2007 Minnesota Statutes

116L.665 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL.
    Subdivision 1. Creation. The governor's Workforce Development Council is created under
the authority of the Workforce Investment Act, United States Code, title 29, section 2801, et seq.
Local workforce development councils are authorized under the Workforce Investment Act. The
governor's Workforce Development Council serves as Minnesota's Workforce Investment Board
for the purposes of the federal Workforce Investment Act.
    Subd. 2. Membership. The governor's Workforce Development Council is composed of
31 members appointed by the governor. The members may be removed pursuant to section
15.059. In selecting the representatives of the council, the governor shall ensure that 50 percent
of the members come from nominations provided by local workforce councils. Local education
representatives shall come from nominations provided by local education to employment
partnerships. The 31 members shall represent the following sectors:
(a) State agencies: the following individuals shall serve on the council:
(1) commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development;
(2) commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education; and
(3) commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
(b) Business and industry: six individuals shall represent the business and industry sectors of
Minnesota.
(c) Organized labor: six individuals shall represent labor organizations of Minnesota.
(d) Community-based organizations: four individuals shall represent community-based
organizations of Minnesota. Community-based organizations are defined by the Workforce
Investment Act as private nonprofit organizations that are representative of communities or
significant segments of communities and that have demonstrated expertise and effectiveness in
the field of workforce investment and may include entities that provide job training services,
serve youth, serve individuals with disabilities, serve displaced homemakers, union-related
organizations, employer-related nonprofit organizations, and organizations serving nonreservation
Indians and tribal governments.
(e) Education: six individuals shall represent the education sector of Minnesota as follows:
(1) one individual shall represent local public secondary education;
(2) one individual shall have expertise in design and implementation of school-based
service-learning;
(3) one individual shall represent leadership of the University of Minnesota;
(4) one individual shall represent secondary/postsecondary vocational institutions;
(5) the chancellor of the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities;
and
(6) one individual shall have expertise in agricultural education.
(f) Other: two individuals shall represent other constituencies including:
(1) units of local government; and
(2) applicable state or local programs.
The speaker and the minority leader of the house of representatives shall each appoint a
representative to serve as an ex officio member of the council. The majority and minority leaders
of the senate shall each appoint a senator to serve as an ex officio member of the council.
(g) Appointment: each member shall be appointed for a term of three years from the first day
of January or July immediately following their appointment. Elected officials shall forfeit their
appointment if they cease to serve in elected office.
(h) Members of the council are compensated as provided in section 15.059, subdivision 3.
    Subd. 2a. Council meetings. (a) If compliance with section 13D.02 is impractical, the
Governor's Workforce Development Council may conduct a meeting of its members by telephone
or other electronic means so long as the following conditions are met:
(1) all members of the council participating in the meeting, wherever their physical location,
can hear one another and can hear all discussion and testimony;
(2) members of the public present at the regular meeting location of the council can hear
clearly all discussion and testimony and all votes of members of the council and, if needed,
receive those services required by sections 15.44 and 15.441;
(3) at least one member of the council is physically present at the regular meeting location;
and
(4) all votes are conducted by roll call, so each member's vote on each issue can be identified
and recorded.
(b) Each member of the council participating in a meeting by telephone or other electronic
means is considered present at the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and participating
in all proceedings.
(c) If telephone or other electronic means is used to conduct a meeting, the council, to the
extent practical, shall allow a person to monitor the meeting electronically from a remote location.
The council may require the person making such a connection to pay for documented marginal
costs that the council incurs as a result of the additional connection.
(d) If telephone or other electronic means is used to conduct a regular, special, or emergency
meeting, the council shall provide notice of the regular meeting location, of the fact that some
members may participate by telephone or other electronic means, and of the provisions of
paragraph (c). The timing and method of providing notice is governed by section 13D.04.
    Subd. 3. Purpose; duties. The governor's Workforce Development Council shall replace the
governor's Job Training Council and assume all of its requirements, duties, and responsibilities
under the Workforce Investment Act. Additionally, the Workforce Development Council shall
assume the following duties and responsibilities:
(a) Review the provision of services and the use of funds and resources under applicable
federal human resource programs and advise the governor on methods of coordinating the
provision of services and the use of funds and resources consistent with the laws and regulations
governing the programs. For purposes of this section, applicable federal and state human resource
programs mean the:
(1) Workforce Investment Act, United States Code, title 29, section 2911, et seq.;
(2) Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act, United States Code,
title 20, section 2301, et seq.;
(3) Adult Education Act, United States Code, title 20, section 1201, et seq.;
(4) Wagner-Peyser Act, United States Code, title 29, section 49;
(5) Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Act of 1996 (TANF);
(6) Food Stamp Act of 1977, United States Code, title 7, section 6(d)(4), Food Stamp
Employment and Training Program, United States Code, title 7, section 2015(d)(4); and
(7) programs defined in section 116L.19, subdivision 5.
Additional federal and state programs and resources can be included within the scope of the
council's duties if recommended by the governor after consultation with the council.
(b) Review federal, state, and local education, postsecondary, job skills training, and youth
employment programs, and make recommendations to the governor and the legislature for
establishing an integrated seamless system for providing education and work skills development
services to learners and workers of all ages.
(c) Advise the governor on the development and implementation of statewide and local
performance standards and measures relating to applicable federal human resource programs and
the coordination of performance standards and measures among programs.
(d) Promote education and employment transitions programs and knowledge and skills of
entrepreneurship among employers, workers, youth, and educators, and encourage employers to
provide meaningful work-based learning opportunities;
(e) Evaluate and identify exemplary education and employment transitions programs and
provide technical assistance to local partnerships to replicate the programs throughout the state.
(f) Advise the governor on methods to evaluate applicable federal human resource programs.
(g) Sponsor appropriate studies to identify human investment needs in Minnesota and
recommend to the governor goals and methods for meeting those needs.
(h) Recommend to the governor goals and methods for the development and coordination of
a human resource system in Minnesota.
(i) Examine federal and state laws, rules, and regulations to assess whether they present
barriers to achieving the development of a coordinated human resource system.
(j) Recommend to the governor and to the federal government changes in state or federal
laws, rules, or regulations concerning employment and training programs that present barriers to
achieving the development of a coordinated human resource system.
(k) Recommend to the governor and to the federal government waivers of laws and
regulations to promote coordinated service delivery.
(l) Sponsor appropriate studies and prepare and recommend to the governor a strategic plan
which details methods for meeting Minnesota's human investment needs and for developing and
coordinating a state human resource system.
    Subd. 4. Executive committee duties. The executive committee must, with advice and input
of local workforce councils and other stakeholders as appropriate, develop performance standards
for the state workforce centers. By January 15, 2002, and each odd-numbered year thereafter, the
executive committee shall submit a report to the senate and house committees with jurisdiction
over workforce development programs regarding the performance and outcomes of the workforce
centers. The report must provide recommendations regarding workforce center funding levels and
sources, program changes, and administrative changes.
    Subd. 5. Subcommittees. The chair of the Workforce Development Council may establish
subcommittees in order to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the council.
    Subd. 6. Staffing. The Department of Employment and Economic Development must
provide staff support to the Minnesota Workforce Development Council. The support includes
professional, technical, and clerical staff necessary to perform the duties assigned to the
Workforce Development Council. The council may ask for assistance from other units of state
government as it requires in order to fulfill its duties and responsibilities.
    Subd. 7. Expiration. The council expires if there is no federal funding for the human
resource programs within the scope of the council's duties.
History: 1995 c 131 s 1; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 16 s 13; 1996 c 395 s 18; 1Sp1997 c 4 art 3 s 19;
1998 c 397 art 11 s 3; 1998 c 398 art 3 s 9,10; 2001 c 79 s 4; 1Sp2001 c 4 art 2 s 24; 2003 c 130 s
12; 1Sp2003 c 4 s 1; 2004 c 206 s 46,52; 2005 c 163 s 55; 2007 c 13 art 3 s 11