1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to human services; providing support to
1.3 	caregivers; appropriating money; amending Minnesota
1.4 	Statutes 2004, sections 181.9413; 256B.0917,
1.5 	subdivision 6; proposing coding for new law in
1.6 	Minnesota Statutes, chapter 290.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 181.9413, is
1.9 	amended to read:
1.10 	181.9413 SICK OR INJURED CHILD CARE LEAVE BENEFITS; USE TO
1.11 	CARE FOR CERTAIN RELATIVES.
1.12 	(a) An employee may use personal sick leave benefits
1.13 	provided by the employer for absences due to an illness of or
1.14 	injury to the employee's child, parent, grandparent, or
1.15 	stepparent for such reasonable periods as the employee's
1.16 	attendance with the child may be necessary, on the same
1.17 	terms upon which the employee is able to use sick leave benefits
1.18 	for the employee's own illness or injury.  This section applies
1.19 	only to personal sick leave benefits payable to the employee
1.20 	from the employer's general assets.
1.21 	(b) For purposes of this section, "personal sick leave
1.22 	benefits" means time accrued and available to an employee to be
1.23 	used as a result of absence from work due to personal illness or
1.24 	injury, but does not include short-term or long-term disability
1.25 	or other salary continuation benefits.

1.26 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2005,
2.1 	and applies to sick leave on or after that date.

2.2 	Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 256B.0917,
2.3 	subdivision 6, is amended to read:
2.4 		Subd. 6.Caregiver support and respite care projects.
 2.5 	(a) The commissioner shall establish up to 36 50 projects to
2.6 	expand the respite care network in the state and to support
2.7 	caregivers in their responsibilities for care.  The purpose of
2.8 	each project shall be to:
2.9 	(1) establish a local coordinated network of volunteer and
2.10 	paid respite workers;
2.11 	(2) coordinate assignment of respite workers to clients and
2.12 	care receivers and assure the health and safety of the client;
2.13 	and
2.14 	(3) provide training for caregivers and ensure that support
2.15 	groups are available in the community.
2.16 	(b) The caregiver support and respite care funds shall be
2.17 	available to the four to six local long-term care strategy
2.18 	projects designated in subdivisions 1 to 5.
2.19 	(c) The commissioner shall publish a notice in the State
2.20 	Register to solicit proposals from public or private nonprofit
2.21 	agencies for the projects not included in the four to six local
2.22 	long-term care strategy projects defined in subdivision 2.  A
2.23 	county agency may, alone or in combination with other county
2.24 	agencies, apply for caregiver support and respite care project
2.25 	funds.  A public or nonprofit agency within a designated SAIL
2.26 	project area may apply for project funds if the agency has a
2.27 	letter of agreement with the county or counties in which
2.28 	services will be developed, stating the intention of the county
2.29 	or counties to coordinate their activities with the agency
2.30 	requesting a grant.
2.31 	(d) The commissioner shall select grantees based on the
2.32 	following criteria:
2.33 	(1) the ability of the proposal to demonstrate need in the
2.34 	area served, as evidenced by a community needs assessment or
2.35 	other demographic data;
2.36 	(2) the ability of the proposal to clearly describe how the
3.1 	project will achieve the purpose defined in paragraph (b);
3.2 	(3) the ability of the proposal to reach underserved
3.3 	populations;
3.4 	(4) the ability of the proposal to demonstrate community
3.5 	commitment to the project, as evidenced by letters of support
3.6 	and cooperation as well as formation of a community task force;
3.7 	(5) the ability of the proposal to clearly describe the
3.8 	process for recruiting, training, and retraining volunteers; and
3.9 	(6) the inclusion in the proposal of the plan to promote
3.10 	the project in the community, including outreach to persons
3.11 	needing the services.
3.12 	(e) Funds for all projects under this subdivision may be
3.13 	used to:
3.14 	(1) hire a coordinator to develop a coordinated network of
3.15 	volunteer and paid respite care services and assign workers to
3.16 	clients;
3.17 	(2) recruit and train volunteer providers;
3.18 	(3) train caregivers;
3.19 	(4) ensure the development of support groups for
3.20 	caregivers;
3.21 	(5) advertise the availability of the caregiver support and
3.22 	respite care project; and
3.23 	(6) purchase equipment to maintain a system of assigning
3.24 	workers to clients.
3.25 	(f) Project funds may not be used to supplant existing
3.26 	funding sources.

3.27 	Sec. 3. [290.0676] MINNESOTA HOME CARE CREDIT.
3.28 		Subdivision 1.Credit allowed. (a) An individual is
3.29 	allowed a credit against the tax imposed by this chapter, equal
3.30 	to $200 for each month during the tax year that the individual
3.31 	is a caregiver for a qualifying person.  The maximum credit in a
3.32 	tax year is $2,400.  The commissioner may require claimants to
3.33 	certify that the claimant and the qualifying person meet the
3.34 	requirements of this section.  An individual may claim only one
3.35 	credit in any tax year and only one credit may be claimed for
3.36 	each qualifying person in any tax year.
4.1 	(b) For a nonresident or part-year resident, the credit
4.2 	must be allocated based on the percentage calculated under
4.3 	section 290.06, subdivision 2c, paragraph (e).
4.4 		Subd. 2.Definitions. For purposes of this section, the
4.5 	following terms have the meanings given.
4.6 	(a) "Qualifying person," means an individual who:
4.7 	(1) is the parent, stepparent, sibling, stepsibling, child,
4.8 	or stepchild of the taxpayer; and 
4.9 	(2) has been screened by a county preadmission screening
4.10 	team and determined by that team to be eligible for placement in
4.11 	a nursing facility.
4.12 	(b) "Caregiver" means an individual who:
4.13 	(1) provides assistance with instrumental activities of
4.14 	daily living for a qualifying person, in either the individual's
4.15 	home or the qualifying person's home; and 
4.16 	(2) attends at least eight hours of (i) caregiver training
4.17 	or education or (ii) caregiver support group sessions during the
4.18 	year for which the credit is claimed.
4.19 	(c) "Instrumental activities of daily living" means
4.20 	activities such as preparation of meals, light housekeeping,
4.21 	personal laundry, handling money, and using the telephone.
4.22 	Instrumental activities of daily living are associated with
4.23 	independent living and necessary to support activities of daily
4.24 	living, including eating, transferring, dressing, bathing,
4.25 	toileting, and ambulation.
4.26 		Subd. 3.Limitations. The credit is reduced to $100 for
4.27 	any month in which a qualifying person receives more than four
4.28 	hours per day on average of state or county-funded home care
4.29 	services under section 144A.43, subdivision 3, including, but
4.30 	not limited to, those funded under chapters 256B and 256L.
4.31 		Subd. 4.Credit refundable. If the amount of the credit
4.32 	that a claimant is eligible to receive under this section
4.33 	exceeds the claimant's tax liability under this chapter, the
4.34 	commissioner shall refund the excess to the claimant.
4.35 		Subd. 5.Appropriation. An amount sufficient to pay the
4.36 	refunds required by this section is appropriated to the
5.1 	commissioner of revenue from the general fund.
5.2 	
EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective for taxable
5.3 	years beginning after December 31, 2004.

5.4 	Sec. 4. APPROPRIATION.
 5.5 	(a) $540,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the
5.6 	commissioner of human services in fiscal year 2006 for the
5.7 	purposes in section 2 to provide grants to new and existing
5.8 	projects.
5.9 	(b) $100,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the
5.10 	Minnesota Board on Aging in fiscal year 2006 for the purpose of
5.11 	providing caregiver education on resources and services.