1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to Minnesota's business climate; permitting sales in this state of health 
1.3 	insurance permitted in another state under certain conditions; authorizing 
1.4 	electronic environmental assessment worksheets; modifying the definition of a 
1.5 	small employer under the Small Employer Health Benefits Act; reducing the 
1.6 	corporate franchise tax rate;amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 290.06, 
1.7 	subdivision 1; Minnesota Statutes 2009 Supplement, section 62L.02, subdivision 
1.8 	26; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 16E; 62Q.
1.9 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.10 	Section 1. [16E.23] ELECTRONIC LICENSING; ENVIRONMENTAL 
1.11 	ASSESSMENT WORKSHEETS.
1.12 	The statewide electronic licensing system must provide a means for responsible 
1.13 	governmental units to complete environmental assessment worksheets online, and must 
1.14 	include online templates that will assist responsible governmental units in completing 
1.15 	the worksheets.

1.16 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2011.

1.17 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2009 Supplement, section 62L.02, subdivision 26, is 
1.18 	amended to read:
1.19 		Subd. 26.Small employer. (a) "Small employer" means, with respect to a calendar 
1.20 	year and a plan year, a person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, or other entity 
1.21 	actively engaged in business in Minnesota, including a political subdivision of the state, 
1.22 	that employed an average of no fewer than two nor more than 50 100 current employees 
1.23 	on business days during the preceding calendar year and that employs at least two current 
1.24 	employees on the first day of the plan year. If an employer has only one eligible employee 
2.1 	who has not waived coverage, the sale of a health plan to or for that eligible employee 
2.2 	is not a sale to a small employer and is not subject to this chapter and may be treated as 
2.3 	the sale of an individual health plan. A small employer plan may be offered through a 
2.4 	domiciled association to self-employed individuals and small employers who are members 
2.5 	of the association, even if the self-employed individual or small employer has fewer than 
2.6 	two current employees. Entities that are treated as a single employer under subsection (b), 
2.7 	(c), (m), or (o) of section 414 of the federal Internal Revenue Code are considered a single 
2.8 	employer for purposes of determining the number of current employees. Small employer 
2.9 	status must be determined on an annual basis as of the renewal date of the health benefit 
2.10 	plan. The provisions of this chapter continue to apply to an employer who no longer meets 
2.11 	the requirements of this definition until the annual renewal date of the employer's health 
2.12 	benefit plan. If an employer was not in existence throughout the preceding calendar year, 
2.13 	the determination of whether the employer is a small employer is based upon the average 
2.14 	number of current employees that it is reasonably expected that the employer will employ 
2.15 	on business days in the current calendar year. For purposes of this definition, the term 
2.16 	employer includes any predecessor of the employer. An employer that has more than 50
2.17 	100 current employees but has 50 100 or fewer employees, as "employee" is defined under 
2.18 	United States Code, title 29, section 1002(6), is a small employer under this subdivision.
2.19 	(b) Where an association, as defined in section 62L.045, comprised of employers 
2.20 	contracts with a health carrier to provide coverage to its members who are small employers, 
2.21 	the association and health benefit plans it provides to small employers, are subject to 
2.22 	section 62L.045, with respect to small employers in the association, even though the 
2.23 	association also provides coverage to its members that do not qualify as small employers.
2.24 	(c) If an employer has employees covered under a trust specified in a collective 
2.25 	bargaining agreement under the federal Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, 
2.26 	United States Code, title 29, section 141, et seq., as amended, or employees whose health 
2.27 	coverage is determined by a collective bargaining agreement and, as a result of the 
2.28 	collective bargaining agreement, is purchased separately from the health plan provided 
2.29 	to other employees, those employees are excluded in determining whether the employer 
2.30 	qualifies as a small employer. Those employees are considered to be a separate small 
2.31 	employer if they constitute a group that would qualify as a small employer in the absence 
2.32 	of the employees who are not subject to the collective bargaining agreement.

2.33 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2010, and applies to 
2.34 	coverage offered, sold, issued, or renewed on or after that date.

3.1 	Sec. 3. [62Q.022] HEALTH PLANS APPROVED IN OTHER STATES; SALE IN 
3.2 	MINNESOTA PERMITTED.
3.3 		Subdivision 1.Sale permitted. An individual or group health plan, as defined in 
3.4 	section 62Q.01, subdivision 3, that meets the requirements of the laws of another state 
3.5 	may be offered, issued, sold, or renewed to a Minnesota resident or employer, regardless 
3.6 	of whether the health plan complies with the otherwise applicable requirements of this 
3.7 	state if it satisfies the requirements specified in this section.
3.8 		Subd. 2.Requirements and exemptions. (a) An individual or group health plan 
3.9 	qualifies under subdivision 1 if the commissioner of commerce or commissioner of health, 
3.10 	whichever is appropriate for the type of health plan company, has determined that:
3.11 	(1) the entity providing the health plan is a health plan company as defined in section 
3.12 	62Q.01, subdivision 4, that holds a certificate of authority under chapter 60A, 62C, 62D, 
3.13 	62H, 62N, or 64B authorizing it to do business as a health plan company in this state, 
3.14 	regardless of whether the health plan company is domiciled in this state;
3.15 	(2) the state insurance regulator in the health plan company's state of domicile is 
3.16 	accredited by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners;
3.17 	(3) the health plan company is not in a condition of insolvency, as defined in section 
3.18 	60B.03, subdivision 15, paragraph (b);
3.19 	(4) the insurance regulator in the state of domicile has reviewed and approved 
3.20 	the policy form proposed to be used in this state for compliance with the laws of the 
3.21 	domiciliary state;
3.22 	(5) the health plan provides that the health plan company will comply with sections 
3.23 	72A.20 and 72.201, relating to regulation of trade practices and claims settlement 
3.24 	practices;
3.25 	(6) the health plan and the health plan company comply with this state's underwriting, 
3.26 	premium rating bands, and minimum loss ratio requirements;
3.27 	(7) the health plan will be sold through insurance producers licensed to sell health 
3.28 	plans in this state;
3.29 	(8) the health plan company has agreed to pay, and does pay, the same taxes, 
3.30 	assessments, and other fees that apply to other health plan companies of the same type 
3.31 	doing business in this state, including assessments by the Minnesota Comprehensive 
3.32 	Health Association under chapter 62E and the Minnesota Life and Health Insurance 
3.33 	Guaranty Association under chapter 61B;
3.34 	(9) the health plan complies with all applicable federal laws; and
3.35 	(10) the health plan company's state of domicile is designated in rules adopted by the 
3.36 	Minnesota commissioner of commerce, in consultation with the commissioner of health, as 
4.1 	one of the top 25 states in effective regulation of health insurance products and companies 
4.2 	and in achieving efficient and high-quality health care outcomes for its residents.
4.3 	(b) A health plan offered, issued, sold, or renewed under this section may, but is not 
4.4 	required to, provide coverage of: (1) specific benefits; (2) care provided by specific types 
4.5 	of health care providers; and (3) categories of dependents and other persons, otherwise 
4.6 	required to be covered under the laws of this state. If a health plan does not provide 
4.7 	coverages referenced in this paragraph, the health plan company must provide to the 
4.8 	purchaser, at the time of initial purchase and each renewal, a written disclosure of the 
4.9 	otherwise-required coverage that the health plan does not cover.
4.10 	(c) A health plan company that qualifies under this section except that it is a 
4.11 	for-profit health maintenance organization, is eligible for a certificate of authority from the 
4.12 	commissioner of health on the same basis as nonprofit entities for purposes of providing 
4.13 	health plan coverage under this section, notwithstanding section 62D.03, subdivision 1, 
4.14 	and other provisions requiring that health maintenance organizations that do business 
4.15 	in this state be nonprofit entities.
4.16 	(d) The commissioner of commerce or the commissioner of health, whichever has 
4.17 	authority over the type of health plan company involved, shall enforce compliance with 
4.18 	this section.
4.19 		Subd. 3.Conflict of laws. In the event of any conflict between this section and 
4.20 	other laws of this state, this section governs.
4.21 		Subd. 4.Interstate compacts. The commissioner may seek to arrange one or more 
4.22 	interstate compacts to facilitate the operation of this section.

4.23 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2011, and applies to 
4.24 	coverage offered, issued, sold, or renewed on or after that date.

4.25 	Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 290.06, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
4.26 		Subdivision 1.Computation, corporations. The franchise tax imposed upon 
4.27 	corporations shall be computed by applying to their taxable income the rate of 9.8 7.85
4.28 	percent.

4.29 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for taxable years beginning after 
4.30 	December 31, 2009.