1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to public safety; creating emergency 
  1.3             management grant program; authorizing rulemaking; 
  1.4             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 12.03, by 
  1.5             adding a subdivision; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.6             Minnesota Statutes, chapter 12. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 12.03, is 
  1.9   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 1c.  [DIRECTOR.] "Director" means the state director 
  1.11  of the division of emergency management in the department of 
  1.12  public safety. 
  1.13     Sec. 2.  [12.50] [EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT GRANT PROGRAM.] 
  1.14     Subdivision 1.  [GRANT PROGRAM.] An emergency management 
  1.15  grant program is established to be administered by the director, 
  1.16  consisting of grants to counties and cities to enable them to 
  1.17  enhance the effectiveness of their emergency management offices. 
  1.18     Subd. 2.  [RULE DEVELOPMENT.] The director shall consult 
  1.19  with the Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers in 
  1.20  formulating rules to implement the grant program. 
  1.21     Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBILITY.] To be eligible for a grant under 
  1.22  this program, a county must: 
  1.23     (1) employ a county or city emergency manager as authorized 
  1.24  by section 12.25, who is certified to serve in this position by 
  1.25  the director; 
  1.26     (2) submit a written plan for the proposed expenditures to 
  2.1   enhance the functioning of the county or city emergency 
  2.2   management office in accordance with the program rules; and 
  2.3      (3) apply for the grant according to procedures to be 
  2.4   established for this program by the director in coordination 
  2.5   with the Association of Minnesota Emergency Managers and receive 
  2.6   written approval from the director for the grant in advance of 
  2.7   making the proposed expenditures. 
  2.8      Subd. 4.  [GRANT APPLICATION.] (a) A grant application must 
  2.9   be submitted to the division according to procedures to be 
  2.10  established by the director in coordination with the Association 
  2.11  of Minnesota Emergency Managers.  The grant application must 
  2.12  include a specific description of the plan for enhancing the 
  2.13  operation of the county or city emergency management office. 
  2.14     (b) The director shall approve a grant application only if 
  2.15  it meets the criteria for eligibility as established and 
  2.16  announced by the director and if there are sufficient funds 
  2.17  remaining in the grant program to cover the amount of the 
  2.18  grant.  The director may request modification of a plan.  If the 
  2.19  director rejects a grant application, written reasons for the 
  2.20  rejection must be provided to the applicant county or city and 
  2.21  the county or city may modify the application and resubmit it. 
  2.22     Subd. 5.  [QUALIFYING USES.] The director shall determine 
  2.23  whether the plan specified in the grant application will enable 
  2.24  the applicant county or city to enhance the effectiveness of its 
  2.25  county or city emergency management office. 
  2.26     Notwithstanding subdivision 3, clause (1), a county or city 
  2.27  may apply for and use a grant for the training and education 
  2.28  required by the director for a newly employed county or city 
  2.29  emergency management employee to acquire state certification or 
  2.30  for the continuing education of other staff. 
  2.31     Subd. 6.  [GRANT AMOUNT.] (a) The amount of each grant must 
  2.32  be determined by the director and may not exceed the lesser of: 
  2.33     (1) the amount specified in the grant application to be 
  2.34  spent on the plan for enhancing the effectiveness of the county 
  2.35  or city emergency management office; or 
  2.36     (2) the county's or city's share of the total funds 
  3.1   available under the program, determined in the following manner: 
  3.2      (i) if the county's or city's population is less than 
  3.3   5,000, the county's or city's grant share is $4,000; 
  3.4      (ii) if the county's or city's population is 5,000 or more, 
  3.5   but less than 15,000, the county's or city's grant share is 
  3.6   $6,000; 
  3.7      (iii) if the county's or city's population is 15,000 or 
  3.8   more, but less than 25,000, the county's or city's share is 
  3.9   $8,000; or 
  3.10     (iv) if the county's or city's population is 25,000 or 
  3.11  more, the county's or city's grant share is $10,000. 
  3.12     (b) In any year, only one-half of the counties or cities in 
  3.13  each of the four emergency management population categories in 
  3.14  paragraph (a), clause (2), items (i) to (iv), may be awarded 
  3.15  grants.  Grants must be awarded on a first-come first-served 
  3.16  basis to counties or cities submitting applications that meet 
  3.17  the director's criteria as established in rules.  A county or 
  3.18  city not receiving a grant in any given year shall receive 
  3.19  priority consideration for a grant the following year. 
  3.20     (c) In any year, after a period of time to be determined by 
  3.21  the director in coordination with the Association of Minnesota 
  3.22  Emergency Managers, amounts remaining from undistributed shares 
  3.23  of county or city grants may be reallocated to the other 
  3.24  counties or cities who have submitted qualifying application. 
  3.25     (d) The latest federal census data must be used to 
  3.26  determine the county or city populations.