1998 Minnesota Statutes

     196.05 Duties of commissioner. 

    Subdivision 1.    General duties.  The commissioner 
 shall: 

    (1) act as the agent of a resident of the state having a 
 claim against the United States for benefits arising out of or 
 by reason of service in the armed forces and prosecute the claim 
 without charge; 

    (2) act as custodian of veterans' bonus records; 

    (3) administer the laws relating to the providing of bronze 
 flag holders at veterans' graves for memorial purposes; 

    (4) administer the laws relating to recreational or rest 
 camps for veterans so far as applicable to state agencies; 

    (5) administer the state soldiers' assistance fund and 
 veterans' relief fund and other funds appropriated for the 
 payment of bonuses or other benefits to veterans or for the 
 rehabilitation of veterans; 

    (6) cooperate with national, state, county, municipal, and 
 private social agencies in securing to veterans and their 
 dependents the benefits provided by national, state, and county 
 laws, municipal ordinances, or public and private social 
 agencies; 

    (7) provide necessary assistance where other adequate aid 
 is not available to the dependent family of a veteran while the 
 veteran is hospitalized and after the veteran is released for as 
 long a period as is necessary as determined by the commissioner; 

    (8) act as the guardian of the estate for a minor or an 
 incompetent person receiving money from the United States 
 government when requested to do so by an agency of the United 
 States of America provided sufficient personnel are available; 

    (9) cooperate with United States governmental agencies 
 providing compensation, pensions, insurance, or other benefits 
 provided by federal law, by supplementing the benefits 
 prescribed therein, when conditions in an individual case make 
 it necessary; 

    (10) assist in implementing state laws, rights, and 
 privileges relating to the reemployment of veterans upon their 
 separation from the armed forces; 

    (11) contact, at times as the commissioner deems proper, 
 war veterans, as defined in section 197.447, who are confined in 
 a public institution; investigate the treatment accorded those 
 veterans and report annually to the governor the results of the 
 investigations; and the heads of the public institutions shall 
 permit the commissioner, or the commissioner's representative, 
 to visit any veteran; and, if the commissioner, or the 
 commissioner's representative requests any information relative 
 to any veteran and the veteran's affairs, the head of the 
 institution shall furnish it; 

    (12) assist dependent family members of military personnel 
 who are called from reserve status to extended federal active 
 duty during a time of war or national emergency through the 
 state soldiers' assistance fund provided by section 197.03; and 

    (13) exercise other powers as may be authorized and 
 necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter and 
 chapters 197 and 198, consistent with those chapters. 

    Subd. 2.    Mission; efficiency.  It is part of the 
 department's mission that within the department's resources the 
 commissioner shall endeavor to: 

    (1) prevent the waste or unnecessary spending of public 
 money; 

    (2) use innovative fiscal and human resource practices to 
 manage the state's resources and operate the department as 
 efficiently as possible; 

    (3) coordinate the department's activities wherever 
 appropriate with the activities of other governmental agencies; 

    (4) use technology where appropriate to increase agency 
 productivity, improve customer service, increase public access 
 to information about government, and increase public 
 participation in the business of government; 

    (5) utilize constructive and cooperative labor-management 
 practices to the extent otherwise required by chapters 43A and 
 179A; 

    (6) report to the legislature on the performance of agency 
 operations and the accomplishment of agency goals in the 
 agency's biennial budget according to section 16A.10, 
 subdivision 1; and 

    (7) recommend to the legislature appropriate changes in law 
 necessary to carry out the mission and improve the performance 
 of the department. 

    HIST: 1943 c 420 s 5; 1947 c 172 s 1; 1963 c 132 s 1; 1969 c 
 275 s 2; 1980 c 414 s 3; 1986 c 444; 1988 c 699 s 3; 1991 c 123 
 s 1,5; 1995 c 248 art 11 s 15; 1998 c 366 s 61