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DEED policy bill would sunset two reports, allow commissioner designee on MJSP board; committee lays bill over
Summary
Senate File 15‑68, DEED's policy bill, would permit a commissioner designee to serve on the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership board, sunset two multi‑agency reports (an economic development inventory and a workforce net‑impact analysis) and update state language for services for the blind to match federal terms.
Senate File 15‑68, carried by Senator Champion, packages four policy changes from the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED): (1) allow the commissioner to designate a designee to serve on the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) board; (2) sunset the Inventory of Economic Development Programs report; (3) sunset the Workforce Program Net Impact Analysis report; and (4) update state statute language to align with federal language regarding state services for the blind.
DEED government relations director Devin Bowdre described the changes as administrative updates and cost savings. He said the inventory report and the net impact analysis are expensive to produce (the net impact analysis costs roughly $55,000 per report) and that DEED believes much of the same information is available in the department's interactive "uniform report card" and other reporting tools that are more timely and less costly to produce. Bowdre said the federal language update replaces references to specific machines with broader "facilities" terminology.
Several committee members expressed concerns about transparency and public access to data. Senator Nelson and others asked where taxpayers and researchers would find the data if the reports are eliminated; DEED staff pointed to the uniform report card on DEED's public website as an alternative and said its interactive metrics are updated more frequently. Senator Pratt raised concerns about the commissioner delegating MJSP board membership and about perceived reductions in transparency at a time when agencies are under scrutiny; he said he could not support the bill as written without further clarification.
Committee members and the bill author emphasized that the hearing represents an initial discussion; the bill was laid over for possible inclusion and further amendment. Committee staff noted that the DEED general fund (jobs section) totals approximately $213.8 million for fiscal 2026–27 (general fund only). Members asked DEED to provide additional details and to consider the transparency implications if the reports are sunsetted.
