Subdivision 1. Commissioner. The commissioner is the chief executive officer of the Department of Employment and Economic Development and is the successor to the powers and duties of the former assistant commissioner of vocational rehabilitation.

Subd. 2. Rehabilitation council. The commissioner shall establish a State Rehabilitation Council and a Statewide Independent Living Council consistent with the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Public Law 93-112, as amended. Members of the councils shall be compensated as provided in section 15.059, subdivision 3.

Subd. 3. Electronic or telephonic meetings. (a) Notwithstanding section 13D.01, the State Rehabilitation Council and the Statewide Independent Living Council may conduct a meeting of its members by telephone or other electronic means so long as the following conditions are met:

(1) all members of the council participating in the meeting, wherever their physical location, can hear one another and can hear all discussion and testimony;

(2) members of the public present at the regular meeting location of the council can hear all discussion and testimony and all votes of members of the council;

(3) at least one member of the council is physically present at the regular meeting location; and

(4) all votes are conducted by roll call, so each member's vote on each issue can be identified and recorded.

(b) Each member of the council participating in a meeting by telephone or other electronic means is considered present at the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and participating in all proceedings.

(c) If telephone or other electronic means is used to conduct a meeting, the council, to the extent practical, shall allow a person to monitor the meeting electronically from a remote location. The council may require the person making such a connection to pay for documented marginal costs that the council incurs as a result of the additional connection.

(d) If telephone or other electronic means is used to conduct a regular, special, or emergency meeting, the council shall provide notice of the regular meeting location, of the fact that some members may participate by telephone or other electronic means, and of the provisions of paragraph (c). The timing and method of providing notice is governed by section 13D.04.

History: 1976 c 332 s 2; 1977 c 305 s 22; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 7; 1986 c 444; 1988 c 689 art 2 s 19; 1993 c 97 s 2; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1995 c 82 s 12,16; 2001 c 161 s 52; 2003 c 128 art 12 s 2; 2004 c 206 s 52