Commissioner of administration required to review agency grants management practices and establish and enforce improvements.

A bill for an act

relating to state government; requiring the commissioner of administration to

review agency grants management practices and establish and enforce

improvements; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 16B.97, subdivisions

3, 4.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 16B.97, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

Discretionary powers.

The commissioner has the authority to:

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(1) review grants management practices and establish and enforce policy and procedure

improvements;

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(2)
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(1)
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sponsor, support, and facilitate innovative and collaborative grants management

projects with public and private organizations;

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(3)
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(2)
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review, recommend, and implement alternative strategies for grants management;

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(4)
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(3)
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collect and disseminate information, issue reports relating to grants management,

and sponsor and conduct conferences and studies;

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(5)
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(4)
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participate in conferences and other appropriate activities related to grants

management issues;

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(6)
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(5)
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suspend or debar grantees from eligibility to receive state-issued grants for up to

three years for reasons specified in Minnesota Rules, part
1230.1150
, subpart 2. A grantee

may obtain an administrative hearing pursuant to sections
14.57
to
14.62
before a suspension

or debarment is effective by filing a written request for hearing within 20 days of notification

of suspension or debarment;

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(7)
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(6)
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establish offices for the purpose of carrying out grants governance, oversight,

and management; and

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(8)
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(7)
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require granting agencies to submit grant solicitation documents for review prior

to issuance at dollar levels determined by the commissioner.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 16B.97, subdivision 4, is amended to read:

Subd. 4.

Duties.

(a) The commissioner shall:

(1) create general grants management policies and procedures that are applicable to all

executive agencies. The commissioner may approve exceptions to these policies and

procedures for particular grant programs. Exceptions shall expire or be renewed after five

years. Executive agencies shall retain management of individual grants programs;

(2) provide a central point of contact concerning statewide grants management policies

and procedures;

(3) serve as a resource to executive agencies in such areas as training, evaluation,

collaboration, and best practices in grants management;

(4) ensure grants management needs are considered in the development, upgrade, and

use of statewide administrative systems and leverage existing technology wherever possible;

(5) oversee and approve future professional and technical service contracts and other

information technology spending related to executive agency grants management systems

and activities;

(6) provide a central point of contact for comments about executive agencies violating

statewide grants governance policies and about fraud and waste in grants processes;

(7) forward received comments to the appropriate agency for further action, and may

follow up as necessary;

(8) provide a single listing of all available executive agency competitive grant

opportunities and resulting grant recipients;

(9) selectively review development and implementation of executive agency grants,

policies, and practices;
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and
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(10) selectively review executive agency compliance with best practices
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.
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; and
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(11) review executive agency grants management practices and establish and enforce

policy or procedure improvements as needed, with a focus on high-risk grants as defined

by the commissioner in a policy developed under clause (1).

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(b) The commissioner may determine that it is cost-effective for agencies to develop

and use shared grants management technology systems. This system would be governed

under section
16E.01, subdivision 3
, paragraph (b).