1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to economic development; authorizing grants 
  1.3             to employers that hire graduates of certain job 
  1.4             training programs; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.5             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116J. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [116J.996] [JOB TRAINING GRANT.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [GRANTS ALLOWED.] (a) Job training program 
  1.9   grants may be paid to employers equal to the sum of: 
  1.10     (1) placement fees paid to a job training program upon 
  1.11  hiring a qualified graduate of the program; and 
  1.12     (2) retention fees paid to a job training program for 
  1.13  retention of a qualified graduate of the program. 
  1.14     (b) The maximum placement fee qualifying for a grant under 
  1.15  this section is $8,000 per qualified graduate in the year 
  1.16  hired.  The maximum retention fee qualifying for aid under this 
  1.17  section is $6,000 per qualified graduate retained as an employee 
  1.18  per year.  Only retention fees paid in the second and third 
  1.19  years after the qualified graduate is hired qualify for a grant. 
  1.20     (c) Grants are allowed only up to the dollar amount of 
  1.21  credit certificates issued under subdivision 7 and provided by 
  1.22  the job training program to the employer. 
  1.23     (d) The total amount of grants under this section is 
  1.24  limited to $1,867,000 per biennium. 
  1.25     Subd. 2.  [QUALIFIED JOB TRAINING PROGRAM.] (a) To qualify 
  2.1   for grants under this section, a job training program must 
  2.2   satisfy the requirements in paragraphs (b) to (h). 
  2.3      (b) It must be operated by a nonprofit corporation that 
  2.4   qualifies under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 
  2.5      (c) The organization must spend at least $5,000 per 
  2.6   graduate of the program. 
  2.7      (d) The program must provide education and training in: 
  2.8      (1) basic skills, such as reading, writing, mathematics, 
  2.9   and communications; 
  2.10     (2) thinking skills, such as reasoning, creative thinking, 
  2.11  decision-making, and problem-solving; and 
  2.12     (3) personal qualities, such as responsibility, 
  2.13  self-esteem, self-management, honesty, and integrity. 
  2.14     (e) The program must provide income supplements, as 
  2.15  determined by the program, to participants for counseling, 
  2.16  tuition, and other basic needs. 
  2.17     (f) The education and training course must last for at 
  2.18  least four months. 
  2.19     (g) Individuals served by the program must: 
  2.20     (1) be 18 years of age or older; 
  2.21     (2) have had in either of the last two years adjusted gross 
  2.22  income of no more than the maximum income of a low-income 
  2.23  family, as defined for purposes of public housing in United 
  2.24  States Code, title 42, section 1437a(b), for a single 
  2.25  individual; and 
  2.26     (3) have assets of no more than the asset limit under 
  2.27  subdivision 4, excluding the value of a homestead. 
  2.28     (h) The program must charge placement and retention fees 
  2.29  that cumulatively exceed the amount of credit certificates 
  2.30  provided to the employer by at least 15 percent. 
  2.31     Subd. 3.  [APPROVAL.] A program must be approved by the 
  2.32  commissioner of trade and economic development as meeting the 
  2.33  requirements of subdivision 2.  
  2.34     Subd. 4.  [ASSET LIMIT.] The asset limit for a program is 
  2.35  $10,000 for the year beginning July 1, 2001.  For years 
  2.36  afterward it is indexed for inflation under the following 
  3.1   formula: 
  3.2      $10,000 x (1 plus ((ci-bi)/bi)), where ci equals the 
  3.3   maximum income for a low-income family as defined in subdivision 
  3.4   2, paragraph (g), clause (2), for a single individual for the 
  3.5   immediately preceding calendar year and where bi equals the same 
  3.6   maximum income measure for fiscal year 2002. 
  3.7      Subd. 5.  [QUALIFIED GRADUATE.] A qualified graduate is a 
  3.8   graduate of a job training program approved under subdivision 3, 
  3.9   who is placed in a job in Minnesota that pays at least $9 per 
  3.10  hour or its equivalent.  An employer, other than the employer 
  3.11  that originally hired the graduate, may pay a retention fee for 
  3.12  the graduate and qualify for the grant.  The annualized wages of 
  3.13  the job must exceed by 25 percent or more the graduate's 
  3.14  earnings in the year preceding the graduate's enrollment in the 
  3.15  job training program.  
  3.16     Subd. 6.  [DUTIES OF PROGRAM.] (a) A program approved by 
  3.17  the commissioner under subdivision 3 must comply with the 
  3.18  requirements of this subdivision. 
  3.19     (b) The program must maintain records for each graduate for 
  3.20  which the program provides a credit certificate to an employer.  
  3.21  These records must include information sufficient to verify 
  3.22  graduate's eligibility under this section, identify the 
  3.23  employer, describe the job including its compensation rate and 
  3.24  benefits, and determine the amount of placement and retention 
  3.25  fees received.  
  3.26     (c) Each program must report to the commissioner by 
  3.27  February 1 of each year on its use of the aid.  Each report must 
  3.28  include, at least, information on:  
  3.29     (1) the number of graduates placed; 
  3.30     (2) demographic information on the graduates; 
  3.31     (3) the types of positions in which each graduate is 
  3.32  placed, including compensation information; 
  3.33     (4) the tenure of each graduate at the placed position or 
  3.34  in other jobs; 
  3.35     (5) the amount of employer fees paid to the program; 
  3.36     (6) the amount of money raised by the program from other 
  4.1   sources; and 
  4.2      (7) the types and sizes of employers with which graduates 
  4.3   have been placed and retained. 
  4.4      (d) The commissioner shall compile and summarize this 
  4.5   information and report to the legislature by February 15 each 
  4.6   year. 
  4.7      Subd. 7.  [ISSUANCE OF CREDIT CERTIFICATES.] (a) The 
  4.8   commissioner shall issue credit certificates to an approved 
  4.9   program in an amount determined by the commissioner.  The 
  4.10  program shall then issue certificates, to the extent available, 
  4.11  to a qualified employer who may redeem them for the amounts 
  4.12  described in subdivision 1, paragraphs (a) and (b).  Unused 
  4.13  credit certificates for a calendar year carry over and may be 
  4.14  used for a later calendar year, regardless of when issued, 
  4.15  including certificates issued under section 290.0673 prior to 
  4.16  the expiration of that section. 
  4.17     (b) The grants authorized by this section must not be 
  4.18  reduced to an amount less than that necessary to fund credit 
  4.19  certificates equal to the maximum placement and retention fees 
  4.20  that would qualify for a grant under this section if, at the 
  4.21  time of the reduction, each participant enrolled in each 
  4.22  approved job training program became a qualified graduate within 
  4.23  48 months of the effective date of the reduction.  
  4.24     Subd. 8.  [APPLICATION.] To obtain a job training grant, an 
  4.25  employer shall apply to the commissioner in a manner prescribed 
  4.26  by the commissioner.  The commissioner shall review the 
  4.27  application, and if the commissioner finds that the criteria 
  4.28  specified in this section have been met, the commissioner shall 
  4.29  distribute the grant money within 45 days of receipt of the 
  4.30  application in compliance with this section. 
  4.31     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective July 1, 2001.