1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to state government; establishing the 
  1.3             Minnesota quality college program in the department of 
  1.4             employee relations; appropriating money; proposing 
  1.5             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 43A. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [43A.211] [MINNESOTA QUALITY COLLEGE.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [PURPOSE; GOALS.] The Minnesota quality 
  1.9   college is a program in the department of employee relations to 
  1.10  provide information on continuous quality improvement training 
  1.11  resources to state officials and employees in executive 
  1.12  agencies.  It is managed by the board established by subdivision 
  1.13  2.  The purpose of the program is to help agencies, officials, 
  1.14  and employees achieve the mission and goals of their 
  1.15  governmental unit, improve government's responsiveness to 
  1.16  citizens, increase workplace innovation at the employee level, 
  1.17  increase productivity, improve public leadership and employee 
  1.18  involvement, and build pride in public service.  Its goals are 
  1.19  to encourage cost savings and cost sharing among its clients, to 
  1.20  help clients ensure that money for quality improvement training 
  1.21  is wisely spent, and to develop and maintain a curriculum that 
  1.22  provides a base for the continuous improvement of quality skills 
  1.23  in Minnesota's public workforce.  The curriculum must be based 
  1.24  on a philosophy of quality that has these components:  customer 
  1.25  focus, continuous improvement, and employee empowerment and 
  2.1   leadership.  The board shall assure that state agencies and 
  2.2   employees have access to and are provided with information on 
  2.3   quality resources, encourage sharing and interagency 
  2.4   cooperation, and provide high-quality and ongoing training on 
  2.5   how to apply the philosophy of quality in public service.  
  2.6      Subd. 2.  [MANAGEMENT.] The commissioner shall convene a 
  2.7   board to manage the college.  The board must consist of the 
  2.8   commissioner; a commissioner from another agency appointed by 
  2.9   the governor; a private citizen experienced in the application 
  2.10  of the quality philosophy, appointed by the governor; a 
  2.11  representative of the exclusive representatives of employees in 
  2.12  the executive branch, selected by the exclusive representatives; 
  2.13  and two representatives of management-level executive agency 
  2.14  employees, selected by the commissioner.  The board shall take 
  2.15  action based on a consensus of its members present.  The board 
  2.16  shall identify training needs and potential resources to provide 
  2.17  different levels of training depending on the requirements and 
  2.18  stage of development of each customer.  Levels of training may 
  2.19  include basic quality training, special management training, 
  2.20  refresher courses, coaching, organizational culture change, and 
  2.21  applying quality tools.  The board shall attempt to design a 
  2.22  model curriculum, specific components and resources to achieve 
  2.23  the curriculum, and specific programs within that curriculum to 
  2.24  meet the expressed needs of customers. 
  2.25     Subd. 3.  [CUSTOMERS.] The primary customers of the college 
  2.26  are Minnesota state agencies, officials, and employees.  The 
  2.27  board may extend services to local governmental units, federal 
  2.28  agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations 
  2.29  within Minnesota, but shall first assure that the needs of their 
  2.30  primary customers are adequately met.  The curriculum must be 
  2.31  organized to meet the needs of five separate groups of 
  2.32  customers:  elected officials, appointed officials, managers, 
  2.33  quality professionals, and public employees. 
  2.34     Subd. 4.  [SUPPLIERS.] The board may draw upon a range of 
  2.35  training resources, including: 
  2.36     (1) staff of the customer agency itself; 
  3.1      (2) other agencies, including courses offered by the 
  3.2   department or the organizational analysis services of the 
  3.3   management analysis division of the department of 
  3.4   administration; 
  3.5      (3) Minnesota public and private higher education 
  3.6   institutions; 
  3.7      (4) private consultants; 
  3.8      (5) professional organizations; and 
  3.9      (6) local governmental units and federal agencies. 
  3.10     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  3.11     The following amounts are appropriated from the general 
  3.12  fund to the department of employee relations for the purposes of 
  3.13  this act:  $250,000 for fiscal year 1996; and $250,000 for 
  3.14  fiscal year 1997.