9.1. SR 07-21-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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(d)The council may make recommendations to the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources on scientific research that will assist in restoring, protecting, and enhancing wetlands, prairies, forests, and habitat for fish, game, and wildlife, preventing forest fragmentation, encouraging forest consolidation, and expanding restored native prairie. (e)Recommendations of the council, including approval of recommendations for the outdoor heritage fund, require an affirmative vote of at least nine members of the council. (f)The council may work with the Clean Water Council,the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, the Board of Water and Soil Resources, soil and water conservation districts, and experts from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and the University of Minnesota in developing the council's recommendations. (g) The council shall develop and implement a process that ensures that citizens and potential recipients of funds are included throughout the process, including the development and finalization, of the council's recommendations. The process must include a fair, equitable, and thorough process for reviewing requests for funding and a clear and easily understood process for ranking projects. (h) The council shall use the regions of the state based upon the ecological sections and subsections developed by the Department of Natural Resources and establish objectives for each region and subregion to achieve the purposes of the fund outlined in the state constitution. (i)The council shall develop and submit to the Legislative Coordinating Commission plans for the first ten years of funding, and a framework for 25 years of funding, consistent with statutory and constitutional requirements. The council may use existing plans from other legislative, state, and federal sources, as applicable. Subd. 4.Confliet of interest. (a) A council member may not be an advocate for or against a council action or vote on any action that may be a conflict of interest. A conflict of interest must be disclosed as soon as it is discovered. The council shall follow the policies and requirements related to conflicts of interest developed by the Office of Grants Management under section 16B.98. (b) For the purposes of this section, a "conflict of interest" exists when a person has an organizational conflict of interest or direct financial interests and those interests present the appearance that it will be difficult for the person to impartially fulfill the person's duty. An "organizational conflict of interest" exists when a person has an affiliation with an organization that is subject to council activities, which presents the appearance of a conflict between organizational interests and council member duties. An "organizational conflict of interest" does not exist if the person's only affiliation with an organization is being a member of the organization. Subd. 5.Open meetings. (a) Meetings of the council and other groups the council may establish arc subject to chapter.13D. Except where prohibited by law, the council shall establish additional processes to broaden public involvement in all aspects of its deliberations, including recording meetings, video conferencing, and publishing minutes. For the purposes of this subdivision, a meeting occurs when a quorum is present and the members receive information or take action on Attachment F:7