SF 1788

1st Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to higher education; changing the method for
recommending regent candidates to the legislature;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 137.0245;
proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 137.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 137.0245, is
amended to read:

137.0245 REGENT CANDIDATE ADVISORY COUNCIL new text begin AND
RECOMMENDATION PROCESS new text end .

Subdivision 1.

Establishment.

A Regent Candidate
Advisory Council is established to assist the legislature new text begin and
governor new text end in determining criteria for, and identifying and
recruiting qualified candidates for membership on the Board of
Regents.

Subd. 2.

Membership.

The Regent Candidate Advisory
Council shall consist of 24 members. Twelve members shall be
appointed by the Subcommittee on Committees of the Committee on
Rules and Administration of the senate. Twelve members shall be
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. Each
appointing authority must appoint one member who is a student
enrolled in a degree program at the University of Minnesota at
the time of appointment. No more than one-third of the members
appointed by each appointing authority may be current or former
legislators. No more than two-thirds of the members appointed
by each appointing authority may belong to the same political
party; however, political activity or affiliation is not
required for the appointment of any member. Geographical
representation must be taken into consideration when making
appointments. Section 15.0575 shall govern the advisory
council, except that:

(1) the members shall be appointed to six-year terms with
one-third appointed each even-numbered year; and

(2) student members are appointed to two-year terms with
two students appointed each even-numbered year.

Subd. 3.

Duties.

new text begin (a) new text end The advisory council shall:

(1) develop, in consultation with current and former
regents and the administration of the University of Minnesota, a
statement of the selection criteria to be applied and a
description of the responsibilities and duties of a regent, and
shall distribute this to potential candidates; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(2) for each position on the board, identify and recruit
qualified candidates for the Board of Regents, based on the
background and experience of the candidates, and their potential
for discharging the responsibilities of a member of the Board of
Regents. new text begin The selection criteria must not include a limitation
on the number of terms an individual may serve on the Board of
Regents; and
new text end

new text begin (3) report to the joint committee established under section
137.0246 on the membership needs of the board in terms of
individual skills and characteristics. Individual skills relate
to training and experience in fields such as finance, higher
education, labor, and management. Individual characteristics
relate to qualities such as gender, race, and geographic
location of residence.
new text end

new text begin (b) The guidelines developed under paragraph (a), clause
(1), must include a guide that regents represent diversity in
geography; gender; race; occupation, including business and
labor; and experience.
new text end

Subd. 4.

Recommendations.

The advisory council shall
recommend at least two and not more than four candidates. By
March 15 of each odd-numbered year, the advisory council shall
submit its recommendations to the president of the senate and
the speaker of the house of representatives. The legislature
shall not be bound by these recommendations.

Subd. 5.

Support services.

The Legislative Coordinating
Commission shall provide administrative and support services for
the advisory council.

Sec. 2.

new text begin [137.0246] REGENT SELECTION; LEGISLATURE.
new text end

new text begin (a) By February 15 of each odd-numbered year, or at a date
agreed to by concurrent resolution, a joint legislative
committee shall meet to recommend nominees for regent of the
University of Minnesota to be presented to a joint convention of
the legislature. The joint legislative committee consists of 20
legislator members. Ten members shall be appointed by the
speaker of the house. Ten members shall be appointed by the
Subcommittee on Committees of the Committee on Rules and
Administration from the senate. An equal number of members from
the majority and minority party shall be appointed from each
house. The members appointed from the minority party must be
appointed from among those recommended by the minority leader.
The chairs of the education policy committees and of the higher
education budget divisions and the ranking minority member of
those committees and divisions must be appointed. A majority of
the members from each house is a quorum of the joint committee.
new text end

new text begin (b) The joint committee shall determine the number of
persons, and the person or persons to be recommended for each
open seat.
new text end

new text begin (c) The joint convention must meet on or before March 7 of
that same odd-numbered year.
new text end