SF 1532

as introduced - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 02/28/2017 09:45am

A bill for an act
relating to higher education; establishing a new measurement of economic welfare;
requiring the inclusion of the economic measure in the state budget forecast;
appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 16A.103,
subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 137.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 16A.103, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

State revenue and expenditures.

In February and November each year,
the commissioner shall prepare a forecast of state revenue and expenditures. The November
forecast must be delivered to the legislature and governor no later than the end of the first
week of December. The February forecast must be delivered to the legislature and governor
by the end of February. Forecasts must be delivered to the legislature and governor on the
same day. If requested by the Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy,
delivery to the legislature must include a presentation to the commission. Each forecast
document must compare the genuine progress indicator value derived under section 137.45
against other measures of state economic growth or well-being included in the forecast.

Sec. 2.

[137.45] GENUINE PROGRESS INDICATOR.

Subdivision 1.

Definition.

For the purposes of this section, "genuine progress indicator"
means a measure of economic welfare that includes, but is not limited to, the following
components:

(1) personal consumption expenditures, adjusted for income inequality;

(2) a measure of income and wealth distribution;

(3) the value of household labor;

(4) the value of volunteer work;

(5) services of household capital;

(6) services of highways and streets, including but not limited to public transportation;

(7) the cost of crime;

(8) the cost of lost leisure time;

(9) the cost of underemployment;

(10) the cost of consumer durable goods;

(11) the cost of commuting;

(12) the cost of household pollution abatement;

(13) the cost of automobile accidents;

(14) the cost of water, air, and noise pollution;

(15) the loss of wetlands, farmland, and nonrenewable resources;

(16) the costs of ozone depletion and lost forest cover;

(17) net capital investment; and

(18) net foreign lending and borrowing.

Subd. 2.

Calculation.

The Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University
of Minnesota, in consultation with other relevant academic departments and the advisory
board established in this section, shall calculate a genuine progress indicator for the state
of Minnesota.

Subd. 3.

Report required.

(a) By January 15 of each year, the board shall report to the
senate Finance Committee, the house of representatives Ways and Means Committee, the
house of representatives State Government Finance Committee, and the legislative
committees with jurisdiction over economic development and higher education an estimate
of a genuine progress indicator for the previous year. At a minimum, the report must describe
recent changes in the indicator, the components of the indicator that changed significantly
during the previous year, and a comparison of the indicator with other measures of state
economic growth or well-being.

(b) The board must make available on its Web site the report required in this subdivision
and the data used to calculate its components.

Subd. 4.

Advisory board.

The Board of Regents shall establish an advisory board to
guide the work of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research on the genuine progress
indicator. The board must include legislators, the state economist, the state demographer,
representatives of relevant executive branch agencies, and representatives of relevant
nonprofit research organizations.

Sec. 3. APPROPRIATION; GENUINE PROGRESS INDICATOR.

$....... in fiscal year 2018 and $....... in fiscal year 2019 are appropriated from the general
fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota for the Bureau of Business
and Economic Research to calculate a genuine progress indicator for the state of Minnesota
and report the results, as described in Minnesota Statutes, section 137.45.