2007 Minnesota Statutes

144.396 TOBACCO USE PREVENTION.
    Subdivision 1. Purpose. The legislature finds that it is important to reduce the prevalence of
tobacco use among the youth of this state. It is a goal of the state to reduce tobacco use among
youth by 25 percent by the year 2005, and to promote statewide and local tobacco use prevention
activities to achieve this goal.
    Subd. 2. Measurable outcomes. The commissioner, in consultation with other public,
private, or nonprofit organizations involved in tobacco use prevention efforts, shall establish
measurable outcomes to determine the effectiveness of the grants receiving funds under this
section in reducing the use of tobacco among youth.
    Subd. 3. Statewide assessment. The commissioner of health shall conduct a statewide
assessment of tobacco-related behaviors and attitudes among youth to establish a baseline to
measure the statewide effect of tobacco use prevention activities. The commissioner of education
must provide any information requested by the commissioner of health as part of conducting the
assessment. To the extent feasible, the commissioner of health should conduct the assessment so
that the results may be compared to nationwide data.
    Subd. 4. Process. (a) The commissioner shall develop the criteria and procedures to allocate
the grants under this section. In developing the criteria, the commissioner shall establish an
administrative cost limit for grant recipients. The outcomes established under subdivision 2 must
be specified to the grant recipients receiving grants under this section at the time the grant is
awarded.
(b) A recipient of a grant under this section must coordinate its tobacco use prevention
activities with other entities performing tobacco use prevention activities within the recipient's
service area.
    Subd. 5. Statewide tobacco prevention grants. (a) To the extent funds are appropriated
for the purposes of this subdivision, the commissioner of health shall award competitive grants
to eligible applicants for projects and initiatives directed at the prevention of tobacco use. The
project areas for grants include:
(1) statewide public education and information campaigns which include implementation at
the local level; and
(2) coordinated special projects, including training and technical assistance, a resource
clearinghouse, and contracts with ethnic and minority communities.
(b) Eligible applicants may include, but are not limited to, nonprofit organizations, colleges
and universities, professional health associations, community health boards, and other health care
organizations. Applicants must submit proposals to the commissioner. The proposals must specify
the strategies to be implemented to target tobacco use among youth, and must take into account
the need for a coordinated statewide tobacco prevention effort.
(c) The commissioner must give priority to applicants who demonstrate that the proposed
project:
(1) is research based or based on proven effective strategies;
(2) is designed to coordinate with other activities and education messages related to other
health initiatives;
(3) utilizes and enhances existing prevention activities and resources; or
(4) involves innovative approaches preventing tobacco use among youth.
    Subd. 6. Local tobacco prevention grants. (a) The commissioner shall award grants to
eligible applicants for local and regional projects and initiatives directed at tobacco prevention in
coordination with other health areas aimed at reducing high-risk behaviors in youth that lead to
adverse health-related problems. The project areas for grants include:
(1) school-based tobacco prevention programs aimed at youth and parents;
(2) local public awareness and education projects aimed at tobacco prevention in
coordination with locally assessed community public health needs pursuant to chapter 145A; or
(3) local initiatives aimed at reducing high-risk behavior in youth associated with tobacco
use and the health consequences of these behaviors.
(b) Eligible applicants may include, but are not limited to, community health boards,
school districts, community clinics, Indian tribes, nonprofit organizations, and other health care
organizations. Applicants must submit proposals to the commissioner. The proposals must specify
the strategies to be implemented to target tobacco use among youth, and must be targeted to
achieve the outcomes established in subdivision 2.
(c) The commissioner must give priority to applicants who demonstrate that the proposed
project or initiative is:
(1) supported by the community in which the applicant serves;
(2) is based on research or on proven effective strategies;
(3) is designed to coordinate with other community activities related to other health
initiatives;
(4) incorporates an understanding of the role of community in influencing behavioral changes
among youth regarding tobacco use and other high-risk health-related behaviors; or
(5) addresses disparities among populations of color related to tobacco use and other
high-risk health-related behaviors.
(d) The commissioner shall divide the state into specific geographic regions and allocate
a percentage of the money available for distribution to projects or initiatives aimed at that
geographic region. If the commissioner does not receive a sufficient number of grant proposals
from applicants that serve a particular region or the proposals submitted do not meet the criteria
developed by the commissioner, the commissioner shall provide technical assistance and expertise
to ensure the development of adequate proposals aimed at addressing the public health needs of
that region. In awarding the grants, the commissioner shall consider locally assessed community
public health needs pursuant to chapter 145A.
    Subd. 7. Local public health promotion and protection. The commissioner shall
distribute funds appropriated for the purpose of local health promotion and protection activities
to community health boards for local health initiatives other than tobacco prevention aimed at
high risk health behaviors among youth. The commissioner shall distribute these funds to the
community health boards based on demographics and other need-based factors relating to health.
    Subd. 8. Coordination. The commissioner shall coordinate the projects and initiatives
funded under this section with the tobacco use prevention efforts of the Minnesota partnership
for action against tobacco, community health boards, and other public, private, and nonprofit
organizations and the tobacco prevention efforts that are being conducted on the national level.
    Subd. 9. Evaluation. (a) Using the outcome measures established in subdivision 2, the
commissioner of health shall conduct a biennial evaluation of the statewide and local tobacco
use prevention projects and community health board activities funded under this section. The
evaluation must include:
(1) the effect of these activities on the amount of tobacco use by youth and rates at which
youth start to use tobacco products; and
(2) a longitudinal tracking of outcomes for youth.
Grant recipients and community health boards shall cooperate with the commissioner in
the evaluation and provide the commissioner with the information necessary to conduct the
evaluation. Beginning January 15, 2003, the results of each evaluation must be submitted to the
chairs and members of the house Health and Human Services Finance Committee and the senate
Health and Family Security Budget Division.
(b) A maximum of $150,000 of the annual appropriation described in section 144.395,
subdivision 2 , paragraph (c), that is appropriated on July 1, 2000, and in every odd-numbered year
thereafter, may be used by the commissioner to establish and maintain tobacco use monitoring
systems and to conduct the evaluations. This appropriation is in addition to the appropriation in
section 144.395, subdivision 2, paragraph (d).
    Subd. 10. Report. The commissioner of health shall submit a biennial report to the chairs
and members of the house Health and Human Services Finance Committee and the senate Health
and Family Security Budget Division on the statewide and local projects and community health
board prevention activities funded under this section. These reports must include information
on grant recipients, activities that were conducted using grant funds, and evaluation data and
outcome measures, if available. These reports are due by January 15 of the odd-numbered
years, beginning in 2001.
    Subd. 11. Audits. The legislative auditor may audit tobacco use prevention and local public
health expenditures to ensure that the money is spent for tobacco use prevention measures and
public health initiatives.
    Subd. 12. Funds not to supplant existing funding. Funds appropriated to the statewide
tobacco prevention grants, local tobacco prevention grants, or the local public health promotion
and prevention must not be used as a substitute for traditional sources of funding tobacco use
prevention activities or public health initiatives. Any local unit of government receiving money
under this section must ensure that existing local financial efforts remain in place.
    Subd. 13.[Repealed, 2000 c 488 art 11 s 12]
History: 1999 c 245 art 11 s 5; 2000 c 488 art 11 s 5,6; 2003 c 130 s 12; 1Sp2003 c 14 art
7 s 35-40