2007 Minnesota Statutes

268A.02 COMMISSIONER; REHABILITATION COUNCIL, STAFF.
    Subdivision 1. Commissioner. The commissioner is the chief executive officer of the
Department of Employment and Economic Development and is the successor to the powers and
duties of the former assistant commissioner of vocational rehabilitation.
    Subd. 2. Rehabilitation council. The commissioner shall establish a State Rehabilitation
Council and a Statewide Independent Living Council consistent with the federal Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, Public Law 93-112, as amended. Members of the councils shall be compensated
as provided in section 15.059, subdivision 3.
    Subd. 3. Electronic or telephonic meetings. (a) Notwithstanding section 13D.01, the State
Rehabilitation Council and the Statewide Independent Living 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 all
discussion and testimony and all votes of members of the council;
(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.
History: 1976 c 332 s 2; 1977 c 305 s 22; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 7; 1986 c 444; 1988 c
689 art 2 s 19; 1993 c 97 s 2; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1995 c 82 s 12,16; 2001 c 161 s 52; 2003 c 128
art 12 s 2; 2004 c 206 s 52