STATE OF
MINNESOTA
NINETIETH
SESSION - 2018
_____________________
ONE
HUNDRED FIRST DAY
Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saturday, May 19, 2018
The House of Representatives convened at 1:00
p.m. and was called to order by Kurt Daudt, Speaker of the House.
Prayer was offered by Representative Liz
Olson, District 7B, Duluth, 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:
Albright
Allen
Anderson, P.
Anderson, S.
Anselmo
Bahr, C.
Baker
Barr, R.
Bennett
Bernardy
Bliss
Bly
Carlson, A.
Carlson, L.
Christensen
Clark
Considine
Daniels
Davids
Davnie
Dean, M.
Dehn, R.
Dettmer
Drazkowski
Ecklund
Erickson
Fabian
Fenton
Fischer
Flanagan
Franke
Franson
Freiberg
Garofalo
Green
Grossell
Gruenhagen
Gunther
Haley
Halverson
Hamilton
Hansen
Hausman
Heintzeman
Hertaus
Hilstrom
Hoppe
Hortman
Howe
Jessup
Johnson, B.
Johnson, C.
Jurgens
Kiel
Knoblach
Koegel
Koznick
Kresha
Layman
Lee
Lesch
Liebling
Lien
Lillie
Loeffler
Lohmer
Loon
Loonan
Lucero
Lueck
Mahoney
Mariani
Marquart
Masin
Maye Quade
Metsa
Miller
Moran
Munson
Murphy, M.
Nash
Nelson
Neu
Newberger
Nornes
O'Driscoll
Olson
Omar
O'Neill
Pelowski
Peppin
Petersburg
Peterson
Pierson
Pinto
Poppe
Poston
Pryor
Pugh
Quam
Rarick
Rosenthal
Runbeck
Sandstede
Sauke
Schomacker
Schultz
Scott
Smith
Sundin
Swedzinski
Theis
Torkelson
Uglem
Urdahl
Vogel
Wagenius
Ward
West
Whelan
Wills
Youakim
Zerwas
Spk. Daudt
A quorum was present.
Applebaum; Becker-Finn; Hornstein; Johnson,
S.; Kunesh-Podein and McDonald were excused.
Backer; Murphy, E., and Slocum were
excused until 11:30 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. 2565 and
H. F. No. 4254, which had been referred to the Chief Clerk for
comparison, were examined and found to be identical.
O'Neill moved that
S. F. No. 2565 be substituted for H. F. No. 4254
and that the House File be indefinitely postponed. The motion prevailed.
S. F. No. 2651 and
H. F. No. 3076, which had been referred to the Chief Clerk for
comparison, were examined and found to be identical.
Sandstede moved that
S. F. No. 2651 be substituted for H. F. No. 3076
and that the House File be indefinitely postponed. The motion prevailed.
SECOND READING
OF SENATE BILLS
S. F. Nos. 2565 and 2651
were read for the second time.
INTRODUCTION AND FIRST READING OF HOUSE BILLS
The
following House Files were introduced:
Koznick, Hausman, Albright, Bernardy, Smith and Anderson, S., introduced:
H. F. No. 4537, A bill for an act relating to transportation; requiring a report on transportation revenue sources and expenditures.
The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Transportation and Regional Governance Policy.
Schultz, Bernardy and Liebling introduced:
H. F. No. 4538, A bill for an act relating to transportation; amending a window glazing exception related to prescription or medical needs; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 169.71, subdivision 4.
The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Transportation and Regional Governance Policy.
Davnie, Halverson and Bernardy introduced:
H. F. No. 4539, A bill for an act relating to driver's licenses; repealing certain driver licensing requirements related to diabetes mellitus; repealing Minnesota Rules, part 7410.2610, subparts 1, 2, 3, 3a, 5a, 5b, 6.
The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Transportation and Regional Governance Policy.
Lee introduced:
H. F. No. 4540, A bill for an act relating to campaign finance; modifying definition of express advocacy; requiring certain disclosures in campaign advertisements; providing disclosures of electioneering communications; providing penalties; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, sections 10A.01, subdivision 16a; 10A.022, subdivision 3; 10A.121, subdivision 1; 10A.17, subdivision 4; 10A.20, subdivision 5; 10A.244; 10A.34, subdivision 4; 211B.01, subdivisions 1, 2, by adding subdivisions; 211B.02; 211B.04, as amended; 211B.06, subdivision 1; 211B.20, subdivision 1; 211B.32, subdivision 4; 211B.35, subdivision 2; Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, sections 10A.20, subdivision 3, as amended; 211B.11, subdivision 1; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 10A; 211B.
The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Government Operations and Elections Policy.
Peppin moved that the House recess subject
to the call of the Chair. The motion
prevailed.
RECESS
RECONVENED
The House reconvened and was called to
order by Speaker pro tempore Albright.
Davnie was excused between the hours of
1:25 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE
The
following message was received from the Senate:
Mr. Speaker:
I hereby announce that the Senate accedes to the request of the House for the appointment of a Conference Committee on the amendments adopted by the Senate to the following House File:
H. F. No. 3972, A bill for an act relating to liquor; clarifying provisions relating to brewing and winemaking on premises; modifying off-sale hours; authorizing licenses; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, sections 340A.33; 340A.34; Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 340A.504, subdivision 4.
The Senate has appointed as such committee:
Senators Dahms, Weber and Dibble.
Said House File is herewith returned to the House.
Cal R. Ludeman, Secretary of the Senate
CALENDAR
FOR THE DAY
S. F. No. 3463, A bill for
an act relating to public safety; creating liability and vicarious liability
for trespass to critical infrastructure; creating a crime for recruiting or
educating individuals to trespass on or damage critical infrastructure;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 609.6055, subdivision 2; proposing
coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 604.
The bill was read for the third time and
placed upon its final passage.
The question was taken on the passage of
the bill and the roll was called. There
were 77 yeas and 46 nays as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative were:
Albright
Anderson, P.
Anderson, S.
Anselmo
Bahr, C.
Baker
Barr, R.
Bennett
Bliss
Christensen
Daniels
Davids
Dean, M.
Dettmer
Drazkowski
Erickson
Fabian
Fenton
Franke
Franson
Garofalo
Green
Grossell
Gruenhagen
Gunther
Haley
Hamilton
Heintzeman
Hertaus
Hoppe
Howe
Jessup
Johnson, B.
Jurgens
Kiel
Knoblach
Koznick
Kresha
Layman
Lohmer
Loon
Loonan
Lucero
Lueck
Marquart
Miller
Munson
Nash
Neu
Newberger
Nornes
O'Driscoll
O'Neill
Pelowski
Peppin
Petersburg
Peterson
Pierson
Poston
Pugh
Quam
Rarick
Runbeck
Schomacker
Scott
Smith
Swedzinski
Theis
Torkelson
Uglem
Urdahl
Vogel
West
Whelan
Wills
Zerwas
Spk. Daudt
Those who voted in the negative were:
Allen
Bernardy
Bly
Carlson, A.
Carlson, L.
Clark
Considine
Dehn, R.
Ecklund
Fischer
Flanagan
Freiberg
Halverson
Hansen
Hausman
Hilstrom
Hortman
Johnson, C.
Koegel
Lee
Lesch
Liebling
Lien
Lillie
Loeffler
Mahoney
Mariani
Masin
Maye Quade
Metsa
Moran
Murphy, M.
Nelson
Olson
Omar
Pinto
Poppe
Pryor
Rosenthal
Sandstede
Sauke
Schultz
Sundin
Wagenius
Ward
Youakim
The bill was
passed and its title agreed to.
Peppin moved that the House recess subject
to the call of the Chair. The motion
prevailed.
RECESS
RECONVENED
The House reconvened and was called to
order by Speaker pro tempore Albright.
Dehn, R., was excused between the hours
of 11:30 p.m. and 12:25 a.m.
Lillie was excused for the remainder of
today's session.
Pursuant to rule 1.50, Peppin moved that
the House be allowed to continue in session after 12:00 midnight. The motion prevailed.
There being no objection, the order of
business reverted to Messages from the Senate.
MESSAGES FROM
THE SENATE
The
following messages were received from the Senate:
Mr. Speaker:
I hereby announce that the Senate has concurred in and adopted the report of the Conference Committee on:
H. F. No. 3763, A bill for an act relating to economic development; limiting use of funds in the Douglas J. Johnson economic protection trust fund; amending Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 298.292, subdivision 2.
The Senate has repassed said bill in accordance with the recommendation and report of the Conference Committee. Said House File is herewith returned to the House.
Cal R. Ludeman, Secretary of the Senate
Mr. Speaker:
I hereby announce the passage by the Senate of the following House File, herewith returned, as amended by the Senate, in which amendments the concurrence of the House is respectfully requested:
H. F. No. 3202, A bill for an act relating to health; adding a project to the hospital construction moratorium exception; changing provisions for the plan required for an exception to the hospital construction moratorium; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 144.552; Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 144.551, subdivision 1.
Cal R. Ludeman, Secretary of the Senate
CONCURRENCE AND REPASSAGE
Schomacker moved that the House concur in
the Senate amendments to H. F. No. 3202 and that the bill be
repassed as amended by the Senate. The
motion prevailed.
H. F. No. 3202, A
bill for an act relating to health; adding a project to the hospital
construction moratorium exception; imposing deadlines on the public interest
review process; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 144.552; Minnesota
Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 144.551, subdivision 1.
The bill was read for the third time, as
amended by the Senate, and placed upon its repassage.
The question was taken on the repassage of
the bill and the roll was called. There
were 124 yeas and 0 nays as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative were:
Albright
Allen
Anderson, P.
Anderson, S.
Anselmo
Backer
Bahr, C.
Baker
Barr, R.
Bennett
Bernardy
Bliss
Bly
Carlson, A.
Carlson, L.
Christensen
Clark
Considine
Daniels
Davids
Davnie
Dean, M.
Dettmer
Drazkowski
Ecklund
Erickson
Fabian
Fenton
Fischer
Flanagan
Franke
Franson
Freiberg
Garofalo
Green
Grossell
Gruenhagen
Gunther
Haley
Halverson
Hamilton
Hansen
Heintzeman
Hertaus
Hilstrom
Hoppe
Hortman
Howe
Jessup
Johnson, B.
Johnson, C.
Jurgens
Kiel
Knoblach
Koegel
Koznick
Kresha
Layman
Lee
Lesch
Liebling
Lien
Loeffler
Lohmer
Loon
Loonan
Lucero
Lueck
Mahoney
Mariani
Marquart
Masin
Maye Quade
Metsa
Miller
Moran
Munson
Murphy, E.
Murphy, M.
Nash
Nelson
Neu
Newberger
Nornes
O'Driscoll
Olson
Omar
O'Neill
Pelowski
Peppin
Petersburg
Peterson
Pierson
Pinto
Poppe
Poston
Pryor
Pugh
Quam
Rarick
Rosenthal
Runbeck
Sandstede
Sauke
Schomacker
Schultz
Scott
Slocum
Smith
Sundin
Swedzinski
Theis
Torkelson
Uglem
Urdahl
Vogel
Wagenius
Ward
West
Whelan
Wills
Youakim
Zerwas
Spk. Daudt
The bill was repassed, as amended by the
Senate, and its title agreed to.
Mr. Speaker:
I hereby announce that the Senate has concurred in and adopted the report of the Conference Committee on:
S. F. No. 3310.
The Senate has repassed said bill in accordance with the recommendation and report of the Conference Committee. Said Senate File is herewith transmitted to the House.
Cal R. Ludeman, Secretary of the Senate
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT ON S. F. No. 3310
A bill for an act relating to human services; modifying provisions relating to child care licensing; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, sections 245A.04, subdivision 9; 245A.05; 245A.06, subdivision 1; 245A.14, by adding a subdivision; 245A.152; Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, sections 245A.07, subdivision 3; 245A.1434.
May 19, 2018
The Honorable Michelle L. Fischbach
President of the Senate
The Honorable Kurt L. Daudt
Speaker of the House of Representatives
We, the undersigned conferees for S. F. No. 3310 report that we have agreed upon the items in dispute and recommend as follows:
That the House recede from its amendments and that S. F. No. 3310 be further amended as follows:
Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 245A.04, subdivision 9, is amended to read:
Subd. 9. Variances. (a) The commissioner may grant variances to rules that do not affect the health or safety of persons in a licensed program if the following conditions are met:
(1) the variance must be requested by an applicant or license holder on a form and in a manner prescribed by the commissioner;
(2) the request for a variance must include the reasons that the applicant or license holder cannot comply with a requirement as stated in the rule and the alternative equivalent measures that the applicant or license holder will follow to comply with the intent of the rule; and
(3) the request must state the period of time for which the variance is requested.
The commissioner may grant a permanent variance when conditions under which the variance is requested do not affect the health or safety of persons being served by the licensed program, nor compromise the qualifications of staff to provide services. The permanent variance shall expire as soon as the conditions that warranted the variance are modified in any way. Any applicant or license holder must inform the commissioner of any changes or modifications that have occurred in the conditions that warranted the permanent variance. Failure to advise the commissioner shall result in revocation of the permanent variance and may be cause for other sanctions under sections 245A.06 and 245A.07.
The commissioner's decision to grant or deny a variance request is final and not subject to appeal under the provisions of chapter 14.
(b) The commissioner shall consider
variances for child care center staff qualification requirements under
Minnesota Rules, parts 9503.0032 and 9503.0033, that do not affect the health
and safety of children served by the center.
A variance request must be submitted to the commissioner in accordance
with paragraph (a) and must include a plan for the staff person to gain
additional experience, education, or training, as requested by the commissioner. When reviewing a variance request under this
section, the commissioner shall consider the staff person's level of
professional development, including but not limited to steps completed on the
Minnesota career lattice.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 245A.05, is amended to read:
245A.05
DENIAL OF APPLICATION.
(a) The commissioner may deny a license if an applicant or controlling individual:
(1) fails to submit a substantially complete application after receiving notice from the commissioner under section 245A.04, subdivision 1;
(2) fails to comply with applicable laws or rules;
(3) knowingly withholds relevant information from or gives false or misleading information to the commissioner in connection with an application for a license or during an investigation;
(4) has a disqualification that has not been set aside under section 245C.22 and no variance has been granted;
(5) has an individual living in the household who received a background study under section 245C.03, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (2), who has a disqualification that has not been set aside under section 245C.22, and no variance has been granted;
(6) is associated with an individual who received a background study under section 245C.03, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (6), who may have unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults, and who has a disqualification that has not been set aside under section 245C.22, and no variance has been granted; or
(7) fails to comply with section 245A.04, subdivision 1, paragraph (f) or (g).
(b) An applicant whose application has been denied by the commissioner must be given notice of the denial, which must state the reasons for the denial in plain language. Notice must be given by certified mail or personal service. The notice must state the reasons the application was denied and must inform the applicant of the right to a contested case hearing under chapter 14 and Minnesota Rules, parts 1400.8505 to 1400.8612. The applicant may appeal the denial by notifying the commissioner in writing by certified mail or personal service. If mailed, the appeal must be postmarked and sent to the commissioner within 20 calendar days after the applicant received the notice of denial. If an appeal request is made by personal service, it must be received by the commissioner within 20 calendar days after the applicant received the notice of denial. Section 245A.08 applies to hearings held to appeal the commissioner's denial of an application.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective January 1, 2019.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 245A.06, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Contents of correction orders and conditional licenses. (a) If the commissioner finds that the applicant or license holder has failed to comply with an applicable law or rule and this failure does not imminently endanger the health, safety, or rights of the persons served by the program, the commissioner may issue a correction order and an order of conditional license to the applicant or license holder. When issuing a conditional license, the commissioner shall consider the nature, chronicity, or severity of the violation of law or rule and the effect of the violation on the health, safety, or rights of persons served by the program. The correction order or conditional license must state the following in plain language:
(1) the conditions that constitute a violation of the law or rule;
(2) the specific law or rule violated;
(3) the time allowed to correct each violation; and
(4) if a license is made conditional, the length and terms of the conditional license, and the reasons for making the license conditional.
(b) Nothing in this section prohibits the commissioner from proposing a sanction as specified in section 245A.07, prior to issuing a correction order or conditional license.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective January 1, 2019.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 245A.07, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. License suspension, revocation, or fine. (a) The commissioner may suspend or revoke a license, or impose a fine if:
(1) a license holder fails to comply fully with applicable laws or rules;
(2) a license holder, a controlling individual, or an individual living in the household where the licensed services are provided or is otherwise subject to a background study has a disqualification which has not been set aside under section 245C.22;
(3) a license holder knowingly withholds relevant information from or gives false or misleading information to the commissioner in connection with an application for a license, in connection with the background study status of an individual, during an investigation, or regarding compliance with applicable laws or rules; or
(4) after July 1, 2012, and upon request by the commissioner, a license holder fails to submit the information required of an applicant under section 245A.04, subdivision 1, paragraph (f) or (g).
A license holder who has had a license
suspended, revoked, or has been ordered to pay a fine must be given notice of the
action by certified mail or personal service.
If mailed, the notice must be mailed to the address shown on the
application or the last known address of the license holder. The notice must state in plain language
the reasons the license was suspended, or revoked, or a fine was
ordered.
(b) If the license was suspended or revoked, the notice must inform the license holder of the right to a contested case hearing under chapter 14 and Minnesota Rules, parts 1400.8505 to 1400.8612. The license holder may appeal an order suspending or revoking a license. The appeal of an order suspending or revoking a license must be made in writing by certified mail or personal service. If mailed, the appeal must be postmarked and sent to the commissioner within ten calendar days after the license holder receives notice that the license has been suspended or revoked. If a request is made by personal service, it must be received by the commissioner within ten calendar days after the license holder received the order. Except as provided in subdivision 2a, paragraph (c), if a license holder submits a timely appeal of an order suspending or revoking a license, the license holder may continue to operate the program as provided in section 245A.04, subdivision 7, paragraphs (g) and (h), until the commissioner issues a final order on the suspension or revocation.
(c)(1) If the license holder was ordered to pay a fine, the notice must inform the license holder of the responsibility for payment of fines and the right to a contested case hearing under chapter 14 and Minnesota Rules, parts 1400.8505 to 1400.8612. The appeal of an order to pay a fine must be made in writing by certified mail or personal service. If mailed, the appeal must be postmarked and sent to the commissioner within ten calendar days after the license holder receives notice that the fine has been ordered. If a request is made by personal service, it must be received by the commissioner within ten calendar days after the license holder received the order.
(2) The license holder shall pay the fines assessed on or before the payment date specified. If the license holder fails to fully comply with the order, the commissioner may issue a second fine or suspend the license until the license holder complies. If the license holder receives state funds, the state, county, or municipal agencies or departments responsible for administering the funds shall withhold payments and recover any payments made while the license is suspended for failure to pay a fine. A timely appeal shall stay payment of the fine until the commissioner issues a final order.
(3) A license holder shall promptly notify the commissioner of human services, in writing, when a violation specified in the order to forfeit a fine is corrected. If upon reinspection the commissioner determines that a violation has not been corrected as indicated by the order to forfeit a fine, the commissioner may issue a second fine. The commissioner shall notify the license holder by certified mail or personal service that a second fine has been assessed. The license holder may appeal the second fine as provided under this subdivision.
(4) Fines shall be assessed as follows:
(i) the license holder shall forfeit $1,000 for each determination of maltreatment of a child under section 626.556 or the maltreatment of a vulnerable adult under section 626.557 for which the license holder is determined responsible for the maltreatment under section 626.556, subdivision 10e, paragraph (i), or 626.557, subdivision 9c, paragraph (c);
(ii) if the commissioner determines that a determination of maltreatment for which the license holder is responsible is the result of maltreatment that meets the definition of serious maltreatment as defined in section 245C.02, subdivision 18, the license holder shall forfeit $5,000;
(iii) for a program that operates out of the license holder's home and a program licensed under Minnesota Rules, parts 9502.0300 to 9502.0495, the fine assessed against the license holder shall not exceed $1,000 for each determination of maltreatment;
(iv) the license holder shall forfeit $200 for each occurrence of a violation of law or rule governing matters of health, safety, or supervision, including but not limited to the provision of adequate staff-to-child or adult ratios, and failure to comply with background study requirements under chapter 245C; and
(v) the license holder shall forfeit $100 for each occurrence of a violation of law or rule other than those subject to a $5,000, $1,000, or $200 fine in items (i) to (iv).
For purposes of this section, "occurrence" means each violation identified in the commissioner's fine order. Fines assessed against a license holder that holds a license to provide home and community-based services, as identified in section 245D.03, subdivision 1, and a community residential setting or day services facility license under chapter 245D where the services are provided, may be assessed against both licenses for the same occurrence, but the combined amount of the fines shall not exceed the amount specified in this clause for that occurrence.
(5) When a fine has been assessed, the license holder may not avoid payment by closing, selling, or otherwise transferring the licensed program to a third party. In such an event, the license holder will be personally liable for payment. In the case of a corporation, each controlling individual is personally and jointly liable for payment.
(d) Except for background study violations involving the failure to comply with an order to immediately remove an individual or an order to provide continuous, direct supervision, the commissioner shall not issue a fine under paragraph (c) relating to a background study violation to a license holder who self-corrects a background study violation before the commissioner discovers the violation. A license holder who has previously exercised the
provisions of this paragraph to avoid a fine for a background study violation may not avoid a fine for a subsequent background study violation unless at least 365 days have passed since the license holder self-corrected the earlier background study violation.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective January 1, 2019.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 245A.14, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4a. Specialized
infant and toddler family child care.
A group family day care program licensed as a class D specialized
infant and toddler group family day care under Minnesota Rules, part 9502.0367,
may operate as a class B specialized infant and toddler family day care program
on days when only one caregiver is present.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 245A.1434, is amended to read:
245A.1434
INFORMATION FOR CHILD CARE LICENSE HOLDERS.
The commissioner shall inform family child care and child care center license holders on a timely basis of changes to state and federal statute, rule, regulation, and policy relating to the provision of licensed child care, the child care assistance program under chapter 119B, the quality rating and improvement system under section 124D.142, and child care licensing functions delegated to counties. Communications under this section shall be in plain language and include information to promote license holder compliance with identified changes. Communications under this section may be accomplished by electronic means and shall be made available to the public online.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective January 1, 2019.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 245A.152, is amended to read:
245A.152
CHILD CARE LICENSE HOLDER INSURANCE.
(a) A license holder must provide a written notice to all parents or guardians of all children to be accepted for care prior to admission stating whether the license holder has liability insurance. This notice may be incorporated into and provided on the admission form used by the license holder.
(b) If the license holder has liability insurance:
(1) the license holder shall inform parents in writing that a current certificate of coverage for insurance is available for inspection to all parents or guardians of children receiving services and to all parents seeking services from the family child care program;
(2) the notice must provide the parent or guardian with the date of expiration or next renewal of the policy; and
(3) upon the expiration date of the
policy or a change in coverage, the license holder must provide a new
written notice informing all parents or guardians of children receiving
services of the change and indicating whether the insurance policy has
lapsed or whether the license holder has renewed the policy.
If the policy was renewed, the license holder must provide
the new expiration date of the policy in writing to the parents or guardians.
If
a license holder has a continuous insurance policy that renews each year, the
license holder may indicate the policy's renewal date in the initial written
notice to parents and guardians. This
initial written notice shall remain valid and no further notices are required
until the insurance coverage changes or the policy lapses.
(c) If the license holder does not have liability insurance, the license holder must provide an annual notice, on a form developed and made available by the commissioner, to the parents or guardians of children in care indicating that the license holder does not carry liability insurance.
(d) The license holder must notify all parents and guardians in writing immediately of any change in insurance status.
(e) The license holder must make available upon request the certificate of liability insurance to the parents of children in care, to the commissioner, and to county licensing agents.
(f) The license holder must document, with the signature of the parent or guardian, that the parent or guardian received the notices required by this section.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 245A.16, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. Instruction and technical assistance. (a) The commissioner shall provide instruction and technical assistance to county and private agencies that are subject to this section. County and private agencies shall cooperate with the commissioner in carrying out this section by ensuring that affected employees participate in instruction and technical assistance provided by the commissioner.
(b) Within existing appropriations, the
commissioner shall provide training to county and private licensing agencies
that perform child care licensing functions on identifying and preventing fraud
relating to provider reimbursement in the child care assistance program, by
December 31, 2019.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 245A.16, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 8. Notice
of county recommendation. The
county or private agency shall provide written notice to the license holder
when the agency recommends a licensing action to the commissioner under
subdivision 2 or subdivision 3. The
written notice shall inform the license holder about the process for
determining a licensing action and how the license holder will be notified of a
licensing action determination. The
notice shall include the following:
(1) that the county or private agency
made a recommendation to the commissioner to deny an application or suspend,
revoke, or make conditional a license;
(2) that the commissioner will review
the recommendation from the county or private agency and then determine if a
licensing action will be issued;
(3) that the license holder will
receive written notice from the commissioner indicating the reasons for the
licensing action issued; and
(4) instructions on how to request
reconsideration or appeal, if a licensing action is issued.
County or private agency recommendations under this
section are classified as confidential data under Minnesota Statutes, chapter
13, and may only be disclosed as permitted by law.
Sec. 10. DIRECTION
TO COMMISSIONER; CHILD CARE LICENSING REFORM.
(a) By December 31, 2018, the
commissioner shall:
(1) make enhancements to the
department's licensing information lookup Web site that comply with federal
requirements to make program-specific monitoring results available, including
the date of inspections, any violations noted, and how the violation was
addressed by the provider;
(2)
provide each license holder with a printed copy of the posting guidelines for
child care licensing information; and
(3) convene regional meetings with
license holders and county licensing agencies to review the posting guidelines
and the enhancements made to the department's licensing Web site and obtain
feedback and recommendations for future enhancements to ensure accuracy and
transparency for license holders and families using or seeking licensed child
care.
(b) In the 2019 report to the
legislature on the status of child care required under Minnesota Statutes,
section 245A.153, the commissioner shall include the following:
(1) a description of the federal and
state requirements and any guidelines established for the posting of child care
licensing information and monitoring results;
(2) a summary of how the department is
engaging licensed child care providers, county licensing agencies, and families
seeking or using child care services to obtain feedback about the posting
guidelines on the department's Web site;
(3) a summary of the administrative
reform and actions identified by licensed child care providers through
stakeholder meetings that could be implemented without statutory changes that
would reduce the regulatory and administrative burden to license holders;
(4) a description of administrative
reforms and actions the department has taken in the prior year or is in the
process of implementing; and
(5) an evaluation of existing laws, models, and initiatives from other states that have implemented child care licensing reforms to reduce barriers and unnecessary administrative burdens for child care providers."
Delete the title and insert:
"A bill for an act relating to human services; modifying provisions relating to child care licensing; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, sections 245A.04, subdivision 9; 245A.05; 245A.06, subdivision 1; 245A.14, by adding a subdivision; 245A.152; 245A.16, subdivision 5, by adding a subdivision; Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, sections 245A.07, subdivision 3; 245A.1434."
We request the adoption of this report and repassage of the bill.
Senate
Conferees: Bill Weber and Mary
Kiffmeyer.
House Conferees: Roz Peterson,
Mary Franson and Duane Quam.
Peterson moved that the report of the
Conference Committee on S. F. No. 3310 be adopted and that the
bill be repassed as amended by the Conference Committee. The motion prevailed.
S. F. No. 3310, A
bill for an act relating to human services; modifying provisions relating to
child care licensing; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, sections 245A.04,
subdivision 9; 245A.05; 245A.06, subdivision 1; 245A.14, by adding a
subdivision; 245A.152; Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, sections 245A.07,
subdivision 3; 245A.1434.
The bill was read for the third time, as
amended by Conference, and placed upon its repassage.
The question was taken on the repassage of
the bill and the roll was called. There
were 125 yeas and 0 nays as follows:
Those who voted in the affirmative were:
Albright
Allen
Anderson, P.
Anderson, S.
Anselmo
Backer
Bahr, C.
Baker
Barr, R.
Bennett
Bernardy
Bliss
Bly
Carlson, A.
Carlson, L.
Christensen
Clark
Considine
Daniels
Davids
Davnie
Dean, M.
Dettmer
Drazkowski
Ecklund
Erickson
Fabian
Fenton
Fischer
Flanagan
Franke
Franson
Freiberg
Garofalo
Green
Grossell
Gruenhagen
Gunther
Haley
Halverson
Hamilton
Hansen
Hausman
Heintzeman
Hertaus
Hilstrom
Hoppe
Hortman
Howe
Jessup
Johnson, B.
Johnson, C.
Jurgens
Kiel
Knoblach
Koegel
Koznick
Kresha
Layman
Lee
Lesch
Liebling
Lien
Loeffler
Lohmer
Loon
Loonan
Lucero
Lueck
Mahoney
Mariani
Marquart
Masin
Maye Quade
Metsa
Miller
Moran
Munson
Murphy, E.
Murphy, M.
Nash
Nelson
Neu
Newberger
Nornes
O'Driscoll
Olson
Omar
O'Neill
Pelowski
Peppin
Petersburg
Peterson
Pierson
Pinto
Poppe
Poston
Pryor
Pugh
Quam
Rarick
Rosenthal
Runbeck
Sandstede
Sauke
Schomacker
Schultz
Scott
Slocum
Smith
Sundin
Swedzinski
Theis
Torkelson
Uglem
Urdahl
Vogel
Wagenius
Ward
West
Whelan
Wills
Youakim
Zerwas
Spk. Daudt
The bill was repassed, as amended by
Conference, and its title agreed to.
Slocum was excused for the remainder of
today's session.
Mr. Speaker:
I hereby announce that the Senate has concurred in and adopted the report of the Conference Committee on:
S. F. No. 3656.
The Senate has repassed said bill in accordance with the recommendation and report of the Conference Committee. Said Senate File is herewith transmitted to the House.
Cal R. Ludeman, Secretary of the Senate
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT ON S. F. No. 3656
A bill for an act relating to state government; appropriating money for agriculture, rural development, housing, state government, public safety, transportation, environment, natural resources, energy, jobs, economic development, higher education, prekindergarten through grade 12 education, health, and human services; modifying agriculture, rural development, and housing provisions; specifying conditions of legislative ratification of proposed collective bargaining agreements; requiring proposed changes to state employee group insurance to be submitted separately to Legislative Coordinating Commission; requiring certain information about collective bargaining agreements and compensation plans be submitted to Legislative Coordinating Commission; creating transition period for Legislative Budget Office to take responsibility for coordinating fiscal notes and local impact notes; establishing Legislative Budget Office Oversight Commission; modifying the effective date of certain provisions governing preparation of fiscal notes; abolishing Office of MN.IT Services; establishing division of information technology within Department of Administration; permitting agencies more flexibility in contracting for information technology projects; requiring agencies to determine impact of proposed rule on cost of residential construction or remodeling; requiring notice to applicable legislative committees; precluding adoption of residential construction rules having certain cost until after next legislative session; exempting hair braiders from cosmetology registration requirements; prohibiting exclusive representative from charging fair share fee to nonmembers; investigating possible registration or voting by ineligible voters and reporting to law enforcement; increasing penalties for child pornography offenses; requiring reports on court-imposed stays of sentence or adjudication for sex offenses; restricting grounds that permit reunification of parents and children after parent sexually abuses child; increasing maximum penalty for certain invasion of privacy crimes involving minors; requiring predatory offender registration for certain invasion of privacy crimes involving minors; requiring collection of information on connection between pornography and sex trafficking; expanding authorized prostitution penalty assessment to include additional crimes; expanding criminal sexual conduct offenses for persons in current or recent positions of authority over juveniles and for peace officers who engage in sexual activity with those in custody; extending sunset date for court technology fund; expanding list of prior offenses that support a conviction of first-degree driving while impaired; prohibiting Department of Human Rights from using federal funds to expand program; modifying various provisions governing transportation and public safety policy and finance; modifying certain loan programs; modifying energy provisions; modifying environment and natural resources provisions; adding to and deleting from state parks, recreation areas, and forests; modifying drainage law; creating accounts; providing for disposition of certain receipts; modifying renewable development account utility annual contribution; modifying solar energy incentive program; establishing pension rate base; establishing criteria for utility cost recovery of energy storage system pilot projects; establishing utility stakeholder group; requiring investor-owned utilities to include in integrated resource plans an assessment of energy storage systems; establishing solar energy grant program for school districts; extending expiration date for an assessment; requiring creation of an excavation notice system contact information database; requiring cost-benefit analysis of energy storage systems; modifying job training program requirements; limiting use of funds in Douglas J. Johnson economic protection trust fund; modifying youth skills training program; modifying accessibility requirements for public buildings; modifying fees for manufactured home installers; adopting recommendations of Workers' Compensation Advisory Council; adjusting basis for determining salary for judges of Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals; adopting recommendations of Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council; modifying certain higher education policy provisions; making clarifying and technical changes to loan forgiveness and research grant programs; providing for school safety, general education, education excellence, teachers, special education, facilities and technology, libraries, early education, and state agencies; making forecast adjustments; modifying provisions governing children and families, licensing, state-operated services, chemical and mental health, community supports and continuing care, and health care; modifying Department of Human Services administrative funds transfer; establishing Minnesota Health Policy Commission; repealing preferred incontinence program in medical assistance; increasing reimbursement rates for doula services; modifying telemedicine service limits; modifying EPSDT screening payments; modifying capitation payment delay; modifying provisions relating to wells and borings; adding security screening systems to ionizing radiation-producing equipment regulation; authorizing statewide tobacco cessation services; establishing an opioid reduction pilot program; establishing a low‑value health services study; requiring coverage of 3D mammograms; requiring disclosure of facility fees;
establishing a step therapy override process; requiring the synchronization of prescription refills; prohibiting a health plan company from preventing a pharmacist from informing a patient of a price differential; converting allied health professionals to a birth month renewal cycle; modifying temporary license suspensions and background checks for health-related professions; requiring a prescriber to access the prescription monitoring program before prescribing certain controlled substances; authorizing the Board of Pharmacy to impose a fee from a prescriber or pharmacist accessing prescription monitoring data through a service offered by the board's vendor; requiring administrative changes at the Office of Health Facility Complaints; providing access to information and data sharing; making technical changes; requiring rulemaking; requiring reports; amending Minnesota Statutes 2016, sections 3.3005, subdivision 8; 3.855, subdivisions 1a, 2, by adding a subdivision; 10A.01, subdivision 35; 13.64, by adding a subdivision; 16A.103, subdivisions 1, 1b, by adding a subdivision; 16A.88, subdivision 2; 16A.97; 16E.01, subdivision 1; 16E.015, by adding a subdivision; 16E.016; 16E.02; 16E.055; 16E.14; 16E.18, subdivisions 4, 6; 16E.21, subdivision 3; 17.117, subdivisions 1, 4; 17.494; 17.4982, by adding subdivisions; 18.83, subdivision 7; 18C.425, subdivision 6; 18C.80, subdivision 2; 21.89, subdivision 2; 41A.16, subdivisions 1, 2; 41A.17, subdivision 1; 62A.30, by adding a subdivision; 62D.115, subdivision 4; 80E.13; 84.0895, subdivision 2; 84.86, subdivision 1; 86B.005, subdivision 8a; 86B.532, subdivision 1; 88.10, by adding a subdivision; 88.75, subdivision 1; 89.551; 92.50, by adding a subdivision; 94.10, subdivision 2; 97A.051, subdivision 2; 97A.433, subdivisions 4, 5; 97B.015, subdivision 6; 97B.1055; 97C.345, subdivision 3a; 103B.3369, subdivisions 5, 9; 103B.801, subdivisions 2, 5; 103E.021, subdivision 6; 103E.071; 103E.351, subdivision 1; 103F.361, subdivision 2; 103F.363, subdivision 1; 103F.365, by adding a subdivision; 103F.371; 103F.373, subdivisions 1, 3, 4; 103G.2242, subdivision 14; 103H.275, subdivision 1; 103I.205, subdivision 9; 103I.301, subdivision 6; 114D.15, subdivisions 7, 11, 13, by adding subdivisions; 114D.20, subdivisions 2, 3, 5, 7, by adding subdivisions; 114D.26; 114D.35, subdivisions 1, 3; 115.03, subdivision 5, by adding a subdivision; 115.035; 115A.51; 115A.94, subdivisions 2, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 5, by adding subdivisions; 116.07, subdivision 2, by adding a subdivision; 116.155, subdivision 1, by adding a subdivision; 116.993, subdivisions 2, 6; 116J.8747, subdivisions 2, 4; 119B.011, subdivision 19, by adding a subdivision; 119B.02, subdivision 7; 119B.03, subdivision 9; 120A.20, subdivision 2; 122A.63, subdivisions 1, 4, 5, 6, by adding a subdivision; 123B.595, by adding a subdivision; 123B.61; 124D.09, subdivisions 4, 22; 124D.151, subdivisions 2, 3; 124E.20, subdivision 1; 125B.26, subdivision 4, by adding a subdivision; 126C.10, subdivisions 2e, 24; 126C.17, subdivisions 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 7a; 126C.40, subdivision 1; 126C.44; 127A.70, subdivision 2; 135A.15, subdivision 2; 136A.15, subdivision 8; 136A.16, subdivisions 1, 2, 5, 8, 9; 136A.162; 136A.1701, subdivision 7; 136A.1791, subdivision 8; 136A.1795, subdivision 2; 136A.64, subdivision 1; 136A.822, subdivision 10; 136A.901, subdivision 1; 144.121, subdivision 1a, by adding a subdivision; 144A.53, subdivision 2; 147.012; 147.02, by adding a subdivision; 147A.06; 147A.07; 147B.02, subdivision 9, by adding a subdivision; 147C.15, subdivision 7, by adding a subdivision; 147D.17, subdivision 6, by adding a subdivision; 147D.27, by adding a subdivision; 147E.15, subdivision 5, by adding a subdivision; 147E.40, subdivision 1; 147F.07, subdivision 5, by adding subdivisions; 147F.17, subdivision 1; 148.7815, subdivision 1; 151.065, by adding a subdivision; 151.214; 151.71, by adding a subdivision; 152.126, subdivisions 6, 10; 155A.25, subdivision 1a; 155A.28, by adding a subdivision; 161.088, subdivision 2; 161.115, subdivision 111; 161.14, by adding subdivisions; 161.32, subdivision 2; 168.013, subdivision 6; 168.101, subdivision 2a; 168.127, subdivisions 4, 6; 168.27, by adding subdivisions; 168.301, subdivision 3; 168.326; 168.33, subdivision 8a, by adding a subdivision; 168.346, subdivision 1; 168A.05, by adding a subdivision; 168A.12, subdivision 2; 168A.151, subdivision 1; 168A.17, by adding a subdivision; 168A.29, subdivision 1; 169.011, subdivision 60; 169.14, subdivision 5; 169.18, subdivisions 10, 11, 12; 169.20, by adding a subdivision; 169.26, subdivision 1; 169.28; 169.29; 169.71, subdivision 4; 169.81, subdivision 5, by adding a subdivision; 169.8261, subdivision 2; 169.92, subdivision 4; 169.974, subdivision 2; 169A.24, subdivision 1; 171.041; 171.16, subdivisions 2, 3; 171.18, subdivision 1; 174.12, subdivision 8; 174.37, subdivision 6; 174.66; 175A.05; 176.231, subdivision 9; 179A.06, subdivision 3; 201.022, by adding subdivisions; 205A.07, subdivision 2; 214.075, subdivisions 1, 4, 5, 6; 214.077; 214.10, subdivision 8; 216B.16, by adding a subdivision; 216B.1641; 216B.1645, by adding a subdivision; 216B.2422, subdivision 1, by adding a subdivision; 216D.03, by adding a subdivision; 216G.01, subdivision 3; 221.031, subdivision 2d; 221.0314, subdivision 9; 221.036, subdivisions 1, 3; 221.122, subdivision 1; 221.161, subdivision 1, by adding a subdivision; 221.171, subdivision 1; 243.166, subdivision 1b; 244.052, subdivision 4; 245.4889, by adding a subdivision; 245A.175; 245C.14; 245C.15, by adding a subdivision; 245C.22, by adding a subdivision; 245C.24, by adding a subdivision; 245D.071, subdivision 5;
245D.091, subdivisions 2, 3, 4; 254A.035, subdivision 2; 254B.02, subdivision 1; 254B.06, subdivision 1; 256.01, subdivision 14b, by adding a subdivision; 256B.04, subdivision 14; 256B.0625, subdivision 58, by adding subdivisions; 256B.0659, subdivisions 3a, 11, 21, 24, 28, by adding a subdivision; 256B.0915, subdivision 6; 256B.092, subdivisions 1b, 1g; 256B.093, subdivision 1; 256B.4914, subdivision 4; 256I.04, by adding subdivisions; 256K.45, subdivision 2; 256M.41, subdivision 3, by adding a subdivision; 256N.24, by adding a subdivision; 260.012; 260.835, subdivision 2; 268.035, subdivisions 4, 12; 268.044, subdivisions 2, 3; 268.047, subdivision 3; 268.051, subdivisions 2a, 3; 268.053, subdivision 1; 268.057, subdivision 5; 268.059; 268.066; 268.067; 268.069, subdivision 1; 268.085, subdivisions 3, 3a; 268.095, subdivision 6a; 268.105, subdivision 6; 268.145, subdivision 1; 299A.01, by adding a subdivision; 299A.705; 299A.707, by adding a subdivision; 299A.785, subdivision 1; 326B.106, subdivision 9; 326B.815, subdivision 1; 327.31, by adding a subdivision; 327B.041; 327C.095, subdivisions 4, 6, 12, 13, by adding a subdivision; 349A.05; 357.021, subdivision 2b; 360.013, by adding a subdivision; 360.017, subdivision 1; 360.021, subdivision 1; 360.062; 360.063, subdivisions 1, 3; 360.064, subdivision 1; 360.065, subdivision 1; 360.066, subdivision 1; 360.067, by adding a subdivision; 360.071, subdivision 2; 360.305, subdivision 6; 394.22, by adding a subdivision; 394.23; 394.231; 394.25, subdivision 3; 462.352, by adding a subdivision; 462.355, subdivision 1; 462.357, subdivision 9, by adding a subdivision; 462A.05, subdivision 14b; 462A.33, subdivisions 1, 2; 462A.37, subdivisions 1, 2; 473.13, by adding subdivisions; 473.149, subdivision 3; 473.3994, by adding a subdivision; 473.606, subdivision 5; 473.8441, subdivision 4; 474A.02, by adding subdivisions; 474A.03, subdivision 1; 474A.04, subdivision 1a; 474A.047, subdivision 2; 474A.061, subdivisions 1, 2a, 2b, 2c, 4, by adding subdivisions; 474A.062; 474A.091, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, by adding a subdivision; 474A.131, subdivisions 1, 1b, 2; 474A.14; 475.58, subdivision 4; 574.26, subdivision 1a; 609.3241; 609.341, subdivision 10; 609.342, subdivision 1; 609.343, subdivision 1; 609.344, subdivision 1; 609.345, subdivision 1; 609.746, subdivision 1; 617.246, subdivisions 2, 3, 4, 7; 617.247, subdivisions 3, 4, 9; 626.556, by adding a subdivision; Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, sections 3.8853, subdivisions 1, 2, by adding subdivisions; 3.972, subdivision 4; 3.98, subdivisions 1, 4; 15A.083, subdivision 7; 16A.152, subdivision 2; 16E.0466, subdivision 1; 18C.70, subdivision 5; 18C.71, subdivision 4; 84.01, subdivision 6; 84.925, subdivision 1; 84.9256, subdivision 1; 84D.03, subdivisions 3, 4; 84D.108, subdivisions 2b, 2c; 85.0146, subdivision 1; 89.17; 97A.075, subdivision 1; 103G.222, subdivision 3; 103G.2242, subdivision 1; 103I.005, subdivisions 2, 8a, 17a; 103I.205, subdivisions 1, 4; 103I.208, subdivision 1; 103I.235, subdivision 3; 103I.601, subdivision 4; 116.0714; 116C.779, subdivision 1; 116C.7792; 119B.011, subdivision 20; 119B.025, subdivision 1; 119B.06, subdivision 1; 119B.09, subdivision 1; 119B.095, subdivision 2; 119B.13, subdivision 1; 122A.187, by adding a subdivision; 123B.03, subdivision 1; 124D.151, subdivisions 5, 6; 124D.68, subdivision 2; 124E.03, subdivision 2; 136A.1275, subdivisions 2, 3; 136A.1789, subdivision 2; 136A.646; 136A.672, by adding a subdivision; 136A.822, subdivision 6; 136A.8295, by adding a subdivision; 147.01, subdivision 7; 147A.28; 147B.08; 147C.40; 152.105, subdivision 2; 161.088, subdivision 5; 168.013, subdivision 1a; 169.18, subdivision 7; 169.829, subdivision 4; 171.06, subdivision 2; 175.46, subdivision 13; 216B.1691, subdivision 2f; 216B.241, subdivision 1d; 216B.62, subdivision 3b; 245.4889, subdivision 1; 245A.03, subdivision 7; 245A.06, subdivision 8; 245A.11, subdivision 2a; 245C.16, subdivision 1; 245D.03, subdivision 1; 256B.0625, subdivisions 3b, 17; 256B.0911, subdivisions 1a, 3a, 3f, 5; 256B.49, subdivision 13; 256B.4914, subdivisions 2, 3, 5, 10, 10a; 256I.03, subdivision 8; 256I.04, subdivision 2b; 256I.05, subdivision 3; 268.035, subdivisions 15, 20; 268.046, subdivision 1; 268.07, subdivision 1; 268.085, subdivision 13a; 268.095, subdivision 6; 268.18, subdivisions 2b, 5; 298.2215; 298.292, subdivision 2; 364.09; 462A.2035, subdivisions 1, 1b; 473.4051, subdivision 2; 473.4485, subdivision 2; 475.59, subdivision 1; 477A.03, subdivision 2b; Laws 2010, chapter 361, article 4, section 78; Laws 2014, chapter 312, article 27, section 76; Laws 2015, First Special Session chapter 4, article 4, section 146, as amended; Laws 2016, chapter 189, article 3, sections 3, subdivision 5; 48; Laws 2017, chapter 88, article 1, section 2, subdivisions 2, 4; Laws 2017, chapter 89, article 1, section 2, subdivisions 18, 20, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 40; Laws 2017, chapter 94, article 1, sections 2, subdivisions 2, 3; 4, subdivision 5; 7, subdivision 7; 9; Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 1, article 4, section 31; Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 3, article 1, section 4, subdivisions 1, 2, 4; Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 4, article 1, section 10, subdivision 1; article 2, sections 1; 3; 9; 58; Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 5, article 1, section 19, subdivisions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9; article 2, sections 56; 57, subdivisions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 21, 22, 23, 26, 34; article 4, section 12, subdivisions 2, as amended, 3, 4, 5; article 5, section 14, subdivisions 2, 3, 4; article 6, section 3, subdivisions 2, 3, 4; article 8, sections 9, subdivision 6; 10,
subdivisions 5a, 6, 12; article 9, section 2, subdivision 2; article 10, section 6, subdivision 2; article 11, sections 9, subdivision 2; 12; Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 6, article 1, section 52; article 3, section 49; article 4, section 61; article 10, section 144; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 3; 11A; 14; 16A; 17; 62J; 62Q; 97A; 103B; 103F; 115; 115B; 116C; 120B; 123B; 124D; 136A; 144; 147A; 147B; 147C; 147D; 147E; 147F; 161; 168A; 176; 216C; 246; 256B; 260C; 299A; 327; 349A; 360; 383A; 609; repealing Minnesota Statutes 2016, sections 16A.98; 16E.145; 122A.63, subdivisions 7, 8; 126C.16, subdivisions 1, 3; 126C.17, subdivision 9a; 136A.15, subdivisions 2, 7; 136A.1701, subdivision 12; 155A.28, subdivisions 1, 3, 4; 168.013, subdivision 21; 214.075, subdivision 8; 221.161, subdivisions 2, 3, 4; 256B.0625, subdivision 18b; 256B.0705; 268.053, subdivisions 4, 5; 349A.16; 360.063, subdivision 4; 360.065, subdivision 2; 360.066, subdivisions 1a, 1b; Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 256B.0625, subdivision 31c; Laws 2008, chapter 368, article 1, section 21, subdivision 2; Laws 2016, chapter 189, article 25, section 62, subdivision 16; Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 4, article 2, section 59; Minnesota Rules, part 5600.0605, subparts 5, 8.
May 19, 2018
The Honorable Michelle L. Fischbach
President of the Senate
The Honorable Kurt L. Daudt
Speaker of the House of Representatives
We, the undersigned conferees for S. F. No. 3656 report that we have agreed upon the items in dispute and recommend as follows:
That the House recede from its amendments and that S. F. No. 3656 be further amended as follows:
Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"ARTICLE 1
STATE GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Section 1. APPROPRIATIONS. |
The sums shown in the columns marked
"Appropriations" are added to or, if shown in parentheses, subtracted
from the appropriations in Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 4, article
1, to the agencies and for the purposes specified in this article. The appropriations are from the general fund,
or another named fund, and are available for the fiscal years indicated for
each purpose. The figures
"2018" and "2019" used in this article mean that the
appropriations listed under them are available for the fiscal year ending June
30, 2018, or June 30, 2019, respectively.
|
|
|
APPROPRIATIONS |
||
|
|
|
Available for the Year |
||
|
|
|
Ending June 30 |
||
|
|
|
2018 |
2019 |
|
Sec. 2. LEGISLATURE
|
|
$....... |
|
$90,000 |
$90,000 is from the general fund to the Legislative
Coordinating Commission for rent payments for the Office of the Revisor of
Statutes. This is a onetime
appropriation.
Sec. 3. STATE
AUDITOR |
|
$....... |
|
$(269,094) |
This is a general reduction to office
operations. The auditor may not reduce
operations or services related to public pensions. This is a onetime reduction.
Sec. 4. SECRETARY
OF STATE |
|
$....... |
|
$1,534,000 |
(a) $1,534,000 is appropriated in fiscal
year 2019 from the account established in Minnesota Statutes, section 5.30,
pursuant to the Help America Vote Act, to the secretary of state for the
purposes of modernizing, securing, and updating the statewide voter
registration system and for cyber security upgrades as authorized by federal
law. This is a onetime appropriation and
is available until June 30, 2022.
(b) $110,000 expended by the secretary of
state in fiscal year 2018 for increasing secure access to the statewide voter
registration system was money appropriated for carrying out the purposes
authorized under the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2018, Public Law 115-1410,
and the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252, section 101, and is
deemed to be credited towards any match required by those laws.
Sec. 5.
MINNESOTA MANAGEMENT AND
BUDGET |
$129,094 |
|
$140,000 |
(a) $140,000 in fiscal year 2019 is from
the general fund for grants to reimburse the documented litigation costs
incurred by counties in defending the constitutionality of Minnesota Statutes,
section 6.481, as enacted in Laws 2015, chapter 77, article 2, section 3, in Otto v. Wright County, et. al. (A16-1634). The grants must be apportioned as follows:
(1) up to $70,000 is for a grant to Wright
County; and
(2) up to $70,000 is for a grant to Becker
County.
This is a onetime appropriation. The commissioner must provide each grant upon
certification of the final litigation costs incurred by the affected county,
provided that the total grant must not exceed the amounts specified in this
paragraph.
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of law to
the contrary, $129,094 in fiscal year 2018 is from the general fund for a
payment to the city of Austin, for both its 2016 fire state aid payment under
Minnesota Statutes, section 69.021, subdivision 7, and its 2016 supplemental
state aid payment under Minnesota Statutes, section 423A.022, upon
certification by the city that the sum of the fire state aid and the
supplemental state aid that the city transmitted to the Austin Parttime
Firefighters Relief Association in calendar year 2015 to fund the volunteers
firefighters' service pensions met or exceeded the amount required under the
bylaws of that association. Of these
amounts:
(1)
$103,892 is for the fire state aid; and
(2) $25,202 is for the supplemental state
aid.
This is a onetime appropriation. The payment required by this paragraph must
be provided no later than June 30, 2018.
Sec. 6. EFFECTIVE
DATE.
This article is effective the day
following final enactment.
ARTICLE 2
STATE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 3.855, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 5. Information
required. The commissioner of
management and budget must submit to the Legislative Coordinating Commission
the following information with the submission of a collective bargaining agreement
or compensation plan under subdivisions 2 and 3:
(1) for each agency and for each
proposed agreement, a comparison of biennial compensation costs under the
current agreement or plan to the projected biennial compensation costs under
the proposed agreement or plan, paid with funds appropriated from the general
fund;
(2) for each agency and for each
proposed agreement and plan, a comparison of biennial compensation costs under
the current agreement or plan to the projected compensation costs under the
proposed agreement or plan, paid with funds appropriated from each fund other
than the general fund;
(3) for each agency and for each
proposed agreement and plan, an identification of the amount of the additional
biennial compensation costs that are attributable to salary and wages and to
the cost of nonsalary and nonwage benefits; and
(4) for each agency, for each of
clauses (1) to (3), the impact of the aggregate of all agreements and plans
being submitted to the commission.
Sec. 2. [5.42]
DISPLAY OF BUSINESS ADDRESS ON WEB SITE.
(a) A business entity may request in
writing that all addresses submitted by the business entity to the secretary of
state be omitted from display on the secretary of state's Web site. A business entity may only request that all
addresses be omitted from display if the entity certifies that:
(1) there is only one shareholder,
member, manager, or owner of the business entity;
(2) the shareholder, manager, member,
or owner is a natural person; and
(3) at least one of the addresses
provided is the residential address of the sole shareholder, manager, member,
or owner.
The secretary of state shall post a notice that this
option is available and a link to the form needed to make a request on the
secretary's Web site. The secretary of
state shall also attach a copy of the request form to all business filing forms
provided in a paper format that require a business entity to submit an address.
(b)
This section does not change the classification of data under chapter 13 and addresses
shall be made available to the public in response to requests made by
telephone, mail, electronic mail, and facsimile transmission.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective August 1, 2018, and applies to business entity filings filed with the
secretary of state on or after that date.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 6.481, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. CPA firm audit. (a) A county audit performed by a CPA firm must meet the standards and be in a form meeting recognized industry auditing standards. The state auditor may require additional information from the CPA firm if the state auditor determines that is in the public interest, but the state auditor must accept the audit unless the state auditor determines the audit or its form does not meet recognized industry auditing standards. The state auditor may make additional examinations as the auditor determines to be in the public interest.
(b) When the state auditor requires
additional information from the CPA firm or makes additional examinations that
the state auditor determines to be in the public interest, the state auditor
must afford counties and CPA firms an opportunity to respond to potential
findings, conclusions, or questions, as follows:
(1) at least 30 days before beginning a
review for work performed by a certified public accountant firm licensed in
chapter 326A, the state auditor must notify the county and CPA firm that the
state auditor will be conducting a review and must identify the type and scope
of review the state auditor will perform;
(2) throughout the state auditor's
review, the auditor shall allow the county and the CPA firm at least 30 days to
respond to any request by the auditor for documents or other information;
(3) the state auditor must provide the
CPA firm with a draft report of the state auditor's findings at least 30 days
before issuing a final report;
(4) at least 20 days before issuing a
final report, the state auditor must hold a formal exit conference with the CPA
firm to discuss the findings in the state auditor's draft report;
(5) the state auditor shall make
changes to the draft report that are warranted as a result of information
provided by the CPA firm during the state auditor's review; and
(6) the state auditor's final report
must include any written responses provided by the CPA firm.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 13.072, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Opinion;
when required. (a) Upon request of a
government entity or a member of the legislature, the commissioner may
must give a written opinion on any question relating to public the
requirements of this chapter, including questions about access to
government data by a member of the public or another government entity, the
rights of subjects of data, or the classification of data under this
chapter or other Minnesota statutes governing government data practices. Upon request of any person who disagrees with
a determination regarding data practices made by a government entity, the
commissioner may must give a written opinion regarding the
person's rights as a subject of government data or right to have access to
government data.
(b) Upon request of a body subject to
chapter 13D or a member of the legislature, the commissioner may must
give a written opinion on any question relating to the body's duties under
requirements of chapter 13D. Upon
request of a person who disagrees with the manner in which members of a
governing body perform their duties under chapter 13D, the commissioner may
must give a written opinion on compliance with chapter 13D. A
governing body or person requesting an opinion under this paragraph must pay the commissioner a fee of $200. Money received by the commissioner under this paragraph is appropriated to the commissioner for the purposes of this section.
(c) If the commissioner determines that
no opinion will be issued, the commissioner shall give the government entity or
body subject to chapter 13D or person requesting the opinion notice of the
decision not to issue the opinion within five business days of receipt of the
request. If this notice is not given,
the commissioner shall issue an opinion within 20 days of receipt of the
request.
(d) (c) The commissioner shall
issue an opinion under this subdivision within 20 days of receipt of the
request. For good cause and upon
written notice to the person requesting the opinion, the commissioner may
extend this deadline for one additional 30-day period. The notice must state the reason for
extending the deadline. The government
entity or the members of a body subject to this chapter or chapter 13D
must be provided a reasonable opportunity to explain the reasons for its
decision regarding the data or how they perform their duties under chapter
13D. The commissioner or the
government entity or body subject to chapter 13D may choose to give notice to
the subject of the data concerning the dispute regarding the data or compliance
with this chapter or chapter 13D.
(e) (d) This section does not
apply to a determination made by the commissioner of health under section
13.3805, subdivision 1, paragraph (b), or 144.6581.
(f) (e) A written, numbered,
and published opinion issued by the attorney general shall take precedence over
an opinion issued by the commissioner under this section.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective the day following final enactment and applies to requests for
opinions submitted on or after that date.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 16A.013, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 1a. Opportunity
to make gifts via Web site. The
commissioner of management and budget must maintain a secure Web site which
permits any person to make a gift of money electronically for any purpose
authorized by subdivision 1. Gifts made
using the Web site are subject to all other requirements of this section,
sections 16A.014 to 16A.016, and any other applicable law governing the receipt
of gifts by the state and the purposes for which a gift may be used. The Web site must include historical data on
the total amount of gifts received using the site, itemized by month.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 16A.152, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Additional revenues; priority. (a) If on the basis of a forecast of general fund revenues and expenditures, the commissioner of management and budget determines that there will be a positive unrestricted budgetary general fund balance at the close of the biennium, the commissioner of management and budget must allocate money to the following accounts and purposes in priority order:
(1) the cash flow account established in subdivision 1 until that account reaches $350,000,000;
(2) the budget reserve account established in subdivision 1a until that account reaches $1,596,522,000;
(3) the amount necessary to increase the aid
payment schedule for school district aids and credits payments in section
127A.45 to not more than 90 percent rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent
without exceeding the amount available and with any remaining funds deposited
in the budget reserve; and
(4)
the amount necessary to restore all or a portion of the net aid reductions
under section 127A.441 and to reduce the property tax revenue recognition shift
under section 123B.75, subdivision 5, by the same amount; and.
(5) the clean water fund established in
section 114D.50 until $22,000,000 has been transferred into the fund.
(b) The amounts necessary to meet the requirements of this section are appropriated from the general fund within two weeks after the forecast is released or, in the case of transfers under paragraph (a), clauses (3) and (4), as necessary to meet the appropriations schedules otherwise established in statute.
(c) The commissioner of management and budget shall certify the total dollar amount of the reductions under paragraph (a), clauses (3) and (4), to the commissioner of education. The commissioner of education shall increase the aid payment percentage and reduce the property tax shift percentage by these amounts and apply those reductions to the current fiscal year and thereafter.
(d) Paragraph (a), clause (5), expires
after the entire amount of the transfer has been made.
Sec. 7. [16E.031]
STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT USER ACCEPTANCE TESTING.
(a) Any state agency implementing a new
information technology business software application or new business software
application functionality that significantly impacts the operations of local
units of government must provide opportunities for local government representative
involvement in user acceptance testing, unless the testing is deemed not
feasible or necessary by the relevant agency commissioner, in consultation with
representatives of local units of government and the chief information officer.
(b) The requirements in paragraph (a)
only apply to new software applications and new software application
functionality where local units of government will be primary users, as
determined by the relevant agency head in consultation with representatives of
local units of government and the chief information officer. The requirements in paragraph (a) do not
apply to routine software upgrades or application changes that are primarily
intended to comply with federal law, rules, or regulations.
(c) School districts are not local
units of government for the purposes of this section.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective July 1, 2018, and applies to business software application projects
initiated on or after that date.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 155A.25, subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
Subd. 1a. Schedule. (a) The schedule for fees and penalties is as provided in this subdivision.
(b) Three-year license fees are as follows:
(1) $195 initial practitioner, manager, or instructor license, divided as follows:
(i) $155 for each initial license; and
(ii) $40 for each initial license application fee;
(2) $115 renewal of practitioner license, divided as follows:
(i) $100 for each renewal license; and
(ii) $15 for each renewal application fee;
(3) $145 renewal of manager or instructor license, divided as follows:
(i) $130 for each renewal license; and
(ii) $15 for each renewal application fee;
(4) $350 initial salon license, divided as follows:
(i) $250 for each initial license; and
(ii) $100 for each initial license application fee;
(5) $225 renewal of salon license, divided as follows:
(i) $175 for each renewal; and
(ii) $50 for each renewal application fee;
(6) $4,000 initial school license, divided as follows:
(i) $3,000 for each initial license; and
(ii) $1,000 for each initial license application fee; and
(7) $2,500 renewal of school license, divided as follows:
(i) $2,000 for each renewal; and
(ii) $500 for each renewal application fee.
(c) Penalties may be assessed in amounts up to the following:
(1) reinspection fee, $150;
(2) manager and owner with expired practitioner found on inspection, $150 each;
(3) expired practitioner or instructor found on inspection, $200;
(4) expired salon found on inspection, $500;
(5) expired school found on inspection, $1,000;
(6) failure to display current license, $100;
(7) failure to dispose of single-use equipment, implements, or materials as provided under section 155A.355, subdivision 1, $500;
(8) use of prohibited razor-type callus shavers, rasps, or graters under section 155A.355, subdivision 2, $500;
(9) performing nail or cosmetology services in esthetician salon, or performing esthetician or cosmetology services in a nail salon, $500;
(10) owner and manager allowing an operator to work as an independent contractor, $200;
(11) operator working as an independent contractor, $100;
(12) refusal or failure to cooperate with an inspection, $500;
(13) practitioner late renewal fee, $45; and
(14) salon or school late renewal fee, $50.
(d) Administrative fees are as follows:
(1) homebound service permit, $50 three-year fee;
(2) name change, $20;
(3) certification of licensure, $30 each;
(4) duplicate license, $20;
(5) special event permit, $75 per year;
(6) registration of hair braiders, $20
per year;
(7) (6) $100 for each
temporary military license for a cosmetologist, nail technician, esthetician,
or advanced practice esthetician one-year fee;
(8) (7) expedited initial
individual license, $150;
(9) (8) expedited initial
salon license, $300;
(10) (9) instructor
continuing education provider approval, $150 each year; and
(11) (10) practitioner
continuing education provider approval, $150 each year.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 155A.28, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 5. Hair
braiders exempt. The practice
of hair braiding is exempt from the requirements of this chapter.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 201.022, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4. Voter
records updated due to voting report.
No later than eight weeks after the election, the county auditor
must use the statewide voter registration system to produce a report that
identifies each voter whose record indicates that it was updated due to voting. The county auditor must investigate each
record that is challenged for a reason related to eligibility to determine if
the voter appears to have been ineligible to vote. If the county auditor determines that a voter
appears to have been ineligible to vote and either registered to vote or voted
in the previous election, the county auditor must notify the law enforcement
agency or the county attorney as provided in section 201.275.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 201.022, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 5. Inactive
voter report. By November 6,
2018, the secretary of state must develop a report within the statewide voter
registration system that provides information on inactive voters who registered
on election day and were possibly ineligible.
For elections on or after November 6, 2018, no later than eight weeks
after the election, the county auditor must use the statewide voter
registration system to produce the report.
The county auditor must investigate each record to determine if the
voter appears to have been ineligible to vote.
If the county auditor determines that a voter appears to have been
ineligible to vote and registered to vote in the previous election, the county
auditor must notify the law enforcement agency or the county attorney as
provided in section 201.275.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 240.01, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 18a. Racing
or gaming-related vendor. "Racing
or gaming-related vendor" means any person or entity that manufactures,
sells, provides, distributes, repairs, or maintains equipment or supplies used
at a Class A facility or provides services to a Class A facility or Class B
license holder that are directly related to the running of a horse race,
simulcasting, pari-mutuel betting, or card playing.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 240.02, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. Annual report. The commission shall on February 15 of each odd-numbered year submit a report to the governor and legislature on its activities, organizational structure, receipts and disbursements, and recommendations for changes in the laws relating to racing and pari-mutuel betting.
Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 240.08, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. Revocation and suspension. (a) The commission may revoke a class C license for a violation of law or rule which in the commission's opinion adversely affects the integrity of horse racing in Minnesota, the public health, welfare, or safety, or for an intentional false statement made in a license application.
The commission may suspend a class C license for up to one year for a violation of law, order or rule.
The commission may delegate to its designated agents the authority to impose suspensions of class C licenses, and the revocation or suspension of a class C license may be appealed to the commission according to its rules.
(b) A license revocation or suspension
If the commission revokes or suspends a license for more than 90 180
days is, in lieu of appealing to the commission under paragraph (a),
the license holder has the right to request a contested case hearing
under sections 14.57 to 14.69 of the Administrative Procedure Act and is in
addition to criminal penalties imposed for a violation of law or rule. chapter
14. The request must be made in writing
to the commission by certified mail or personal service. A request sent by certified mail must be
postmarked within ten days after the license holder receives the revocation or
suspension order from the commission. A
request sent by personal service must be received by the commission within ten
days after the license holder receives the revocation or suspension order from
the commission. The commission may
summarily suspend a license for more than up to 90 days prior
to a contested case hearing where it is necessary to ensure the integrity
of racing or to protect the public health, welfare, or safety. The license holder may appeal a summary
suspension by making a written request to the commission within five calendar
days after the license holder receives notice of the summary suspension. A contested case hearing must be held
within 30 ten days of the commission's receipt of the request
for appeal of a summary suspension and the administrative law judge's
report must be issued within 30 days from the close of the hearing record. In all cases involving summary suspension the
commission must issue its final decision within 30 days from receipt of the
report of the administrative law judge and subsequent exceptions and argument
under section 14.61. to determine whether the license should remain
suspended pending a final disciplinary action.
Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 240.131, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. Payments
to state. (a) A regulatory fee is
imposed at the rate of one percent of all amounts wagered by Minnesota
residents with an authorized advance deposit wagering provider. The fee shall be declared on a form
prescribed by the commission. The ADW
provider must pay the fee to the commission no more than seven 15
days after the end of the month in which the wager was made. Fees collected under this paragraph must be
deposited in the state treasury and credited to a racing and card-playing
regulation account in the special revenue fund and are appropriated to the
commission to offset the costs associated with regulating horse racing and
pari-mutuel wagering in Minnesota.
(b) A breeders fund fee is imposed in the
amount of one-quarter of one percent of all amounts wagered by Minnesota
residents with an authorized advance deposit wagering provider. The fee shall be declared on a form
prescribed by the commission. The ADW
provider must pay the fee to the commission no more than seven 15
days after the end of the month in which the wager was made. Fees collected under this paragraph must be
deposited in the state treasury and credited to a racing and card-playing
regulation account in the special revenue fund and are appropriated to the
commission to offset the cost of administering the breeders fund and promote
horse breeding in Minnesota.
Sec. 16. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 240.22, is amended to read:
240.22
FINES.
(a) The commission shall by rule establish a schedule of civil fines for violations of laws related to horse racing or of the commission's rules. The schedule must be based on and reflect the culpability, frequency and severity of the violator's actions. The commission may impose a fine from this schedule on a licensee for a violation of those rules or laws relating to horse racing. The fine is in addition to any criminal penalty imposed for the same violation. Fines imposed by the commission must be paid to the commission and except as provided in paragraph (c), forwarded to the commissioner of management and budget for deposit in the state treasury and credited to a racing and card-playing regulation account in the special revenue fund and appropriated to the commission to distribute in the form of grants, contracts, or expenditures to support racehorse adoption, retirement, and repurposing.
(b) If the commission issues a fine in excess of $5,000, the license holder has the right to request a contested case hearing under chapter 14, to be held as set forth in Minnesota Rules, chapter 1400. The appeal of a fine must be made in writing to the commission by certified mail or personal service. An appeal sent by certified mail must be postmarked within ten days after the license holder receives the fine order from the commission. An appeal sent by personal service must be received by the commission within ten days after the license holder receives the fine order from the commission.
(c) If the commission is the prevailing party in a contested case proceeding, the commission may recover, from amounts to be forwarded under paragraph (a), reasonable attorney fees and costs associated with the contested case.
Sec. 17. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 270C.13, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Biennial
report. The commissioner shall
report to the legislature by March 1 of each odd‑numbered year on the
overall incidence of the income tax, sales and excise taxes, and property tax. The report shall present information on the
distribution of the tax burden as follows: (1) for the overall income distribution, using
a systemwide incidence measure such as the Suits index or other appropriate
measures of equality and inequality; (2) by income classes, including at a
minimum deciles of the income distribution; and (3) by other appropriate
taxpayer characteristics. The report
must also include information on the distribution of the burden of federal
taxes borne by Minnesota residents.
Sec. 18. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 349A.06, subdivision 11, is amended to read:
Subd. 11. Cancellation, suspension, and refusal to renew contracts or locations. (a) The director shall cancel the contract of any lottery retailer or prohibit a lottery retailer from selling lottery tickets at a business location who:
(1) has been convicted of a felony or gross misdemeanor;
(2) has committed fraud, misrepresentation, or deceit;
(3) has provided false or misleading information to the lottery; or
(4) has acted in a manner prejudicial to public confidence in the integrity of the lottery.
(b) The director may cancel, suspend, or refuse to renew the contract of any lottery retailer or prohibit a lottery retailer from selling lottery tickets at a business location who:
(1) changes business location;
(2) fails to account for lottery tickets received or the proceeds from tickets sold;
(3) fails to remit funds to the director in accordance with the director's rules;
(4) violates a law or a rule or order of the director;
(5) fails to comply with any of the terms in the lottery retailer's contract;
(6) fails to file a bond, securities, or a letter of credit as required under subdivision 3;
(7) in the opinion of the director fails
to maintain a sufficient sales volume to justify continuation as a lottery
retailer; or
(8) has violated section 340A.503,
subdivision 2, clause (1), two or more times within a two-year period; or
(9) has violated the rules adopted pursuant to subdivision 6, clause (1), requiring a lottery retailer to retain appropriate amounts from gross receipts from the sale of lottery tickets in order to pay prizes to holders of winning tickets, three or more times within a one-year period.
(c) The director may also cancel, suspend, or refuse to renew a lottery retailer's contract or prohibit a lottery retailer from selling lottery tickets at a business location if there is a material change in any of the factors considered by the director under subdivision 2.
(d) A contract cancellation, suspension, refusal to renew, or prohibiting a lottery retailer from selling lottery tickets at a business location under this subdivision is a contested case under sections 14.57 to 14.69 and is in addition to any criminal penalties provided for a violation of law or rule.
(e) The director may temporarily suspend a contract or temporarily prohibit a lottery retailer from selling lottery tickets at a business location without notice for any of the reasons specified in this subdivision provided that a hearing is conducted within seven days after a request for a hearing is made by a lottery retailer. Within 20 days after receiving the administrative law judge's report, the director shall issue an order vacating the temporary
suspension or prohibition or making any other appropriate order. If no hearing is requested within 30 days of the temporary suspension or prohibition taking effect, the suspension or prohibition becomes permanent unless the director vacates or modifies the order.
(f) A lottery retailer whose contract
was solely canceled, suspended, or not renewed pursuant to paragraph (b), clause
(9), may petition the director to reinstate a canceled or suspended contract,
or enter into a new contract, after two years have passed since the order took
effect.
Sec. 19. VALUATION
OF PIPELINE OPERATING PROPERTY; ADMINISTRATIVE RULES.
(a) No later than January 1, 2019, the
commissioner of revenue must adopt amendments to applicable administrative
rules, including Minnesota Rules, part 8100.0300, related to the valuation of
pipeline operating property in Minnesota.
The amendments must be designed to improve the valuation methodology so
that it produces a more accurate estimate of market value. The commissioner must consider recent
agreements, settlements, and judgments related to state-assessed pipeline
operating property valuations that resulted in an increase or decrease in
assessed market value in developing the amendments required by this section.
(b) The commissioner may use the
expedited rulemaking process under Minnesota Statutes, section 14.389, to adopt
the rules required by this section.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 20. VALUATION
METHOD OF PUBLIC UTILITY OPERATING PROPERTY; REPORT.
(a) The commissioner of revenue shall
prepare a report on the valuation of the operating property of public
utilities, as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 216B.02, subdivision 4, in
the state of Minnesota.
(b) The report must compile and
explain, in detail, the number of state-assessed public utility valuations that
have been appealed in the last 20 years, the basis for the appeals, and the
extent to which the market value was increased or reduced, by agreement,
settlement, or judgment, and list and provide detail on the taxing
jurisdictions that have been issued a refund order in the last 20 years as a
result of agreement, settlement, or judgment, including the year and amount
paid.
(c) The commissioner shall submit the
report to the committees of the house of representatives and senate having
jurisdiction over taxes by December 1, 2018, and file the report as required by
Minnesota Statutes, section 3.195.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective July 1, 2018.
Sec. 21. NORDIC
WORLD CUP SKI CHAMPIONSHIP.
(a) Upon request of U.S. Ski and
Snowboard, The Loppet Foundation, or other affiliated organization, the
Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission must support the preparation and submission
of a competitive bid to host an International Ski Federation Nordic World Cup
Ski Championship event in Minnesota. If
the event is awarded, the commission must partner with the organizing committee
as an event host. Commission activities
may include but are not limited to assisting in the development of
public-private partnerships to support the event; soliciting sponsors;
participating in public outreach activities; permitting the commission's
facilities to be developed and used as event venues; and providing other
administrative, technical, logistical, or financial support, within available
resources.
(b)
Within 30 days after a bid is submitted and, if an event is awarded to
Minnesota as a host, within 30 days after receiving notice of the award, the
commission must notify the chairs and ranking minority members of the
legislative committees with jurisdiction over the commission. The notification must describe the
commission's work in support of the event and indicate whether the commission
anticipates seeking supplemental state or local funds or other public resources
to continue that work.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day
following final enactment and expires upon conclusion of a Nordic World Cup Ski
Championship event hosted in Minnesota.
Sec. 22. REPEALER.
Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 155A.28, subdivisions
1, 3, and 4, are repealed effective July 1, 2018.
ARTICLE 3
LEGISLATIVE BUDGET OFFICE
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 3.8853, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Establishment; duties. The Legislative Budget Office is
established under control of the Legislative Coordinating Commission to
provide the house of representatives and senate with nonpartisan, accurate, and
timely information on the fiscal impact of proposed legislation, without regard
to political factors.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1,
2018.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 3.8853, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Director; staff. The Legislative Coordinating
Commission Legislative Budget Office Oversight Commission must
appoint a director who and establish the director's duties. The director may hire staff necessary to
do the work of the office. The director
serves in the unclassified service for a term of six years and may not
be removed during a term except for cause after a public hearing.
EFFECTIVE DATE.
This section is effective July 1,
2018.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 3.8853, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 3.
Uniform standards and
procedures. The director of
the Legislative Budget Office must adopt uniform standards and procedures
governing the timely preparation of fiscal notes as required by this section
and section 3.98. The standards and
procedures are not effective until they are approved by the Legislative Budget
Office Oversight Commission. Upon approval,
the standards and procedures must be published in the State Register and on the
office's Web site.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective September 1,
2019, except that the uniform standards and procedures to be used may be
developed and adopted by the oversight commission prior to the effective date
of this section.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 3.8853, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4.
Access to data; treatment. Upon request of the director of the
Legislative Budget Office, the head or chief administrative officer of each
department or agency of state government, including the Supreme Court, must
promptly supply data that are used to prepare a fiscal note, including data
that are not public data under section 13.64 or other applicable law, unless
there are federal laws or regulations that prohibit the provision of the not
public
data
for this purpose. Not public data
supplied under this subdivision may only be used by the Legislative Budget
Office to review a department or agency's work in preparing a fiscal note and
may not be used or disseminated for any other purpose, including use by or
dissemination to a legislator or to any officer, department, agency, or
committee within the legislative branch.
Violation of this subdivision by the director or other staff of the
Legislative Budget Office is cause for removal, suspension without pay, or
immediate dismissal at the direction of the oversight commission.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective September 1, 2019.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 3.8853, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 5. Fiscal
note delivery and posting. The
director of the Legislative Budget Office must deliver a completed fiscal note to
the legislative committee chair who made the request, and to the chief author
of the legislation to which it relates. Within
24 hours of completion of a fiscal note, the director of the Legislative Budget
Office must post a completed fiscal note on the office's public Web site. This subdivision does not apply to an
unofficial fiscal note that is not public data under section 13.64, subdivision
3.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective September 1, 2019.
Sec. 6. [3.8854]
LEGISLATIVE BUDGET OFFICE OVERSIGHT COMMISSION.
(a) The Legislative Budget Office
Oversight Commission consists of:
(1) two members of the senate appointed
by the senate majority leader;
(2) two members of the senate appointed
by the senate minority leader;
(3) two members of the house of
representatives appointed by the speaker of the house; and
(4) two members of the house of
representatives appointed by the minority leader.
The director of the Legislative Budget Office is the
executive secretary of the commission. The
chief nonpartisan fiscal analyst of the house of representatives, the lead
nonpartisan fiscal analyst of the senate, the commissioner of management and
budget or a designee, and the legislative auditor are ex officio, nonvoting
members of the commission.
(b) Members serve at the pleasure of the
appointing authority, or until they are not members of the legislative body
from which they were appointed. Appointing
authorities shall fill vacancies on the commission within 30 days of a vacancy
being created.
(c) The commission shall meet in
January of each odd-numbered year to elect its chair and vice-chair. They shall serve until successors are elected. The chair and vice-chair shall alternate
biennially between the senate and the house of representatives. The commission shall meet at the call of the
chair. The members shall serve without
compensation but may be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses consistent
with the rules of the legislature governing expense reimbursement.
(d) The commission shall review the
work of the Legislative Budget Office and make recommendations, as the
commission determines necessary, to improve the office's ability to fulfill its
duties, and shall perform other functions as directed by this section, and
sections 3.8853 and 3.98.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 3.98, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Preparation;
duties. (a) The head or chief
administrative officer of each department or agency of the state government,
including the Supreme Court, shall cooperate with the Legislative Budget
Office and the Legislative Budget Office must prepare a fiscal note consistent
with the standards and procedures adopted under section 3.8853, at the
request of the chair of the standing committee to which a bill has been
referred, or the chair of the house of representatives Ways and Means
Committee, or the chair of the senate Committee on Finance.
(b) Upon request of the Legislative
Budget Office, the head or chief administrative officer of each department or
agency of state government, including the Supreme Court, must promptly supply
all information necessary for the Legislative Budget Office to prepare an
accurate and timely fiscal note.
(c) The Legislative Budget Office may
adopt standards and guidelines governing timing of responses to requests for
information and governing access to data, consistent with laws governing access
to data. Agencies must comply with these
standards and guidelines and the Legislative Budget Office must publish them on
the office's Web site.
(d) (b) For purposes of this
subdivision, "Supreme Court" includes all agencies, committees, and
commissions supervised or appointed by the state Supreme Court or the state
court administrator.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective September 1, 2019.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 10A.01, subdivision 35, is amended to read:
Subd. 35. Public official. "Public official" means any:
(1) member of the legislature;
(2) individual employed by the legislature as secretary of the senate, legislative auditor, director of the Legislative Budget Office, chief clerk of the house of representatives, revisor of statutes, or researcher, legislative analyst, fiscal analyst, or attorney in the Office of Senate Counsel, Research, and Fiscal Analysis, House Research, or the House Fiscal Analysis Department;
(3) constitutional officer in the executive branch and the officer's chief administrative deputy;
(4) solicitor general or deputy, assistant, or special assistant attorney general;
(5) commissioner, deputy commissioner, or assistant commissioner of any state department or agency as listed in section 15.01 or 15.06, or the state chief information officer;
(6) member, chief administrative officer, or deputy chief administrative officer of a state board or commission that has either the power to adopt, amend, or repeal rules under chapter 14, or the power to adjudicate contested cases or appeals under chapter 14;
(7) individual employed in the executive branch who is authorized to adopt, amend, or repeal rules under chapter 14 or adjudicate contested cases under chapter 14;
(8) executive director of the State Board of Investment;
(9) deputy of any official listed in clauses (7) and (8);
(10) judge of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals;
(11) administrative law judge or compensation judge in the State Office of Administrative Hearings or unemployment law judge in the Department of Employment and Economic Development;
(12) member, regional administrator, division director, general counsel, or operations manager of the Metropolitan Council;
(13) member or chief administrator of a metropolitan agency;
(14) director of the Division of Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement in the Department of Public Safety;
(15) member or executive director of the Higher Education Facilities Authority;
(16) member of the board of directors or president of Enterprise Minnesota, Inc.;
(17) member of the board of directors or executive director of the Minnesota State High School League;
(18) member of the Minnesota Ballpark Authority established in section 473.755;
(19) citizen member of the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources;
(20) manager of a watershed district, or member of a watershed management organization as defined under section 103B.205, subdivision 13;
(21) supervisor of a soil and water conservation district;
(22) director of Explore Minnesota Tourism;
(23) citizen member of the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council established in section 97A.056;
(24) citizen member of the Clean Water Council established in section 114D.30;
(25) member or chief executive of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority established in section 473J.07;
(26) district court judge, appeals court judge, or Supreme Court justice;
(27) county commissioner;
(28) member of the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission; or
(29) member of the Destination Medical Center Corporation established in section 469.41.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1, 2018.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 13.64, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 4.
Fiscal note data must be
shared with Legislative Budget Office.
A head or chief administrative officer of a department or agency
of the state government, including the Supreme Court, must provide data that
are used to prepare a fiscal note, including data that are not public data
under this section to the director of the Legislative Budget Office upon the
director's request and consistent with section 3.8853, subdivision 4, unless
there are federal laws or regulations that prohibit the provision of the not
public data for this purpose. The data
must be supplied according to any standards and procedures adopted under
section 3.8853, subdivision 3, including any
standards
and procedures governing timeliness. Notwithstanding
section 13.05, subdivision 9, a responsible authority may not require the
Legislative Budget Office to pay a cost for supplying data requested under this
subdivision.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective September 1, 2019.
Sec. 10. Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 4, article 2, section 1, the effective date, is amended to read:
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is effective January
8, 2019 July 1, 2018.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective July 1, 2018.
Sec. 11. Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 4, article 2, section 3, the effective date, is amended to read:
EFFECTIVE DATE.
Except where otherwise
provided by law, this section is
effective January 8, 2019 July 1, 2018.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective July 1, 2018.
Sec. 12. Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 4, article 2, section 9, the effective date, is amended to read:
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is effective January
8, 2019 September 1, 2019.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective July 1, 2018.
Sec. 13. Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 4, article 2, section 58, the effective date, is amended to read:
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is effective January
8, 2019. September 1, 2019. The contract required under this section must
be approved by the Legislative Budget Office Oversight Commission and be
executed no later than November 1, 2018, and must provide for transfer of
operational control of the fiscal note tracking system to the Legislative
Budget Office effective September 1, 2019.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective July 1, 2018.
Sec. 14. LEGISLATIVE
BUDGET OFFICE OVERSIGHT COMMISSION; FIRST APPOINTMENTS; FIRST CHAIR; FIRST
MEETING.
Appointments to the Legislative Budget
Office Oversight Commission under Minnesota Statutes, section 3.8854, must be
made by July 1, 2018. The chair of the
Legislative Coordinating Commission must designate one appointee to convene the
commission's first meeting and serve as its chair until a chair is elected by
the commission as provided in Minnesota Statutes, section 3.8854. The designated appointee must convene the
first meeting no later than July 15, 2018.
Sec. 15. LEGISLATIVE
BUDGET OFFICE DIRECTOR ORIENTATION AND TRAINING.
Before September 1, 2019, the
commissioner of management and budget shall provide orientation and training to
the director of the Legislative Budget Office and any staff of the Legislative
Budget Office designated by the director on the use of the fiscal note system. The commissioner of management and budget
must provide opportunities to the director of the Legislative Budget Office and
staff designated by the director of the Legislative Budget Office to learn from
the Department of Management and Budget's work on fiscal note requests during
the 2019 regular legislative session to facilitate the transfer of duties
required by this act.
Sec. 16. REPEALER.
(a) Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 3.98,
subdivision 4, is repealed effective September 1, 2019.
(b) Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 4, article
2, section 59, is repealed.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day
following final enactment unless a different date is specified.
ARTICLE 4
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Section 1. [3.9736] EVALUATION OF INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS.
Subdivision 1.
Definition. For purposes of this section,
"information technology project" means a project managed or performed
by the Office of MN.IT Services on behalf of a state agency.
Subd. 2.
Selection of project for
review; schedule for evaluation; report.
Annually, the legislative auditor may submit to the Legislative
Audit Commission a list of three to five information technology projects
proposed for review. In selecting
projects to include on the list, the legislative auditor may consider the cost
of the project to the state, the impact of the project on state agencies and
public users, and the legislature's interest in ensuring that state agencies
meet the needs of the public. The
legislative auditor may include completed projects and ongoing projects and
shall give particular consideration to forensic review of high-profile
problematic projects from which recommendations may be developed to prevent
problems on future projects. Annually,
the Legislative Audit Commission may select at least one information technology
project for the legislative auditor's evaluation. The legislative auditor may evaluate the
selected information technology project according to an evaluation plan
established under subdivision 3 and submit a written report to the Legislative
Audit Commission.
Subd. 3.
Evaluation plan. The Legislative Audit Commission may
establish an evaluation plan that identifies elements the legislative auditor
must include in an evaluation of an information technology project. The Legislative Audit Commission may modify
the evaluation plan as needed.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 16A.11, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. When.
The governor shall submit a three-part budget to the legislature. Parts one and two, the budget message and
detailed operating budget, must be submitted by the fourth Tuesday in January
in each odd‑numbered year. However,
in a year following the election of a governor who had not been governor the
previous year, parts one and two must be submitted by the third Tuesday in
February. Part three, the detailed
recommendations as to capital expenditure, must be submitted as follows: agency capital budget requests by July 15 of
each odd-numbered year, and governor's recommendations by January 15 of each
even-numbered year. Detailed
recommendations as to information technology expenditure must be submitted as
part of the detailed operating budget. Information
technology recommendations must include projects to be funded during the next
biennium and planning estimates for an additional two bienniums. Information technology recommendations must
specify purposes of the funding such as infrastructure, hardware, software, or
training.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 16A.11, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 6a.
Information technology and
cyber security. (a) Detailed
recommendations as to information and telecommunications technology systems and
services expenditures must be submitted as part of the detailed operating
budget. These recommendations must
include projects to be funded during the next biennium and planning estimates
for an additional two bienniums and must specify purposes of the funding, such
as infrastructure,
hardware,
software, or training. The detailed
operating budget must also separately recommend expenditures for the
maintenance and enhancement of cyber security for the state's information and
telecommunications technology systems and services.
(b) The commissioner of management and budget, in
consultation with the state chief information officer, shall establish budget
guidelines for the recommendations required by this subdivision. Unless otherwise set by the commissioner at a
higher amount, the amount to be budgeted each fiscal year for maintenance and
enhancement of cyber security must be at least 3.5 percent of a department's or
agency's total operating budget for information and telecommunications
technology systems and services in that year.
(c) As used in this subdivision:
(1) "cyber security" has the meaning given in
section 16E.03, subdivision 1, paragraph (d); and
(2) "information and telecommunications technology
systems and services" has the meaning given in section 16E.03, subdivision
1, paragraph (a).
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 16E.03, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. Cyber security systems. In consultation with the attorney general
and appropriate agency heads, the chief information officer shall develop cyber
security policies, guidelines, and standards, and shall install and administer
state data security systems on the state's computer facilities consistent with
these policies, guidelines, standards, and state law to ensure the integrity of
computer-based and other data and to ensure applicable limitations on access to
data, consistent with the public's right to know as defined in chapter 13. The chief information officer is responsible
for overall security of state agency networks connected to the Internet. Each department or agency head is responsible
for the security of the department's or agency's data within the guidelines of
established enterprise policy. Unless
otherwise expressly provided by law, at least 3.5 percent of each department's
or agency's expenditures in a fiscal year for information and
telecommunications technology systems and services must be directed to the
maintenance and enhancement of cyber security.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective July 1,
2018, and applies to expenditures in fiscal years beginning on or after that
date.
ARTICLE 5
ENERGY POLICY
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 116C.779, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Renewable development account. (a) The renewable development account is established as a separate account in the special revenue fund in the state treasury. Appropriations and transfers to the account shall be credited to the account. Earnings, such as interest, dividends, and any other earnings arising from assets of the account, shall be credited to the account. Funds remaining in the account at the end of a fiscal year are not canceled to the general fund but remain in the account until expended. The account shall be administered by the commissioner of management and budget as provided under this section.
(b) On July 1, 2017, the public utility that owns the
Prairie Island nuclear generating plant must transfer all funds in the
renewable development account previously established under this subdivision and
managed by the public utility to the renewable development account established
in paragraph (a). Funds awarded to
grantees in previous grant cycles that have not yet been expended and
unencumbered funds required to be paid in calendar year 2017 under paragraphs (e)
and (f) and (g), and sections 116C.7792 and 216C.41, are not subject
to transfer under this paragraph.
(c)
Except as provided in subdivision 1a, Beginning January 15, 2018 2019,
and continuing each January 15 thereafter, the public utility that owns the
Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear generating plant plants
must transfer to the renewable development account $500,000 each year for
each dry cask containing spent fuel that is located at the Prairie Island power
plant for the following amounts each year the either
plant is in operation, and $7,500,000 each year the plant is not in
operation: (1) $23,000,000 in
2019; (2) $28,000,000 in 2020; (3) $28,000,000 in 2021; and (4) $20,000,000
beginning in 2022 and each year thereafter.
If ordered by the commission pursuant to paragraph (i). (h),
the public utility must transfer $7,500,000 each year the Prairie Island plant
is not in operation and $5,250,000 each year the Monticello plant is not in
operation. The fund transfer must be
made if nuclear waste is stored in a dry
cask at the independent spent-fuel storage facility at Prairie Island or
Monticello for any part of a year.
(d) Except as provided in subdivision 1a,
beginning January 15, 2018, and continuing each January 15 thereafter, the
public utility that owns the Monticello nuclear generating plant must transfer
to the renewable development account $350,000 each year for each dry cask
containing spent fuel that is located at the Monticello nuclear power plant for
each year the plant is in operation, and $5,250,000 each year the plant is not
in operation if ordered by the commission pursuant to paragraph (i). The fund transfer must be made if nuclear
waste is stored in a dry cask at the independent spent-fuel storage facility at
Monticello for any part of a year.
(e) (d) Each year, the public
utility shall withhold from the funds transferred to the renewable development
account under paragraphs paragraph (c) and (d) the amount
necessary to pay its obligations for that calendar year under paragraphs
(e), (f) and (g), (j), and (n), and sections 116C.7792 and
216C.41, for that calendar year.
(f) (e) If the commission
approves a new or amended power purchase agreement, the termination of a power
purchase agreement, or the purchase and closure of a facility under section
216B.2424, subdivision 9, with an entity that uses poultry litter to generate
electricity, the public utility subject to this section shall enter into a
contract with the city in which the poultry litter plant is located to provide
grants to the city for the purposes of economic development on the following
schedule: $4,000,000 in fiscal year
2018; $6,500,000 each fiscal year in 2019 and 2020; and $3,000,000 in fiscal
year 2021. The grants shall be paid by
the public utility from funds withheld from the transfer to the renewable
development account, as provided in paragraphs (b) and (e) (d).
(g) (f) If the commission
approves a new or amended power purchase agreement, or the termination of a power
purchase agreement under section 216B.2424, subdivision 9, with an entity owned
or controlled, directly or indirectly, by two municipal utilities located north
of Constitutional Route No. 8, that was previously used to meet the
biomass mandate in section 216B.2424, the public utility that owns a nuclear
generating plant shall enter into a grant contract with such entity to provide
$6,800,000 per year for five years, commencing 30 days after the commission
approves the new or amended power purchase agreement, or the termination of the
power purchase agreement, and on each June 1 thereafter through 2021, to assist
the transition required by the new, amended, or terminated power purchase
agreement. The grant shall be paid by
the public utility from funds withheld from the transfer to the renewable
development account as provided in paragraphs (b) and (e) (d).
(h) (g) The collective
amount paid under the grant contracts awarded under paragraphs (e) and
(f) and (g) is limited to the amount deposited into the renewable
development account, and its predecessor, the renewable development account,
established under this section, that was not required to be deposited into the
account under Laws 1994, chapter 641, article 1, section 10.
(i) (h) After discontinuation
of operation of the Prairie Island nuclear plant or the Monticello nuclear
plant and each year spent nuclear fuel is stored in dry cask at the
discontinued facility, the commission shall require the public utility to pay
$7,500,000 for the discontinued Prairie Island facility and $5,250,000 for the
discontinued Monticello facility for any year in which the commission finds, by
the preponderance of the evidence, that the public utility did not make a good
faith effort to remove the spent nuclear fuel stored at the facility to a
permanent or interim storage site out of the state. This determination shall be made at least
every two years.
(i)
The public utility must annually file with the commission a petition to recover
through a rider mechanism all funds it is required to transfer or withhold
under paragraphs (c) to (f) for the next year.
The commission must approve a reasonable cost recovery schedule for all
funds under this paragraph.
(j) On or before January 15 of each year, the public
utility must file a petition with the commission identifying the amounts
withheld by the public utility the prior year under paragraph (d) and the
amount actually paid the prior year for obligations identified in paragraph (d). If the amount actually paid is less than the
amount withheld, the public utility must deduct the surplus from the amount
withheld for the current year under paragraph (d). If the amount actually paid is more than the
amount withheld, the public utility must add the deficiency amount to the amount
withheld for the current year under paragraph (d). Any surplus remaining in the account after
all programs identified in paragraph (d) are terminated must be returned to the
public utility's customers.
(j) (k) Funds in the account may be expended
only for any of the following purposes:
(1) to stimulate research and development of renewable electric energy technologies;
(2) to encourage grid modernization, including, but not limited to, projects that implement electricity storage, load control, and smart meter technology; and
(3) to stimulate other innovative energy projects that reduce demand and increase system efficiency and flexibility.
Expenditures from the fund must benefit Minnesota ratepayers receiving electric service from the utility that owns a nuclear-powered electric generating plant in this state or the Prairie Island Indian community or its members.
The utility that owns a nuclear generating plant is eligible to apply for grants under this subdivision.
(k) (l) For the purposes of paragraph (j)
(k), the following terms have the meanings given:
(1) "renewable" has the meaning given in section 216B.2422, subdivision 1, paragraph (c), clauses (1), (2), (4), and (5); and
(2) "grid modernization" means:
(i) enhancing the reliability of the electrical grid;
(ii) improving the security of the electrical grid against cyberthreats and physical threats; and
(iii) increasing energy conservation opportunities by facilitating communication between the utility and its customers through the use of two-way meters, control technologies, energy storage and microgrids, technologies to enable demand response, and other innovative technologies.
(l) (m) A renewable development account
advisory group that includes, among others, representatives of the public
utility and its ratepayers, and includes at least one representative of the
Prairie Island Indian community appointed by that community's tribal council,
shall develop recommendations on account expenditures. Members of the advisory group must be chosen
by the public utility. The advisory
group must design a request for proposal and evaluate projects submitted in
response to a request for proposals. The
advisory group must utilize an independent third-party expert to evaluate
proposals submitted in response to a request for proposal, including all
proposals made by the public utility. A
request for proposal for research and development under paragraph (j) (k),
clause (1), may be limited to or include a request to higher education
institutions located in Minnesota for multiple projects authorized under
paragraph (j) (k), clause (1).
The request for multiple projects may include a provision that
exempts the projects from the third-party expert review and instead provides for project evaluation and selection by a merit peer review grant system. In the process of determining request for proposal scope and subject and in evaluating responses to request for proposals, the advisory group must strongly consider, where reasonable, potential benefit to Minnesota citizens and businesses and the utility's ratepayers.
(n) The cost of acquiring the services
of the independent third-party expert described in paragraph (m) and any other
reasonable costs incurred to administer the advisory group and its actions required
by this section must be paid from funds withheld by the public utility under
paragraph (d). The total amount withheld
under this paragraph must not exceed $125,000 each year.
(m) (o) The advisory group
shall submit funding recommendations to the public utility, which has full and
sole authority to determine which expenditures shall be submitted by the
advisory group to the legislature commission. The commission may approve proposed
expenditures, may disapprove proposed expenditures that it finds not to be in
compliance with this subdivision or otherwise not in the public interest, and
may, if agreed to by the public utility, modify proposed expenditures. The commission shall, by order, submit its
funding recommendations to the legislature as provided under paragraph (n)
(p).
(n) (p) The commission shall
present its recommended appropriations from the account to the senate and house
of representatives committees with jurisdiction over energy policy and finance
annually by February 15. Expenditures
from the account must be appropriated by law.
In enacting appropriations from the account, the legislature:
(1) may approve or disapprove, but may not modify, the amount of an appropriation for a project recommended by the commission; and
(2) may not appropriate money for a project the commission has not recommended funding.
(o) (q) A request for
proposal for renewable energy generation projects must, when feasible and
reasonable, give preference to projects that are most cost-effective for a
particular energy source.
(p) (r) The advisory group
must annually, by February 15, report to the chairs and ranking minority
members of the legislative committees with
jurisdiction over energy policy on projects funded by the account under
paragraph (k) for the prior year and all previous years. The report must, to the extent possible and
reasonable, itemize the actual and projected financial benefit to the public
utility's ratepayers of each project.
(s) By June 1, 2018, and each June 1
thereafter, the public utility that owns the Prairie Island Nuclear Electric
Generating Plant must submit to the commissioner of management and budget an
estimate of the amount the public utility will deposit into the account the
following January 15, based on the provisions of paragraphs (c) to (h) and any
appropriations made from the fund during the most recent legislative session.
(q) (t) By February 1
June 30, 2018, and each February 1 June 30 thereafter, the
commissioner of management and budget shall must estimate the balance
in the account as of the following January 31, taking into account the balance
in the account as of June 30 and the information provided under paragraph (r). By July 15, 2018, and each July 15
thereafter, the commissioner of management and budget must submit a written
report regarding the availability of funds in and obligations of the account to
the chairs and ranking minority members of the senate and house committees with
jurisdiction over energy policy and finance, the public utility, and the advisory
group. If more than $15,000,000 is
estimated to be available in the account as of January 31, the advisory group
must, by January 31 the next year, issue a request for proposals to initiate a
grant cycle for the purposes of paragraph (k).
(r) (u) A project receiving funds from the account must produce a written final report that includes sufficient detail for technical readers and a clearly written summary for nontechnical readers. The report must include an evaluation of the project's financial, environmental, and other benefits to the state and the public utility's ratepayers.
(s) (v) Final reports, any
mid-project status reports, and renewable development account financial reports
must be posted online on a public Web site designated by the commissioner of
commerce.
(t) (w) All final reports
must acknowledge that the project was made possible in whole or part by the
Minnesota renewable development account, noting that the account is financed by
the public utility's ratepayers.
(u) (x) Of the amount in the
renewable development account, priority must be given to making the payments
required under section 216C.417.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 116C.7792, is amended to read:
116C.7792
SOLAR ENERGY INCENTIVE PROGRAM.
(a) The utility subject to section
116C.779 shall must operate a program to provide solar energy
production incentives for solar energy systems of no more than a total aggregate
nameplate capacity of 20 40 kilowatts direct current per
premises. The owner of a solar energy
system installed before June 1, 2018, is eligible to receive a production
incentive under this section for any additional solar energy systems
constructed at the same customer location, provided the aggregate capacity of
all systems at the customer location does not exceed 40 kilowatts.
(b) The program shall must
be operated for eight consecutive calendar years commencing in 2014. $5,000,000 shall must be
allocated in each of the first four years, $15,000,000 in the fifth year,
$10,000,000 in each of the sixth and seventh years, and $5,000,000 in the
eighth year from funds withheld from transfer to the renewable development
account under section 116C.779, subdivision 1, paragraphs (b) and (e) paragraph
(d), and placed in a separate account for the purpose of the solar
production incentive program operated by the utility. Money in the separate account must not be
used for any other program or purpose. Any
unspent amount allocated in the fifth year is available until December 31 of
the sixth year. Any unspent amount
remaining at the end of an allocation year must be transferred to the renewable
development account or returned to customers.
(c) The solar energy system must be sized to less than 120 percent of the customer's on-site annual energy consumption when combined with other distributed generation resources and subscriptions provided under section 216B.1641 associated with the premise. The production incentive must be paid for ten years commencing with the commissioning of the system.
(d) The utility must file a plan to
operate the program with the commissioner of commerce. The utility may not operate the program until
it is approved by the commissioner. A
change to the program to include projects up to a nameplate capacity of 40
kilowatts does not require the utility to file an amended plan with the
commissioner. Any plan approved by the
commissioner of commerce must not provide an increased incentive over prior
years unless the commissioner demonstrates that changes in the market for solar
energy facilities require an increase.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 3. [116C.7793]
PRAIRIE ISLAND NET ZERO PROJECT.
Subdivision 1. Program
established. The Prairie
Island Net Zero Project is established with the goal of the Prairie Island
Indian Community developing an energy system that results in net zero
emissions.
Subd. 2. Grant. The commissioner of employment and
economic development must enter into a grant contract with the Prairie Island
Indian Community to provide the amounts appropriated each year under
subdivision 4 to stimulate research, development, and implementation of
renewable energy projects benefiting the Prairie Island Indian Community or its
members. Any examination conducted by
the commissioner of employment and economic development to determine the
sufficiency of the financial stability and capacity of the Prairie Island
Indian Community to carry out the purposes of this grant is limited to the
Community Services Department of the Prairie Island Indian Community.
Subd. 3. Plan;
report. The Prairie Island
Indian Community must file a plan with the commissioner of employment and
economic development no later than July 1, 2019, describing the Prairie Island
Net Zero Project elements and implementation strategy. The Prairie Island Indian Community must file
a report on July 1, 2020, and each July 1 thereafter through 2025, describing
the progress made in implementing the project and the uses of expended funds.
Subd. 4. Appropriation. Notwithstanding section 116C.779,
subdivision 1, paragraph (k), $3,000,000 in fiscal year 2019, $7,000,000 in
fiscal year 2020, $4,500,000 in fiscal year 2021, $9,000,000 in fiscal year
2022, $8,000,000 in fiscal year 2023, and $8,500,000 in fiscal year 2024 are
appropriated from the renewable development account under section 116C.779,
subdivision 1, to the commissioner of employment and economic development for a
grant to the Prairie Island Indian Community for the purposes of this section. Any funds remaining at the end of a fiscal
year do not cancel to the renewable development account but remain available
until spent. This subdivision expires
the day after the last transfer of funds to the commissioner.
Subd. 5. Transfer. (a) Any funds appropriated under
section 216C.417, subdivision 2, that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal
year are transferred to the commissioner of employment and economic development
for a grant to the Prairie Island Indian Community for the purposes of this
section.
(b) Beginning in fiscal year 2019 and
continuing each year thereafter, on the day following the public release of the
February state budget forecast the commissioner of management and budget must
compare the obligation forecasted in each fiscal year for the Made in Minnesota
solar production incentive program under section 216C.417 with the obligations
forecasted under that program in the previous year's February state budget
forecast. If the amount in the most
recent forecast in any one fiscal year is less than the amount of the
obligation forecasted for the same fiscal year in the previous February
forecast, the commissioner of management and budget must transfer the
difference from the renewable development account established in section
116C.779 to the commissioner of employment and economic development for a grant
to the Prairie Island Indian Community for the Prairie Island Net Zero Project
in section 116C.7793.
(c) The total amount appropriated and transferred
from the renewable development account under this subdivision and subdivision 4
must not exceed $45,000,000.
(d) This subdivision expires the day
following the day that the total amount appropriated and transferred from the
renewable development account under this subdivision and subdivision 4 equals
$45,000,000.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 216B.16, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 7e. Energy
storage system pilot projects. (a)
A public utility may petition the commission under this section to recover
costs associated with the implementation of an energy storage system pilot
project. As part of the petition, the
public utility must submit a report to the commission containing, at a minimum,
the following information regarding the proposed energy storage system pilot
project:
(1)
the storage technology utilized;
(2) the energy storage capacity and the
duration of output at that capacity;
(3) the proposed location;
(4) the purchase and installation
costs;
(5) how the project will interact with
existing distributed generation resources on the utility's grid; and
(6) the goals the project proposes to
achieve, which may include controlling frequency or voltage, mitigating
transmission congestion, providing emergency power supplies during outages,
reducing curtailment of existing renewable energy generators, and reducing peak
power costs.
(b) A utility may petition the
commission to approve a rate schedule that provides for the automatic
adjustment of charges to recover prudently incurred investments, expenses, or
costs associated with energy storage system pilot projects approved by the
commission under this subdivision. A
petition filed under this subdivision must include the elements listed in
section 216B.1645, subdivision 2a, paragraph (b), clauses (1) to (4), and must
describe the benefits of the pilot project.
(c) The commission may approve, or
approve as modified, a rate schedule filed under this subdivision if it
determines the proposed energy storage system pilot project is in the public
interest. A rate schedule filed under
this subdivision may include the elements listed in section 216B.1645,
subdivision 2a, paragraph (a), clauses (1) to (5).
(d) The commission must make its
determination under paragraph (c) within 90 days of the filing under paragraph
(a).
(e) Nothing in this subdivision
prohibits or deters the deployment of energy storage systems.
(f) For the purposes of this
subdivision:
(1) "energy storage system"
has the meaning given in section 216B.2422, subdivision 1; and
(2) "pilot project" means a
project that is owned, operated, and controlled by a public utility to optimize
safe and reliable system operations and is deployed at a limited number of
locations in order to assess the technical and economic effectiveness of its
operations.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 216B.16, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 13a. Pension
and other benefits rate base. The
commission must allow a public utility to include in the rate base and recover
from ratepayers combined pension and other postemployment benefit costs. Postemployment benefit costs include retiree
medical, determined as the difference between accumulated contributions and
accumulated expenses, offset by related accumulated deferred income tax. A public utility is authorized to track for
future recovery any unrecovered return of pension and other postemployment rate
base costs and investments at the return on investment level established in the
public utility's last general rate case.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 216B.1641, is amended to read:
216B.1641
COMMUNITY SOLAR GARDEN.
(a) The public utility subject to section 116C.779 shall file by September 30, 2013, a plan with the commission to operate a community solar garden program which shall begin operations within 90 days after commission approval of the plan. Other public utilities may file an application at their election. The community solar garden program must be designed to offset the energy use of not less than five subscribers in each community solar garden facility of which no single subscriber has more than a 40 percent interest. The owner of the community solar garden may be a public utility or any other entity or organization that contracts to sell the output from the community solar garden to the utility under section 216B.164. There shall be no limitation on the number or cumulative generating capacity of community solar garden facilities other than the limitations imposed under section 216B.164, subdivision 4c, or other limitations provided in law or regulations.
(b) A solar garden is a facility that generates electricity by means of a ground-mounted or roof-mounted solar photovoltaic device whereby subscribers receive a bill credit for the electricity generated in proportion to the size of their subscription. The solar garden must have a nameplate capacity of no more than one megawatt. Each subscription shall be sized to represent at least 200 watts of the community solar garden's generating capacity and to supply, when combined with other distributed generation resources serving the premises, no more than 120 percent of the average annual consumption of electricity by each subscriber at the premises to which the subscription is attributed.
(c) The solar generation facility must be located in the service territory of the public utility filing the plan. Subscribers must be retail customers of the public utility located in the same county or a county contiguous to where the facility is located.
(d) The public utility must purchase from the community solar garden all energy generated by the solar garden. The purchase shall be at the rate calculated under section 216B.164, subdivision 10, or, until that rate for the public utility has been approved by the commission, the applicable retail rate. A solar garden is eligible for any incentive programs offered under either section 116C.7792 or section 216C.415. A subscriber's portion of the purchase shall be provided by a credit on the subscriber's bill.
(e) The commission may approve, disapprove, or modify a community solar garden program. Any plan approved by the commission must:
(1) reasonably allow for the creation,
financing, and accessibility of community solar gardens;
(2) establish uniform standards, fees, and processes for the interconnection of community solar garden facilities that allow the utility to recover reasonable interconnection costs for each community solar garden;
(3) not apply different requirements to utility and nonutility community solar garden facilities;
(4) be consistent with the public interest;
(5) identify the information that must be provided to potential subscribers to ensure fair disclosure of future costs and benefits of subscriptions;
(6) include a program implementation schedule;
(7) identify all proposed rules, fees, and charges; and
(8) identify the means by which the program will be promoted.
(f) Notwithstanding any other law, neither the manager of nor the subscribers to a community solar garden facility shall be considered a utility solely as a result of their participation in the community solar garden facility.
(g) Within 180 days of commission approval of a plan under this section, a utility shall begin crediting subscriber accounts for each community solar garden facility in its service territory, and shall file with the commissioner of commerce a description of its crediting system.
(h) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given:
(1) "subscriber" means a retail customer of a utility who owns one or more subscriptions of a community solar garden facility interconnected with that utility; and
(2) "subscription" means a contract between a subscriber and the owner of a solar garden.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 216B.1691, subdivision 2f, is amended to read:
Subd. 2f. Solar energy standard. (a) In addition to the requirements of subdivisions 2a and 2b, each public utility shall generate or procure sufficient electricity generated by solar energy to serve its retail electricity customers in Minnesota so that by the end of 2020, at least 1.5 percent of the utility's total retail electric sales to retail customers in Minnesota is generated by solar energy.
(b) For a public utility with more than
200,000 retail electric customers, at least ten percent of the 1.5 percent goal
must be met by solar energy generated by or procured from solar photovoltaic
devices with a nameplate capacity of 20 40 kilowatts or less.
(c) A public utility with between 50,000 and 200,000 retail electric customers:
(1) must meet at least ten percent of the 1.5 percent goal with solar energy generated by or procured from solar photovoltaic devices with a nameplate capacity of 40 kilowatts or less; and
(2) may apply toward the ten percent goal in clause (1) individual customer subscriptions of 40 kilowatts or less to a community solar garden program operated by the public utility that has been approved by the commission.
(d) The solar energy standard established in this subdivision is subject to all the provisions of this section governing a utility's standard obligation under subdivision 2a.
(e) It is an energy goal of the state of Minnesota that, by 2030, ten percent of the retail electric sales in Minnesota be generated by solar energy.
(f) For the purposes of calculating the total retail electric sales of a public utility under this subdivision, there shall be excluded retail electric sales to customers that are:
(1) an iron mining extraction and processing facility, including a scram mining facility as defined in Minnesota Rules, part 6130.0100, subpart 16; or
(2) a paper mill, wood products manufacturer, sawmill, or oriented strand board manufacturer.
Those customers may not have included in the rates charged to them by the public utility any costs of satisfying the solar standard specified by this subdivision.
(g) A public utility may not use energy used to satisfy the solar energy standard under this subdivision to satisfy its standard obligation under subdivision 2a. A public utility may not use energy used to satisfy the standard obligation under subdivision 2a to satisfy the solar standard under this subdivision.
(h) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a solar renewable energy credit associated with a solar photovoltaic device installed and generating electricity in Minnesota after August 1, 2013, but before 2020 may be used to meet the solar energy standard established under this subdivision.
(i) Beginning July 1, 2014, and each July 1 through 2020, each public utility shall file a report with the commission reporting its progress in achieving the solar energy standard established under this subdivision.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 216B.241, subdivision 1d, is amended to read:
Subd. 1d. Technical assistance. (a) The commissioner shall evaluate energy conservation improvement programs on the basis of cost-effectiveness and the reliability of the technologies employed. The commissioner shall, by order, establish, maintain, and update energy-savings assumptions that must be used when filing energy conservation improvement programs. The commissioner shall establish an inventory of the most effective energy conservation programs, techniques, and technologies, and encourage all Minnesota utilities to implement them, where appropriate, in their service territories. The commissioner shall describe these programs in sufficient detail to provide a utility reasonable guidance concerning implementation. The commissioner shall prioritize the opportunities in order of potential energy savings and in order of cost-effectiveness. The commissioner may contract with a third party to carry out any of the commissioner's duties under this subdivision, and to obtain technical assistance to evaluate the effectiveness of any conservation improvement program. The commissioner may assess up to $850,000 annually for the purposes of this subdivision. The assessments must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the energy and conservation account created under subdivision 2a. An assessment made under this subdivision is not subject to the cap on assessments provided by section 216B.62, or any other law.
(b) Of the assessment authorized under
paragraph (a), the commissioner may expend up to $400,000 annually $800,000
for the purpose of developing, operating, maintaining, and providing technical
support for a uniform electronic data reporting and tracking system available
to all utilities subject to this section, in order to enable accurate
measurement of the cost and energy savings of the energy conservation
improvements required by this section. This
paragraph expires June 30, 2018 2019.
(c) The commissioner must establish a
utility stakeholder group to direct development and maintenance of the tracking
system available to all utilities. The
utility stakeholder group will direct 50 percent of the biennium expenditures. The utility stakeholder group must include
but is not limited to stakeholders representative of the Minnesota Rural
Electric Association, the Minnesota Municipal Utility Association,
investor-owned utilities, municipal power agencies, energy conservation
organizations, and businesses that work in energy efficiency. One of the stakeholder members must serve as
chair. The utility stakeholder group must
develop and submit its work plan to the commissioner. The utility stakeholder group must study
alternative tracking system options, which must be submitted to the
commissioner with the work plan by January 15, 2020. The utility stakeholder group must meet
regularly at the call of the chair. Meetings
of the utility stakeholder group are subject to chapter 13D.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 216B.2422, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings given them.
(b) "Utility" means an entity with the capability of generating 100,000 kilowatts or more of electric power and serving, either directly or indirectly, the needs of 10,000 retail customers in Minnesota. Utility does not include federal power agencies.
(c) "Renewable energy" means electricity generated through use of any of the following resources:
(1) wind;
(2) solar;
(3) geothermal;
(4) hydro;
(5) trees or other vegetation;
(6) landfill gas; or
(7) predominantly organic components of wastewater effluent, sludge, or related by-products from publicly owned treatment works, but not including incineration of wastewater sludge.
(d) "Resource plan" means a set of resource options that a utility could use to meet the service needs of its customers over a forecast period, including an explanation of the supply and demand circumstances under which, and the extent to which, each resource option would be used to meet those service needs. These resource options include using, refurbishing, and constructing utility plant and equipment, buying power generated by other entities, controlling customer loads, and implementing customer energy conservation.
(e) "Refurbish" means to rebuild or substantially modify an existing electricity generating resource of 30 megawatts or greater.
(f) "Energy storage system"
means a commercially available technology that:
(1) uses mechanical, chemical, or thermal
processes to:
(i) store energy, including energy
generated from renewable resources and energy that would otherwise be wasted,
and deliver the stored energy for use at a later time; or
(ii) store thermal energy for direct use
for heating or cooling at a later time in a manner that reduces the demand for
electricity at the later time;
(2) is composed of stationary equipment;
(3) if being used for electric grid
benefits, is operationally visible and capable of being controlled by the
distribution or transmission entity managing it, to enable and optimize the
safe and reliable operation of the electric system; and
(4) achieves any of the following:
(i) reduces peak or electrical demand;
(ii) defers the need or substitutes for
an investment in electric generation, transmission, or distribution assets;
(iii)
improves the reliable operation of the electrical transmission or distribution
systems, while ensuring transmission or distribution needs are not created; or
(iv) lowers customer costs by storing
energy when the cost of generating or purchasing it is low and delivering it to
customers when those costs are high.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 216B.2422, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 7. Energy
storage systems assessment. (a)
Each public utility required to file a resource plan under subdivision 2 must
include in the filing an assessment of energy storage systems that analyzes how
the deployment of energy storage systems contributes to:
(1) meeting identified generation and
capacity needs; and
(2) evaluating ancillary services.
(b) The assessment must employ
appropriate modeling methods to enable the analysis required in paragraph (a).
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 216B.62, subdivision 3b, is amended to read:
Subd. 3b. Assessment
for department regional and national duties.
In addition to other assessments in subdivision 3, the department
may assess up to $500,000 per fiscal year for performing its duties under
section 216A.07, subdivision 3a. The
amount in this subdivision shall be assessed to energy utilities in proportion
to their respective gross operating revenues from retail sales of gas or
electric service within the state during the last calendar year and shall be
deposited into an account in the special revenue fund and is appropriated to
the commissioner of commerce for the purposes of section 216A.07, subdivision
3a. An assessment made under this
subdivision is not subject to the cap on assessments provided in subdivision 3
or any other law. For the purpose of
this subdivision, an "energy utility" means public utilities,
generation and transmission cooperative electric associations, and municipal
power agencies providing natural gas or electric service in the state. This subdivision expires June 30, 2018
2019.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 216C.417, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Appropriation. (a) Unspent money remaining in the account established under Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 216C.412, on July 1, 2017, must be transferred to the renewable development account in the special revenue fund established under Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779, subdivision 1.
(b) There is annually appropriated from
the renewable development account in the special revenue fund established in
Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779, to the commissioner of commerce money sufficient
to make the incentive payments required under Minnesota Statutes 2016, section
216C.415. Any funds appropriated under
this paragraph that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year must
be transferred to the commissioner of employment and economic development as
provided under section 116C.7793, subdivision 5. Any funds remaining after the transfer under
this paragraph cancel to the renewable development account.
(c) Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 216C.412, subdivision 1, none of this appropriation may be used for administrative costs.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 216D.04, is amended by adding a subdivision to read:
Subd. 5. Contact
information required. (a) An
operator must furnish accurate contact information necessary for underground
facility damage prevention and damage response requested by the notification
center.
(b) The contact information for each
affected operator must be available to the excavator that provided notice under
subdivision 1.
Sec. 14. Laws 2017, chapter 94, article 10, section 28, is amended to read:
Sec. 28. PROGRAM
ADMINISTRATION; "MADE IN MINNESOTA" SOLAR THERMAL REBATES.
(a) No rebate may be paid under Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 216C.416, to an owner of a solar thermal system whose application was approved by the commissioner of commerce after the effective date of this act.
(b) Unspent money remaining in the account
established under Minnesota Statutes 2014, section 216C.416, as of July 2,
2017, must be transferred to the C-LEAF renewable development
account established under Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 116C.779,
subdivision 1.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 15. Laws 2017, chapter 94, article 10, section 29, is amended to read:
Sec. 29. RENEWABLE
DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT; TRANSFER OF UNEXPENDED GRANT FUNDS.
(a) No later than 30 days after the
effective date of this section, the utility subject to Minnesota Statutes,
section 116C.779, subdivision 1, must notify in writing each person who received
a grant funded from the renewable development account previously
established under that subdivision:
(1) after January 1, 2012; and
(2) before January 1, 2012, if the funded project remains incomplete as of the effective date of this section.
The notice must contain the provisions of this section and
instructions directing grant recipients how unexpended funds can be transferred
to the clean energy advancement fund renewable development
account.
(b) A recipient of a grant from the
renewable development account previously established under Minnesota
Statutes, section 116C.779, subdivision 1, must, no later than 30 days after
receiving the notice required under paragraph (a), transfer any grant funds
that remain unexpended as of the effective date of this section to the clean
energy advancement fund renewable development account if, by that
effective date, all of the following conditions are met:
(1) the grant was awarded more than five years before the effective date of this section;
(2) the grant recipient has failed to obtain control of the site on which the project is to be constructed;
(3) the grant recipient has failed to secure all necessary permits or approvals from any unit of government with respect to the project; and
(4) construction of the project has not begun.
(c) A recipient of a grant from the
renewable development account previously established under Minnesota
Statutes, section 116C.779, subdivision 1, must transfer any grant funds that
remain unexpended five years after the grant funds are received by the grant
recipient if, by that date, the conditions in paragraph (b), clauses (2) to
(4), have been met. The grant recipient
must transfer the unexpended funds no later than 30 days after the fifth
anniversary of the receipt of the grant funds.
(d) A person who transfers funds to the clean
energy advancement fund renewable development account under this
section is eligible to apply for funding from the clean energy advancement
fund renewable development account.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 16. BIOMASS
BUSINESS COMPENSATION.
Subdivision 1. Office
of Administrative Hearings; claims process.
The chief administrative law judge of the Office of
Administrative Hearings must name an administrative law judge to administer a
claims award process to compensate businesses negatively affected by the sale
and closure of the biomass plant identified under Minnesota Statutes, section
116C.779, subdivision 1, paragraph (e). The
administrative law judge may establish a process, including the development of
application forms, to consider claims for affected businesses and issue awards
to eligible businesses. An application
form developed for the process must, at a minimum, require the name of the
business, the business address and telephone number, and the name of a contact
person.
Subd. 2. Eligibility. To be eligible for compensation, an
affected business must verify that as of May 1, 2017, it was operating under
the terms of a valid contract or provide other documentation demonstrating an
ongoing business relationship of preparing, supplying, or transporting
products, fuel, or by-products to or from either the company operating the
biomass plant identified under Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779, subdivision
1, paragraph (e), or a fertilizer plant integrated with the biomass plant
identified under Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779, subdivision 1, paragraph
(e).
Subd. 3. Calculating
award. (a) An eligible
business may make a claim for compensation based on decreased net revenue and
the loss of value of investments in real or personal property essential to
business operations with the biomass plant identified under Minnesota Statutes,
section 116C.779, subdivision 1, paragraph (e).
All such losses must be attributable to the termination of the contract
under Minnesota Statutes, section 216B.2424, subdivision 9.
(b) When filing a claim of decreased
net revenue, an eligible business must demonstrate the extent of its decreased
business activity by providing copies of any contracts or other documentation
under subdivision 2, including financial statements showing the eligible
business's financial performance over the past five years for supplying or
managing material for, or receiving material from, the biomass plant identified
under Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779, subdivision 1, paragraph (e). The business must also present evidence of
any alternative business opportunities it has pursued or could pursue to
mitigate the loss of revenue from the termination of the contract, as the value
of alternative opportunities offsets compensation provided under this section.
(c) In filing a claim of loss of value
of investments in real or personal property, an eligible business must provide:
(1)
evidence that the property was essential to fulfilling the contract with the
biomass plant identified under Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779,
subdivision 1, paragraph (e);
(2) evidence that the eligible business
is unable to fully repurpose the property to another productive use after the
termination of the contract under Minnesota Statutes, section 216B.2424,
subdivision 9; and
(3) documentation of the eligible
business's investment in the property, minus any economic depreciation.
An eligible business must also provide a valuation of the
use, sales, salvage, or scrap value of the property for which the loss is
claimed, as the value of the property offsets compensation provided under this
section.
(d) A business seeking compensation
under this section must report any payment received from business interruption
insurance policies, settlements, or other forms of compensation related to the
termination of the contract of the biomass plant identified under Minnesota
Statutes, section 116C.779, subdivision 1, paragraph (e). All payments identified in this paragraph
offset compensation provided under this section.
(e) A business seeking compensation
under this section must provide any other documentation it deems appropriate,
or as required by the administrative law judge, to support its claim, including
a narrative of the facts of the business claim that gives rise to the request
for compensation.
(f) Regardless of actual losses, an
award of compensation must not exceed the average of the eligible business's
annual net revenue generated from a contract or business relationship with the
biomass plant identified under Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779,
subdivision 1, paragraph (e), for the past five years, multiplied by two.
(g) Minnesota Statutes, section 13.591,
applies to data submitted by a business requesting compensation under this
section.
Subd. 4. Priority. (a) The administrative law judge may
give priority to claims by eligible businesses that demonstrate a significant
effort to:
(1) mitigate losses resulting from the
closure of the biomass plant identified under Minnesota Statutes, section
116C.779, subdivision 1, paragraph (e); or
(2) repurpose the business for another
use through retasking and retooling.
(b) The administrative law judge must
consider whether a business requests compensation for a total business loss
without mitigation efforts when determining awards under this section.
Subd. 5. Amount
of claim. Any claim is
limited by and proportional to the amount provided for compensation in the
biomass business compensation fund established in section 17, and the number of
claimants.
Subd. 6. Deadlines. The administrative law judge must make
an application process for compensation available by August 1, 2018. A business seeking to submit a request for
compensation under this section must file claims with the administrative law
judge within 60 days following closure of the biomass plant. The administrative law judge must issue award
determination orders within 180 days after the deadline for filing claims.
Subd. 7. Appeals. Orders issued by the administrative
law judge under this section are final. An
order denying compensation claimed under this section is subject to the
contested case review procedures under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 14.
Subd. 8. Expiration. This section expires June 30, 2021.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 17. BIOMASS
BUSINESS COMPENSATION ACCOUNT.
Subdivision 1. Account
established. A biomass
business compensation account is established as a separate account in the
special revenue fund in the state treasury.
Appropriations and transfers to the account must be credited to the
account. Earnings, such as interest, and
any other earnings arising from the assets of the account are credited to the
account. Funds remaining in the account
as of December 31, 2020, must be transferred to the renewable development
account established under Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779.
Subd. 2. Funding for the special account. Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes,
section 116C.779, subdivision 1, paragraph (k), on July 1, 2018,
$40,000,000 must be transferred from the renewable development account under Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779, to the
biomass business compensation account established under subdivision 1. The transferred funds are appropriated to pay
eligible obligations under the biomass business compensation program
established under section 16.
Subd. 3. Payment
of expenses. Beginning on
July 1, 2019, the chief administrative law judge must certify to the
commissioner of management and budget the total costs incurred to administer
the biomass business compensation claims process. The commissioner of management and budget
must transfer an amount equal to the certified costs incurred for biomass
business compensation claim activities from the renewable development account
under Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779, and deposit it to the
administrative hearings account under Minnesota Statutes, section 14.54. Transfers may occur quarterly, based on
quarterly cost and revenue reports, throughout the fiscal year, with final
certification and reconciliation after each fiscal year. The total amount transferred under this
subdivision must not exceed $200,000.
Subd. 4. Expiration. This section expires June 30, 2021.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 18. REPORT;
COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS.
(a) The commissioner of commerce must
contract with an independent consultant selected through a request for proposal
process to produce a report analyzing the potential costs and benefits of
energy storage systems, as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 216B.2422,
subdivision 1, in Minnesota. The study
may also include scenarios examining energy storage systems that are not
capable of being controlled by a utility.
The commissioner must engage a broad group of Minnesota stakeholders,
including electric utilities and others, to develop and provide information for
the report. The study must:
(1) identify and measure the different
potential costs and savings produced by energy storage system deployment,
including but not limited to:
(i) generation, transmission, and
distribution facilities asset deferral or substitution;
(ii) impacts on ancillary services
costs;
(iii) impacts on transmission and
distribution congestion;
(iv) impacts on peak power costs;
(v)
impacts on emergency power supplies during outages;
(vi) impacts on curtailment of renewable
energy generators; and
(vii) reduced greenhouse gas emissions;
(2) analyze and estimate the:
(i) costs and savings to customers that
deploy energy storage systems;
(ii) impact on the utility's ability to
integrate renewable resources;
(iii) impact on grid reliability and
power quality; and
(iv) effect on retail electric rates
over the useful life of a given energy storage system compared to providing the
same services using other facilities or resources;
(3) consider the findings of analysis
conducted by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator on energy storage
capacity accreditation and participation in regional energy markets, including
updates of the analysis; and
(4) include case studies of existing
energy storage applications currently providing the benefits described in
clauses (1) and (2).
(b) By May 1, 2019, the commissioner of
commerce must submit the study to the chairs and ranking minority members of
the senate and house of representatives committees with jurisdiction over
energy policy and finance.
Sec. 19. REPEALER.
Minnesota Statutes 2016, section
216B.2423, is repealed.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
ARTICLE 6
JOBS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Section 1. APPROPRIATIONS. |
The sums shown in the columns marked
"Appropriations" are added to the appropriations in Laws 2017,
chapter 94, and appropriated to the agencies and for the purposes specified in
this article. The appropriations are
from the general fund, or another named fund, and are available for the fiscal
year indicated for each purpose. The
figures "2018" and "2019" used in this article mean that
the addition to the appropriations listed under them are available for the
fiscal year ending June 30, 2018, or June 30, 2019, respectively. "The first year" is fiscal year
2018. "The second year" is
fiscal year 2019.
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APPROPRIATIONS |
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Available for the Year |
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Ending June 30 |
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2018 |
2019 |
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Sec. 2. DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT |
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The amounts that may be spent for each
purpose are specified in the following subdivisions.
Subd. 2. Business
and Community Development |
|
-0-
|
|
1,500,000
|
$1,500,000 in fiscal year 2019 is for a
grant to the city of Cambridge for costs associated with relocating and
constructing a propane distribution facility and for costs associated with
demolition, cleanup and restoration of the existing propane facility. Eligible costs include: land acquisition, site preparation and
improvements, moving expenses, building construction, rail construction, rail
switch construction, demolition, environmental remediation, engineering, and
other necessary site improvements. This
is a onetime appropriation and is available until the project is completed or
abandoned subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 16A.642.
Subd. 3. Broadband
Development |
|
-0-
|
|
15,000,000
|
$15,000,000
in fiscal year 2019 is for transfer to the border-to-border broadband
fund account in the special revenue fund established under Minnesota Statutes,
section 116J.396 and may be used for purposes provided in Minnesota Statutes,
section 116J.395. This appropriation is
onetime and is available until spent. Of
this appropriation, up to three percent is for costs incurred by the
commissioner to administer Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.395. Administrative costs may include the
following activities related to measuring progress toward the state's broadband
goals established in Minnesota Statutes, section 237.012:
(1) collecting broadband deployment data
from Minnesota providers, verifying its accuracy through on-the-ground testing,
and creating state and county maps available to the public showing the
availability of broadband service at various upload and download speeds
throughout Minnesota;
(2) analyzing the deployment data collected
to help inform future investments in broadband infrastructure; and
(3) conducting business and residential
surveys that measure broadband adoption and use in the state.
Data provided by a broadband provider under
this subdivision is nonpublic data under Minnesota Statutes, section 13.02,
subdivision 9. Maps produced under this
subdivision are public data under Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03.
Subd. 4. Workforce
Development |
|
-0-
|
|
50,000
|
$50,000 in fiscal year 2019 is from the
workforce development fund for a grant to the Cook County Higher Education
Board to provide educational programming and academic support services to
remote regions in northeastern Minnesota.
This is a onetime appropriation and is in addition to other funds
previously appropriated to the board.
Sec. 3. DEPARTMENT
OF COMMERCE |
|
|
|
|
Subdivision 1. Total
Appropriation |
|
$-0- |
|
$150,000 |
Appropriations
by Fund |
||
|
2018
|
2019 |
Special Revenue |
-0-
|
150,000
|
Subd. 2. Energy
Resources |
|
$-0- |
|
$150,000 |
Appropriations
by Fund |
||
|
2018
|
2019
|
Special Revenue |
-0-
|
150,000
|
$150,000 the second year is from the renewable
development account in the special revenue fund established in Minnesota
Statutes, section 116C.779, subdivision 1, to conduct an energy storage systems
cost-benefit analysis. This is a onetime
appropriation.
Sec. 4. Laws 2017, chapter 94, article 1, section 2, subdivision 2, as amended by Laws 2017, First Special Session chapter 7, section 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Business and Community Development |
$46,074,000 |
|
$ |
Appropriations by Fund |
||
General |
$43,363,000 |
|
Remediation |
$700,000 |
$700,000 |
Workforce Development |
$1,861,000 |
$1,811,000 |
Special Revenue |
$150,000 |
-0- |
(a) $4,195,000 each year is for the Minnesota job skills partnership program under Minnesota Statutes, sections 116L.01 to 116L.17. If the appropriation for either year is insufficient, the appropriation for the other year is available. This appropriation is available until spent.
(b) $750,000 each year is for grants to the Neighborhood Development Center for small business programs:
(1) training, lending, and business services;
(2) model outreach and training in greater Minnesota; and
(3) development of new business incubators.
This is a onetime appropriation.
(c) $1,175,000 each year is for a grant to the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA) for statewide business development and assistance services, including services to entrepreneurs with businesses that have the potential to create job opportunities for unemployed and underemployed people, with an emphasis on minority-owned businesses. This is a onetime appropriation.
(d) $125,000 each year is for a grant to the White Earth Nation for the White Earth Nation Integrated Business Development System to provide business assistance with workforce development, outreach, technical assistance, infrastructure and operational support, financing, and other business development activities. This is a onetime appropriation.
(e)(1) $12,500,000 each year is for the Minnesota investment fund under Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.8731. Of this amount, the commissioner of employment and economic development may use up to three percent for administration and monitoring of the program. This appropriation is available until spent.
(2) Of the amount appropriated in fiscal year 2018, $4,000,000 is for a loan to construct and equip a wholesale electronic component distribution center investing a minimum of $200,000,000 and constructing a facility at least 700,000 square feet in size. Loan funds may be used for purchases of materials, supplies, and equipment for the construction of the facility and are available from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2021. The commissioner of employment and economic development shall forgive the loan after verification that the project has satisfied performance goals and contractual obligations as required under Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.8731.
(3) Of the amount appropriated in fiscal year 2018, $700,000 is for a loan to extend an effluent pipe that will deliver reclaimed water to an innovative waste-to-biofuel project investing a minimum of $150,000,000 and constructing a facility that is designed to process approximately 400,000 tons of waste annually. Loan funds are available until June 30, 2021.
(4)
Of the amount appropriated in fiscal year 2019, $1,000,000 is for a grant to
the city of Minnetonka for a forgivable loan to a high-risk, high-return jobs
retention and creation initiative to be conducted by a local business that
produces lactic acid/lactate, to help grow and expand the bioeconomy in
Minnesota. The grant under this section
is not subject to the limitations under Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.8731,
subdivision 5, or the performance goals, contractual obligations, and other
requirements under Minnesota Statutes, sections 116J.8731, subdivision 7;
116J.993; and 116J.994. Grant funds are
available until June 30, 2021.
(5) Of the amount appropriated in fiscal
year 2019, $1,000,000 is for a loan to a paper mill in Duluth to support the
operation and manufacture of packaging paper grades. The company that owns the paper mill must
spend $15,000,000 on expansion activities by December 31, 2019, in order to be
eligible to receive funds in this appropriation. This appropriation is onetime and may be used
for the mill's equipment, materials, supplies, and other operating expenses. The commissioner of employment and economic
development shall forgive a portion of the loan each year after verification
that the mill has retained 195 full-time jobs over a period of five years and
has satisfied other performance goals and contractual obligations as required
under Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.8731.
(f) $8,500,000 each year is in
fiscal year 2018 and $7,000,000 in fiscal year 2019 are for the Minnesota job
creation fund under Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.8748. Of this amount, the commissioner of
employment and economic development may use up to three percent for
administrative expenses. This
appropriation is available until expended.
In fiscal year 2020 and beyond, the base amount is $8,000,000.
(g) $1,647,000 each year is for contaminated site cleanup and development grants under Minnesota Statutes, sections 116J.551 to 116J.558. This appropriation is available until spent. In fiscal year 2020 and beyond, the base amount is $1,772,000.
(h) $12,000 each year is for a grant to the Upper Minnesota Film Office.
(i) $163,000 each year is for the Minnesota Film and TV Board. The appropriation in each year is available only upon receipt by the board of $1 in matching contributions of money or in-kind contributions from nonstate sources for every $3 provided by this appropriation, except that each year up to $50,000 is available on July 1 even if the required matching contribution has not been received by that date.
(j) $500,000 each year is from the general fund for a grant to the Minnesota Film and TV Board for the film production jobs program under Minnesota Statutes, section 116U.26. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2021.
(k) $139,000 each year is for a grant to the Rural Policy and Development Center under Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.421.
(l)(1) $1,300,000 each year is for the greater Minnesota business development public infrastructure grant program under Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.431. This appropriation is available until spent. If the appropriation for either year is insufficient, the appropriation for the other year is available. In fiscal year 2020 and beyond, the base amount is $1,787,000. Funds available under this paragraph may be used for site preparation of property owned and to be used by private entities.
(2) Of the amounts appropriated, $1,600,000 in fiscal year 2018 is for a grant to the city of Thief River Falls to support utility extensions, roads, and other public improvements related to the construction of a wholesale electronic component distribution center at least 700,000 square feet in size and investing a minimum of $200,000,000. Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.431, a local match is not required. Grant funds are available from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2021.
(m) $876,000 the first year and $500,000 the second year are for the Minnesota emerging entrepreneur loan program under Minnesota Statutes, section 116M.18. Funds available under this paragraph are for transfer into the emerging entrepreneur program special revenue fund account created under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116M, and are available until spent. Of this amount, up to four percent is for administration and monitoring of the program. In fiscal year 2020 and beyond, the base amount is $1,000,000.
(n) $875,000 each year is for a grant to Enterprise Minnesota, Inc. for the small business growth acceleration program under Minnesota Statutes, section 116O.115. This is a onetime appropriation.
(o) $250,000 in fiscal year 2018 is for a grant to the Minnesota Design Center at the University of Minnesota for the greater Minnesota community design pilot project.
(p) $275,000 in fiscal year 2018 is from the general fund to the commissioner of employment and economic development for a grant to Community and Economic Development Associates (CEDA) for an economic development study and analysis of the effects of current and projected economic growth in southeast Minnesota. CEDA shall report on the findings and recommendations of the study to the committees of the house of representatives and senate with jurisdiction over economic development and workforce issues by February 15, 2019. All results and information gathered from the study shall be made available for use by cities in southeast Minnesota by March 15, 2019. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2020.
(q) $2,000,000 in fiscal year 2018 is for a grant to Pillsbury United Communities for construction and renovation of a building in north Minneapolis for use as the "North Market" grocery store and wellness center, focused on offering healthy food, increasing health care access, and providing job creation and economic opportunities in one place for children and families living in the area. To the extent possible, Pillsbury United Communities shall employ individuals who reside within a five mile radius of the grocery store and wellness center. This appropriation is not available until at least an equal amount of money is committed from nonstate sources. This appropriation is available until the project is completed or abandoned, subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 16A.642.
(r) $1,425,000 each year is for the business development competitive grant program. Of this amount, up to five percent is for administration and monitoring of the business development competitive grant program. All grant awards shall be for two consecutive years. Grants shall be awarded in the first year.
(s) $875,000 each year is for the host community economic development grant program established in Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.548.
(t) $700,000 each year is from the remediation fund for contaminated site cleanup and development grants under Minnesota Statutes, sections 116J.551 to 116J.558. This appropriation is available until spent.
(u) $161,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to the Rural Policy and Development Center. This is a onetime appropriation.
(v) $300,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to Enterprise Minnesota, Inc. This is a onetime appropriation.
(w) $50,000 in fiscal year 2018 is from the workforce development fund for a grant to Fighting Chance for behavioral intervention programs for at-risk youth.
(x) $1,350,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for job training grants under Minnesota Statutes, section 116L.42.
(y)(1) $519,000 in fiscal year 2018 is for grants to local
communities to increase the supply of quality child care providers in order to
support economic development. At least
60 percent of grant funds must go to communities located outside of the seven‑county metropolitan area, as defined
under Minnesota Statutes, section 473.121, subdivision 2. Grant recipients must obtain a 50 percent
nonstate match to grant funds in either cash or in-kind
contributions. Grant funds available under this paragraph
must be used to implement solutions to reduce the child care shortage in the
state including but not limited to funding for child care business start-ups or
expansions, training, facility modifications or improvements required for
licensing, and assistance with licensing and other regulatory requirements. In awarding grants, the commissioner must
give priority to communities that have documented a shortage of child care
providers in the area.
(2) Within one year of receiving grant funds, grant recipients must report to the commissioner on the outcomes of the grant program including but not limited to the number of new providers, the number of additional child care provider jobs created, the number of additional child care slots, and the amount of local funds invested.
(3) By January 1 of each year, starting in 2019, the commissioner must report to the standing committees of the legislature having jurisdiction over child care and economic development on the outcomes of the program to date.
(z) $319,000 in fiscal year 2018 is from the general fund for a grant to the East Phillips Improvement Coalition to create the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) to expand culturally tailored resources that address small business growth and create green jobs. The grant shall fund the collaborative work of Tamales y Bicicletas, Little Earth of the United Tribes, a nonprofit serving East Africans, and other coalition members towards developing EPNI as a community space to host activities including, but not limited to, creation and expansion of small businesses, culturally specific entrepreneurial activities, indoor urban farming, job training, education, and skills development for residents of this low-income, environmental justice designated neighborhood. Eligible uses for grant funds include, but are not limited to, planning and start-up costs, staff and consultant costs, building improvements, rent, supplies, utilities, vehicles, marketing, and program activities. The commissioner shall submit a report on grant activities and quantifiable outcomes to the committees of the house of representatives and the senate with jurisdiction over economic development by December 15, 2020. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2020.
(aa) $150,000 the first year is from the renewable development account in the special revenue fund established in Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779, subdivision 1, to conduct the biomass facility closure economic impact study.
(bb)(1) $300,000 in fiscal year 2018 is for a grant to East Side Enterprise Center (ESEC) to expand culturally tailored resources that address small business growth and job creation. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2020. The appropriation
shall fund the work of African Economic Development Solutions, the Asian Economic Development Association, the Dayton's Bluff Community Council, and the Latino Economic Development Center in a collaborative approach to economic development that is effective with smaller, culturally diverse communities that seek to increase the productivity and success of new immigrant and minority populations living and working in the community. Programs shall provide minority business growth and capacity building that generate wealth and jobs creation for local residents and business owners on the East Side of St. Paul.
(2) In fiscal year 2019 ESEC shall use funds to share its integrated service model and evolving collaboration principles with civic and economic development leaders in greater Minnesota communities which have diverse populations similar to the East Side of St. Paul. ESEC shall submit a report of activities and program outcomes, including quantifiable measures of success annually to the house of representatives and senate committees with jurisdiction over economic development.
(cc) $150,000 in fiscal year 2018 is for a grant to Mille Lacs County for the purpose of reimbursement grants to small resort businesses located in the city of Isle with less than $350,000 in annual revenue, at least four rental units, which are open during both summer and winter months, and whose business was adversely impacted by a decline in walleye fishing on Lake Mille Lacs.
(dd)(1) $250,000 in fiscal year 2018 is for a grant to the Small Business Development Center hosted at Minnesota State University, Mankato, for a collaborative initiative with the Regional Center for Entrepreneurial Facilitation. Funds available under this section must be used to provide entrepreneur and small business development direct professional business assistance services in the following counties in Minnesota: Blue Earth, Brown, Faribault, Le Sueur, Martin, Nicollet, Sibley, Watonwan, and Waseca. For the purposes of this section, "direct professional business assistance services" must include, but is not limited to, pre-venture assistance for individuals considering starting a business. This appropriation is not available until the commissioner determines that an equal amount is committed from nonstate sources. Any balance in the first year does not cancel and is available for expenditure in the second year.
(2) Grant recipients shall report to the commissioner by February 1 of each year and include information on the number of customers served in each county; the number of businesses started, stabilized, or expanded; the number of jobs created and retained; and business success rates in each county. By April 1 of each year, the commissioner shall report the information submitted by grant recipients to the chairs of the standing committees of the house of representatives and the senate having jurisdiction over economic development issues.
(ee) $500,000 in fiscal year 2018 is for the central Minnesota opportunity grant program established under Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.9922. This appropriation is available until June 30, 2022.
(ff) $25,000 each year is for the administration of state aid for the Destination Medical Center under Minnesota Statutes, sections 469.40 to 469.47.
Sec. 5. Laws 2017, chapter 94, article 1, section 2, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Workforce
Development |
|
$31,498,000 |
|
$30,231,000 |
Appropriations by Fund |
||
General |
$6,239,000 |
$5,889,000 |
Workforce Development |
$25,259,000 |
$24,342,000 |
(a) $500,000 each year is for the youth-at-work competitive grant program under Minnesota Statutes, section 116L.562. Of this amount, up to five percent is for administration and monitoring of the youth workforce development competitive grant program. All grant awards shall be for two consecutive years. Grants shall be awarded in the first year. In fiscal year 2020 and beyond, the base amount is $750,000.
(b) $250,000 each year is for pilot programs in the workforce service areas to combine career and higher education advising.
(c) $500,000 each year is for rural career counseling coordinator positions in the workforce service areas and for the purposes specified in Minnesota Statutes, section 116L.667. The commissioner of employment and economic development, in consultation with local workforce investment boards and local elected officials in each of the service areas receiving funds, shall develop a method of distributing funds to provide equitable services across workforce service areas.
(d) $1,000,000 each year is for a grant to the Construction Careers Foundation for the construction career pathway initiative to provide year-round educational and experiential learning opportunities for teens and young adults under the age of 21 that lead to careers in the construction industry. This is a onetime appropriation. Grant funds must be used to:
(1) increase construction industry exposure activities for middle school and high school youth, parents, and counselors to reach a more diverse demographic and broader statewide audience. This requirement includes, but is not limited to, an expansion of programs to provide experience in different crafts to youth and young adults throughout the state;
(2) increase the number of high schools in Minnesota offering construction classes during the academic year that utilize a multicraft curriculum;
(3) increase the number of summer internship opportunities;
(4) enhance activities to support graduating seniors in their efforts to obtain employment in the construction industry;
(5) increase the number of young adults employed in the construction industry and ensure that they reflect Minnesota's diverse workforce; and
(6) enhance an industrywide marketing campaign targeted to youth and young adults about the depth and breadth of careers within the construction industry.
Programs and services supported by grant funds must give priority to individuals and groups that are economically disadvantaged or historically underrepresented in the construction industry, including but not limited to women, veterans, and members of minority and immigrant groups.
(e) $1,539,000 each year from the general fund and $4,604,000 each year from the workforce development fund are for the Pathways to Prosperity adult workforce development competitive grant program. Of this amount, up to four percent is for administration and monitoring of the program. When awarding grants under this paragraph, the commissioner of employment and economic development may give preference to any previous grantee with demonstrated success in job training and placement for hard-to-train individuals. In fiscal year 2020 and beyond, the general fund base amount for this program is $4,039,000.
(f) $750,000 each year is for a competitive grant program to provide grants to organizations that provide support services for individuals, such as job training, employment preparation, internships, job assistance to fathers, financial literacy, academic and behavioral interventions for low-performing students, and youth intervention. Grants made under this section must focus on low-income communities, young adults from families with a history of intergenerational poverty, and communities of color. Of this amount, up to four percent is for administration and monitoring of the program. In fiscal year 2020 and beyond, the base amount is $1,000,000.
(g) $500,000 each year is for the women and high-wage, high‑demand, nontraditional jobs grant program under Minnesota Statutes, section 116L.99. Of this amount, up to five percent is for administration and monitoring of the program. In fiscal year 2020 and beyond, the base amount is $750,000.
(h) $500,000 each year is for a competitive grant program for grants to organizations providing services to relieve economic disparities in the Southeast Asian community through workforce recruitment, development, job creation, assistance of smaller organizations to increase capacity, and outreach. Of this amount, up to five percent is for administration and monitoring of the program. In fiscal year 2020 and beyond, the base amount is $1,000,000.
(i) $250,000 each year is for a grant to the American Indian Opportunities and Industrialization Center, in collaboration with the Northwest Indian Community Development Center, to reduce academic disparities for American Indian students and adults. This is a onetime appropriation. The grant funds may be used to provide:
(1) student tutoring and testing support services;
(2) training in information technology;
(3) assistance in obtaining a GED;
(4) remedial training leading to enrollment in a postsecondary higher education institution;
(5) real-time work
experience in information technology fields; and
(6) contextualized adult basic education.
After notification to the legislature, the commissioner may transfer this appropriation to the commissioner of education.
(j) $100,000 each year is for the getting to work grant program. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 2021.
(k) $525,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to the YWCA of Minneapolis to provide economically challenged individuals the job skills training, career counseling, and job placement assistance necessary to secure a child development associate credential and to have a career path in early childhood education. This is a onetime appropriation.
(l) $1,350,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to the Minnesota High Tech Association to support SciTechsperience, a program that supports science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) internship opportunities for two- and four-year college students and graduate students in their field of study. The internship opportunities must match students with paid internships within STEM disciplines at small, for-profit companies located in Minnesota, having fewer than 250 employees worldwide. At least 300 students must be matched in the first year
and at least 350 students must be matched in the second year. No more than 15 percent of the hires may be graduate students. Selected hiring companies shall receive from the grant 50 percent of the wages paid to the intern, capped at $2,500 per intern. The program must work toward increasing the participation of women or other underserved populations. This is a onetime appropriation.
(m) $450,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for grants to Minnesota Diversified Industries, Inc. to provide progressive development and employment opportunities for people with disabilities. This is a onetime appropriation.
(n) $500,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to Resource, Inc. to provide low-income individuals career education and job skills training that are fully integrated with chemical and mental health services. This is a onetime appropriation.
(o) $750,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to the Minnesota Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs to administer a statewide project of youth job skills and career development. This project, which may have career guidance components including health and life skills, is designed to encourage, train, and assist youth in early access to education and job-seeking skills, work-based learning experience including career pathways in STEM learning, career exploration and matching, and first job placement through local community partnerships and on-site job opportunities. This grant requires a 25 percent match from nonstate resources. This is a onetime appropriation.
(p) $215,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for grants to Big Brothers, Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities for workforce readiness, employment exploration, and skills development for youth ages 12 to 21. The grant must serve youth in the Twin Cities, Central Minnesota, and Southern Minnesota Big Brothers, Big Sisters chapters. This is a onetime appropriation.
(q) $250,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to YWCA St. Paul to provide job training services and workforce development programs and services, including job skills training and counseling. This is a onetime appropriation.
(r) $1,000,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to EMERGE Community Development, in collaboration with community partners, for services targeting Minnesota communities with the highest concentrations of African and African-American joblessness, based on the most recent census tract data, to provide employment readiness training, credentialed training placement, job placement and retention
services, supportive services for hard-to-employ individuals, and a general education development fast track and adult diploma program. This is a onetime appropriation.
(s) $1,000,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to the Minneapolis Foundation for a strategic intervention program designed to target and connect program participants to meaningful, sustainable living-wage employment. This is a onetime appropriation.
(t) $750,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to Latino Communities United in Service (CLUES) to expand culturally tailored programs that address employment and education skill gaps for working parents and underserved youth by providing new job skills training to stimulate higher wages for low-income people, family support systems designed to reduce intergenerational poverty, and youth programming to promote educational advancement and career pathways. At least 50 percent of this amount must be used for programming targeted at greater Minnesota. This is a onetime appropriation.
(u) $600,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to Ujamaa Place for job training, employment preparation, internships, education, training in the construction trades, housing, and organizational capacity building. This is a onetime appropriation.
(v) $1,297,000 in the first year and $800,000 in the second year are from the workforce development fund for performance grants under Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.8747, to Twin Cities R!SE to provide training to hard-to-train individuals. Of the amounts appropriated, $497,000 in fiscal year 2018 is for a grant to Twin Cities R!SE, in collaboration with Metro Transit and Hennepin Technical College for the Metro Transit technician training program. This is a onetime appropriation and funds are available until June 30, 2020.
(w) $230,000 in fiscal year 2018 is from the
workforce development fund for a grant to the Bois Forte Tribal Employment
Rights Office (TERO) for an American Indian workforce development training
pilot project. This is a onetime
appropriation and is available until June 30, 2019. Funds appropriated the first year are
available for use in the second year of the biennium.
(x) $40,000 in fiscal year 2018 is from the workforce development fund for a grant to the Cook County Higher Education Board to provide educational programming and academic support services to remote regions in northeastern Minnesota. This appropriation is in addition to other funds previously appropriated to the board.
(y) $250,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to Bridges to Healthcare to provide career education, wraparound support services, and job skills training in high‑demand health care fields to low-income parents, nonnative speakers of English, and other hard-to-train individuals, helping families build secure pathways out of poverty while also addressing worker shortages in one of Minnesota's most innovative industries. Funds may be used for program expenses, including, but not limited to, hiring instructors and navigators; space rental; and supportive services to help participants attend classes, including assistance with course fees, child care, transportation, and safe and stable housing. In addition, up to five percent of grant funds may be used for Bridges to Healthcare's administrative costs. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 2020.
(z) $500,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to the Nonprofits Assistance Fund to provide capacity‑building grants to small, culturally specific organizations that primarily serve historically underserved cultural communities. Grants may only be awarded to nonprofit organizations that have an annual organizational budget of less than $500,000 and are culturally specific organizations that primarily serve historically underserved cultural communities. Grant funds awarded must be used for:
(1) organizational infrastructure improvement, including developing database management systems and financial systems, or other administrative needs that increase the organization's ability to access new funding sources;
(2) organizational workforce development, including hiring culturally competent staff, training and skills development, and other methods of increasing staff capacity; or
(3) creation or expansion of partnerships with existing organizations that have specialized expertise in order to increase the capacity of the grantee organization to improve services for the community. Of this amount, up to five percent may be used by the Nonprofits Assistance Fund for administration costs and providing technical assistance to potential grantees. This is a onetime appropriation.
(aa) $4,050,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for the Minnesota youth program under Minnesota Statutes, sections 116L.56 and 116L.561.
(bb) $1,000,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for the youthbuild program under Minnesota Statutes, sections 116L.361 to 116L.366.
(cc) $3,348,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for the "Youth at Work" youth workforce development competitive grant program. Of this amount, up to five percent is for administration and monitoring of the youth workforce development competitive grant program. All grant awards shall be for two consecutive years. Grants shall be awarded in the first year.
(dd) $500,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for the Opportunities Industrialization Center programs.
(ee) $750,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to Summit Academy OIC to expand its contextualized GED and employment placement program. This is a onetime appropriation.
(ff) $500,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for a grant to Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota and its partners. The grant shall be used to continue the FATHER Project in Rochester, Park Rapids, St. Cloud, Minneapolis, and the surrounding areas to assist fathers in overcoming barriers that prevent fathers from supporting their children economically and emotionally. This is a onetime appropriation.
(gg) $150,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for displaced homemaker programs under Minnesota Statutes, section 116L.96. The commissioner shall distribute the funds to existing nonprofit and state displaced homemaker programs. This is a onetime appropriation.
(hh)(1) $150,000 in fiscal year 2018 is from the workforce development fund for a grant to Anoka County to develop and implement a pilot program to increase competitive employment opportunities for transition-age youth ages 18 to 21.
(2) The competitive employment for transition-age youth pilot program shall include career guidance components, including health and life skills, to encourage, train, and assist transition-age youth in job-seeking skills, workplace orientation, and job site knowledge.
(3) In operating the pilot program, Anoka County shall collaborate with schools, disability providers, jobs and training organizations, vocational rehabilitation providers, and employers to build upon opportunities and services, to prepare transition-age youth for competitive employment, and to enhance employer connections that lead to employment for the individuals served.
(4) Grant funds may be used to create an on-the-job training incentive to encourage employers to hire and train qualifying individuals. A participating employer may receive up to 50 percent of the wages paid to the employee as a cost reimbursement for on-the-job training provided.
(ii) $500,000 each year is from the workforce development fund for rural career counseling coordinator positions in the workforce service areas and for the purposes specified in Minnesota Statutes, section 116L.667. The commissioner of employment and economic development, in consultation with local workforce investment boards and local elected officials in each of the service areas receiving funds, shall develop a method of distributing funds to provide equitable services across workforce service areas.
(jj) In calendar year 2017, the public utility subject to Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779, must withhold $1,000,000 from the funds required to fulfill its financial commitments under Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779, subdivision 1, and pay such amounts to the commissioner of employment and economic development for deposit in the Minnesota 21st century fund under Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.423.
(kk) $350,000 in fiscal year 2018 is for a grant to AccessAbility Incorporated to provide job skills training to individuals who have been released from incarceration for a felony-level offense and are no more than 12 months from the date of release. AccessAbility Incorporated shall annually report to the commissioner on how the money was spent and the results achieved. The report must include, at a minimum, information and data about the number of participants; participant homelessness, employment, recidivism, and child support compliance; and training provided to program participants.
Sec. 6. Laws 2017, chapter 94, article 1, section 4, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. General
Support |
|
6,239,000 |
|
6,539,000 |
Appropriations by Fund |
||
Workforce Development Fund |
200,000 |
500,000 |
Workers' Compensation |
6,039,000 |
6,039,000 |
(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c), this appropriation is from the workers' compensation fund.
(b) $200,000 in fiscal year 2018 is from the workforce development fund for the commissioner of labor and industry to convene and collaborate with stakeholders as provided under Minnesota Statutes, section 175.46, subdivision 3, and to develop youth skills training competencies for approved occupations. This is a onetime appropriation.
(c) $500,000 in fiscal year 2019 is from the workforce development fund to administer the youth skills training program under Minnesota Statutes, section 175.46. The commissioner shall
award
up to five grants each year to local partnerships located throughout the state,
not to exceed $100,000 per local partnership grant. The commissioner may use a portion up
to five percent of this appropriation for administration of the grant
program. The base amount for this
program is $500,000 $1,000,000 each year beginning in fiscal year
2020.
Sec. 7. Laws 2017, chapter 94, article 1, section 6, is amended to read:
Sec. 6. WORKERS' COMPENSATION COURT OF APPEALS |
$1,913,000 |
|
$ |
This appropriation is from the workers' compensation fund.
Sec. 8. Laws 2017, chapter 94, article 1, section 7, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. Energy
Resources |
|
4,847,000 |
|
4,847,000 |
Appropriations by Fund |
||
General |
4,247,000 |
4,247,000 |
Special Revenue |
600,000 |
600,000 |
(a) $150,000 each year is to remediate vermiculate insulation from households that are eligible for weatherization assistance under Minnesota's weatherization assistance program state plan under Minnesota Statutes, section 216C.264. Remediation must be done in conjunction with federal weatherization assistance program services.
(b) $832,000 each year is for energy regulation and planning unit staff.
(c) $100,000 each year is from the renewable development account in the special revenue fund established in Minnesota Statutes, section 116C.779, subdivision 1, to administer the "Made in Minnesota" solar energy production incentive program in Minnesota Statutes, section 216C.417. Any remaining unspent funds cancel back to the renewable development account at the end of the biennium.
(d) $500,000 each year is from the renewable development
account in the special revenue fund established in Minnesota Statutes, section
116C.779, subdivision 1, for costs associated with any third-party expert
evaluation of a proposal submitted in response to a request for proposal to the
renewable development advisory group under Minnesota Statutes, section
116C.779, subdivision 1, paragraph (l). No
portion of this appropriation may be expended or retained by the commissioner
of commerce. Any funds appropriated
under this paragraph that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year cancel to
the renewable development account.
Sec. 9. Laws 2017, chapter 94, article 1, section 9, is amended to read:
Sec. 9. PUBLIC
FACILITIES AUTHORITY |
|
$1,800,000 |
|
$-0- |
(a) $300,000 in fiscal year 2018 is for a grant to the city of New Trier to replace water infrastructure under Hogan Avenue, including related road reconstruction, and to acquire land for predesign, design, and construction of a storm water pond that will be colocated with the pond of the new subdivision. This appropriation does not require a nonstate contribution.
(b) $600,000 in fiscal year 2018 is for a grant to the Ramsey/Washington Recycling and Energy Board to design, construct, and equip capital improvements to the Ramsey/Washington Recycling and Energy Center in Newport.
(c) $900,000 in fiscal year 2018 is for a grant to the Clear
Lake-Clearwater Sewer Authority to remove and replace the existing wastewater
treatment facility. This project is
intended to prevent the discharge of phosphorus into the Mississippi River. This appropriation is not available until the
commissioner of management and budget determines that at least $200,000 is
committed to the project from nonstate sources and the authority has applied
for at least two grants to offset the cost.
An amount equal to any grant money received by the authority must be
returned to the general fund. This
appropriation is available until June 30, 2019.
ARTICLE 7
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 298.227, is amended to read:
298.227 TACONITE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND.
An amount equal to that distributed pursuant to each taconite
producer's taxable production and qualifying sales under section 298.28,
subdivision 9a, shall be held by the commissioner of Iron Range resources and
rehabilitation in a separate taconite economic development fund for each
taconite and direct reduced ore producer.
Money from the fund for each producer shall be released by the
commissioner after review by a joint committee consisting of an equal number of
representatives of the salaried employees and the nonsalaried production and
maintenance employees of that producer. The
District 11 director of the United States Steelworkers of America, on advice of
each local employee president, shall select the employee members. In nonorganized operations, the employee
committee shall be elected by the nonsalaried production and maintenance
employees. The review must be completed
no later than six months after the producer presents a proposal for expenditure
of the funds to the committee. The funds
held pursuant to this section may be released only for workforce development and
associated public facility improvement, concurrent reclamation, or for
acquisition of plant and stationary mining equipment and facilities for the
producer or for research and development in Minnesota on new mining, or
taconite, iron, or steel production technology, but only if the producer provides
a matching expenditure equal to the amount of the distribution to be used for
the same purpose beginning with distributions in 2014. Effective for proposals for expenditures of
money from the fund beginning May 26, 2007, the commissioner may not release
the funds before the next scheduled meeting of the board. If a proposed expenditure is not approved by
the commissioner, after
consultation
with the advisory board, the funds must be deposited in the Taconite
Environmental Protection Fund under sections 298.222 to 298.225. If a taconite production facility is sold
after operations at the facility had ceased, any money remaining in the fund
for the former producer may be released to the purchaser of the facility on the
terms otherwise applicable to the former producer under this section. If a producer fails to provide matching funds
for a proposed expenditure within six months after the commissioner approves
release of the funds, the funds are available for release to another
producer in proportion to the distribution provided and under the conditions of
this section may be released by the commissioner for deposit in the
taconite area environmental protection fund created in section 298.223. Any portion of the fund which is not released
by the commissioner within one year of its deposit in the fund shall be divided
between distributed to the taconite environmental protection fund created
in section 298.223 and the Douglas J. Johnson economic protection trust fund
created in section 298.292 for placement in their respective special accounts. Two-thirds of the unreleased funds shall be
distributed to the taconite environmental protection fund and one-third to the Douglas
J. Johnson economic protection trust fund.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is effective
June 1, 2018.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 298.28, subdivision 9a, is amended to read:
Subd. 9a. Taconite economic development fund. (a) 25.1 cents per ton for distributions in 2002 and thereafter must be paid to the taconite economic development fund. No distribution shall be made under this paragraph in 2004 or any subsequent year in which total industry production falls below 30 million tons. Distribution shall only be made to a Minnesota taconite pellet producer's fund under section 298.227 if the producer timely pays its tax under section 298.24 by the dates provided under section 298.27, or pursuant to the due dates provided by an administrative agreement with the commissioner.
(b) An amount equal to 50 percent of the
tax under section 298.24 for concentrate sold in the form of pellet chips and
fines not exceeding 5/16 inch in size and not including crushed pellets shall
be paid to the taconite economic development fund. The amount paid shall not exceed $700,000
annually for all companies Minnesota taconite pellet producers. If the initial amount to be paid to the fund
exceeds this amount, each company's Minnesota taconite pellet
producer's payment shall be prorated so the total does not exceed $700,000.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective retroactively from December 31, 2016.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 465.73, is amended to read:
465.73
LOAN FROM, SECURED BY U.S. AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT AGENCY.
For purposes of constructing, repairing,
or acquiring city halls, town halls, fire halls or fire or rescue equipment, or
libraries or child care facilities if otherwise authorized by law, a statutory
city, home rule charter city, county, or town may borrow not to exceed $450,000
$750,000 from (i) funds granted to a rural electric cooperative
organized under chapter 308A by the United States Department of Agriculture
Rural Business-Cooperative Service or (ii) directly from or in the form of
funds guaranteed by the Rural Housing Service or other agency of the United
States Department of Agriculture by a note secured by a mortgage or other
security agreement on the property purchased with the borrowed funds. The city, county, or town may pledge its full
faith and credit and assign or pledge the revenues, if any, from the facilities
or equipment so financed together with any other properly available funds to
secure the loan. The obligation of the
note is not to be included when computing the net debt of the city, county, or
town, nor is the approval of the voters required for the issuance of the note.
Sec. 4. TRANSFER
2018 DISTRIBUTION ONLY.
For the 2018 distribution, the fund
established under Minnesota Statutes, section 298.28, subdivision 7, shall
receive ten cents per ton of any excess of the balance remaining after
distribution of amounts required under Minnesota Statutes, section 298.28,
subdivision 6.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective for the 2018 distribution, and the transfer must be made within ten
days of the August 2018 payment.
Sec. 5. DISLOCATED
WORKER RAPID RESPONSE ACTIVITY.
Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary, of the money appropriated to the Job Skills Partnership Board for the
purposes of Minnesota Statutes, section 116L.17, under Minnesota Statutes,
section 116L.20, subdivision 2, at least $650,000 in fiscal year 2019 is for a
grant to Career Solutions in St. Cloud to address the substantial
anticipated job losses at the Electrolux plant in St. Cloud. These services shall be provided by Career
Solutions. Grant funds may be used
according to Minnesota Statutes, section 116L.17, subdivision 4, including, but
not limited to, GED programs, English language courses, computer literacy
efforts, and training in the manufacturing and construction trades. In addition, the commissioner of employment
and economic development is directed to take all necessary steps, including
application for any required federal waivers, to begin providing services to
affected workers before December 31, 2018.
Sec. 6. REVISOR'S
INSTRUCTION; PROGRAM NAME CLARIFICATION.
In Minnesota Statutes, the revisor of
statutes shall change the term "Minnesota investment fund" to
"North Star Disaster Contingency Account" wherever it is apparent
from context that the term "Minnesota investment fund" refers to the
program under Minnesota Statutes, section 116J.8731, subdivisions 8 and 9.
ARTICLE 8
LABOR AND INDUSTRY
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 175.46, subdivision 13, is amended to read:
Subd. 13. Grant
awards. (a) The commissioner
shall award grants to local partnerships located throughout the state, not to
exceed $100,000 per local partnership grant.
The commissioner may use up to five percent of this amount for
administration of the grant program.
(b) A local partnership awarded a grant under this section must use the grant award for any of the following implementation and coordination activities:
(1) recruiting additional employers to provide on-the-job training and supervision for student learners and providing technical assistance to those employers;
(2) recruiting students to participate in the local youth skills training program, monitoring the progress of student learners participating in the program, and monitoring program outcomes;
(3) coordinating youth skills training activities within participating school districts and among participating school districts, postsecondary institutions, and employers;
(4) coordinating academic, vocational and occupational learning, school-based and work-based learning, and secondary and postsecondary education for participants in the local youth skills training program;
(5) coordinating transportation for student learners participating in the local youth skills training program; and
(6) any other implementation or coordination activity that the commissioner may direct or permit the local partnership to perform.
(b) (c) Grant awards may not
be used to directly or indirectly pay the wages of a student learner.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 326B.106, subdivision 9, is amended to read:
Subd. 9. Accessibility. (a) Public
buildings. The code must provide
for making require new public buildings constructed or remodeled
after July 1, 1963, and existing public buildings when remodeled, to be
accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities, although this does
not require the remodeling of public buildings solely to provide accessibility
and usability to persons with disabilities when remodeling would not otherwise
be undertaken.
(b) Leased space. No agency of the state may lease space for agency operations in a non-state-owned building unless the building satisfies the requirements of the State Building Code for accessibility by persons with disabilities, or is eligible to display the state symbol of accessibility. This limitation applies to leases of 30 days or more for space of at least 1,000 square feet.
(c) Meetings or conferences. Meetings or conferences for the public or for state employees which are sponsored in whole or in part by a state agency must be held in buildings that meet the State Building Code requirements relating to accessibility for persons with disabilities. This subdivision does not apply to any classes, seminars, or training programs offered by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities or the University of Minnesota. Meetings or conferences intended for specific individuals none of whom need the accessibility features for persons with disabilities specified in the State Building Code need not comply with this subdivision unless a person with a disability gives reasonable advance notice of an intent to attend the meeting or conference. When sign language interpreters will be provided, meetings or conference sites must be chosen which allow participants who are deaf or hard-of-hearing to see the sign language interpreters clearly.
(d) Exemptions. The commissioner may grant an exemption from the requirements of paragraphs (b) and (c) in advance if an agency has demonstrated that reasonable efforts were made to secure facilities which complied with those requirements and if the selected facilities are the best available for access for persons with disabilities. Exemptions shall be granted using criteria developed by the commissioner in consultation with the Council on Disability.
(e) Symbol indicating access. The wheelchair symbol adopted by Rehabilitation International's Eleventh World Congress is the state symbol indicating buildings, facilities, and grounds which are accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities. In the interests of uniformity, this symbol is the sole symbol for display in or on all public or private buildings, facilities, and grounds which qualify for its use. The secretary of state shall obtain the symbol and keep it on file. No building, facility, or grounds may display the symbol unless it is in compliance with the rules adopted by the commissioner under subdivision 1. Before any rules are proposed for adoption under this paragraph, the commissioner shall consult with the Council on Disability. Rules adopted under this paragraph must be enforced in the same way as other accessibility rules of the State Building Code.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 326B.815, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Fees. (a) For the purposes of calculating fees
under section 326B.092, an initial or renewed residential contractor,
residential remodeler, or residential roofer license is a business license. Notwithstanding section 326B.092, the
licensing fee for manufactured home installers under section 327B.041 is $300
$180 for a three-year period.
(b) All initial and renewal licenses, except for manufactured home installer licenses, shall be effective for two years and shall expire on March 31 of the year after the year in which the application is made.
(c) The commissioner shall in a manner determined by the commissioner, without the need for any rulemaking under chapter 14, phase in the renewal of residential contractor, residential remodeler, and residential roofer licenses from one year to two years. By June 30, 2011, all renewed residential contractor, residential remodeler, and residential roofer licenses shall be two-year licenses.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 327B.041, is amended to read:
327B.041
MANUFACTURED HOME INSTALLERS.
(a) Manufactured home installers are subject to all of the fees in section 326B.092 and the requirements of sections 326B.802 to 326B.885, except for the following:
(1) manufactured home installers are not subject to the continuing education requirements of sections 326B.0981, 326B.099, and 326B.821, but are subject to the continuing education requirements established in rules adopted under section 327B.10;
(2) the examination requirement of section 326B.83, subdivision 3, for manufactured home installers shall be satisfied by successful completion of a written examination administered and developed specifically for the examination of manufactured home installers. The examination must be administered and developed by the commissioner. The commissioner and the state building official shall seek advice on the grading, monitoring, and updating of examinations from the Minnesota Manufactured Housing Association;
(3) a local government unit may not place a surcharge on a license fee, and may not charge a separate fee to installers;
(4) a dealer or distributor who does not install or repair manufactured homes is exempt from licensure under sections 326B.802 to 326B.885;
(5) the exemption under section 326B.805, subdivision 6, clause (5), does not apply; and
(6) manufactured home installers are not subject to the contractor recovery fund in section 326B.89.
(b) The commissioner may waive all or part
of the requirements for licensure as a manufactured home installer for any individual
who holds an unexpired license or certificate issued by any other state or
other United States jurisdiction if the licensing requirements of that
jurisdiction meet or exceed the corresponding licensing requirements of the
department and the individual complies with section 326B.092, subdivisions 1
and 3 to 7. For the purposes of
calculating fees under section 326B.092, licensure as a manufactured home
installer is a business license.
ARTICLE 9
WORKERS' COMPENSATION GENERAL
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 15A.083, subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. Workers'
Compensation Court of Appeals and compensation judges. Salaries of judges of the Workers'
Compensation Court of Appeals are 98.52 105 percent of the salary
for district court workers' compensation judges of the Office
of Administrative Hearings. The
salary of the chief judge of the Workers'
Compensation
Court of Appeals is 98.52 107 percent of the salary for a
chief district court judge workers' compensation judges of the Office of
Administrative Hearings. Salaries of
compensation judges are 98.52 percent of the salary of district court judges.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 175A.05, is amended to read:
175A.05
QUORUM.
Subdivision 1. Judges' quorum. A majority of the judges of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals shall constitute a quorum for the exercise of the powers conferred and the duties imposed on the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals except that all appeals shall be heard by no more than a panel of three of the five judges unless the case appealed is determined to be of exceptional importance by the chief judge prior to assignment of the case to a panel, or by a three-fifths vote of the judges prior to assignment of the case to a panel or after the case has been considered by the panel but prior to the service and filing of the decision.
Subd. 2. Vacancy. A vacancy shall not impair the ability of the remaining judges of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals to exercise all the powers and perform all of the duties of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals.
Subd. 3. Retired
judges. Where the number of
Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals judges available to hear a case is
insufficient to constitute a quorum, the chief judge of the Workers'
Compensation Court of Appeals may, with the retired judge's consent, assign a
judge who is retired from the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals or the
Office of Administrative Hearings to hear any case properly assigned to a judge
of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals.
The retired judge assigned to the case may act on it with the full
powers of the judge of the Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals. A retired judge performing this service shall
receive pay and expenses in the amount and manner provided by law for judges
serving on the court, less the amount of retirement pay the judge is receiving
under chapter 352 or 490.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is effective
June 1, 2018.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 176.231, subdivision 9, is amended to read:
Subd. 9. Uses which
that may be made of reports. (a)
Reports filed with the commissioner under this section may be used in hearings
held under this chapter, and for the purpose of state investigations and for
statistics. These reports are available
to the Department of Revenue for use in enforcing Minnesota income tax and
property tax refund laws, and the information shall be protected as provided in
chapter 270B.
(b) The division or Office of
Administrative Hearings or Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals may permit
the examination of its file by the employer, insurer, employee, or dependent of
a deceased employee or any person who furnishes written signed
authorization to do so from the employer, insurer, employee, or dependent of a
deceased employee. Reports filed under
this section and other information the commissioner has regarding injuries or
deaths shall be made available to the Workers' Compensation Reinsurance
Association for use by the association in carrying out its responsibilities
under chapter 79.
(c) The division may provide the worker
identification number assigned under section 176.275, subdivision 1, without a
signed authorization required under paragraph (b) to an:
(1) attorney who represents one of the
persons described in paragraph (b);
(2)
attorney who represents an intervenor or potential intervenor under section
176.361;
(3) intervenor; or
(4) employee's assigned qualified
rehabilitation consultant under section 176.102.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 4. [176.2611]
COORDINATION OF THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS' CASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
AND THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION IMAGING SYSTEM.
Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) For purposes of this section, the
definitions in this subdivision apply unless otherwise specified.
(b) "Commissioner" means the
commissioner of labor and industry.
(c) "Department" means the
Department of Labor and Industry.
(d) "Document" includes all
data, whether in electronic or paper format, that is filed with or issued by
the office or department related to a claim-specific dispute resolution
proceeding under this section.
(e) "Office" means the Office
of Administrative Hearings.
Subd. 2. Applicability. This section governs filing
requirements pending completion of the workers' compensation modernization program
and access to documents and data in the office's case management system, the
workers' compensation Informix imaging system, and the system that will be
developed as a result of the workers' compensation modernization program. This section prevails over any conflicting
provision in this chapter, Laws 1998, chapter 366, or corresponding rules.
Subd. 3. Documents
that must be filed with the office. Except
as provided in subdivision 4 and section 176.421, all documents that require
action by the office under this chapter must be filed, electronically or in
paper format, with the office as required by the chief administrative law judge. Filing a document that initiates or is filed
in preparation for a proceeding at the office satisfies any requirement under
this chapter that the document must be filed with the commissioner.
Subd. 4. Documents
that must be filed with the commissioner.
(a) The following documents must be filed directly with the
commissioner in the format and manner prescribed by the commissioner:
(1) all requests for an administrative
conference under section 176.106, regardless of the amount in dispute;
(2) a motion to intervene in an
administrative conference that is pending at the department;
(3) any other document related to an administrative
conference that is pending at the department;
(4) an objection to a penalty assessed
by the commissioner or the department;
(5)
requests for medical and rehabilitation dispute certification under section
176.081, subdivision 1, paragraph (c), including related documents; and
(6) except as provided in this
subdivision or subdivision 3, any other document required to be filed with the
commissioner.
(b)
The filing requirement in paragraph (a), clause (1), makes no changes to the
jurisdictional provisions in section 176.106.
A claim petition that contains only medical or rehabilitation issues,
unless primary liability is disputed, is considered to be a request for an
administrative conference and must be filed with the commissioner.
(c) The commissioner must refer a
timely, unresolved objection to a penalty under paragraph (a), clause (4), to
the office within 60 calendar days.
Subd. 5. Form
revision and access to documents and data.
(a) The commissioner must revise dispute resolution forms, in
consultation with the chief administrative law judge, to reflect the filing
requirements in this section.
(b) For purposes of this subdivision,
"complete, read-only electronic access" means the ability to view all
data and document contents, including scheduling information, related to
workers' compensation disputes, except for the following:
(1) a confidential mediation statement,
including any documents submitted with the statement for the mediator's review;
(2) work product of a compensation
judge, mediator, or commissioner that is not issued. Examples of work product include personal
notes of hearings or conferences and draft decisions;
(3) the department's Vocational
Rehabilitation Unit's case management system data;
(4) the special compensation fund's
case management system data; and
(5) audit trail information.
(c) The office must be provided with
continued, complete, read-only electronic access to the workers' compensation
Informix imaging system.
(d) The department must be provided
with read-only electronic access to the office's case management system,
including the ability to view all data, including scheduling information, but
excluding access into filed documents.
(e) The office must send the department
all documents that are accepted for filing or issued by the office. The office must send the documents to the
department, electronically or by courier, within two business days of when the
documents are accepted for filing or issued by the office.
(f) The department must place documents
that the office sends to the department in the appropriate imaged file for the
employee.
(g) The department must send the office
copies of the following documents, electronically or by courier, within two
business days of when the documents are filed with or issued by the department:
(1) notices of discontinuance;
(2) decisions issued by the department;
and
(3) mediated agreements.
(h)
Upon integration of the office's case management system and the department's
system resulting from the workers' compensation modernization program, each
agency will be provided with complete, read-only electronic access to the other
agency's system.
(i) Each agency's responsible authority
pursuant to section 13.02, subdivision 16, is responsible for its own
employees' use and dissemination of the data and documents in the workers'
compensation Informix imaging system, the office's case management system, and
the system developed as a result of the workers' compensation modernization
program.
Subd. 6. Data
privacy. (a) All documents
filed with or issued by the department or the office under this chapter are
private data on individuals and nonpublic data pursuant to chapter 13, except
that the documents are available to the following:
(1) the office;
(2) the department;
(3) the employer;
(4) the insurer;
(5) the employee;
(6) the dependent of a deceased
employee;
(7) an intervenor in the dispute;
(8) the attorney to a party in the
dispute;
(9) a person who furnishes written
authorization from the employer, insurer, employee, or dependent of a deceased
employee; and
(10) a person, agency, or other entity
allowed access to the documents under this chapter or other law.
(b) The office and department may post
notice of scheduled proceedings on the agencies' Web sites and at their
principal places of business in any manner that protects the employee's
identifying information.
Subd. 7. Workers'
Compensation Court of Appeals. The
Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals has authority to amend its rules of
procedure to reflect electronic filing with the office under this section for
purposes of section 176.421, subdivision 5, and to allow electronic filing with
the court under section 176.285. The
court may amend its rules using the procedure in section 14.389.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 5. Laws 2017, chapter 94, article 1, section 6, is amended to read:
Sec. 6. WORKERS'
COMPENSATION COURT OF APPEALS |
$1,913,000 |
|
$ |
This appropriation is from the workers' compensation fund.
ARTICLE 10
HOSPITAL OUTPATIENT FEE SCHEDULE
Section 1.
[176.1364] WORKERS'
COMPENSATION HOSPITAL OUTPATIENT FEE SCHEDULE.
Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) For the purposes of this section,
the terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings given them.
(b) "Addendum A" means the
addendum entitled "OPPS APCs for CY 2018," or its successor,
developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (Medicare) for use
in the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) system
under Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, part 419, as may be amended from
time to time.
(c) "Addendum B" means the
addendum entitled "OPPS Payment by HCPCS Codes for CY 2018," or its
successor, developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(Medicare) for use in the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment
System (OPPS) system under Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, part 419, as
may be amended from time to time.
(d) "HCPCS code" means a
numeric or alphanumeric code included in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services' Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System. A HCPCS code is used to identify a specific
medical service.
(e) "Hospital" means a
facility that is licensed by the Department of Health under section 144.50.
(f) "HOFS" means the workers'
compensation hospital outpatient fee schedule established under subdivision 3.
(g) "Insurer" includes
workers' compensation insurers and self-insured employers.
(h) "Services" includes
articles, supplies, procedures, and implantable devices provided by the
hospital with the service. Services are
identified by a code described in subdivision 3.
Subd. 2. Applicability. (a) This section only applies to
payment of charges for hospital outpatient services if the charges include a
service listed in the workers' compensation hospital outpatient fee schedule
established by the commissioner under subdivision 3. If the charges do not include a service
listed in the HOFS, payment shall be:
(1) the liability for each service that
is included in the workers' compensation relative value fee schedule as
provided in section 176.136, subdivision 1a, and corresponding rules adopted by
the commissioner to implement the relative value fee schedule; or
(2) the liability as provided in section
176.136, subdivision 1b, paragraphs (b) and (c), for each service that is not
included in the workers' compensation relative value fee schedule.
(b) This section does not apply to
outpatient services provided at a hospital that is certified by Medicare as a
critical access hospital. Outpatient
services provided by these hospitals shall be paid as provided in section
176.136, subdivision 1b, paragraph (a).
Subd. 3. Hospital
outpatient fee schedule (HOFS). (a)
Effective for hospital outpatient services on or after October 1, 2018, the
commissioner shall establish a workers' compensation hospital outpatient fee
schedule (HOFS) to establish the payment for hospital bills with charges for
services with a J1 or J2 status indicator as listed in the status indicator
(SI) column of Addendum B and the comprehensive observation services Ambulatory
Payment Classification (APC) 8011 with a J2 status indicator in Addendum A. The commissioner shall publish a link to the HOFS in the State Register before October 1, 2018,
and shall maintain the current HOFS on the department's Web site.
(b)
The amount listed for each of the procedures in the HOFS as described in
paragraph (a) shall be the relative weight for the procedure multiplied by a
HOFS conversion factor that results in the same overall payment for hospital
outpatient services under this section as the actual payments made in the most
recent 12-month period available before the effective date of this section. The commissioner must establish separate
conversion factors to achieve the same overall payment for noncritical access
hospitals of 100 or fewer licensed beds and hospitals with more than 100
licensed beds. The commissioner shall
establish the two conversion factors according to the requirements in clauses
(1) to (4) in consultation with insurer and hospital representatives.
(1) The commissioner shall obtain a
suitable sample of de-identified data for Minnesota workers' compensation
outpatient cases at Minnesota hospitals for the most recently available
12-month period. The commissioner may
obtain de-identified data from any reliable source, including Minnesota
hospitals and insurers, or their representatives. Any data provided to the commissioner by a
hospital, insurer, or their representative under this subdivision is nonpublic
data under section 13.02, subdivision 9.
(2) The sample must be divided into a
data set for hospitals over 100 licensed beds, and 100 or fewer licensed beds,
excluding critical access hospitals.
(3) For each data set the commissioner
shall:
(i) calculate the total amount of the
actual payments made in the most recent 12-month period available before the
effective date of this section, adjusted for inflation to July 2018; and
(ii) apply all of the payment
provisions in this section to each claim including, as applicable, payment
under the relative value fee schedule or 85 percent of the hospital's usual and
customary charge under section 176.136, subdivisions 1a and 1b, to determine
the total payment amount using the Medicare conversion factor in effect for the
OPPS in effect on July 1, 2018.
(4) The commissioner shall calculate
the Minnesota conversion factor to equal the Medicare conversion factor
multiplied by the ratio of total payments under clause (3), item (i), divided
by the total payments under clause (3), item (ii).
(c) For purposes of this section:
(1) the relative weight is the amount
in the "relative weight" column in Addendum B and Addendum A for
comprehensive observation services.
(2) references to J1, J2, and H status
indicators; Addenda A and B; APC 8011; and HCPCS code G0378 includes any
successor status indicators, addenda, APC, or HCPCS code established by the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
(d) On October 1 of each year, the
commissioner shall adjust the HOFS conversion factors based on the market
basket index for inpatient hospital services calculated by Medicare and
published on its Web site. The
adjustment on each October 1 shall be a percentage equal to the value of that
index averaged over the four quarters of the most recent calendar year divided
by the value of that index over the four quarters of the prior calendar year.
(e) No later than October 1, 2021, and
at least once every three years thereafter, the commissioner shall update the
HOFS established under this subdivision by incorporating services with a J1 or
J2 status indicator, and the corresponding relative weights, listed in the
Addenda A and B most recently available on Medicare's Web site as of the
preceding July 1. If Addenda A and B are
not available on Medicare's Web site on the preceding July 1, the HOFS most
recently published on the department's Web site remains in effect.
(1)
Each time the HOFS is updated under this paragraph, the commissioner shall
adjust the conversion factors so that there is no difference between the
overall payment under the new HOFS and the overall payment under the HOFS most
recently in effect, for services in both HOFSs.
(2) The conversion factor adjustments
under this paragraph shall be made separately for each hospital category in
paragraph (b).
(3) The conversion factor adjustments
under this paragraph must be made before making any additional adjustment under
paragraph (d).
(f) The commissioner shall give notice
in the State Register of the adjusted conversion factor in paragraph (d) no
later than October 1 annually. The
commissioner shall give notice in the State Register of an updated HOFS under
paragraph (e) no later than October 1 of the year in which the HOFS becomes
effective. The notice must include a
link to the HOFS published on the department's Web site. The notices, the updated fee schedules, and
the adjusted conversion factors are not rules subject to chapter 14, but have
the force and effect of law as of the effective date published in the State
Register.
Subd. 4. Payment
under the hospital outpatient fee schedule.
(a) Services in the HOFS, and other hospital outpatient services
provided with or as part of service in the HOFS, are paid according to
paragraphs (b) and (c).
(b) If a hospital bill includes a
charge for one or more services with a J1 status indicator, payment shall be as
provided in this paragraph.
(1) If the bill includes a charge for
only one service with only a J1 status indicator, payment shall be the amount
listed in the HOFS for that service, regardless of the amount charged by the
hospital.
(2) If the bill includes charges for
more than one service with a J1 status indicator, the service with the highest
listed fee in the HOFS shall be paid at 100 percent of the listed fee. Each additional service listed in the
hospital outpatient fee shall be paid at 50 percent of the listed fee. Payment under this clause shall be based on
the applicable percentage of the listed fee, regardless of the amount charged
by the hospital.
(3) If the bill includes an additional
charge for a service that does not have a J1 status indicator listed in the
HOFS, no separate payment is made for the additional service. Payment for the additional service, including
any service with a J2 status indicator, is packaged into and is not paid
separately from the payment amount listed in the HOFS for the service with the
J1 status indicator. Implantable devices
are paid separately only as provided in subdivision 5.
(4) The insurer must not deny payment
for any additional service packaged into payment for a service listed in the
HOFS on the basis that the additional service was not reasonably required or
causally related to an admitted work injury.
(c) If a hospital bill includes one or
more charges for services with a J2 status indicator, and does not include any
charges for services with a J1 status indicator, payment shall be as provided
in this paragraph.
(1) Except for services packaged into
an observation service as provided in clause (4), payment for each service with
a J2 status indicator shall be the amount listed in the HOFS, regardless of the
amount charged by the hospital.
(2) If a service without a HCPCS code
is billed with a service with a J2 status indicator, payment is packaged into
the payment for the J2 service.
(3)
Payment for drugs with a HCPCS code is separate from payment for the service
with the J2 code as provided in this clause.
(i) If the drug is delivered by
injection or infusion, payment for the drug is packaged into payment for the
injection or infusion service.
(ii) If the drug is not delivered by
injection or infusion, payment for the drug is paid at the Medicare Average
Sales Price (ASP) of the drug on the day the drug is dispensed. No later than October 1, 2018, and October 1
of each subsequent year, the commissioner must publish on the department's Web
site a link to the ASP most recently available as of the preceding July 1. If no ASP is available, the most recently
posted ASP linked on the department's Web site remains in effect.
(4) If a bill includes eight or more
units of service with the HCPCS code G0378 (observation services, per hour),
and there is a physician's or dentist's order for observation, payment shall be
the amount listed in the HOFS for the comprehensive observation services
Ambulatory Payment Classification 8011, regardless of the amount charged by the
hospital. All other services billed by
the hospital, including other services with a J2 status indicator, are packaged
into the payment amount and are not paid separately from the payment amount
listed in the fee schedule for HCPCS code G0378.
(5) For any other service on the same
bill as the service with a J2 status indicator, payment shall be as provided in
subdivision 2, paragraph (a).
Subd. 5. Implantable
devices. The maximum fee for
any service in the HOFS includes payment for all implantable devices, even if
the Medicare OPPS would otherwise allow separate payment for the implantable
device. However, separate payment in the
amount of 85 percent of the hospital's usual and customary charge for an
implantable device is allowed if the implantable device:
(1) has an H status indicator in
Addendum B;
(2) is properly charged on a bill with a
service with a J1 status indicator in the HOFS; and
(3) is properly billed with another
HCPCS code, if required by Medicare's OPPS system.
The commissioner shall update the HOFS each October 1 to
include any HCPCS codes that are payable under this section according to the
Addendum B most recently available on the preceding July 1.
Subd. 6. Study. (a) The commissioner shall conduct a
study analyzing the percentage of claims with a service in the HOFS that were
paid timely and the percentage of claims paid accurately. The commissioner must report the results of
the study and recommendations to the Workers' Compensation Advisory Council and
chairs and ranking minority members of the house of representatives and senate
committees with jurisdiction over workers' compensation by January 15, 2021.
(b) Based on the results of the study,
the WCAC shall consider whether there is a minimum 80 percent compliance in timeliness and accuracy of payments,
and additional statutory amendments, including but not limited to:
(1) a maximum ten percent reduction in
payments under the HOFS; and
(2) an increase in indemnity benefits to
injured workers.
Subd. 7. Rulemaking. The commissioner may adopt or amend
rules, using the authority in section 14.386, paragraph (a), to implement this
section. The rules are not subject to
expiration under section 14.386, paragraph (b).
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for hospital outpatient
services provided on or after October 1, 2018.
ARTICLE 11
OUTPATIENT BILLING, PAYMENT, AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 176.136, subdivision 1b, is amended to read:
Subd. 1b. Limitation of liability. (a) The liability of the employer for
treatment, articles, and supplies provided to an employee while an inpatient or
outpatient at a Critical Access Hospital certified by the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services, or while an outpatient at a hospital with 100 or
fewer licensed beds, shall be the hospital's usual and customary charge,
unless the charge is determined by the commissioner or a compensation judge to
be unreasonably excessive.
(b) The liability of the employer for the treatment,
articles, and supplies that are not limited by paragraph (a), subdivision 1a,
or 1c, or section 176.1362, 176.1363, or 176.1364, shall
be limited to 85 percent of the provider's usual and customary charge, or 85
percent of the prevailing charges for similar treatment, articles, and supplies
furnished to an injured person when paid for by the injured person, whichever
is lower, except as provided in paragraph (e). On this basis, the commissioner or
compensation judge may determine the reasonable value of all treatment,
services, and supplies, and the liability of the employer is limited to that
amount. The commissioner may by rule
establish the reasonable value of a service, article, or supply in lieu of the
85 percent limitation in this paragraph.
A prevailing charge established under Minnesota Rules, part 5221.0500,
subpart 2, must be based on no more than two years of billing data immediately
preceding the date of the service.
(c) The limitation of liability for charges provided by paragraph (b) does not apply to a nursing home that participates in the medical assistance program and whose rates are established by the commissioner of human services.
(d) An employer's liability for treatment, articles, and supplies provided under this chapter by a health care provider located outside of Minnesota is limited to the payment that the health care provider would receive if the treatment, article, or supply were paid under the workers' compensation law of the jurisdiction in which the treatment was provided.
(e) The limitation of the employer's liability based on
85 percent of prevailing charge does not apply to charges by an ambulatory
surgical center as defined in section 176.1363, subdivision 1, paragraph (b),
or a hospital as defined in section 176.1364, subdivision 1, paragraph (e).
(f) For purposes of this chapter, "inpatient"
means a patient that has been admitted to a hospital by an order from a
physician or dentist. If there is no
inpatient admission order, the patient is deemed an outpatient. The hospital must provide documentation of an
inpatient order upon the request of the employer.
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for
treatment, articles, and supplies provided on or after October 1, 2018.
Sec. 2. [176.1365] OUTPATIENT BILLING, PAYMENT,
AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION.
Subdivision 1.
Scope. This section applies to billing,
payment, and dispute resolution for services provided by an ambulatory surgical
center (ASC) under section 176.1363 and hospital outpatient services under
section 176.1364. For purposes of this
section, "insurer" includes self-insured employer and
"services" is as defined in section 176.1364.
Subd. 2.
Outpatient billing, coding,
and prior notification. (a)
Ambulatory surgical centers and hospitals must bill workers' compensation
insurers for services governed by sections 176.1363 and 176.1364 using the same
codes, formats, and details that are required for billing the Medicare program,
including coding consistent with the
American
Medical Association Current Procedural Terminology coding system and Medicare's
Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System, Outpatient Prospective Payment
System, Outpatient Code Editor, Healthcare Current Procedural Terminology
Coding System, and the National Correct Coding Initiative Policy Manual for
Medicare Services and associated Web page and tables.
(b) All charges for ASC or hospital
outpatient fee schedule services governed by sections 176.1363 and 176.1364
must be submitted to the insurer on the appropriate electronic transaction
required by section 176.135, subdivisions 7 and 7a. ASCs must submit charges on the electronic
837P form. ASCs must not separately bill
for the services and items included in the ASC facility fee under Code of
Federal Regulations, title 42, section 416.164(a). Minnesota Rules, part 5221.4033, subpart 1a,
does not apply to ASCs under this section, but does apply to hospital
outpatient facility fees to the extent they are not covered by the hospital
outpatient fee schedule under section 176.1364.
(c) Hospitals, ASCs, and insurers must
comply with the prior notification and approval or authorization requirements
specified in Minnesota Rules, part 5221.6050, subpart 9. Prior notification may be provided by either
the hospital, ASC, or the surgeon. For
purposes of prior notification under Minnesota Rules, part 5221.6050, subpart
9, "inpatient" has the meaning as provided under section 176.136,
subdivision 1b, paragraph (d).
(d) ASC or hospital bills must be
submitted to insurers as required by section 176.135, subdivisions 7 and 7a,
and within the time period required by section 62Q.75, subdivision 3. Insurers must respond to the initial bill as
provided in section 176.135, subdivisions 6 and 7a. Copies of any records or reports relating to
the items for which payment is sought are separately payable as provided in
section 176.135, subdivision 7, paragraph (a).
Subd. 3. ASC
or hospital request for reconsideration; insurer response; time frames. (a) Following receipt of the insurer's
explanation of review (EOR) or explanation of benefits (EOB), the ASC or
hospital may request reconsideration of a payment denial or reduction. The ASC or hospital must submit its request
for reconsideration in writing to the insurer within one year of the date of
the EOR or EOB.
(b) The insurer must issue a written
response to the ASC or hospital's request for reconsideration within 30 days,
as provided in section 176.135, subdivision 6.
The written response must address the issues raised by the request for
reconsideration and not simply reiterate the information on the EOR or EOB.
Subd. 4. Insurer
request for reimbursement of overpayment; time frame. If the payer determines it has
overpaid an ASC or hospital's charges based on workers' compensation statutes
and rules, the payer must submit its request for reimbursement in writing to
the ASC or hospital within one year of the date of the payment.
Subd. 5. Medical
requests for administrative conference; time frame to file. (a) An ASC, hospital, or insurer must
notify the provider or payer, as applicable, of its intent to file a medical
request for an administrative conference under section 176.106 at least 20 days
before filing one with the department. The
insurer, or the ASC or hospital if permitted by section 176.136, subdivision 2,
must file the medical request for an administrative conference no later than
the latest of:
(1) one year after the date of the
initial EOR or EOB if the ASC or hospital does not request a reconsideration of
a payment denial or reduction under subdivision 3;
(2) one year after the date of the
insurer's response to the ASC or hospital's request for reconsideration under
subdivision 3; or
(3) one year after the insurer's
request for reimbursement of an overpayment from an ASC or hospital under
subdivision 4.
(b)
Paragraph (a) does not prohibit an employee from filing a medical request for
assistance or claim petition for the payment denied or reduced by the insurer. However, the ASC or hospital may not bill the
employee for the denied or reduced payment when prohibited by this chapter.
Subd. 6. Interest. (a) An insurer must pay the ASC or
hospital interest at an annual rate of four percent if it is determined that
the insurer is liable for additional ASC or hospital charges following a denial
of payment. Interest is payable by the
insurer on the additional amount owed from the date payment was due.
(b) An ASC or hospital must pay the
insurer interest at an annual rate of four percent if it is determined that the
hospital owes the insurer reimbursement following the insurer's request for
reimbursement of an overpayment. Interest
is payable by the ASC or hospital on the amount of the overpayment from the
date the overpayment was made.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective for services provided on or after October 1, 2018.
ARTICLE 12
AMBULATORY SURGICAL CENTERS
Section 1.
[176.1363] AMBULATORY SURGICAL
CENTER PAYMENT.
Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) For the purpose of this section,
the terms defined in this subdivision have the meanings given them.
(b) "Ambulatory surgical
center" or "ASC" means a facility that is: (1) certified as an ASC by the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services; or (2) licensed by the Department of Health as
a freestanding outpatient surgical center and not owned by a hospital.
(c) "Conversion factor" means
the Medicare ambulatory surgical center payment system (ASCPS) conversion
factor used for ASCs that meet the Medicare quality reporting requirements,
whether or not the ASC submitting the bill has met the quality reporting
requirements.
(d) "Covered surgical procedures
and ancillary services" means the procedures listed in ASCPS, addendum AA,
and the ancillary services integral to covered surgical procedures listed in
ASCPS, addendum BB.
(e) "Insurer" includes
workers' compensation insurers and self-insured employers.
(f) "Ambulatory surgical center
payment system" or "ASCPS" means the system developed by the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
for payment of surgical services provided by federally certified ASCs as
specified in:
(1) Code of Federal Regulations, title
42, part 416, including without limitation the geographic adjustment for the
ASC and the multiple surgical procedure reduction rule;
(2) annual revisions to Code of Federal
Regulations, title 42, part 416, as published in the Federal Register;
(3) the corresponding addendum AA
(final ASC covered surgical procedures), addendum BB (final covered ancillary
services integral to covered surgical procedures), addendum DD1 (final ASC
payment indicators), and any successor or replacement addenda; and
(4) the Medicare claims processing
manual.
(g)
"Medicare ASCPS payment" means the Medicare ASCPS payment used for
ASCs that meet the Medicare quality reporting requirements, whether or not the
ASC submitting the bill has met the Medicare quality reporting requirements.
Subd. 2. Payment
for covered surgical procedures and ancillary services based on Medicare ASCPS. (a) Except as provided in subdivisions
3 and 4, the payment to the ASC for covered surgical procedures and ancillary
services shall be the lesser of:
(1) the ASC's usual and customary charge
for all services, supplies, and implantable devices provided; or
(2) the Medicare ASCPS payment, times a
multiplier of 320 percent.
(i) The amount payable under this clause
includes payment for all implantable devices, even if the Medicare ASCPS would
otherwise allow separate payment for the implantable device.
(ii) The 320 percent described in this
clause must be adjusted if, on July 1, 2019, or any subsequent July 1, the
conversion factor is less than 98 percent of the conversion factor in effect on
the previous July 1. When this occurs,
the multiplier must be 320 percent times 98 percent divided by the percentage
that the current Medicare conversion factor bears to the Medicare conversion
factor in effect on the prior July 1. In
subsequent years, the multiplier is 320 percent, unless the Medicare ASCPS
conversion factor declines by more than two percent.
(b) Payment under this section is
effective for covered surgical procedures and ancillary services provided by an
ASC on or after October 1, 2018, through September 30, 2019, and shall be based
on the addenda AA, BB, and DD1 most recently available on the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services Web site as of July 1, 2018, and the
corresponding rules and Medicare claims processing manual described in
subdivision 1, paragraph (f).
(1) Payment for covered surgical
procedures and ancillary services provided by an ASC on or after each
subsequent October 1 shall be based on the addenda AA, BB, and DD1 most
recently available on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Web site
as of the preceding July 1 and the corresponding rules and Medicare claims
processing manual.
(2) If the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services has not updated addendum AA, BB, or DD1 on its Web site since
the commissioner's previous notice under paragraph (c), the addenda identified
in the notice published by the commissioner in paragraph (c) and the
corresponding rules and Medicare claims processing manual shall remain in
effect.
(3) Addenda AA, BB, and DD1 under this
subdivision includes successor or replacement addenda.
(c) The commissioner shall annually give
notice in the State Register of any adjustment to the multiplier under
paragraph (a), clause (2), and of the applicable addenda in paragraph (b) no
later than October 1. The notice must
identify and include a link to the applicable addenda. The notices and any adjustment to the
multiplier are not rules subject to chapter 14, but have the force and effect
of law as of the effective date published in the State Register.
Subd. 3. Payment
for compensable surgical services not covered under ASCPS. (a) If a surgical procedure provided
by an ASC is compensable under this chapter but is not listed in addendum AA or
BB of the Medicare ASCPS, payment must be 75 percent of the ASC's usual and
customary charge for the procedure with the highest charge. Payment for each subsequent surgical
procedure not listed in addendum AA or BB must be paid at 50 percent of the
ASC's usual and customary charge.
(b) Payment must be 75 percent of the
ASC's usual and customary charge for a surgical procedure or ancillary service
if the procedure or service is listed in Medicare ASCPS addendum AA or BB and: (1) the payment indicator provides it is paid
at a reasonable cost; (2) the payment indicator provides it is contractor
priced; or (3) a payment rate is not otherwise provided.
Subd. 4. Study. The commissioner shall conduct a study
analyzing the impact of the reforms, including timeliness and accuracy of
payment under this section, and recommend further changes if needed. The commissioner must report the results of
the study to the Workers' Compensation Advisory Council and the chairs and
ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over
workers' compensation by January 15, 2021.
Subd. 5. Rulemaking. The commissioner may adopt or amend
rules using the authority in section 14.386, paragraph (a), to implement this
section and the Medicare ASCPS for workers' compensation. The rules are not subject to expiration under
section 14.386, paragraph (b).
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective for procedures and services provided by an ASC on or after October 1,
2018, except subdivision 5 is effective the day following final enactment.
ARTICLE 13
WORKERS' COMPENSATION BENEFITS
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 176.011, subdivision 15, is amended to read:
Subd. 15. Occupational disease. (a) "Occupational disease" means a mental impairment as defined in paragraph (d) or physical disease arising out of and in the course of employment peculiar to the occupation in which the employee is engaged and due to causes in excess of the hazards ordinary of employment and shall include undulant fever. Physical stimulus resulting in mental injury and mental stimulus resulting in physical injury shall remain compensable. Mental impairment is not considered a disease if it results from a disciplinary action, work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, promotion, termination, retirement, or similar action taken in good faith by the employer. Ordinary diseases of life to which the general public is equally exposed outside of employment are not compensable, except where the diseases follow as an incident of an occupational disease, or where the exposure peculiar to the occupation makes the disease an occupational disease hazard. A disease arises out of the employment only if there be a direct causal connection between the conditions under which the work is performed and if the occupational disease follows as a natural incident of the work as a result of the exposure occasioned by the nature of the employment. An employer is not liable for compensation for any occupational disease which cannot be traced to the employment as a direct and proximate cause and is not recognized as a hazard characteristic of and peculiar to the trade, occupation, process, or employment or which results from a hazard to which the worker would have been equally exposed outside of the employment.
(b) If immediately preceding the date of disablement or death, an employee was employed on active duty with an organized fire or police department of any municipality, as a member of the Minnesota State Patrol, conservation officer service, state crime bureau, as a forest officer by the Department of Natural Resources, state correctional officer, or sheriff or full-time deputy sheriff of any county, and the disease is that of myocarditis, coronary sclerosis, pneumonia or its sequel, and at the time of employment such employee was given a thorough physical examination by a licensed doctor of medicine, and a written report thereof has been made and filed with such organized fire or police department, with the Minnesota State Patrol, conservation officer service, state crime bureau, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Corrections, or sheriff's department of any county, which examination and report negatived any evidence of myocarditis, coronary sclerosis, pneumonia or its sequel, the disease is presumptively an occupational disease and shall be presumed to have been due to the nature of employment. If immediately preceding the date of disablement or death, any individual who by nature of their position provides emergency medical care, or an employee who was employed as a licensed police officer under section 626.84, subdivision 1; firefighter; paramedic; state correctional officer; emergency medical technician; or licensed nurse providing emergency medical care; and who contracts an infectious or communicable disease to which the employee was exposed in the course of employment outside of a hospital, then the disease is presumptively an occupational disease and shall be presumed to have been due to the nature of employment and the presumption may be rebutted by substantial factors brought by the employer or insurer. Any substantial factors which shall be used to rebut this presumption and which are known to the employer or insurer at the time of the denial of liability shall be communicated to the employee on the denial of liability.
(c) A firefighter on active duty with an organized fire department who is unable to perform duties in the department by reason of a disabling cancer of a type caused by exposure to heat, radiation, or a known or suspected carcinogen, as defined by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the carcinogen is reasonably linked to the disabling cancer, is presumed to have an occupational disease under paragraph (a). If a firefighter who enters the service after August 1, 1988, is examined by a physician prior to being hired and the examination discloses the existence of a cancer of a type described in this paragraph, the firefighter is not entitled to the presumption unless a subsequent medical determination is made that the firefighter no longer has the cancer.
(d) For the purposes of this chapter, "mental impairment" means a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder by a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist. For the purposes of this chapter, "post-traumatic stress disorder" means the condition as described in the most recently published edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association. For purposes of section 79.34, subdivision 2, one or more compensable mental impairment claims arising out of a single event or occurrence shall constitute a single loss occurrence.
(e) If, preceding the date of
disablement or death, an employee who was employed on active duty as: a licensed police officer; a firefighter; a
paramedic; an emergency medical technician; a licensed nurse employed to
provide emergency medical services outside of a medical facility; a public
safety dispatcher; an officer employed by the state or a political subdivision
at a corrections, detention, or secure treatment facility; a sheriff or
full-time deputy sheriff of any county; or a member of the Minnesota State
Patrol is diagnosed with a mental impairment as defined in paragraph (d), and
had not been diagnosed with the mental impairment previously, then the mental impairment
is presumptively an occupational disease and shall be presumed to have been due
to the nature of employment. This
presumption may be rebutted by substantial factors brought by the employer or
insurer. Any substantial factors that
are used to rebut this presumption and that are known to the employer or
insurer at the time of the denial of liability shall be communicated to the
employee on the denial of liability. The
mental impairment is not considered an occupational disease if it results from
a disciplinary action, work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion,
promotion, termination, retirement, or similar action taken in good faith by
the employer.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective for employees with dates of injury on or after January 1, 2019.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 176.101, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Temporary partial disability. (a) In all cases of temporary partial disability the compensation shall be 66-2/3 percent of the difference between the weekly wage of the employee at the time of injury and the wage the employee is able to earn in the employee's partially disabled condition. This compensation shall be paid during the period of disability except as provided in this section, payment to be made at the intervals when the wage was payable, as nearly as may be, and subject to the maximum rate for temporary total compensation.
(b) Temporary partial compensation may be
paid only while the employee is employed, earning less than the employee's
weekly wage at the time of the injury, and the reduced wage the employee is
able to earn in the employee's partially disabled condition is due to the
injury. Except as provided in section
176.102, subdivision 11, paragraphs (b) and (c), temporary partial compensation
may not be paid for more than 225 275 weeks, or after 450 weeks
after the date of injury, whichever occurs first.
(c) Temporary partial compensation must be reduced to the extent that the wage the employee is able to earn in the employee's partially disabled condition plus the temporary partial disability payment otherwise payable under this subdivision exceeds 500 percent of the statewide average weekly wage.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 176.101, subdivision 2a, is amended to read:
Subd. 2a. Permanent partial disability. (a) Compensation for permanent partial disability is as provided in this subdivision. Permanent partial disability must be rated as a percentage of the whole body in accordance with rules adopted by the commissioner under section 176.105. The percentage determined pursuant to the rules must be multiplied by the corresponding amount in the following table:
Impairment Rating |
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||
(percent) |
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Amount |
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||
less than 5.5 |
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$ |
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||
5.5 to less than 10.5 |
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|
||
10.5 to less than 15.5 |
|
|
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||
15.5 to less than 20.5 |
|
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|
||
20.5 to less than 25.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
25.5 to less than 30.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
30.5 to less than 35.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
35.5 to less than 40.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
40.5 to less than 45.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
45.5 to less than 50.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
50.5 to less than 55.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
55.5 to less than 60.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
60.5 to less than 65.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
65.5 to less than 70.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
70.5 to less than 75.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
75.5 to less than 80.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
80.5 to less than 85.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
85.5 to less than 90.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
90.5 to less than 95.5 |
|
|
|
|
||
95.5 up to and including 100 |
|
|
|
|
||
An employee may not receive compensation for more than a 100 percent disability of the whole body, even if the employee sustains disability to two or more body parts.
(b) Permanent partial disability is payable upon cessation of temporary total disability under subdivision 1. If the employee requests payment in a lump sum, then the compensation must be paid within 30 days. This lump-sum payment may be discounted to the present value calculated up to a maximum five percent basis. If the employee does not choose to receive the compensation in a lump sum, then the compensation is payable in installments at the same intervals and in the same amount as the employee's temporary total disability rate on the date of injury. Permanent partial disability is not payable while temporary total compensation is being paid.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 176.101, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. Permanent total disability. For permanent total disability, as defined in subdivision 5, the compensation shall be 66-2/3 percent of the daily wage at the time of the injury, subject to a maximum weekly compensation equal to the maximum weekly compensation for a temporary total disability and a minimum weekly compensation equal to 65 percent of the statewide average weekly wage. This compensation shall be paid during the permanent total disability of the injured employee but after a total of $25,000 of weekly compensation has been paid, the amount of the weekly compensation benefits being paid by the employer shall be reduced by the amount of any disability benefits being paid by any government disability benefit program if the disability benefits are
occasioned
by the same injury or injuries which give rise to payments under this
subdivision. This reduction shall also
apply to any old age and survivor insurance benefits. Payments shall be made at the intervals when
the wage was payable, as nearly as may be.
In case an employee who is permanently and totally disabled becomes an
inmate of a public institution, no compensation shall be payable during the
period of confinement in the institution, unless there is wholly dependent on
the employee for support some person named in section 176.111, subdivision 1, 2
or 3, in which case the compensation provided for in section 176.111, during
the period of confinement, shall be paid for the benefit of the dependent
person during dependency. The dependency
of this person shall be determined as though the employee were deceased. Permanent total disability shall cease at age
67 because the employee is presumed retired from the labor market 72,
except that if an employee is injured after age 67, permanent total disability
benefits shall cease after five years of those benefits have been paid. This presumption is rebuttable by the
employee. The subjective statement the
employee is not retired is not sufficient in itself to rebut the presumptive evidence
of retirement but may be considered along with other evidence.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 176.102, subdivision 11, is amended to read:
Subd. 11. Retraining; compensation. (a) Retraining is limited to 156 weeks. An employee who has been approved for retraining may petition the commissioner or compensation judge for additional compensation not to exceed 25 percent of the compensation otherwise payable. If the commissioner or compensation judge determines that this additional compensation is warranted due to unusual or unique circumstances of the employee's retraining plan, the commissioner may award additional compensation in an amount not to exceed the employee's request. This additional compensation shall cease at any time the commissioner or compensation judge determines the special circumstances are no longer present.
(b) If the employee is not employed during
a retraining plan that has been specifically approved under this section,
temporary total compensation is payable for up to 90 days after the end of the
retraining plan; except that, payment during the 90-day period is subject to
cessation in accordance with section 176.101.
If the employee is employed during the retraining plan but earning less
than at the time of injury, temporary partial compensation is payable at the
rate of 66-2/3 percent of the difference between the employee's weekly wage at
the time of injury and the weekly wage the employee is able to earn in the
employee's partially disabled condition, subject to the maximum rate for
temporary total compensation. Temporary
partial compensation is not subject to the 225-week 275-week or
450-week limitations provided by section 176.101, subdivision 2, during the
retraining plan, but is subject to those limitations before and after the plan.
(c) Any request for retraining shall be filed with the commissioner before 208 weeks of any combination of temporary total or temporary partial compensation have been paid. Retraining shall not be available after 208 weeks of any combination of temporary total or temporary partial compensation benefits have been paid unless the request for the retraining has been filed with the commissioner prior to the time the 208 weeks of compensation have been paid.
(d) The employer or insurer must notify the employee in writing of the 208-week limitation for filing a request for retraining with the commissioner. This notice must be given before 80 weeks of temporary total disability or temporary partial disability compensation have been paid, regardless of the number of weeks that have elapsed since the date of injury. If the notice is not given before the 80 weeks, the period of time within which to file a request for retraining is extended by the number of days the notice is late, but in no event may a request be filed later than 225 weeks after any combination of temporary total disability or temporary partial disability compensation have been paid. The commissioner may assess a penalty of $25 per day that the notice is late, up to a maximum penalty of $2,000, against an employer or insurer for failure to provide the notice. The penalty is payable to the commissioner for deposit in the assigned risk safety account.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 176.83, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. Treatment standards for medical services. (a) In consultation with the Medical Services Review Board or the rehabilitation review panel, the commissioner shall adopt rules establishing standards and procedures for health care provider treatment. The rules shall apply uniformly to all providers including those providing managed care under section 176.1351. The rules shall be used to determine whether a provider of health care services and rehabilitation services, including a provider of medical, chiropractic, podiatric, surgical, hospital, or other services, is performing procedures or providing services at a level or with a frequency that is excessive, unnecessary, or inappropriate under section 176.135, subdivision 1, based upon accepted medical standards for quality health care and accepted rehabilitation standards.
(b) The rules shall include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) criteria for diagnosis and treatment of the most common work-related injuries including, but not limited to, low back injuries and upper extremity repetitive trauma injuries;
(2) criteria for surgical procedures including, but not limited to, diagnosis, prior conservative treatment, supporting diagnostic imaging and testing, and anticipated outcome criteria;
(3) criteria for use of appliances, adaptive equipment, and use of health clubs or other exercise facilities;
(4) criteria for diagnostic imaging procedures;
(5) criteria for inpatient hospitalization;
(6) criteria for treatment of chronic
pain; and
(7) criteria for the long-term use of
opioids or other scheduled medications to alleviate intractable pain and
improve function, including the use of written contracts between the injured
worker and the health care provider who prescribes the medication.;
and
(8) criteria for treatment of
post-traumatic stress disorder. In
developing such treatment criteria, the commissioner and the Medical Services
Review Board shall consider the guidance set forth in the American
Psychological Association's most recently adopted Clinical Practice Guideline
for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Adults. The commissioner shall adopt such rules using
the expedited rulemaking process in section 14.389, including subdivision 5, to
commence promptly upon final enactment of the legislation enacting this clause. Such rules shall apply to employees with all
dates of injury who receive treatment after the commissioner adopts the rules. In consultation with the Medical Services
Review Board, the commissioner shall review and update the rules governing
criteria for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder each time the American
Psychological Association adopts a significant change to their Clinical
Practice Guideline for the Treatment of PTSD in Adults, using the expedited
rulemaking process in section 14.389, including subdivision 5.
(c) If it is determined by the payer that the level, frequency, or cost of a procedure or service of a provider is excessive, unnecessary, or inappropriate according to the standards established by the rules, the provider shall not be paid for the procedure, service, or cost by an insurer, self-insurer, or group self-insurer, and the provider shall not be reimbursed or attempt to collect reimbursement for the procedure, service, or cost from any other source, including the employee, another insurer, the special compensation fund, or any government program unless the commissioner or compensation judge determines at a hearing or administrative conference that the level, frequency, or cost was not excessive under the rules in which case the insurer, self-insurer, or group self-insurer shall make the payment deemed reasonable.
(d) A rehabilitation provider who is determined by the rehabilitation review panel board, after hearing, to be consistently performing procedures or providing services at an excessive level or cost may be prohibited from receiving any further reimbursement for procedures or services provided under this chapter. A prohibition imposed on a provider under this subdivision may be grounds for revocation or suspension of the provider's license or certificate of registration to provide health care or rehabilitation service in Minnesota by the appropriate licensing or certifying body. The commissioner and Medical Services Review Board shall review excessive, inappropriate, or unnecessary health care provider treatment under section 176.103.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective June 1, 2018.
Sec. 7. EFFECTIVE
DATE.
Unless
otherwise specified, this article is effective for employees with dates of
injury on or after October 1, 2018.
ARTICLE 14
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ADVISORY COUNCIL; POLICY
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 268.035, subdivision 12, is amended to read:
Subd. 12. Covered
employment. (a) "Covered
employment" means the following unless excluded as "noncovered
employment" under subdivision 20:
(1) an employee's entire employment
during the calendar quarter if:
(i) (1) 50 percent or more of
the employment during the quarter is performed primarily in Minnesota;
(ii) (2) 50 percent or more of
the employment during the quarter is not performed primarily in
Minnesota or any other state, or Canada, but some of the employment is
performed in Minnesota and the base of operations or the place from which
the employment is directed or controlled is in Minnesota; or
(iii) the employment during the quarter
is not performed primarily in Minnesota or any other state and the base of
operations or place from which the employment is directed or controlled is not
in any state where part of the employment is performed, but the employee's
residence is in Minnesota during 50 percent or more of the calendar quarter;
(2)
an employee's entire employment during the calendar quarter performed within
the United States or Canada, if:
(i) the employment is not covered
employment under the unemployment insurance program of any other state, federal
law, or the law of Canada; and
(ii) the place from which the employment
is directed or controlled is in Minnesota;
(3) the employment during the calendar
quarter, is performed entirely outside the United States
and Canada, by an employee who is a United States citizen in the employ of an
American employer, if the employer's principal place of business in the
United States is located in Minnesota. For
the purposes of this clause, an "American employer," for
the purposes of this clause, means a corporation organized under the laws of
any state, an individual who is a resident of the United States, or a
partnership if two-thirds or more of the partners are residents of the United
States, or a trust, if all of the trustees are residents of the United States
is as defined under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, United States Code
title 26, chapter 23, section 3306, subsection (j)(3); and
(4)
all the employment during the calendar quarter is
performed by an officer or member of the crew of an American vessel on or in
connection with the vessel, if the operating on navigable waters within,
or within and without, the United States, and the office from which the
operations of the vessel operating on navigable waters within, or within and
without, the United States are ordinarily and regularly supervised, managed,
directed, and controlled is in Minnesota.
(b) "Covered employment" includes covered agricultural employment under subdivision 11.
(c) For the purposes of section 268.095, "covered employment" includes employment covered under an unemployment insurance program:
(1) of any other state; or
(2) established by an act of Congress.;
or
(3) the law of Canada.
(d) The percentage of employment
performed under paragraph (a) is determined by the amount of hours worked.
(e) Covered employment does not include
any employment defined as "noncovered employment" under subdivision
20.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 268.035, subdivision 20, is amended to read:
Subd. 20. Noncovered employment. "Noncovered employment" means:
(1) employment for the United States government or an instrumentality thereof, including military service;
(2) employment for a state, other than Minnesota, or a political subdivision or instrumentality thereof;
(3) employment for a foreign government;
(4) employment covered under the federal Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act;
(5) employment for a church or convention or association of churches, or a nonprofit organization operated primarily for religious purposes that is operated, supervised, controlled, or principally supported by a church or convention or association of churches;
(6) employment for an elementary or secondary school with a curriculum that includes religious education that is operated by a church, a convention or association of churches, or a nonprofit organization that is operated, supervised, controlled, or principally supported by a church or convention or association of churches;
(7) employment for Minnesota or a political subdivision, or a nonprofit organization, of a duly ordained or licensed minister of a church in the exercise of a ministry or by a member of a religious order in the exercise of duties required by the order;
(8) employment for Minnesota or a political subdivision, or a nonprofit organization, of an individual receiving rehabilitation of "sheltered" work in a facility conducted for the purpose of carrying out a program of rehabilitation for individuals whose earning capacity is impaired by age or physical or mental deficiency or injury or a program providing "sheltered" work for individuals who because of an impaired physical or mental capacity cannot be readily absorbed in the competitive labor market. This clause applies only to services performed in a facility certified by the Rehabilitation Services Branch of the department or in a day training or habilitation program licensed by the Department of Human Services;
(9) employment for Minnesota or a political subdivision, or a nonprofit organization, of an individual receiving work relief or work training as part of an unemployment work relief or work training program financed in whole or in part by any federal agency or an agency of a state or political subdivision thereof. This clause does not apply to programs that require unemployment benefit coverage for the participants;
(10) employment for Minnesota or a political subdivision, as an elected official, a member of a legislative body, or a member of the judiciary;
(11) employment as a member of the Minnesota National Guard or Air National Guard;
(12) employment for Minnesota or a political subdivision, or instrumentality thereof, of an individual serving on a temporary basis in case of fire, flood, tornado, or similar emergency;
(13) employment as an election official or election worker for Minnesota or a political subdivision, if the compensation for that employment was less than $1,000 in a calendar year;
(14) employment for Minnesota that is a major policy-making or advisory position in the unclassified service;
(15) employment for Minnesota in an unclassified position established under section 43A.08, subdivision 1a;
(16) employment for a political subdivision of Minnesota that is a nontenured major policy making or advisory position;
(17) domestic employment in a private household, local college club, or local chapter of a college fraternity or sorority, if the wages paid in any calendar quarter in either the current or prior calendar year to all individuals in domestic employment totaled less than $1,000.
"Domestic employment" includes all service in the operation and maintenance of a private household, for a local college club, or local chapter of a college fraternity or sorority as distinguished from service as an employee in the pursuit of an employer's trade or business;
(18) employment of an individual by a son, daughter, or spouse, and employment of a child under the age of 18 by the child's father or mother;
(19) employment of an inmate of a custodial or penal institution;
(20) employment for a school, college, or university, by a student who is enrolled and whose primary relation to the school, college, or university is as a student. This does not include an individual whose primary relation to the school, college, or university is as an employee who also takes courses;
(21) employment of an individual who is enrolled as a student in a full-time program at a nonprofit or public educational institution that maintains a regular faculty and curriculum and has a regularly organized body of students in attendance at the place where its educational activities are carried on, taken for credit at the institution, that combines academic instruction with work experience, if the employment is an integral part of the program, and the institution has so certified to the employer, except that this clause does not apply to employment in a program established for or on behalf of an employer or group of employers;
(22) employment of a foreign college or
university student who works on a seasonal or temporary basis under the J-1
visa summer work travel program described in Code of Federal Regulations, title
22, section 62.32;
(22) (23) employment of university, college, or professional school students in an internship or other training program with the city of St. Paul or the city of Minneapolis under Laws 1990, chapter 570, article 6, section 3;
(23) (24) employment for a
hospital by a patient of the hospital. "Hospital"
means an institution that has been licensed by the Department of Health as a
hospital;
(24) (25) employment as a
student nurse for a hospital or a nurses' training school by an individual who
is enrolled and is regularly attending classes in an accredited nurses'
training school;
(25) (26) employment as an
intern for a hospital by an individual who has completed a four-year course in
an accredited medical school;
(26) (27) employment as an
insurance salesperson, by other than a corporate officer, if all the wages from
the employment is solely by way of commission.
The word "insurance" includes an annuity and an optional
annuity;
(27) (28) employment as an
officer of a township mutual insurance company or farmer's mutual insurance
company under chapter 67A;
(28) (29) employment of a
corporate officer, if the officer directly or indirectly, including through a
subsidiary or holding company, owns 25 percent or more of the employer
corporation, and employment of a member of a limited liability company, if the
member directly or indirectly, including through a subsidiary or holding
company, owns 25 percent or more of the employer limited liability company;
(29) (30) employment as a real
estate salesperson, other than a corporate officer, if all the wages from the
employment is solely by way of commission;
(30) (31) employment as a
direct seller as defined in United States Code, title 26, section 3508;
(31) (32) employment of an
individual under the age of 18 in the delivery or distribution of newspapers or
shopping news, not including delivery or distribution to any point for
subsequent delivery or distribution;
(32) (33) casual employment performed
for an individual, other than domestic employment under clause (17), that does
not promote or advance that employer's trade or business;
(33) (34) employment in
"agricultural employment" unless it is "covered agricultural
employment" under subdivision 11; or
(34) (35) if employment during
one-half or more of any pay period was covered employment, all the employment
for the pay period is covered employment; but if during more than one-half of
any pay period the employment was noncovered employment, then all of the
employment for the pay period is noncovered employment. "Pay period" means a period of not
more than a calendar month for which a payment or compensation is ordinarily
made to the employee by the employer.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 268.051, subdivision 2a, is amended to read:
Subd. 2a. Unemployment
insurance tax limits reduction.
(a) If the balance in the trust fund on December 31 of any calendar
year is four percent or more above the amount equal to an average high cost
multiple of 1.0, future unemployment taxes payable must be reduced by all
amounts above 1.0. The amount of tax
reduction for any taxpaying employer is the same percentage of the total amount
above 1.0 as the percentage of taxes paid by the employer during the calendar
year is of the total amount of taxes that were paid by all nonmaximum
experience rated employers during the year except taxes paid by
employers assigned a tax rate equal to the maximum experience rating plus the
applicable base tax rate.
(b) For purposes of this subdivision, "average high cost multiple" has the meaning given in Code of Federal Regulations, title 20, section 606.3, as amended through December 31, 2015. An amount equal to an average high cost multiple of 1.0 is a federal measure of adequate reserves in relation to the state's current economy. The commissioner must calculate and publish, as soon as possible following December 31 of any calendar year, the trust fund balance on December 31 along with the amount an average high cost multiple of 1.0 equals. Actual wages paid must be used in the calculation and estimates may not be used.
(c) The unemployment tax reduction
under this subdivision does not apply to employers that were at assigned
a tax rate equal to the maximum experience rating plus the applicable
base tax rate for the year, nor to high experience rating industry
employers under subdivision 5, paragraph (b). Computations under paragraph (a) are not
subject to the rounding requirement of section 268.034. The refund provisions of section 268.057,
subdivision 7, do not apply.
(d) The unemployment tax reduction under
this subdivision applies to taxes paid payable between March 1
and December 15 of the year following the December 31 computation under
paragraph (a).
(e) The amount equal to the average
high cost multiple of 1.0 on December 31, 2012, must be used for the
calculation under paragraph (a) but only for the calculation made on December
31, 2015. Notwithstanding paragraph (d),
the tax reduction resulting from the application of this paragraph applies to
unemployment taxes paid between July 1, 2016, and June 30, 2017. If there was an experience rating history
transfer under subdivision 4, the successor employer must receive that portion
of the predecessor employer's tax reduction equal to that portion of the
experience rating history transferred. The
predecessor employer retains that portion of tax reduction not transferred to
the successor. This paragraph applies to
that portion of the tax reduction that remains unused at the time notice of
acquisition is provided under subdivision 4, paragraph (e).
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective July 1, 2018.
Sec. 4. ADDITIONAL
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS PROGRAM FOR WORKERS LAID OFF FROM INTERNATIONAL BILDRITE,
INC.
Subdivision 1. Availability
of additional benefits. Additional
unemployment benefits are available from the Minnesota unemployment insurance
trust fund to an applicant who was laid off due to lack of work between
December 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018, at International Bildrite, Inc. facilities
in International Falls.
Subd. 2. Eligibility
requirements. An applicant is
eligible to receive additional unemployment benefits under this section for any
week beginning April 1, 2018, through the week ending June 1, 2019, if:
(1) the applicant established a benefit
account under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.07, with a majority of the wage
credits from International Bildrite, Inc., and has exhausted the maximum amount
of regular unemployment benefits available on that benefit account; and
(2) the applicant meets the same
requirements that an applicant for regular unemployment benefits must meet
under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.069, subdivision 1.
Subd. 3. Weekly
and maximum amount of additional unemployment benefits. (a) The weekly benefit amount of
additional unemployment benefits is the same as the weekly benefit amount of
regular unemployment benefits on the benefit account established in subdivision
2, clause (1).
(b) The maximum amount of additional
unemployment benefits available to an applicant under this section is an amount
equal to 13 weeks of payment at the applicant's weekly additional unemployment
benefit amount.
(c)
If an applicant qualifies for a new regular benefit account that meets the
requirements of subdivision 4, paragraph (b), before the applicant has been
paid additional unemployment benefits, and that new regular benefit account
meets the requirements of subdivision 2, clause (1), the applicant's weekly
additional unemployment benefit amount is equal to the weekly unemployment
benefit amount on the applicant's new regular benefit account.
Subd. 4. Qualifying
for a new regular benefit account. (a)
If after exhausting the maximum amount of regular unemployment benefits
available as a result of the layoff under subdivision 1, an applicant qualifies
for the new regular benefit account under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.07,
the applicant must apply for and establish that new regular benefit account.
(b) If the applicant's weekly benefit
amount under the new regular benefit account is equal to or higher than the
applicant's weekly additional unemployment benefit amount, the applicant must
request unemployment benefits under the new regular benefit account. An applicant is ineligible for additional
unemployment benefits under this section until the applicant has exhausted the
maximum amount of unemployment benefits available on the new regular benefit
account.
(c) If the applicant's weekly
unemployment benefit amount on the new regular benefit account is less than the
applicant's weekly benefit amount of additional unemployment benefits, the
applicant must request additional unemployment benefits. An applicant is ineligible for new regular
unemployment benefits until the applicant has exhausted the maximum amount of
additional unemployment benefits available under this section.
Subd. 5. Charging
of benefits. Additional
unemployment benefits paid under this section must be used to compute the
future unemployment tax rate of a taxpaying employer or charged to the
reimbursing account of government or nonprofit employers.
Subd. 6. Eligibility
for federal Trade Readjustment Allowance benefits. An applicant who has applied and been
determined eligible for federal Trade Readjustment Allowance benefits is not
eligible for extended unemployment benefits under this section.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective the day following final enactment.
Sec. 5. EFFECTIVE
DATE.
Unless otherwise specified, this
article is effective September 16, 2018.
ARTICLE 15
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ADVISORY COUNCIL; INTEREST
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 268.057, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. Interest
on amounts past due. If any amounts
due from an employer under this chapter or section 116L.20, except late fees
under section 268.044, are not received on the date due the unpaid balance
bears the commissioner must assess interest on any amount that remains
unpaid. Interest is assessed
at the rate of one percent per month or any part of a month. Interest is not assessed on unpaid
interest. Interest collected under
this subdivision is credited to the contingent account.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective October 1, 2019.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 268.18, subdivision 2b, is amended to read:
Subd. 2b. Interest. On any unemployment benefits obtained by
misrepresentation, and any penalty amounts assessed under subdivision 2, the
commissioner must assess interest at the rate of one percent per month
on any amount that remains unpaid beginning 30 calendar days after the date of
a determination of overpayment penalty. Interest
is assessed at the rate of one percent per month or any part of a month. A determination of overpayment penalty must
state that interest will be assessed. Interest
is not assessed in the same manner as on employer debt under section
268.057, subdivision 5 on unpaid interest. Interest payments collected under this
subdivision are is credited to the trust fund.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective October 1, 2019.
Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE
DATE.
Unless otherwise specified, this
article is effective September 16, 2018.
ARTICLE 16
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ADVISORY COUNCIL; BASE PERIODS
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 268.035, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. Base period. (a) "Base period," unless otherwise provided in this subdivision, means the most recent four completed calendar quarters before the effective date of an applicant's application for unemployment benefits if the application has an effective date occurring after the month following the most recent completed calendar quarter. The base period under this paragraph is as follows:
|
If the application for unemployment benefits is effective on or between these dates: |
The base period is the prior: |
|
|
February 1 - March 31 |
|
January 1 - December 31 |
|
May 1 - June 30 |
|
April 1 - March 31 |
|
August 1 - September 30 |
|
July 1 - June 30 |
|
November 1 - December 31 |
|
October 1 - September 30 |
(b) If an application for unemployment benefits has an effective date that is during the month following the most recent completed calendar quarter, then the base period is the first four of the most recent five completed calendar quarters before the effective date of an applicant's application for unemployment benefits. The base period under this paragraph is as follows:
|
If the application for unemployment benefits is effective on or between these dates: |
The base period is the prior: |
|
|
January 1 - January 31 |
|
October 1 - September 30 |
|
April 1 - April 30 |
|
January 1 - December 31 |
|
July 1 - July 31 |
|
April 1 - March 31 |
|
October 1 - October 31 |
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July 1 - June 30 |
(c) Regardless of paragraph (a), a base period of the first four of the most recent five completed calendar quarters must be used if the applicant would have more wage credits under that base period than under a base period of the four most recent completed calendar quarters.
(d)
If the applicant under paragraph (b) has insufficient wage credits to establish
a benefit account, then a base period of the most recent four completed
calendar quarters before the effective date of the applicant's application for
unemployment benefits must be used.
(e) (d) If the applicant has
insufficient wage credits to establish a benefit account under a base period of
the four most recent completed calendar quarters, or a base period of the first
four of the most recent five completed calendar quarters, but during either
base period the applicant received workers' compensation for temporary
disability under chapter 176 or a similar federal law or similar law of another
state, or if the applicant whose own serious illness caused a loss of work for
which the applicant received compensation for loss of wages from some other
source, the applicant may request a base period as follows:
(1) if an applicant was compensated for a
loss of work of seven to 13 weeks, during a base period referred to
in paragraph (a) or (b), then the base period is the first four of the most
recent six completed calendar quarters before the effective date of the
application for unemployment benefits;
(2) if an applicant was compensated for a
loss of work of 14 to 26 weeks, during a base period referred to in
paragraph (a) or (b), then the base period is the first four of the most
recent seven completed calendar quarters before the effective date of the
application for unemployment benefits;
(3) if an applicant was compensated for a
loss of work of 27 to 39 weeks, during a base period referred to in
paragraph (a) or (b), then the base period is the first four of the most
recent eight completed calendar quarters before the effective date of the
application for unemployment benefits; and
(4) if an applicant was compensated for a
loss of work of 40 to 52 weeks, during a base period referred to in
paragraph (a) or (b), then the base period is the first four of the most
recent nine completed calendar quarters before the effective date of the
application for unemployment benefits.
(f) (e) No base period under
this subdivision may include wage credits upon which a prior benefit account
was established.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 268.07, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. Application for unemployment benefits; determination of benefit account. (a) An application for unemployment benefits may be filed in person, by mail, or by electronic transmission as the commissioner may require. The applicant must be unemployed at the time the application is filed and must provide all requested information in the manner required. If the applicant is not unemployed at the time of the application or fails to provide all requested information, the communication is not an application for unemployment benefits.
(b) The commissioner must examine each application for unemployment benefits to determine the base period and the benefit year, and based upon all the covered employment in the base period the commissioner must determine the weekly unemployment benefit amount available, if any, and the maximum amount of unemployment benefits available, if any. The determination, which is a document separate and distinct from a document titled a determination of eligibility or determination of ineligibility issued under section 268.101, must be titled determination of benefit account. A determination of benefit account must be sent to the applicant and all base period employers, by mail or electronic transmission.
(c) If a base period employer did not
provide wage detail information for the applicant as required under section
268.044, or provided erroneous information, or wage detail is not yet due
and the applicant is using a base period under section 268.035, subdivision 4,
paragraph (d), the commissioner may accept an applicant certification of
wage credits, based upon the applicant's records, and issue a determination of
benefit account.
(d)
An employer must provide wage detail information on an applicant within five
calendar days of request by the commissioner, in a manner and format requested,
when:
(1) the applicant is using a base
period under section 268.035, subdivision 4, paragraph (d); and
(2) wage detail under section 268.044
is not yet required to have been filed by the employer.
(e) (d) The commissioner may,
at any time within 24 months from the establishment of a benefit account,
reconsider any determination of benefit account and make an amended
determination if the commissioner finds that the wage credits listed in the
determination were incorrect for any reason.
An amended determination of benefit account must be promptly sent to the
applicant and all base period employers, by mail or electronic transmission. This subdivision does not apply to documents
titled determinations of eligibility or determinations of ineligibility issued
under section 268.101.
(f) (e) If an amended
determination of benefit account reduces the weekly unemployment benefit amount
or maximum amount of unemployment benefits available, any unemployment benefits
that have been paid greater than the applicant was entitled is an overpayment
of unemployment benefits. A
determination or amended determination issued under this section that results
in an overpayment of unemployment benefits must set out the amount of the
overpayment and the requirement under section 268.18, subdivision 1, that the
overpaid unemployment benefits must be repaid.
Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE
DATE.
Unless otherwise specified, this
article is effective September 16, 2018.
ARTICLE 17
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE ADVISORY COUNCIL; HOUSEKEEPING
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 268.035, subdivision 15, is amended to read:
Subd. 15. Employment. (a) "Employment" means service performed by:
(1) an individual who is an employee under the common law of employer-employee and not an independent contractor;
(2) an officer of a corporation;
(3) a
member of a limited liability company who is an employee under the common law
of employer-employee; or
(4)
an individual who is an employee under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act,
United States Code, title 26, chapter 21, sections 3121 (d)(3)(A) and
3121 (d)(3)(D); or
(4) (5) product demonstrators
in retail stores or other locations to aid in the sale of products. The person that pays the wages is the
employer.
(b) Employment does not include service as a juror.
(c) Construction industry employment is defined in subdivision 9a. Trucking and messenger/courier industry employment is defined in subdivision 25b. Rules on determining worker employment status are described under Minnesota Rules, chapter 3315.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 268.044, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. Failure to timely file report; late fees. (a) Any employer that fails to submit the quarterly wage detail report when due must pay a late fee of $10 per employee, computed based upon the highest of:
(1) the number of employees reported on the last wage detail report submitted;
(2) the number of employees reported in the corresponding quarter of the prior calendar year; or
(3) if no wage detail report has ever been submitted, the number of employees listed at the time of employer registration.
The late fee is canceled if the wage detail report is received within 30 calendar days after a demand for the report is sent to the employer by mail or electronic transmission. A late fee assessed an employer may not be canceled more than twice each 12 months. The amount of the late fee assessed may not be less than $250.
(b) If the wage detail report is not received in a manner and format prescribed by the commissioner within 30 calendar days after demand is sent under paragraph (a), the late fee assessed under paragraph (a) doubles and a renewed demand notice and notice of the increased late fee will be sent to the employer by mail or electronic transmission.
(c) Late fees due under this subdivision may
be canceled, in whole or in part, under section 268.066 where good cause for
late submission is found by the commissioner 268.067.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 268.047, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Exceptions for taxpaying employers. Unemployment benefits paid will not be used in computing the future tax rate of a taxpaying base period employer when:
(1) the applicant's wage credits from that employer are less than $500;
(2) the applicant quit the employment, unless
it was determined under section 268.095, to have been because of a good reason
caused by the employer or because the employer notified the applicant of
discharge within 30 calendar days. This
exception applies only to unemployment benefits paid for periods after
the applicant's quitting the employment and, if the applicant is rehired by
the employer, continues only until the beginning of the week the applicant is
rehired; or
(3) the employer discharged the applicant
from employment because of employment misconduct as determined under section
268.095. This exception applies only
to unemployment benefits paid for periods after the applicant's discharge from
employment and, if the applicant is rehired by the employer, continues only
until the beginning of the week the applicant is rehired.
EFFECTIVE
DATE. This section is
effective October 1, 2019.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 268.059, is amended to read:
268.059
GARNISHMENT FOR DELINQUENT TAXES AND UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT OVERPAYMENTS.
Subdivision 1. Notice
Authority. The
commissioner may give notice to any employer that an employee owes any amounts
due under this chapter or section 116L.20, and that the obligation should be
withheld from the employee's wages. The
commissioner may proceed only if the amount due is uncontested or if the time
for any appeal has expired. The
commissioner may garnish an employee's wages to collect amounts due under this
chapter or section 116L.20, as set forth in this section. Chapter 571 does not apply, except as
referenced in this section.
Subd. 1a. Notice. The commissioner may not proceed with
a garnishment until 30 calendar days after sending to the debtor employee,
by mail or electronic transmission, a notice of intent to garnish wages and
exemption notice. That notice must list
include:
(1) the amount due from the debtor;
(2) demand for immediate payment; and
(3) the intention to serve a garnishment notice on the debtor's employer.
The notice expires 180 calendar days after
it has been sent to the debtor provided that the notice may be renewed by
sending a new notice that is in accordance with this section. The renewed notice has the effect of
reinstating the priority of the original notice. The exemption notice must be in
substantially the same form as in section 571.72. The exemption notice must inform the
debtor of the right to claim exemptions contained in section 550.37,
subdivision 14. If no claim of
exemption is received by the commissioner within 30 calendar days after sending
of the notice, the commissioner may proceed with the garnishment. The notice to the debtor's employer may be
served by mail or electronic transmission and must be in substantially the same
form as in section 571.75.
Subd. 2. Employer
action. (a) Thirty calendar days
after sending the notice of intent to garnish, the commissioner may send to the
debtor's employer, by mail or electronic transmission, a notice of garnishment,
including a worksheet for determining the amount to be withheld from wages each
pay period. The amount to be withheld
from wages is subject to the limitations in section 571.922. Upon receipt of the garnishment notice, the
employer must withhold from the earnings wages due or to become
due to the employee, the amount shown on the notice plus accrued interest,
subject to section 571.922 determined by the employer plus accrued
interest. The employer must continue
to withhold each pay period the amount shown on the notice determined
by the employer plus accrued interest until the garnishment notice is
released by the commissioner. Upon
receipt of notice by the employer, the claim of the commissioner has priority
over any subsequent garnishments or wage assignments. The commissioner may arrange between the
employer and employee for withholding a portion of the total amount due the
employee each pay period, agree to accept a withholding amount that is
less than the amount determined by the employer on the worksheet until the
total amount shown on the notice due plus accrued interest has
been withheld.
(b) The "earnings due"
any employee For the purposes of this section, "wages" is
as defined in section 571.921 268.035, subdivision 29.
(b) (c) The maximum
garnishment allowed for any one pay period must be decreased by any amounts
payable under any other garnishment action served before the garnishment
notice, and any amounts covered by any irrevocable and previously effective
assignment of wages;. The
employer must give notice to the commissioner of the amounts and the facts
relating to the other garnishment or assignment within ten calendar
days after the service of the garnishment notice on the form worksheet
provided by the commissioner.
(c) (d) Within ten calendar
days after the expiration of the pay period, the employer must remit to the
commissioner, on a form and in the manner prescribed by the commissioner, the
amount withheld during each pay period.
Subd. 3. Discharge
or discipline prohibited. (a) If the
employee ceases to be employed by the employer before the full amount set
forth on the garnishment notice due plus accrued interest has been
withheld, the employer must immediately notify the commissioner in writing or
by electronic transmission, as prescribed by the commissioner, of the
termination date of the employee and the total amount withheld. No employer may discharge or discipline any
employee because the commissioner has proceeded under this section. If an employer discharges an employee in
violation of this section, the employee has the same remedy as provided in
section 571.927, subdivision 2.
(b) This section applies if the employer is the state of Minnesota or any political subdivision.
(c) The commissioner must refund to the employee any excess amounts withheld from the employee.
(d) An employer that fails or refuses to comply with this section is jointly and severally liable for the total amount due from the employee. Any amount due from the employer under this paragraph may be collected in the same manner as any other amounts due from an employer under this chapter.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 268.085, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. Vacation and sick payments that delay unemployment benefits. (a) An applicant is not eligible to receive unemployment benefits for any week the applicant is receiving, has received, or will receive vacation pay, sick pay, or personal time off pay, also known as "PTO."
This paragraph only applies upon
temporary, indefinite, or seasonal separation and does not apply:
(1) upon a permanent separation from employment; or
(2) to payments from a vacation fund administered by a union or a third party not under the control of the employer.
Payments under this paragraph subdivision
are applied to the period immediately following the temporary, indefinite,
or seasonal separation. later of
the date of separation from employment or the date the applicant first becomes
aware that the employer will be making a payment. The date the payment is actually made or
received, or that an applicant must agree to a release of claims, does not
affect the application of this paragraph.
(b) This subdivision applies to all the
weeks of payment. The weeks of payment
is determined as follows:
(1) if the payments are made
periodically, the total of the payments to be received is divided by the
applicant's last level of regular weekly pay from the employer; or
(2) if the payment is made in a lump
sum, that sum is divided by the applicant's last level of regular weekly pay
from the employer.
The "last level of regular weekly
pay" includes commissions, bonuses, and overtime pay if that is part of
the applicant's ongoing regular compensation.
(c) Under this subdivision, if the
payment with respect to a week is equal to or more than the applicant's weekly
unemployment benefit amount, the applicant is ineligible for benefits for that
week. If the payment with respect to a
week is less than the applicant's weekly unemployment benefit amount,
unemployment benefits are reduced by the amount of the payment.
(b) (d) An applicant is not
eligible to receive unemployment benefits for any week the applicant is
receiving, has received, or will receive severance pay, bonus pay, or any other
payments paid by an employer because of, upon, or after separation from
employment.
This paragraph only applies if the payment is:
(1) considered wages under section 268.035, subdivision 29; or
(2) subject to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax imposed to fund Social Security and Medicare.
Payments under this paragraph are applied to the period immediately following the later of the date of separation from employment or the date the applicant first becomes aware that the employer will be making a payment. The date the payment is actually made or received, or that an applicant must agree to a release of claims, does not affect the application of this paragraph.
This paragraph does not apply to earnings under subdivision 5, back pay under subdivision 6, or vacation pay, sick pay, or personal time off pay under paragraph (a).
(e) Paragraph (a) applies to all the
weeks of payment. The weeks of payment
is determined in accordance with subdivision 3, paragraph (b).
(f) Under this subdivision, if the
payment with respect to a week is equal to or more than the applicant's weekly
unemployment benefit amount, the applicant is ineligible for benefits for that
week. If the payment with respect to a
week is less than the applicant's weekly unemployment benefit amount,
unemployment benefits are reduced by the amount of the payment.
(c) (g) An applicant is not
eligible to receive unemployment benefits for any week the applicant is
receiving, has received, will receive, or has applied for pension, retirement,
or annuity payments from any plan contributed to by a base period employer
including the United States government. The
base period employer is considered to have contributed to the plan if the
contribution is excluded from the definition of wages under section 268.035,
subdivision 29. If the pension,
retirement, or annuity payment is paid in a lump sum, an applicant is not
considered to have received a payment if:
(1) the applicant immediately deposits that payment in a qualified pension plan or account; or
(2) that payment is an early distribution for which the applicant paid an early distribution penalty under the Internal Revenue Code, United States Code, title 26, section 72(t)(1).
This paragraph does not apply to Social Security benefits under subdivision 4 or 4a.
(d) (h) This subdivision
applies to all the weeks of payment. The
number of weeks of payment is determined as follows:
(1) if the payments are made
periodically, the total of the payments to be received is divided by the
applicant's last level of regular weekly pay from the employer; or
(2) If the payment is made in a lump
sum, that sum is divided by the applicant's last level of regular weekly pay
from the employer to determine the weeks of payment.
For purposes of this paragraph subdivision,
the "last level of regular weekly pay" includes commissions,
bonuses, and overtime pay if that is part of the applicant's ongoing regular
compensation.
(e) (i) Under this subdivision,
if the payment with respect to a week is equal to or more than the applicant's
weekly unemployment benefit amount, the applicant is ineligible for benefits
for that week. If the payment with
respect to a week is less than the applicant's weekly unemployment benefit
amount, unemployment benefits are reduced by the amount of the payment.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 268.085, subdivision 3a, is amended to read:
Subd. 3a. Workers' compensation and disability insurance offset. (a) An applicant is not eligible to receive unemployment benefits for any week in which the applicant is receiving or has received compensation for loss of wages equal to or in excess of the applicant's weekly unemployment benefit amount under:
(1) the workers' compensation law of this state;
(2) the workers' compensation law of any other state or similar federal law; or
(3) any insurance or trust fund paid in whole or in part by an employer.
(b) This subdivision does not apply to an
applicant who has a claim pending for loss of wages under paragraph (a);
however, before unemployment benefits may be paid when a claim is pending, the
issue of the applicant being available for suitable employment, as required
under subdivision 1, clause (4), is must be determined under
section 268.101, subdivision 2. If the
applicant later receives compensation as a result of the pending claim, the
applicant is subject to the provisions of paragraph (a) and the
unemployment benefits paid are subject to recoupment by the commissioner to
the extent that the compensation constitutes overpaid unemployment benefits
under section 268.18, subdivision 1.
(c) If the amount of compensation described under paragraph (a) for any week is less than the applicant's weekly unemployment benefit amount, unemployment benefits requested for that week are reduced by the amount of that compensation payment.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 268.085, subdivision 13a, is amended to read:
Subd. 13a. Leave of absence. (a) An applicant on a voluntary leave of absence is ineligible for unemployment benefits for the duration of the leave of absence. An applicant on an involuntary leave of absence is not ineligible under this subdivision.
A leave of absence is voluntary when work that the applicant can then perform is available with the applicant's employer but the applicant chooses not to work. A medical leave of absence is not presumed to be voluntary.
(b) A period of vacation requested by the applicant, paid or unpaid, is a voluntary leave of absence. A vacation period assigned by an employer under: (1) a uniform vacation shutdown; (2) a collective bargaining agreement; or (3) an established employer policy, is an involuntary leave of absence.
(c) A leave of absence is a temporary
stopping of work that has been approved by the employer. A voluntary leave of absence is not a
quit and an involuntary leave of absence is not or a discharge
from employment for purposes of.
Section 268.095 does not apply to a leave of absence.
(d) An applicant who is on a paid leave of absence, whether the leave of absence is voluntary or involuntary, is ineligible for unemployment benefits for the duration of the leave.
(e) This subdivision applies to a leave of absence from a base period employer, an employer during the period between the end of the base period and the effective date of the benefit account, or an employer during the benefit year.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 2017 Supplement, section 268.095, subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. Employment
misconduct defined. (a) Employment
misconduct means any intentional, negligent, or indifferent conduct, on the job
or off the job, that displays clearly:
(1)
is a serious violation of the standards of behavior the employer has the
right to reasonably expect of the employee; or.
(2) a substantial lack of concern for
the employment.
(b) Regardless of paragraph (a), the following is not employment misconduct:
(1) conduct that was a consequence of the applicant's mental illness or impairment;
(2) conduct that was a consequence of the applicant's inefficiency or inadvertence;
(3) simple unsatisfactory conduct;
(4) conduct an average reasonable employee would have engaged in under the circumstances;
(5) conduct that was a consequence of the applicant's inability or incapacity;
(6) good faith errors in judgment if judgment was required;
(7) absence because of illness or injury of the applicant, with proper notice to the employer;
(8) absence, with proper notice to the employer, in order to provide necessary care because of the illness, injury, or disability of an immediate family member of the applicant;
(9) conduct that was a consequence of the applicant's chemical dependency, unless the applicant was previously diagnosed chemically dependent or had treatment for chemical dependency, and since that diagnosis or treatment has failed to make consistent efforts to control the chemical dependency; or
(10) conduct that was a consequence of the applicant, or an immediate family member of the applicant, being a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. For the purposes of this subdivision, "domestic abuse," "sexual assault," and "stalking" have the meanings given them in subdivision 1.
(c) Regardless of paragraph (b), clause (9),
conduct in violation of sections 169A.20, 169A.31, 169A.50 to 169A.53, or
171.177 that interferes with or adversely affects the employment is
employment misconduct.
(d) If the conduct for which the applicant was discharged involved only a single incident, that is an important fact that must be considered in deciding whether the conduct rises to the level of employment misconduct under paragraph (a). This paragraph does not require that a determination under section 268.101 or decision under section 268.105 contain a specific acknowledgment or explanation that this paragraph was considered.
(e) The definition of employment misconduct provided by this subdivision is exclusive and no other definition applies.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 268.095, subdivision 6a, is amended to read:
Subd. 6a. Aggravated
employment misconduct defined. (a) For
the purpose of this section, "aggravated employment misconduct"
means: