2003 Minnesota Statutes

     62J.694 Medical education endowment fund. 

    Subdivision 1.    Creation; use of cash reserves.  (a) 
 The medical education endowment fund is created in the state 
 treasury.  The State Board of Investment shall invest the fund 
 under section 11A.24.  All earnings of the fund must be credited 
 to the fund.  The principal of the fund must be maintained 
 inviolate, except that the principal may be used to make 
 expenditures from the fund for the purposes specified in this 
 section when the market value of the fund falls below 105 
 percent of the cumulative total of the tobacco settlement 
 payments received by the state and credited to the tobacco 
 settlement fund under section 16A.87, subdivision 2.  For 
 purposes of this section, "principal" means an amount equal to 
 the cumulative total of the tobacco settlement payments received 
 by the state and credited to the tobacco settlement fund under 
 section 16A.87, subdivision 2.  

    (b) If the commissioner of finance determines that probable 
 receipts to the general fund will be sufficient to meet the need 
 for expenditures from the general fund for a fiscal biennium, 
 after using the cash reserves of the tobacco use prevention and 
 local public health endowment fund, excluding an amount 
 sufficient to meet the annual appropriations in section 144.395, 
 subdivision 2, the commissioner may use cash reserves of the 
 medical education endowment fund, excluding the amounts needed 
 to meet the appropriations described in subdivisions 2 and 2a, 
 to pay expenses of the general fund.  If cash reserves are 
 transferred to the general fund to meet cash flow needs, the 
 amount transferred, plus interest at a rate comparable to the 
 rate earned by the state on invested commissioner of finance 
 cash, as determined monthly by the commissioner, must be 
 returned to the endowment fund as soon as sufficient cash 
 balances are available in the general fund, but in any event 
 before the end of the fiscal biennium.  An amount necessary to 
 pay the interest is appropriated from the general fund.  If cash 
 reserves of the endowment fund are used to pay expenses for the 
 general fund, notwithstanding subdivision 2, paragraph (d), the 
 Academic Health Center shall be held harmless to the extent 
 possible.  When determining the fair market value of the fund, 
 for the purposes described in subdivisions 2 and 2a, the value 
 of the cash reserves transferred to the general fund must be 
 included in the determination.  

    (c) The Academic Health Center account is created as a 
 separate account in the medical education endowment fund.  The 
 account is invested under paragraph (a).  All earnings of the 
 account must be credited to the account.  The principal of the 
 account must be maintained inviolate, except that the principal 
 may be used to make expenditures from the account for the 
 purposes specified in subdivision 2a when the value of the 
 account falls below an amount equal to deposits made to the 
 account under section 16A.87, subdivision 3, paragraph (b). 

    Subd. 2.    Expenditures.  (a) Up to five percent of the 
 fair market value of the fund excluding the value of the 
 Academic Health Center account, is annually appropriated for 
 medical education activities in the state of Minnesota.  The 
 appropriations are to be transferred quarterly for the purposes 
 identified in the following paragraphs.  

    (b) For fiscal year 2000, 70 percent of the appropriation 
 in paragraph (a) is for transfer to the Board of Regents for the 
 instructional costs of health professional programs at the 
 Academic Health Center and affiliated teaching institutions, and 
 30 percent of the appropriation is for transfer to the 
 commissioner of health to be distributed for medical education 
 under section 62J.692.  

    (c) For fiscal year 2001, 49 percent of the appropriation 
 in paragraph (a) is for transfer to the Board of Regents for the 
 instructional costs of health professional programs at the 
 Academic Health Center and affiliated teaching institutions, and 
 51 percent is for transfer to the commissioner of health to be 
 distributed for medical education under section 62J.692. 

    (d) For fiscal year 2002, and each year thereafter, 42 
 percent of the appropriation in paragraph (a) is appropriated 
 for the instructional costs of health professional programs at 
 the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center, and 58 
 percent is for transfer to the commissioner of health to be 
 distributed for medical education under section 62J.692. 

    (e) A maximum of $150,000 of each annual appropriation to 
 the commissioner of health in paragraph (d) may be used by the 
 commissioner for administrative expenses associated with 
 implementing section 62J.692. 

    Subd. 2a.    Expenditure; Academic Health Center account. 
  (a) Beginning in January 2002, up to five percent of the fair 
 market value of the Academic Health Center account is annually 
 appropriated to the Board of Regents for the costs of the 
 Academic Health Center.  Appropriations are to be transferred 
 quarterly and may only be used for instructional costs of health 
 professional programs at the Academic Health Center and for 
 interdisciplinary academic initiatives within the Academic 
 Health Center, except as specified in paragraph (b). 

    (b) Of the amount appropriated under paragraph (a), 
 $4,850,000 shall be transferred annually to the commissioner of 
 health no later than April 15 of each year for distribution 
 under section 62J.692, subdivision 4. 

    Subd. 3.    Audits required.  The legislative auditor 
 shall audit endowment fund expenditures to ensure that the money 
 is spent for the purposes set out in this section. 

    Subd. 4.    Sunset.  The medical education endowment 
 fund expires June 30, 2015.  Upon expiration, the commissioner 
 of finance shall transfer the principal and any remaining 
 interest to the general fund. 

    Subd. 5.    Effective date.  This section is only in 
 effect if there are funds available in the medical education 
 endowment fund.  

    HIST: 1999 c 245 art 11 s 2; 2000 c 392 s 3,4; 1Sp2001 c 1 art 
 2 s 3-5; 2002 c 220 art 15 s 3; 2002 c 374 art 8 s 1; 2003 c 112 
 art 2 s 50; 1Sp2003 c 14 art 7 s 20