Minnesota Session Laws - 1995, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 232-S.F.No. 759 
                  An act relating to economic development; changing 
                  certain departmental operating procedures; altering 
                  the corporate structure of Advantage Minnesota, Inc.; 
                  clarifying economic development authority powers; 
                  amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 116J.58, 
                  subdivision 1; 116J.693, subdivisions 2, 3, 4, and 5; 
                  116N.02, subdivision 1; 116N.06; and 446A.03, 
                  subdivision 4. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.58, 
        subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [ENUMERATION.] The commissioner shall: 
           (1) investigate, study, and undertake ways and means of 
        promoting and encouraging the prosperous development and 
        protection of the legitimate interest and welfare of Minnesota 
        business, industry, and commerce, within and outside the state; 
           (2) locate markets for manufacturers and processors and aid 
        merchants in locating and contacting markets; 
           (3) investigate and study conditions affecting Minnesota 
        business, industry, and commerce and collect and disseminate 
        information, and engage in technical studies, scientific 
        investigations, and statistical research and educational 
        activities necessary or useful for the proper execution of the 
        powers and duties of the commissioner in promoting and 
        developing Minnesota business, industry, and commerce, both 
        within and outside the state; 
           (4) plan and develop an effective business information 
        service both for the direct assistance of business and industry 
        of the state and for the encouragement of business and industry 
        outside the state to use economic facilities within the state; 
           (5) compile, collect, and develop periodically, or 
        otherwise make available, information relating to current 
        business conditions; 
           (6) conduct or encourage research designed to further new 
        and more extensive uses of the natural and other resources of 
        the state and designed to develop new products and industrial 
        processes; 
           (7) study trends and developments in the industries of the 
        state and analyze the reasons underlying the trends; study costs 
        and other factors affecting successful operation of businesses 
        within the state; and make recommendations regarding 
        circumstances promoting or hampering business and industrial 
        development; 
           (8) serve as a clearing house for business and industrial 
        problems of the state; and advise small business enterprises 
        regarding improved methods of accounting and bookkeeping; 
           (9) cooperate with interstate commissions engaged in 
        formulating and promoting the adoption of interstate compacts 
        and agreements helpful to business, industry, and commerce; 
           (10) cooperate with other state departments, and with 
        boards, commissions, and other state agencies, in the 
        preparation and coordination of plans and policies for the 
        development of the state and for the use and conservation of its 
        resources insofar as the use, conservation, and development may 
        be appropriately directed or influenced by a state agency; 
           (11) assemble and coordinate information relative to the 
        status, scope, cost, and employment possibilities and the 
        availability of materials, equipment, and labor in connection 
        with public works projects, state, county, and municipal; 
        recommend limitations on the public works; gather current 
        progress information with reference to public and private works 
        projects of the state and its political subdivisions with 
        reference to conditions of employment; inquire into and report 
        to the governor, when requested by the governor, with respect to 
        any program of public state improvements and the financing 
        thereof; and request and obtain information from other state 
        departments or agencies as may be needed properly to report 
        thereon; 
           (12) study changes in population and current trends and 
        prepare plans and suggest policies for the development and 
        conservation of the resources of the state; 
           (13) confer and cooperate with the executive, legislative, 
        or planning authorities of the United States and neighboring 
        states and provinces and of the counties and municipalities of 
        such neighboring states, for the purpose of bringing about a 
        coordination between the development of such neighboring 
        provinces, states, counties, and municipalities and the 
        development of this state; 
           (14) generally, gather, compile, and make available 
        statistical information relating to business, trade, commerce, 
        industry, transportation, communication, natural resources, and 
        other like subjects in this state, with authority to call upon 
        other departments of the state for statistical data and results 
        obtained by them and to arrange and compile that statistical 
        information in a manner that seems wise; 
           (15) prepare an annual report to the legislature estimating 
        and, to the extent possible, describing the number of Minnesota 
        companies which have left the state or moved to surrounding 
        states or other countries.  The report should include an 
        estimate of the number of jobs lost by these moves, an estimate 
        of the total employment payroll, average hourly wage of those 
        jobs lost and those created in the new location, and to the 
        extent possible, the reasons for each company moving out of 
        state, if known; 
           (16) publish documents and annually convene regional 
        meetings to inform businesses, local government units, 
        assistance providers, and other interested persons of changes in 
        state and federal law related to economic development; 
           (17) annually convene conferences of providers of economic 
        development related financial and technical assistance for the 
        purposes of exchanging information on economic development 
        assistance, coordinating economic development activities, and 
        formulating economic development strategies; 
           (18) provide business with information on the economic 
        benefits of energy conservation and on the availability of 
        energy conservation assistance; and 
           (19) prepare, as part of biennial budget process with an 
        annual interim summary for the legislature, performance measures 
        for each business loan or grant program within the jurisdiction 
        of the commissioner.  Measures would include source of funds for 
        each program, numbers of jobs proposed or promised at the time 
        of application and the number of jobs created, estimated number 
        of jobs retained, the average salary and benefits for the jobs 
        resulting from the program, estimated number of jobs displaced, 
        if any, and the number of projects approved. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.693, 
        subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2.  [BOARD OF DIRECTORS.] (a) Advantage Minnesota, 
        Inc. shall be governed by a board of directors consisting 
        of voting and nonvoting members of.  
           (b) The voting members of the board shall be:  
           (1) representatives of business, professional, and industry 
        organizations that have been certified by the commissioner, 
        including Minnesota business and industry and labor 
        organizations as having made a financial contribution to 
        Advantage Minnesota, Inc. for their period of service in 
        accordance with matching funds requirements established by the 
        commissioner; 
           (2) representatives of labor organizations and educational 
        institutions, if any, as designated from time to time by the 
        board; 
           (3) the governor or a designee of the governor; 
           (4) the commissioner; and serving as 
           (5) other persons, if any, as designated from time to time 
        by the board.  
           (c) The nonvoting members representing the legislature, of 
        the board shall be the majority and minority leaders of the 
        senate and, the speaker of the house of representatives and the 
        minority leader of the house of representatives, or their 
        designees.  
           (d) Meetings of the board are subject to section 471.705. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.693, 
        subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 3.  [EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE; EMPLOYEES.] (a) The board 
        of directors, by resolution adopted by the affirmative vote of a 
        majority of the directors, shall create an executive committee 
        of ten 12 members of the board including the commissioner, the 
        vice-chair of the board of directors, and two members of the 
        legislature.  The executive director president of the 
        corporation shall be appointed by the executive committee and 
        ratified by the board.  The executive committee shall oversee 
        the daily operations of the corporation. 
           (b) Meetings of the executive committee is are subject to 
        section 471.705 except when security, trade secret, potential 
        client lists, pending proposals, negotiations, employee matters, 
        or labor relations information are discussed.  
           (c) The employees of the corporation are not state 
        employees. 
           Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.693, 
        subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 4.  [BYLAWS.] Bylaws of Advantage Minnesota, Inc. 
        shall provide, at a minimum, for staggered terms of not less 
        than four years for directors, for the qualification and removal 
        of directors, and for filling vacancies on the board in a manner 
        not inconsistent with this section. 
           Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116J.693, 
        subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 5.  [OTHER COMMITTEES.] The board of directors 
        executive committee may, by resolution, create one or more 
        committees, each consisting of five directors designated by the 
        board of directors executive committee.  The duties, 
        responsibilities, and limitations of each committee shall be 
        outlined in the resolution creating such committees. 
           Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116N.02, 
        subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [MEMBERSHIP.] The rural development board 
        consists of the commissioner of trade and economic development, 
        the commissioner of economic security, the commissioner of 
        agriculture, the president of the Minnesota Technology, Inc. 
        board, the chancellor of vocational technical education, the 
        chancellor of the state university board, the chancellor of the 
        state board for community colleges, the president of the 
        University of Minnesota or the president's designee, the chair 
        of the regional advisory committee, and six members from the 
        general public appointed by the governor, with at least one 
        public member from each of the regions established in section 
        116N.08.  Two of the public members must be local elected 
        officials.  Two of the public members must be members of farm 
        organizations.  One public member must represent the interests 
        of business, and one public member must represent the interests 
        of organized labor. 
           Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 116N.06, is 
        amended to read: 
           116N.06 [RURAL INVESTMENT GUIDE.] 
           The board, after appropriate study and public hearings as 
        necessary, shall adopt a comprehensive state rural investment 
        guide consisting of policy statements, objectives, standards, 
        and program criteria to guide state agencies in establishing and 
        implementing programs relating to rural development.  The guide 
        must recognize the community and economic needs, the food and 
        agricultural policy, and the resources of rural Minnesota, and 
        provide a plan to coordinate and allocate public and private 
        resources to the rural areas of the state.  The board shall 
        submit the guide to the appropriate committees of the 
        legislature.  The guide shall be prepared every fourth year. 
           Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 446A.03, 
        subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 4.  [BOARD ACTIONS.] (a) A majority of the authority, 
        excluding vacancies, constitutes a quorum to conduct its 
        business, to exercise its powers, and for all other purposes.  
           (b) The board may conduct its business by any technological 
        means available, including teleconference calls or interactive 
        video, that allows for an interaction between members.  If a 
        meeting is conducted under this paragraph, a specific location 
        must be available for the public to attend the meeting and at 
        least one member must be present at that location. 
           Presented to the governor May 23, 1995 
           Signed by the governor May 25, 1995, 8:45 a.m.