The deleted text begin compensation deleted text end new text begin salary new text end of senators and representatives shall be prescribed
by deleted text begin law. No increase of compensation shall take effect during the period for which the
members of the existing house of representatives may have been elected. deleted text end new text begin a council
consisting of the following members: one person who is not a judge from each
congressional district appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court, and one
member from each congressional district appointed by the governor. Half of the members
appointed by the governor and half of the members appointed by the chief justice must
belong to the political party that has the most members in the legislature. Half of the
members appointed by the governor and half of the members appointed by the chief justice
must belong to the political party that has the second-most members in the legislature.
However, if Minnesota has an odd number of congressional districts, the smallest possible
majority of the members appointed by the governor and the smallest possible majority of
members appointed by the chief justice must belong to the political party that has the most
members in the legislature, and the remaining members must belong to the political party
that has the second-most members in the legislature. None of the members of the council
may be legislators. Membership terms and removal and compensation of members shall be
as provided by law. The council must prescribe salaries and per diem by March 31 of each
odd-numbered year, with any changes in salary and per diem to take effect on July 1 of that
year. Other items of compensation for legislators shall be determined as provided by law.
new text end

Sec. 2. new text begin SCHEDULE AND QUESTION.
new text end

new text begin The proposed amendment must be submitted to the people at the 2008 general
election. The question submitted must be:
new text end

new text begin "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to remove legislators' ability to set
their own salaries and per diem, and instead establish a citizens-only council to prescribe
salaries and per diem for legislators?
new text end

new text begin Yes ....... new text end

new text begin No ......." new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 15A.082, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Creation.

deleted text begin A deleted text end new text begin An Executive and Judicial new text end Compensation Council is
created each deleted text begin even-numbered deleted text end new text begin odd-numbered new text end year to assist the legislature in establishing
the compensation of constitutional officers, deleted text begin members of the legislature, deleted text end justices of the
Supreme Court, judges of the Court of Appeals and district court, and the heads of state
and metropolitan agencies included in section 15A.0815.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 15A.082, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Membership.

The new text begin Executive and Judicial new text end Compensation Council consists
of 16 members: two members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of
the house of representatives; two members of the senate appointed by the majority leader
of the senate; one member of the house of representatives appointed by the minority leader
of the house of representatives; one member of the senate appointed by the minority leader
of the senate; two nonjudges appointed by the chief justice of the Supreme Court; and one
member from each congressional district appointed by the governor, of whom no more
than four may belong to the same political party. Appointments must be made deleted text begin by October
1 deleted text end new text begin after the first Monday in January and before January 15 new text end . The compensation and removal
of members appointed by the governor or the chief justice shall be as provided in section
15.059, subdivisions 3 and 4. The Legislative Coordinating Commission shall provide the
council with administrative and support services.

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 15A.082, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Submission of recommendations.

(a) By deleted text begin May 1 deleted text end new text begin March 31 new text end in each
odd-numbered year, the new text begin Executive and Judicial new text end Compensation Council shall submit
to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate salary
recommendations for constitutional officers, deleted text begin legislators, deleted text end justices of the Supreme Court,
and judges of the Court of Appeals and district court. The recommended salary for
each office must take effect on the first Monday in January of the next odd-numbered
year, with no more than one adjustment, to take effect on January 1 of the year after
that. The salary recommendations for deleted text begin legislators, deleted text end judges deleted text begin , deleted text end and constitutional officers take
effect if an appropriation of money to pay the recommended salaries is enacted after the
recommendations are submitted and before their effective date. Recommendations may be
expressly modified or rejected. deleted text begin The salary recommendations for legislators are subject to
additional terms that may be adopted according to section 3.099, subdivisions 1 and 3.
deleted text end

(b) The council shall also submit to the speaker of the house of representatives and
the president of the senate recommendations for the salary ranges of the heads of state
and metropolitan agencies, to be effective retroactively from January 1 of that year if
enacted into law. The recommendations shall include the appropriate group in section
15A.0815 to which each agency head should be assigned and the appropriate limitation
on the maximum range of the salaries of the agency heads in each group, expressed as a
percentage of the salary of the governor.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 15A.082, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Criteria.

In making compensation recommendations, the new text begin Executive
and Judicial compensation new text end council shall consider the amount of compensation paid
in government service and the private sector to persons with similar qualifications,
the amount of compensation needed to attract and retain experienced and competent
persons, and the ability of the state to pay the recommended compensation. deleted text begin In making
recommendations for legislative compensation, the council shall also consider the
average length of a legislative session, the amount of work required of legislators during
interim periods, and opportunities to earn income from other sources without neglecting
legislative duties.
deleted text end

Sec. 7. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
new text end

new text begin Sections 3 to 6 are effective January 1, 2009, if the constitutional amendment
proposed in section 1 is adopted by the voters.
new text end