2013 Legislative Briefs

1. 2013 Legislative Briefs

2. African Heritage Arts and Culture in the State of Minnesota The Council on Black Minnesotans wants recommendations on how to expand and broaden the impact of Black arts through legislative support, and request funding through the Arts and Cultural Heritage fund.  The recommendations should represent a strategy that ensures funds reach the diverse Black cultures, various Black artistic mediums and geographic regions throughout the state with large populations of Black people. Background on Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund: In 2008, Minnesota's voters passed the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment (Legacy Amendment) to the Minnesota Constitution to: protect drinking water sources; to protect, enhance, and restore wetlands, prairies, forests, and fish, game, and wildlife habitat; to preserve arts and cultural heritage; to support parks and trails; and to protect, enhance, and restore lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater. The Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund receives 19.75 percent of the sales tax revenue resulting from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy amendment  to support arts, arts education and arts access, and to preserve Minnesota's history and cultural heritage. Based on current sales tax revenue, Minnesotans will invest more than $1.2 billion in arts and cultural heritage fund projects and programs over the 25 year life of the tax. The arts and cultural heritage fund has appropriated $750, 000 to 2 Black organizations since its inception and no Black organizations have received other Legacy amendment funds.

3. COBM 2013 Human Rights Bills They are an act proposing an amendment to the Minnesota Constitution by adding a section to Article XIII: affirming the enforcement of human rights. Citizens of Minnesota would be asked the following question: “Shall the Minnesota constitution be amended to affirm the enforcement of human rights enumerated in article 1 and Minnesota law for the good of the people”? • It also propose a bill for an act relating to human rights; providing for expansion of duties under the Human Rights Act; appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 363A. The expansions include: • ensuring that all duties specified in section 363A.06 are a priority; • implementing audit procedures for state agencies, local areas of government, school districts, corporations and institutions for compliance with human rights, equal opportunity, fair housing, voting rights, and affirmative action laws and regulations; • conducting affirmative action and human rights impact analysis on all executive orders issued and proposed legislation; • reviewing and approving all state contract procurement services under chapter 16C to ensure that they meet equal access and equal opportunity laws; and • Studying and recommending an approach to implement the United Nations’ Covenant to End all form of Race Discrimination, Women Rights and Housing Rights • The amendment has one legislative signer and the HR expansion has two authors and a signer but was not scheduled for a committee hearing in 2013.

4. COBM 2013 Criminal Justice Bills include the following two legislative recommendations: • Authorize county prosecutors and public defenders to gather racial data related to their sentencing recommendations. • Authorize the Minnesota Department of Corrections to conduct an evaluation, using the State Auditor or an independent consultant, of the efficacy and access for minority populations of: • REENTRY SERVICES, • THE EXPUNGEMENT PROCESS AND • CULTURALLY COMPETENT TREATMENT PROGRAMS • and, based on the findings, propose recommendations for changes aimed at reducing recidivism, and report findings and recommendations to the community, legislature, and governor by December 31, 2013 No bills drafted for these criminal justice reforms

5. COBM’s Healthcare Disparity Eradication Initiative which includes the following: Expand funding for the Minnesota Eliminating Health Disparities Initiative to support minority run health care professional associations to carry out: • Collaborative mental health services, culturally competent health care services in communities with high populations of minority residents, and the recruitment, training and placement of minorities in the health care service industry, • Establish ombudsmen to work within the minority communities and fund medical clinics in minority communities to help residents navigate the state insurance exchange, and Authorize the reenactment of the Martin Luther King Non-violent Child Development Act providing for a pilot project to coordinate community violence prevention programs for African-American children • Bills are drafted for 1 (a) and (b) but no authors or signers. MLK Child Development Act bill is drafted has several authors and signers and received a hearing in the House of Representative.

6. COBM’s 2013 Full Employment Initiative in Targeted Labor Surplus Communities This legislation establishes within the limits of existing appropriations, the commissioner of employment and economic development shall establish a full employment initiative in targeted labor surplus communities that include these components: • A community council proposing a redevelopment plan under section 469.027 may apply to the commissioner for coordinated benefits under this section. For the purposes of this section, "community council" means a locally appointed authority comprised of residents and stakeholders from targeted labor surplus areas as defined by the United States Department of Labor.. • The community council and redevelopment plan must be located within in cities that (1) have populations of more than 60,000 residents, and (2) contain areas designated as labor surplus areas. • The commissioner, in cooperation with the commissioner of administration, shall ensure that a percentage of the state's targeted vendor agreements in section 16C.16 are set aside for utilization by businesses located in the labor surplus area targeted for redevelopment. • The commissioner shall assist community councils in coordinating funds to finance the redevelopment projects using existing state, county, and city financing and grant programs and assist in the distribution of those funds in a manner that is directly proportionate to the surplus labor available in the labor surplus area targeted for redevelopment. • A community council agrees to maximize, to the greatest extent possible, the purchase of goods and services and the hiring of labor for the projects from within the labor surplus area in which the redevelopment plan is located. • Community councils must agree to use existing redevelopment plans for the labor surplus area or create a redevelopment plan that establishes outcome-based goals to measure the productivity of the redevelopment project, • A community council agrees to maximize, to the greatest extent possible, the purchase of goods and services and the hiring of labor for the projects from within the labor surplus area in which the redevelopment plan is located • A bill is drafted has several signers but received no hearing.

7. COBM’s 2013 proposals for Education Achievement Disparity Eradication Initiatives include the following three legislative recommendations: • Require the Department of Education (DE) to assess school districts guidance counseling services and assist them with developing and implementing a plan of action to bring guidance counseling services in line with the national ratio of students to guidance counselor, and diversify counseling staff to mirror the student diversity of the district, where the need exist. • Require the DE to assess school districts racial diversity in teaching staff and assist them with developing and implementing a plan of action to bring the racial diversity of the district teaching staff to mirror the student diversity of the district, where the need exist, and • Require the DE to explore the establishment and operational approach of an endowment that pays the tuition of any public school student that gains admission to a public higher education institution in Minnesota. • The Commissioner of the Department of Education will report to the Community, Legislature and Governor by December 31, 2013 on the aforementioned • No bills drafted for any of these education achievement disparity eradication initiatives