Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
MARSS Working Group - 10/26/17
Minutes
Members Present
Bert Black, Denise Collins, Rebecca Gaspard, Kerstin Forsythe Hahn, Wendy Legge, Mary H. Lynn, Jodi Pope, Beth Scheffer, Patricia Winget.
Members Excused
None.
The following materials were handed out:
The meeting of the MARSS Working Group held in the conference room of the Board of Cosmetology was called to order by Kerstin Forsythe Hahn at 2:03 p.m. The working group has agreed that they are following the requirements of the open meeting law.
Odyssey Fund Discussion:
Dave Osteraas and Jon Eichten from MN.IT presented and took questions on the Odyssey Funds program authorized under Minnesota Statutes, section 16E.21. They explained the timeline for submitting applications, the range in sizes of projects funded through this mechanism, and the application and approval process. Working Group members noted that the MARSS project has already been planned, and a main difficulty with MARSS is operational funding. Presenters explained that Odyssey Funds are usually set up on a one-time or per-phase basis, and have not been used to fund ongoing operations. Presenters noted that a difficulty in multi-agency projects is defining project governance structure. Working Group decided to examine section 16E.21 and address further questions and answers at the next meeting.
Review and Approval of Meeting Minutes:
The Minutes of the meeting held October 4, 2017 were amended: in the first bullet point under Discussion of Agency Support, regarding the Office of Administrative Hearings, “cost as-is” was deleted and replaced by “the cost of the project as proposed”. Motion to approve the Minutes of the meeting held October 4, 2017 by Denise Collins. Carries as amended. The Office of Administrative Hearings also noted they do not support any changes to Minnesota Statutes, chapter 14.
Review of Tentative Legislative Report Outline and Revisit Scope:
Kerstin Forsythe Hahn distributed copies of a proposed outline for the report and presented the various sections. The Working Group briefly discussed whether the scope document should be included and recommended that the topic be revisited at the next meeting.
Funding Brainstorm Continued:
The Working Group suggested that members ask department CFOs and CBOs about the likelihood they would support the Odyssey Fund mechanism and report back at the next meeting. It was noted that change in administration could affect department priorities by the time application for an Odyssey project would occur. It was noted that document archiving projects have been approved through the Arts and Cultural Heritage fund. The Working Group recommended that the chair ask the Revisor and members of the Arts and Cultural Heritage board and bring that information to the next meeting. Group members clarified that advertisement and private sector funding are personal ideas, not recommendations of a department or office.
Discussion of Meetings with Records Managers:
The Department of Health will continue to maintain paper copies if MARSS is implemented; the digital archive would be duplicative. The Secretary of State’s office would see marginal cost-savings. The Department of Education would continue keeping paper records; they anticipate public inquiries will continue to go through the department. Staff in the Department of Transportation are excited about a durable website and digital archive eliminating their many boxes and paper indices. The Working Group noted that digital archives could be made directly accessible to department staff who need to send copies to the public.
Other Issues:
The Working Group sought further clarification of the Office of Administrative Hearings’s position regarding statutory changes in chapter 14. The group noted that changes in the chapter would affect control of the official rulemaking archive and each department’s rulemaking docket. The office clarified that they oppose any change that results in the office losing any authority over the rulemaking process. The office does not oppose changing the official record to a digital record.
Next Meeting Dates and Locations:
The final two meetings of the working group will take place in either the State Office Building or the Senate Office Building so legislative staff can attend.
Adjourn 4:00 p.m.