This bill modifies various aspects of workforce development in Minnesota, particularly focusing on the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Board and services for blind vendor facilities. It amends the membership structure of the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Board by adding the commissioner of employment and economic development or their designee, and the president of the University of Minnesota or their designee, while maintaining the requirement for certain members to represent organized labor and business. Additionally, the bill updates the reporting requirements for economic development programs, mandating a comprehensive inventory of such programs every two years, and includes a new expiration clause for this reporting requirement.

Furthermore, the bill revises the language regarding blind vendor facilities, replacing references to "vending stands and machines" with "vending facilities" to modernize the terminology. It clarifies the liability limitations for the Department of Employment and Economic Development concerning blind vendors and their employees, and it continues the revolving fund for vocational rehabilitation of the blind, specifying its use for establishing and operating vending facilities. The bill also outlines the purposes for which the revolving fund can be utilized, including equipment purchases and fringe benefits for blind vending operators, while ensuring that licenses for operating these facilities are issued for an indefinite period.

Statutes affected:
Introduction: 116L.03, 116L.35, 116L.98, 248.07