SF 1339

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to economic development; creating the 
  1.3             Minnesota Entrepreneurs Partnership Assistance Act; 
  1.4             providing criminal penalties; appropriating money; 
  1.5             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.6             chapter 116O. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [116O.123] [MINNESOTA ENTREPRENEURS PARTNERSHIP 
  1.9   ASSISTANCE.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) For the purposes of this 
  1.11  section, the definitions in this subdivision apply. 
  1.12     (b) "Application for assistance" means a letter of 
  1.13  understanding or contract between the independent advisor and 
  1.14  small business outlining the scope of the qualified assistance 
  1.15  to be provided by the independent advisor. 
  1.16     (c) "Completion report" means a document completed by an 
  1.17  independent advisor for a small business together with a letter 
  1.18  from the small business, with proof of payment to the advisor 
  1.19  that the qualified assistance has been completed to the 
  1.20  satisfaction of the business. 
  1.21     (d) "Independent advisor" means an individual, a group of 
  1.22  individuals, or a firm which is not a regular vendor of the 
  1.23  small business, which is unrelated to the business legally, 
  1.24  whose employees who are not related by blood to the management 
  1.25  of the company, and which has been listed, together with its 
  1.26  area of competency and specific industry knowledge, with 
  2.1   Minnesota Technology, Inc.  
  2.2      (e) "Nonqualified assistance" means the purchase of any 
  2.3   hardware, software, or any other intellectual property which has 
  2.4   a material value to the small business or which can be 
  2.5   capitalized and depreciated on the small business' balance 
  2.6   sheet; tuition for external public or private training for 
  2.7   managers or staff; training assistance that is related to the 
  2.8   purchase of any hardware, software, or intellectual property and 
  2.9   can be reasonably viewed as part of the purchase; professional 
  2.10  assistance with the acquisition or disposition of a business or 
  2.11  intellectual property; or any litigation or planned litigation 
  2.12  involving the company.  
  2.13     (f) "Qualified assistance" means assistance for general 
  2.14  business or strategic planning purposes; creation of a sales, 
  2.15  pricing, or marketing plan; improvement of management 
  2.16  information systems; planning for technology based systems; 
  2.17  improvement of inventory control; improved manufacturing 
  2.18  efficiency; improving quality control procedures; implementation 
  2.19  of a Total Quality Management system; and creation of a human 
  2.20  resources, safety, or training plan or strategy. 
  2.21     (g) "Small business" means a corporation, limited liability 
  2.22  company, partnership, or sole proprietorship with annual sales 
  2.23  in the previous 12 months of no more than $2,500,000, which is 
  2.24  headquartered within Minnesota and with the majority of its 
  2.25  employees working in Minnesota.  Annual sales include sales made 
  2.26  through any parent or subsidiary companies substantially owned 
  2.27  or controlled by the subsidiary or parent company. 
  2.28     Subd. 2.  [GRANTS.] (a) Minnesota Technology, Inc. shall 
  2.29  offer, on a first-come, first-served basis, grants for qualified 
  2.30  assistance to be provided by independent advisors to small 
  2.31  businesses.  The grants shall be for 50 percent of the cost of 
  2.32  the assistance to a maximum of $5,000 per business.  A business 
  2.33  may only receive one grant directly or through a subsidiary 
  2.34  during the life of this program.  Grants under this section may 
  2.35  not exceed a total of $5,000,000 in any fiscal year.  
  2.36     (b) Minnesota Technology, Inc. shall review each 
  3.1   application for assistance to determine that the assistance does 
  3.2   not include nonqualified assistance, that the independent 
  3.3   advisor has been listed with Minnesota Technology, Inc. and is 
  3.4   in good standing in the area of competency outlined in the 
  3.5   application, that the independent advisor is independent of the 
  3.6   business, and that sufficient funds will be available to provide 
  3.7   the grant.  Minnesota Technology, Inc. shall inform the business 
  3.8   and independent advisor within ten working days of receipt of 
  3.9   the application of its acceptance. 
  3.10     (c) Minnesota Technology, Inc. shall develop and maintain a 
  3.11  list of independent advisors listed by areas of competency.  
  3.12  This list shall be made available without charge to Minnesota 
  3.13  businesses upon request.  Minnesota Technology, Inc. may charge 
  3.14  a fee to independent advisors to be listed.  The fee shall be no 
  3.15  more than what is reasonable to maintain the list.  
  3.16     (d) An independent advisor may be removed from the list, or 
  3.17  its competency limited, upon receipt of complaints from 
  3.18  businesses and upon a determination by Minnesota Technology, 
  3.19  Inc. that the assistance provided fails to meet the needs of 
  3.20  Minnesota companies.  Any complaint concerning assistance shall 
  3.21  be noted and provided to businesses and a summary of the 
  3.22  complaint may be provided.  Minnesota Technology, Inc. shall 
  3.23  notify applying companies of any independent advisor which has a 
  3.24  complaint filed against it with the letter of acceptance. 
  3.25     (e) A notation of complaint under paragraph (d) may be 
  3.26  eliminated under the contested case provisions of chapter 14 or 
  3.27  upon administrative review by Minnesota Technology, Inc. 
  3.28     (f) Upon completion of the qualified assistance and receipt 
  3.29  of a completion report from the independent advisor, a letter of 
  3.30  acceptance by the small business, and copy of the business' 
  3.31  payment of its share to the independent advisor, Minnesota 
  3.32  Technology, Inc. shall authorize payment of the grant directly 
  3.33  to the independent advisor. 
  3.34     (g) Any fraud under this section shall be punishable by 
  3.35  imprisonment of not more than six months and a fine or not more 
  3.36  than $50,000 or triple the total value of grants awarded under 
  4.1   this section, whichever is greater. 
  4.2      Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.3      $....... is appropriated from the general fund to Minnesota 
  4.4   Technology, Inc. for the purposes of section 1, to be available 
  4.5   for the biennium ending June 30, 2003.