Article 1 - 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 - 37 appropriate money, as detailed on a spreadsheet prepared by Andrew Erickson of Senate Counsel, Research, and Fiscal Analysis.

Section 38 amends 2018 law to increase the appropriation to the Senate in fiscal year 2019.

Section 39 directs the Commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget to reduce appropriations in accordance with a provision in article 2 that cancels appropriations for positions for employment in state agencies that are unfilled 180 days after posting.

Section 40 cancels money from the House of Representative's carryforward and from the information and telecommunications technology systems and services account to the general fund

Article 2 - State Government Operations

Section 1 [State Employee Negotiations] requires actual approval of a collective bargaining agreement or arbitration award by the Legislative Coordinating Commission to be approved when the legislature is not in session, instead of treating a failure to disapprove as approval.

Section 2 [Information required] specifies information that the Commissioner of Management and Budget is required to submit to the Legislative Coordinating Commission with the submission of a collective bargaining agreement or compensation plan.  The required information includes the following, for each agency and for each proposed collective bargaining agreement and compensation plan:

(1) a comparison of the biennial compensation costs under the current agreement or plan to the costs projected under the proposed agreement or plan, paid for by money appropriated from the general fund;

(2) a comparison of the biennial compensation costs under the current agreement or plan to the costs projected under the proposed agreement or plan, paid for by money appropriated from each fund other than the general fund; and

(3) an identification of the amount of added biennial compensation costs attributable to salary, wages, and nonsalary and nonwage benefits.

The commissioner is also required to provide the aggregate impact of all proposed agreements and plans being submitted to the commission, for each agency, and for each of the items in clauses (1) to (3).

Section 3 [Legislative Commission on Housing Affordability] establishes a legislative commission on housing affordability.

Section 4 [Evaluation Topics] adds review of grants, tax incentives, and development inducements for economic development to the list of topics that may be selected by the Legislative Audit Commission for evaluation by the Legislative Auditor.  A later section in the bill repeals a statute section that required the Office of the Legislative Auditor to review one economic incentive each year.

Section 5 [Obligation to Notify the Legislative Auditor] broadens the requirements to notify the Legislative Auditor of a data breach.

Section 6 [Executive Order List Serve] requires the secretary of state to notify people on a list serve when an executive order is filed.

Section 7 [Powers and Duties] permits special districts of counties operating under a joint powers agreement to hire a private CPA to conduct required audits, instead of requiring the audit to be performed by the State Auditor.

Section 8 [CPA Firm Audit] establishes a process for the state auditor’s review of county audits performed by a private CPA.  The process gives counties and CPA firms an opportunity to respond to the state auditor’s potential findings, conclusions, or questions. The process requires the following:

• the state auditor must give 30 days’ notice before beginning review of a county audit performed by the CPA firm;
• throughout the state auditor’s review of the audit, the county and the CPA firm must be given 30 days to respond to a request from the state auditor for documents or other information;
• the state auditor must provide the CPA firm with a draft report 30 days before issuing a final report;
• the state auditor must hold an exit conference with the CPA firm 20 days before issuing a final report;
• the state auditor must make changes to the draft report when the state auditor determines that changes are warranted as a result of information provided by the CPA firm during the review; and
• the state auditor’s final report must include any written responses provided by the CPA firm.

Section 9 [Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month] designated May as Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month. Permits the governor to promote and encourage observance of the month.

Section 10 [State Arts Board] provides that grant application data submitted to the Board of the Arts or to a regional arts council become public data when the application is considered at a public review meeting. Any trade secret data contained in the application remain private or nonpublic.

Section 11 [Rules Impacting Residential Construction or Remodeling; Legislative Notice and Review] establishes steps in the rulemaking process for rules that apply to residential construction or remodeling.

Subdivision 1 [Definition] defines “residential construction.”

Subdivision 2 [Impact on housing cost; agency determination] requires an agency to determine, during a specified period, if a proposed rule will increase the cost of residential construction or remodeling by $1,000 or more per unit. The agency’s determination is subject to review by an administrative law judge.

Subdivision 3 [Notice to legislature; legislative approval] requires an agency to notify the legislature if the costs of a proposed rule exceed $1,000, as determined by the agency or by the administrative law judge.  The agency may not adopt the rule, if a legislative committee with jurisdiction over the subject matter of the rule advises the agency that the rule should not be adopted as proposed. By cross-reference to existing statute, the committee’s vote must be by majority, occur between publication of the rulemaking notice and before the notice of adoption is published in the State Register, and the committee must notify the agency, revisor of statutes, and the chief administrative law judge.

Subdivision 4 [Severability] permits an agency to adopt a severable portion of a proposed rule that does not exceed the cost threshold, even though a legislative committee has voted to advise the agency not to adopt the proposed rule that does exceed the cost threshold.

Section 12 [Administrative Law Judge; Salaries] raises the salaries for the 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 13 [Forecast Parameters] sets the estimated expenditures in the November forecast at zero dollars for certain executive branch agencies, excluding appropriations in statute. The agencies subject to this are determined by a schedule in a later section of the bill. This section sets the estimated expenditures in the February forecast at zero dollars for agencies if the estimate was set at zero for the preceding November forecast under this section. These requirements do not apply to forecasted expenditures in the current biennium, but do apply to the forecasted expenditures in the next two biennia.

Section 14 [Part Two: Detailed Budget] sets the base at zero dollars for purposes of the governor’s detailed budget recommendations for certain agencies, determined by a schedule in a later section of the bill, for appropriations that are not statutory. Requires the Commissioner of Management and Budget to display the base in tables and the narrative of the governor’s detailed budget recommendations.

Section 15 [Zero-Based Budgeting]

Subdivision 1 [Zero-based budget] requires an agency to use zero-based budgeting in preparing the proposed budget in October of the “scheduled year” for that agency.  Requires the Commissioner of Management and Budget to provide technical assistance and to adopt policies and procedures for implementing zero-based budgeting. This section defines “zero-based budgeting” as a method of determining the budget of an agency for which the budget is deemed to have been zero and each proposed expenditure must be justified as if it were a new expenditure.

Subdivision 2 [Zero-based budget plan] lists information an agency must include in a zero-based budget plan.

Subdivision 3 [Scheduled year] sets the “scheduled year” for each agency to conduct zero-based budgeting. 

Section 16 [Hiring Practices] requires a fair and open hiring process in state agencies. Precludes altering job requirements to fit a particular candidate in internal documents or identifying a particular candidate as a future holder of a position prior to hiring.

Section 17 [On-the-Job Demonstration Process and Appointment] modifies the criteria for determining whether an applicant for state employment has “significant disabilities,” for purposes of eligibility in an on-the-job work experience.  The program, in current law, provides up to 700 hours of on-the-job work experience through which an applicant can demonstrate that the applicant has qualifications for a position. Currently, the program is available to those “whose disabilities are of such a severe nature that the applicants are unable to demonstrate their abilities in the selection process.” This section makes the program available to those who meet the definition, in a state rule, of a person “with severe disabilities.” The rule provides that a person must:

• be “eligible for vocational rehabilitation services as provided in [a federal rule];”

• have a severe physical or mental impairment that results in a serious functional limitation in terms of employment in one or two functional areas;

• be one whose vocational rehabilitation can be expected to require multiple vocational rehabilitation services over an extended period of time; and

• have one or more physical or mental impairments resulting from a list of specified conditions.

This section permits up to three people with significant disabilities and their job coaches to be allowed to demonstrate their job competence as a unit through the on-the-job work experience. This on-the-job demonstration process must be limited to applicants for whom there is no reasonable accommodation in the selection process.

Section 18 [Agency Affirmative Action Plans] adds items that must be included in an agency’s plan for reasonable accommodations to be afforded for hiring or promotion.  The new items are:  1) a plan to ensure that collective bargaining agreements provide equal employment opportunity for job applicants with disabilities and for current employees with disabilities seeking promotion; and 2) certain metrics on the use of the state accommodation account.

This section also changes a requirement that the Council on Disability provide assistance to agencies in preparing affirmative action plans, to a permission for agencies to consult with the Council on Disability and specified others in preparing an affirmative action plan.

Section 19 [Audits; Sanctions and Incentives] eliminates caps on the percentage of appointments for state employment in which an agency fails to justify a nonaffirmative action hire. Requires, instead, that criteria established by MMB for an agency to justify nonaffirmative action hires include the number of applicants hired through on-the-job work experience, the number of applicants who receive authorization for a probationary period, and the number of applicants who are offered appointment. Requires MMB to publish summary data about all appointments including protected class status and job classifications.

Section 20 [Limited by Appropriation] precludes the Commissioner of Management and Budget from contracting to pay more to employees in compensation and benefits in a biennium than is permitted under the first spending plan approved by the Commissioner of Management and Budget after a biennial appropriation. Under current law, each agency submits a spending plan to the Commissioner of Management and Budget (MMB) that details how the agency will use appropriations.  The plan is submitted by July 1 and applies to an allotment period specified by the Commissioner of MMB.

Section 21 [Plan Development; Criteria] increases the caps on grants for R-22 elimination under the Mighty Ducks program that funds renovations at publicly owned ice facilities, from $50,000 to $250,000 for indirect cooling systems and from $400,000 to $500,000 for direct cooling system.

Section 22 [Former MERF members; member and employer contributions] increases the employer contribution to PERA for the former Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund (MERF) plan to $37,000,000. (A later section of the bill eliminates state contributions to PERA for MERF.)

Section 23 [Standard of Time] places the state on Daylight Saving Time year round, beginning when federal law authorizes states to move to Daylight Saving Time year round.

Section 24 [Initial Appointments] sets deadlines for making appointments to and convening the first meeting of the Legislative Commission on Housing Affordability.

Section 25 [Working Group on State Employment and Retention of Employees With Disabilities] establishes a working group to report strategies for attracting and retaining state employees with disabilities.  The group must deliver its report by January 15, 2020.

Section 26 [Full-time Equivalent Freeze] precludes use of appropriations for fiscal years 2020 and 2021 to pay salary and benefits for full-time equivalent positions (“FTE”) beyond the number of FTEs employed as of June 30, 2019.  This section does not apply to certain positions in law enforcement and corrections.

Section 27 [Reduction in Appropriations for Unfilled Positions]

Subdivision 1 [Reduction required] reduces appropriations from any fund for the biennium ending June 30, 2021, by an amount equal to the salary and benefits for a position that is posted and goes unfilled for 180 days. This reduction applies for positions posted in fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021. Reductions must be reflected in the agency’s base budget for the next biennium. Certain positions in law enforcement and corrections are exempt.

Subdivision 2 [Reporting] requires the Commissioner of Management and Budget to report to the legislature on the amount of reductions.

Subdivision 3 [Application] defines “agency.” Excludes Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

Section 28 [Board of Cosmetologist Examiners Rulemaking] delays adoption of new rules developed by the Board of Cosmetologist Examiners until after the 2020 regular legislative session.

Section 29 [Repealer] repeals the state contributions (currently $6,000,000 per year) to PERA for MERF; and a requirement that the Legislative Auditor review one economic incentive per year.

Article 3 - Information Technology

Section 1 [Accessibility in the Legislature’s Information Technology] requires the legislature to comply with accessibility standards adopted for state agencies.

Section 2 [Legislative Commission on Cybersecurity] establishes a new Legislative Commission on Cybersecurity.

Subdivision 1 [Membership] specifies the membership of the commission to include four senators and four members of the house of representatives.

Subdivision 2 [Terms; vacancies] establishes a two-year term for members of the cybersecurity commission and describes how vacancies are filled.

Subdivision 3 [Duties] establishes duties for the cybersecurity commission. The duties include oversight of the state’s cybersecurity measures, review of policies and practices, and making recommendations, with draft legislation, on policy changes to protect the state from cybersecurity threats.

Subdivision 4 [Chair] provides for election of a chair for a two-year term, alternating between members from the senate and the house of representatives.

Subdivision 5 [Meetings] requires the commission to meet three times a year and makes meeting of the commission subject to the legislative open meetings law, with permission to close a meeting to safeguard the state’s cybersecurity.

Subdivision 6 [Administration] requires the Legislative Coordinating Commission to provide administrative services.

Subdivision 7 [Sunsets] sunsets the cybersecurity commission on December 31, 2028.

Section 3 [Legislative Commission on Information Technology] establishes a new Legislative Commission on Information Technology.

Subdivision 1 [Membership] specifies the membership of the commission to include four senators and four members of the house of representatives.

Subdivision 2 [Terms; vacancies] establishes a two-year term for members of the commission and describes how vacancies are filled.

Subdivision 3 [Duties] establishes duties for the commission. The duties include preparing draft legislation and other plans or advice to implement recommendations of the Legislative Auditor in its 2019 evaluation report on MN.IT.

Subdivision 4 [Chair] provides for election of a chair for a two-year term, alternating between members from the senate and the house of representatives.

Subdivision 5 [Meetings] requires the commission to meet three times a year and makes a meeting of the commission subject to the legislative open meetings law, with permission to close a meeting to safeguard the state’s information technology.

Subdivision 6 [Administration] requires the Legislative Coordinating Commission to provide administrative services.

Subdivision 7 [Sunset] sunsets the information technology commission on January 30, 2028.

Section 4 [Local Government User Acceptance Testing]

Subdivision 1 [Applicability] defines “agency” as any state officer, employee, board, commission, authority, department, entity, or organization of the executive branch of state government, including the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.

Subdivision 2 [Acceptance Testing] requires an agency to provide an opportunity for user acceptance testing to a local government if the local government will be the primary user and if operations of the local government will be significantly impacted by a new information technology business software application implemented by the agency.

Section 5 [Responsibilities] narrows the scope of oversight for the Office of MN.IT services, as suggested by the program evaluation of MN.IT, published in February of 2019, by the Office of the Legislative Auditor.

Section 6 [Responsibility for Information Technology Services and Equipment] limits the scope of responsibility for the chief information officer.  This section removes certain items from a list of goods and services the chief information officer is responsible for providing to agencies, and moves those items to a list of items the chief information officer provides to agencies at the request of an agency. 

Section 7 [Definitions] defines “cloud computing” through a reference to a publication of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The publication defines “cloud computing” as follows:

Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction. This cloud model is composed of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models [that are described in the publication].

Section 8 [Chief information officer’s responsibility] narrows the responsibilities for the chief information officer, as suggested by the program evaluation of MN.IT, published in February of 2019, by the Office of the Legislative Auditor.

Section 9 [Cloud Computing Services] requires the chief information officer to review cloud computing when evaluating information and communications projects proposed by agencies. Requires the chief information officer to report periodically to the governor and legislature on the consideration of cloud computing service options. The report must provide examples of projects where cloud computing saved money or provided other benefits.

Section 10 [Technical Support to the Legislature] requires the chief information officer to provide technical assistance to the legislature to comply with accessibility standards.

Section 11 [Technology Infrastructure Inventory; Security Risk Assessment]

Subdivision 1 [Inventory required] modifies the requirements for what must be included in a biennial inventory by the chief information officer.

Subdivision 2 [Risk assessment] requires the chief information officer to conduct a risk assessment of information technology systems and services. Specifies the information that must be included in the risk assessment, with exceptions for information classified as “security information” under the Data Practices Act.

Subdivision 3 [Reports required] adds the risk assessment to a requirement to report the inventory to the legislature, identifies the legislative members to whom the report must be provided, and moves the deadline to October 1.

Section 12 [Project Management for Agency Information Technology Projects] establishes procedures for project management for information technology projects.  Precludes deployment without certification by the agency head and, when MN.IT is involved in the project, by the chief information officer. Requires the chief information officer and agency heads to establish standards and procedures governing information technology project development.

Section 13 [Consultation Required] limits the requirement that agencies consult with the Office of MN.IT Services (MN.IT) about project cost to those projects that an agency has selected the division to perform. 

Section 14 [Capital Investment] clarifies the role for the Office of MN.IT services with regard to the state’s telecommuting practices, as suggested by the program evaluation of MN.IT, published in February of 2019, by the Office of the Legislative Auditor.

Section 15 [Reimbursements] moves the deadline for MN.IT to provide agencies with rates to be charged for the revolving fund.

Section 16 [Rates] requires MN.IT to provide invoices or statements that clearly describe their services.  Requires MN.IT to categorize or code services in a manner prescribed by the agency, or provide information in supplement to the invoice or statement that categorizes or codes services in a manner prescribed by the agency.

Section 17 [Legislative Employee Working Group on the Legislature’s Accessibility Measures] establishes a working group of twelve legislative employees on the legislature’s accessibility measures.

Section 18 [First Appointments and First Meeting of Legislative Commission on Cybersecurity]

Subdivision 1 [First appointments] sets a deadline for the first appointments to the cybersecurity commission.

Subdivision 2 [First meeting] sets a deadline and process for convening the first meeting of the cybersecurity commission.

Subdivision 3 [Meetings in 2019] requires the commission to meet twice in 2019, rather than three times, as will be required in following years.

Section 19 [Completion of Information Technology Consolidation; Surcharge and Suspension of Services for Noncompliant Agencies; Strategic Workplan]

Subdivision 1 [Consolidation required; state agency surcharge] sets a deadline for consolidation of agency information technology under the Office of MN.IT Services. Establishes consequences for failure to consolidate by the deadline. MN.IT must impose a surcharge on billings and must suspend work on projects for an agency with information technology systems that have not been fully integrated into the statewide consolidate system. Amounts collected on the surcharge are deposited in the general fund and used for agencies that have consolidated.

Subdivision 2 [Strategic workplan] requires the chief information officer to prepare a strategic workplan by August 1, 2019, for consolidation, with measurable benchmark goals and deadlines. The benchmark goals must include strategies for implementing the cloud computing review required in section 2. The benchmark goals must also include other tools to provide secure and cost-effective services to agencies and other end-users.

Subdivision 3 [Progress reports] requires the chief information officer to provide the workplan to the legislature by September 1, 2019, and to provide quarterly progress reports on progress toward benchmark goals, and an identification of agencies subject to the surcharge for failing to consolidate. Requires the chairs of certain legislative committees to convene a public hearing within 30 days of receipt of each report to discuss its contents. Requires the chief information officer to appear at each hearing and answer questions from members.

Section 20 [First Appointments and First Meeting of the Legislative Commission on Information Technology]

Subdivision 1 [First appointments] sets a deadline for the first appointments to the commission.

Subdivision 2 [First meeting] sets a deadline and process for convening the first meeting of the commission.

Section 21 [Revisor Instruction] responds to a suggestion in the program evaluation of MN.IT, published in February of 2019, by the Office of the Legislative Auditor, to eliminate obsolete references to the “North Star” system

Article 4 - Racing Commission

Section 1 [Racing or Gaming-Related Vendor] adds a definition to the Racing Commission chapter for “racing or gaming-related vendor” to mean any person that manufactures, sells, provides, distributes, repairs, or maintains equipment or supplies used at a licensed racetrack (i.e. Canterbury or Running Aces) or license sponsors or managers of horse-racing on which pari-mutuel betting is conducted.  This definition is used in a grant of rulemaking authority later in the bill.

Section 2 [Qualifications] eliminates a requirement for members of the Racing Commission to post a $100,000 bond before serving on the commission that is payable to the state conditioned on the faithful performance of duties.

Section 3 [Biennial Report] changes the Racing Commission’s annual report to a biennial report.

Section 4 [Revocation and Suspension] requires the Racing Commission to provide notice and an opportunity to be heard to an occupational licensee before revoking the license for a violation that affects the integrity of horse racing, the public health, welfare, or safety, or for a false statement in a license application. (Occupational licenses are granted under current law to horse owners or lessees; jockeys or drivers; exercise riders; grooms; trainers and their assistants; pari-mutuel personnel; security officers; vendors and others.)

This section also extends the amount of time that the commission may suspend an occupational license, from one year to five years, after providing notice and an opportunity to be heard. If a license expires during a suspension, the licensee is ineligible to apply for another license until the suspension expires.

This section limits a licensee’s access to a contested case procedure to only those revocations or suspensions that last more than one year and specifies a procedure and ten-day deadline for requesting a contested case hearing. (Under current law, a license revocation or suspension for more than 90 days is a contested case.) The commission is authorized to suspend a license summarily for up to 90 days and the licensee may appeal the summary suspension according to the commission’s rules.

Section 5 [License Fees] authorizes the commission to adopt a license fee for racing and gaming-related vendors of up to $2,500, without requiring further legislative approval of the fee.

Section 6 [License Agreements] permits the commission to enter into “compacts” with comparable bodies in other racing jurisdictions for the mutual recognition of occupational licenses.  Current law permits the commission to enter into “agreements” of this nature.

Section 7 [Purses] provides for “breakage” to be paid to Class B and D licensees.  Under current law, the licensees may contract to pay a horseperson’s organization out of purse money.  This section allows that payment to the horsepersons’ organization to be paid from breakage, as well as from purse money.  Breakage is defined in current law as “odd cents of all money distributed based on each dollar bet exceeding a sum equal to the next lowest multiple of ten.” Under current law, Class B licenses are for managers of horse racing on which pari-mutuel wagering is conducted and class D licenses are for county agricultural societies that conduct pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing.

This section requires contracts between the licensees and the horsepersons’ organization to be in writing and must be reviewed by the commission for compliance with this subdivision. Changes a requirement for certain agreement to be filed with the commission to a requirement that the agreements be reviewed for compliance by the commission.

Section 8 [Payments to State] extends the deadlines for Advanced Deposit Wager providers to pay certain fees to the Racing Commission, from seven days to 15 days.

Section 9 [Card Club Revenue] changes a requirement for an agreement between the commission and a horsepersons’ organization regarding payments of card-club proceeds to be filed with the commission to a requirement that the agreement be reviewed by the commission for compliance.

Section 10 [Powers and Duties] makes changes to duties that the commission may delegate to a board of stewards: increases the cap on fines that may imposed on licensees for a violation of law or rules, allows the board to issue suspensions of up to one year, and allows the board to impose other sanctions as delegated by the commission or as permitted in rules.

Section 11 [Appeals; Heaings] is a conforming change. Review of a decision by the board of stewards will be reviewable by the commission, except for rulings on revocations and suspensions of more than one year for which a licensee must request a contested case hearing. Clarifies that the commission has the authority to review all rulings of the board of stewards.

Section 12 [Thoroughbred and Quarterhorse Categories] expands the eligible institutions to receive money for equine research to all public institutions of postsecondary learning in the state. Under current law, only the University of Minnesota School of Veterinary Medicine is eligible. This section eliminates an outdated list of legislative chairs to whom the commission must submit its annual report, and makes the report biennial. 

Under current law, the commission is required to pay a portion of the taxes it collects as awards to breeders and owners of Minnesota-bred horses that win money at Minnesota’s licensed racetracks.  This section permits payment of the awards to breeders and owners of horses that win money at any pari-mutuel track in any state or province.

Section 13 [Standardbred Category] eliminates a requirement for the commission to provide money for the development of nonpari-mutuel standardbred tracks. Doubles the amount the commission must pay for equine research and education.

Section 14 [Fines] limits the cap on civil fines the commission is authorized to set by schedule. Raises the threshold for a fine for which the licensee may request a contested case hearing, from $5,000 to $10,000.

Section 15 [Exclusion of Certain Persons]

Subdivision 1 [Persons excluded] adds public safety and integrity of card playing as justifications for the commission to exclude someone from a licensed racetrack.

Subdivision 2 [Hearing; appeal] clarifies that the commission need provide due process only to licensed people that the commission orders to be excluded from a track.

Subdivision 5 [Exclusions by racetrack] eliminates procedural requirements for a racetrack licensee to exclude a person from its premises. Requires a racetrack licensee to report to the commission when the track excludes a person for a suspected or potential violation of law, or if the licensee excludes a person for more than five days.

Article 5 - Gambling Control Board

Section 1 [Active Member] changes the definition of “active member” to shorten the period that a person must be a member of a charitable organization.  This definition is used twice in the lawful gambling chapter. First, an active member is eligible to be a gambling manager to supervise lawful gambling. Second, an organization must have 15 active members when applying for a license to conduct charitable gaming, or 13 active members to vote on gambling matters.

Section 2 [Conduct of Bingo] limits the sale price of a bingo gift certificate to its face value.

Section 3 [Lessor’s Immediate Family] adds “electronic linked bingo game” to the list of games that a family member of a person that leases space to an organization for lawful gambling is prohibited from playing.

Section 4 [Required Record of Receipts] requires an organization that is licensed to conduct bingo to maintain a log of bingo gift certificates with specified information.

Section 5 [Accounts] changes the deadline for a licensed organization to submit gambling receipts from electronic gambling and to deposit those receipts in a gambling bank account. Under current law, the organization must deposit receipts when the total net receipts reach a threshold ($2,000) or by the first day of the next month, whichever is first.  Section 5 requires submission and deposit when the net receipts reach the threshold ($2,000) and within four business days of the first day of the next month.

Article 6 - State Board of Accountancy

Section 1 [Attest] adds audits performed under the Government Auditing Standards (GAS) to the list of work that is defined as “attest.”  The term “attest” is used throughout the Board of Accountancy chapter, such as in defining services that may be performed only under a license issued by the Board of Accountancy.

Section 2 [Program of Learning] makes conforming changes and modifies the list of activities that may be performed by licensees who are exempt from certain learning requirements.

Section 3 [Fee] eliminates a fee to apply to take the CPA examination.

Section 4 [Retired Status] establishes a “retired status” for retired public accountants. The board must grant “retired status” to a person who is 55 or older, holds a current or active license, or is exempt from licensing, and declares that he or she is retired. A person with retired status may not engage in the practice of public accounting. This section requires the board to issue a certificate for a person on retired status who meets certain criteria and lists labels that a person on retired status may use. A person on retired status is not required to meet continuing education requirements nor required to renew their registration. A person may change their retired status to active or inactive by meeting existing license reactivation requirements.

Section 5 [Cease and Desist Orders] changes the permitted methods for the board to serve a cease and desist order.

Section 6. [Actions against Persons or Firms] changes the permitted methods for the board to serve an order relating to a license application or license.

Section 7 [Actions Against Lapsed License, Certificate, or Permit] extends to two years the time that the board has to revoke or suspend a license or impose a civil penalty after a person or firm’s permit, registration, practice privileges, license, certificate, or similar authority lapses, expires, is surrendered, withdrawn, terminated, canceled, limited, not renewed, or otherwise become invalid.

Section 8 [Unlawful Acts] changes a reference to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Code of Professional Conduct, to refer to the version of the code that has been incorporated into board rules. This section also eliminates a restriction on forms for certain reports that are unlawful when issued without a license.

Article 7 – Veterans and Military Affairs Policy

Section 1 (10.576) designates the third Friday in September of each year the Prisoners of War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) Recognition Day, and requires the Governor to issue a proclamation honoring this observance each year.

Section 2 (10.578) establishes Veterans Suicide Awareness Day on the first Saturday in October, beginning in 2020, and requires the Governor to issue a proclamation honoring this observance each year.

Section 3 (10.5805) establishes Hmong Special Guerrilla Units Memorial Day on May 14, in honor of Southeast Asian Americans and their allies who served, suffered, sacrificed, or died in the Secret War in Laos during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1975 to support United States Armed Forces.

Section 4 (10.597) designates June 30 as American Allies Day for the purpose of honoring foreign-born persons who fought in conflicts around the world on behalf of and alongside the United States armed forces.  Each year the governor shall issue a proclamation honoring this observance.  Schools are encouraged to offer instruction on the role of America’s allies during military conflicts.  This section is effective the day following final enactment.

Section 5 (196.05, subdivision 1) makes a technical correction; updates language and adds a cross-reference to Minnesota Statutes, chapter 198.

Section 6 (Laws 2016, chapter 189, article 13, section 64) provides that the Medal of Honor Memorial account created in the special revenue fund consist of money transferred by law to the account and any other money donated, gifted or granted.  Requires money in the account to be annually appropriated to the Commissioner of Administration for the predesign, design, construction, and ongoing maintenance.  Subdivision 3, which specified restrictions on the funds, is stricken.

Section 7 requires the Commissioner of Administration to place a memorial plaque in the court of honor on the Capitol grounds to recognize the service of the Minnesota veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces during WWI both at home and abroad. The plaque will replace the current plaque honoring veterans who served abroad during WWI, at no cost to the state. The Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board shall solicit design submissions from the public and select a design, which must be approved by the Commissioner of Veterans Affairs. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

Section 8 establishes the USS Minneapolis-St. Paul account in the special revenue fund.  Money in the account is appropriated to the Commissioner of Military Affairs for the commissioning and preservation of the USS Minneapolis-St. Paul.  The Commissioner of Military Affairs is allowed to solicit gifts, grants, or donations for the commissioning and preservation of the USS Minneapolis-St. Paul, and funds must be deposited into the account established under this section.