HF3517

Purpose

Describe and limit how much the Department of Human Services (DHS) central office can receive in year-to-year funding increases. The goal is to control growth in central administrative funding for DHS.

Main provisions

• Creates a new rule in Minnesota law (256.0111) affecting DHS central office appropriations.
• The limit applies only in fiscal years when both:
  • CPI-U inflation limits are in effect, and
  • the other specified percentage increase limits are in effect (these are references to existing limits in other sections of state law).
• In those applicable years, any increase in DHS central office appropriations from one fiscal year to the next may not exceed four percent.

What this bill seeks to accomplish

• It imposes a cap on growth of the DHS central office budget to promote budget restraint and alignment with broader inflation and funding limits already in place in state law.

Significant changes to existing law

• Adds a new statutory constraint (256.0111) that specifically restricts year-to-year increases to DHS central office funding to a maximum of four percent, subject to the condition that other inflation/percentage limits are active.
• Ties the applicability of the four percent cap to the existence of CPI-U inflation limits and the other percentage increase limits in related sections, affecting when the cap would actually apply.

Practical impact

• DHS central office funding cannot grow by more than four percent in a year when the accompanying inflation and percentage limits are in effect, potentially influencing budgeting for central administrative staff, operations, and services.

Relationship to other laws

• The four percent cap is contingent on other inflation and percentage increase limits already in force under specified sections of Minnesota law (references to CPI-U limits and sections like 256B.4914, 256R.23, and 256R.24).

Effective date

• The cap applies only for fiscal years when the referenced inflation and percentage limits are in effect; otherwise, the section may not impose a new limit.

Relevant Terms - Department of Human Services central office - appropriations - four percent cap - CPI-U inflation limits - fiscal year - percentage increase limits - Minnesota Statutes 256.0111 - 256B.4914 subdivision 1, 5b - 256R.23 subdivisions 7 and 8 - 256R.24 subdivision 3