SF 2726 reflects the Governor’s proposal for an omnibus appropriations bill for State Government.

Article 1 – State Government Appropriations

Section 1 [Appropriations] supplies parameters for the appropriations in Article 1.  Appropriations are from the general fund unless another fund is named. Defines “2020” and “2021” as the fiscal years that end on June 30 of those years, respectively.  Defines “the first year” as fiscal year 2020, “the second year” as fiscal year 2021, and “biennium” as fiscal years 2020 and 2021.

Sections 2 -31 appropriate money, as detailed on a spreadsheet prepared by Andrew Erickson of Senate Counsel, Research, and Fiscal Analysis.

Article 2 – State Government

Section 1 [Administrative Law Judges; Salaries] increases the salaries to assistant chief administrative law judge and administrative law judge supervisors to 100 percent (from 93.6 percent) of the salary of a district court judge.

Section 2 [Carryforward] permits agencies to carry unspent appropriations forward from any fiscal year to the next fiscal year.  Under current law, carryforward is only allowed from the first fiscal year of a biennium into the second year of the biennium.

Section 3 [Building Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund] makes changes to the current Productivity Account program.  Under current law, the account may be used for projects that will result in “either reduced operating costs or increased revenues, or both.”  This section modifies that description of the permitted use of the money for “either energy savings or other operating cost reductions.”  This would allow use of the money for a project that saves energy whether or not the project results in operating cost reductions. Also, makes technical changes to make this an account in the special revenue fund and to change the name to the “Building Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund.”

Section 4 [Award and Payment of Building Efficiency Loans] changes the membership of a committee that awards loans from the Building Efficiency Revolving Loan fund by replacing the commissioners of revenue and management and budget with the commissioners of commerce and the Pollution Control Agency.

Section 5 [Damages; Illegal Molestation of Human Remains; Burials; Cemeteries; Penalty; Assessment] makes changes to a statute section regarding cemeteries (in the jurisdiction of the Commerce Committee).

Section 6 [Former MERF Members; Member and Employer Contributions] and section 7 [State Contributions; Former MERF Division] increase the state contribution and lower the employers’ contributions to the general employees retirement plan of the Public Employees Retirement Association, with respect to the former MERF division. The state contribution increases by $10,000,000 per year (from $6 million to $16 million) beginning September 15, 2019. The employers' contribution is reduced to $21 million, from $31 million. These state and employer contributions, made in varying amounts since 2010, are made to offset unfunded liabilities carried by MERF when it was merged into PERA in 2010. The employers required to make contributions are the City of Minneapolis, Minneapolis Public Schools, Hennepin County, the Metropolitan Council, the Metropolitan Airports Commission, and the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board.

A memo prepared by Susan Lenczewski, the executive director of the Legislative Commissions on Pensions and Retirement, regarding SF 2515, dated March 22, 2019, provides history on the state and employers contributions since 2010.