1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to the metropolitan area; establishing a 
  1.3             critical problems advisory council; appropriating 
  1.4             money. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [LEGISLATIVE FINDING.] 
  1.7      The Minnesota legislature finds that the Twin Cities 
  1.8   metropolitan area has the potential to be one of the leading 
  1.9   economic, social, cultural, and political centers of the United 
  1.10  States.  However, the legislature finds that certain critical, 
  1.11  interrelated problems hinder the development of its full 
  1.12  potential.  The legislature finds that these critical problems 
  1.13  cannot be addressed independently of one another, nor can they 
  1.14  be addressed by a single unit of local or state government 
  1.15  acting alone.  The legislature finds these critical problems to 
  1.16  be the following: 
  1.17     (a) [EDUCATION.] Unacceptably high test failure and dropout 
  1.18  rates, particularly in the core cities of Minneapolis and St. 
  1.19  Paul, indicate that the educational system is failing to provide 
  1.20  a significant number of students with the basic educational 
  1.21  tools and skills necessary to become productive members of 
  1.22  society.  Such ill-equipped individuals are unable to share in 
  1.23  the region's general prosperity and may impose additional costs 
  1.24  on the region's social services. 
  1.25     (b) [WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.] While the unemployment rate 
  2.1   for the region as a whole is at an historic low, there remain 
  2.2   concentrated geographic areas within the region, and within 
  2.3   particular racial groups, where unemployment rates continue to 
  2.4   be unacceptably high.  In addition, there are significant 
  2.5   numbers of individuals who are underemployed or who lack the 
  2.6   training and skills necessary to attain jobs that pay a living 
  2.7   wage. 
  2.8      (c) [CONCENTRATION OF POVERTY.] While the metropolitan area 
  2.9   prospers as a whole, poverty remains concentrated in small 
  2.10  pockets in the urban core.  The concentration of poverty 
  2.11  intensifies the effect of poverty on residents and lessens their 
  2.12  ability to overcome their economic status due to the lack of 
  2.13  accessible economic opportunities, scarcity of community 
  2.14  resources, lack of vital neighborhood role models, and growing 
  2.15  isolation from the larger community. 
  2.16     (d) [SHORTAGE OF AFFORDABLE AND LIFE-CYCLE HOUSING.] The 
  2.17  vacancy rate for rental housing in the Twin Cities region is 
  2.18  very low, contributing to the shortage of affordable housing for 
  2.19  those families and individuals in the lowest income brackets.  
  2.20  In addition, there is a growing mismatch between the location of 
  2.21  jobs and affordable housing:  the creation of jobs and the 
  2.22  demand for workers is occurring in the second ring and 
  2.23  developing suburbs, while the available supply of affordable 
  2.24  housing for workers is primarily located in the center and 
  2.25  inner-ring cities. 
  2.26     (e) [EFFICIENT LAND USE.] The twin cities metropolitan area 
  2.27  is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the upper midwest 
  2.28  and expects to add an additional 650,000 residents by the year 
  2.29  2020.  Simultaneously, the region is one of the least dense 
  2.30  among the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the nation.  This 
  2.31  growth and lack of density is straining the fiscal ability of 
  2.32  the state and local governments to supply adequate public 
  2.33  services such as roads, schools, and water and sewer services 
  2.34  and is having negative impacts on the environment, including the 
  2.35  loss of farmland, natural areas, and wildlife habitat and air 
  2.36  and water quality impacts.  
  3.1      Sec. 2.  [ADVISORY COUNCIL ON METROPOLITAN AREA CRITICAL 
  3.2   PROBLEMS.] 
  3.3      Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHED.] An advisory council on 
  3.4   metropolitan area critical problems is established to develop 
  3.5   goals, strategies, and implementation plans to address the most 
  3.6   critical problems facing the metropolitan area. 
  3.7      Subd. 2.  [DUTIES; REPORT.] The advisory council shall 
  3.8   examine the five most critical problems facing the metropolitan 
  3.9   region, including education, workforce development, 
  3.10  concentration of poverty, shortage of affordable and life-cycle 
  3.11  housing, and efficient land use and for each problem develop: 
  3.12     (1) measurable, objective, short- and long-term goals by 
  3.13  which to measure the region's progress in lessening the impact 
  3.14  of the problem; 
  3.15     (2) comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and where 
  3.16  appropriate, intergovernmental, strategies, and realistic 
  3.17  timetables for achieving the goals; and 
  3.18     (3) implementation plans which identify units of local, 
  3.19  state, and federal government responsible for carrying out the 
  3.20  strategies and the potential costs of implementation. 
  3.21     The council must provide opportunities for broad-based 
  3.22  citizen participation and input into the development of the 
  3.23  goals, strategies, and implementation plans.  The council must 
  3.24  demonstrate in its report to the legislature how this directive 
  3.25  was met, the number of citizens who participated, and how their 
  3.26  views and input are reflected in the council's recommendations.  
  3.27  The council may retain local and national experts to provide 
  3.28  information and recommendations regarding the measurement of the 
  3.29  critical problems and strategies that may be effective in the 
  3.30  twin cities region.  The council shall report its initial 
  3.31  findings to the legislature by January 15, 1999, and shall 
  3.32  submit a final report of its findings and recommendations to the 
  3.33  legislature by January 15, 2000. 
  3.34     Subd. 3.  [MEMBERSHIP.] The advisory council consists of 25 
  3.35  voting members who serve at the pleasure of the appointing 
  3.36  authority as follows: 
  4.1      (1) two public members appointed by the speaker of the 
  4.2   house of representatives; 
  4.3      (2) two public members appointed by the subcommittee on 
  4.4   committees of the committee on rules and administration of the 
  4.5   senate; 
  4.6      (3) seven public members appointed by the governor, one of 
  4.7   whom must represent a nonprofit organization that provides human 
  4.8   services, one of whom must represent the public post-secondary 
  4.9   institutions in the state, and one of whom must represent the 
  4.10  private post-secondary institutions in the state; 
  4.11     (4) the chair of the metropolitan council; 
  4.12     (5) two members appointed by the association of 
  4.13  metropolitan municipalities, one of whom must represent the city 
  4.14  of Minneapolis or St. Paul, and one of whom must represent one 
  4.15  of the remaining metropolitan cities; 
  4.16     (6) two members appointed by the association of Minnesota 
  4.17  counties, one of whom must reside in Hennepin or Ramsey county, 
  4.18  and one of whom must reside in one of the remaining five 
  4.19  metropolitan counties; 
  4.20     (7) two members appointed by the Minnesota chamber of 
  4.21  commerce representing business interests in the metropolitan 
  4.22  area; 
  4.23     (8) two members appointed by the Minnesota school boards 
  4.24  association, one of whom must represent the school district of 
  4.25  Minneapolis or St. Paul, and one of whom must represent the 
  4.26  remaining metropolitan school districts; and 
  4.27     (9) the commissioners, or their designees, of the 
  4.28  departments of children, families, and learning; economic 
  4.29  security; health and human services; and trade and economic 
  4.30  development and the director, or the director's designee, of the 
  4.31  office of strategic and long-range planning. 
  4.32     In making the public member appointments, the speaker of 
  4.33  the house, the majority leader of the senate, and the governor 
  4.34  shall confer with one another so as to ensure balanced 
  4.35  geographic representation from around the metropolitan area. 
  4.36     The public members not designated as representing public 
  5.1   higher education shall not be government employees. 
  5.2      The advisory council may form an executive committee to 
  5.3   facilitate the work of the committee. 
  5.4      Subd. 4.  [FIRST MEETING; CHAIR.] The chair of the 
  5.5   metropolitan council shall convene the first meeting of the 
  5.6   advisory council.  At its first meeting, the advisory council 
  5.7   shall select from among its members a person or persons to serve 
  5.8   as chair or co-chairs. 
  5.9      Subd. 5.  [ADMINISTRATION.] The metropolitan council, with 
  5.10  assistance from the office of strategic and long-range planning 
  5.11  and other state agencies, shall provide administrative and staff 
  5.12  assistance to the advisory council. 
  5.13     Subd. 6.  [EXPENSES.] The metropolitan council shall 
  5.14  compensate members of the advisory council.  Members receive per 
  5.15  diem and expenses as provided by Minnesota Statutes, section 
  5.16  15.059, subdivision 3. 
  5.17     Subd. 7.  [EXPIRATION.] This section expires on June 30, 
  5.18  2000. 
  5.19     Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  5.20     $250,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  5.21  metropolitan council for the purposes of the advisory council.  
  5.22  This appropriation is available until June 30, 2000. 
  5.23     Sec. 4.  [APPLICATION.] 
  5.24     This act applies in the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, 
  5.25  Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington. 
  5.26     Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.27     This act is effective July 1, 1998.