2006 Minnesota Statutes

256.482 COUNCIL ON DISABILITY.
    Subdivision 1. Establishment; members. There is hereby established the Council on
Disability which shall consist of 21 members appointed by the governor. Members shall be
appointed from the general public and from organizations which provide services for persons who
have a disability. A majority of council members shall be persons with a disability or parents or
guardians of persons with a disability. There shall be at least one member of the council appointed
from each of the state development regions. The commissioners of the Departments of Education,
Human Services, Health, and Human Rights and the directors of the Rehabilitation Services and
State Services for the Blind in the Department of Employment and Economic Development or their
designees shall serve as ex officio members of the council without vote. In addition, the council
may appoint ex officio members from other bureaus, divisions, or sections of state departments
which are directly concerned with the provision of services to persons with a disability.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 15.059, each member of the council appointed by
the governor shall serve a three-year term and until a successor is appointed and qualified. The
compensation and removal of all members shall be as provided in section 15.059. The governor
shall appoint a chair of the council from among the members appointed from the general public or
who are persons with a disability or their parents or guardians. Vacancies shall be filled by the
authority for the remainder of the unexpired term.
    Subd. 2. Executive director; staff. The council may select an executive director of the
council by a vote of a majority of all council members. The executive director shall be in the
unclassified service of the state and shall provide administrative support for the council and
provide administrative leadership to implement council mandates, policies, and objectives. The
executive director shall employ and direct staff authorized according to state law and necessary
to carry out council mandates, policies, activities, and objectives. The salary of the executive
director and staff shall be established pursuant to chapter 43A. The executive director and staff
shall be reimbursed for the actual and necessary expenses incurred as a result of their council
responsibilities.
    Subd. 3. Receipt of funds. Whenever any person, firm, corporation, or the federal
government offers to the council funds by the way of gift, grant, or loan, for purposes of assisting
the council to carry out its powers and duties, the council may accept the offer by majority vote
and upon acceptance the chair shall receive the funds subject to the terms of the offer. However,
no money shall be accepted or received as a loan nor shall any indebtedness be incurred except in
the manner and under the limitations otherwise provided by law.
    Subd. 4. Organization; committees. The council shall organize itself in conformity with its
responsibilities under sections 256.481 to 256.482 and shall establish committees which shall
give detailed attention to the special needs of each category of persons who have a disability.
The members of the committees shall be designated by the chair with the approval of a majority
of the council. The council shall serve as liaison in Minnesota for the president's committee on
employment of the disabled and for any other organization for which it is so designated by the
governor or state legislature.
    Subd. 5. Duties and powers. The council shall have the following duties and powers:
(1) to advise and otherwise aid the governor; appropriate state agencies, including but
not limited to the Departments of Education, Human Services, Employment and Economic
Development, and Human Rights and the Divisions of Rehabilitation Services and Services for
the Blind; the state legislature; and the public on matters pertaining to public policy and the
administration of programs, services, and facilities for persons who have a disability in Minnesota;
(2) to encourage and assist in the development of coordinated, interdepartmental goals and
objectives and the coordination of programs, services and facilities among all state departments
and private providers of service as they relate to persons with a disability;
(3) to serve as a source of information to the public regarding all services, programs and
legislation pertaining to persons with a disability;
(4) to review and make comment to the governor, state agencies, the legislature, and the
public concerning adequacy of state programs, plans and budgets for services to persons with a
disability and for funding under the various federal grant programs;
(5) to research, formulate and advocate plans, programs and policies which will serve the
needs of persons who are disabled;
(6) to advise the Departments of Labor and Industry and Employment and Economic
Development on the administration and improvement of the workers' compensation law as it
relates to programs, facilities and personnel providing assistance to workers who are injured and
disabled;
(7) to advise the Workers' Compensation Division of the Department of Labor and Industry
and the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals as to the necessity and extent of any alteration
or remodeling of an existing residence or the building or purchase of a new or different residence
which is proposed by a licensed architect under section 176.137;
(8) to initiate or seek to intervene as a party in any administrative proceeding and judicial
review thereof to protect and advance the right of all persons who are disabled to an accessible
physical environment as provided in section 16B.67; and
(9) to initiate or seek to intervene as a party in any administrative or judicial proceeding
which concerns programs or services provided by public or private agencies or organizations and
which directly affects the legal rights of persons with a disability.
    Subd. 5a.[Renumbered 16B.055, subd 2]
    Subd. 5b. Meetings. (a) Notwithstanding section 13D.01, the Minnesota State Council on
Disability 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 all
discussion and all votes of members of the council and participate in testimony;
(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 another 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 another 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 electronic means, and of the provisions of paragraph (c).
The timing and method of providing notice is governed by section 13D.04.
    Subd. 6.[Repealed, 1975 c 315 s 26]
    Subd. 7. Collection of fees. The council is empowered to establish and collect fees for
documents or technical services provided to the public. The fees shall be set at a level to reimburse
the council for the actual cost incurred in providing the document or service. All fees collected
shall be deposited into the state treasury and credited to the general fund.
    Subd. 8. Sunset. Notwithstanding section 15.059, subdivision 5, the Council on Disability
shall not sunset until June 30, 2007.
History: 1973 c 254 s 3; 1973 c 757 s 2; 1975 c 61 s 1; 1975 c 271 s 6; 1975 c 315 s 18;
1975 c 359 s 23; 1977 c 177 s 2; 1977 c 305 s 45; 1977 c 430 s 14; 1983 c 216 art 2 s 5; 1983
c 260 s 56; 1983 c 277 s 2; 1983 c 299 s 25; 1984 c 654 art 5 s 58; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75;
1986 c 444; 1987 c 354 s 6; 1988 c 629 s 50; 1989 c 335 art 1 s 185,186; art 4 s 67; 1991 c 292
art 3 s 7; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 16 s 13; 1996 c 451 art 6 s 7; 1999 c 250 art 1 s 114;
2001 c 161 s 45; 1Sp2001 c 9 art 13 s 21; 2003 c 130 s 12; 1Sp2003 c 14 art 3 s 16; 2004 c
195 s 1; 2004 c 206 s 35,52; 2005 c 56 s 1