1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to health; establishing a minority health 
  1.3             steering committee to promote data collection and 
  1.4             analysis of minority health issues; establishing a 
  1.5             grant program to fund minority health and wellness 
  1.6             programs; permitting establishment of an advisory 
  1.7             committee to oversee grant allocations; appropriating 
  1.8             money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota 
  1.9             Statutes, chapter 144. 
  1.10  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.11     Section 1.  [MINORITY HEALTH INITIATIVE.] 
  1.12     The purposes of Minnesota Statutes, section 144.18, are to 
  1.13  expand and increase information and statistical research on 
  1.14  minority health in Minnesota, building from recommendations of 
  1.15  the 1997 populations of color in Minnesota health status report, 
  1.16  to support and evaluate policies and programs that address 
  1.17  minority health issues, and to facilitate communication about 
  1.18  minority health issues in Minnesota among, but not limited to, 
  1.19  the Minnesota department of health, other state agencies, the 
  1.20  state minority councils, community health and human services 
  1.21  organizations, and organizations representing minorities. 
  1.22     Sec. 2.  [144.18] [MINORITY HEALTH INITIATIVE.] 
  1.23     Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this 
  1.24  section, the following terms have the meanings given them: 
  1.25     (1) "commissioner" means the commissioner of health; 
  1.26     (2) "minority" means a person who is Black, Asian or 
  1.27  Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, or of 
  2.1   Hispanic origin; and 
  2.2      (3) "state minority councils" means the council on affairs 
  2.3   of Chicano/Latino people, the council on Black Minnesotans, and 
  2.4   the council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans. 
  2.5      Subd. 2.  [MINORITY HEALTH STEERING COMMITTEE.] (a) The 
  2.6   commissioner, through the office of minority health, shall 
  2.7   appoint a steering committee of 15 people to assist the 
  2.8   commissioner in: 
  2.9      (1) recommending standards and procedures for expanding the 
  2.10  current database of information on minority health issues in the 
  2.11  state; 
  2.12     (2) recommending issues that should be given priority for 
  2.13  increased statistical research; 
  2.14     (3) reviewing collected data on minority health and 
  2.15  evaluating data collection standards and procedures; 
  2.16     (4) providing qualitative information to supplement data or 
  2.17  to provide an alternative interpretation of data; and 
  2.18     (5) recommending additional areas for research on minority 
  2.19  health issues.  
  2.20     (b) The steering committee must include, but not be limited 
  2.21  to, persons who have advised or are advising the office of 
  2.22  minority health on the 1997 populations of color in Minnesota 
  2.23  health status report and representatives from the state minority 
  2.24  councils.  The committee must include at least one member from 
  2.25  each of the state minority councils.  
  2.26     (c) The terms of the members are three years, except for 
  2.27  members initially appointed to the committee, with the terms of 
  2.28  one-third of the members expiring on July 31 of each year 
  2.29  beginning in 1998.  For members initially appointed to the 
  2.30  committee, one-third of the members shall serve until July 31, 
  2.31  1998, and one-third of the members shall serve until July 31, 
  2.32  1999.  
  2.33     (d) The commissioner shall convene an initial meeting of 
  2.34  the steering committee no later than August 15, 1997.  The 
  2.35  steering committee shall establish minimum annual meeting 
  2.36  requirements and shall regularly report its findings and 
  3.1   recommendations to the commissioner. 
  3.2      Subd. 3.  [DUTIES OF THE COMMISSIONER.] The commissioner 
  3.3   shall prepare and transmit to the legislature, in accordance 
  3.4   with section 3.195 and no later than January 15, 1999, a written 
  3.5   report identifying the legal and administrative barriers that 
  3.6   hinder the sharing of minority health information among 
  3.7   executive branch agencies and recommending remedies for these 
  3.8   barriers.  In preparing the report, the commissioner shall 
  3.9   consult with and seek advice from appropriate state agencies and 
  3.10  offices, including the commissioner of planning, the 
  3.11  commissioner of administration, the state demographer, the 
  3.12  commissioner of revenue, the commissioner of commerce, the 
  3.13  Minnesota health data institute, the health care commission, and 
  3.14  the Minnesota office of technology. 
  3.15     Subd. 4.  [ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.] The 
  3.16  commissioner shall establish a grant program, to be administered 
  3.17  by the office of minority health, targeted at supporting 
  3.18  minority health and wellness programs that focus on prevention 
  3.19  of illness and disease, health education, and health promotion.  
  3.20  Grants shall be awarded to nonprofit organizations in Minnesota 
  3.21  that provide health and wellness programs to members of minority 
  3.22  communities or that conduct public policy research on minority 
  3.23  health issues.  The commissioner, through the office of minority 
  3.24  health, shall establish funding guidelines for the grant program 
  3.25  and shall place priority on funding the following types of 
  3.26  projects: 
  3.27     (1) projects that do not duplicate existing initiatives; 
  3.28     (2) public policy research projects; 
  3.29     (3) pilot projects that have the capacity to be replicated 
  3.30  and broadly disseminated to other organizations; 
  3.31     (4) community-based projects; 
  3.32     (5) projects that involve collaboration among various 
  3.33  entities, the result of which would positively impact the health 
  3.34  of minorities; 
  3.35     (6) projects that would impact multiple generations; and 
  3.36     (7) projects that develop evaluation and outcome measures 
  4.1   that the department of health may disseminate to other agencies 
  4.2   and organizations. 
  4.3      Subd. 5.  [GRANTS PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.] The 
  4.4   commissioner may, with the advice of the steering committee 
  4.5   established under subdivision 2, appoint an independent advisory 
  4.6   committee of 25 people to review and make recommendations to the 
  4.7   commissioner regarding grant requests.  The terms, compensation, 
  4.8   and removal of members are governed by section 15.059, except 
  4.9   that members do not receive per diem compensation.  The advisory 
  4.10  committee may include, but not be limited to, representatives 
  4.11  from community and culturally based organizations, unions, 
  4.12  businesses, educational institutions, and the health care 
  4.13  industry.  Members of the advisory committee must represent the 
  4.14  geographic diversity of the state.  The advisory committee shall 
  4.15  establish minimum annual meeting requirements and, if 
  4.16  established, shall expire on June 30, 2001. 
  4.17     Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  4.18     (a) $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  4.19  commissioner of health for the biennium ending June 30, 1999, to 
  4.20  expand the current database of information on minority health in 
  4.21  Minnesota and to increase statistical research on priority 
  4.22  issues identified by the office of minority health. 
  4.23     (b) $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  4.24  commissioner of health for the biennium ending June 30, 1999 to 
  4.25  provide grants under Minnesota Statutes, section 144.18, 
  4.26  subdivision 4. 
  4.27     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.28     Section 2 is effective the day following final enactment.