SF 2874

1st Engrossment - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 03/11/2010 04:38pm

A bill for an act
relating to state government; streamlining state government; abolishing the
Department of Employment and Economic Development and the Department
of Labor and Industry; establishing a task force; requiring establishment of
an employee participation committee before agency restructuring; requiring
reports; providing for taxpayer accountability; proposing coding for new law
in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 16C.

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

ARTICLE 1

GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY REORGANIZATION

Section 1. new text begin REORGANIZATION; GOALS.
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new text begin The legislature finds that it is desirable to reorganize state services relating to
business and employment to achieve the following goals:
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new text begin (1) sustainable economic development throughout all regions of the state and all
sectors of the economy to ensure the economic well-being of the state's residents;
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new text begin (2) growth of the economy of this state that consistently exceeds the national average;
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new text begin (3) improved delivery of services, including greater efficiency and transparency;
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new text begin (4) citizen participation in all relevant decision-making processes and at meaningful
points in the processes;
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new text begin (5) best position the state, its workforce, its business community, and its educational
system to meet the needs of a competitive, global, and dynamic economy;
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new text begin (6) optimal coordination between the state's postsecondary higher education
institutions and industry;
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new text begin (7) streamline state government, including elimination of at least one state
department; and
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new text begin (8) increased productivity of the work force given the expected shortage of labor to
remain competitive and successful in the world economy.
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Sec. 2. new text begin REORGANIZATION; OUTCOMES.
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new text begin Reorganization must achieve the following outcomes:
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new text begin (1) increased citizen access to pertinent, understandable information relating to
business and employment;
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new text begin (2) better citizen representation, access, and information through an office of public
information and advocacy;
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new text begin (3) decentralization of the service delivery system combined with one-stop offering
of related services for the benefit of citizens of the state as consumers of services and
as persons who are subject to regulation;
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new text begin (4) flattening the internal organization of the delivery system with processes designed
to encourage cooperation, consensus, and participation of management and workers;
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new text begin (5) the capacity to identify and capture cost savings where those savings can be made
without reducing the ability to implement the state's business and employment policy;
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new text begin (6) the flexibility to enable state and local governments to coordinate and cooperate
as well as identify and address existing and emerging business and employment issues of
state, national, and international import;
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new text begin (7) an increased use of performance-based employment measures to ensure the
effective use of state dollars;
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new text begin (8) increased accountability by reducing the number of executive administrators
reporting directly to the governor through a variety of strategies, including elimination
of at least one state department;
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new text begin (9) a commitment to adequate staff development resources sufficient to implement
the reorganization;
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new text begin (10) increased consumer satisfaction with state services, including licensing and
compliance investigations;
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new text begin (11) increased employment, especially in high-wage industries projected to expand
in Minnesota;
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new text begin (12) reduction in labor shortages in high-wage industries;
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new text begin (13) increased business development support, including numbers of start-up
companies with survival rates beyond five years;
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new text begin (14) reduced workplace injuries;
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new text begin (15) increased development of businesses in emerging sectors, such as bioscience
and other green-economy-related businesses; and
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new text begin (16) appropriate use of priority-based budgeting.
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Sec. 3. new text begin TASK FORCE.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Membership. new text end

new text begin Within 60 days after the effective date of this section,
a facilitator or facilitators shall be provided by the Management Analysis Division of
the Department of Management and Budget who shall convene each of the following
three groups:
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new text begin (1) a group consisting of ten to 15 persons from agencies listed in section 5 who are
members of the managerial plan established under Minnesota Statutes, section 43A.18,
subdivision 3, appointed by the governor within 30 days after the effective date of this
section;
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new text begin (2) a group consisting of employees from agencies listed in section 5 who are
represented by exclusive representatives, selected by the exclusive representatives of
employees of those agencies within 30 days after the effective date of this section;
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new text begin (3) a group consisting of up to ten persons appointed by the speaker of the house and
up to ten persons appointed by the Subcommittee on Committees of the Committee on
Rules and Administration of the senate, including at least one person appointed by each
appointing authority in each of the following categories:
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new text begin (i) a representative of labor unions;
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new text begin (ii) a representative of business;
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new text begin (iii) a representative of an institution of higher education with expertise in vocational
training;
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new text begin (iv) a representative of an institution of higher education with expertise in career
training;
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new text begin (v) an attorney experienced in workers' compensation law;
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new text begin (vi) a member of the financial consulting community;
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new text begin (vii) a member of the employee placement community; and
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new text begin (viii) a representative of a provider of employment services to disabled workers.
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new text begin Organizations, occupations, and industries described in this clause may submit the
names of persons they wish considered for appointment to the task force to the appointing
authorities. The appointing authorities under this clause must complete their appointments
within 30 days of the effective date of this section.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Activities. new text end

new text begin (a) Members of the task force established in subdivision 1 shall
serve as partners in changing the delivery of state services and the performance of state
functions. Each group of the task force shall initially meet separately to develop its own
recommendations for a governmental structure to perform the functions and provide
the services affected by section 5 in furtherance of the outcomes listed in section 2. A
facilitator shall assist each group. Each group must complete its recommendations by
October 1, 2010. By September 1, 2010, each group shall select from its membership
representatives to a joint committee, as follows:
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new text begin (1) two representatives from the group established by subdivision 1, clause (1);
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new text begin (2) three representatives from the group established by subdivision 1, clause (2); and
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new text begin (3) five representatives from the group established by subdivision 1, clause (3), who
must be private citizens.
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new text begin (b) The facilitator or facilitators shall convene the first meeting of the joint
committee by October 1, 2010. The joint committee shall develop a recommendation for
a governmental structure to perform the functions and provide the services affected by
section 5 in furtherance of the goals and outcomes listed in sections 1 and 2, including
ways to measure and track performances on the outcomes established in section 2. The
recommendation must address ways to obtain input from local and regional governmental
units in order to achieve the coordinated and cooperative outcomes required by section
2. The speaker of the house and the Subcommittee on Committees of the Committee on
Rules and Administration of the senate may provide legislative staff support to the joint
committee upon its request. A facilitator provided by the management analysis division
shall chair meetings of the joint committee and serve as a nonvoting member. The joint
committee shall submit its recommendation for reorganization to the governor and the
legislature by January 15, 2011.
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new text begin (c) The joint committee expires after submission of the report.
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Sec. 4. new text begin EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION COMMITTEE.
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new text begin (a) By July 1, 2010, exclusive representatives of state employees and agency heads
shall establish a committee that includes representatives of state employees and employers
within each affected agency. Members of the committee may also serve as members of the
task force group created by section 2. Each exclusive representative of employees shall
select a committee member from each of its bargaining units in each affected agency. The
head of each agency shall select an employee member from each unit of employees not
represented by an exclusive representative. The agency head shall also appoint one or
more committee members to represent the agency. The number of members appointed
by the agency head, however, may not exceed the total number of members representing
bargaining units.
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new text begin (b) The committee established under paragraph (a) shall:
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new text begin (1) identify tasks related to agency reorganization and adopt plans for addressing
those tasks;
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new text begin (2) identify other employer and employee issues related to reorganization and adopt
plans for addressing those issues;
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new text begin (3) adopt detailed plans for providing retraining for affected employees; and
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new text begin (4) guide the implementation of the reorganization.
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new text begin (c) The committee must submit a copy of its plans by January 15, 2011, to the
affected commissioners and to the chairs of the legislative committees with primary policy
jurisdiction over state government.
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new text begin (d) The committee expires after submission of the plans required under paragraph (c).
new text end

Sec. 5. new text begin ABOLITION OF AGENCIES, POWERS, AND DUTIES.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Agencies. new text end

new text begin The Departments of Employment and Economic
Development and Labor and Industry are abolished.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Collective bargaining agreements. new text end

new text begin Nothing in this section abrogates
or modifies any rights of affected employees under terms of an agreement between an
exclusive bargaining representative and the state or one of its appointing authorities.
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Sec. 6. new text begin BUDGET FOR NEXT BIENNIUM.
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new text begin In preparing a proposed budget for the biennium beginning July 1, 2011, the
governor shall include an amount to cover the functions performed and services provided
by the agencies abolished in section 5, subdivision 1. The amount allocated for those
functions and services must be at least equal to the amount appropriated for those
functions and services in fiscal years 2010 and 2011, adjusted for inflation as measured by
the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers all items index
published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor. The
budget must include an amount for staff development according to Minnesota Statutes,
section 43A.045, and a substantial increase in overall expenditures for staff development.
The budget must not require the layoff of classified employees or unclassified employees
covered by a collective bargaining agreement except as provided in a plan negotiated
under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 179A, that provides options to layoff for employees
who would be affected. The governor's budget must be in conformance with any
reorganization plan enacted by the legislature in 2011 in response to the recommendation
submitted by the task force under section 3. If no reorganization plan is enacted in 2011,
the governor's budget must take into account the reorganization recommendations of the
task force, as well as any additional or alternative recommendations of the governor.
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Sec. 7. new text begin MANAGERIAL POSITION REDUCTIONS.
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new text begin The governor must reduce the number of deputy commissioners, assistant
commissioners, and positions designated as unclassified under authority of Minnesota
Statutes, section 43A.08, subdivision 1a, due to the reorganization prescribed by this act
by an amount that will generate savings to the general fund of $....... in the biennium
ending June 30, 2013, and $....... in the biennium ending June 30, 2015.
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Sec. 8. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE.
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new text begin (a) Sections 1 to 4 and 6 are effective the day following final enactment.
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new text begin (b) Sections 5 and 7 are effective July 1, 2011. The effective date of section
5, subdivision1, is based on the assumption that the 2011 legislature will act on the
recommendations made by the joint committee under section 4 and that legislation will be
enacted transferring the responsibilities of the agencies abolished in section 5, subdivision
1.
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ARTICLE 2

TAXPAYERS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

Section 1.

new text begin [16C.051] REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTRACTS OVER $100,000.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Application. new text end

new text begin This section applies to a contract with an estimated
value of $100,000 or more. The requirements imposed by this section are in addition
to, and do not supersede, the requirements of any other applicable section of law. This
section does not apply to a Department of Transportation contract that is subject to
section 161.3203.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Required review. new text end

new text begin (a) Before entering into a contract subject to this section,
the agency head must prepare a comprehensive written estimate of the cost of having the
same work provided in the most cost-effective manner by agency employees. The cost
estimate must include all costs of having agency employees provide the work, including
the cost of pension, insurance, and all other employee benefits. The cost estimate is
nonpublic data, as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 9, until the day after the deadline
for receipt of responses under paragraph (b).
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new text begin (b) After soliciting and receiving responses, the agency head shall publicly designate
the responder to which it proposes to award the contract. The commissioner shall prepare
a comprehensive written estimate of the cost of the proposal based on the designated
responder's bid, including costs associated with monitoring the proposed contract. If the
designated responder proposes to perform any or all of the desired services outside the
state, the commissioner shall include in the cost estimate, as nearly as possible, any loss of
sales and income tax revenue to the state. The cost estimate must not include trade secret
data which is classified as nonpublic data under section 13.37, subdivision 2.
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new text begin (c) An agency may not enter into a contract subject to this section unless the agency
head determines that:
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new text begin (1) the cost estimated under paragraph (b) will be lower than the cost estimated
under paragraph (a);
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new text begin (2) the quality of the work to be provided by the designated responder is likely to
equal or exceed the quality of services that could be provided by state employees;
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new text begin (3) the contract, together with other contracts to which the department is or has been
a party, will not violate section 16C.08 or 16C.09, or otherwise reduce full-time equivalent
positions within the department; and
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new text begin (4) the proposed contract is in the public interest.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Reports. new text end

new text begin The commissioner of administration must report to the legislature
by September 1 each year, in compliance with sections 3.195 and 3.197, on implementation
of this section. The report must list all contracts subject to this section that were executed
or performed, whether wholly or in part, in the previous fiscal year. The report must
identify, with respect to each contract: the contractor; contract amount; duration; work,
provided or to be provided; the comprehensive estimate derived under subdivision 2,
paragraph (a); the comprehensive estimate derived under subdivision 2, paragraph (b); the
actual cost to the agency of the contractor's performance of the contract; and a statement
containing the agency head's determinations under subdivision 2, paragraph (c).
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new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Short title. new text end

new text begin This section may be cited as the "Taxpayers Accountability
Act."
new text end