Minnesota correctional industries program modified.

A bill for an act

relating to corrections; modifying the Minnesota correctional industries program;

amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 241.27, subdivisions 6, 7, by adding

subdivisions.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 241.27, is amended by adding a subdivision

to read:

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Subd. 1b.

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Definition.

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"Private business" means all entities organized under the laws of

this state or a foreign jurisdiction, but does not include governmental units.

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Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 241.27, subdivision 6, is amended to read:

Subd. 6.

Reports and financial statements.

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(a)
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MINNCOR shall include its full costs

for inmate wages and the money it receives from the department for inmate confinement

costs in its annual financial statements and reports. In addition, MINNCOR shall disclose

in its annual report
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:
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(1)
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how the money it receives from the department for inmate confinement costs affects

its profitability
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; and
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(2) a calculation of the profitability of each contract MINNCOR has with private

businesses consistent with the requirements set forth in subdivision 7, paragraph (a)
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.

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(b) MINNCOR must post on the agency's public-facing website the Prison Industry

Enhancement Certification Program wage for each region of the state where MINNCOR is

contracting with a private business.

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Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 241.27, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Interactions with private businesses.

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(a) MINNCOR must participate in the

United States Bureau of Justice Assistance's Prison Industry Enhancement Certification

Program (PIECP). When implementing the PIECP, MINNCOR must:

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(1) calculate the PIECP wage which is the prevailing wage rate for each region of the

state where MINNCOR is contracting with a private business based on the Department of

Employment and Economic Development's wage survey and set the rate at the 50th percentile

for each region;

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(2) separately track wages paid to inmates at either the PIECP wage or the non-PIECP

wage which is a wage rate that is exempt from the PIECP's prevailing wage requirement;

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(3) not use a blended wage rate that combines PIECP wages and non-PIECP wages when

assessing and evaluating contract costs, profitability, and potential partnerships with private

businesses; and

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(4) classify and document each inmate's MINNCOR position as either a PIECP wage

position or a non-PIECP wage position.

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(b) MINNCOR must not subsidize private businesses, including but not limited to using

the costs of confinement to offset contract costs, to manipulate a contract's profitability

calculation, or to otherwise reduce a private business' operating expenses.

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(c) MINNCOR must account for all labor, manufacturing, general, and administrative

costs when establishing standard contract rates.

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(d) MINNCOR must recapture the fair market value for use of Department of Corrections

floor space and storage that is dedicated to a private business.

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(e) When entering into a contract and calculating labor costs, MINNCOR must use the

prevailing wage rate for the industry in which the inmates are working as determined by

the Department of Employment and Economic Development.

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(f) MINNCOR must not enter a contract with a private business if inmate labor will

provide more than 70 percent of the business' full-time equivalent employee head count.

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(a)
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(g)
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MINNCOR shall use revenue contracts or purchase orders on forms approved

by the Department of Administration whenever it allows private businesses to use inmate

labor. MINNCOR shall determine whether to use a revenue contract or a purchase order

according to criteria that the Department of Corrections has approved having taken into

account the recommendations of the legislative auditor contained in its 2009 report on

MINNCOR.

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(b)
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(h)
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MINNCOR shall develop a uniform method to report sales and expenditure data

related to individual labor arrangements with private businesses. MINNCOR shall review

the data annually to assess how the arrangements, both individually and collectively, affect

MINNCOR achieving its goals of high inmate participation in industry and profitability.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 241.27, is amended by adding a subdivision to

read:

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Subd. 9.

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Displacement of private sector workers; verification.

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The commissioner of

employment and economic development must verify that each contract MINNCOR enters

will not result in the displacement of employed private sector workers in the geographic

region in which MINNCOR facilities are located and the geographic region where the private

business is located.

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