SF 2775

2nd Engrossment - 80th Legislature (1997 - 1998) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to children; proposing an amendment to the 
  1.3             Minnesota Constitution by adding a new article XV, and 
  1.4             by renumbering certain sections; establishing the 
  1.5             children's endowment fund; requiring a work group to 
  1.6             propose a governance structure for the endowment; 
  1.7             appropriating money; proposing coding for new law as 
  1.8             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 119C. 
  1.9   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.10     Section 1.  [CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.] 
  1.11     An amendment to the Minnesota Constitution is proposed to 
  1.12  the people.  If the amendment is adopted, a new article XV shall 
  1.13  be added to consist of the following renumbered sections and a 
  1.14  new section to read: 
  1.15                             ARTICLE XV
  1.16                             EDUCATION
  1.17     Section 1.  [Article XIII, section 1, renumbered] 
  1.18     Sec. 2.  [Article XIII, section 2, renumbered] 
  1.19     Sec. 3.  [Article XIII, section 3, renumbered] 
  1.20     Sec. 4.  The endowment fund for Minnesota's children is 
  1.21  established in the state treasury.  The principal of the 
  1.22  children's endowment fund must be perpetual and inviolate 
  1.23  forever.  The net earnings from the fund must be appropriated by 
  1.24  law for purposes that will enhance children's physical, 
  1.25  emotional, and intellectual development through the age of six 
  1.26  years. 
  1.27     Sec. 5.  [Article XI, section 8, renumbered] 
  2.1      Sec. 6.  [Article XI, section 9, renumbered] 
  2.2      Sec. 2.  [SCHEDULE AND QUESTION.] 
  2.3      The amendment shall be submitted to the people at the 1998 
  2.4   general election.  The question submitted shall be: 
  2.5      "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to create a 
  2.6   permanent endowment fund to enhance the development of young 
  2.7   children through the age of six? 
  2.8                                      Yes .......
  2.9                                      No ........"
  2.10                            CHAPTER 119C
  2.11                 ENDOWMENT FOR MINNESOTA'S CHILDREN
  2.12     Sec. 3.  [FINDINGS.] 
  2.13     The legislature finds that the state's highest priority 
  2.14  should be to ensure that all children have the opportunity to 
  2.15  succeed.  Scientific research shows that the electrical activity 
  2.16  of brain cells actually changes the physical structure of the 
  2.17  brain itself and that without a stimulating environment, a 
  2.18  baby's brain will suffer.  At birth, a baby's brain contains 
  2.19  100,000,000,000 neurons, roughly as many nerve cells as there 
  2.20  are stars in the Milky Way.  The wiring pattern between these 
  2.21  neurons, which creates the brain's road map for successful 
  2.22  learning, develops over time, with much of this development 
  2.23  being completed before the child reaches the age of six.  
  2.24  Children who play very little or are rarely touched develop 
  2.25  brains that are 20 to 30 percent smaller than normal for their 
  2.26  age. 
  2.27     This scientific evidence also conclusively demonstrates 
  2.28  that enhancing children's physical, social, emotional, and 
  2.29  intellectual development will result in tremendous benefits for 
  2.30  children, families, and the state.  Since more than 50 percent 
  2.31  of the mothers of children under the age of three now work 
  2.32  outside the home, our society must change to provide new 
  2.33  supports so young children receive the attention and care that 
  2.34  they need.  Many Minnesota children live in poverty and, 
  2.35  compared to other industrialized nations, the United States has 
  2.36  a higher infant mortality rate, a higher proportion of low 
  3.1   birth-weight babies, and a smaller proportion of babies 
  3.2   immunized against childhood diseases.  National and local 
  3.3   studies have shown a strong link between increased violence and 
  3.4   crime among youth when there is no early intervention.  This 
  3.5   state will spend millions of dollars in the future on programs 
  3.6   for at-risk or delinquent youth and child welfare programs that 
  3.7   address crisis situations that frequently could be avoided or 
  3.8   made much less severe with good early interventions.  While this 
  3.9   state and many local communities have developed successful early 
  3.10  childhood efforts, a commitment of funds in a children's 
  3.11  endowment fund dedicated to stimulating innovation and 
  3.12  encouraging expansion of demonstrably successful projects that 
  3.13  assist children through the age of six years could expand and 
  3.14  enhance opportunities for young children. 
  3.15     Sec. 4.  [119C.01] [DEFINITIONS.] 
  3.16     Subdivision 1.  [APPLICABILITY.] The definitions in this 
  3.17  section apply to sections 119C.01 to 119C.05. 
  3.18     Subd. 2.  [ENDOWMENT FUND.] "Endowment fund" means the 
  3.19  children's endowment fund established in the Minnesota 
  3.20  Constitution, article XI, section 15. 
  3.21     Subd. 3.  [YOUNG CHILDREN.] "Young children" means children 
  3.22  under the age of seven. 
  3.23     Sec. 5.  [119C.02] [ENDOWMENT FUND NOT TO SUPPLANT EXISTING 
  3.24  FUNDING.] 
  3.25     The endowment fund may not be used as a substitute for 
  3.26  traditional sources of funding activities for young children and 
  3.27  their parents, but the endowment fund must be used to supplement 
  3.28  traditional sources, including sources used to support the 
  3.29  activities in section 119C.04. 
  3.30     Sec. 6.  [119C.03] [ENDOWMENT FUND ACCOUNT.] 
  3.31     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNT AND INVESTMENT.] 
  3.32  The children's endowment fund, under the Minnesota Constitution, 
  3.33  article XI, section 15, is an account in the state treasury.  
  3.34  The commissioner of finance shall credit to the endowment fund 
  3.35  the amounts authorized under this section and section 119C.05.  
  3.36  The state board of investment shall ensure that endowment fund 
  4.1   money is invested under section 11A.24.  All money earned by the 
  4.2   endowment fund must be credited to the endowment fund.  The 
  4.3   principal of the endowment fund and any unexpended earnings must 
  4.4   be invested and reinvested by the state board of investment.  
  4.5      Subd. 2.  [REVENUE.] Nothing in sections 3 to 10 limits the 
  4.6   source of contributions to the endowment fund. 
  4.7      Subd. 3.  [GIFTS AND DONATIONS.] Gifts and donations may be 
  4.8   made to the endowment fund.  Noncash gifts and donations must be 
  4.9   disposed of for cash as soon as the board prudently can maximize 
  4.10  the value of the gift or donation.  Gifts and donations of 
  4.11  marketable securities may be held or disposed of for cash at the 
  4.12  option of the board.  The cash receipts of gifts and donations 
  4.13  of cash or capital assets and marketable securities disposed of 
  4.14  for cash must be credited immediately to the principal of the 
  4.15  endowment fund.  The value of marketable securities at the time 
  4.16  the gift or donation is made must be credited to the principal 
  4.17  of the endowment fund, and any earnings from the marketable 
  4.18  securities are earnings of the endowment fund. 
  4.19     Subd. 4.  [AUDITS REQUIRED.] The legislative auditor shall 
  4.20  audit endowment fund expenditures to ensure that the money is 
  4.21  spent for the purposes set out in section 119C.04. 
  4.22     Sec. 7.  [119C.035] [GOVERNANCE.] 
  4.23     A nonprofit foundation in this state, which has a history 
  4.24  of involvement with children's issues, selected by the governor, 
  4.25  shall convene a work group of legislators and community and 
  4.26  foundation representatives to develop a proposal for governance 
  4.27  of the endowment for Minnesota's children.  The foundation may 
  4.28  hire consultants to facilitate the work group's exploration of 
  4.29  alternative models of governance.  The work group shall prepare 
  4.30  a report and submit recommendations to the legislature by 
  4.31  January 15, 1999, which include the governance structure, 
  4.32  composition of the governing body, authority and responsibility 
  4.33  for managing funds, and how to best focus the children's 
  4.34  endowment funds to improve outcomes for children through the age 
  4.35  of six years. 
  4.36     Sec. 8.  [119C.04] [ENDOWMENT FUND EXPENDITURES.] 
  5.1      Money in the endowment fund may be spent for: 
  5.2      (1) research that contributes to increasing the 
  5.3   understanding of the development of young children's brains or 
  5.4   to developing new methods to increase the effectiveness of 
  5.5   stimulation and educational activities that will improve brain 
  5.6   development in young children; 
  5.7      (2) collection, analysis, and distribution of information 
  5.8   to communities and families that assists in enhancing the 
  5.9   development of young children; 
  5.10     (3) enhancement of public education, awareness, and 
  5.11  understanding necessary for the promotion and encouragement of 
  5.12  activities and decisions that protect and stimulate young 
  5.13  children's development; 
  5.14     (4) supplemental funding to those projects that have 
  5.15  demonstrated successful outcomes in improving and enhancing the 
  5.16  development of young children; 
  5.17     (5) activities that link parenting education for parents to 
  5.18  the availability of early childhood learning services for young 
  5.19  children; 
  5.20     (6) activities that are designed to strengthen the quality 
  5.21  of child care for young children and expand the supply of high 
  5.22  quality child care services for young children; 
  5.23     (7) activities that increase the level of immunization and 
  5.24  preventive health care screening and education for young 
  5.25  children; 
  5.26     (8) activities that assist in the development and improved 
  5.27  efficiency of community-based and family-based assistance 
  5.28  activities for young children; 
  5.29     (9) activities that establish methods to evaluate how 
  5.30  services can be more effectively delivered to young children and 
  5.31  parents of young children; 
  5.32     (10) activities that strengthen families, neighborhoods, 
  5.33  and communities by encouraging support, partnerships, and 
  5.34  collaborations on behalf of young children and their families; 
  5.35     (11) activities that provide all three- and four-year-olds 
  5.36  with access to a setting that offers both a high quality 
  6.1   preschool experience and child care during the hours that 
  6.2   parents work; 
  6.3      (12) activities that support neighborhoods in efforts to 
  6.4   provide a family-friendly place from which infants and toddlers 
  6.5   and their families would be provided opportunities for home 
  6.6   visiting, family support, early education, and other 
  6.7   community-based supports reaching out to the youngest children 
  6.8   and their parents; 
  6.9      (13) activities that encourage that all young children and 
  6.10  pregnant women receive the health care they require; and 
  6.11     (14) administrative and investment expenses incurred by the 
  6.12  state board of investment in investing deposits to the endowment 
  6.13  fund. 
  6.14     Activities in clauses (5) to (13) may include pilot 
  6.15  projects or demonstration projects. 
  6.16     Sec. 9.  [119C.05] [ROYALTIES; COPYRIGHTS; PATENTS.] 
  6.17     This section applies to projects supported by the endowment 
  6.18  fund.  The endowment fund owns and shall take title to the 
  6.19  percentage of a royalty, copyright, or patent resulting from a 
  6.20  project supported by the fund equal to the percentage of the 
  6.21  project's total funding provided by the fund.  Cash receipts 
  6.22  resulting from a royalty, copyright, or patent, or the sale of 
  6.23  the endowment fund's rights to a royalty, copyright, or patent, 
  6.24  must be credited immediately to the principal of the endowment 
  6.25  fund. 
  6.26     Sec. 10.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  6.27     If the constitutional amendment in section 1 is adopted, 
  6.28  $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  6.29  commissioner of finance for transfer to the children's endowment 
  6.30  fund. 
  6.31     Sec. 11.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  6.32     Sections 3 to 10 are effective the day after the 
  6.33  constitutional amendment proposed in sections 1 and 2 is adopted.