1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; expanding the duties of 
  1.3             the board of government innovation and cooperation to 
  1.4             study eliminating unfunded state mandates; 
  1.5             appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
  1.6             section 465.796, subdivision 2. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 465.796, 
  1.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 2.  [DUTIES OF BOARD.] The board shall: 
  1.11     (1) accept applications from local government units for 
  1.12  waivers of administrative rules and temporary, limited 
  1.13  exemptions from enforcement of procedural requirements in state 
  1.14  law as provided in section 465.797, and determine whether to 
  1.15  approve, modify, or reject the application; 
  1.16     (2) accept applications for grants to local government 
  1.17  units and related organizations proposing to design models or 
  1.18  plans for innovative service delivery and management as provided 
  1.19  in section 465.798 and determine whether to approve, modify, or 
  1.20  reject the application; 
  1.21     (3) accept applications from local government units for 
  1.22  financial assistance to enable them to plan for cooperative 
  1.23  efforts as provided in section 465.799, and determine whether to 
  1.24  approve, modify, or reject the application; 
  1.25     (4) accept applications from eligible local government 
  1.26  units for service-sharing grants as provided in section 465.801, 
  2.1   and determine whether to approve, modify, or reject the 
  2.2   application; 
  2.3      (5) accept applications from counties, cities, and towns 
  2.4   proposing to combine under sections 465.81 to 465.87, and 
  2.5   determine whether to approve or disapprove the application; and 
  2.6      (6) make recommendations to the legislature regarding the 
  2.7   elimination of state mandates that inhibit local government 
  2.8   efficiency, innovation, and cooperation. by prescribing specific 
  2.9   processes for achieving a desired outcome; 
  2.10     (7) investigate and review the role of unfunded state 
  2.11  mandates in intergovernmental relations and assess their impact 
  2.12  on state and local government objectives and responsibilities; 
  2.13     (8) make recommendations to the governor and the 
  2.14  legislature regarding: 
  2.15     (i) allowing flexibility for local units of government in 
  2.16  complying with specific unfunded state mandates for which terms 
  2.17  of compliance are unnecessarily rigid or complex; 
  2.18     (ii) reconciling any two or more unfunded state mandates 
  2.19  which impose contradictory or inconsistent requirements; 
  2.20     (iii) terminating unfunded state mandates which are 
  2.21  duplicative, obsolete, or lacking in practical utility; 
  2.22     (iv) suspending, on a temporary basis, unfunded state 
  2.23  mandates which are not vital to public health and safety and 
  2.24  which compound the fiscal difficulties of local units of 
  2.25  government, including recommendations for triggering such 
  2.26  suspension; 
  2.27     (v) consolidating or simplifying unfunded state mandate, or 
  2.28  the planning or reporting requirements of such mandates, in 
  2.29  order to reduce duplication and facilitate compliance by local 
  2.30  units of government with those mandates; and 
  2.31     (vi) establishing common state definitions or standards to 
  2.32  be used by local units of government in complying with unfunded 
  2.33  state mandates that use different definitions or standards for 
  2.34  the same terms or principles; and 
  2.35     (9) identification of relevant unfunded state mandates. 
  2.36     Each recommendation under clause (8) shall, to the extent 
  3.1   practicable, identify the specific unfunded state mandates to 
  3.2   which the recommendation applies.  The heads of state agencies 
  3.3   responsible for the promulgation or enforcement of the unfunded 
  3.4   mandates addressed in clauses (6) to (9) shall assign staff to 
  3.5   assist the board in carrying out the board's duties under this 
  3.6   section. 
  3.7   The board may purchase services from the metropolitan council in 
  3.8   reviewing requests for waivers and grant applications. 
  3.9      Sec. 2.  [REPORT.] 
  3.10     The board shall prepare and distribute a report to the 
  3.11  governor and legislature by November 15, 1995, containing 
  3.12  recommended legislation to accomplish the goals of Minnesota 
  3.13  Statutes, section 465.796, subdivision 2, clauses (7) to (9). 
  3.14     Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.15     $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the board 
  3.16  of government innovation and cooperation for the purpose of 
  3.17  implementing sections 1 and 2 to be available for the biennium 
  3.18  ending June 30, 1997.