1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to workforce development; expanding the membership of the Urban 
1.3 	Initiative Board; authorizing African heritage urban challenge grants;amending 
1.4 	Minnesota Statutes 2014, sections 116M.15, subdivision 1; 116M.18, by adding 
1.5 	a subdivision.
1.6 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 116M.15, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.8 		Subdivision 1.Creation; membership. The Urban Initiative Board is created and 
1.9 	consists of the commissioner of employment and economic development, the chair of the 
1.10 	Metropolitan Council, and ~~eight~~ 14 members from the general public appointed by the 
1.11 	governor. Six of the public members must be representatives from minority business 
1.12 	enterprises and six members must be from African heritage communities as defined in 
1.13 	section 116M.18, subdivision 4b, paragraph (b). No more than four of the public members 
1.14 	may be of one gender. ~~All public~~ Six members must be experienced in business or 
1.15 	economic development. The six African heritage members must have knowledge of, and 
1.16 	experience working to address, economic disparities in the geographic areas they represent.

1.17 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 116M.18, is amended by adding a subdivision 
1.18 	to read:
1.19 		Subd. 4b.African heritage grants. (a) Urban challenge grants may be used to 
1.20 	make grants to African heritage nonprofits to address workforce and economic disparities.
1.21 	(b) For the purposes of this section, "African heritage community" means an area in 
1.22 	Duluth, Rochester, Mankato, St. Cloud, Minneapolis, or St. Paul that has a significant 
1.23 	African heritage population and a surplus of labor.
2.1 	(c) In order to receive a grant under this subdivision, an African heritage nonprofit 
2.2 	must:
2.3 	(1) have significant board members who are of African heritage;
2.4 	(2) have its primary office in an African heritage community; and
2.5 	(3) be managed by personnel with at least five years of experience working on 
2.6 	African heritage employment disparities.
2.7 	(d) A grant recipient must:
2.8 	(1) find alternate means to support the nonprofit after five years of grant support; and
2.9 	(2) use grant funds to address one or more of the following:
2.10 	(i) the creation or operation of a business incubator in an African heritage community;
2.11 	(ii) the creation or operation of an existing entity that provides entrepreneurial and 
2.12 	financial assistance to emerging and existing African heritage or other business planning 
2.13 	to locate in an African heritage community;
2.14 	(iii) assist unemployed African heritage individuals located in African heritage 
2.15 	communities with attaining their commercial drivers' licenses;
2.16 	(iv) assist unemployed African heritage individuals located in African heritage 
2.17 	communities with attaining training and employment placement; and
2.18 	(v) the creation or operation of a business industrial park in an African heritage 
2.19 	community.
2.20 	(e) The total grants awarded under this subdivision must be $30,000,000 each 
2.21 	biennium. The grants awarded do not require a match. The Urban Initiative Board 
2.22 	must create a performance-based approach to determine eligibility for grants under this 
2.23 	subdivision.