Subd. 1. Purpose.

A Candidate Advisory Council for the Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities shall assist the governor in determining criteria for, and identifying and recruiting qualified candidates for, nonstudent membership on the board.

Subd. 2. Membership.

The advisory council consists of 24 members. Twelve members are appointed by the Subcommittee on Committees of the Committee on Rules and Administration of the senate. Twelve members are appointed by the speaker of the house. No more than one-third of the members appointed by each appointing authority may be current or former legislators. No more than two-thirds of the members appointed by each appointing authority may belong to the same political party; however, political activity or affiliation is not required for the appointment of a member. Geographical representation must be taken into consideration when making appointments. Section 15.0575 governs the advisory council, except that the members must be appointed to six-year terms.

Subd. 3. Duties.

1. (a) The advisory council shall:

   1. (1) develop a statement of the selection criteria to be applied and a description of the responsibilities and duties of a member of the board and shall distribute this to potential candidates; and
   2. (2) for each position on the board, identify and recruit qualified candidates for the board, based on the background and experience of the candidates, and their potential for discharging the responsibilities of a member of the board.
2. (b) Selection criteria developed under this section must include the requirement that trustees represent diversity in geography, gender, race, occupation, and experience.
3. (c) Selection criteria developed under this section must also include the identification of the membership needs of the board for individual skills relevant to the governance of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and the needs for certain individual characteristics that include geographic location, gender, race, occupation, and experience.

Subd. 4. Recommendations.

Except for seats filled under sections 136F.04 and 136F.045, the advisory council shall recommend at least two and not more than four candidates for each seat. By April 15 of each even-numbered year in which the governor makes appointments to the board, the advisory council shall submit its recommendations to the governor and to the chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with primary jurisdiction over higher education policy and finance. The governor is not bound by these recommendations.

Subd. 5. Support services.

The Legislative Coordinating Commission shall provide administrative and support services for the advisory council.