STATE OF
MINNESOTA
EIGHTY-EIGHTH
SESSION - 2013
_____________________
TWENTY-EIGHTH
DAY
Saint Paul, Minnesota, Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The House of Representatives convened at 12:00
noon and was called to order by Paul Thissen, Speaker of the House.
Prayer was offered by the Reverend Cindy
Yanchury, Advent United Methodist Church, Eagan, Minnesota.
The members of the House gave the pledge
of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
The roll was called and the following
members were present:
Abeler
Albright
Allen
Anderson, M.
Anderson, P.
Anderson, S.
Atkins
Barrett
Beard
Benson, J.
Benson, M.
Bernardy
Bly
Brynaert
Carlson
Clark
Cornish
Daudt
Davids
Davnie
Dean, M.
Dehn, R.
Dettmer
Dorholt
Drazkowski
Erhardt
Erickson, R.
Erickson, S.
Fabian
Falk
Faust
Fischer
FitzSimmons
Franson
Freiberg
Fritz
Garofalo
Green
Gruenhagen
Gunther
Halverson
Hamilton
Hansen
Hausman
Hertaus
Hilstrom
Holberg
Hoppe
Hortman
Howe
Huntley
Isaacson
Johnson, B.
Johnson, C.
Johnson, S.
Kahn
Kelly
Kieffer
Kiel
Kresha
Laine
Leidiger
Lenczewski
Lesch
Liebling
Lien
Lillie
Loeffler
Lohmer
Loon
Mahoney
Mariani
Marquart
Masin
McDonald
McNamar
McNamara
Melin
Metsa
Moran
Morgan
Mullery
Murphy, E.
Murphy, M.
Myhra
Nelson
Newberger
Newton
Nornes
Norton
O'Driscoll
O'Neill
Paymar
Pelowski
Peppin
Persell
Petersburg
Poppe
Pugh
Quam
Radinovich
Rosenthal
Runbeck
Sanders
Savick
Sawatzky
Schoen
Schomacker
Scott
Selcer
Simon
Simonson
Sundin
Swedzinski
Theis
Torkelson
Uglem
Urdahl
Wagenius
Ward, J.A.
Ward, J.E.
Wills
Winkler
Woodard
Yarusso
Zerwas
Spk.Thissen
A quorum was present.
Dill, Hackbarth, Mack, Slocum and Zellers
were excused.
Anzelc and Hornstein were excused until
1:35 p.m.
The Chief Clerk proceeded to read the
Journal of the preceding day. There
being no objection, further reading of the Journal was dispensed with and the
Journal was approved as corrected by the Chief Clerk.
REPORTS OF CHIEF CLERK
S. F. No. 359 and H. F. No. 414,
which had been referred to the Chief Clerk for comparison, were examined and
found to be identical with certain exceptions.
SUSPENSION
OF RULES
Hornstein moved that the rules be so far
suspended that S. F. No. 359 be substituted for H. F. No. 414
and that the House File be indefinitely postponed. The motion prevailed.
REPORTS OF
STANDING COMMITTEES AND DIVISIONS
Murphy, M., from the Committee on State Government Finance and Veterans Affairs to which was referred:
H. F. No. 11, A bill for an act relating to capital improvements; appropriating money to establish the Northern Minnesota Veterans Home; authorizing the sale and issuance of state bonds.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Capital Investment.
The
report was adopted.
Lesch from the Committee on Civil Law to which was referred:
H. F. No. 19, A bill for an act relating to probate; multiparty accounts; allowing agency designations in certain situations; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 524.6-201, by adding a subdivision; 524.6-203; 524.6-204; 524.6-211; 524.6-213, by adding subdivisions; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 524.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 524.6-201, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 2a. Agent. "Agent" means a person
authorized to make account transactions for a party.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 524.6-201, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. Party. "Party" means a person who, by the terms of the account, has a present right, subject to request, to payment from a multiple-party account other than as an agent. A P.O.D. payee is a party only after the account becomes payable by reason of the payee surviving the original party. Unless the context otherwise requires, it includes a guardian, conservator, personal representative, or assignee, including an attaching creditor, of a party. It also includes a person identified as a trustee of an account for another whether or not a beneficiary is named, but it does not include any named beneficiary unless the beneficiary has a present right of withdrawal.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 524.6-203, is amended to read:
524.6-203
OWNERSHIP DURING LIFETIME.
(a) A joint account belongs, during the lifetime of all parties, to the parties in proportion to the net contributions by each to the sums on deposit, unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent.
(b) A P.O.D. account belongs to
the original purchasing or depositing party during the party's lifetime and not
to the P.O.D. payee or payees; if two or more parties are named as original
parties, during their lifetimes, rights as between them are governed by clause
paragraph (a).
(c) An agent in an account with an
agency designation has no beneficial right to sums on deposit by virtue of
being named as an agent.
Sec. 4. [524.6-215]
DESIGNATION OF AGENT.
(a) By a writing signed by all parties,
or by less than all of the parties if the contract of deposit expressly so
provides, the parties may designate, as an agent of all parties on an account,
a person other than a party.
(b) Unless the terms of an agency
designation provide that the authority of the agent terminates on disability or
incapacity of a party, the agent's authority survives disability and incapacity. The agent may act for a party until the
authority of the agent is terminated by the party, by an attorney-in-fact
appointed by the party, or by a conservator appointed to protect the interests
of the party.
(c) Death of the sole party or last
surviving party terminates the authority of an agent.
(d) Except as otherwise provided for in
section 524.6-211, a financial institution is not liable for account
transactions performed at the direction of, or authorized by, an agent under an
agency designation for an account if:
(1) the financial institution has no
actual notice of the determination of the agent's authority prior to the
transaction;
(2) the financial institution has no
actual knowledge of the death of the sole party or last surviving party; or
(3) the agent's authority does not
survive the disability or incapacity of all the parties, and the financial
institution has not received actual notice of such disability or incapacity.
Sec. 5. [524.6-216]
TYPES OF ACCOUNT; EXISTING ACCOUNTS.
(a) An account may be for a single
party or multiple parties. A
multiple-party account may be with or without a right of survivorship between
the parties. Subject to section 524.6-204,
either a single-party account or a multiple-party account may have a P.O.D. designation,
an agency designation, or both.
(b) An account established before, on
or after August 1, 2013, whether in the form prescribed in section 524.6‑213
or in any other form acceptable to the financial institution, is either a
single-party account or a multiple‑party account, with or without right
of survivorship, and with or without a P.O.D. designation or an agency
designation within the meaning of this chapter, and is governed by this
chapter.
(c) An agency designation created on or
after August 1, 2013, is governed by this chapter.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 524.6-204, is amended to read:
524.6-204
RIGHT OF SURVIVORSHIP.
(a) Sums remaining on deposit at the death
of a party to a joint account belong to the surviving party or parties as
against the estate of the decedent unless:
(1) there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intention,;
or (2) there is a different disposition made by a valid will as
herein provided, specifically referring to such account, as herein
provided. If there are two or more
surviving parties, their respective ownerships during lifetime shall be in
proportion to their previous ownership interests under section 524.6-203 augmented by an equal share for each survivor of any interest the decedent may have owned in the account immediately before death; and the right of survivorship continues between the surviving parties. The interest so determined is also the interest disposable by will.
(b) If the account is a P.O.D. account, on the death of the original party or of the survivor of two or more original parties, any sums remaining on deposit belong to the P.O.D. payees if surviving, or to the survivor of them if one or more die before the surviving original party; if two or more P.O.D. payees survive, there is no right of survivorship in event of death of a P.O.D. payee thereafter unless the terms of the account or deposit agreement expressly provide for survivorship between them.
(c) In other cases, the death of any party to a multiple-party account has no effect on beneficial ownership of the account other than to transfer the rights of the decedent as part of the estate.
(d) A right of survivorship arising from the express terms of the account, or under this section, or under a P.O.D. payee designation, may be changed by specific reference by will, but the terms of such will shall not be binding upon any financial institution unless it has been given a notice in writing of a claim thereunder, in which event the deposit shall remain undisbursed until an order has been made by the probate court adjudicating the decedent's interest disposable by will.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 524.6-211, is amended to read:
524.6-211
FINANCIAL INSTITUTION PROTECTION; DISCHARGE.
Payment made pursuant to sections 524.6-208 to 524.6-210 discharges the financial institution from all claims for amounts so paid whether or not the payment is consistent with the beneficial ownership of the account as between parties, P.O.D. payees, or beneficiaries by will or otherwise, or their successors. The protection here given does not extend to payments made after a financial institution has received written notice from any person entitled to request payment to the effect that withdrawals in accordance with the terms of the account, including one having an agency designation, should not be permitted, and the financial institution has had a reasonable opportunity to act on it when the payment is made. Unless the notice is withdrawn by the person giving it, the successor of any deceased party and all other parties entitled to payment must concur in any demand for withdrawal if the financial institution is to be protected under this section. No other notice or any other information shown to have been available to a financial institution shall affect its right to the protection provided here. A financial institution that receives written notice pursuant to this section, or that otherwise has reason to believe that a dispute exists as to the rights of the parties may refuse, without liability, to make payment in accordance with the terms of the account. The protection here provided shall not affect the rights of parties in disputes between themselves or their successors concerning the beneficial ownership of funds in, or withdrawn from, multiple-party accounts.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 524.6-213, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 3. Contract
of deposit; sample form. A
contract of deposit that contains provisions in substantially the following
form establishes the type of account provided, and the account is governed by
the provisions of this part applicable to an account of that type:
UNIFORM
SINGLE- OR MULTIPLE-PARTY ACCOUNT FORM
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 524.6-213, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4. Contract of deposit; generally. A contract of deposit that does not contain provisions in substantially the form provided in subdivision 3 is governed by the provisions of this part applicable to the type of account that most nearly conforms to the depositor's intent."
Delete the title and insert:
"A bill for an act relating to accounts; allowing agency designations in certain situations; providing form language; making clarifying changes; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 524.6-201, subdivision 7, by adding a subdivision; 524.6-203; 524.6-204; 524.6-211; 524.6-213, by adding subdivisions; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 524."
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass.
The
report was adopted.
Murphy, M., from the Committee on State Government Finance and Veterans Affairs to which was referred:
H. F. No. 109, A bill for an act relating to capital investment; appropriating money for a new veterans nursing home in Brainerd; authorizing the sale and issuance of state bonds.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section 1. [198.365]
VETERANS HOME; BRAINERD.
The commissioner may establish a
veterans home in Brainerd to provide at least 70 beds for skilled nursing care
in conformance with licensing rules of the Department of Health.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment."
Delete the title and insert:
"A bill for an act relating to veterans; authorizing a veterans home in Brainerd; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 198."
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
The
report was adopted.
Nelson from the Committee on Government Operations to which was referred:
H. F. No. 128, A bill for an act relating to solid waste; amending process for cities to implement organized collection of solid waste; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 115A.94, subdivisions 2, 5, by adding subdivisions; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 115A.94, subdivision 4.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 115A.94, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Local
authority. A city or town may
organize collection, after public notification and hearing as required
in subdivision 4 subdivisions 4a to 4d. A county may organize collection as provided
in subdivision 5. A city or town that
has organized collection as of May 1, 2013, is exempt from subdivisions 4a to
4d.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 115A.94, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4a. Committee
establishment. (a) Before
implementing an ordinance, franchise, license, contract, or other means of
organizing collection, a city or town, by resolution of the governing body,
must establish an organized collection options committee to identify, examine,
and evaluate various methods of organized collection. The governing body shall appoint the
committee members.
(b) The organized collection options
committee is subject to chapter 13D.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 115A.94, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4b. Committee
duties. The committee
established under subdivision 4a shall:
(1) determine which methods of
organized collection to examine, which must include:
(i) a system in which a single
collector collects solid waste from all sections of a city or town; and
(ii) a system in which multiple
collectors, either singly or as members of an organization of collectors,
collect solid waste from different sections of a city or town;
(2) establish a list of criteria on
which the organized collection methods selected for examination will be
evaluated, which may include: costs to
residential subscribers, miles driven by collection vehicles on city streets
and alleys, initial and operating costs to the city of implementing the
organized collection system, providing incentives for waste reduction, impacts
on solid waste collectors, and other physical, economic, fiscal, social,
environmental, and aesthetic impacts;
(3) collect information regarding the
operation and efficacy of existing methods of organized collection in other
cities and towns;
(4) seek input from, at a minimum:
(i) the governing body of the city or
town;
(ii) the local official of the city or
town responsible for solid waste issues;
(iii) persons currently licensed to
operate solid waste collection and recycling services in the city or town; and
(iv) residents of the city or town who
currently pay for residential solid waste collection services; and
(5) issue a report on the committee's
research, findings, and any recommendations to the governing body of the city
or town.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 115A.94, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4c. Governing
body; implementation. The
governing body of the city or town shall consider the report and
recommendations of the organized collection options committee. The governing body must provide public notice
and hold at least one public hearing before deciding whether to implement
organized collection. Organized
collection may begin no sooner than six months after the effective date of the
decision of the governing body of the city or town to implement organized
collection.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 115A.94, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4d. Participating collectors proposal
requirement. Prior to
establishing a committee under subdivision 4a to consider
organizing residential solid waste collection, a city or town with more than
one licensed collector must notify the public and all licensed collectors in
the community. The city or town must
provide a 60-day period in which meetings and negotiations shall occur
exclusively between licensed collectors and the city or town to develop a
proposal in which interested licensed collectors, as members of an organization
of collectors, collect solid waste from designated sections of the city or town. The proposal shall include identified city or
town priorities, including issues related to zone creation, traffic, safety,
environmental performance, service provided, and price, and shall reflect
existing haulers maintaining their respective market share of business as
determined by each hauler's average customer count during the six months prior
to the commencement of the 60-day negotiation period. If an existing hauler opts to be excluded
from the proposal, the city may allocate its customers proportionally based on
market share to the participating collectors who choose to negotiate. The initial organized collection agreement
executed under this subdivision must be for a period of three to seven years. Upon execution of an agreement between the
participating licensed collectors and city or town, the city or town shall
establish organized collection through appropriate local controls and is not
required to fulfill the requirements of subdivisions 4a, 4b, and 4c, except
that the governing body must provide the public notification and hearing
required under subdivision 4c.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 115A.94, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. County organized collection. (a) A county may by ordinance require cities and towns within the county to organize collection. Organized collection ordinances of counties may:
(1) require cities and towns to require the separation and separate collection of recyclable materials;
(2) specify the material to be separated; and
(3) require cities and towns to meet any performance standards for source separation that are contained in the county solid waste plan.
(b) A county may itself organize collection
under subdivision 4 subdivisions 4a to 4d in any city or town
that does not comply with a county organized collection ordinance adopted under
this subdivision, and the county may implement, as part of its organized
collection, the source separation program and performance standards required by
its organized collection ordinance.
Sec. 7. REPEALER.
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section
115A.94, subdivision 4, is repealed.
Sec. 8. EFFECTIVE
DATE.
This act is effective the day following final enactment."
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources Policy.
The
report was adopted.
Paymar from the Committee on Public Safety Finance and Policy to which was referred:
H. F. No. 142, A bill for an act relating to public safety; enhancing penalties for certain repeat criminal sexual conduct offenders; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 609.3451, subdivision 3.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Judiciary Finance and Policy.
The
report was adopted.
Pursuant
to Joint Rule 2.03 and in accordance with Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 4,
H. F. No. 142 was re-referred to the Committee on Rules and Legislative Administration.
Carlson from the Committee on Ways and Means to which was referred:
H. F. No. 152, A bill for an act relating to transportation; establishing a transportation ombudsperson; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 174.02, by adding a subdivision.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill pass.
The
report was adopted.
Murphy, M., from the Committee on State Government Finance and Veterans Affairs to which was referred:
H. F. No. 221, A bill for an act relating to capital improvements; authorizing the sale and issuance of state bonds; appropriating money for a veterans home in Montevideo.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Capital Investment.
The
report was adopted.
Liebling from the Committee on Health and Human Services Policy to which was referred:
H. F. No. 256, A bill for an act relating to human services; repealing the MFIP family cap; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 256J.24, subdivision 6.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Finance.
The
report was adopted.
Nelson from the Committee on Government Operations to which was referred:
H. F. No. 262, A bill for an act relating to health; creating a grant program for spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury research; establishing the spinal cord and traumatic brain injury advisory committee; appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 144.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Finance.
The
report was adopted.
Lesch from the Committee on Civil Law to which was referred:
H. F. No. 300, A bill for an act relating to tenant's rights; creating a notice to quit or pay prior to filing an eviction action; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 504B.285, subdivision 1; 504B.291, by adding a subdivision; 504B.321, by adding a subdivision.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill pass.
The
report was adopted.
Erhardt from the Committee on Transportation Policy to which was referred:
H. F. No. 348, A bill for an act relating to transportation; modifying application procedures and requirements for driver's license; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 171.06, subdivision 3; repealing Minnesota Rules, part 7410.0410.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 3, line 5, delete "an official"
Page 3, delete lines 6 to 10 and insert "a valid, unexpired passport issued by a country other than the United States with a certified birth certificate from a country other than the United States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, or the United States Virgin Islands. A passport and birth certificate under this paragraph must have"
Page 3, line 11, delete "(4)" and delete "card" and insert "document"
Page 3, line 13, after the period, insert "Any document not in English must be accompanied by a qualified English translation."
Page 3, after line 13, insert:
"(f) A driver's license, permit, or identification card issued based on providing a government identification card must include the term "status check" without a date."
Page 3, line 14, after "2014" insert ", and applies to a new driver's license, permit, or identification card or a renewal issued on or after that date"
Page 3, delete section 2
Correct the title numbers accordingly
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Transportation Finance.
The
report was adopted.
Mariani from the Committee on Education Policy to which was referred:
H. F. No. 356, A bill for an act relating to education; allowing school districts to use safe schools levy proceeds for collaborating with mental health professionals; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 126C.44.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 1, line 10, strike "$30" and insert "$45"
Page 2, line 11, strike "$10" and insert "$15"
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Education Finance.
The
report was adopted.
Mariani from the Committee on Education Policy to which was referred:
H. F. No. 361, A bill for an act relating to education; providing education in care and treatment settings; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 124D.68, subdivision 2; 125A.11, subdivision 2; 125A.20; 125A.51; 125A.515, subdivision 1; 125A.75, subdivision 3; 126C.05, subdivision 1; 245.4871, subdivision 10; proposing coding for new law as Minnesota Statutes, chapter 125E; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 125A.11; 125A.15; 125A.515, subdivisions 3, 3a, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10; 125A.52.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Education Finance.
The
report was adopted.
Murphy, M., from the Committee on State Government Finance and Veterans Affairs to which was referred:
H. F. No. 460, A bill for an act relating to capital investment; appropriating money for a new veterans nursing home in Brainerd; authorizing the sale and issuance of state bonds.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Capital Investment.
The
report was adopted.
Lesch from the Committee on Civil Law to which was referred:
H. F. No. 536, A bill for an act relating to real property; establishing notice for contracts for deed involving residential property; providing remedies; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 507.235, subdivision 2; 559.211, subdivision 2; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 559; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 507.235, subdivision 4.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 2, line 4, delete
everything after "seller" and insert "during the
12-month period that precedes either:
(1) the date
Page 2, line 5, delete "any calendar year"
Page 2, line 28, delete the comma
Page 2, line 31, after the semicolon, insert "and"
Page 2, delete lines 32 and 33
Page 2, line 34, delete "(3)" and insert "(2)"
Page 3, line 3, delete "if the multiple seller cannot produce a copy of the notice signed and" and insert "unless the original executed contract for deed contains the following statement: "By initialing here ....... purchaser acknowledges receipt at least five business days before signing this contract for deed of the disclosure statement entitled "Important Information About Contracts for Deed" required by Minnesota Statutes, section 559.202, subdivision 3.""
Page 3, line 4, delete "dated by the purchaser."
Page 4, line 9, delete "You can cancel it and get your money back if you didn't get this notice five business" and insert "If you haven't already signed the contract for deed, you can cancel the purchase agreement (and get all your money back) if you do so within five business days after getting this notice."
Page 4, delete line 10
Page 4, line 27, delete "The amount due to the purchaser may," and delete the comma and after "option" insert "an amount not to exceed $2,500 may"
Page 4, line 33, delete "treble" and insert "triple" and delete "and" and insert "or"
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Rules and Legislative Administration.
The
report was adopted.
Lesch from the Committee on Civil Law to which was referred:
H. F. No. 573, A bill for an act relating to insurance; regulating the public employees insurance program; requiring participation by certain school employers; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 43A.316, subdivisions 2, 4, 5, by adding subdivisions.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 5, line 27, delete "deemed by the commissioner as" and insert "reasonably"
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on State Government Finance and Veterans Affairs.
The
report was adopted.
Nelson from the Committee on Government Operations to which was referred:
H. F. No. 592, A bill for an act relating to education finance; authorizing the Perpich Center for Arts Education to operate a voluntary integration magnet school; transferring staff and facilities; modifying funding formulas; appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 129C.10, subdivision 3, by adding a subdivision; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 129C.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 5, delete subdivision 2 and insert:
"Subd. 2. Staff
transferred; contracts to remain separate.
On or before April 10, 2013, the Perpich Center for Arts
Education must notify all licensed and unlicensed employees of the East Metro
Integration District assigned to the
Crosswinds school as of February 1, 2013, except administrative employees, of
open positions for the 2013-2014 school year. Employees shall notify the Perpich Center for
Arts Education within 30 days if they request appointment to a position. All requests must be granted. The commissioner of management and budget
shall assign these employees to the appropriate job classes in the state civil
service. Terms and conditions of
employment for the transferred employees on and after August 1, 2013, shall be
determined by the collective bargaining agreement or compensation plan
applicable to each job class, provided that:
(1) a person who becomes a state
employee under this section will have seniority with the state as of the date
the person became an employee of the East Metro Integration District;
(2) if a person took a leave of absence
from another school district to become an employee of the East Metro
Integration District, the person will have seniority with the state as of the
date the person first became an employee of the school district from which the
employee took the leave of absence;
(3) a separate seniority list shall be
maintained for the Crosswinds site of the Perpich Center for Arts Education
from the seniority list for the Golden Valley site;
(4) the staff member shall receive the
greater of:
(i) credit on the appointing salary
schedule for the Perpich Center for Arts Education for the staff member's years
of continuous service under contract with the East Metro Integration District
and any member district, if applicable, and for the staff member's educational
attainment at the time of appointment; or
(ii) the salary that the staff member
received in the East Metro Integration District;
(5) all staff appointed to the
Crosswinds site of the Perpich Center for Arts Education under this subdivision
shall be deemed to have completed any applicable probationary period; and
(6) all staff appointed to the Crosswinds site of the Perpich Center for Arts Education under this subdivision shall receive credit for accumulations of sick leave, vacation, paid time off, rights to severance benefits, and any other benefits, as if the staff member had been employed by the Perpich Center for Arts Education during the staff member's years of employment by the East Metro Integration District."
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Capital Investment.
The
report was adopted.
Nelson from the Committee on
Government Operations to which was referred:
H. F. No. 622, A bill for an act relating to
youth; establishing the Minnesota Youth Council Committee; proposing coding for
new law as Minnesota Statutes, chapter 16F.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill
pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Education Finance.
The
report was adopted.
Nelson from the Committee on
Government Operations to which was referred:
H. F. No. 646, A bill for an act relating to
public safety; drivers' licenses; driver education; modifying and clarifying
provisions relating to instruction permits; establishing a Novice Driver Education
Improvement Task Force; authorizing rulemaking; appropriating money; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 171.05, subdivision 2, by adding a
subdivision; 171.0701, by adding a subdivision.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 2, line 26, delete everything after the period
Page 2, delete lines 27 and 28
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass
and be re-referred to the Committee on Transportation Finance.
The
report was adopted.
Nelson from the Committee on
Government Operations to which was referred:
H. F. No. 653, A bill for an act relating to
open meeting law; providing that certain communications on social media are not
meetings under the law; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 13D.01,
subdivision 2.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section 1. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 13D.01, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Exceptions.
This chapter does not apply:
(1) to meetings of the commissioner of corrections;
(2) to a state agency, board, or commission when it is
exercising quasi-judicial functions involving disciplinary proceedings; or
(3) to participation in social
media forums by members of a public body otherwise subject to this chapter, so
long as:
(i) the social media forums are
open to public participation;
(ii) the social media forums have been first identified by
the public body at a public meeting and a list of the identified social media
forums is kept on file at the primary offices of the public body;
(iii) participation is limited to discussion only and no
decision or vote is made or taken;
(iv) the use of social media forums is not the sole means of
deliberation by the public body; and
(v) participation does not take the place of any required
public meeting or hearing. "Social
media" means forms of Web-based and mobile technologies for communication,
such as Web sites for social networking and microblogging, through which users
participate in online communities to share information, ideas, messages, and
other content; or
(4)
as otherwise expressly provided by statute."
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass.
The
report was adopted.
Hortman from the Committee on
Energy Policy to which was referred:
H. F. No. 655, A bill for an act relating to
energy; regulating the routing process for high-voltage transmission lines;
prohibiting the designation of a preferred route in the permitting process;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216E.03, subdivision 3.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 1, after line 18, insert:
"Sec. 2. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 216E.12, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. Contiguous land. (a) When private real property
that is an agricultural or nonagricultural homestead, nonhomestead agricultural
land, rental residential property, and both commercial and noncommercial
seasonal residential recreational property, as those terms are defined in
section 273.13 is proposed to be acquired for the construction of a site or
route for a high-voltage transmission line with a capacity of 200 kilovolts or
more by eminent domain proceedings, the business, for purposes of
chapter 117 and section 500.24, respectively; provided that a utility shall
divest itself completely of all such lands used for farming or capable of being
used for farming not later than the time it can receive the market value paid
at the time of acquisition of lands less any diminution in value by reason of
the presence of the utility route or site.
Upon the owner's election made under this subdivision, the easement
interest over and adjacent to the lands designated by the owner to be acquired
in fee, sought in the condemnation petition for a right-of-way for a high-voltage
transmission line with a capacity of 200 kilovolts or more shall automatically
be converted into a fee taking. The
owner's election made under this subdivision does not render the fee taking
voluntary.fee owner, or when
applicable, the fee owner with the written consent of the contract for deed
vendee, or the contract for deed vendee with the written consent of the fee
owner, shall have the option to require the utility to condemn a fee
interest in any amount of contiguous, commercially viable land which the
owner or vendee wholly owns or has contracted to own in undivided
fee and elects in writing to transfer to the utility within 60 days after
receipt of the notice of the objects of the petition filed pursuant to section
117.055. Commercial viability shall
be determined without regard to the presence of the utility route or site. Within 60 days after receipt by the
utility of a fee owner's election to exercise this option, the utility shall
provide written notice to the fee owner of any objection the utility has to the
fee owner's election. If no objection is
made within that time, any objection shall be deemed waived. Within 90 days of the service of an objection
by the utility, the district court having jurisdiction over the eminent domain
proceeding shall hold a hearing to determine whether the utility's objection is
upheld or rejected. The owner or,
when applicable, the contract vendee shall have only one such option and
may not expand or otherwise modify an election without the consent of the
utility. The required acquisition of
land pursuant to this subdivision shall be considered an acquisition for a
public purpose and for use in the utility's
(b) All rights and protections provided to an owner under
chapter 117, including in particular sections 117.031, 117.036, 117.186, and
117.52, apply to acquisition of land or an interest in land under this section.
(c) Within 90 days of an owner's election under this
subdivision to require the utility to acquire land, or 90 days after a district
court decision overruling a utility objection to an election made pursuant to
paragraph (a), the utility must make a written offer to acquire that land and
amend its condemnation petition to include the additional land.
(d) For purposes of this subdivision,
"owner" means the fee owner, or when applicable, the fee owner with
the written consent of the contract for deed vendee, or the contract for deed
vendee with the written consent of the fee owner.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment
and applies to eminent domain proceedings or actions pending or commenced on or
after that date. "Commenced"
means when service of notice of the petition under Minnesota Statutes, section
117.055, is made."
Amend the title as follows:
Page 1, line 3, after the second semicolon, insert
"modifying condemnation procedures;"
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass
and be re-referred to the Committee on Government Operations.
The
report was adopted.
Lesch from the Committee on
Civil Law to which was referred:
H. F. No. 695, A bill for an act relating to
data practices; extending the classification of private data maintained by a
library to a vendor providing electronic data services under contract with a
library; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 13.40, subdivision 2.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section 1. [13.356] PERSONAL CONTACT AND ONLINE
ACCOUNT INFORMATION.
Except where disclosure is specifically authorized by law,
and notwithstanding section 13.04, subdivision 2, the following data on an
individual collected, maintained, or received by a government entity for
notification or informational purposes of a general nature as requested by the
individual are private data on individuals:
(1) telephone number;
(2) e-mail address; and
(3) Internet user name, password, Internet protocol address,
and any other similar data related to the individual's online account or access
procedures.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment
and applies to data collected, maintained, or received before, on, or after
that date.
Sec. 2. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 13.37, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Definitions. As used in this section, the following
terms have the meanings given them.
(a) "Security information" means government data
the disclosure of which the responsible authority determines would be likely to
substantially jeopardize the security of information, possessions, individuals
or property against theft, tampering, improper use, attempted escape, illegal
disclosure, trespass, or physical injury.
"Security information" includes crime prevention block maps
and lists of volunteers who participate in community crime prevention programs
and their home and mailing addresses and, telephone
numbers, e-mail addresses, Internet communication services accounts information
or similar accounts information, and global positioning system locations.
(b) "Trade secret information" means government
data, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method,
technique or process (1) that was supplied by the affected individual or
organization, (2) that is the subject of efforts by the individual or
organization that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its
secrecy, and (3) that derives independent economic value, actual or potential,
from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by
proper means by, other persons who can obtain economic value from its
disclosure or use.
(c) "Labor relations information" means management
positions on economic and noneconomic items that have not been presented during
the collective bargaining process or interest arbitration, including
information specifically collected or created to prepare the management
position.
(d) "Parking space leasing data" means the
following government data on an applicant for, or lessee of, a parking space: residence address, home telephone number,
beginning and ending work hours, place of employment, work telephone number,
and location of the parking space.
Sec. 3. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 13.386, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Collection, storage, use, and dissemination
of genetic information. (a)
Unless otherwise expressly provided by law, genetic information about an
individual:
(1) may be collected by a government entity, as defined in
section 13.02, subdivision 7a, or any other person only with the written
informed consent of the individual;
(2) may be used only for purposes to which the individual
has given written informed consent;
(3) may be stored only for a period of time to which the
individual has given written informed consent; and
(4) may be disseminated only:
(i) with the individual's written informed consent; or
(ii) if necessary in order to
accomplish purposes described by clause (2).
A consent to disseminate genetic information under item (i) must be
signed and dated. Unless otherwise
provided by law, such a consent is valid for one year or for a lesser period
specified in the consent.
(b) Newborn screening activities conducted under sections
144.125 to 144.128 are subject to paragraph (a). Other programs and activities governed under
section 144.192 are not subject to paragraph (a).
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2013.
Sec. 4. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 13.43, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Public data. (a) Except for employees described in
subdivision 5 and subject to the limitations described in subdivision 5a, the
following personnel data on current and former employees, volunteers, and
independent contractors of a government entity is public:
(1) name; employee identification number, which must not be
the employee's Social Security number; actual gross salary; salary range; terms
and conditions of employment relationship; contract fees; actual gross pension;
the value and nature of employer paid fringe benefits; and the basis for and
the amount of any added remuneration, including expense reimbursement, in
addition to salary;
(2) job title and bargaining unit; job description;
education and training background; and previous work experience;
(3) date of first and last employment;
(4) the existence and status of any complaints or charges
against the employee, regardless of whether the complaint or charge resulted in
a disciplinary action;
(5) the final disposition of any disciplinary action
together with the specific reasons for the action and data documenting the
basis of the action, excluding data that would identify confidential sources
who are employees of the public body;
(6) the complete terms of
any agreement settling any dispute arising out of an employment relationship,
including a buyout agreement as defined in section 123B.143, subdivision 2,
paragraph (a); except that the agreement must include specific reasons for the
agreement if it involves the payment of more than $10,000 of public money;
(7) work location; a work telephone number; badge number;
work-related continuing education; and honors and awards received; and
(8) payroll time sheets or other comparable data that are
only used to account for employee's work time for payroll purposes, except to
the extent that release of time sheet data would reveal the employee's reasons
for the use of sick or other medical leave or other not public data.
(b) For purposes of this subdivision, a final disposition
occurs when the government entity makes its final decision about the
disciplinary action, regardless of the possibility of any later proceedings or
court proceedings. Final disposition
includes a resignation by an individual when the resignation occurs after the
final decision of the government entity, or arbitrator. In the case of arbitration proceedings
arising under collective bargaining agreements, a final disposition occurs at
the conclusion of the arbitration proceedings, or upon the failure of the
employee to elect arbitration within the time provided by the collective
bargaining agreement. A disciplinary
action does not become public data if an arbitrator sustains a grievance and
reverses all aspects of any disciplinary action.
(c) The government entity may
display a photograph of a current or former employee to a prospective witness
as part of the government entity's investigation of any complaint or charge
against the employee.
(d) A complainant has access to a statement provided by the
complainant to a government entity in connection with a complaint or charge
against an employee.
(e) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), clause (5), and subject
to paragraph (f), upon completion of an investigation of a complaint or charge
against a public official, or if a public official resigns or is terminated
from employment while the complaint or charge is pending, all data relating to
the complaint or charge are public, unless access to the data would jeopardize
an active investigation or reveal confidential sources. For purposes of this paragraph, "public
official" means:
(1) the head of a state agency and deputy and assistant
state agency heads;
(2) members of boards or commissions
required by law to be appointed by the governor or other elective officers;
(3) executive or administrative heads
of departments, bureaus, divisions, or institutions within state government;
and
(4) the following employees:
(i) the chief administrative officer, or the individual
acting in an equivalent position, in all political subdivisions;
(ii) individuals required to be identified by a political
subdivision pursuant to section 471.701;
(iii) in a city with a population of more than 7,500 or a
county with a population of more than 5,000, individuals in a management
capacity reporting directly to the chief administrative officer or the
individual acting in an equivalent position: managers; chiefs; heads or directors of
departments, divisions, bureaus, or boards; and any equivalent position;
and
(iv) in a school district,: business managers,; human
resource directors, and; athletic directors; chief financial
officers; directors; individuals defined as superintendents, and
principals, and directors under Minnesota Rules, part 3512.0100; and in
a charter school, individuals employed in comparable positions.
(f) Data relating to a complaint or charge against an
employee identified under paragraph (e), clause (4), are public only if:
(1) the complaint or charge results in disciplinary action
or the employee resigns or is terminated from employment while the complaint or
charge is pending; or
(2) potential legal claims arising out of the conduct that
is the subject of the complaint or charge are released as part of a settlement
agreement with another person.
This paragraph and paragraph (e) do not authorize the
release of data that are made not public under other law.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 5. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 13.64, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Department of Administration. (a) Security features of building
plans, building specifications, and building drawings of state-owned facilities
and non-state-owned facilities leased by the state are classified as nonpublic
data when maintained by the Department of Administration and may be shared with
anyone as needed to perform duties of the commissioner.
(b) Data maintained by the
Department of Administration that identifies an individual with a disability or
a family member of an individual with a disability related to services funded
by the federal Assistive Technology Act, United States Code, title 29, section
3002, for assistive technology device demonstrations, transition training,
loans, reuse, or alternative financing are private data.
Sec. 6. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 13.72, subdivision 10, is amended to read:
Subd. 10. Transportation service data. Personal, medical, financial, familial,
or locational information data pertaining to applicants for or users of
services providing transportation for the disabled or elderly, with the
exception of the name of the applicant or user of the service, are private.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 7. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 13.72, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 18. Mileage-based user fees. (a)
The following data pertaining to participation in the Minnesota road use test,
as required by Laws 2007, chapter 143, article 1, section 3, subdivision 3,
paragraph (a), clause (1), are classified as nonpublic or private data:
(1) names of participants, participants' contact
information, and data contained in applications for participation in the
Minnesota road use test;
(2) applications for the purchase, lease, or rental of the
GPS navigation device;
(3) participants' vehicle identification data;
(4) financial and credit data; and
(5) participants' road usage data.
(b) Nothing in this section prohibits the production of
summary data, as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 19, as it pertains to
types of vehicles used and road usage data, as long as the participants'
identities or any other characteristic that could uniquely identify
participants are not ascertainable.
(c) Notwithstanding section 13.03, subdivision 6, the
Department of Transportation shall only produce the data made not public under
this subdivision to federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities
acting pursuant to a valid probable cause search warrant.
Sec. 8. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 13.72, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 19. Construction manager/general contractor data. (a) When the Department of
Transportation undertakes a construction manager/general contractor contract,
as defined and authorized in sections 161.3207 to 161.3209, the provisions of
this subdivision apply.
(b) When the commissioner of transportation solicits a
request for qualifications:
(1) the following data are classified as protected
nonpublic:
(i) the statement of qualifications scoring evaluation
manual; and
(ii) the statement of qualifications evaluations;
(2) the statement of
qualifications submitted by a potential construction manager/general contractor
is classified as nonpublic data; and
(3) identifying information concerning
the members of the Technical Review Committee is classified as private data.
(c) When the commissioner of transportation announces the
short list of qualified construction managers/general contractors, the
following data become public:
(1) the statement of qualifications scoring evaluation
manual; and
(2) the statement of qualifications evaluations.
(d) When the commissioner of transportation solicits a
request for proposals:
(1) the proposal scoring manual is classified as protected
nonpublic data; and
(2) the following data are classified as nonpublic data:
(i) the proposals submitted by a potential construction
manager/general contractor; and
(ii) the proposal evaluations.
(e) When the commissioner of transportation has completed
the ranking of proposals and announces the selected construction
manager/general contractor, the proposal evaluation score or rank and proposal
evaluations become public data.
(f) When the commissioner of transportation conducts contract
negotiations with a construction manager/general contractor, government data
created, collected, stored, and maintained during those negotiations are
nonpublic data until a construction manager/general contractor contract is
fully executed.
(g) When the construction manager/general contractor
contract is fully executed or when the commissioner of transportation decides
to use another contract procurement process, other than the construction
manager/general contractor authority, authorized under section 161.3209,
subdivision 3, paragraph (b), all remaining data not already made public under
this subdivision become public.
(h) If the commissioner of transportation rejects all
responses to a request for proposals before a construction manager/general
contractor contract is fully executed, all data, other than that data made
public under this subdivision, retains its classification until a
resolicitation of the request for proposals results in a fully executed
construction manager/general contractor contract or a determination is made to
abandon the project. If a resolicitation
of proposals does not occur within one year of the announcement of the request
for proposals, the remaining data become public.
Sec. 9. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 13.72, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 20. Transit customer data. (a)
Data on applicants, users, and customers of public transit collected by or
through the Metropolitan Council's personalized Web services or the regional
fare collection system are private data on individuals. As used in this subdivision, the following
terms have the meanings given them:
(1) "regional fare collection system" means the
fare collection system created and administered by the council that is used for
collecting fares or providing fare cards or passes for transit services, which
include:
(i) regular route bus service
within the metropolitan area and paratransit service, whether provided by the
council or by other providers of regional transit service;
(ii) light rail transit service within the metropolitan
area;
(iii) rideshare programs administered by the council;
(iv) special transportation services provided under section
473.386; and
(v) commuter rail service;
(2) "personalized Web services" means services for
which transit service applicants, users, and customers must establish a user
account; and
(3) "metropolitan area" means the area defined in
section 473.121, subdivision 2.
(b) The Metropolitan Council may disseminate data on user
and customer transaction history and fare card use to government entities,
organizations, school districts, educational institutions, and employers that
subsidize or provide fare cards to their clients, students, or employees. "Data on user and customer transaction
history and fare card use" includes only:
(1) the date a fare card was used;
(2) the time a fare card was used;
(3) the mode of travel;
(4) the type of fare product used; and
(5) information about the date, time, and type of fare
product purchased.
Government
entities, organizations, school districts, educational institutions, and
employers may use customer transaction history and fare card use data only for
the purposes of measuring and promoting fare card use and for evaluating the
cost effectiveness of their fare card programs.
If a user or customer requests in writing that the council limit the
disclosure of transaction history and fare card use, the council may disclose
only the card balance and the date a card was last used.
(c) The Metropolitan Council may disseminate transit service
applicant, user, and customer data:
(1) to another government entity to prevent unlawful
intrusion into government electronic systems;
(2) to its Metropolitan Transit Police and other law
enforcement agencies conducting investigations; or
(3) as otherwise provided by law.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 10. [144.192] TREATMENT OF BIOLOGICAL
SPECIMENS AND HEALTH DATA HELD BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HEALTH BOARDS.
Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a)
For purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given.
(b) "Biological
specimen" means tissue, fluids, excretions, or secretions that contain
human DNA originating from an identifiable individual, either living or
deceased. Biological specimen does not
include infectious agents or chemicals that are isolated from a specimen. Nothing in this section or section 13.386 is
intended to limit the commissioner's ability to collect, use, store, or
disseminate such isolated infectious agents or chemicals.
(c) "Health data" has the meaning given in section
13.3805, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (2).
(d) "Health oversight" means oversight of the
health care system for activities authorized by law, limited to the following:
(1) audits;
(2) civil, administrative, or criminal investigations;
(3) inspections;
(4) licensure or disciplinary actions;
(5) civil, administrative, or criminal proceedings or
actions; and
(6) other activities necessary for appropriate oversight of
the health care system and persons subject to such governmental regulatory
programs for which biological specimens or health data are necessary for
determining compliance with program standards.
(e) "Individual" has the meaning given in section
13.02, subdivision 8. In addition, for a
deceased individual, individual also means the representative of the decedent.
(f) "Person" has the meaning given in section
13.02, subdivision 10.
(g) "Program operations" means actions, testing,
and procedures directly related to the operation of department programs,
limited to the following:
(1) diagnostic and confirmatory testing;
(2) laboratory quality control assurance and improvement;
(3) calibration of equipment;
(4) evaluation and improvement of test accuracy;
(5) method development and validation;
(6) compliance with regulatory requirements; and
(7) continuity of operations to ensure that testing
continues in the event of an emergency.
(h) "Public health practice" means actions related
to disease, conditions, injuries, risk factors, or exposures taken to protect
public health, limited to the following:
(1) monitoring the health status of a population;
(2) investigating occurrences
and outbreaks;
(3) comparing patterns and trends;
(4) implementing prevention and control measures;
(5) conducting program evaluations and making program
improvements;
(6) making recommendations concerning health for a
population;
(7) preventing or controlling known or suspected diseases
and injuries; and
(8) conducting other activities necessary to protect or
improve the health of individuals and populations for which biological
specimens or health data are necessary.
(i) "Representative of the decedent" has the
meaning given in section 13.10, subdivision 1, paragraph (c).
(j) "Research" means activities that are not
program operations, public health practice, or health oversight, and is
otherwise defined in Code of Federal Regulations, title 45, part 46, subpart A,
section 46.102(d).
Subd. 2. Collection, use, storage, and dissemination. (a) The commissioner may collect, use,
store, and disseminate biological specimens and health data, genetic or other,
as provided in this section and as authorized under any other provision of
applicable law, including any rules adopted on or before June 30, 2013. Any rules adopted after June 30, 2013, must
be consistent with the requirements of this section.
(b) The provisions in this section supplement other
provisions of law and do not supersede or repeal other provisions of law
applying to the collection, use, storage, or dissemination of biological
specimens or health data.
(c) For purposes of this section, genetic information is
limited to biological specimens and health data.
Subd. 3. Biological specimens and health data for program operations, public
health practice, and health oversight.
(a) The commissioner may collect, use, store, and disseminate
biological specimens and health data to conduct program operations activities,
public health practice activities, and health oversight activities. Unless required under other applicable law,
consent of an individual is not required under this subdivision.
(b) With the approval of the commissioner, biological
specimens may be disseminated to establish a diagnosis, to provide treatment,
to identify persons at risk of illness, to conduct an epidemiologic
investigation to control or prevent the spread of serious disease, or to
diminish an imminent threat to the public health.
(c) For purposes of Clinical Laboratory Improvement
Amendments proficiency testing, the commissioner may disseminate de-identified
biological specimens to state public health laboratories that agree, pursuant
to contract, not to attempt to re-identify the biological specimens.
(d) Health data may be disseminated as provided in section
13.3805, subdivision 1, paragraph (b).
Subd. 4. Research. The
commissioner may collect, use, store, and disseminate biological specimens and
health data to conduct research in a manner that is consistent with the federal
common rule for the protection of human subjects in Code of Federal
Regulations, title 45, part 46.
Subd. 5. Storage of biological specimens and health data according to storage
schedules. (a) The
commissioner shall store health data according to section 138.17.
(b) The commissioner shall
store biological specimens according to a specimen storage schedule. The commissioner shall develop the storage
schedule by July 1, 2013, and post it on the department's Web site.
Subd. 6. Secure storage of biological specimens. The commissioner shall establish
appropriate security safeguards for the storage of biological specimens, with
regard for the privacy of the individuals from whom the biological specimens
originated, and store the biological specimens accordingly. When a biological specimen is disposed of, it
must be destroyed in a way that prevents determining the identity of the
individual from whom it originated.
Subd. 7. Applicability
to health boards. The
provisions of subdivisions 2; 3, paragraphs (a), (c), and (d); and 4 to 6 pertaining to the commissioner also apply to boards of health and
community health boards organized under chapter 145A. These boards may also disseminate health data
pursuant to section 13.3805, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clause (2).
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2013.
Sec. 11. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 144.966, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Newborn Hearing Screening Advisory
Committee. (a) The commissioner of
health shall establish a Newborn Hearing Screening Advisory Committee to advise
and assist the Department of Health and the Department of Education in:
(1) developing protocols and timelines for screening,
rescreening, and diagnostic audiological assessment and early medical,
audiological, and educational intervention services for children who are deaf
or hard-of-hearing;
(2) designing protocols for tracking children from birth
through age three that may have passed newborn screening but are at risk for
delayed or late onset of permanent hearing loss;
(3) designing a technical assistance program to support
facilities implementing the screening program and facilities conducting
rescreening and diagnostic audiological assessment;
(4) designing implementation and evaluation of a system of
follow-up and tracking; and
(5) evaluating program outcomes to increase effectiveness
and efficiency and ensure culturally appropriate services for children with a
confirmed hearing loss and their families.
(b) The commissioner of health shall appoint at least one
member from each of the following groups with no less than two of the members
being deaf or hard-of-hearing:
(1) a representative from a consumer organization
representing culturally deaf persons;
(2) a parent with a child with hearing loss representing a
parent organization;
(3) a consumer from an organization representing oral
communication options;
(4) a consumer from an organization representing cued speech
communication options;
(5) an audiologist who has experience in evaluation and
intervention of infants and young children;
(6) a speech-language pathologist who
has experience in evaluation and intervention of infants and young children;
(7) two primary care providers
who have experience in the care of infants and young children, one of which
shall be a pediatrician;
(8) a representative from the early hearing detection
intervention teams;
(9) a representative from the Department of Education
resource center for the deaf and hard-of-hearing or the representative's
designee;
(10) a representative of the Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind
and Hard-of-Hearing Minnesotans;
(11) a representative from the Department of Human Services
Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Services Division;
(12) one or more of the Part C coordinators from the
Department of Education, the Department of Health, or the Department of Human
Services or the department's designees;
(13) the Department of Health early hearing detection and
intervention coordinators;
(14) two birth hospital representatives from one rural and
one urban hospital;
(15) a pediatric geneticist;
(16) an otolaryngologist;
(17) a representative from the Newborn Screening Advisory
Committee under this subdivision; and
(18) a representative of the Department of Education regional
low-incidence facilitators.
The
commissioner must complete the appointments required under this subdivision by
September 1, 2007.
(c) The Department of Health member shall chair the first
meeting of the committee. At the first
meeting, the committee shall elect a chair from its membership. The committee shall meet at the call of the
chair, at least four times a year. The
committee shall adopt written bylaws to govern its activities. The Department of Health shall provide
technical and administrative support services as required by the committee. These services shall include technical
support from individuals qualified to administer infant hearing screening,
rescreening, and diagnostic audiological assessments.
Members of the committee shall receive no compensation for
their service, but shall be reimbursed as provided in section 15.059 for
expenses incurred as a result of their duties as members of the committee.
(d) This subdivision expires June 30, 2013 2019.
Sec. 12. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 144.966, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Early hearing detection and intervention
programs. All hospitals shall
establish an early hearing detection and intervention (EHDI) program. Each EHDI program shall:
(1) in advance of any hearing screening testing, provide to
the newborn's or infant's parents or parent information concerning the nature
of the screening procedure, applicable costs of the screening procedure, the
potential risks and effects of hearing loss, and the benefits of early
detection and intervention;
(2) comply with parental consent under section 144.125,
subdivision 3 4;
(3) develop policies and
procedures for screening and rescreening based on Department of Health
recommendations;
(4) provide appropriate training and monitoring of
individuals responsible for performing hearing screening tests as recommended
by the Department of Health;
(5) test the newborn's hearing prior to discharge, or, if
the newborn is expected to remain in the hospital for a prolonged period,
testing shall be performed prior to three months of age or when medically
feasible;
(6) develop and implement procedures for documenting the
results of all hearing screening tests;
(7) inform the newborn's or infant's parents or parent,
primary care physician, and the Department of Health according to
recommendations of the Department of Health of the results of the hearing
screening test or rescreening if conducted, or if the newborn or infant was not
successfully tested. The hospital that
discharges the newborn or infant to home is responsible for the screening; and
(8) collect performance data specified by the Department of
Health.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2013.
Sec. 13. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 144.966, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 8. Construction. Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary, nothing in this section shall be construed as
constituting newborn screening activities conducted under sections 144.125 to
144.128.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2013.
Sec. 14. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 144.966, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 9. Data collected. Data
collected by or submitted to the Department of Health pursuant to this section
are not subject to section 144.125, subdivisions 6 to 9.
Sec. 15. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 171.07, subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
Subd. 1a. Filing photograph or image; data
classification. The department shall
file, or contract to file, all photographs or electronically produced images
obtained in the process of issuing drivers' licenses or Minnesota
identification cards. The photographs or
electronically produced images shall be private data pursuant to section 13.02,
subdivision 12. Notwithstanding section
13.04, subdivision 3, the department shall not be required to provide copies of
photographs or electronically produced images to data subjects. The use of the files is restricted:
(1) to the issuance and control of drivers' licenses;
(2) to criminal justice agencies, as defined in section
299C.46, subdivision 2, for the investigation and prosecution of crimes,
service of process, enforcement of no contact orders, location of missing
persons, investigation and preparation of cases for criminal, juvenile, and
traffic court, and supervision of offenders;
(3) to public defenders, as defined in section 611.272, for
the investigation and preparation of cases for criminal, juvenile, and traffic
courts; and
(4) to child support enforcement purposes under section
256.978.; and
(5) to a county medical examiner or coroner as required by
section 390.005 as necessary to fulfill the duties under sections 390.11 and
390.25.
Sec. 16. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 268.19,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Use of data. (a) Except as provided by this section,
data gathered from any person under the administration of the Minnesota
Unemployment Insurance Law are private data on individuals or nonpublic data
not on individuals as defined in section 13.02, subdivisions 9 and 12, and may
not be disclosed except according to a district court order or section 13.05. A subpoena is not considered a district court
order. These data may be disseminated to
and used by the following agencies without the consent of the subject of the
data:
(1) state and federal agencies specifically authorized
access to the data by state or federal law;
(2) any agency of any other state or any federal agency
charged with the administration of an unemployment insurance program;
(3) any agency responsible for the maintenance of a system
of public employment offices for the purpose of assisting individuals in
obtaining employment;
(4) the public authority responsible for child support in
Minnesota or any other state in accordance with section 256.978;
(5) human rights agencies within Minnesota that have
enforcement powers;
(6) the Department of Revenue to the extent necessary for
its duties under Minnesota laws;
(7) public and private agencies responsible for
administering publicly financed assistance programs for the purpose of
monitoring the eligibility of the program's recipients;
(8) the Department of Labor and Industry and the Division of
Insurance Fraud Prevention in the Department of Commerce for uses consistent
with the administration of their duties under Minnesota law;
(9) local and state welfare agencies for monitoring the
eligibility of the data subject for assistance programs, or for any employment
or training program administered by those agencies, whether alone, in
combination with another welfare agency, or in conjunction with the department
or to monitor and evaluate the statewide Minnesota family investment program by
providing data on recipients and former recipients of food stamps or food
support, cash assistance under chapter 256, 256D, 256J, or 256K, child care
assistance under chapter 119B, or medical programs under chapter 256B, 256D, or
256L;
(10) local and state welfare agencies for the purpose of
identifying employment, wages, and other information to assist in the
collection of an overpayment debt in an assistance program;
(11) local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies for
the purpose of ascertaining the last known address and employment location of
an individual who is the subject of a criminal investigation;
(12) the United States Immigration and
Customs Enforcement has access to data on specific individuals and specific
employers provided the specific individual or specific employer is the subject
of an investigation by that agency;
(13) the Department of Health for the purposes of
epidemiologic investigations;
(14) the Department of Corrections for the purpose of case
planning for preprobation and postprobation employment tracking of offenders
sentenced to probation and preconfinement and postconfinement employment
tracking of committed offenders for the purpose of case planning; and
(15) the state auditor to the
extent necessary to conduct audits of job opportunity building zones as
required under section 469.3201.
(b) Data on individuals and employers
that are collected, maintained, or used by the department in an investigation
under section 268.182 are confidential as to data on individuals and protected
nonpublic data not on individuals as defined in section 13.02, subdivisions 3
and 13, and must not be disclosed except under statute or district court order
or to a party named in a criminal proceeding, administrative or judicial, for
preparation of a defense.
(c) Data gathered by the department in the administration of
the Minnesota unemployment insurance program must not be made the subject or
the basis for any suit in any civil proceedings, administrative or judicial,
unless the action is initiated by the department.
Sec. 17. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 299C.11, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Identification data other than DNA. (a) Each sheriff and chief of police
shall furnish the bureau, upon such form as the superintendent shall prescribe,
with such finger and thumb prints, photographs, distinctive physical mark
identification data, information on known aliases and street names, and other
identification data as may be requested or required by the superintendent of
the bureau, which must be taken under the provisions of section 299C.10. In addition, sheriffs and chiefs of police
shall furnish this identification data to the bureau for individuals found to
have been convicted of a felony, gross misdemeanor, or targeted misdemeanor,
within the ten years immediately preceding their arrest. When the bureau learns that an individual who
is the subject of a background check has used, or is using, identifying
information, including, but not limited to, name and date of birth, other than
those listed on the criminal history, the bureau may add the new identifying
information to the criminal history when supported by fingerprints.
(b) No petition under chapter 609A is required if the person
has not been convicted of any felony or gross misdemeanor, either within or
without the state, within the period of ten years immediately preceding the
determination of all pending criminal actions or proceedings in favor of the
arrested person, and either of the following occurred:
(1) all charges were dismissed prior to a determination of
probable cause; or
(2) the prosecuting authority declined to file any charges
and a grand jury did not return an indictment.
Where
these conditions are met, the bureau or agency shall, upon demand, return to
destroy the arrested person person's finger and thumb
prints, photographs, distinctive physical mark identification data, information
on known aliases and street names, and other identification data, and all
copies and duplicates of them.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), upon the
determination of all pending criminal actions or proceedings in favor of the
arrested person, and the granting of the petition of the arrested person under
chapter 609A, the bureau shall seal finger and thumb prints, photographs,
distinctive physical mark identification data, information on known aliases and
street names, and other identification data, and all copies and duplicates of
them if the arrested person has not been convicted of any felony or gross
misdemeanor, either within or without the state, within the period of ten years
immediately preceding such determination.
Sec. 18. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 299C.46, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Establishment; interconnection. The commissioner of public safety shall
establish a criminal justice data communications network which that
will enable the interconnection of the criminal justice agencies within the
state provide secure access to systems and services available from or
through the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The commissioner of public safety is
authorized to lease or purchase facilities and equipment as may be necessary to
establish and maintain the data communications network.
Sec. 19. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 299C.46,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Criminal justice agency defined. For the purposes of sections 299C.46 to
299C.49, "criminal justice agency" means an agency of the state or an
agency of a political subdivision or the federal government charged
with detection, enforcement, prosecution, adjudication or incarceration in
respect to the criminal or traffic laws of this state. This definition also includes all sites
identified and licensed as a detention facility by the commissioner of
corrections under section 241.021 and those federal agencies that serve part
or all of the state from an office located outside the state.
Sec. 20. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 299C.46, subdivision 2a, is amended to read:
Subd. 2a. Noncriminal justice agency defined. For the purposes of sections 299C.46 to
299C.49, "noncriminal justice agency" means an agency of a the
state or an agency of a political subdivision of a the
state charged with the responsibility of performing checks of state databases
connected to the criminal justice data communications network.
Sec. 21. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 299C.46, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Authorized
use, fee. (a) The criminal justice
data communications network shall be used exclusively by:
(1) criminal justice agencies in connection with the
performance of duties required by law;
(2) agencies investigating federal security clearances of
individuals for assignment or retention in federal employment with duties
related to national security, as required by Public Law 99-169 United
States Code, title 5, section 9101;
(3) other agencies to the extent necessary to provide for
protection of the public or property in an a declared emergency
or disaster situation;
(4) noncriminal justice agencies statutorily mandated, by
state or national law, to conduct checks into state databases prior to
disbursing licenses or providing benefits;
(5) the public authority responsible
for child support enforcement in connection with the performance of its duties;
(6) the public defender, as provided in section 611.272; and
(7) a county attorney or the attorney general, as the county
attorney's designee, for the purpose of determining whether a petition for the
civil commitment of a proposed patient as a sexual psychopathic personality or
as a sexually dangerous person should be filed, and during the pendency of the
commitment proceedings.;
(8) an agency of the state or a political subdivision whose
access to systems or services provided from or through the Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension is specifically authorized by federal law or regulation or state
statute; and
(9) a court for access to data as authorized by federal law
or regulation or state statute and related to the disposition of a pending
case.
(b) The commissioner of public safety shall
establish a monthly network access charge to be paid by each participating
criminal justice agency. The network
access charge shall be a standard fee established for each terminal, computer,
or other equipment directly addressable by the data communications network, as
follows: January 1, 1984 to December 31,
1984, $40 connect fee per month; January 1, 1985 and thereafter, $50 connect
fee per month.
(c) The commissioner of public
safety is authorized to arrange for the connection of the data communications
network with the criminal justice information system of the federal government,
any adjacent state, or Canada country for the secure exchange
of information for any of the purposes authorized in paragraph (a), clauses
(1), (2), (3), (8), and (9).
(d) Prior to establishing a secure connection, a criminal
justice agency must:
(1) agree to comply with all applicable policies governing
access to, submission of, or use of the data;
(2) meet the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's security
requirements;
(3) agree to pay any required fees; and
(4) conduct fingerprint-based state and national background
checks on its employees and contractors as required by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
(e) Prior to establishing a secure connection, a noncriminal
justice agency must:
(1) agree to comply with all applicable policies governing
access to, submission of, or use of the data;
(2) meet the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's security
requirements;
(3) agree to pay any required fees; and
(4) conduct fingerprint-based state and national background
checks on its employees and contractors.
(f) Those noncriminal justice agencies that do not have a
secure network connection yet receive data either retrieved over the secure
network by an authorized criminal justice agency or as a result of a state or
federal criminal history records check shall conduct a background check as
provided in paragraph (g) of those individuals who receive and review the data
to determine another individual's eligibility for employment, housing, a
license, or another legal right dependent on a statutorily-mandated background
check.
(g) The background check required by paragraph (e) or (f) is
accomplished by submitting a request to the superintendent of the Bureau of
Criminal Apprehension that includes a signed, written consent for the Minnesota
and national criminal history records check, fingerprints, and the required fee. The superintendent may exchange the
fingerprints with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for purposes of obtaining
the individual's national criminal history record information.
The
superintendent shall return the results of the national criminal history
records check to the noncriminal justice agency to determine if the individual
is qualified to have access to state and federal criminal history record
information or the secure network. An
individual is disqualified when the state and federal criminal history record
information shows any of the disqualifiers that the individual will apply to
the records of others.
When
the individual is to have access to the secure network, the noncriminal justice
agency will review the criminal history of each employee or contractor with the
Criminal Justice Information Services systems officer at the Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension, or the officer's designee, to determine if the employee or
contractor qualifies for access to the secure network. The Criminal Justice Information Services
systems officer or the designee will make the access determination based on
Federal Bureau of Investigation policy and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
policy.
Sec. 22. [299C.72] MINNESOTA CRIMINAL HISTORY
CHECKS.
Subdivision 1. Definitions. For
purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given.
(a) "Applicant for employment" means an individual
who seeks either county or city employment or has applied to serve as a
volunteer in the county or city.
(b) "Applicant for
licensure" means an individual who seeks a license issued by the county or
city which is not subject to a federal or state-mandated background check.
(c) "Authorized law enforcement agency" means the
county sheriff for checks conducted for county purposes, the police department
for checks conducted for city purposes, or the county sheriff for checks conducted
for city purposes where there is no police department.
(d) "Criminal history check" means retrieval of
criminal history data via the secure network described in section 299C.46.
(e) "Criminal history data" means adult
convictions and adult open arrests less than one year old found in the
Minnesota computerized criminal history repository.
(f) "Informed consent" has the meaning given in
section 13.05, subdivision 4, paragraph (d).
Subd. 2. Criminal history check authorized. (a) The criminal history check
authorized by this section cannot be used in place of a statutorily-mandated or
authorized background check.
(b) An authorized law enforcement agency may conduct a
criminal history check of an individual who is an applicant for employment or
applicant for licensure. Prior to
conducting the criminal history check, the authorized law enforcement agency
must receive the informed consent of the individual.
(c) The authorized law enforcement agency cannot disseminate
criminal history data and must maintain the data securely with the agency's
office. The authorized law enforcement
agency can indicate whether the applicant for employment or applicant for
licensure has a criminal history that would prevent hire or acceptance as a
volunteer to a hiring authority, or would prevent the issuance of a license to
the department that issues the license.
Sec. 23. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 299F.035, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) The definitions in this subdivision
apply to this section.
(b) "Minnesota criminal history data"
has the meaning given in section 13.87 means adult convictions and
juvenile adjudications.
(c) "Criminal justice agency" has the meaning
given in section 299C.46, subdivision 2.
(d)
"Fire department" has the meaning given in section 299N.01,
subdivision 2.
(e)
(d) "Private data" has the meaning given in section 13.02,
subdivision 12.
Sec. 24. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 299F.035, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Plan for access to data. (a) The superintendent of the Bureau
of Criminal Apprehension, in consultation with the state fire marshal, shall
develop and implement a plan for fire departments to have access to criminal
history data A background check must be conducted on all applicants for
employment and may be conducted on current employees at a fire department. The fire chief must conduct a Minnesota
criminal history record check. For
applicants for employment who have lived in Minnesota for less than five years,
or on the request of the fire chief, a national criminal history record check
must also be conducted.
(b) The plan must include:
(1) security procedures to prevent unauthorized use or
disclosure of private data; and
(2) a procedure for the hiring or employing authority in
each fire department to fingerprint job applicants or employees, submit
requests to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and obtain state and federal
criminal history data reports for a nominal fee.
(b) For a Minnesota criminal history record check, the fire
chief must either (i) submit the signed informed consent of the applicant or
employee and the required fee to the superintendent, or (ii) submit the signed
informed consent to the chief of police.
The superintendent or chief must retrieve Minnesota criminal history
data and provide the data to the fire chief for review.
(c) For a national criminal history record check, the fire
chief must submit the signed informed consent and fingerprints of the applicant
or employee, and the required fee, to the superintendent. The superintendent may exchange the
fingerprints with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to obtain the
individual's national criminal history record information. The superintendent must return the results of
the national criminal history record check to the fire chief for the purpose of
determining if the applicant is qualified to be employed or if a current
employee is able to retain the employee's position.
Sec. 25. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 299F.77, is amended to read:
299F.77 ISSUANCE
TO CERTAIN PERSONS PROHIBITED.
Subdivision 1. Disqualifiers. The following persons shall not be
entitled to receive an explosives license or permit:
(1) a person under the age of 18 years;
(2) a person who has been convicted in this state or
elsewhere of a crime of violence, as defined in section 299F.72, subdivision
1b, unless ten years have elapsed since the person's civil rights have been
restored or the sentence has expired, whichever occurs first, and during that
time the person has not been convicted of any other crime of violence. For purposes of this section, crime of
violence includes crimes in other states or jurisdictions that would have been
crimes of violence if they had been committed in this state;
(3) a person who is or has ever been confined or committed
in Minnesota or elsewhere as a person who is mentally ill, developmentally
disabled, or mentally ill and dangerous to the public, as defined in section
253B.02, to a treatment facility, unless the person possesses a certificate of
a medical doctor or psychiatrist licensed in Minnesota, or other satisfactory
proof, that the person is no longer suffering from this disability;
(4) a person who has been convicted in Minnesota or
elsewhere for the unlawful use, possession, or sale of a controlled substance
other than conviction for possession of a small amount of marijuana, as defined
in section 152.01, subdivision 16, or who is or has ever been hospitalized or
committed for treatment for the habitual use of a controlled substance or
marijuana, as defined in sections 152.01 and 152.02, unless the person
possesses a certificate of a medical doctor or psychiatrist licensed in
Minnesota, or other satisfactory proof, that the person has not abused a
controlled substance or marijuana during the previous two years; and
(5) a person who has been confined or committed to a
treatment facility in Minnesota or elsewhere as chemically dependent, as
defined in section 253B.02, unless the person has completed treatment.
Subd. 2. Background check. (a)
For licenses issued by the commissioner under section 299F.73, the applicant
for licensure must provide the commissioner with all of the information
required by Code of Federal Regulations, title 28, section 25.7. The commissioner will forward the information
to the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension so that
criminal records, histories, and warrant information on the applicant can be
retrieved from the Minnesota Crime Information System and the National Instant
Criminal Background Check System, as well as the civil commitment records
maintained by the Department of Human Services.
The results must be returned to the commissioner to determine if the
individual applicant is qualified to receive a license.
(b) For permits issued by a county sheriff or chief of
police under section 299F.75, the applicant for a permit must provide the
county sheriff or chief of police with all of the information required by Code
of Federal Regulations, title 28, section 25.7.
The county sheriff or chief of police must check, by means of electronic
data transfer, criminal records, histories, and warrant information on each
applicant through the Minnesota Crime Information System and the National
Instant Criminal Background Check System, as well as the civil commitment
records maintained by the Department of Human Services. The county sheriff or police chief shall use
the results of the query to determine if the individual applicant is qualified
to receive a permit.
Sec. 26. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 340A.301, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Persons eligible. (a) Licenses under this section
may be issued only to a person who:
(1) is of good moral character and repute;
(2) is 21 years of age or older;
(3) has not had a license issued under this chapter revoked
within five years of the date of license application, or to any person who at
the time of the violation owns any interest, whether as a holder of more than
five percent of the capital stock of a corporation licensee, as a partner or
otherwise, in the premises or in the business conducted thereon, or to a
corporation, partnership, association, enterprise, business, or firm in which
any such person is in any manner interested; and
(4) has not been convicted within five
years of the date of license application of a felony, or of a willful violation
of a federal or state law, or local ordinance governing the manufacture, sale,
distribution, or possession for sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages. The Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division
may require that fingerprints be taken and may forward the fingerprints to the
Federal Bureau of Investigation for purposes of a criminal history check.
(b) In order to determine if an individual has a felony or
willful violation of federal or state law governing the manufacture, sale,
distribution, or possession for sale or distribution of an alcoholic beverage,
the applicant for a license to manufacture or sell at wholesale must provide
the commissioner with the applicant's signed, written informed consent to
conduct a background check. The
commissioner may query the Minnesota criminal history repository for records on
the applicant. If the commissioner
conducts a national criminal history record check, the commissioner must obtain
fingerprints from the applicant and forward them and the required fee to the
superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The superintendent may exchange the
fingerprints with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for purposes of obtaining
the applicant's national criminal history record information. The superintendent shall return the results
of the national criminal history records check to the commissioner for the
purpose of determining if the applicant is qualified to receive a license.
Sec. 27. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 340A.402, is amended to read:
340A.402 PERSONS
ELIGIBLE.
Subdivision 1. Disqualifiers. No
retail license may be issued to:
(1) a person under 21 years of age;
(2) a person who has had an
intoxicating liquor or 3.2 percent malt liquor license revoked within five
years of the license application, or to any person who at the time of the
violation owns any interest, whether as a holder of more than five percent of
the capital stock of a corporation licensee, as a partner or otherwise, in the
premises or in the business conducted thereon, or to a corporation,
partnership, association, enterprise, business, or firm in which any such
person is in any manner interested;
(3) a person not of good moral character and repute; or
(4) a person who has a direct or indirect interest in a
manufacturer, brewer, or wholesaler.
In addition, no new retail license may be issued to, and the
governing body of a municipality may refuse to renew the license of, a person
who, within five years of the license application, has been convicted of a
felony or a willful violation of a federal or state law or local ordinance
governing the manufacture, sale, distribution, or possession for sale or
distribution of an alcoholic beverage. The
Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division or licensing authority may require
that fingerprints be taken and forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
for purposes of a criminal history check.
Subd. 2. Background check. (a)
A retail liquor license may be issued by a city, a county, or the commissioner. The chief of police is responsible for the
background checks prior to a city issuing a retail liquor license. A county sheriff is responsible for the
background checks prior to the county issuing a retail liquor license and for
those cities that do not have a police department. The commissioner is responsible for the
background checks prior to the state issuing a retail liquor license.
(b) The applicant for a retail license must provide the
appropriate authority with the applicant's signed, written informed consent to
conduct a background check. The
appropriate authority is authorized to query the Minnesota criminal history
repository for records on the applicant.
If the appropriate authority conducts a national criminal history
records check, the appropriate authority must obtain fingerprints from the
applicant and forward the fingerprints and the required fee to the
superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The superintendent may exchange the
fingerprints with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for purposes of obtaining
the applicant's national criminal history record information. The superintendent shall return the results
of the national criminal history records check to the appropriate authority for
the purpose of determining if the applicant is qualified to receive a license.
Sec. 28. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 611A.203, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. Duties; access to data. (a) The domestic fatality review team
shall collect, review, and analyze death certificates and death data, including
investigative reports, medical and counseling records, victim service records,
employment records, child abuse reports, or other information concerning
domestic violence deaths, survivor interviews and surveys, and other
information deemed by the team as necessary and appropriate concerning the
causes and manner of domestic violence deaths.
(b) The review team has access to the following not public data,
as defined in section 13.02, subdivision 8a, relating to a case being reviewed
by the team: inactive law enforcement
investigative data under section 13.82; autopsy records and coroner or medical
examiner investigative data under section 13.83; hospital, public health, or
other medical records of the victim under section 13.384; records under section
13.46, created by social service agencies that provided services to the victim,
the alleged perpetrator, or another victim who experienced or was threatened
with domestic abuse by the perpetrator; and child maltreatment records under
section 626.556, relating to the victim or a family or household member of the
victim. Access to medical records under
this paragraph also includes records governed by sections 144.291 to 144.298. The review team has access to corrections
and detention data as provided in section 13.85.
(c) As part of any review, the
domestic fatality review team may compel the production of other records by
applying to the district court for a subpoena, which will be effective
throughout the state according to the Rules of Civil Procedure.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 29. REPEALER.
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 299A.28, is repealed."
Delete the title and insert:
"A bill for an act relating to state government;
classifying or modifying certain provisions concerning data practices;
requiring informed consent; amending definitions; allowing disclosure of
certain data; allowing access to certain records; making technical changes;
modifying certain provisions regarding transportation and health data;
modifying certain provisions regarding criminal history records, criminal
background checks, and other criminal justice data provisions; extending for
six years the sunset provision for the newborn screening advisory committee;
repealing the McGruff safe house program; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012,
sections 13.37, subdivision 1; 13.386, subdivision 3; 13.43, subdivision 2;
13.64, subdivision 2; 13.72, subdivision 10, by adding subdivisions; 144.966,
subdivisions 2, 3, by adding subdivisions; 171.07, subdivision 1a; 268.19,
subdivision 1; 299C.11, subdivision 1; 299C.46, subdivisions 1, 2, 2a, 3;
299F.035, subdivisions 1, 2; 299F.77; 340A.301, subdivision 2; 340A.402; 611A.203,
subdivision 4; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 13;
144; 299C; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 299A.28."
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass.
The
report was adopted.
Erhardt from the Committee on
Transportation Policy to which was referred:
H. F. No. 745, A bill for an act relating to
municipalities; authorizing municipalities to establish street improvement
districts and apportion street improvement fees within districts; requiring adoption
of street improvement plan; authorizing collection of fees; proposing coding
for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 435.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 2, line 8, before "parcels" insert
"developed"
Page 2, line 10, delete "parcels or" and
insert "developed parcels or developed"
Page 2, line 18, delete "ten" and insert
"30"
Page 2, line 19, delete "ten" and insert
"30"
Page 2, delete subdivision 5
Renumber the subdivisions in sequence
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass
and be re-referred to the Committee on Transportation Finance.
The
report was adopted.
Lesch
from the Committee on Civil Law to which was referred:
H. F. No. 748, A bill for an act relating to
employment; modifying prompt payment of wages requirements; modifying
penalties; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 181.13; 181.14.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 3, line 7, delete "but remain" and
insert "and"
Page 4, line 3, delete "unless" and insert
", who is not an independent contractor, for lost or stolen property,
damage to property, or to recover any other claimed indebtedness running from
employee to employer, except as permitted by section 181.79"
Page 4, line 4, delete the new language
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass.
The
report was adopted.
Hilstrom from the Committee on
Judiciary Finance and Policy to which was referred:
H. F. No. 767, A bill for an act relating to
human services; making changes to continuing care provisions; modifying
provisions related to advisory task forces, nursing homes, resident relocation,
medical assistance, long-term care consultation services, assessments, and
reporting of maltreatment; requiring a report; amending Minnesota Statutes
2012, sections 15.014, subdivision 2; 144.0724, subdivision 12; 144A.071,
subdivision 4d; 144A.161; 256B.056, subdivision 3; 256B.057, subdivision 9;
256B.0652, subdivision 5; 256B.0659, subdivision 7, by adding a subdivision;
256B.0911, subdivision 3a; 256B.092, subdivision 7; 256B.441, subdivisions 1,
43, 63; 256B.49, subdivision 14; 256B.492; 626.557, subdivision 10; repealing
Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 256B.437, subdivision 8; Laws 2012, chapter
216, article 11, section 31.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill
pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Government Operations.
The
report was adopted.
Nelson from the Committee on
Government Operations to which was referred:
H. F. No. 778, A bill for an act relating to
natural resources; providing for exchange of road easements; modifying forest
management investment account; modifying State Timber Act; appropriating money;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 89.0385; 90.01, subdivisions 4, 5,
6, 8, 11; 90.031, subdivision 4; 90.041, subdivisions 2, 5, 6, 9, by adding
subdivisions; 90.045; 90.061, subdivision 8; 90.101, subdivision 1; 90.121;
90.145; 90.151, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9; 90.161; 90.162; 90.171;
90.181, subdivision 2; 90.191, subdivision 1; 90.193; 90.195; 90.201,
subdivision 2a; 90.211; 90.221; 90.252, subdivision 1; 90.301, subdivisions 2,
4; 90.41, subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapters 84; 90; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 90.163; 90.173;
90.41, subdivision 2.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill
pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and
Agriculture Finance.
The
report was adopted.
Paymar from the Committee on
Public Safety Finance and Policy to which was referred:
H. F. No. 790, A bill for an act relating to
public safety; clarifying when conditional release terms of certain offenders
begin; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 243.166, subdivision 5a;
609.2231, subdivision 3a; 609.3455, subdivisions 6, 7; 617.246, subdivision 7;
617.247, subdivision 9.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill
pass.
The
report was adopted.
Atkins from the Committee on
Commerce and Consumer Protection Finance and Policy to which was referred:
H. F. No. 817, A bill for an act relating to
private detectives; exempting certified public accounting services from
licensure requirements; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 326.3341.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 2, delete line 8 and insert "(8) a certified
public accountant or a CPA firm, while"
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass
and be re-referred to the Committee on Public Safety Finance and Policy.
The
report was adopted.
Paymar from the Committee on
Public Safety Finance and Policy to which was referred:
H. F. No. 828, A bill for an act relating to
public safety; authorizing and modifying access to secure communications
network; providing minimum standards; clarifying use of network; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 299C.11, subdivision 1; 299C.46, subdivisions
1, 2, 2a, 3; 299F.035, subdivisions 1, 2; 299F.77; 340A.301, subdivision 2;
340A.402; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 299C;
repealing Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 299A.28.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill
pass.
The
report was adopted.
Nelson from the Committee on
Government Operations to which was referred:
H. F. No. 853, A bill for an act relating to
public safety; fire and police department aid; modifying threshold for
financial reports and audits; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 69.051,
subdivision 1.
Reported the same back with the recommendation that the bill
pass.
The
report was adopted.
Nelson from the Committee on
Government Operations to which was referred:
H. F. No. 857, A bill for an act relating to
public pensions; imposing an insurance surcharge; modifying pension aids;
providing pension funding; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 69.021, by
adding a subdivision; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 297I.
Reported the same back with the
recommendation that the bill pass and be re-referred to the Committee on Taxes.
The
report was adopted.
Lesch from the Committee on
Civil Law to which was referred:
H. F. No. 865, A bill for an act relating to
environment; providing for product stewardship programs; requiring a report;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 13.7411, subdivision 4; proposing
coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 115A.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 1, delete section 1
Page 6, delete subdivision 13 and insert:
"Subd. 13.
Sales information. Sales information provided to the
commissioner under this section is classified as private or nonpublic data, as
specified in section 115A.06, subdivision 13."
Page 12, delete subdivision 13 and insert:
"Subd. 13.
Sales information. Sales information provided to the
commissioner under this section is classified as private or nonpublic data, as
specified in section 115A.06, subdivision 13."
Page 14, delete lines 12 to 14 and insert:
"(3) "primary battery" means a battery
weighing two kilograms or less that is not designed to be electrically
recharged, including, but not limited to, alkaline manganese, carbon zinc,
lithium, silver oxide, and zinc air batteries.
Nonremovable batteries and medical devices as defined in the federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act, United States Code, title 21, section 321(h), as
amended, are exempted from this definition."
Page 14, delete lines 29 to 31
Page 14, line 32, delete "(8)" and insert
"(7)"
Page 15, line 1, delete "(9)" and insert
"(8)"
Page 15, line 4, delete "(10)" and insert
"(9)"
Page 15, line 9, delete "reuse and"
Page 15, line 11, delete "and reuse"
Page 15, line 33, delete "all"
Page
15, line 34, before the first "batteries" insert "primary"
Page 16, lines 4 and 16, before "batteries"
insert "primary"
Page 16, line 15, delete "reuse, deconstruct, or"
Page 16, line 26, delete "and reused"
Page 16, line 31, delete "and"
Page 16, line 32, delete the period and insert ";
and"
Page 16, after line 32, insert:
"(v) the market share of the producers participating
in the plan."
Page 17, line 29, delete "12" and insert
"13"
Page 18, line 4, delete "unwanted" and
insert "discarded"
Page 18, line 5, delete "reuse,"
Page 18, line 8, after "audit" insert
"of the stewardship organization"
Page 18, delete subdivision 13 and insert:
"Subd. 13.
Sales information. Sales information provided to the
commissioner under this section is classified as private or nonpublic data, as
specified in section 115A.06, subdivision 13."
Page 19, after line 11, insert:
"Subd. 16.
Exemption; medical device. The requirements of this section do
not apply to a medical device as defined in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act,
United States Code, title 21, section 321, paragraph (h).
Subd. 17. Private enforcement. (a)
The operator of a statewide product stewardship program established under
subdivision 2 that incurs costs exceeding $5,000 to collect, handle, recycle,
or properly dispose of discarded primary batteries sold or offered for sale in
Minnesota by a producer who does not implement its own program or participate
in a program implemented by a stewardship organization, may bring a civil
action or actions to recover costs and fees as specified in paragraph (b) from
each nonimplementing or nonparticipating producer who can reasonably be
identified from a brand or marking on a used consumer battery or from other
information.
(b) An action under paragraph (a) may be brought against one
or more primary battery producers, provided that no such action may be
commenced:
(1) prior to 60 days after written notice of the operator's
intention to file suit has been provided to the agency and the defendant or
defendants; or
(2) if the agency has commenced
enforcement actions under subdivision 10 and is diligently pursuing such
actions.
(c) In any action under
paragraph (b), the plaintiff operator may recover from a defendant
nonimplementing or nonparticipating primary battery producer costs the
plaintiff incurred to collect, handle, recycle, or properly dispose of primary
batteries reasonably identified as having originated from the defendant, plus
the plaintiff's attorney fees and litigation costs.
Renumber the sections in sequence and correct the internal
references
Correct the title numbers accordingly
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass
and be re-referred to the Committee on Judiciary Finance and Policy.
The
report was adopted.
Nelson from the Committee on
Government Operations to which was referred:
H. F. No. 894, A bill for an act relating to
elections; making policy, technical, and clarifying changes to various
provisions related to election law, including provisions related to absentee
voting, redistricting, ballots, registration, voting, caucuses, campaigns, the
loss and restoration of voting rights, vacancies in nomination, county
government structure, and election administration; providing an electronic
roster pilot project and task force; establishing the Uniform Faithful
Presidential Electors Act; requiring reports; appropriating money; amending
Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 5B.06; 13.851, subdivision 10; 103C.225,
subdivision 3; 103C.305, subdivision 3; 201.054, subdivision 2, by adding a
subdivision; 201.061, subdivision 3; 201.071, subdivision 2; 201.091,
subdivision 8; 201.12, subdivision 3; 201.13, subdivision 1a; 201.14; 201.157;
201.275; 202A.14, subdivision 1; 203B.02, subdivision
1; 203B.04, subdivisions 1, 5; 203B.05, subdivision 1; 203B.06, subdivisions 1,
3; 203B.08, subdivision 3; 203B.081; 203B.121, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4,
5; 203B.227; 203B.28; 204B.04, by adding a subdivision; 204B.13, subdivisions
1, 2, 5, by adding subdivisions; 204B.18, subdivision 2; 204B.22, subdivisions
1, 2; 204B.28, subdivision 1; 204B.32, subdivision 1; 204B.33; 204B.35,
subdivision 4; 204B.36, subdivision 1; 204B.45, subdivisions 1, 2; 204B.46;
204C.14; 204C.15, subdivision 1; 204C.19, subdivision 2; 204C.25; 204C.27;
204C.35, subdivision 1, by adding a subdivision; 204C.36, subdivision 1;
204D.08, subdivision 6; 204D.09, subdivision 2; 204D.11, subdivisions 1, 4, 5,
6; 204D.13, subdivision 3; 204D.14, subdivisions 1, 3; 204D.15, subdivision 3;
204D.16; 204D.165; 204D.19, subdivision 2, by adding a subdivision; 205.02,
subdivision 2; 205.10, subdivision 3; 205.13, subdivision 1a; 205.16,
subdivisions 4, 5; 205.17, subdivisions 1, 3; 205A.04, by adding a subdivision;
205A.05, subdivisions 1, 2; 205A.07, subdivisions 3, 3a, 3b; 205A.08,
subdivision 1; 206.61, subdivision 4; 206.89, subdivision 2, by adding a subdivision;
206.895; 206.90, subdivision 6; 208.04, subdivisions 1, 2; 211B.045; 211B.37;
241.065, subdivision 2; 340A.416, subdivisions 2, 3; 340A.602; 375.20; 447.32,
subdivisions 2, 3, 4; Laws 1963, chapter 276, section 2, subdivision 2, as
amended; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 2; 204B;
208; 244; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 2.484; 203B.04,
subdivision 6; 204B.12, subdivision 2a; 204B.13, subdivisions 4, 6; 204B.42;
204D.11, subdivisions 2, 3; 205.17, subdivisions 2, 4; 205A.08, subdivision 4.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 45, delete section 5 and insert:
"Sec. 5. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 201.275, is amended to read:
201.275
INVESTIGATIONS; PROSECUTIONS.
A for instituting a prosecution,
the county attorney shall proceed county attorney who law enforcement agency that
is notified by affidavit of an alleged violation of this chapter shall promptly
investigate. Upon receiving an
affidavit alleging a violation of this chapter, a county attorney shall
promptly forward it to a law enforcement agency with jurisdiction for
investigation. If there is probable
cause by complaint or present the charge, with
whatever evidence has been found, to the grand jury according to the
generally applicable standards regarding the prosecutorial functions and duties
of a county attorney, provided that the county attorney is not required to
proceed with the prosecution if the complainant withdraws the allegation. A county attorney who refuses or intentionally
fails to faithfully perform this or any other duty imposed by this chapter is
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall forfeit office. The county attorney, under the penalty of
forfeiture of office, shall prosecute all violations of this chapter except
violations of this section; if, however, a complainant withdraws an allegation
under this chapter, the county attorney is not required to proceed with the
prosecution. Willful violation of
this chapter by any public employee constitutes just cause for suspension
without pay or dismissal of the public employee."
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass
and be re-referred to the Committee on Taxes.
The
report was adopted.
Nelson from the Committee on
Government Operations to which was referred:
H. F. No. 950, A bill for an act relating to
collective bargaining; authorizing collective bargaining for family child care
providers and individual providers of direct support services; creating a
Quality Self-Directed Services Workforce; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapters 179A; 256B.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 2, after line 19, insert:
"The commissioner of human services may administer
section 179A.06, subdivision 6, for the purposes of this section only."
Page 2, line 30, delete "been paid for providing
child care assistance"
Page 2, line 31, delete "services to participants"
and insert "had an active registration under chapter 119B"
Page 5, delete lines 32 to 35 and insert:
"(3) access to training and educational
opportunities, including training funds, for individual providers;
(4) required orientation programs, including those for newly
hired individual providers;
(5) access to job opportunities within covered programs,
including referral opportunities and practices, through the operation of public
registries;
(6) access to and dissemination of
information in the registry to participants and participants' representatives;
and
(7) procedures for resolving grievances regarding matters in
clauses (1) to (6)."
Page 7, line 13, delete "SELF-DIRECTED" and
insert "CONSUMER-DIRECTED"
Page 8, line 10, delete "Self-Directed" and
insert "Consumer-Directed"
Page 8, line 11, delete "Self-Directed" and
insert "Consumer-Directed"
Page 8, delete lines 17 to 19
and insert:
"(1) one parent or legal guardian of a minor who is
a current recipient of direct support services in covered programs;
(2) six current recipients of direct support services in
covered programs, including:
(i) at least one current recipient of direct support
services through consumer-directed community supports; and
(ii) two current recipients of direct support services who
are adults with a legal guardian, who may participate with the assistance of
their guardian or other support person of their choice; and"
Page 8, after line 22, insert:
"The membership of the council shall be
geographically representative of the participants in covered programs and
reflect the diversity of direct support service participants with respect to
race, age, and disability. No member,
other than the chair, shall be an employee of the Department of Human Services
or the Department of Management and Budget and no member shall be an individual
provider."
Page 8, line 26, after the period,
insert "Members shall also be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary
travel and personal assistance services expenses that allow for performing
council duties and attending authorized meetings."
Page 8, line 33, delete subdivision 7 and insert:
"Subd. 7.
Meetings. (a) Notwithstanding section 13D.01,
the Quality Consumer-Directed Services Workforce 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 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;
(4) all votes are conducted by roll call, so each member's
vote on each issue can be identified and recorded; and
(5) accommodations are made for members with communication
barriers so that all members are able to actively participate.
(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."
Page 10, line 8, after "registries"
insert "of individuals who have consented to be included"
Amend the title as follows:
Page 1, line 4, delete "Self-Directed" and insert
"Consumer-Directed"
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass
and be re-referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Finance.
A roll call was requested and properly
seconded on the adoption of the report from the Committee on Government Operations
relating to H. F. No. 950.
The Speaker called Hortman to the Chair.
POINT OF
ORDER
Daudt raised a point of order pursuant to
section 616 of "Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure," relating to
Proposing Amendments to Bills. Speaker
pro tempore Hortman ruled the point of order not well taken.
Savick was excused for the remainder of
today's session.
CALL OF
THE HOUSE
On the motion of Daudt and on the demand
of 10 members, a call of the House was ordered.
The following members answered to their names:
Abeler
Albright
Allen
Anderson, M.
Anderson, P.
Anderson, S.
Barrett
Beard
Benson, J.
Benson, M.
Bernardy
Bly
Brynaert
Carlson
Clark
Cornish
Daudt
Davids
Davnie
Dean, M.
Dehn, R.
Dettmer
Dorholt
Drazkowski
Erhardt
Erickson, R.
Erickson, S.
Fabian
Falk
Faust
Fischer
FitzSimmons
Franson
Freiberg
Fritz
Garofalo
Green
Gruenhagen
Gunther
Halverson
Hamilton
Hansen
Hausman
Hertaus
Hilstrom
Holberg
Hoppe
Hortman
Howe
Huntley
Isaacson
Johnson, B.
Johnson, C.
Johnson, S.
Kahn
Kelly
Kieffer
Kiel
Kresha
Laine
Leidiger
Lenczewski
Lesch
Liebling
Lien
Lillie
Loeffler
Lohmer
Loon
Mahoney
Mariani
Marquart
Masin
McNamar
McNamara
Melin
Metsa
Moran
Morgan
Mullery
Murphy, E.
Murphy, M.
Myhra
Nelson
Newberger
Newton
Nornes
Norton
O'Driscoll
O'Neill
Paymar
Pelowski
Peppin
Persell
Petersburg
Poppe
Pugh
Quam
Radinovich
Rosenthal
Runbeck
Sanders
Sawatzky
Schoen
Schomacker
Scott
Selcer
Simon
Simonson
Sundin
Swedzinski
Theis
Torkelson
Uglem
Urdahl
Wagenius
Ward, J.A.
Ward, J.E.
Wills
Winkler
Woodard
Yarusso
Zerwas
Spk. Thissen
Murphy, E., moved that further proceedings
of the roll call be suspended and that the Sergeant at Arms be instructed to
bring in the absentees. The motion
prevailed and it was so ordered.
The Speaker resumed the Chair.
The question recurred on the adoption of
the report from the Committee on Government Operations relating to
H. F. No. 950 and the roll was called. There were 65 yeas and 61 nays as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative were:
Allen
Atkins
Benson, J.
Bernardy
Bly
Brynaert
Carlson
Clark
Davnie
Dehn, R.
Dorholt
Erhardt
Erickson, R.
Falk
Faust
Fischer
Freiberg
Fritz
Halverson
Hansen
Hausman
Hilstrom
Hortman
Huntley
Isaacson
Johnson, C.
Johnson, S.
Kahn
Laine
Lenczewski
Lesch
Liebling
Lien
Lillie
Loeffler
Mahoney
Mariani
Marquart
Masin
Melin
Metsa
Moran
Morgan
Mullery
Murphy, E.
Murphy, M.
Nelson
Newton
Paymar
Pelowski
Persell
Poppe
Radinovich
Sawatzky
Schoen
Selcer
Simon
Simonson
Sundin
Wagenius
Ward, J.A.
Ward, J.E.
Winkler
Yarusso
Spk. Thissen
Those who voted in the negative were:
Abeler
Albright
Anderson, M.
Anderson, P.
Anderson, S.
Barrett
Beard
Benson, M.
Cornish
Daudt
Davids
Dean, M.
Dettmer
Drazkowski
Erickson, S.
Fabian
FitzSimmons
Franson
Garofalo
Green
Gruenhagen
Gunther
Hamilton
Hertaus
Holberg
Hoppe
Howe
Johnson, B.
Kelly
Kieffer
Kiel
Kresha
Leidiger
Lohmer
Loon
McDonald
McNamar
McNamara
Myhra
Newberger
Nornes
Norton
O'Driscoll
O'Neill
Peppin
Petersburg
Pugh
Quam
Rosenthal
Runbeck
Sanders
Schomacker
Scott
Swedzinski
Theis
Torkelson
Uglem
Urdahl
Wills
Woodard
Zerwas
The report from the Committee on
Government Operations relating to H. F. No. 950 was adopted.
Lesch from the Committee on
Civil Law to which was referred:
H. F. No. 972, A bill for an act relating to
legislative enactments; correcting erroneous, ambiguous, and omitted text and
obsolete references; removing redundant, conflicting, and superseded
provisions; making miscellaneous corrections to laws, statutes, and rules;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 13.08, subdivision 4; 13.3806, by
adding a subdivision; 13.383, subdivision 11a; 13.461, subdivision 2; 13.7191,
subdivision 14; 13.7905, by adding a subdivision; 13.7931, by adding a
subdivision; 13.82, subdivision 5; 13B.06, subdivisions 4, 7; 13B.07,
subdivision 7; 14.57; 14.63; 15A.0815, subdivision 1; 15B.155, subdivision 4; 16A.727;
28.04; 28A.0752, subdivision 1; 28A.085, subdivision 1; 29.21, subdivision 1;
29.22, subdivision 5; 31.02; 31.095; 31.15; 31.51, subdivision 1; 31.56, subdivision 1; 31.59, subdivision 1; 31.632;
31.671; 82.67, subdivision 1; 116.182, subdivision 5; 124D.111,
subdivision 1; 126C.05, subdivision 15; 144.10; 144.125, subdivision 7; 144.56,
subdivision 2; 148.65, subdivision 4; 148.741; 148B.591; 148D.061, subdivision
1; 150A.06, subdivision 2c; 169.011, by adding a subdivision; 216B.16,
subdivision 6b; 216B.164, subdivision 9; 232.20; 232.21, subdivision 1; 232.24;
243.1606, subdivision 1; 245D.03, subdivision 2; 252.27, subdivision 2a;
256B.055, subdivision 1; 256B.0595, subdivision 4; 256J.21, subdivision 2;
256J.24, subdivision 3; 257.0755, subdivision 3; 257.0769, subdivision 1;
259.22, subdivision 4; 259.35, subdivision 1; 259.85, subdivision 1; 260C.007,
subdivisions 6, 8; 260C.178, subdivision 1; 260C.503,
subdivision 2; 272.488, subdivision 2; 275.066; 297E.021, subdivision 4;
299A.642, subdivision 4; 299A.78, subdivision 1; 299L.02, by adding a
subdivision; 308A.931, subdivision 2; 336.9-313; 360.046, subdivision 1;
383A.13, subdivision 4; 390.32, subdivision 9; 463.04; 465.05; 469.169,
subdivisions 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18; 469.1763, subdivision 2; 471.982,
subdivision 3; 473J.14; 504B.285, subdivision 1c; 518B.02, subdivision 3;
524.3-803; 580.041, subdivision 2a; 609.233, subdivision 1a; 609B.445; 611A.02,
subdivisions 2, 3; 611A.201, subdivisions 1, 2, 5; 611A.37, subdivisions 2, 3;
611A.373; 611A.46; 611A.77, subdivisions 1, 2, 3; 626.556, subdivision 2;
626.9517, subdivision 1; 629.341, subdivision 4; Laws 2010, chapter 375,
section 11; Laws 2012, chapter 199, section 6; Laws 2012, chapter 293, section
13, subdivision 3; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 2.031,
subdivision 2; 2.444; 2.484; 13.717, subdivisions 6, 7; 260C.301, subdivision
3; 325E.3161; 473.618; Laws 2007, chapter 85, section 3; Laws 2012, chapter
216, article 9, section 4; Minnesota Rules, part 7200.0100, subpart 3a.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Page 8, after line 11, insert:
"Sec. 11. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 16A.965, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Authorization to issue appropriation bonds. (a) Subject to the limitations of this
subdivision, the commissioner may sell and issue appropriation bonds of the
state under this section for public purposes as provided by law, including, in
particular, the financing of all or a portion of the acquisition, construction,
improving, and equipping of the stadium project of the Minnesota Sports
Facilities Authority as provided by chapter 473J. Proceeds of the appropriation bonds must be
credited to a special appropriation stadium bond proceeds fund in the state
treasury. Net income from investment of
the proceeds, as estimated by the commissioner, must be credited to the special
appropriation stadium bond proceeds fund.
(b) Appropriation bonds may be sold and issued in amounts
that, in the opinion of the commissioner, are necessary to provide sufficient
funds, not to exceed $498,000,000 net of costs of issuance, revenue generated
under section 16A.6455 297E.021, and allocated by the
commissioner of management and budget for this purpose and costs of credit
enhancement for achieving the purposes authorized as provided under paragraph
(a), and pay debt service including capitalized interest, pay costs of
issuance, make deposits to reserve funds, pay the costs of credit enhancement,
or make payments under other agreements entered into under paragraph (d);
provided, however, that appropriation bonds issued and unpaid shall not exceed
$600,000,000 in principal amount, excluding refunding bonds sold and issued
under subdivision 4.
(c) Appropriation bonds may be issued from time to time in
one or more series on the terms and conditions the commissioner determines to
be in the best interests of the state, but the term on any series of
appropriation bonds may not exceed 30 years.
The appropriation bonds of each issue and series thereof shall be dated
and bear interest, and may be includable in or excludable from the gross income
of the owners for federal income tax purposes.
(d) At the time of, or in anticipation of, issuing the
appropriation bonds, and at any time thereafter, so long as the appropriation
bonds are outstanding, the commissioner may enter into agreements and ancillary
arrangements relating to the appropriation bonds, including but not limited to
trust indentures, grant agreements, lease or use agreements, operating agreements,
management agreements, liquidity facilities, remarketing or dealer agreements,
letter of credit agreements, insurance policies, guaranty agreements,
reimbursement agreements, indexing agreements, or interest exchange agreements. Any payments made or received according to
the agreement or ancillary arrangement shall be made from or deposited as
provided in the agreement or ancillary arrangement. The determination of the commissioner
included in an interest exchange agreement that the agreement relates to an
appropriation bond shall be conclusive.
(e) The commissioner may enter
into written agreements or contracts relating to the continuing disclosure of
information necessary to comply with, or facilitate the issuance of
appropriation bonds in accordance with federal securities laws, rules, and
regulations, including Securities and Exchange Commission rules and regulations
in Code of Federal Regulations, title 17, section 240.15c 2-12. An agreement may be in the form of covenants
with purchasers and holders of appropriation bonds set forth in the order or
resolution authorizing the issuance of the appropriation bonds, or a separate
document authorized by the order or resolution.
(f) The appropriation bonds are not subject to chapter
16C."
Renumber the sections in sequence and correct the internal
references
Correct the title numbers accordingly
With the recommendation that when so amended the bill pass.
The
report was adopted.
Atkins from the Committee on
Commerce and Consumer Protection Finance and Policy to which was referred:
H. F. No. 978, A bill for an act relating to
health plan regulation; regulating policy and contract coverages; conforming
state law to federal requirements; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections
13.7191, subdivision 12; 43A.23, subdivision 1; 43A.317, subdivision 6; 60A.08,
subdivision 15; 62A.011, subdivision 3, by adding subdivisions; 62A.02, by
adding a subdivision; 62A.03, subdivision 1; 62A.04, subdivision 2; 62A.047;
62A.049; 62A.136; 62A.149, subdivision 1; 62A.17, subdivisions 2, 6; 62A.21,
subdivision 2b; 62A.28, subdivision 2; 62A.302; 62A.615; 62A.65, subdivisions
3, 5, 6, 7; 62C.14, subdivision 5; 62C.142, subdivision 2; 62D.02, by adding a
subdivision; 62D.07, subdivision 3; 62D.095; 62D.12, by adding a subdivision;
62D.181, subdivision 7; 62D.30, subdivision 8; 62E.02, by adding a subdivision;
62E.04, subdivision 4; 62E.06, subdivision 1; 62E.09; 62E.10, subdivision 7;
62H.04; 62L.02, subdivisions 11, 14a, 26, by adding a subdivision; 62L.03,
subdivisions 1, 3, 4, 6; 62L.045, subdivisions 2, 4; 62L.05, subdivision 10;
62L.06; 62L.08; 62L.12, subdivision 2; 62M.05, subdivision 3a; 62M.06, subdivision
1; 62Q.01, by adding subdivisions; 62Q.021; 62Q.17, subdivision 6; 62Q.18, by
adding a subdivision; 62Q.19, by adding a subdivision; 62Q.23; 62Q.43,
subdivision 2; 62Q.47; 62Q.52; 62Q.55; 62Q.68, subdivision 1; 62Q.69,
subdivision 3; 62Q.70, subdivisions 1, 2; 62Q.71; 62Q.73; 62Q.75, subdivision
1; 62Q.80, subdivision 2; 72A.20,
subdivision 35; 471.61, subdivision 1a; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapters 62A; 62Q; 72A; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2012,
sections 62A.65, subdivision 6; 62E.02, subdivision 7; 62E.16; 62E.20; 62L.02,
subdivisions 4, 18, 19, 23; 62L.05, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 4a, 5, 6, 7, 11,
12, 13; 62L.081; 62L.10; 62Q.37, subdivision 5.
Reported the same back with the following amendments:
Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section 1. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 43A.23, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. General.
(a) The commissioner is authorized to request proposals or to
negotiate and to enter into contracts with parties which in the judgment of the
commissioner are best qualified to provide service to the benefit plans. Contracts entered into are not subject to the
requirements of sections 16C.16 to 16C.19.
The commissioner may negotiate premium rates and coverage. The commissioner shall consider the cost of
the plans, conversion options relating to the contracts, service capabilities,
character, financial position, and reputation of the carriers, and any other
factors which the commissioner deems appropriate. Each benefit contract must be for a uniform term of at least one
year, but may be made automatically renewable from term to term in the absence
of notice of termination by either party.
A carrier licensed under chapter 62A is exempt from the taxes imposed by
chapter 297I on premiums paid to it by the state.
(b) All self-insured hospital and medical service products
must comply with coverage mandates, data reporting, and consumer protection
requirements applicable to the licensed carrier administering the product, had
the product been insured, including chapters 62J, 62M, and 62Q. Any self-insured products that limit coverage
to a network of providers or provide different levels of coverage between
network and nonnetwork providers shall comply with section 62D.123 and
geographic access standards for health maintenance organizations adopted by the
commissioner of health in rule under chapter 62D.
(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b), a self-insured hospital
and medical product offered under sections 43A.22 to 43A.30 is not
required to extend dependent coverage to an eligible employee's unmarried
child under the age of 25 to the full extent required under chapters 62A
and 62L. Dependent child coverage
must, at a minimum, extend to an eligible employee's unmarried dependent
child who is under the age of 19 or an unmarried child under the age of 25
who is a full-time student. A person who
is at least 19 years of age but who is under the age of 25 and who is not a
full-time student must be permitted to be enrolled as a dependent of an
eligible employee until age 25 if the person:
to the limiting age as defined in section 62Q.01, subdivision 9,
disabled children to the extent required in sections 62A.14 and 62A.141, and
dependent grandchildren to the extent required in sections 62A.042 and 62A.302.
(1) was a full-time student immediately prior to being
ordered into active military service, as defined in section 190.05, subdivision
5b or 5c;
(2) has been separated or discharged from active military
service; and
(3) would be eligible to enroll as a
dependent of an eligible employee, except that the person is not a full-time
student.
The
definition of "full-time student" for purposes of this paragraph
includes any student who by reason of illness, injury, or physical or mental
disability as documented by a physician is unable to carry what the educational
institution considers a full-time course load so long as the student's course
load is at least 60 percent of what otherwise is considered by the institution to
be a full-time course load. Any notice
regarding termination of coverage due to attainment of the limiting age must
include information about this definition of "full-time student."
(d) Beginning January 1, 2010, the health insurance benefit
plans offered in the commissioner's plan under section 43A.18, subdivision 2,
and the managerial plan under section 43A.18, subdivision 3, must include an
option for a health plan that is compatible with the definition of a
high-deductible health plan in section 223 of the United States Internal
Revenue Code.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 2. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 43A.317, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. Individual eligibility. (a) Procedures. The commissioner shall establish
procedures for eligible employees and other eligible individuals to apply for
coverage through the program.
(b) Employees. An employer shall determine when it
applies to the program the criteria its employees must meet to be eligible for
coverage under its plan. An employer may
subsequently change the criteria annually or at other times with approval of
the commissioner. The criteria must
provide that new employees become eligible for coverage after a probationary
period of at least 30 days, but no more than 90 days.
(c) Other individuals. An employer may elect to cover under its
plan:
(1)
the spouse, dependent children to the limiting age as defined in section
62Q.01, subdivision 9, disabled children to the extent required in sections
62A.14 and 62A.141, and dependent grandchildren of a covered employee
to the extent required in sections 62A.042 and 62A.302;
(2) a retiree who is eligible to receive a pension or
annuity from the employer and a covered retiree's spouse, dependent children to
the limiting age as defined in section 62Q.01, subdivision 9, disabled children
to the extent required in sections 62A.14 and 62A.141, and dependent
grandchildren to the extent required in sections 62A.042 and 62A.302;
(3) the surviving spouse, dependent children to the
limiting age as defined in section 62Q.01, subdivision 9, disabled children,
and dependent grandchildren of a deceased employee or retiree, if the spouse,
children, or grandchildren were covered at the time of the death;
(4) a covered employee who becomes disabled, as provided in
sections 62A.147 and 62A.148; or
(5) any other categories of individuals for whom group
coverage is required by state or federal law.
An employer shall determine when it applies to the program
the criteria individuals in these categories must meet to be eligible for
coverage. An employer may subsequently
change the criteria annually, or at other times with approval of the
commissioner. The criteria for dependent
children to the limiting age as defined in section 62Q.01, subdivision 9,
disabled children, and dependent grandchildren may be no more inclusive
than the criteria under section 43A.18, subdivision 2. This paragraph shall not be interpreted as
relieving the program from compliance with any federal and state continuation
of coverage requirements.
(d) Waiver and late
entrance. An eligible individual may
waive coverage at the time the employer joins the program or when coverage
first becomes available. The
commissioner may establish a preexisting condition exclusion of not more than
18 months for late entrants as defined in section 62L.02, subdivision 19.
(e) Continuation coverage. The
program shall provide all continuation coverage required by state and federal
law.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 3. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 60A.08, subdivision 15, is amended to read:
Subd. 15. Classification of insurance filings data. (a) All forms, rates, and related information
filed with the commissioner under section 61A.02 shall be nonpublic data until
the filing becomes effective.
(b) All forms, rates, and related information filed with the
commissioner under section 62A.02 shall be nonpublic data until the filing
becomes effective.
(c) All forms, rates, and related information filed with the
commissioner under section 62C.14, subdivision 10, shall be nonpublic data
until the filing becomes effective.
(d) All forms, rates, and related information filed with the
commissioner under section 70A.06 shall be nonpublic data until the filing
becomes effective.
(e) All forms, rates, and related information filed with the
commissioner under section 79.56 shall be nonpublic data until the filing
becomes effective.
(f) Notwithstanding paragraphs
(b) and (c), for all rate increases subject to review under section 2794 of the
Public Health Services Act and any amendments to, or regulations, or guidance
issued under the act that are filed with the commissioner on or after September
1, 2011, the commissioner:
(1) may acknowledge receipt of the information;
(2) may acknowledge that the corresponding rate filing is
pending review;
(3) must provide public access from the Department of
Commerce's Web site to parts I and II of the Preliminary Justifications of the
rate increases subject to review; and
(4) must provide notice to the public on the Department of
Commerce's Web site of the review of the proposed rate, which must include a
statement that the public has 30 calendar days to submit written comments to
the commissioner on the rate filing subject to review.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 4. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.011, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 1a. Affordable
Care Act. "Affordable
Care Act" means the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,
Public Law 111-148, as amended, including the federal Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010, Public Law 111-152, and any amendments to, or regulations
or guidance issued under these acts.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 5. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.011, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 1b. Grandfathered plan. "Grandfathered
plan" means a health plan in which an individual was enrolled on March 23,
2010, for as long as it maintains that status in accordance with the Affordable
Care Act. Unless otherwise specified,
grandfathered plans includes both individual and group health plans.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 6. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.011, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 1c. Group health plan. "Group
health plan" means a policy or certificate issued to an employer or an
employee organization that is both:
(1) a health plan as defined in subdivision 3; and
(2) an employee welfare benefit plan as defined in the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, United States Code, title 29,
section 1002, if the plan provides payment for medical care to employees,
including both current and former employees, or their dependents, directly or
through insurance, reimbursement, or otherwise.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 7. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.011, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Health plan. "Health plan" means a policy or
certificate of accident and sickness insurance as defined in section 62A.01
offered by an insurance company licensed under chapter 60A; a subscriber
contract or certificate offered by a nonprofit health service plan corporation
operating under chapter 62C; a health maintenance contract or certificate offered by a health
maintenance organization operating under chapter 62D; a health benefit
certificate offered by a fraternal benefit society operating under chapter 64B;
or health coverage offered by a joint self-insurance employee health plan
operating under chapter 62H. Health plan
means individual and group coverage, unless otherwise specified. Health plan does not include coverage that
is:
(1) limited to disability or income protection coverage;
(2) automobile medical payment coverage;
(3) supplemental liability insurance, including
general liability insurance and automobile liability insurance, or coverage
issued as a supplement to liability insurance;
(4) designed solely to provide payments on a per diem, fixed
indemnity, or non-expense-incurred basis, including coverage only for a
specified disease or illness or hospital indemnity or other fixed indemnity
insurance, if the benefits are provided under a separate policy, certificate,
or contract for insurance; there is no coordination between the provision of
benefits and any exclusion of benefits under any group health plan maintained
by the same plan sponsor; and the benefits are paid with respect to an event
without regard to whether benefits are provided with respect to such an event
under any group health plan maintained by the same plan sponsor;
(5) credit accident and health insurance as defined in
section 62B.02;
(6) designed solely to provide hearing, dental, or vision
care;
(7) blanket accident and sickness insurance as defined in
section 62A.11;
(8) accident-only coverage;
(9) a long-term care policy as defined in section 62A.46 or
62S.01;
(10) issued as a supplement to Medicare, as defined in
sections 62A.3099 to 62A.44, or policies, contracts, or certificates that
supplement Medicare issued by health maintenance organizations or those
policies, contracts, or certificates governed by section 1833 or 1876 of the
federal Social Security Act, United States Code, title 42, section 1395, et
seq., as amended;
(11) workers' compensation insurance; or
(12) issued solely as a companion to a
health maintenance contract as described in section 62D.12, subdivision 1a, so long as the health
maintenance contract meets the definition of a health plan.;
(13) coverage for on-site medical clinics; or
(14) coverage supplemental to the coverage provided under
United States Code, title 10, chapter 55, Civilian Health and Medical Program
of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS).
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 8. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.011, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4. Individual health plan. "Individual
health plan" means a health plan as defined in subdivision 3 that is
offered to individuals in the individual market as defined in subdivision 5,
but does not mean short-term coverage as defined in section 62A.65, subdivision
7. For purposes of this chapter, a
health carrier shall not be deemed to be offering individual health plan
coverage solely because the carrier offers a conversion policy in connection
with a group health plan.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 62A.011, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 5. Individual market. "Individual
market" means the market for health insurance coverage offered to
individuals other than in connection with a group health plan.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 10. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.011, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 6. Minnesota Insurance Marketplace.
"Minnesota Insurance Marketplace" means the Minnesota
Insurance Marketplace as defined in section 62V.02, if enacted, in 2013 H. F. No. 5/S. F. No. 1.
Sec. 11. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.011, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 7. Qualified health plan. "Qualified
health plan" means a health plan that meets the definition in section
1301(a) of the Affordable Care Act and has been certified by the Board of the
Minnesota Insurance Marketplace in accordance with chapter 62V if enacted in
2013 H. F. No. 5/S. F. No. 1 to be offered
through the Minnesota Insurance Marketplace.
Sec. 12. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.02, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 8. Filing by health carriers for purposes of complying with the
certification requirements of the Minnesota Insurance Marketplace. No qualified health plan shall be
offered through the Minnesota Insurance Marketplace until its form and the
premium rates pertaining to the form have been approved by the commissioner of
commerce or health, as appropriate, and the health plan has been determined to
comply with the certification requirements of the Minnesota Insurance
Marketplace in accordance with an agreement between the commissioners of
commerce and health and the Minnesota Insurance Marketplace.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 13. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.03, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Conditions.
No policy of individual accident and sickness insurance may be
delivered or issued for delivery to a person in this state unless:
(1) Premium. The entire money and other considerations
therefor are expressed therein.
(2) Time effective. The time at which the insurance takes
effect and terminates is expressed therein.
(3) One person. It purports to insure only one person,
except that a policy may insure, originally or by subsequent amendment, upon
the application of an adult member of a family deemed the policyholder, any two
or more eligible members of that family, including:
(a) husband,
(b) wife,
(c) dependent children as described in sections 62A.302
and 62A.3021, or
(d) any children under a specified age of 19 years or less,
or
(e)
(d) any other person dependent upon the policyholder.
(4) Appearance. The style,
arrangement, and overall appearance of the policy give no undue prominence to
any portion of the text and every printed portion of the text of the policy and
of any endorsements or attached papers is plainly printed in light-face type of
a style in general use. The type size
must be uniform and not less than ten point with a lowercase unspaced alphabet
length not less than 120 point. The
"text" includes all printed matter except the name and address of the
insurer, name or title of the policy, the brief description, if any, the
reference to renewal or cancellation by a separate statement, if any, and the
captions and subcaptions.
(5) Description of
policy. The policy, on the first
page, indicates or refers to its provisions for renewal or cancellation either
in the brief description, if any, or by a separate statement printed in type
not smaller than the type used for captions or a separate provision bearing a
caption which accurately describes the renewability or cancelability of the
policy.
(6) Exceptions in
policy. The exceptions and
reductions of indemnity are set forth in the policy and, except those which are
set forth in section 62A.04, printed, at the insurer's option, either with the
benefit provision to which they apply, or under an appropriate caption such as
"EXCEPTIONS" or "EXCEPTIONS AND REDUCTIONS." However, if an
exception or reduction specifically applies only to a particular benefit of the
policy, a statement of the exception or reduction must be included with the
benefit provision to which it applies.
(7) Form number. Each form, including riders and
endorsements, is identified by a form number in the lower left hand corner of
the first page thereof.
(8) No incorporation
by reference. It contains no
provision purporting to make any portion of the charter, rules, constitution,
or bylaws of the insurer a part of the policy unless the portion is set forth
in full in the policy, except in the case of the incorporation of, or reference
to, a statement of rates, classification of risks, or short rate table filed
with the commissioner.
(9) Medical benefits. If the policy contains a provision for
medical expense benefits, the term "medical benefits" or similar
terms as used therein includes treatments by all licensed practitioners of the
healing arts unless, subject to the qualifications contained in clause (10),
the policy specifically states the practitioners whose services are covered.
(10) Osteopath,
optometrist, chiropractor, or registered nurse services. With respect to any policy of individual
accident and sickness insurance issued or entered into subsequent to August 1,
1974, notwithstanding the provisions of the policy, if it contains a provision
providing for reimbursement for any service which is in the lawful scope of
practice of a duly licensed osteopath, optometrist, chiropractor, or registered
nurse meeting the requirements of section 62A.15, subdivision 3a, the person
entitled to benefits or person performing services under the policy is entitled
to reimbursement on an equal basis for the service, whether the service is
performed by a physician, osteopath, optometrist, chiropractor, or registered
nurse meeting the requirements of section 62A.15, subdivision 3a, licensed
under the laws of this state.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 14. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.04, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Required provisions. Except as provided in subdivision 4 each
such policy delivered or issued for delivery to any person in this state shall
contain the provisions specified in this subdivision in the words in which the
same appear in this section. The insurer
may, at its option, substitute for one or more of such provisions corresponding
provisions of different wording approved by the commissioner which are in each
instance not less favorable in any respect to the insured or the beneficiary. Such provisions shall be preceded
individually by the caption appearing in this subdivision or, at the option of
the insurer, by such appropriate individual or group captions or subcaptions as
the commissioner may approve.
(1) A provision as follows:
ENTIRE CONTRACT; CHANGES:
This policy, including the endorsements and the attached papers, if any,
constitutes the entire contract of insurance.
No change in this policy shall be valid until approved by an executive
officer of the insurer and unless such approval be endorsed hereon or attached
hereto. No agent has authority to change
this policy or to waive any of its provisions.
(2) A provision as follows:
TIME LIMIT ON CERTAIN DEFENSES: (a) After two years from the date of issue of
this policy no misstatements, except fraudulent misstatements, made by the
applicant in the application for such policy shall be used to void the policy
or to deny a claim for loss incurred or disability (as defined in the policy)
commencing after the expiration of such two year period.
The foregoing policy provision shall not be so construed as
to affect any legal requirement for avoidance of a policy or denial of a claim
during such initial two year period, nor to limit the application of clauses
(1), (2), (3), (4) and (5), in the event of misstatement with respect to age or
occupation or other insurance. A policy
which the insured has the right to continue
in force subject to its terms by the timely payment of premium (1) until at
least age 50 or, (2) in the case of a policy issued after age 44, for at
least five years from its date of issue, may contain in lieu of the foregoing
the following provisions (from which the clause in parentheses may be omitted
at the insurer's option) under the caption "INCONTESTABLE":
After this policy has been in force for a period of two
years during the lifetime of the insured (excluding any period during which the
insured is disabled), it shall become incontestable as to the statements
contained in the application.
(b) No claim for loss incurred or disability (as defined in
the policy) commencing after two years from the date of issue of this policy
shall be reduced or denied on the ground that a disease or physical condition
not excluded from coverage by name or specific description effective on the
date of loss had existed prior to the effective date of coverage of this
policy.
(3) (a) Except as required for
health plans offered through the Minnesota Insurance Marketplace, a
provision as follows:
GRACE PERIOD: A grace
period of ..... (insert a number not less than "7" for weekly premium
policies, "10" for monthly premium policies and "31" for
all other policies) days will be granted for the payment of each premium
falling due after the first premium, during which grace period the policy shall
continue in force.
A policy which contains a cancellation provision may add, at
the end of the above provision,
subject to the right of the insurer to cancel in accordance
with the cancellation provision hereof.
A policy in which the insurer reserves
the right to refuse any renewal shall have, at the beginning of the above
provision,
Unless not less than five days prior to the premium due date
the insurer has delivered to the insured or has mailed to the insured's last
address as shown by the records of the insurer written notice of its intention
not to renew this policy beyond the period for which the premium has been
accepted.
(b) All qualified health plans offered through the Minnesota
Insurance Marketplace must comply with the Affordable Care Act by including a
grace period provision no less restrictive than the grace period required by
the Affordable Care Act.
(4)
A provision as follows:
REINSTATEMENT: If any
renewal premium be not paid within the time granted the insured for payment, a
subsequent acceptance of premium by the insurer or by any agent duly authorized
by the insurer to accept such premium, without requiring in connection
therewith an application for reinstatement, shall reinstate the policy. If the insurer or such agent requires an
application for reinstatement and issues a conditional receipt for the premium
tendered, the policy will be reinstated upon approval of such application by
the insurer or, lacking such approval, upon
the forty-fifth day following the date of such conditional receipt unless the
insurer has previously notified the insured in writing of its disapproval of
such application. For health plans
described in section 62A.011, subdivision 3, clause (10), an insurer
must accept payment of a renewal premium and reinstate the policy, if the
insured applies for reinstatement no later than 60 days after the due date for
the premium payment, unless:
(1) the insured has in the interim left the state or the
insurer's service area; or
(2) the insured has applied for reinstatement on two or more
prior occasions.
The reinstated policy shall cover only loss resulting from
such accidental injury as may be sustained after the date of reinstatement and
loss due to such sickness as may begin more than ten days after such date. In all other respects the insured and insurer
shall have the same rights thereunder as they had under the policy immediately
before the due date of the defaulted premium, subject to any provisions
endorsed hereon or attached hereto in connection with the reinstatement. Any premium accepted in connection with a
reinstatement shall be applied to a period for which premium has not been
previously paid, but not to any period more than 60 days prior to the date of
reinstatement. The last sentence of the
above provision may be omitted from any policy which the insured has the right
to continue in force subject to its terms by the timely payment of premiums (1)
until at least age 50, or, (2) in the case of a policy issued after age 44, for
at least five years from its date of issue.
(5) A provision as follows:
NOTICE OF CLAIM: Written
notice of claim must be given to the insurer within 20 days after the
occurrence or commencement of any loss covered by the policy, or as soon
thereafter as is reasonably possible. Notice
given by or on behalf of the insured or the beneficiary to the insurer at .....
(insert the location of such office as the insurer may designate for the
purpose), or to any authorized agent of the insurer, with information
sufficient to identify the insured, shall be deemed notice to the insurer.
In a policy providing a loss-of-time benefit which may be
payable for at least two years, an insurer may at its option insert the
following between the first and second sentences of the above provision:
Subject to the qualifications set forth below, if the
insured suffers loss of time on account of disability for which indemnity may
be payable for at least two years, the insured shall, at least once in every
six months after having given notice of claim, give to the insurer notice of
continuance of said disability, except in the event of legal incapacity. The period of six months following any filing
of proof by the insured or any payment by the insurer on account of such claim
or any denial of liability in whole or in part by the insurer shall be excluded
in applying this provision. Delay in the
giving of such notice shall not impair the insured's right to any indemnity
which would otherwise have accrued during the period of six months preceding
the date on which such notice is actually given.
(6) A provision as follows:
CLAIM FORMS: The
insurer, upon receipt of a notice of claim, will furnish to the claimant such
forms as are usually furnished by it for filing proofs of loss. If such forms are not furnished within 15
days after the giving of such notice the claimant shall be deemed to have
complied with the requirements of this policy as to proof of loss upon
submitting, within the time fixed in the policy for filing proofs of loss,
written proof covering the occurrence, the character and the extent of the loss
for which claim is made.
(7) A provision as follows:
PROOFS OF LOSS: Written
proof of loss must be furnished to the insurer at its said office in case of
claim for loss for which this policy provides any periodic payment contingent
upon continuing loss within 90 days after the termination of the period for
which the insurer is liable and in case of claim for any other loss within 90
days after the date of such loss. Failure
to furnish such proof within the time required shall not invalidate nor reduce
any claim if it was not reasonably possible to give proof within such time,
provided such proof is furnished as soon as reasonably possible and in no event,
except in the absence of legal capacity, later than one year from the time
proof is otherwise required.
(8) A provision as follows:
TIME OF PAYMENT OF CLAIMS:
Indemnities payable under this policy for any loss other than loss for
which this policy provides periodic payment will be paid immediately upon
receipt of due written proof of such loss.
Subject to due written proof of loss, all accrued indemnities for loss
for which this policy provides periodic payment will be paid ..... (insert
period for payment which must not be less frequently than monthly) and any
balance remaining unpaid upon the termination of liability will be paid
immediately upon receipt of due written proof.
(9) A provision as follows:
PAYMENT OF CLAIMS: Indemnity
for loss of life will be payable in accordance with the beneficiary designation
and the provisions respecting such payment which may be prescribed herein and
effective at the time of payment. If no
such designation or provision is then effective, such indemnity shall be
payable to the estate of the insured. Any
other accrued indemnities unpaid at the insured's death may, at the option of
the insurer, be paid either to such beneficiary or to such estate. All other indemnities will be payable to the
insured.
The following provisions, or either of
them, may be included with the foregoing provision at the option of the
insurer:
If any indemnity of this policy shall be payable to the
estate of the insured, or to an insured or beneficiary who is a minor or
otherwise not competent to give a valid release, the insurer may pay such
indemnity, up to an amount not exceeding $..... (insert an amount which shall
not exceed $1,000), to any relative by blood or connection by marriage of the
insured or beneficiary who is deemed by the insurer to be equitably entitled
thereto. Any payment made by the insurer
in good faith pursuant to this provision shall fully discharge the insurer to
the extent of such payment.
Subject to any written direction of the insured in the
application or otherwise all or a portion of any indemnities provided by this
policy on account of hospital, nursing, medical, or surgical services may, at
the insurer's option and unless the insured requests otherwise in writing not
later than the time of filing proofs of such loss, be paid directly to the
hospital or person rendering such services; but it is not required that the
service be rendered by a particular hospital or person.
(10) A provision as follows:
PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS AND AUTOPSY: The insurer at its own expense shall have the
right and opportunity to examine the person of the insured when and as often as
it may reasonably require during the pendency of a claim hereunder and to make
an autopsy in case of death where it is not forbidden by law.
(11) A provision as follows:
LEGAL ACTIONS: No
action at law or in equity shall be brought to recover on this policy prior to
the expiration of 60 days after written proof of loss has been furnished in
accordance with the requirements of this policy. No such action shall be brought after the
expiration of three years after the time written proof of loss is required to
be furnished.
(12) A provision as follows:
CHANGE OF BENEFICIARY:
Unless the insured makes an irrevocable designation of beneficiary, the
right to change of beneficiary is reserved to the insured and the consent of
the beneficiary or beneficiaries shall not be requisite to surrender or
assignment of this policy or to any change of beneficiary or beneficiaries, or
to any other changes in this policy. The
first clause of this provision, relating to the irrevocable designation of
beneficiary, may be omitted at the insurer's option.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 15. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.047, is amended to read:
62A.047 CHILDREN'S
HEALTH SUPERVISION SERVICES AND PRENATAL CARE SERVICES.
A policy of individual or group health and accident
insurance regulated under this chapter, or individual or group subscriber
contract regulated under chapter 62C, health maintenance contract regulated
under chapter 62D, or health benefit certificate regulated under chapter 64B,
issued, renewed, or continued to provide coverage to a Minnesota resident, must
provide coverage for child health supervision services and prenatal care
services. The policy, contract, or
certificate must specifically exempt reasonable and customary charges for child
health supervision services and prenatal care services from a deductible,
co-payment, or other coinsurance or dollar limitation requirement. Nothing in this section prohibits a health
carrier that has a network of providers from imposing a deductible, co-payment,
or other coinsurance or dollar limitation requirement for child health
supervision services and prenatal care services that are delivered by an
out-of-network provider. This section
does not prohibit the use of policy waiting periods or preexisting condition
limitations for these services. Minimum
benefits may be limited to one visit payable to one provider for all of the
services provided at each visit cited in this section subject to the schedule
set forth in this section. Nothing in
this section applies to a policy designed primarily to provide coverage payable
on a per diem, fixed indemnity, or non-expense-incurred basis, or a policy that
provides only accident coverage. A
policy, contract, or certificate described under this section may not apply
preexisting condition limitations to individuals under 19 years of age. This section does not apply to individual
coverage under a grandfathered plan.
"Child health supervision services" means
pediatric preventive services, appropriate immunizations, developmental
assessments, and laboratory services appropriate to the age of a child from
birth to age six, and appropriate immunizations from ages six to 18, as defined
by Standards of Child Health Care issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Reimbursement must be made for at least five
child health supervision visits from birth to 12 months, three child health
supervision visits from 12 months to 24 months, once a year from 24 months to
72 months.
"Prenatal care services" means the comprehensive
package of medical and psychosocial support provided throughout the pregnancy,
including risk assessment, serial surveillance, prenatal education, and use of
specialized skills and technology, when needed, as defined by Standards for
Obstetric-Gynecologic Services issued by the American College of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 16. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.049, is amended to read:
62A.049 LIMITATION
ON PREAUTHORIZATIONS; EMERGENCIES.
No policy of accident and sickness insurance or group
subscriber contract regulated under chapter 62C issued or renewed in this state
may contain a provision that makes an insured person ineligible to receive full
benefits because of the insured's failure to obtain preauthorization, if that
failure occurs because of the need for emergency confinement or emergency
treatment. The insured or an authorized
representative of the insured shall notify the insurer as soon after the
beginning of emergency confinement or emergency treatment as reasonably
possible. However, to the extent that
the insurer suffers actual prejudice caused by the failure to obtain
preauthorization, the insured may be denied all or part of the insured's
benefits. This provision does not apply
to admissions for treatment of chemical dependency and nervous and mental
disorders.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 17. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.136, is amended to read:
62A.136 HEARING,
DENTAL, AND VISION PLAN COVERAGE.
The following provisions do not apply to health plans as
defined in section 62A.011, subdivision 3, clause (6), providing hearing,
dental, or vision coverage only: sections
62A.041; 62A.0411; 62A.047; 62A.149; 62A.151; 62A.152; 62A.154; 62A.155;
62A.17, subdivision 6; 62A.21, subdivision 2b; 62A.26; 62A.28; 62A.285; 62A.30;
62A.304; and 62A.3093; and 62E.16.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 18. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.149, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Application. The provisions of this section apply to
all group policies of accident and health insurance and group subscriber
contracts offered by nonprofit health service plan corporations regulated under
chapter 62C, and to a plan or policy that is individually underwritten or
provided for a specific individual and family members as a nongroup policy unless
the individual elects in writing to refuse benefits under this subdivision in
exchange for an appropriate reduction in premiums or subscriber charges under
the policy or plan, when the policies or subscriber contracts are issued or
delivered in Minnesota or provide benefits to Minnesota residents enrolled
thereunder.
This section does not apply to policies designed primarily
to provide coverage payable on a per diem, fixed indemnity or nonexpense
incurred basis or policies that provide accident only coverage.
Every insurance policy or subscriber contract included
within the provisions of this subdivision, upon issuance or renewal, shall
provide coverage that complies with the requirements of section 62Q.47,
paragraphs (b) and (c), for the treatment of alcoholism, chemical dependency or
drug addiction to any Minnesota resident entitled to coverage.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 19. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.17, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Responsibility of employee. Every covered employee electing to
continue coverage shall pay the former employer, on a monthly basis, the cost
of the continued coverage. The policy,
contract, or plan must require the group policyholder or contract holder to,
upon request, provide the employee with written verification from the insurer
of the cost of this coverage promptly at the time of eligibility for this
coverage and at any time during the continuation period. If the policy, contract, or health care plan
is administered by a trust, every covered employee electing to continue
coverage shall pay the trust the cost of continued coverage according to the
eligibility rules established by the trust.
In no event shall the amount of premium charged exceed 102 percent of
the cost to the plan for such period of coverage for similarly situated
employees with respect to whom neither termination nor layoff has occurred,
without regard to whether such cost is paid by the employer or employee. The employee shall be eligible to continue
the coverage until the employee becomes covered under another group health
plan, or for a period of 18 months after the termination of or lay off from
employment, whichever is shorter. For
an individual age 19 or older, if the employee becomes covered
under another group policy, contract, or health plan and the new group policy,
contract, or health plan contains any preexisting condition limitations, the
employee may, subject to the 18-month maximum continuation limit, continue
coverage with the former employer until the preexisting condition limitations
have been satisfied. The new policy, contract,
or health plan is primary except as to the preexisting condition. In the case of a newborn child who is a
dependent of the employee, the new policy, contract, or health plan is primary
upon the date of birth of the child, regardless of which policy, contract, or
health plan coverage is deemed primary for the mother of the child.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 20. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.17, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. Conversion to individual policy. A group insurance policy that provides
posttermination or layoff coverage as required by this section shall also
include a provision allowing a covered employee, surviving spouse, or dependent
at the expiration of the posttermination or layoff coverage provided by
subdivision 2 to obtain from the insurer offering the group policy or group
subscriber contract, at the employee's, spouse's, or dependent's option and
expense, without further evidence of insurability and without interruption of
coverage, an individual policy of insurance or an individual subscriber
contract providing at least the minimum benefits of a qualified plan as
prescribed by section 62E.06 and the option of a number three qualified plan, a
number two qualified plan, and a number one qualified plan as provided by
section 62E.06, subdivisions 1 to 3, provided application is made to the
insurer within 30 days following notice of the expiration of the continued
coverage and upon payment of the appropriate premium. The required conversion contract must treat
pregnancy the same as any other covered illness under the conversion contract. A health maintenance contract issued by a
health maintenance organization that provides posttermination or layoff coverage
as required by this section shall also include a provision allowing a former
employee, surviving spouse, or dependent at the expiration of the
posttermination or layoff coverage provided in subdivision 2 to obtain from the
health maintenance organization, at the former employee's, spouse's, or
dependent's option and expense, without further evidence of insurability and
without interruption of coverage, an individual health maintenance contract. Effective January 1, 1985, enrollees who have
become nonresidents of the health maintenance organization's service area shall
be given the option, to be arranged by the health maintenance organization, of
a number three qualified plan, a number two qualified plan, or a number one
qualified plan as provided by section 62E.06, subdivisions 1 to 3. This option shall be made available at the
enrollee's expense, without further evidence of insurability and without
interruption of coverage.
A policy providing reduced benefits at a reduced premium
rate may be accepted by the employee, the spouse, or a dependent in lieu of the
optional coverage otherwise required by this subdivision.
The
An individual policy or contract issued as a conversion policy prior
to January 1, 2014, shall be renewable at the option of the individual as
long as the individual is not covered under another qualified plan as defined
in section 62E.02, subdivision 4. Any
revisions in the table of rate for the individual policy shall apply to the
covered person's original age at entry and shall apply equally to all similar conversion
policies issued by the insurer.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 21. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.21, subdivision 2b, is amended to read:
Subd. 2b. Conversion privilege. following notice of the
expiration of the continued coverage and upon payment of the appropriate
premium. The An individual
policy or contract issued as a conversion policy prior to January 1, 2014
shall be renewable at the option of the covered person as long as the covered
person is not covered under another qualified plan as defined in section
62E.02, subdivision 4. Any revisions in
the table of rate for the individual policy shall apply to the covered person's
original age at entry and shall apply equally to all similar conversion
policies issued by the insurer.Every policy described in subdivision
1 shall contain a provision allowing a former spouse and dependent children of
an insured, without providing evidence of insurability, to obtain from the
insurer at the expiration of any continuation of coverage required under
subdivision 2a or sections 62A.146 and 62A.20, conversion coverage providing at
least the minimum benefits of a qualified plan as prescribed by section 62E.06
and the option of a number three qualified plan, a number two qualified plan, a
number one qualified plan as provided by section 62E.06, subdivisions 1 to 3,
provided application is made to the insurer within 30 days
A policy providing reduced benefits at a reduced premium
rate may be accepted by the covered person in lieu of the optional coverage
otherwise required by this subdivision.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 22. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.28, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Required coverage. Every policy, plan, certificate, or
contract referred to in subdivision 1 issued or renewed after August 1, 1987,
must provide coverage for scalp hair prostheses worn for hair loss suffered as
a result of alopecia areata.
The coverage required by this section is subject to the
co-payment, coinsurance, deductible, and other enrollee cost-sharing
requirements that apply to similar types of items under the policy, plan,
certificate, or contract, and is limited to a maximum of $350 in any benefit
year and may be limited to one prosthesis per benefit year.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 23. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.302, is amended to read:
62A.302 COVERAGE
OF DEPENDENTS.
Subdivision 1. Scope of coverage. This section applies to:
(1) a health plan as defined in section 62A.011; and
(2) coverage described in section 62A.011, subdivision 3,
clauses (4), (6), (7), (8), (9), and (10); and
(3) (2) a policy, contract, or
certificate issued by a community integrated service network licensed under
chapter 62N.
Subd. 2. Required coverage. Every health plan included in subdivision
1 that provides dependent coverage must define "dependent" no more
restrictively than the definition provided in section 62L.02, subdivision 11.
Subd. 3. No additional restrictions permitted. Any health plan included in
subdivision 1 that provides dependent coverage of children shall make that
coverage available to children until the child attains 26 years of age. A health carrier must not place restrictions
on this coverage and must comply with the following requirements:
(1) with respect to a child who has not attained 26 years of
age, a health carrier shall not define dependent for purposes of eligibility
for dependent coverage of children other than the terms of a relationship
between a child and the enrollee or spouse of the enrollee;
(2) a health carrier must not deny or restrict coverage for
a child who has not attained 26 years of age based on (i) the presence or
absence of the child's financial dependency upon the participant, primary
subscriber, or any other person; (ii) residency with the participant and in the
individual market the primary subscriber, or with any other person; (iii)
marital status; (iv) student status; (v) employment; or (vi) any combination of
those factors; and
(3) a health carrier must not
deny or restrict coverage of a child based on eligibility for other coverage,
except as provided in subdivision 5.
Subd. 4. Grandchildren. Nothing
in this section requires a health carrier to make coverage available for a
grandchild, unless the grandparent becomes the legal guardian or adoptive
parent of that grandchild or unless the grandchild meets the requirements of
section 62A.042. For grandchildren
included under a grandparent's policy pursuant to section 62A.042, coverage for
the grandchild may terminate if the grandchild does not continue to reside with
the covered grandparent continuously from birth, if the grandchild does not
remain financially dependent upon the covered grandparent, or when the
grandchild reaches age 25, except as provided in section 62A.14 or if coverage
is continued under section 62A.20.
Subd. 5. Terms
of coverage of dependents. The
terms of coverage in a health plan offered by a health carrier providing
dependent coverage of children cannot vary based on age except for children who
are 26 years of age or older.
Subd. 6. Opportunity
to enroll. A health carrier
must comply with all provisions of the Affordable Care Act in regards to
providing an opportunity to enroll in coverage to any child whose coverage
ended, or was not eligible for coverage under a group health plan or individual
health plan because, under the terms of the coverage, the availability of
dependent coverage of a child ended before age 26. This section does not require compliance with
any provision of the Affordable Care Act before the effective date provided for
that provision in the Affordable Care Act.
The commissioner shall enforce this section.
Subd. 7. Grandfathered plan coverage.
(a) For plan years beginning before January 1, 2014, a group
health plan that is a grandfathered plan and makes available dependent coverage
of children may exclude an adult child who has not attained 26 years of age
from coverage only if the adult child is eligible to enroll in an eligible
employer-sponsored health benefit plan, as defined in section 5000A(f)(2) of
the Internal Revenue Code, other than the group health plan of a parent.
(b) For plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2014, a
group health plan that is grandfathered plan coverage shall comply with all
requirements of this section.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 24. [62A.3021] COVERAGE OF DEPENDENTS BY
PLANS OTHER THAN HEALTH PLANS.
Subdivision 1. Scope
of coverage. This section
applies to coverage described in section 62A.011, subdivision 3, clauses (4), (6), (7), (8),
(9), and (10).
Subd. 2. Dependent. "Dependent"
means an eligible employee's spouse, unmarried child who is under the age of 25
years, dependent child of any age who is disabled and who meets the eligibility
criteria in section 62A.14, subdivision 2, or any other person whom state or
federal law requires to be treated as a dependent for purposes of health plans. For the purpose of this definition, a child
includes a child for whom the employee or the employee's spouse has been
appointed legal guardian and an adoptive child as provided in section 62A.27. A child also includes grandchildren as
provided in section 62A.042 with continued eligibility of grandchildren as
provided in section 62A.302, subdivision 4.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 25. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.615, is amended to read:
62A.615
PREEXISTING CONDITIONS DISCLOSED AT TIME OF APPLICATION.
No insurer may cancel or rescind a health insurance policy
for a preexisting condition of which the application or other information
provided by the insured reasonably gave the insurer notice. No insurer may restrict coverage for a
preexisting condition of which the application or other information provided by
the insured reasonably gave the insurer notice unless the
coverage is restricted at the time the policy is issued and the restriction is
disclosed in writing to the insured at the time the policy is issued. In addition, no health plan may restrict
coverage for a preexisting condition for an individual who is under 19 years of
age. This section does not apply to
individual health plans that are grandfathered plans.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 26. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.65, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Premium rate restrictions. No individual health plan may be offered,
sold, issued, or renewed to a Minnesota resident unless the premium rate
charged is determined in accordance with the following requirements:
(a) Premium rates must be no more than
25 percent above and no more than 25 percent below the index rate charged to
individuals for the same or similar coverage, adjusted pro rata for rating
periods of less than one year. The
premium variations permitted by this paragraph must be based only upon health
status, claims experience, and occupation.
For purposes of this paragraph, health status includes refraining from
tobacco use or other actuarially valid lifestyle factors associated with good
health, provided that the lifestyle factor and its effect upon premium rates
have been determined by the commissioner to be actuarially valid and have been
approved by the commissioner. Variations
permitted under this paragraph must not be based upon age or applied differently
at different ages. This paragraph does
not prohibit use of a constant percentage adjustment for factors permitted to
be used under this paragraph.
(b)
(a) Premium rates may vary based upon the ages of covered persons only
as provided in this paragraph. In
addition to the variation permitted under paragraph (a), each health carrier
may use an additional premium variation based upon age of up to plus or minus
50 percent of the index rate in accordance with the provisions of the
Affordable Care Act.
(c) A health carrier may request approval by the
commissioner to establish separate geographic regions determined by the health
carrier and to establish separate index rates for each such region.
(b) Premium rates may vary based upon geographic rating area.
The commissioner shall grant approval if the following conditions are
met:
(1) the geographic regions must be applied uniformly by
the health carrier the areas are established in accordance with the
Affordable Care Act;
(2) each geographic region must be
composed of no fewer than seven counties that create a contiguous region; and
(3) the health carrier provides actuarial justification
acceptable to the commissioner for the proposed geographic variations in index
rates premium rates for each area, establishing that the variations
are based upon differences in the cost to the health carrier of providing
coverage.
(d) Health carriers may use rate cells and must file with
the commissioner the rate cells they use.
Rate cells must be based upon the number of adults or children covered
under the policy and may reflect the availability of Medicare coverage. The rates for different rate cells must not
in any way reflect generalized differences in expected costs between principal
insureds and their spouses.
(c) Premium rates may vary based upon
tobacco use, in accordance with the provisions of the Affordable Care Act.
(e)
(d) In developing its index rates and premiums for a health plan,
a health carrier shall take into account only the following factors:
(1) actuarially valid differences in rating factors
permitted under paragraphs (a) and (b) (c); and
(2) actuarially valid
geographic variations if approved by the commissioner as provided in paragraph (c)
(b).
(e) The premium charged with respect to any particular
individual health plan shall not be adjusted more frequently than annually or
January 1 of the year following initial enrollment, except that the premium
rates may be changed to reflect:
(1) changes to the family composition of the policyholder;
(2) changes in geographic rating area of the policyholder,
as provided in paragraph (b);
(3) changes in age, as provided in paragraph (a);
(4) changes in tobacco use, as provided in paragraph (c);
(5) transfer to a new health plan requested by the policyholder;
or
(6) other changes required by or otherwise expressly
permitted by state or federal law or regulations.
(f) A health carrier shall consider all enrollees in all
health plans, other than short-term and grandfathered plan coverage, offered by
the health carrier in the individual market, including those enrollees who
enroll in qualified health plans offered through the Minnesota Insurance
Marketplace to be members of a single risk pool.
(g) The commissioner may establish regulations to implement
the provisions of this section.
(h) In connection with the offering for sale of a health
plan in the individual market, a health carrier shall make a reasonable
disclosure, as part of its solicitation and sales materials, of all of the
following:
(1) the provisions of the coverage concerning the health
carrier's right to change premium rates and the factors that may affect changes
in premium rates; and
(2) a listing of and descriptive information, including
benefits and premiums, about all individual health plans offered by the health
carrier and the availability of the individual health plans for which the
individual is qualified.
(i)
All premium variations must be justified in initial rate filings and upon
request of the commissioner in rate revision filings. All rate variations are subject to approval
by the commissioner.
(g)
(j) The loss ratio must comply with the section 62A.021 requirements for
individual health plans.
(h)
(k) The rates must not be approved, unless the commissioner has determined
that the rates are reasonable. In
determining reasonableness, the commissioner shall consider the growth rates
applied under section 62J.04, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), to the calendar
year or years that the proposed premium rate would be in effect, and
actuarially valid changes in risks associated with the enrollee populations,
and actuarially valid changes as a result of statutory changes in Laws 1992,
chapter 549.
(i)
(l) An insurer may, as part of a minimum lifetime loss ratio guarantee
filing under section 62A.02, subdivision 3a, include a rating practices
guarantee as provided in this paragraph.
The rating practices guarantee must be in writing and must guarantee
that the policy form will be offered, sold, issued, and renewed only with premium
rates and premium rating practices that comply with subdivisions 2, 3, 4, and 5. The rating practices guarantee must be
accompanied by an actuarial memorandum that demonstrates that the premium rates
and premium rating system used in connection with the policy form will satisfy
the guarantee. The guarantee must
guarantee refunds of any excess premiums to policyholders charged premiums that
exceed those permitted under subdivision 2, 3, 4, or 5. An insurer that complies with this paragraph
in connection with a policy form is exempt from the requirement of prior
approval by the commissioner under paragraphs (c), (f), and (h).
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 27. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 62A.65,
subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. Portability and conversion of coverage. (a) For plan years beginning on or
after January 1, 2014, no individual health plan may be offered, sold,
issued, or with respect to children age 18 or under renewed, to a
Minnesota resident that contains a preexisting condition limitation,
preexisting condition exclusion, or exclusionary rider, unless the
limitation or exclusion is permitted under this subdivision and under chapter
62L, provided that, except for children age 18 or under, underwriting
restrictions may be retained on individual contracts that are issued without
evidence of insurability as a replacement for prior individual coverage that
was sold before May 17, 1993. The An
individual age 19 or older may be subjected to an 18-month preexisting
condition limitation during plan years beginning prior to January 1, 2014,
unless the individual has maintained continuous coverage as defined in section
62L.02. The individual must not be
subjected to an exclusionary rider. During
plan years beginning prior to January 1, 2014, an individual who is age
19 or older and who has maintained continuous coverage may be subjected to
a onetime preexisting condition limitation of up to 12 months, with credit for
time covered under qualifying coverage as defined in section 62L.02, at the
time that the individual first is covered under an individual health plan by
any health carrier. Credit must be given
for all qualifying coverage with respect to all preexisting conditions,
regardless of whether the conditions were preexisting with respect to any
previous qualifying coverage. The
individual must not be subjected to an exclusionary rider. Thereafter, the individual who is age 19
or older must not be subject to any preexisting condition limitation,
preexisting condition exclusion, or exclusionary rider under an individual
health plan by any health carrier, except an unexpired portion of a limitation
under prior coverage, so long as the individual maintains continuous coverage
as defined in section 62L.02. The
prohibition on preexisting condition limitations for children age 18 or under
does not apply to individual health plans that are grandfathered plans. The prohibition on preexisting condition
limitations for adults age 19 and over beginning for plan years on or after
January 1, 2014 does not apply to individual health plans that are
grandfathered plans.
(b) A health carrier must offer an individual health plan to
any individual previously covered under a group health plan issued by that
health carrier, regardless of the size of the group, so long as the individual
maintained continuous coverage as defined in section 62L.02. If the individual has available any
continuation coverage provided under sections 62A.146; 62A.148; 62A.17,
subdivisions 1 and 2; 62A.20; 62A.21; 62C.142; 62D.101; or 62D.105, or
continuation coverage provided under federal law, the health carrier need not
offer coverage under this paragraph until the individual has exhausted the
continuation coverage. The offer must
not be subject to underwriting, except as permitted under this paragraph. A health plan issued under this paragraph
must be a qualified plan as defined in section 62E.02 and must not contain any
preexisting condition limitation, preexisting condition exclusion, or
exclusionary rider, except for any unexpired limitation or exclusion under the
previous coverage. The individual health
plan must cover pregnancy on the same basis as any other covered illness under
the individual health plan. The offer of
coverage by the health carrier must inform the individual that the coverage,
including what is covered and the health care providers from whom covered care
may be obtained, may not be the same as the individual's coverage under the group
health plan. The offer of coverage by
the health carrier must also inform the individual that the individual, if a
Minnesota resident, may be eligible to obtain coverage from (i) other private
sources of health coverage, or (ii) the Minnesota Comprehensive Health
Association, without a preexisting condition limitation, and must provide the
telephone number used by that association for enrollment purposes. The initial premium rate for the individual
health plan must comply with subdivision 3.
The premium rate upon renewal must comply with subdivision 2. In no event shall the premium rate exceed 100
percent of the premium charged for comparable individual coverage by the
Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association, and the premium rate must be less
than that amount if necessary to otherwise comply with this section. An individual health plan offered under
this paragraph to a person satisfies the health carrier's obligation to offer
conversion coverage under section 62E.16, with respect to that person. Coverage issued under this paragraph must
provide that it cannot be canceled or nonrenewed as a result of the health
carrier's subsequent decision to leave the individual, small employer, or other
group market. Section 72A.20,
subdivision 28, applies to this paragraph.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment,
except that the amendment made to paragraph (b) is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 28. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 62A.65,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. Guaranteed issue not required. (a) Nothing in this section
requires a health carrier to initially issue a health plan to a Minnesota
resident who is age 19 or older on the date the health plan becomes
effective if the effective date is prior to January 1, 2014, except as
otherwise expressly provided in subdivision 4 or 5.
(b) Guaranteed issue is required for all health plans,
except grandfathered plans, beginning January 1, 2014.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 29. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62A.65, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. Short-term coverage. (a) For purposes of this section,
"short-term coverage" means an individual health plan that:
(1) is issued to provide coverage for a period of 185 days
or less, except that the health plan may permit coverage to continue until the
end of a period of hospitalization for a condition for which the covered person
was hospitalized on the day that coverage would otherwise have ended;
(2) is nonrenewable, provided that the health carrier may
provide coverage for one or more subsequent periods that satisfy clause (1), if
the total of the periods of coverage do not exceed a total of 365 days out of
any 555-day period, plus any additional days covered as a result of
hospitalization on the day that a period of coverage would otherwise have
ended;
(3) does not cover any preexisting conditions, including
ones that originated during a previous identical policy or contract with the
same health carrier where coverage was continuous between the previous and the
current policy or contract; and
(4) is available with an immediate effective date without
underwriting upon receipt of a completed application indicating eligibility
under the health carrier's eligibility requirements, provided that coverage
that includes optional benefits may be offered on a basis that does not meet
this requirement.
(b) Short-term coverage is not subject to subdivisions 2 and
5. Short-term coverage may exclude as a
preexisting condition any injury, illness, or condition for which the covered
person had medical treatment, symptoms, or any manifestations before the
effective date of the coverage, but dependent children born or placed for
adoption during the policy period must not be subject to this provision.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision 3, and section 62A.021, a
health carrier may combine short-term coverage with its most commonly sold
individual qualified plan, as defined in section 62E.02, other than short-term
coverage, for purposes of complying with the loss ratio requirement.
(d) The 365-day coverage limitation provided in paragraph
(a) applies to the total number of days of short-term coverage that covers a
person, regardless of the number of policies, contracts, or health carriers
that provide the coverage. A written
application for short-term coverage must ask the applicant whether the
applicant has been covered by short-term coverage by any health carrier within
the 555 days immediately preceding the effective date of the coverage being
applied for. Short-term coverage issued
in violation of the 365-day limitation is valid until the end of its term and
does not lose its status as short-term coverage, in spite of the violation. A health carrier that knowingly issues
short-term coverage in violation of the 365-day limitation is subject to the
administrative penalties otherwise available to the commissioner of commerce or
the commissioner of health, as appropriate.
(e) Time spent under short-term
coverage counts as time spent under a preexisting condition limitation for
purposes of group or individual health plans, other than short-term coverage,
subsequently issued to that person, or to cover that person, by any health
carrier, if the person maintains continuous coverage as defined in section
62L.02. Short-term coverage is a health
plan and is qualifying coverage as defined in section 62L.02. Notwithstanding any other law to the
contrary, a health carrier is not required under any circumstances to provide a
person covered by short-term coverage the right to obtain coverage on a
guaranteed issue basis under another health plan offered by the health carrier,
as a result of the person's enrollment in short-term coverage.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 30. [62A.67] ESSENTIAL HEALTH BENEFIT
PACKAGE REQUIREMENTS.
Subdivision 1. Essential health benefits package. (a) Health carriers offering an
individual health plan must include the essential health benefits package as
required under the Affordable Care Act, and as described in this subdivision.
(b) The essential health benefits package means coverage
that:
(1) provides essential health benefits as outlined in the
Affordable Care Act;
(2) limits cost-sharing for such coverage in accordance with
the Affordable Care Act; and
(3) subject to subdivision 3, provides bronze, silver, gold,
or platinum level of coverage described in the Affordable Care Act.
Subd. 2. Coverage for enrollees under the age of 21. If a health carrier offers health
coverage in any level specified under section 1302(d) of the Affordable Care
Act, as described in subdivision 1, clause (3), the carrier shall also offer
coverage in that level in a health plan in which the only enrollees are
children who, as of the beginning of a policy year, have not attained the age
of 21 years.
Subd. 3. Alternative compliance for catastrophic plans. A health carrier not providing a
bronze, silver, gold, or platinum level of coverage, as described in
subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clause (3), shall be treated as meeting the
requirements of the Affordable Care Act with respect to any policy year if the
health carrier provides a catastrophic plan that meets the requirements of the
Affordable Care Act.
Subd. 4. Essential health benefits; definition. For purposes of this section,
"essential health benefits" has the meaning given under the
Affordable Care Act, and include:
(1) ambulatory patient services;
(2) emergency services;
(3) hospitalization;
(4) laboratory services;
(5) maternity and newborn care;
(6) mental health and substance abuse disorder services,
including behavioral health treatment;
(7) pediatric services, including oral and vision care;
(8) prescription drugs;
(9) preventative and wellness services and chronic disease
management;
(10) rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices;
and
(11) other services defined as essential health benefits
under the Affordable Care Act.
Subd. 5. Exception. This
section does not apply to a dental plan as described in the Affordable Care
Act.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 31. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62C.14, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. Disabled dependents. A subscriber's individual contract or any
group contract delivered or issued for delivery in this state and providing
that coverage of a dependent child of the subscriber or a dependent child of a
covered group member shall terminate upon attainment of a specified limiting
age as defined in section 62Q.01, subdivision 9, shall also provide in
substance that attainment of that age shall not terminate coverage while the
child is (a) incapable of self-sustaining employment by reason of developmental
disability, mental illness or disorder, or physical disability, and (b) chiefly
dependent upon the subscriber or employee for support and maintenance, provided
proof of incapacity and dependency is furnished by the subscriber within 31
days of attainment of the limiting age as defined in section 62Q.01,
subdivision 9, and subsequently as required by the corporation, but not
more frequently than annually after a two-year period following attainment of
the age. Any notice regarding
termination of coverage due to attainment of the limiting age must include
information about this provision.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 32. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62C.142, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Conversion privilege. Every subscriber contract, other than
a contract whose continuance is contingent upon continued employment or
membership, which contains a provision for termination of coverage of the
spouse upon dissolution of marriage shall contain a provision allowing a former
spouse and dependent children of a subscriber, without providing evidence of
insurability, to obtain from the corporation at the expiration of any
continuation of coverage required under subdivision 2a or section 62A.146, or
upon termination of coverage by reason of an entry of a valid decree of
dissolution which does not require the insured to provide continued coverage
for the former spouse, an individual subscriber contract providing at least the
minimum benefits of a qualified plan as prescribed by section 62E.06 and the
option of a number three qualified plan, a number two qualified plan, a number
one qualified plan as provided by section 62E.06, subdivisions 1 to 3, provided
application is made to the corporation within 30 days following notice of the
expiration of the continued coverage and upon payment of the appropriate fee. A subscriber contract providing reduced
benefits at a reduced fee may be accepted by the former spouse and dependent
children in lieu of the optional coverage otherwise required by this
subdivision. The An
individual subscriber contract issued as conversion coverage shall be
renewable at the option of the former spouse as long as the former spouse is
not covered under another qualified plan as defined in section 62E.02,
subdivision 4. Any revisions in the
table of rate for the individual subscriber contract shall apply to the former
spouse's original age at entry and shall apply equally to all similar contracts
issued as conversion coverage by the corporation.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 33. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62D.07, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Required provisions. Contracts and evidences of coverage shall
contain:
(a) no provisions or statements which are unjust, unfair,
inequitable, misleading, deceptive, or which are untrue, misleading, or
deceptive as defined in section 62D.12, subdivision 1;
(b) a clear, concise and
complete statement of:
(1) the health care services and the insurance or other
benefits, if any, to which the enrollee is entitled under the health
maintenance contract;
(2) any exclusions or limitations on
the services, kind of services, benefits, or kind of benefits, to be provided,
including any deductible or co-payment feature and requirements for referrals,
prior authorizations, and second opinions;
(3) where and in what manner information is available as to
how services, including emergency and out of area services, may be obtained;
(4) the total amount of payment and co-payment, if any, for
health care services and the indemnity or service benefits, if any, which the
enrollee is obligated to pay with respect to individual contracts, or an
indication whether the plan is contributory or noncontributory with respect to
group certificates; and
(5) a description of the health maintenance organization's
method for resolving enrollee complaints and a statement identifying the
commissioner as an external source with whom complaints may be registered; and
(c) on the cover page of the evidence of coverage and
contract, a clear and complete statement of enrollees' rights. The statement must be in bold print and
captioned "Important Enrollee Information and Enrollee Bill of
Rights" and must include but not be limited to the following provisions in
the following language or in substantially similar language approved in advance
by the commissioner, except that paragraph (8) does not apply to prepaid health
plans providing coverage for programs administered by the commissioner of human
services:
ENROLLEE
INFORMATION
(1) COVERED SERVICES:
Services provided by (name of health maintenance organization) will be
covered only if services are provided by participating (name of health
maintenance organization) providers or authorized by (name of health
maintenance organization). Your contract
fully defines what services are covered and describes procedures you must
follow to obtain coverage.
(2) PROVIDERS: Enrolling
in (name of health maintenance organization) does not guarantee services by a
particular provider on the list of providers.
When a provider is no longer part of (name of health maintenance
organization), you must choose among remaining (name of the health maintenance
organization) providers.
(3) REFERRALS: Certain
services are covered only upon referral.
See section (section number) of your contract for referral requirements. All referrals to non-(name of health
maintenance organization) providers and certain types of health care providers
must be authorized by (name of health maintenance organization).
(4) EMERGENCY SERVICES:
Emergency services from providers who are not affiliated with (name of
health maintenance organization) will be covered only if proper procedures
are followed. Your contract explains
the procedures and benefits associated with emergency care from (name of health
maintenance organization) and non-(name of health maintenance organization)
providers.
(5) EXCLUSIONS: Certain
services or medical supplies are not covered.
You should read the contract for a detailed explanation of all
exclusions.
(6) CONTINUATION: You may convert to an individual health
maintenance organization contract or continue coverage under certain
circumstances. These continuation and
conversion rights are explained fully in your contract.
(7) CANCELLATION: Your coverage may be canceled by you or (name
of health maintenance organization) only under certain conditions. Your contract describes all reasons for
cancellation of coverage.
(8) NEWBORN COVERAGE:
If your health plan provides for dependent coverage, a newborn infant is
covered from birth, but only if services are provided by participating (name of
health maintenance organization) providers or authorized by (name of health
maintenance organization). Certain
services are covered only upon referral.
(Name of health maintenance organization) will not automatically know of
the infant's birth or that you would like coverage under your plan. You should notify (name of health maintenance
organization) of the infant's birth and that you would like coverage. If your contract requires an additional
premium for each dependent, (name of health maintenance organization) is
entitled to all premiums due from the time of the infant's birth until the time
you notify (name of health maintenance organization) of the birth. (Name of health maintenance organization) may
withhold payment of any health benefits for the newborn infant until any
premiums you owe are paid.
(9) PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AND MEDICAL EQUIPMENT: Enrolling in (name of health maintenance
organization) does not guarantee that any particular prescription drug will be
available nor that any particular piece of medical equipment will be available,
even if the drug or equipment is available at the start of the contract year.
ENROLLEE
BILL OF RIGHTS
(1) Enrollees have the right to available and accessible
services including emergency services, as defined in your contract, 24 hours a
day and seven days a week;
(2) Enrollees have the right to be informed of health
problems, and to receive information regarding treatment alternatives and risks
which is sufficient to assure informed choice;
(3) Enrollees have the right to refuse treatment, and the
right to privacy of medical and financial records maintained by the health
maintenance organization and its health care providers, in accordance with
existing law;
(4) Enrollees have the right to file a complaint with the
health maintenance organization and the commissioner of health and the right to
initiate a legal proceeding when experiencing a problem with the health
maintenance organization or its health care providers;
(5) Enrollees have the right to a grace period of 31 days
for the payment of each premium for an individual health maintenance contract falling due after the first premium during
which period the contract shall continue in force;
(6) Medicare enrollees have the right to voluntarily
disenroll from the health maintenance organization and the right not to be
requested or encouraged to disenroll except in circumstances specified in
federal law; and
(7) Medicare enrollees have the right to a clear description
of nursing home and home care benefits covered by the health maintenance
organization.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 34. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62D.095, is amended to read:
62D.095 ENROLLEE
COST SHARING.
Subdivision 1. General application. A health maintenance contract may contain
enrollee cost-sharing provisions as specified in this section. Co-payment and deductible provisions in a
group contract must not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race,
disability, economic status, or length of enrollment in the health plan. During an open enrollment period in which all
offered health plans fully participate without any underwriting restrictions,
co-payment and deductible provisions must not discriminate on the basis of
preexisting health status.
Subd. 2. Co-payments. (a) A health maintenance contract
may impose a co-payment as authorized under Minnesota Rules, part 4685.0801,
or under this section and coinsurance consistent with the provisions of
the Affordable Care Act as defined under section 62A.011, subdivision 1a.
(b) A health maintenance organization may impose a flat fee
co-payment on outpatient office visits not to exceed 40 percent of the median
provider's charges for similar services or goods received by the enrollees as
calculated under Minnesota Rules, part 4685.0801. A health maintenance organization may impose
a flat fee co-payment on outpatient prescription drugs not to exceed 50 percent
of the median provider's charges for similar services or goods received by the
enrollees as calculated under Minnesota Rules, part 4685.0801.
(c) If a health maintenance contract is permitted to impose
a co-payment for preexisting health status under sections 62D.01 to 62D.30,
these provisions may vary with respect to length of enrollment in the health
plan.
Subd. 3. Deductibles. (a) A health maintenance contract issued
by a health maintenance organization that is assessed less than three percent
of the total annual amount assessed by the Minnesota comprehensive health
association may impose deductibles not to exceed $3,000 per person, per year
and $6,000 per family, per year. For
purposes of the percentage calculation, a health maintenance organization's
assessments include those of its affiliates may impose a deductible
consistent with the provisions of the Affordable Care Act as defined under
section 62A.011, subdivision 1a.
(b) All other health maintenance contracts may impose
deductibles not to exceed $2,250 per person, per year and $4,500 per family,
per year.
Subd. 4. Annual out-of-pocket maximums. (a) A health maintenance contract issued
by a health maintenance organization that is assessed less than three percent
of the total annual amount assessed by the Minnesota comprehensive health
association must include a limitation not to exceed $4,500 per person and
$7,500 per family on total annual out-of-pocket enrollee cost-sharing expenses. For purposes of the percentage calculation, a
health maintenance organization's assessments include those of its affiliates
may impose an annual out-of-pocket maximum consistent with the provisions of
the Affordable Care Act as defined under section 62A.011, subdivision 1a.
(b) All other health maintenance contracts must include a
limitation not to exceed $3,000 per person and $6,000 per family on total
annual out-of-pocket enrollee cost-sharing expenses.
Subd. 5. Exceptions.
No co-payments or deductibles may be imposed on preventive health
care services as described in Minnesota Rules, part 4685.0801, subpart 8
consistent with the provisions of the Affordable Care Act as defined under
section 62A.011, subdivision 1a.
Subd. 6. Public programs. This section does not apply to the
prepaid medical assistance program, the MinnesotaCare program, the prepaid
general assistance program, the federal Medicare program, or the health
plans provided through any of those programs.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 35. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62D.181, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. Replacement coverage; limitations. The association is not obligated to offer
replacement coverage under this chapter or conversion coverage under section
62E.16 at the end of the periods specified in subdivision 6. Any continuation obligation arising under
this chapter or chapter 62A will cease at the end of the periods specified in
subdivision 6.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 36. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 62E.02, is
amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 2a. Essential health benefits.
"Essential health benefits" has the meaning given under
section 1302(b) of the Affordable Care Act, as defined under section 62A.011,
subdivision 1a. Essential health
benefits include:
(1) ambulatory patient services;
(2) emergency services;
(3) hospitalization;
(4) laboratory services;
(5) maternity and newborn care;
(6) mental health and substance abuse disorder services,
including behavioral health treatment;
(7) pediatric services, including oral and vision care;
(8) prescription drugs;
(9) preventive and wellness services and chronic disease
management;
(10) rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices;
and
(11) other services defined as essential health benefits
under the Affordable Care Act as defined in section 62A.011, subdivision 1a.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 37. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62E.04, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. Major medical coverage. Each insurer and fraternal shall
affirmatively offer coverage of major medical expenses to every applicant who
applies to the insurer or fraternal for a new unqualified policy, which has a
lifetime benefit limit of less than $1,000,000, at the time of application and
annually to every holder of such an unqualified policy of accident and health
insurance renewed by the insurer or fraternal.
The coverage shall provide that when a covered individual incurs
out-of-pocket expenses of $5,000 or more within a calendar year for services
covered in section 62E.06, subdivision 1, benefits shall be payable, subject to
any co-payment authorized by the commissioner, up to a maximum lifetime
limit of not less than $1,000,000 and shall not contain a lifetime
maximum on essential health benefits.
The offer of coverage of major medical expenses may consist of the offer
of a rider on an existing unqualified policy or a new policy which is a
qualified plan.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 38. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62E.06, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Number three plan. A plan of health coverage shall be
certified as a number three qualified plan if it otherwise meets the
requirements established by chapters 62A, 62C, and 62Q, and the other laws of
this state, whether or not the policy is issued in Minnesota, and meets or
exceeds the following minimum standards:
(a) The minimum benefits for a
covered individual shall, subject to the other provisions of this subdivision,
be equal to at least 80 percent of the cost of covered services in excess of an
annual deductible which does not exceed $150 per person. The coverage shall include a limitation of
$3,000 per person on total annual out-of-pocket expenses for services covered
under this subdivision. The coverage
shall not be subject to a maximum lifetime benefit of not less than
$1,000,000 lifetime maximum on essential health benefits.
The prohibition on lifetime maximums for essential health
benefits and $3,000 limitation on total annual out-of-pocket expenses and
the $1,000,000 maximum lifetime benefit shall not be subject to change or
substitution by use of an actuarially equivalent benefit.
(b) Covered expenses shall be the usual and customary
charges for the following services and articles when prescribed by a physician:
(1) hospital services;
(2) professional services for the diagnosis or treatment of
injuries, illnesses, or conditions, other than dental, which are rendered by a
physician or at the physician's direction;
(3) drugs requiring a physician's prescription;
(4) services of a nursing home for not more than 120 days in
a year if the services would qualify as reimbursable services under Medicare;
(5) services of a home health agency if the services would
qualify as reimbursable services under Medicare;
(6) use of radium or other radioactive materials;
(7) oxygen;
(8) anesthetics;
(9) prostheses other than dental but including scalp hair
prostheses worn for hair loss suffered as a result of alopecia areata;
(10) rental or purchase, as appropriate, of durable medical equipment
other than eyeglasses and hearing aids, unless coverage is required under
section 62Q.675;
(11) diagnostic x-rays and laboratory tests;
(12) oral surgery for partially or
completely unerupted impacted teeth, a tooth root without the extraction of the
entire tooth, or the gums and tissues of the mouth when not performed in
connection with the extraction or repair of teeth;
(13) services of a physical therapist;
(14) transportation provided by licensed ambulance service
to the nearest facility qualified to treat the condition; or a reasonable
mileage rate for transportation to a kidney dialysis center for treatment; and
(15) services of an occupational therapist.
(c)
Covered expenses for the services and articles specified in this subdivision do
not include the following:
(1) any charge for care for injury or
disease either (i) arising out of an injury in the course of employment and
subject to a workers' compensation or similar law, (ii) for which benefits are
payable without regard to fault under coverage statutorily required to be
contained in any motor vehicle, or other liability insurance policy or
equivalent self-insurance, or (iii) for which benefits are payable under
another policy of accident and health insurance, Medicare, or any other governmental
program except as otherwise provided by section 62A.04, subdivision 3, clause
(4);
(2) any charge for treatment for cosmetic purposes other
than for reconstructive surgery when such service is incidental to or follows
surgery resulting from injury, sickness, or other diseases of the involved part
or when such service is performed on a covered dependent child because of
congenital disease or anomaly which has resulted in a functional defect as
determined by the attending physician;
(3) care which is primarily for custodial or domiciliary
purposes which would not qualify as eligible services under Medicare;
(4) any charge for confinement in a private room to the
extent it is in excess of the institution's charge for its most common
semiprivate room, unless a private room is prescribed as medically necessary by
a physician, provided, however, that if the institution does not have
semiprivate rooms, its most common semiprivate room charge shall be considered
to be 90 percent of its lowest private room charge;
(5) that part of any charge for services or articles
rendered or prescribed by a physician, dentist, or other health care personnel
which exceeds the prevailing charge in the locality where the service is
provided; and
(6) any charge for services or articles the provision of
which is not within the scope of authorized practice of the institution or
individual rendering the services or articles.
(d) The minimum benefits for a qualified plan shall include,
in addition to those benefits specified in clauses (a) and (e), benefits for
well baby care, effective July 1, 1980, subject to applicable deductibles,
coinsurance provisions, and maximum lifetime benefit limitations.
(e) Effective July 1, 1979, the minimum benefits of a
qualified plan shall include, in addition to those benefits specified in clause
(a), a second opinion from a physician on all surgical procedures expected to
cost a total of $500 or more in physician, laboratory, and hospital fees,
provided that the coverage need not include the repetition of any diagnostic
tests.
(f) Effective August 1, 1985, the minimum benefits of a
qualified plan must include, in addition to the benefits specified in clauses
(a), (d), and (e), coverage for special dietary treatment for phenylketonuria
when recommended by a physician.
(g) Outpatient mental health coverage is subject to section
62A.152, subdivision 2.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 39. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62E.09, is amended to read:
62E.09 DUTIES OF
COMMISSIONER.
The commissioner may:
(a) formulate general policies to advance the purposes of
sections 62E.01 to 62E.19;
(b) supervise the creation of
the Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association within the limits described in
section 62E.10;
(c) approve the selection of the writing carrier by the
association, approve the association's contract with the writing carrier, and
approve the state plan coverage;
(d) appoint advisory committees;
(e) conduct periodic audits to assure the general accuracy
of the financial data submitted by the writing carrier and the association;
(f) contract with the federal government or any other unit
of government to ensure coordination of the state plan with other governmental
assistance programs;
(g) undertake directly or through contracts with other
persons studies or demonstration programs to develop awareness of the benefits
of sections 62E.01 to 62E.16 62E.15, so that the residents of
this state may best avail themselves of the health care benefits provided by
these sections;
(h) contract with insurers and others for administrative
services; and
(i) adopt, amend, suspend and repeal rules as reasonably
necessary to carry out and make effective the provisions and purposes of
sections 62E.01 to 62E.19.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 40. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62E.10, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. General powers. The association may:
(a) Exercise the powers granted to insurers under the laws
of this state;
(b) Sue or be sued;
(c) Enter into contracts with insurers, similar associations
in other states or with other persons for the performance of administrative
functions including the functions provided for in clauses (e) and (f);
(d) Establish administrative and accounting procedures for
the operation of the association;
(e) Provide for the reinsuring of risks incurred as a result
of issuing the coverages required by sections section 62E.04 and
62E.16 by members of the association.
Each member which elects to reinsure its required risks shall determine
the categories of coverage it elects to reinsure in the association. The categories of coverage are:
(1) individual qualified plans, excluding group conversions;
(2) group conversions;
(3) group qualified plans with fewer than 50 employees or
members; and
(4) major medical coverage.
A separate election may be made
for each category of coverage. If a
member elects to reinsure the risks of a category of coverage, it must reinsure
the risk of the coverage of every life covered under every policy issued in
that category. A member electing to
reinsure risks of a category of coverage shall enter into a contract with the
association establishing a reinsurance plan for the risks. This contract may include provision for the
pooling of members' risks reinsured through the association and it may provide
for assessment of each member reinsuring risks for losses and operating and
administrative expenses incurred, or estimated to be incurred in the operation
of the reinsurance plan. This
reinsurance plan shall be approved by the commissioner before it is effective. Members electing to administer the risks
which are reinsured in the association shall comply with the benefit
determination guidelines and accounting procedures established by the
association. The fee charged by the
association for the reinsurance of risks shall not be less than 110 percent of
the total anticipated expenses incurred by the association for the reinsurance;
and
(f) Provide for the administration by the association of
policies which are reinsured pursuant to clause (e). Each member electing to reinsure one or more
categories of coverage in the association may elect to have the association
administer the categories of coverage on the member's behalf. If a member elects to have the association
administer the categories of coverage, it must do so for every life covered
under every policy issued in that category.
The fee for the administration shall not be less than 110 percent of the
total anticipated expenses incurred by the association for the administration.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 41. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62H.04, is amended to read:
62H.04 COMPLIANCE
WITH OTHER LAWS.
(a) A joint self-insurance plan is subject to the
requirements of chapters 62A, 62E, 62L, and 62Q, and sections 72A.17 to 72A.32
unless otherwise specifically exempt. A
joint self-insurance plan must pay assessments made by the Minnesota
Comprehensive Health Association, as required under section 62E.11.
(b) A joint self-insurance plan is exempt from providing the
mandated health benefits described in chapters 62A, 62E, 62L, and 62Q if it
otherwise provides the benefits required under the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974, United States Code, title 29, sections 1001, et seq., for
all employers and not just for the employers with 50 or more employees who are
covered by that federal law.
(c) A joint self-insurance plan is exempt from section
62L.03, subdivision 1, if the plan offers an annual open enrollment period of
no less than 15 days during which all employers that qualify for membership may
enter the plan without preexisting condition limitations or exclusions except
those permitted under chapter 62L.
(d) A joint self-insurance plan is exempt from sections
62A.146, 62A.16, 62A.17, 62A.20, 62A.21, and 62A.65, subdivision 5,
paragraph (b), and 62E.16 if the joint self-insurance plan complies with
the continuation requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act
of 1974, United States Code, title 29, sections 1001, et seq., for all
employers and not just for the employers with 20 or more employees who are
covered by that federal law.
(e) A joint self-insurance plan must provide to all
employers the maternity coverage required by federal law for employers with 15
or more employees.
(f) A joint self-insurance plan must comply with all the
provisions and requirements of the Affordable Care Act as defined under section
62A.011, subdivision 1a, to the extent that they apply to such plans.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment,
except that the amendment made to paragraph (d) is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 42. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 62L.02,
subdivision 11, is amended to read:
Subd. 11. Dependent.
"Dependent" means an eligible employee's spouse, unmarried
child who is under the age of 25 years dependent child to the limiting
age as defined in section 62Q.01, subdivision 9, dependent child of any age
who is disabled and who meets the eligibility criteria in section 62A.14,
subdivision 2, or any other person whom state or federal law requires to be
treated as a dependent for purposes of health plans. For the purpose of this definition, a dependent
child to the limiting age as defined in section 62Q.01, subdivision 9, includes
a child for whom the employee or the employee's spouse has been appointed legal
guardian and an adoptive child as provided in section 62A.27. A child also means a grandchild as
provided in section 62A.042 with continued eligibility of grandchildren as
provided in section 62A.302, subdivision 4.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 43. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62L.02, subdivision 14a, is amended to read:
Subd. 14a. Guaranteed issue. "Guaranteed issue" means that a
health carrier shall not decline an application by a small employer for any
health benefit plan offered by that health carrier and shall not decline to
cover under a health benefit plan any eligible employee or eligible dependent,
including persons who become eligible employees or eligible dependents after
initial issuance of the health benefit plan, subject to the health carrier's
right to impose preexisting condition limitations permitted under this chapter.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 44. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62L.02, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 17a. Individual health plan. "Individual
health plan" means a health plan as defined under section 62A.011,
subdivision 3, that is offered to individuals in the individual market, other
than conversion policies or short-term coverage. Small group market health plans offered
though the Minnesota Insurance Marketplace to employees of a small employer are
not considered individual health plans, regardless of whether the health plan
is purchased using a defined contribution from the employer.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 45. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62L.02, subdivision 26, is amended to read:
Subd. 26. Small employer. (a) "Small employer" means,
with respect to a calendar year and a plan year, a person, firm, corporation,
partnership, association, or other entity actively engaged in business in
Minnesota, including a political subdivision of the state, that employed an
average of employees that it is reasonably
expected that the employer will employ on business days in the current calendar
year. For purposes of this definition,
the term employer includes any predecessor of the employer. An employer that has more than 50 current
employees but has 50 or fewer employees, as "employee" is defined
under United States Code, title 29, section 1002(6), is a small employer under
this subdivision.no fewer than two nor at least one, not including a sole
proprietor, but not more than 50 current employees on business days during
the preceding calendar year and that employs at least two one
current employees employee, not including a sole proprietor, on
the first day of the plan year. If an
employer has only one eligible employee who has not waived coverage, the sale
of a health plan to or for that eligible employee is not a sale to a small
employer and is not subject to this chapter and may be treated as the sale of
an individual health plan. A small
employer plan may be offered through a domiciled association to self-employed
individuals and small employers who are members of the association, even if the
self-employed individual or small employer has fewer than two current employees. Entities that are treated as a single
employer under subsection (b), (c), (m), or (o) of section 414 of the federal
Internal Revenue Code are considered a single employer for purposes of
determining the number of current employees.
Small employer status must be determined on an annual basis as of the
renewal date of the health benefit plan.
The provisions of this chapter continue to apply to an employer who no
longer meets the requirements of this definition until the annual renewal date
of the employer's health benefit plan. If
an employer was not in existence throughout the preceding calendar year, the
determination of whether the employer is a small employer is based upon the
average number of current
(b) Where an association, as defined in section 62L.045,
comprised of employers contracts with a health carrier to provide coverage to
its members who are small employers, the association and health benefit plans
it provides to small employers, are subject to section 62L.045, with respect to
small employers in the association, even though the association also provides
coverage to its members that do not qualify as small employers.
(c) If an employer has employees covered under a trust
specified in a collective bargaining agreement under the federal
Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, United States Code, title 29, section
141, et seq., as amended, or employees whose health coverage is determined by a
collective bargaining agreement and, as a result of the collective bargaining
agreement, is purchased separately from the health plan provided to other
employees, those employees are excluded in determining whether the employer
qualifies as a small employer. Those
employees are considered to be a separate small employer if they constitute a
group that would qualify as a small employer in the absence of the employees
who are not subject to the collective bargaining agreement.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 46. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62L.03, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Guaranteed
issue and reissue. (a) Every health
carrier shall, as a condition of authority to transact business in this state
in the small employer market, affirmatively market, offer, sell, issue, and
renew any of its health benefit plans, on a guaranteed issue basis, to any
small employer, including a small employer covered by paragraph (b), that meets
the participation and contribution requirements of subdivision 3, as provided
in this chapter.
(b) A small employer that has its no longer meets
the definition of small employer because of a reduction in workforce reduced
to one employee may continue coverage as a small employer for 12 months
from the date the group is reduced to one employee.
(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a health carrier may, at
the time of coverage renewal, modify the health coverage for a product offered
in the small employer market if the modification is consistent with state law,
approved by the commissioner, and effective on a uniform basis for all small
employers purchasing that product other than through a qualified association in
compliance with section 62L.045, subdivision 2.
Paragraph (a) does not apply to a
health benefit plan designed for a small employer to comply with a collective
bargaining agreement, provided that the health benefit plan otherwise complies
with this chapter and is not offered to other small employers, except for other
small employers that need it for the same reason. This paragraph applies only with respect to
collective bargaining agreements entered into prior to August 21, 1996, and
only with respect to plan years beginning before the later of July 1, 1997, or
the date upon which the last of the collective bargaining agreements relating
to the plan terminates determined without regard to any extension agreed to
after August 21, 1996.
(d) Every health carrier participating in the small employer
market shall make available both of the plans described in section 62L.05 to
small employers and shall fully comply with the underwriting and the rate
restrictions specified in this chapter for all health benefit plans issued to
small employers.
(e) (d) A health carrier may cease
to transact business in the small employer market as provided under section
62L.09.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 47. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 62L.03,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Minimum participation and contribution. (a) A small employer that has at least 75
percent of its eligible employees who have not waived coverage participating in
a health benefit plan and that contributes at least 50 percent toward the cost
of coverage of each eligible employee must be guaranteed coverage on a
guaranteed issue basis from any health carrier participating in the small
employer market. The participation level
of eligible employees must be determined at the initial offering of coverage
and at the renewal date of coverage. A
health carrier must not increase the participation requirements applicable to a
small employer at any time after the small employer has been accepted for
coverage. For the purposes of this
subdivision, waiver of coverage includes only waivers due to: (1) coverage under another group health plan;
(2) unaffordability as specified by the Affordable Care Act as defined under section 62A.011, subdivision 1a; (3) coverage under Medicare Parts A and B; or (3)
(4) coverage under medical assistance under chapter 256B or general
assistance medical care under chapter 256D.
(b) If a small employer does not satisfy the contribution or
participation requirements under this subdivision, a health carrier may
voluntarily issue or renew individual health plans, or a health benefit plan
which must fully comply with this chapter.
A health carrier that provides a health benefit plan to a small employer
that does not meet the contribution or participation requirements of this
subdivision must maintain this information in its files for audit by the
commissioner. A health carrier may not
offer an individual health plan, purchased through an arrangement between the
employer and the health carrier, to any employee unless the health carrier also
offers the individual health plan, on a guaranteed issue basis, to all other
employees of the same employer. An
arrangement permitted under section 62L.12, subdivision 2, paragraph (k), is
not an arrangement between the employer and the health carrier for purposes of
this paragraph.
(c) Nothing in this section obligates a health carrier to
issue coverage to a small employer that currently offers coverage through a
health benefit plan from another health carrier, unless the new coverage will
replace the existing coverage and not serve as one of two or more health
benefit plans offered by the employer. This
paragraph does not apply if the small employer will meet the required
participation level with respect to the new coverage.
(d) This section does not apply to health plans offered
through the Minnesota Insurance Marketplace under chapter 62V.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 48. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62L.03, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. Underwriting restrictions. (a) Health carriers may apply
underwriting restrictions to coverage for health benefit plans for small
employers, including any preexisting condition limitations, only as expressly
permitted under this chapter. For
purposes of this section, "underwriting restrictions" means any
refusal of the health carrier to issue or renew coverage, any premium rate
higher than the lowest rate charged by the health carrier for the same
coverage, any preexisting condition limitation, preexisting condition
exclusion, or any exclusionary rider.
(b)
Health carriers may collect information relating to the case characteristics
and demographic composition of small employers, as well as health status and
health history information about employees, and dependents of employees, of
small employers.
provided
that the individual maintains continuous coverage. The credit must be given for all qualifying
coverage with respect to all preexisting conditions, regardless of whether the
conditions were preexisting with respect to any previous qualifying coverage. Section 60A.082, relating to replacement of
group coverage, and the rules adopted under that section apply to this chapter,
and this chapter's requirements are in addition to the requirements of that
section and the rules adopted under it. A
health carrier shall, at the time of first issuance or renewal of a health
benefit plan on or after July 1, 1993, credit against any preexisting condition
limitation or exclusion permitted under this section, the time period prior to
July 1, 1993, during which an eligible employee or dependent was covered by
qualifying coverage, if the person has maintained continuous coverage.(c) Except as otherwise authorized for late entrants,
preexisting conditions may be excluded by a health carrier for a period not to
exceed 12 months from the enrollment date of an eligible employee or dependent,
but exclusionary riders must not be used.
Late entrants may be subject to a preexisting condition limitation not
to exceed 18 months from the enrollment date of the late entrant, but must not
be subject to any exclusionary rider or preexisting condition exclusion. When calculating any length of preexisting
condition limitation, a health carrier shall credit the time period an eligible
employee or dependent was previously covered by qualifying coverage,
(d) Health carriers shall not use pregnancy as a preexisting
condition under this chapter.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 49. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62L.03, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. MCHA enrollees. Health carriers shall offer coverage to
any eligible employee or dependent enrolled in MCHA at the time of the health
carrier's issuance or renewal of a health benefit plan to a small employer. The health benefit plan must require that the
employer permit MCHA enrollees to enroll in the small employer's health benefit
plan as of the first date of renewal of a health benefit plan occurring on or
after July 1, 1993, and as of each date of renewal after that, or, in the case
of a new group, as of the initial effective date of the health benefit plan and
as of each date of renewal after that. Unless
otherwise permitted by this chapter, Health carriers must not impose any
underwriting restrictions, including any preexisting condition limitations or
exclusions, on any eligible employee or dependent previously enrolled in MCHA
and transferred to a health benefit plan so long as continuous coverage is
maintained, provided that the health carrier may impose any unexpired portion
of a preexisting condition limitation under the person's MCHA coverage. An MCHA enrollee is not a late entrant, so
long as the enrollee has maintained continuous coverage.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 50. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62L.045, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Qualified associations. (a) A qualified association, as defined
in this section, and health coverage offered by it, to it, or through it, to a
small employer in this state must comply with the requirements of this chapter
regarding guaranteed issue, guaranteed renewal, preexisting condition
limitations, credit against preexisting condition limitations for continuous
coverage, treatment of MCHA enrollees, and the definition of dependent, and
with section 62A.65, subdivision 5, paragraph (b). They must also comply with all other requirements
of this chapter not specifically exempted in paragraph (b) or (c).
(b) A qualified association and a health carrier offering,
selling, issuing, or renewing health coverage to, or to cover, a small employer
in this state through the qualified association, may, but are not, in
connection with that health coverage, required to:
(1) offer the two small employer plans described in section
62L.05; and
(2) offer to small employers that are not members of the
association, health coverage offered to, by, or through the qualified
association.
(c) A qualified association, and a health carrier offering,
selling, issuing, and renewing health coverage to, or to cover, a small
employer in this state must comply with section 62L.08, except that:
(1) a separate index rate may be applied by a health carrier
to each qualified association, provided that:
(i) the premium rate applied to
participating small employer members of the qualified association is no more
than 25 percent above and no more than 25 percent below the index rate applied
to the qualified association, irrespective of when members applied for health
coverage; and
(ii) the index rate applied by a health carrier to a
qualified association is no more than 20 percent above and no more than 20
percent below the index rate applied by the health carrier to any other
qualified association or to any small employer.
In comparing index rates for purposes of this clause, the 20 percent
shall be calculated as a percent of the larger index rate; and
(2) a qualified association described in subdivision 1,
paragraph (a), clauses (2) to (4), providing health coverage through a health
carrier, or on a self-insured basis in compliance with section 471.617 and the
rules adopted under that section, may cover small employers and other employers
within the same pool and may charge premiums to small employer members on the
same basis as it charges premiums to members that are not small employers, if
the premium rates charged to small employers do not have greater variation than
permitted under section 62L.08. A
qualified association operating under this clause shall annually prove to the
commissioner of commerce that it complies with this clause through a sampling
procedure acceptable to the commissioner.
If the qualified association fails to prove compliance to the
satisfaction of the commissioner, the association shall agree to a written plan
of correction acceptable to the commissioner.
The qualified association is considered to be in compliance under this
clause if there is a premium rate that would, if used as an index rate, result
in all premium rates in the sample being in compliance with section 62L.08. This clause does not exempt a qualified
association or a health carrier providing coverage through the qualified
association from the loss ratio requirement of section 62L.08, subdivision 11.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 51. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62L.045, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. Principles; association coverage. (a) This subdivision applies to
associations as defined in this section, whether qualified associations or not,
and is intended to clarify subdivisions 1 to 3.
(b) This section applies only to associations that provide
health coverage to small employers.
(c) A health carrier is not required under this chapter
to comply with guaranteed issue and guaranteed renewal with respect to its
relationship with the association itself.
An arrangement between the health carrier and the association, once
entered into, must comply with guaranteed issue and guaranteed renewal with
respect to members of the association that are small employers and persons
covered through them.
(d) When an arrangement between a health carrier and an
association has validly terminated, the health carrier has no continuing
obligation to small employers and persons covered through them, except as
otherwise provided in:
(1) section 62A.65, subdivision 5, paragraph (b);
(2) any other continuation or conversion rights applicable
under state or federal law; and
(3) section 60A.082, relating to group replacement coverage,
and rules adopted under that section.
(e) When an association's arrangement with a health carrier
has terminated and the association has entered into a new arrangement with that
health carrier or a different health carrier, the new arrangement is subject to
section 60A.082 and rules adopted under it, with respect to members of the
association that are small employers and persons covered through them.
(f) An association that offers
its members more than one plan of health coverage may have uniform rules
restricting movement between the plans of health coverage, if the rules do not
discriminate against small employers.
(g) This chapter does not require or prohibit separation of
an association's members into one group consisting only of small employers and
another group or other groups consisting of all other members. The association must comply with this section
with respect to the small employer group.
(h) For purposes of this section, "member" of an
association includes an employer participant in the association.
(i) For purposes of this section, health coverage issued to,
or to cover, a small employer includes a certificate of coverage issued
directly to the employer's employees and dependents, rather than to the small
employer.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 52. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62L.05, subdivision 10, is amended to read:
Subd. 10. Medical expense reimbursement. Health carriers may reimburse or pay for
medical services, supplies, or articles provided under a small employer plan in
accordance with the health carrier's provider contract requirements including,
but not limited to, salaried arrangements, capitation, the payment of usual and
customary charges, fee schedules, discounts from fee-for-service, per diems,
diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), and other payment arrangements. Nothing in this chapter requires a health
carrier to develop, implement, or change its provider contract requirements for
a small employer plan. Coinsurance,
deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums, and maximum lifetime
benefits must be calculated and determined in accordance with each health
carrier's standard business practices.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 53. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62L.06, is amended to read:
62L.06 DISCLOSURE
OF UNDERWRITING RATING PRACTICES.
When offering or renewing a health
benefit plan, health carriers shall disclose in all solicitation and sales
materials:
(1) the case characteristics and other rating factors
used to determine initial and renewal rates;
(2) the extent to which premium rates for a small employer
are established or adjusted based upon actual or expected variation in claim
experience;
(3)
provisions concerning the health carrier's right to change premium rates and
the factors other than claim experience that affect changes in premium rates;
(4)
(2) provisions relating to renewability of coverage;
(5) the use and effect of any preexisting condition
provisions, if permitted;
(6)
(3) the application of any provider network limitations and their effect
on eligibility for benefits; and
(7)
(4) the ability of small employers to insure eligible employees and
dependents currently receiving coverage from the Comprehensive Health
Association through health benefit plans.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 54. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 62L.08, is
amended to read:
62L.08
RESTRICTIONS RELATING TO PREMIUM RATES.
Subdivision 1. Rate restrictions. Premium rates for all health benefit
plans sold or issued to small employers are subject to the restrictions
specified in this section.
Subd. 2. General premium variations. Beginning July 1, 1993, each health
carrier must offer premium rates to small employers that are no more than 25
percent above and no more than 25 percent below the index rate charged to small
employers for the same or similar coverage, adjusted pro rata for rating
periods of less than one year. The
premium variations permitted by this subdivision must be based only on health
status, claims experience, industry of the employer, and duration of coverage
from the date of issue. For purposes of
this subdivision, health status includes refraining from tobacco use or other
actuarially valid lifestyle factors associated with good health, provided that
the lifestyle factor and its effect upon premium rates have been determined to
be actuarially valid and approved by the commissioner. Variations permitted under this subdivision
must not be based upon age or applied differently at different ages. This subdivision does not prohibit use of a
constant percentage adjustment for factors permitted to be used under this
subdivision.
Subd. 2a. Renewal premium increases limited. (a) Beginning January 1, 2003, the
percentage increase in the premium rate charged to a small employer for a new
rating period must not exceed the sum of the following:
(1) the percentage change in the index rate measured from
the first day of the prior rating period to the first day of the new rating
period;
(2) an adjustment, not to exceed 15 percent annually and
adjusted pro rata for rating periods of less than one year, due to the claims
experience, health status, or duration of coverage of the employees or
dependents of the employer; and
(3) any adjustment due to change in coverage or in the case
characteristics of the employer.
(b) This subdivision does not apply if the employer,
employee, or any applicant provides the health carrier with false, incomplete,
or misleading information.
Subd. 3. Age-based premium variations. Beginning July 1, 1993, Each
health carrier may offer premium rates to small employers that vary based upon
the ages of the eligible employees and dependents of the small employer only as
provided in this subdivision. In
addition to the variation permitted by subdivision 2, each health carrier may
use an additional premium variation based upon age of up to plus or minus 50
percent of the index rate. Premium
rates may vary based upon the ages of the eligible employees and dependents of
the small employer in accordance with the provisions of the Affordable Care Act
as defined in section 62A.011, subdivision 1a.
Subd. 4. Geographic premium variations. A health carrier may request approval
by the commissioner to establish separate geographic regions determined by the
health carrier and to establish separate index rates for each such region Premium
rates may vary based on geographic rating areas set by the commissioner. The commissioner shall grant approval if the
following conditions are met:
(1) the geographic regions must be applied uniformly by the
health carrier;
(2) each geographic region must be
composed of no fewer than seven counties that create a contiguous region; and
(3)index rates, establishing that the
variations are based upon differences in the cost to the health carrier of
providing coverage.
Subd. 5. Gender-based rates prohibited. Beginning July 1, 1993, No health
carrier may determine premium rates through a method that is in any way based
upon the gender of eligible employees or dependents. Rates must not in any way reflect marital
status or generalized differences in expected costs between employees and
spouses.
Subd. 6. Rate cells permitted Tobacco
rating. Health carriers may
use rate cells and must file with the commissioner the rate cells they use. Rate cells must be based on the number of
adults and children covered under the policy and may reflect the availability
of Medicare coverage. The rates for
different rate cells must not in any way reflect marital status or differences
in expected costs between employees and spouses Premium rates may vary
based upon tobacco use in accordance with the provisions of the Affordable Care
Act as defined in section 62A.011, subdivision 1a.
Subd. 7. Index and Premium rate development. (a) In developing its index rates
and premiums, a health carrier may take into account only the following
factors:
(1) actuarially valid differences in benefit designs of
health benefit plans; and
(2) actuarially valid differences in the rating factors
permitted in subdivisions 2 and 3;
(3)
(2) actuarially valid geographic variations if approved by the
commissioner as provided in subdivision 4.
(b) All premium variations permitted under this section must
be based upon actuarially valid differences in expected cost to the health
carrier of providing coverage. The
variation must be justified in initial rate filings and upon request of the
commissioner in rate revision filings. All
premium variations are subject to approval by the commissioner.
Subd. 8. Filing requirement. A health carrier that offers, sells,
issues, or renews a health benefit plan for small employers shall file with the
commissioner the index rates and must demonstrate that all rates shall
be within the rating restrictions defined in this chapter. Such demonstration must include the allowable
range of rates from the index rates and a description of how the health
carrier intends to use demographic factors including case characteristics in
calculating the premium rates. The rates
shall not be approved, unless the commissioner has determined that the rates
are reasonable. In determining
reasonableness, the commissioner shall consider the growth rates applied under
section 62J.04, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), to the calendar year or years
that the proposed premium rate would be in effect, and actuarially valid
changes in risk associated with the enrollee population, and actuarially
valid changes as a result of statutory changes in Laws 1992, chapter 549.
Subd. 9. Effect of assessments. Premium rates must comply with the rating
requirements of this section, notwithstanding the imposition of any assessments
or premiums paid by health carriers as provided under sections 62L.13 to
62L.22.
Subd. 10. Rating report. Beginning January 1, 1995, and annually
thereafter, the commissioners of health and commerce shall provide a joint
report to the legislature on the effect of the rating restrictions required by
this section and the appropriateness of proceeding with additional rate reform. Each report must include an analysis of the
availability of health care coverage due to the rating reform, the equitable
and appropriate distribution of risk and associated costs, the effect on the
self-insurance market, and any resulting or anticipated change in health plan
design and market share and availability of health carriers.
Subd. 11. Loss
ratio standards. Notwithstanding
section 62A.02, subdivision 3, relating to loss ratios, each policy or contract
form used with respect to a health benefit plan offered, or issued in the small
employer market, is subject, beginning July 1, 1993, to section 62A.021. The commissioner of health has, with respect
to carriers under that commissioner's jurisdiction, all of the powers of the
commissioner of commerce under that section.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 55. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62L.12, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Exceptions.
(a) A health carrier may sell, issue, or renew individual conversion
policies to eligible employees otherwise eligible for conversion coverage under
section 62D.104 as a result of leaving a health maintenance organization's
service area.
(b) A health carrier may sell, issue, or renew individual
conversion policies to eligible employees otherwise eligible for conversion coverage
as a result of the expiration of any continuation of group coverage required
under sections 62A.146, 62A.17, 62A.21, 62C.142, 62D.101, and 62D.105.
(c) A health carrier may sell, issue, or renew conversion
policies under section 62E.16 to eligible employees.
(d) A health carrier may sell, issue, or renew individual
continuation policies to eligible employees as required.
(e) A health carrier may sell, issue, or renew individual
health plans if the coverage is appropriate due to an unexpired preexisting
condition limitation or exclusion applicable to the person under the employer's
group health plan or due to the person's need for health care services not
covered under the employer's group health plan.
(f) A health carrier may sell, issue, or renew an individual
health plan, if the individual has elected to buy the individual health plan
not as part of a general plan to substitute individual health plans for a group
health plan nor as a result of any violation of subdivision 3 or 4.
(g) A health carrier may sell, issue, or renew an
individual health plan if coverage provided by the employer is determined to be
unaffordable under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act as defined in
section 62A.011, subdivision 1a.
(h)
Nothing in this subdivision relieves a health carrier of any obligation to
provide continuation or conversion coverage otherwise required under federal or
state law.
(h)
(i) Nothing in this chapter restricts the offer, sale, issuance, or
renewal of coverage issued as a supplement to Medicare under sections 62A.3099
to 62A.44, or policies or contracts that supplement Medicare issued by health
maintenance organizations, or those contracts governed by sections 1833, 1851
to 1859, 1860D, or 1876 of the federal Social Security Act, United States Code,
title 42, section 1395 et seq., as amended.
(i)
(j) Nothing in this chapter restricts the offer, sale, issuance, or
renewal of individual health plans necessary to comply with a court order.
(j)
(k) A health carrier may offer, issue, sell, or renew an individual
health plan to persons eligible for an employer group health plan, if the
individual health plan is a high deductible health plan for use in connection
with an existing health savings account, in compliance with the Internal Revenue
Code, section 223. In that situation,
the same or a different health carrier may offer, issue, sell, or renew a group
health plan to cover the other eligible employees in the group.
(k)or 62E.16,
at the request of an employee, the health carrier may bill the employer for the
premiums payable by the employee, provided that the employer is not liable for
payment except from payroll deductions for that purpose. If an employer is submitting payments under
this paragraph, the health carrier shall provide a cancellation notice directly
to the primary insured at least ten days prior to termination of coverage for
nonpayment of premium. Individual
coverage under this paragraph may be offered only if the small employer has not
provided coverage under section 62L.03 to the employees within the past 12
months.
The employer must provide a written and
signed statement to the health carrier that the employer is not contributing
directly or indirectly to the employee's premiums. The health carrier may rely on the employer's
statement and is not required to guarantee-issue individual health plans to the
employer's other current or future employees.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective January 1, 2014.
Sec. 56. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62M.05, subdivision 3a, is amended to read:
Subd. 3a. Standard review determination. (a) Notwithstanding subdivision 3b, an
initial determination on all requests for utilization review must be
communicated to the provider and enrollee in accordance with this subdivision
within ten business days of the request, provided that all information
reasonably necessary to make a determination on the request has been made
available to the utilization review organization.
(b) When an initial determination is made to certify,
notification must be provided promptly by telephone to the provider. The utilization review organization shall
send written notification to the provider or shall maintain an audit trail of
the determination and telephone notification.
For purposes of this subdivision, "audit trail" includes
documentation of the telephone notification, including the date; the name of
the person spoken to; the enrollee; the service, procedure, or admission
certified; and the date of the service, procedure, or admission. If the utilization review organization indicates
certification by use of a number, the number must be called the
"certification number." For
purposes of this subdivision, notification may also be made by facsimile to a
verified number or by electronic mail to a secure electronic mailbox. These electronic forms of notification
satisfy the "audit trail" requirement of this paragraph.
(c) When an initial determination is made not to certify,
notification must be provided by telephone, by facsimile to a verified number,
or by electronic mail to a secure electronic mailbox within one working day
after making the determination to the attending health care professional and
hospital as applicable. Written
notification must also be sent to the hospital as applicable and attending
health care professional if notification occurred by telephone. For purposes of this subdivision,
notification may be made by facsimile to a verified number or by electronic
mail to a secure electronic mailbox. Written
notification must be sent to the enrollee and may be sent by United States
mail, facsimile to a verified number, or by electronic mail to a secure mailbox. The written notification must include the
principal reason or reasons for the determination and the process for
initiating an appeal of the determination. Upon request, the utilization review
organization shall provide the provider or enrollee with the criteria used to
determine the necessity, appropriateness, and efficacy of the health care
service and identify the database, professional treatment parameter, or other
basis for the criteria. Reasons for a
determination not to certify may include, among other things, the lack of
adequate information to certify after a reasonable attempt has been made to
contact the provider or enrollee.
(d) When an initial determination
is made not to certify, the written notification must inform the enrollee and
the attending health care professional of the right to submit an appeal to the
internal appeal process described in section 62M.06 and the procedure for
initiating the internal appeal. The
written notice shall be provided in a culturally and linguistically appropriate
manner consistent with the provisions of the Affordable Care Act as defined
under section 62A.011, subdivision 1a.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 57. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62M.06, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Procedures for appeal. A utilization review organization must
have written procedures for appeals of determinations not to certify. The right to appeal must be available to the
enrollee and to the attending health care professional. The enrollee shall be allowed to review
the information relied upon in the course of the appeal, present evidence and
testimony as part of the appeals process, and receive continued coverage
pending the outcome of the appeals process.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 58. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62Q.01, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 1a. Affordable Care Act. "Affordable
Care Act" means the Affordable Care Act as defined in section 62A.011,
subdivision 1a.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 59. Minnesota
Statutes 2012, section 62Q.01, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 1b. Bona
fide association. "Bona
fide association" means an association that meets all of the following
criteria:
(1) serves a single profession that requires a significant
amount of education, training or experience, or a license or certificate from a
state authority to practice that profession;
(2) has been actively in existence for five years;
(3) has a constitution and bylaws or other analogous
governing documents;
(4) has been formed and maintained in good faith for
purposes other than obtaining insurance;