Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 1996, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
KEY: stricken = old language to be removed
underscored = new language to be added
CHAPTER 369-H.F.No. 2256
An act relating to economic development; changing
classification of the director of tourism; modifying
provisions relating to business finance programs and
the competitiveness task force; abolishing the main
street program and the rural development board;
transferring authority for certain programs; amending
Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 16B.06, subdivision
2; 116J.01, subdivisions 4 and 5; 116J.581,
subdivisions 2 and 4; and 116J.980, subdivision 1;
Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, sections 116J.58,
subdivision 1; 116J.581, subdivision 1; 116J.655;
116N.03, subdivision 2; and 116N.06; repealing
Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 116J.981; 116N.01,
subdivision 2; 116N.02, subdivisions 2, 3, 4, and 5;
116N.04; and 116N.07; Minnesota Statutes 1995
Supplement, section 116N.02, subdivision 1; Minnesota
Rules, part 4370.0010, subpart 3.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 16B.06,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [VALIDITY OF STATE CONTRACTS.] (a) A state
contract or lease is not valid and the state is not bound by it
until:
(1) it has first been executed by the head of the agency or
a delegate which is a party to the contract;
(2) it has been approved by the commissioner or a delegate,
under this section;
(3) it has been approved by the attorney general or a
delegate as to form and execution; and
(4) the account system shows an allotment or encumbrance
balance for the full amount of the contract liability.
(b) Paragraph (a), clause (2), does not apply to contracts
between state agencies or, contracts awarding grants, or
contracts making loans by the department of trade and economic
development.
(c) The head of the agency may delegate the execution of
specific contracts or specific types of contracts to a
designated subordinate within the agency if the delegation has
been approved by the commissioner of administration and filed
with the secretary of state. The fully executed copy of every
contract or lease must be kept on file at the contracting agency.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.01,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF
TOURISM.] The director of the office of tourism shall be
appointed by the governor. The director is under the
supervision of the commissioner and serves in the unclassified
service.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.01,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [DEPARTMENTAL ORGANIZATION.] (a) The commissioner
shall organize the department as provided in section 15.06.
(b) The commissioner may establish divisions and offices
within the department. The commissioner may employ three deputy
commissioners in the unclassified service. One deputy must
direct the Minnesota trade office and must be experienced and
knowledgeable in matters of international trade. One deputy
must be the director of the office of tourism.
(c) The commissioner shall:
(1) employ assistants and other officers, employees, and
agents that the commissioner considers necessary to discharge
the functions of the commissioner's office;
(2) define the duties of the officers, employees, and
agents, and delegate to them any of the commissioner's powers,
duties, and responsibilities, subject to the commissioner's
control and under conditions prescribed by the commissioner.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
116J.58, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [ENUMERATION.] The commissioner shall:
(1) investigate, study, and undertake ways and means of
promoting and encouraging the prosperous development and
protection of the legitimate interest and welfare of Minnesota
business, industry, and commerce, within and outside the state;
(2) locate markets for manufacturers and processors and aid
merchants in locating and contacting markets;
(3) investigate and study conditions affecting Minnesota
business, industry, and commerce and collect and disseminate
information, and engage in technical studies, scientific
investigations, and statistical research and educational
activities necessary or useful for the proper execution of the
powers and duties of the commissioner in promoting and
developing Minnesota business, industry, and commerce, both
within and outside the state;
(4) plan and develop an effective business information
service both for the direct assistance of business and industry
of the state and for the encouragement of business and industry
outside the state to use economic facilities within the state;
(5) compile, collect, and develop periodically, or
otherwise make available, information relating to current
business conditions;
(6) conduct or encourage research designed to further new
and more extensive uses of the natural and other resources of
the state and designed to develop new products and industrial
processes;
(7) study trends and developments in the industries of the
state and analyze the reasons underlying the trends; study costs
and other factors affecting successful operation of businesses
within the state; and make recommendations regarding
circumstances promoting or hampering business and industrial
development;
(8) serve as a clearing house for business and industrial
problems of the state; and advise small business enterprises
regarding improved methods of accounting and bookkeeping;
(9) cooperate with interstate commissions engaged in
formulating and promoting the adoption of interstate compacts
and agreements helpful to business, industry, and commerce;
(10) cooperate with other state departments, and with
boards, commissions, and other state agencies, in the
preparation and coordination of plans and policies for the
development of the state and for the use and conservation of its
resources insofar as the use, conservation, and development may
be appropriately directed or influenced by a state agency;
(11) assemble and coordinate information relative to the
status, scope, cost, and employment possibilities and the
availability of materials, equipment, and labor in connection
with public works projects, state, county, and municipal;
recommend limitations on the public works; gather current
progress information with reference to public and private works
projects of the state and its political subdivisions with
reference to conditions of employment; inquire into and report
to the governor, when requested by the governor, with respect to
any program of public state improvements and the financing
thereof; and request and obtain information from other state
departments or agencies as may be needed properly to report
thereon;
(12) study changes in population and current trends and
prepare plans and suggest policies for the development and
conservation of the resources of the state;
(13) confer and cooperate with the executive, legislative,
or planning authorities of the United States and neighboring
states and provinces and of the counties and municipalities of
such neighboring states, for the purpose of bringing about a
coordination between the development of such neighboring
provinces, states, counties, and municipalities and the
development of this state;
(14) generally, gather, compile, and make available
statistical information relating to business, trade, commerce,
industry, transportation, communication, natural resources, and
other like subjects in this state, with authority to call upon
other departments of the state for statistical data and results
obtained by them and to arrange and compile that statistical
information in a manner that seems wise;
(15) prepare an annual report to the legislature estimating
and, to the extent possible, describing the number of Minnesota
companies which have left the state or moved to surrounding
states or other countries. The report should include an
estimate of the number of jobs lost by these moves, an estimate
of the total employment payroll, average hourly wage of those
jobs lost and those created in the new location, and to the
extent possible, the reasons for each company moving out of
state, if known;
(16) publish documents and annually convene regional
meetings to inform businesses, local government units,
assistance providers, and other interested persons of changes in
state and federal law related to economic development;
(17) annually convene conferences of providers of economic
development related financial and technical assistance for the
purposes of exchanging information on economic development
assistance, coordinating economic development activities, and
formulating economic development strategies;
(18) provide business with information on the economic
benefits of energy conservation and on the availability of
energy conservation assistance; and
(19) prepare, as part of biennial budget process with an
annual interim summary for the legislature, performance measures
for each business loan or grant program within the jurisdiction
of the commissioner. Measures would include source of funds for
each program, numbers of jobs proposed or promised at the time
of application and the number of jobs created, estimated number
of jobs retained, the average salary and benefits for the jobs
resulting from the program, and the number of projects approved.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
116J.581, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [CREATION.] There is created a permanent
task force on the state's economic future and competitiveness.
The task force is composed of the governor (ex officio); the
commissioners of the departments of economic security, trade and
economic development, commerce, and labor and industry; the
chancellor of the board of trustees of the Minnesota state
colleges and universities; the president of the largest
statewide Minnesota organized labor organization as measured by
the number of its members in affiliated labor organizations; the
deans of the business schools at the University of Minnesota and
St. Thomas University and the Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of
Public Affairs; the science and technology advisor to the
governor; six representatives from private sector businesses
appointed by the governor, two from companies with more than
1,000 employees, two from companies with 101 to 1,000 employees,
and two from companies with less than 100 employees; two members
representing environmental interests; and designees of the
majority leader of the senate and the minority leader of the
house of representatives. The chair of the task force shall be
elected by the members from the private sector members. Terms
of private sector members shall be for a minimum of three years
and a maximum of five years.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.581,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [DUTIES.] The task force shall:
(1) monitor implementation of the state's economic
blueprint, particularly as it pertains to the long-range
competitiveness of Minnesota's companies, published by the
department of trade and economic development in November 1992;
(2) issue long-range policy recommendations for the state
to achieve its long-range economic goals;
(3) hold periodic forums and symposiums as appropriate,
involving renowned experts in areas pertaining to economic
development and job creation;
(4) meet on call of the chair to receive reports and to
provide ongoing counsel and advice to the legislature and the
commissioner of trade and economic development;
(5) make recommendations as to modification or numeric
changes in the economic blueprint to maintain its relevance and
significance;
(6) ensure that goals, proposals, and recommendations
should be quantified to the extent possible;
(7) utilize modern modeling tools to determine the
long-range competitive impact of past, present, and proposed
legislative action; and
(8) scrutinize all legislation that can impact the state's
economic future or the competitiveness of Minnesota enterprise.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.581,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [CONTINUATION SUNSET OF TASK FORCE.] The task
force shall not expire but shall continue until terminated by a
law specifically terminating it on January 1, 1999.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
116J.655, is amended to read:
116J.655 [YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION PROGRAM.]
The commissioner of trade and economic development shall
establish a youth entrepreneurship education program to improve
the academic and entrepreneurial skills of students and aid in
their transition from school to business creation. The program
shall strengthen local economies by creating jobs that enable
citizens to remain in their communities and to foster
cooperation among educators, economic development professionals,
business leaders, and representatives of labor. Assistance
under this section shall be available to new or existing
student-operated or school-operated businesses that have an
educational purpose, and provide service or products for
customers or clients who do not attend or work at the sponsoring
school. The commissioner may require an equal local match for
assistance under this section up to the maximum grant amount of
$20,000.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.980,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [DUTIES.] The department of trade and
economic development shall:
(1) be responsible for administering all state community
development and assistance programs, including the economic
recovery account, the outdoor recreation grant program, the
rural development board programs, the Minnesota public
facilities authority loan and grant programs, and the enterprise
zone program;
(2) be responsible for state administration of federally
funded community development and assistance programs, including
the small cities development grant program and land and water
conservation program;
(3) provide technical assistance to rural communities for
community development in cooperation with regional development
commissions;
(4) coordinate the development and review of state rural
development policies; and
(5) provide staff and consultant services to the rural
development board; and
(6) be responsible for coordinating community assistance
and development programs in cooperation with regional
development commissions.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
116N.03, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [GIFTS; GRANTS.] The board commissioner may apply
for, accept, and disburse gifts, grants, loans, or other
property from the United States, the state, private foundations,
or any other source. It; may enter into an agreement required
for the gifts, grants, or loans; and may hold, use, and dispose
of its assets in accordance with the terms of the gift, grant,
loan, or agreement. Money received by the board commissioner
under this subdivision must be deposited in a separate account
in the state treasury and invested by the state board of
investment. The amount deposited, including investment
earnings, is appropriated to the board commissioner to carry out
its duties under this section.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
116N.06, is amended to read:
116N.06 [RURAL INVESTMENT GUIDE.]
The board, after appropriate study and public hearings as
necessary, commissioner shall adopt a comprehensive state rural
investment guide consisting of policy statements, objectives,
standards, and program criteria to guide state agencies in
establishing and implementing programs relating to rural
development. The guide must recognize the community and
economic needs, the food and agricultural policy, and the
resources of rural Minnesota, and provide a plan to coordinate
and allocate public and private resources to the rural areas of
the state. The board commissioner shall submit the guide to the
appropriate committees of the legislature. The guide shall be
prepared every fourth year.
Sec. 12. [INSTRUCTION TO REVISOR.]
The revisor shall:
(1) recodify Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.655, as
Minnesota Statutes, section 121.72;
(2) recodify Minnesota Statutes, sections 116N.01,
subdivisions 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8; 116N.02, subdivision 6;
116N.03, subdivision 1; 116N.06; and 116N.08, in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 116J, making conforming changes as necessary,
correct references to those sections in Minnesota Statutes and
Minnesota Rules, and change "board" where it means the rural
development board to "commissioner" in those sections;
(3) change "rural development board" and "board" where it
means the rural development board to "commissioner" in Minnesota
Rules, chapter 4370.
Sec. 13. [REPEALER.]
Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 116J.981; 116N.01,
subdivision 2; 116N.02, subdivisions 2, 3, 4, and 5; 116N.04;
and 116N.07; Minnesota Statutes 1995 Supplement, section
116N.02, subdivision 1; and Minnesota Rules, part 4370.0010,
subpart 3, are repealed.
Presented to the governor March 23, 1996
Signed by the governor March 26, 1996, 10:17 a.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes