SF 785

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

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to state government; establishing a task 
  1.3             force to recommend a governmental structure for 
  1.4             environmental and natural resource functions and 
  1.5             services; requiring establishment of an employee 
  1.6             participation committee before agency restructuring; 
  1.7             abolishing the department of natural resources, the 
  1.8             board of water and soil resources, the office of 
  1.9             environmental assistance, the pollution control 
  1.10            agency, the environmental quality board, the harmful 
  1.11            substances compensation board, the petroleum tank 
  1.12            release compensation board, and the agricultural 
  1.13            chemical response board; providing for appointments.  
  1.14  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.15     Section 1.  [REORGANIZATION; GOALS.] 
  1.16     The legislature finds that it is desirable to reorganize 
  1.17  state services relating to the protection of the environment, 
  1.18  protection of farmland, and the management of natural resources 
  1.19  to achieve the following goals: 
  1.20     (1) sustainable development throughout all regions of the 
  1.21  state and all sectors of the economy; 
  1.22     (2) improved delivery of services; 
  1.23     (3) a preventative, precautionary approach to environmental 
  1.24  degradation; 
  1.25     (4) citizen participation in all relevant decision making 
  1.26  processes and at meaningful points in the processes; and 
  1.27     (5) progressively less air, land, and water pollution. 
  1.28     Sec. 2.  [REORGANIZATION; OUTCOMES.] 
  1.29     Reorganization must achieve the following outcomes: 
  2.1      (1) increased citizen access to pertinent, understandable 
  2.2   information relating to environmental protection, farmland 
  2.3   protection, and natural resources management; 
  2.4      (2) better citizen representation, access, and information 
  2.5   through an office of public information and advocacy; 
  2.6      (3) decentralization of the service-delivery system for the 
  2.7   benefit of citizens of the state as consumers of services; 
  2.8      (4) management based on appropriate geographical natural 
  2.9   resource characteristics; 
  2.10     (5) an integrated service delivery system that includes the 
  2.11  elimination of multiple access points to receive the same or 
  2.12  related services; 
  2.13     (6) development of the polluter-pays principle through a 
  2.14  balanced system of regulatory controls and financial incentives; 
  2.15     (7) integrated licensing and permitting through a single 
  2.16  access point; 
  2.17     (8) flattening of the internal organization of the delivery 
  2.18  system and consolidation of administrative functions with 
  2.19  processes designed to encourage cooperation, consensus, and 
  2.20  participation of management and workers; 
  2.21     (9) the capacity to identify and capture cost savings where 
  2.22  those savings can be made without reducing the ability to 
  2.23  implement the state's environmental policy; 
  2.24     (10) identification and review of specifications and 
  2.25  programs that should be eliminated or accomplished by different 
  2.26  means; 
  2.27     (11) the flexibility to enable state and local governments 
  2.28  to coordinate and cooperate as well as identify and address 
  2.29  existing and emerging environmental issues of state, national, 
  2.30  and international import; 
  2.31     (12) increased system accountability by reducing the number 
  2.32  of executive administrators reporting directly to the governor; 
  2.33  and 
  2.34     (13) a commitment to adequate staff development resources 
  2.35  sufficient to implement the reorganization. 
  2.36     Sec. 3.  [TASK FORCE.] 
  3.1      Subdivision 1.  [MEMBERSHIP.] Within 30 days of the 
  3.2   effective date of this section, the governor shall convene a 
  3.3   task force consisting of four facilitators and four groups: 
  3.4      (1) a group consisting of ten to 15 persons from agencies 
  3.5   listed in section 5 who are members of the managerial plan 
  3.6   established under Minnesota Statutes, section 43A.18, 
  3.7   subdivision 3, appointed by the governor; 
  3.8      (2) a group consisting of employees from agencies listed in 
  3.9   section 5 who are represented by exclusive representatives, 
  3.10  selected by the exclusive representatives of employees of those 
  3.11  agencies; 
  3.12     (3) a group consisting of 15 persons representing local and 
  3.13  regional governmental units, including cities, counties, 
  3.14  metropolitan and regional agencies, soil and water conservation 
  3.15  districts, watershed districts, and watershed management 
  3.16  organizations, appointed in equal numbers by the governor, the 
  3.17  majority leader of the senate, and the speaker of the house; and 
  3.18     (4) a group consisting of not more than 20 persons jointly 
  3.19  appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and the 
  3.20  majority leader of the senate, including: 
  3.21     (i) representatives of rural agricultural interests, 
  3.22  environmental and conservation organizations, sports groups, and 
  3.23  business; 
  3.24     (ii) a representative of an institution of higher education 
  3.25  with expertise in natural sciences; 
  3.26     (iii) a representative of an institution of higher 
  3.27  education with expertise in agriculture; 
  3.28     (iv) an attorney experienced in environmental law; 
  3.29     (v) a member of the environmental consulting community; and 
  3.30     (vi) a member of the civil engineering community. 
  3.31     The groups described in clauses (1) and (2) must include 
  3.32  managers and classified employees from work stations outside the 
  3.33  metropolitan area described in Minnesota Statutes, section 
  3.34  473.121, subdivision 2.  Organizations, occupations, and 
  3.35  industries described in clause (4) may submit the names of 
  3.36  persons they wish considered for appointment to the task force 
  4.1   under that clause. 
  4.2      The governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, 
  4.3   and the majority leader of the senate shall jointly appoint a 
  4.4   facilitator for each group. 
  4.5      Subd. 2.  [ACTIVITIES.] (a) Members of the task force 
  4.6   established by subdivision 1 shall serve as partners in changing 
  4.7   the delivery of state services and the performance of state 
  4.8   functions.  Each group of the task force shall initially meet 
  4.9   separately to develop its own recommendations for a governmental 
  4.10  structure to perform the functions and provide the services 
  4.11  affected by section 5 in furtherance of the outcomes listed in 
  4.12  section 2.  A facilitator shall assist each group.  The 
  4.13  facilitators shall meet periodically with the governmental 
  4.14  operations and environment and natural resources committees of 
  4.15  the senate and house of representatives.  At the meetings, the 
  4.16  facilitators shall update the members of the committees on the 
  4.17  progress of the groups' discussions and emerging proposals. 
  4.18     (b) As soon as practicable after October 1, 1995, the 
  4.19  senate and house committees shall develop a joint recommendation 
  4.20  for a governmental structure to perform the functions and 
  4.21  provide the services affected by section 5 in furtherance of the 
  4.22  goals and outcomes listed in sections 1 and 2.  The committees 
  4.23  shall submit their joint recommendation for reorganization to 
  4.24  the governor and the legislature by January 15, 1996. 
  4.25     (c) The joint recommendation developed under paragraph (b) 
  4.26  must provide for: 
  4.27     (1) a separate agency, division, or department to which 
  4.28  would be transferred the powers and duties of the department of 
  4.29  natural resources relating to fish and wildlife; and 
  4.30     (2) within the agency, division, or department required in 
  4.31  clause (1), a structure and process under which: 
  4.32     (i) a board consisting of interested persons that would 
  4.33  make recommendations for and comment on expenditures of revenue 
  4.34  from the sources listed in Minnesota Statutes, section 97A.055, 
  4.35  subdivision 4, paragraph (a), clauses (1) and (2), based on 
  4.36  regional plans approved under item (ii); 
  5.1      (ii) the board would establish regional committees of 
  5.2   affected persons, based on appropriate natural resource 
  5.3   management boundaries, that would develop regional plans for 
  5.4   expenditures from the sources listed in Minnesota Statutes, 
  5.5   section 97A.055, subdivision 4, paragraph (a), clauses (1) and 
  5.6   (2); and 
  5.7      (iii) all fish and wildlife programs not directly related 
  5.8   to expenditures from the sources listed in Minnesota Statutes, 
  5.9   section 97A.055, subdivision 4, paragraph (a), clauses (1) and 
  5.10  (2), would be funded from other sources. 
  5.11     Sec. 4.  [EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION COMMITTEE.] 
  5.12     (a) Before a restructuring of executive branch agencies in 
  5.13  accordance with section 5, a committee including representatives 
  5.14  of employees and employers within each affected agency must be 
  5.15  established and be given adequate time to perform the functions 
  5.16  prescribed by paragraph (b).  Each exclusive representative of 
  5.17  employees shall select a committee member from each of its 
  5.18  bargaining units in each affected agency.  The head of each 
  5.19  agency shall select an employee member from each unit of 
  5.20  employees not represented by an exclusive representative.  The 
  5.21  agency head shall also appoint one or more committee members to 
  5.22  represent the agency.  The number of members appointed by the 
  5.23  agency head, however, may not exceed the total number of members 
  5.24  representing bargaining units. 
  5.25     (b) A committee established under paragraph (a) shall: 
  5.26     (1) identify tasks related to agency reorganization and 
  5.27  adopt plans for addressing those tasks; 
  5.28     (2) identify other employer and employee issues related to 
  5.29  reorganization and adopt plans for addressing those issues; 
  5.30     (3) adopt detailed plans for providing retraining for 
  5.31  affected employees; and 
  5.32     (4) guide the implementation of the reorganization. 
  5.33     Sec. 5.  [ABOLITION OF AGENCIES, POWERS, AND DUTIES.] 
  5.34     Subdivision 1.  [AGENCIES.] The department of natural 
  5.35  resources, the board of water and soil resources, the office of 
  5.36  environmental assistance, the pollution control agency, the 
  6.1   environmental quality board, the harmful substances compensation 
  6.2   board, the petroleum tank release compensation board, and the 
  6.3   agricultural chemical response board are abolished. 
  6.4      Subd. 2.  [POWERS AND DUTIES.] (a) The following powers and 
  6.5   duties of the department of agriculture are abolished: 
  6.6      (1) regulation of fertilizers, soil amendments, 
  6.7   agricultural liming, and plant amendments under Minnesota 
  6.8   Statutes, chapter 18C; 
  6.9      (2) pesticide control under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 
  6.10  18B; 
  6.11     (3) agriculture chemical incident response and cleanup 
  6.12  under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 18D; 
  6.13     (4) chemical incident reimbursement under Minnesota 
  6.14  Statutes, chapter 18E; 
  6.15     (5) urban forest promotion under Minnesota Statutes, 
  6.16  section 17.86; 
  6.17     (6) mosquito abatement under Minnesota Statutes, sections 
  6.18  18.041 to 18.161; 
  6.19     (7) outdoor recreation grants under Minnesota Statutes, 
  6.20  section 85.019; 
  6.21     (8) groundwater protection under Minnesota Statutes, 
  6.22  chapter 103H; 
  6.23     (9) oil and hazardous substance discharge preparedness 
  6.24  under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 115E; and 
  6.25     (10) conservation of wildflowers under Minnesota Statutes, 
  6.26  section 17.23. 
  6.27     (b) The following powers and duties of the department of 
  6.28  health are abolished: 
  6.29     (1) the water well program under Minnesota Statutes, 
  6.30  chapter 103I; 
  6.31     (2) the safe drinking water program under Minnesota 
  6.32  Statutes, sections 144.381 to 144.387; 
  6.33     (3) health risk assessment under Minnesota Statutes, 
  6.34  section 115B.17, subdivision 10; 
  6.35     (4) domestic water supply protection under Minnesota 
  6.36  Statutes, sections 144.35 to 144.37; 
  7.1      (5) asbestos contractor licensing under Minnesota Statutes, 
  7.2   sections 326.70 to 326.81; 
  7.3      (6) public health laboratory regulation under Minnesota 
  7.4   Statutes, section 144.98; 
  7.5      (7) lead abatement under Minnesota Statutes, sections 
  7.6   144.871 to 144.879; 
  7.7      (8) hazardous substance exposure under Minnesota Statutes, 
  7.8   section 145.94; 
  7.9      (9) mosquito research under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  7.10  144.95; 
  7.11     (10) water supply monitoring and health assessments under 
  7.12  Minnesota Statutes, section 473.845, subdivision 2; and 
  7.13     (11) health risk limits under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  7.14  103H.201. 
  7.15     (c) The following powers and duties of the department of 
  7.16  trade and economic development are abolished: 
  7.17     (1) environmental permit coordination under Minnesota 
  7.18  Statutes, sections 116C.22 to 116C.34; and 
  7.19     (2) the public facilities authority under Minnesota 
  7.20  Statutes, chapter 446A. 
  7.21     (d) The following powers and duties of the department of 
  7.22  public service are abolished:  energy conservation under 
  7.23  Minnesota Statutes, sections 216C.01 to 216C.35 and 216C.373 to 
  7.24  216C.381. 
  7.25     (e) The following powers and duties of the department of 
  7.26  transportation are abolished: 
  7.27     (1) oil and hazardous substance discharge preparedness 
  7.28  under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 115E; and 
  7.29     (2) hazardous waste shipment and licensing under Minnesota 
  7.30  Statutes, sections 221.033 to 221.036 and 221.172. 
  7.31     Subd. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective July 
  7.32  1, 1996, and does not affect functions of the affected agencies 
  7.33  relating to special or dedicated funds and accounts during the 
  7.34  biennium beginning July 1, 1995. 
  7.35     Sec. 6.  [PROPOSED BUDGET PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 1997.] 
  7.36     The commissioner of finance shall prepare a proposed budget 
  8.1   plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1996, that includes 
  8.2   an amount to cover the functions performed and services provided 
  8.3   by the agencies abolished in section 5, subdivision 1, and the 
  8.4   functions abolished by section 5, subdivision 2.  The general 
  8.5   fund amount allocated in the budget plan for those functions and 
  8.6   services must be at least equal to the amount appropriated for 
  8.7   those functions and services in fiscal year 1996.  The budget 
  8.8   plan must include an amount for staff development in accordance 
  8.9   with Minnesota Statutes, section 43A.045, and a substantial 
  8.10  increase in overall expenditures for staff development.  The 
  8.11  budget plan may not require the layoff of classified employees 
  8.12  or unclassified employees covered by a collective bargaining 
  8.13  agreement except as provided in a plan negotiated under 
  8.14  Minnesota Statutes, chapter 179A, that provides options to 
  8.15  layoff for employees who would be affected.  
  8.16     Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  8.17     Section 3 is effective the day following final enactment.