SF 3679

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; abolishing the pollution 
  1.3             control agency, the department of natural resources, 
  1.4             the environmental quality board, the board of water 
  1.5             and soil resources, the office of environmental 
  1.6             assistance, the harmful substances compensation board, 
  1.7             the petroleum tank release compensation board, the 
  1.8             agricultural chemical response compensation board; 
  1.9             abolishing certain powers and duties of the 
  1.10            departments of agriculture, health, public service, 
  1.11            trade and economic development, and transportation and 
  1.12            the metropolitan council; establishing a task force; 
  1.13            requiring establishment of an employee participation 
  1.14            committee before agency restructuring. 
  1.15  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.16     Section 1.  [REORGANIZATION; GOALS.] 
  1.17     The legislature finds that it is desirable to reorganize 
  1.18  state services relating to the protection of the environment, 
  1.19  protection of farmland, and the management of natural resources 
  1.20  to achieve the following goals: 
  1.21     (1) sustainable development throughout all regions of the 
  1.22  state and all sectors of the economy; 
  1.23     (2) improved delivery of services; 
  1.24     (3) a preventative, precautionary approach to environmental 
  1.25  degradation; 
  1.26     (4) citizen participation in all relevant decision-making 
  1.27  processes and at meaningful points in the processes; and 
  1.28     (5) progressively less air, land, and water pollution. 
  1.29     Sec. 2.  [REORGANIZATION; OUTCOMES.] 
  1.30     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) an ecosystem-based, integrated service delivery system 
  2.9   that includes the elimination of multiple access points to 
  2.10  receive the same of related services; 
  2.11     (5) the development of the polluter-pays principle through 
  2.12  a balanced system of regulatory controls and financial 
  2.13  incentives; 
  2.14     (6) integrated licensing and permitting through a single 
  2.15  access point; 
  2.16     (7) flattening of the internal organization of the delivery 
  2.17  system with processes designed to encourage cooperation, 
  2.18  consensus, and participation of management and workers; 
  2.19     (8) the capacity to identify and capture cost savings where 
  2.20  those savings can be made without reducing the ability to 
  2.21  implement the state's environmental policy; 
  2.22     (9) the flexibility to enable state and local governments 
  2.23  to coordinate and cooperate as well as identify and address 
  2.24  existing and emerging environmental issues of state, national, 
  2.25  and international import; 
  2.26     (10) increased system accountability by reducing the number 
  2.27  of executive administrators reporting directly to the governor; 
  2.28  and 
  2.29     (11) a commitment to adequate staff development resources 
  2.30  sufficient to implement the reorganization. 
  2.31     Sec. 3.  [TASK FORCE.] 
  2.32     Subdivision 1.  [MEMBERSHIP.] Within 30 days of the 
  2.33  effective date of this section, the governor shall convene a 
  2.34  task force consisting of three facilitators and three groups: 
  2.35     (1) a group consisting of ten to 15 persons from agencies 
  2.36  listed in section 5 who are members of the managerial plan 
  3.1   established under Minnesota Statutes, section 43A.18, 
  3.2   subdivision 3, appointed by the governor; 
  3.3      (2) a group consisting of employees from agencies listed in 
  3.4   section 5 who are represented by exclusive representatives, 
  3.5   selected by the exclusive representatives of employees of those 
  3.6   agencies; and 
  3.7      (3) a group consisting of not more than 20 persons jointly 
  3.8   appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and the 
  3.9   majority leader of the senate, including: 
  3.10     (i) representatives of agriculture interests, environmental 
  3.11  and conservation organization, sportsmen's groups, and business; 
  3.12     (ii) a representative of an institution of higher education 
  3.13  with expertise in natural sciences; 
  3.14     (iii) a representative of an institution of higher 
  3.15  education with expertise in agriculture; 
  3.16     (iv) an attorney experienced in environmental law; 
  3.17     (v) a member of the environmental consulting community; and 
  3.18     (vi) a member of the civil engineering community. 
  3.19     The groups described in clauses (1) and (2) must include 
  3.20  managers and classified employees from work stations outside the 
  3.21  metropolitan area described in Minnesota Statutes, section 
  3.22  473.121, subdivision 2.  Organizations, occupations, and 
  3.23  industries described in clause (3) may submit the names of 
  3.24  persons they wish considered for appointment to the task force 
  3.25  under that clause. 
  3.26     The governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, 
  3.27  and the majority leader of the senate shall jointly appoint a 
  3.28  facilitator for each group. 
  3.29     Subd. 2.  [ACTIVITIES.] Members of the task force 
  3.30  established by subdivision 1 shall serve as partners in changing 
  3.31  the delivery of state services and the performance of state 
  3.32  functions.  Each group of the task force shall initially meet 
  3.33  separately to develop its own recommendations for a governmental 
  3.34  structure to perform the functions and provide the services 
  3.35  affected by section 5 in furtherance of the outcomes listed in 
  3.36  section 2.  A facilitator shall assist each group.  Each group 
  4.1   must complete its recommendations by October 1, 2000.  By 
  4.2   September 1, 2000, each group shall select from its membership 
  4.3   representatives to a joint committee, as follows: 
  4.4      (1) two representatives from the group established by 
  4.5   subdivision 1, clause (1); 
  4.6      (2) three representatives from the group established by 
  4.7   subdivision 1, clause (2); and 
  4.8      (3) five representatives from the group established by 
  4.9   subdivision 1, clause (3), who must be private citizens. 
  4.10     The joint committee shall begin meeting as soon as 
  4.11  practicable after October 1, 2000, and shall develop a 
  4.12  recommendation for a governmental structure to perform the 
  4.13  functions and provide the services affected by section 5 in 
  4.14  furtherance of the goals and outcomes listed in sections 1 and 
  4.15  2.  The recommendation must address ways to obtain input from 
  4.16  local and regional governmental units, including cities, 
  4.17  counties, metropolitan and regional agencies, soil and water 
  4.18  conservation districts, watershed districts, and watershed 
  4.19  management organizations, in order to achieve the coordinated 
  4.20  and cooperative outcome called for by section 2, clause (9).  
  4.21  The speaker of the house of representatives and the majority 
  4.22  leader of the senate may provide legislative staff support to 
  4.23  the joint committee upon its request.  A facilitator shall chair 
  4.24  meetings of the joint committee and serve as a nonvoting 
  4.25  member.  The joint committee shall submit its recommendation for 
  4.26  reorganization to the governor and the legislature by January 
  4.27  15, 2001. 
  4.28     Sec. 4.  [EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION COMMITTEE.] 
  4.29     (a) Before a restructuring of executive branch agencies in 
  4.30  accordance with section 5, a committee including representatives 
  4.31  of employees and employers within each affected agency must be 
  4.32  established and be given adequate time to perform the functions 
  4.33  prescribed by paragraph (b).  Each exclusive representative of 
  4.34  employees shall select a committee member from each of its 
  4.35  bargaining units in each affected agency.  The head of each 
  4.36  agency shall select an employee member from each unit of 
  5.1   employees not represented by an exclusive representative.  The 
  5.2   agency head shall also appoint one or more committee members to 
  5.3   represent the agency.  The number of members appointed by the 
  5.4   agency head, however, may not exceed the total number of members 
  5.5   representing bargaining units. 
  5.6      (b) A committee established under paragraph (a) shall: 
  5.7      (1) identify tasks related to agency reorganization and 
  5.8   adopt plans for addressing those tasks; 
  5.9      (2) identify other employer and employee issues related to 
  5.10  reorganization and adopt plans for addressing those issues; 
  5.11     (3) adopt detailed plans for providing retraining for 
  5.12  affected employees; and 
  5.13     (4) guide the implementation of the reorganization. 
  5.14     Sec. 5.  [ABOLITION OF AGENCIES, POWERS, AND DUTIES.] 
  5.15     Subdivision 1.  [AGENCIES.] The department of natural 
  5.16  resources, the board of water and soil resources, the office of 
  5.17  environmental assistance, the pollution control agency, the 
  5.18  environmental quality board, the harmful substances compensation 
  5.19  board, the petroleum tank release compensation board, and the 
  5.20  agricultural chemical response compensation board are abolished. 
  5.21     Subd. 2.  [POWERS AND DUTIES.] (a) The following powers and 
  5.22  duties of the department of agriculture are abolished: 
  5.23     (1) regulation of fertilizers, soil amendments, 
  5.24  agricultural liming, and plant amendments under Minnesota 
  5.25  Statutes, chapter 18C; 
  5.26     (2) pesticide control under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 
  5.27  18B; 
  5.28     (3) agriculture chemical incident response and cleanup 
  5.29  under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 18D; 
  5.30     (4) chemical incident reimbursement under Minnesota 
  5.31  Statutes, chapter 18E; 
  5.32     (5) urban forest promotion under Minnesota Statutes, 
  5.33  section 17.86; 
  5.34     (6) mosquito abatement under Minnesota Statutes, sections 
  5.35  18.041 to 18.161; 
  5.36     (7) groundwater protection under Minnesota Statutes, 
  6.1   chapter 103H; and 
  6.2      (8) oil and hazardous substance discharge preparedness 
  6.3   under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 115E. 
  6.4      (b) The following powers and duties of the department of 
  6.5   health are abolished: 
  6.6      (1) the water well program under Minnesota Statutes, 
  6.7   chapter 103I; 
  6.8      (2) the safe drinking water program under Minnesota 
  6.9   Statutes, sections 144.381 to 144.387; 
  6.10     (3) health risk assessment under Minnesota Statutes, 
  6.11  section 115B.17, subdivision 10; 
  6.12     (4) domestic water supply protection under Minnesota 
  6.13  Statutes, sections 144.35 to 144.37; 
  6.14     (5) asbestos contractor licensing under Minnesota Statutes, 
  6.15  sections 326.70 to 326.81; 
  6.16     (6) public health laboratory regulation under Minnesota 
  6.17  Statutes, section 144.98; 
  6.18     (7) hazardous substance exposure under Minnesota Statutes, 
  6.19  section 145.94; 
  6.20     (8) mosquito research under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  6.21  144.95; 
  6.22     (9) water supply monitoring and health assessments under 
  6.23  Minnesota Statutes, section 473.845, subdivision 2; and 
  6.24     (10) health risk limits under Minnesota Statutes, section 
  6.25  103H.201. 
  6.26     (c) The following powers and duties of the department of 
  6.27  trade and economic development are abolished: 
  6.28     (1) energy loans under Minnesota Statutes, section 216C.37; 
  6.29  and 
  6.30     (2) environmental permit coordination under Minnesota 
  6.31  Statutes, sections 116C.22 to 116C.34. 
  6.32     (d) The following powers and duties of the department of 
  6.33  public service are abolished:  energy conservation under 
  6.34  Minnesota Statutes, sections 216C.01 to 216C.35 and 216C.373 to 
  6.35  216C.381. 
  6.36     (e) The following powers and duties of the department of 
  7.1   transportation are abolished:  hazardous waste shipment and 
  7.2   licensing under Minnesota Statutes, sections 221.033 to 221.036 
  7.3   and 221.172. 
  7.4      (f) The powers and duties of the pollution control agency 
  7.5   relating to metropolitan solid hazardous waste under Minnesota 
  7.6   Statutes, sections 473.801 to 473.849, are abolished. 
  7.7      Sec. 6.  [BUDGET FOR NEXT BIENNIUM.] 
  7.8      In preparing a proposed budget for the biennium beginning 
  7.9   July 1, 2001, the governor shall include an amount to cover the 
  7.10  functions performed and services provided by the agencies 
  7.11  abolished in section 5, subdivision 1, and the functions 
  7.12  abolished by section 5, subdivision 2.  The amount allocated for 
  7.13  those functions and services must be at least equal to the 
  7.14  amount appropriated for those functions and services in fiscal 
  7.15  years 1999 and 2000, adjusted for inflation as measured by the 
  7.16  Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers 
  7.17  all items index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of 
  7.18  the United States Department of Labor.  The budget must include 
  7.19  an amount for staff development in accordance with Minnesota 
  7.20  Statutes, section 43A.045, and a substantial increase in overall 
  7.21  expenditures for staff development.  The budget may not require 
  7.22  the layoff of classified employees or unclassified employees 
  7.23  covered by a collective bargaining agreement except as provided 
  7.24  in a plan negotiated under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 179A, 
  7.25  that provides options to layoff for employees who would be 
  7.26  affected.  The governor's budget must be in conformance with any 
  7.27  reorganization plan enacted by the legislature in 2001 in 
  7.28  response to the recommendation submitted by the task force under 
  7.29  section 3.  If no reorganization plan is enacted in 2001, the 
  7.30  governor's budget must take into account the reorganization 
  7.31  recommendations of the task force, as well as any additional or 
  7.32  alternative recommendations of the governor. 
  7.33     Sec. 7.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  7.34     (a) Sections 1 to 4 and 6 are effective the day following 
  7.35  final enactment. 
  7.36     (b) Section 5 is effective July 1, 2003, and does not 
  8.1   affect functions of the department of natural resources relating 
  8.2   to the game and fish fund during the biennium beginning July 1, 
  8.3   2001.