2006 Minnesota Statutes

245.03 DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES ESTABLISHED; COMMISSIONER.
    Subdivision 1. Establishment. There is created a Department of Human Services. A
commissioner of human services shall be appointed by the governor under the provisions of
section 15.06. The commissioner shall be selected on the basis of ability and experience in
welfare and without regard to political affiliations. The commissioner shall appoint a deputy
commissioner.
    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, including the authority to consolidate
different nonentitlement grant programs, having similar functions or serving similar populations,
as may be determined by the commissioner, while protecting the original purposes of the
programs. Nonentitlement grant funds consolidated by the commissioner shall be reflected in the
department's biennial budget. With approval of the commissioner, vendors who are eligible for
funding from any of the commissioner's granting authority under section 256.01, subdivision
2 , paragraph (1), clause (f), may submit a single application for a grant agreement including
multiple awards;
(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.
History: 1953 c 593 s 1; 1965 c 45 s 17; 1969 c 1129 art 8 s 6; 1977 c 305 s 30; 1984 c 654
art 5 s 58; 1995 c 248 art 11 s 18; 1997 c 203 art 9 s 2; 1998 c 366 s 64