Bill Text: MN HC1 | 2015-2016 | 89th Legislature | Draft
Bill Title: A house concurrent resolution establishing a pilot project to test electronic distribution of committee packets for the 2016 legislative session.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (N/A - Dead) 2015-01-08 - Referred to Rules and Legislative Administration [HC1 Detail]
Download: Minnesota-2015-HC1-Draft.html
1.1A house concurrent resolution
1.2establishing a pilot project to test electronic distribution of committee packets for
1.3committee meetings in the 2016 legislative session.
1.4WHEREAS, the Minnesota Legislature literally uses tons of paper to produce and distribute
1.5legislative documents in a paper format; and
1.6WHEREAS, studies of a broad range of organizations suggest that the continued use of
1.7paper documents imposes costs that extend beyond the cost of the paper used, including costs for
1.8supplies, copying, storage, distribution, document retrieval, and disaster recovery; and
1.9WHEREAS, the Minnesota Legislature maintains a public legislative Internet Web
1.10site where legislative bills and other legislative documents are available in electronic format
1.11to legislators, legislative staff, and the public and has taken additional steps to incorporate
1.12new technology into the legislative process to reduce the costs related to producing, copying,
1.13distributing, storing, and retrieving legislative information in paper format and to improve public
1.14accessibility to this legislative information; NOW, THEREFORE,
1.15BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of Minnesota, the Senate
1.16concurring, that the following actions be taken to continue to reduce the legislature's reliance on
1.17documents in a paper format:
1.18(1) COMMITTEE PILOT PROJECT.
1.19The house of representatives and the senate should each select at least one standing
1.20committee to test electronic distribution of committee packets for committee meetings in lieu
1.21of paper packets in the 2016 session. In addition, if a selected committee has a policy of
1.22predistributing proposed amendments to committee members, the pilot project should permit
2.1committee members and any other person selected by the committee chair to receive copies of the
2.2proposed amendments in an electronic format in lieu of receiving paper copies.
2.3(2) PILOT CUSTOM LEGISLATIVE WEB SITE.
2.4The house of representatives and the senate should make available to legislators who
2.5participate in the committee pilot project a custom Web page that permits easy access to
2.6legislative information from the floor of the house of representatives or senate with a tablet that
2.7uses a smaller touch-sensitive screen as a test of the technology.
2.8(3) SELECTION OF ADDITIONAL LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES TO CONVERT TO
2.9PAPERLESS PROCESSES.
2.10The Legislative Coordinating Commission should begin reviewing proposals and
2.11implementing proposals to convert additional legislative activities to paperless processes. The
2.12proposals should provide improvements that adequately address the reasons why paper continues
2.13to be used in the legislative process. Proposals considered by the Legislative Coordinating
2.14Commission should include the following:
2.15(1) authorizing of electronic filing of bills and motions;
2.16(2) permitting the substitution of e-signatures for handwritten signatures;
2.17(3) expanding the circumstances when electronic distribution of a bill or motion begins the
2.18period when the bill or motion is considered "laid on the desk" of a legislator;
2.19(4) expanding a program of distributing all committee packets and predistribution of all
2.20committee amendments in electronic format to all committees in a form that could be accessed by
2.21an iPad or another mobile device; and
2.22(5) preserving and storing electronic copies of legislative documents in a manner that
2.23permits the electronic copy to be authenticated in a court of law as an official copy of the document.
2.24The proposals should be developed and implemented at a pace that does not require
2.25excessive expenditures in any single year.
2.26(4) CONSIDERATION OF HOUSE AND SENATE RULE CHANGES IN 2017 SESSION.
2.27The house of representatives and the senate should consider changes in their rules to permit
2.28greater use of electronic copies in a legislative activity when the legislative staff have demonstrated
2.29that a paperless process can adequately substitute for the use of paper documents in that activity.
1.2establishing a pilot project to test electronic distribution of committee packets for
1.3committee meetings in the 2016 legislative session.
1.4WHEREAS, the Minnesota Legislature literally uses tons of paper to produce and distribute
1.5legislative documents in a paper format; and
1.6WHEREAS, studies of a broad range of organizations suggest that the continued use of
1.7paper documents imposes costs that extend beyond the cost of the paper used, including costs for
1.8supplies, copying, storage, distribution, document retrieval, and disaster recovery; and
1.9WHEREAS, the Minnesota Legislature maintains a public legislative Internet Web
1.10site where legislative bills and other legislative documents are available in electronic format
1.11to legislators, legislative staff, and the public and has taken additional steps to incorporate
1.12new technology into the legislative process to reduce the costs related to producing, copying,
1.13distributing, storing, and retrieving legislative information in paper format and to improve public
1.14accessibility to this legislative information; NOW, THEREFORE,
1.15BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of Minnesota, the Senate
1.16concurring, that the following actions be taken to continue to reduce the legislature's reliance on
1.17documents in a paper format:
1.18(1) COMMITTEE PILOT PROJECT.
1.19The house of representatives and the senate should each select at least one standing
1.20committee to test electronic distribution of committee packets for committee meetings in lieu
1.21of paper packets in the 2016 session. In addition, if a selected committee has a policy of
1.22predistributing proposed amendments to committee members, the pilot project should permit
2.1committee members and any other person selected by the committee chair to receive copies of the
2.2proposed amendments in an electronic format in lieu of receiving paper copies.
2.3(2) PILOT CUSTOM LEGISLATIVE WEB SITE.
2.4The house of representatives and the senate should make available to legislators who
2.5participate in the committee pilot project a custom Web page that permits easy access to
2.6legislative information from the floor of the house of representatives or senate with a tablet that
2.7uses a smaller touch-sensitive screen as a test of the technology.
2.8(3) SELECTION OF ADDITIONAL LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES TO CONVERT TO
2.9PAPERLESS PROCESSES.
2.10The Legislative Coordinating Commission should begin reviewing proposals and
2.11implementing proposals to convert additional legislative activities to paperless processes. The
2.12proposals should provide improvements that adequately address the reasons why paper continues
2.13to be used in the legislative process. Proposals considered by the Legislative Coordinating
2.14Commission should include the following:
2.15(1) authorizing of electronic filing of bills and motions;
2.16(2) permitting the substitution of e-signatures for handwritten signatures;
2.17(3) expanding the circumstances when electronic distribution of a bill or motion begins the
2.18period when the bill or motion is considered "laid on the desk" of a legislator;
2.19(4) expanding a program of distributing all committee packets and predistribution of all
2.20committee amendments in electronic format to all committees in a form that could be accessed by
2.21an iPad or another mobile device; and
2.22(5) preserving and storing electronic copies of legislative documents in a manner that
2.23permits the electronic copy to be authenticated in a court of law as an official copy of the document.
2.24The proposals should be developed and implemented at a pace that does not require
2.25excessive expenditures in any single year.
2.26(4) CONSIDERATION OF HOUSE AND SENATE RULE CHANGES IN 2017 SESSION.
2.27The house of representatives and the senate should consider changes in their rules to permit
2.28greater use of electronic copies in a legislative activity when the legislative staff have demonstrated
2.29that a paperless process can adequately substitute for the use of paper documents in that activity.
