1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to economic development; providing training 
  1.3             to certain refugees to become citizens to increase 
  1.4             their employability; appropriating money. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [PROGRAM PRIORITY.] 
  1.7      Priority for receiving training or other benefits funded by 
  1.8   the appropriations in sections 4 to 6 must be given to residents 
  1.9   of the city of St. Paul who entered the United States as 
  1.10  refugees. 
  1.11     Sec. 2.  [PROGRAM COORDINATION.] 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [COUNCIL ON ASIAN-PACIFIC MINNESOTANS.] The 
  1.13  council on Asian-Pacific Minnesotans shall monitor the 
  1.14  activities funded by the appropriations in sections 4 to 6.  The 
  1.15  state departments and local agencies receiving those 
  1.16  appropriations must consult with the council about expending the 
  1.17  appropriations. 
  1.18     Subd. 2.  [LOCAL COORDINATION.] Ramsey county, the city of 
  1.19  St. Paul, the Ramsey county opportunities industrialization 
  1.20  center, the St. Paul port authority, and St. Paul independent 
  1.21  school district No. 625 must designate an individual to serve on 
  1.22  a committee to coordinate the activities funded by sections 4 to 
  1.23  6.  The committee shall report by February 1, 1998, and February 
  1.24  1, 1999, to the finance divisions of the senate and house having 
  1.25  jurisdiction over jobs and economic development about program 
  2.1   expenditures and results for the prior calendar year. 
  2.2      Sec. 3.  [ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.] 
  2.3      The appropriations made by sections 4 to 6 for use in 
  2.4   existing programs shall not be expended for administrative costs 
  2.5   other than administrative costs incurred due to program 
  2.6   expansion related to the appropriation. 
  2.7      Sec. 4.  [DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND LEARNING; 
  2.8   APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  2.9      Subdivision 1.  [HUBBS CENTER.] $300,000 in fiscal year 
  2.10  1998 and $300,000 in fiscal year 1999 is appropriated from the 
  2.11  general fund to the department of children, families, and 
  2.12  learning for grants to independent school district No. 625 for 
  2.13  customized, job-specific English language training for employers 
  2.14  in the metropolitan area.  Training shall be designed to meet 
  2.15  the needs of a particular employer and its current and 
  2.16  prospective employees.  The training is to be provided through 
  2.17  the Hubbs center work force education program.  The program must 
  2.18  coordinate with the St. Paul port authority, the St. Paul 
  2.19  workforce center, and other employment related agencies to 
  2.20  identify businesses with English as a second language needs.  
  2.21  Employers must provide a program match either in kind or in cash.
  2.22     Subd. 2.  [ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE INSTRUCTOR 
  2.23  PREPARATION.] $10,000 in fiscal year 1998 and $10,000 in fiscal 
  2.24  year 1999 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  2.25  department of children, families, and learning for grants to 
  2.26  independent school district No. 625 for the purpose of 
  2.27  contracting with a public or private post-secondary educational 
  2.28  institution located in the city of St. Paul, to offer 
  2.29  tuition-free classes to increase the instructional capacity for 
  2.30  English as a second language in the city of St. Paul.  
  2.31     Subd. 3.  [NEW AMERICANS PROGRAM.] $365,000 in fiscal year 
  2.32  1998 and $365,000 in fiscal year 1999 is appropriated to the 
  2.33  department of children, families, and learning for grants to 
  2.34  independent school district No. 625 to expand the new Americans 
  2.35  program.  Expansion must focus on English as a second language, 
  2.36  self-sufficiency classes in home ownership and maintenance, and 
  3.1   work readiness programs. 
  3.2      Subd. 4.  [COMMUNITY LITERACY COLLABORATIVE.] $300,000 in 
  3.3   fiscal year 1998 and $300,000 in fiscal year 1999 is 
  3.4   appropriated to the department of children, families, and 
  3.5   learning for grants to independent school district No. 625 to 
  3.6   recruit at least 150 additional volunteer tutors and for use in 
  3.7   providing services through the community literacy 
  3.8   collaborative.  Those services include: 
  3.9      (1) development of an enhanced basic skills hot line 
  3.10  providing information and referral citywide to adult learners; 
  3.11  and 
  3.12     (2) providing functional work English for AFDC, or its 
  3.13  successor program, recipients in Ramsey county. 
  3.14     Sec. 5.  [DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC SECURITY; APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  3.15     Subdivision 1.  [OPPORTUNITIES INDUSTRIALIZATION CENTER; 
  3.16  APPROPRIATION.] $250,000 in fiscal year 1998 and $250,000 in 
  3.17  fiscal year 1999 is appropriated to the department of economic 
  3.18  security for grants to the Ramsey county opportunities 
  3.19  industrialization center.  The grants are to be used to offer 
  3.20  prevocational training programs and specific vocational training 
  3.21  programs involving intensive English as a second language 
  3.22  instruction and to train for and locate entry level jobs 
  3.23  including, without limitation, clerical, building maintenance, 
  3.24  manufacturing, home maintenance and repair, and certified 
  3.25  nursing assistants. 
  3.26     Subd. 2.  [JOB LINKING.] $100,000 in fiscal year 1998 and 
  3.27  $100,000 in fiscal year 1999 is appropriated from the general 
  3.28  fund to the department of economic security for the purpose of 
  3.29  making grants to job linking programs in the city of St. Paul. 
  3.30     Sec. 6.  [DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES; APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  3.31     Subdivision 1.  [CITIZENSHIP TRAINING.] $600,000 in fiscal 
  3.32  year 1998 and $600,000 in fiscal year 1999 is appropriated from 
  3.33  the general fund to the department of human services for a grant 
  3.34  to Ramsey county to fund emergency citizenship training. 
  3.35     The training shall include, but is not limited to: 
  3.36     (1) community education; 
  4.1      (2) group citizenship application workshops with an English 
  4.2   as a second language component; and 
  4.3      (3) an expansion of classroom activity with focus on 
  4.4   English instruction. 
  4.5      Classes may be videotaped and made available through cable 
  4.6   access. 
  4.7      Subd. 2.  [CAREER REFUGEE SELF-SUFFICIENCY 
  4.8   COLLABORATIVE.] $1,200,000 in fiscal year 1998 and $1,200,000 in 
  4.9   fiscal year 1999 is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  4.10  department of human services for grants to the St. Paul 
  4.11  rehabilitation center for its current programs, including those 
  4.12  related to developing job-seeking skills and workplace 
  4.13  orientation, intensive job development, functional work English, 
  4.14  and on-site job coaching.