1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government finance; authorizing 
  1.3             principles, criteria, and procedures for consolidating 
  1.4             and eliminating certain funds and accounts; requiring 
  1.5             reports; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 
  1.6             16A.53, subdivision 1, by adding subdivisions. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 16A.53, 
  1.9   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [FUND CREATES FUNDS AND ACCOUNTS CREATED BY 
  1.11  LAW.] When a law creates a fund or account in the treasury into 
  1.12  which are deposited certain revenues and out of which certain 
  1.13  expenditures are appropriated, the commissioner may consider the 
  1.14  creation of the fund or account as the creation of a bookkeeping 
  1.15  account in the state's general books of account accounting 
  1.16  system so as to reflect the revenues deposited in the treasury 
  1.17  and credited to the bookkeeping account and the expenditures 
  1.18  appropriated from the treasury and charged to the bookkeeping 
  1.19  account.  The commissioner must organize these bookkeeping 
  1.20  accounts into funds in accordance with generally accepted 
  1.21  accounting principles. 
  1.22     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 16A.53, is 
  1.23  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.24     Subd. 3.  [COMMISSIONER TO MANAGE FUNDS AND ACCOUNTS.] (a) 
  1.25  As necessary, the commissioner may eliminate an account that is 
  1.26  no longer needed for the purposes specified for it in law.  
  2.1      (b) The commissioner must eliminate an account that meets 
  2.2   the criteria in paragraph (c) unless the commissioner determines 
  2.3   that the account is necessary for efficient fiscal operation. 
  2.4      (c) Criteria for account elimination are: 
  2.5      (1) receipts to the account and transfers into the account 
  2.6   average less than $1,000 per year in the past four years; 
  2.7      (2) year-end balances in the past four years average less 
  2.8   than $1,000 per year; and 
  2.9      (3) the account has been in existence for at least four 
  2.10  years. 
  2.11     (d) Any balances in an eliminated account must be 
  2.12  transferred to the general fund unless some other disposition is 
  2.13  specified in law.  If the commissioner proposes to eliminate an 
  2.14  account established in statute, the commissioner must recommend 
  2.15  that elimination to the legislature. 
  2.16     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 16A.53, is 
  2.17  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  2.18     Subd. 4.  [REPORT.] Each agency that manages accounts 
  2.19  within a fund must report at least annually to the appropriate 
  2.20  finance committees of the legislature on the number, purpose, 
  2.21  and recent financial activity in those accounts.  The 
  2.22  commissioner must establish uniform criteria and timing for the 
  2.23  reports.