1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to human services; establishing the child care center regulation 
1.3 	modernization project; appropriating money; requiring a report.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. CHILD CARE CENTER REGULATION MODERNIZATION.
 1.6 	(a) The commissioner of human services shall contract with an experienced and 
1.7 	independent organization or individual consultant to conduct the work outlined in this 
1.8 	section. If practicable, the commissioner must contract with the National Association for 
1.9 	Regulatory Administration.
1.10 	(b) The consultant must develop a proposal for revised licensing standards that includes 
1.11 	a risk-based model for monitoring compliance with child care center licensing standards, 
1.12 	grounded in national regulatory best practices. Violations in the new model must be weighted 
1.13 	to reflect the potential risk that the violations pose to children's health and safety, and 
1.14 	licensing sanctions must be tied to the potential risk. The proposed new model must protect 
1.15 	the health and safety of children in child care centers and be child-centered, family-friendly, 
1.16 	and fair to providers.
1.17 	(c) The consultant shall develop and implement a stakeholder engagement process that 
1.18 	solicits input from parents, licensed child care centers, staff of the Department of Human 
1.19 	Services, and experts in child development about appropriate licensing standards, appropriate 
1.20 	tiers for violations of the standards based on the potential risk of harm that each violation 
1.21 	poses, and appropriate licensing sanctions for each tier.
2.1 	(d) The consultant shall solicit input from parents, licensed child care centers, and staff 
2.2 	of the Department of Human Services about which child care centers should be eligible for 
2.3 	abbreviated inspections that predict compliance with other licensing standards for licensed 
2.4 	child care centers using key indicators previously identified by an empirically based statistical 
2.5 	methodology developed by the National Association for Regulatory Administration and the 
2.6 	Research Institute for Key Indicators.
2.7 	(e) No later than February 1, 2024, the commissioner shall submit a report and proposed 
2.8 	legislation required to implement the new licensing model to the chairs and ranking minority 
2.9 	members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over child care regulation.

2.10 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION; CHILD CARE CENTER REGULATION 
2.11 	MODERNIZATION.
 2.12 	$....... in fiscal year 2022 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of 
2.13 	human services for the child care center regulation modernization project under section 1. 
2.14 	This is a onetime appropriation and remains available until June 30, 2024.