1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to higher education; creating an institutional grant program for realtime 
1.3 	stenographic writer training; requiring reports; appropriating money.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. REALTIME STENOGRAPHIC WRITER TRAINING GRANT.
 1.6 		Subdivision 1.Establishment and application. (a) The commissioner of the Office of 
1.7 	Higher Education must establish a grant program for eligible institutions under Minnesota 
1.8 	Statutes, section 136A.103, to promote the training and job placement of realtime 
1.9 	stenographic writers, including court reporters and closed captioning.
1.10 	(b) The grant application must include (1) a description of the training and assistance 
1.11 	to be funded using the grant amount, including how the training and assistance will increase 
1.12 	the number of realtime stenographic writers, and (2) a description of how the eligible 
1.13 	institution intends to continue providing the training and assistance to be funded by the 
1.14 	grant after the end of the grant period. The commissioner may determine additional 
1.15 	application requirements and establish deadlines to which Minnesota Statutes, chapter 14, 
1.16 	including Minnesota Statutes, section 14.386, do not apply.
1.17 		Subd. 2.Awarding grants. (a) The commissioner must award two grants of $300,000 
1.18 	each year beginning the 2024-2025 academic year until the appropriation is expended. One 
1.19 	grantee must be in the seven-county metropolitan area as defined by Minnesota Statutes, 
1.20 	section 473.121, subdivision 2. The other grantee must be outside of the seven-county 
1.21 	metropolitan area.
1.22 	(b) The commissioner shall give a priority to eligible institutions that:
2.1 	(1) possess the most substantial capability to increase their capacity to train realtime 
2.2 	stenographic writers;
2.3 	(2) demonstrate the most promising collaboration with educational institutions, businesses, 
2.4 	labor organizations, or other community groups having the potential to train or provide job 
2.5 	placement assistance to realtime stenographic writers; or
2.6 	(3) propose the most promising and innovative approaches for initiating or expanding 
2.7 	training or job placement assistance efforts with respect to realtime stenographic writers.
2.8 	(c) The first grants must be awarded for the 2024-2025 academic year.
2.9 		Subd. 3.Individual grants and scholarships. (a) If an eligible institution uses any of 
2.10 	the grant money under this section for individual grants or scholarships, the grant or 
2.11 	scholarship must comply with this paragraph. The amount of the grant or scholarship must 
2.12 	be based on the amount of need of the scholarship recipient for financial assistance. To be 
2.13 	eligible to receive a grant or scholarship under this section, a recipient must enter into an 
2.14 	agreement with the enrolling school to be employed as a realtime stenographic writer for 
2.15 	six months for each semester or equivalent in which the person receives a grant or 
2.16 	scholarship.
2.17 	(b) The commissioner must establish requirements for employment for recipients of 
2.18 	grants or scholarships under paragraph (a), including requirements for repayment of grant 
2.19 	or scholarship amounts in the event of failure to meet the requirements for employment. 
2.20 	The commissioner may waive, in whole or in part, the requirements for repayment of grant 
2.21 	or scholarship amounts on the basis of economic conditions which may affect the ability of 
2.22 	scholarship recipients to find work as realtime stenographic writers. The requirements and 
2.23 	waivers under this paragraph are not subject to Minnesota Statutes, chapter 14, including 
2.24 	Minnesota Statutes, section 14.386.
2.25 		Subd. 4.Reporting. (a) By January 15 in any fiscal year an eligible institution receives 
2.26 	a grant, the institution must submit a report to the commissioner of the Office of Higher 
2.27 	Education. The report must include:
2.28 	(1) an assessment by the institution of the effectiveness of activities carried out using 
2.29 	such funds in increasing the number of realtime stenographic writers; and
2.30 	(2) a description of the best practices identified by the eligible institution for increasing 
2.31 	realthe number of individuals who are trained, employed, and retained in employment as 
2.32 	realtime stenographic writers.
3.1 	(b) In any year the commissioner of the Office of Higher Education receives a report 
3.2 	under paragraph (a), the commissioner must report to the legislative committees with 
3.3 	jurisdiction over higher education the results of the reports under paragraph (a) and 
3.4 	recommendations for the program.

3.5 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

3.6 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.
 3.7 	$3,150,000 in fiscal year 2025 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner 
3.8 	of the Office of Higher Education for purposes of section 1. This is a onetime appropriation 
3.9 	and is available through June 30, 2029. The commissioner may use up to five percent of 
3.10 	this appropriation for administrative costs.