1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to utilities; raising salary limit for chair 
  1.3             of public utilities commission and expanding chair's 
  1.4             duties; providing for informal dispute resolution; 
  1.5             amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 15A.0815, 
  1.6             subdivisions 2 and 3; and 216A.03, subdivision 3a, and 
  1.7             by adding a subdivision. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 15A.0815, 
  1.10  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subd. 2.  [GROUP I SALARY LIMITS.] The salaries for 
  1.12  positions in this subdivision may not exceed 95 percent of the 
  1.13  salary of the governor:  
  1.14     Commissioner of administration; 
  1.15     Commissioner of agriculture; 
  1.16     Commissioner of children, families, and learning; 
  1.17     Commissioner of commerce; 
  1.18     Commissioner of corrections; 
  1.19     Commissioner of economic security; 
  1.20     Commissioner of employee relations; 
  1.21     Commissioner of finance; 
  1.22     Commissioner of health; 
  1.23     Executive director, higher education services office; 
  1.24     Commissioner, housing finance agency; 
  1.25     Commissioner of human rights; 
  1.26     Commissioner of human services; 
  2.1      Executive director, state board of investment; 
  2.2      Commissioner of labor and industry; 
  2.3      Commissioner of natural resources; 
  2.4      Director of office of strategic and long-range planning; 
  2.5      Commissioner, pollution control agency; 
  2.6      Commissioner of public safety; 
  2.7      Commissioner, department of public service; 
  2.8      Chair of the public utilities commission; 
  2.9      Commissioner of revenue; 
  2.10     Commissioner of trade and economic development; 
  2.11     Commissioner of transportation; and 
  2.12     Commissioner of veterans affairs. 
  2.13     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 15A.0815, 
  2.14  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.15     Subd. 3.  [GROUP II SALARY LIMITS.] The salaries for 
  2.16  positions in this subdivision may not exceed 85 percent of the 
  2.17  salary of the governor: 
  2.18     Ombudsman for corrections; 
  2.19     Executive director of gambling control board; 
  2.20     Commissioner, iron range resources and rehabilitation 
  2.21  board; 
  2.22     Commissioner, bureau of mediation services; 
  2.23     Ombudsman for mental health and retardation; 
  2.24     Chair, metropolitan council; 
  2.25     Executive director of pari-mutuel racing; 
  2.26     Executive director, public employees retirement 
  2.27  association; 
  2.28     Commissioner other than the chair, public utilities 
  2.29  commission; 
  2.30     Executive director, state retirement system; and 
  2.31     Executive director, teachers retirement association. 
  2.32     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 216A.03, 
  2.33  subdivision 3a, is amended to read: 
  2.34     Subd. 3a.  [POWERS AND DUTIES OF CHAIR.] The chair shall be 
  2.35  the principal executive officer of the commission and shall 
  2.36  preside at meetings of the commission.  The responsibilities of 
  3.1   the chair shall organize include: 
  3.2      (1) organizing the work of the commission and may make; 
  3.3      (2) making assignments to commission members, appoint 
  3.4   committees and give as appropriate; 
  3.5      (3) appointing subcommittees; 
  3.6      (4) giving direction to the commission staff through the 
  3.7   executive secretary subject to the approval of the commission.; 
  3.8      (5) supervising the work of the executive secretary; and 
  3.9      (6) in coordination with the executive secretary, 
  3.10  participating in employment and termination decisions, including 
  3.11  representing the commission in grievance proceedings; addressing 
  3.12  employee complaints and grievances; developing and implementing 
  3.13  the agency budget; testifying before legislative committees and 
  3.14  working with legislators as requested; determining agency-wide 
  3.15  training needs and initiatives; implementing computer technology 
  3.16  updates; administering and implementing relations with the 
  3.17  department of commerce, the office of the attorney general, and 
  3.18  other agencies; and developing and implementing strategies for 
  3.19  the commission to adapt to rapid changes in the industries the 
  3.20  commission oversees. 
  3.21     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 216A.03, is 
  3.22  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.23     Subd. 10.  [INFORMAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION.] (a) The chair of 
  3.24  the commission may mediate and resolve disputes between 
  3.25  providers whose services are regulated by the commission.  This 
  3.26  informal dispute resolution option is intended to furnish 
  3.27  providers with a more efficient and informal option for dispute 
  3.28  resolution than can be provided by formal proceedings before the 
  3.29  full commission or before a court. 
  3.30     (b) A complaint by a provider regarding the services or 
  3.31  practices of another provider must be submitted in writing to 
  3.32  the chair, requesting informal mediation and resolution under 
  3.33  this subdivision.  The chair may also initiate a proceeding 
  3.34  under this subdivision on the chair's own motion.  The chair may 
  3.35  designate another commissioner to hear a particular dispute. 
  3.36     (c) Upon deciding to grant a request for mediation and 
  4.1   resolution, or to initiate mediation and resolution of a dispute 
  4.2   on the chair's own motion, the chair shall give actual notice to 
  4.3   the parties to the mediation prior to the mediation session.  
  4.4   The chair shall specify in the notice any information the chair 
  4.5   determines to be important or necessary to rendering a decision 
  4.6   in the mediation.  The parties to the mediation shall provide 
  4.7   any information requested by the chair.  The chair may also 
  4.8   require concise written arguments before or after the mediation 
  4.9   session. 
  4.10     (d) Any information provided under paragraph (c), as well 
  4.11  as the discussion during the mediation itself, becomes part of 
  4.12  the mediation record.  The commission may use records of 
  4.13  mediations in establishing a pattern of behavior sufficient to 
  4.14  initiate a formal complaint against a provider regulated by the 
  4.15  commission.  A mediation record may not be used by any other 
  4.16  person or entity for any purpose. 
  4.17     (e) If the chair determines technical assistance to be 
  4.18  necessary, the chair may require the parties to contract with 
  4.19  and share the cost of one or more technical consultants chosen 
  4.20  by the chair to assist the chair in resolving the dispute. 
  4.21     (f) Within 15 days after the mediation session, the parties 
  4.22  shall inform the chair as to whether the parties have been able 
  4.23  to resolve the dispute themselves.  If the parties have not been 
  4.24  able to resolve the dispute to each party's satisfaction, the 
  4.25  chair may render and issue a written decision resolving the 
  4.26  complaint within 15 days of notice.  The decision by the chair 
  4.27  can include any resolution the commission as a whole could 
  4.28  order.  The chair may also refer the issue to the full 
  4.29  commission for resolution.  Involvement in the mediation or 
  4.30  resolution of a complaint under this section does not affect the 
  4.31  chair's ability to participate fully in the commission's 
  4.32  proceedings on the complaint or an appeal under paragraph (g).  
  4.33  The chair may discuss and present the mediation record with the 
  4.34  full commission, along with any findings made by the chair.  
  4.35     (g) Decisions by the chair under paragraph (f) are 
  4.36  appealable to the full commission.  Upon an affirmative decision 
  5.1   of a majority of the commission, the commission shall set for a 
  5.2   hearing an appeal made within ten days of the issuance of the 
  5.3   chair's decision.  Upon hearing the appeal, the commission may 
  5.4   reject, approve, or amend the decision of the chair, or may set 
  5.5   the issue aside for further proceedings before the commission.