Purpose

• Update how Minnesota’s Compensation Council is formed and how it determines pay for high-level state officials. The bill changes who serves on the council, when and how it makes salary recommendations, how those salaries are funded, and removes a prior ban on ex parte communications (with new clarifications).

Section-by-section overview

• Section 1: Membership and eligibility of the Compensation Council

  • The council would have 20 members total:
  • Eight nonjudges appointed by the chief justice (no more than four from the same political party).
  • One member from each congressional district appointed by the governor (no more than four from the same political party). Minnesota has eight congressional districts, so this adds eight members.
  • The speaker and the House minority leader each appoint two members.
  • The Senate majority leader and the Senate minority leader each appoint two members.
  • Appointments must occur after the first Monday in January and before January 15.
  • Members’ compensation and removal follow existing rules in another statute; members serve until new members are appointed.
  • Members appointed by the governor may not vote on the governor’s salary.
  • Administrative and policy support is provided by the Legislative Coordinating Commission and the Department of Management and Budget (the latter would give analytic and policy support related to compensation of agency heads).
  • Eligibility prohibitions (to serve on the council) include: current or former judge; current lobbyist; current state government employee; current or former governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, or state auditor; current or former legislator or spouse of a legislator.

• Section 2: Submission of recommendations and salary prescription

  • For judges and justices:
  • By April in each odd-numbered year, the council shall submit salary recommendations for the supreme court justices and the judges of the court of appeals and district courts to the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate.
  • Those recommended salaries take effect on July 1 of that year and July 1 of the following even-numbered year, and at intervals the council chooses thereafter, unless the legislature provides otherwise.
  • The salaries take effect only if the legislature enacts an appropriation to pay them.
  • For constitutional officers and agency/metropolitan agency heads:
  • By April 1 in each odd-numbered year, the council must prescribe salaries for constitutional officers and for the agency heads identified in the relevant statute.
  • Those prescribed salaries take effect July 1 of that year and July 1 of the following even-numbered year, and at intervals the council determines thereafter, unless the legislature provides otherwise.
  • An appropriation by the legislature to fund the specified office, branch, or agency of an amount sufficient to pay the prescribed salaries constitutes a “prescription by law” as described in the state constitution.
  • For the Direct Care and Treatment executive board:
  • By April 1 in each odd-numbered year, the council must prescribe daily compensation for voting members.
  • The daily compensation takes effect July 1 of that year and July 1 of the following even-numbered year, and, like the other salaries, continues at intervals set by the council unless the legislature provides otherwise.

• Section 3: Repealer

  • Repeals Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 15A.082 subdivision 7 (the prior no ex parte communications provision).

• Appendix note

  • The bill includes a new provision clarifying that the analytical and policy support provided to the council by the relevant state offices is not ex parte communication, even though the repealed subdivision previously restricted ex parte contact.

Main changes and what they aim to accomplish

• Expanded and restructured council membership
  • Increases transparency and balance by including both judges’ and lawmakers’ appointments, with party-affiliation limits, and with a broader set of appointing authorities.
• Clear timelines and funding conditions for salary decisions
  • Establishes specific annual timing for submitting recommendations (April) and when salaries would take effect (July) in a predictable cycle.
  • Ties salary changes to actual legislative appropriations (prescription by law), giving the legislature a direct funding control point.
• Expanded scope of what the council governs
  • The council would set salaries for:
  • Justices and judges (state courts)
  • Constitutional officers (e.g., statewide elected officials)
  • Agency heads and metropolitan agency heads
  • The Direct Care and Treatment executive board (daily pay)
• Policy support and communications
  • Maintains dedicated analytic and policy support from budget and legislative staff, while adding an exception that this support is not considered ex parte communication under the new framework.

Potential effects to note

• Independence and oversight
  • With increased membership and diverse appointments, salary recommendations may reflect broader input, though they remain subject to legislative appropriations.
• Funding dependency
  • Salary changes will depend on legislative funding, which could influence when and how pay adjustments occur.
• Compliance and procedures
  • The removal of the previous no ex parte communications rule is offset by clarifications about when and how independent analysis and input may occur during deliberations.

Relevant Terms - Compensation Council - Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 15A.082 - Subdivisions 2, 3, and 7 (and repeal of 7) - Justices of the Supreme Court; Judges of the Court of Appeals; District Court - Constitutional officers - Agency heads; Metropolitan agency heads - Direct Care and Treatment executive board - Daily compensation - Ex parte communications - Legislative Coordinating Commission - Governor’s appointments; party-affiliation limits - Appointment timing (after first Monday in January, before January 15) - Prescription by law; appropriation - Take effect dates (July 1; odd/even-numbered year cycles)