1.1    .................... moves to amend H. F. No. 1264 as follows:
1.2Page 1, delete section 1
1.3Page 14, delete lines 1 and 2 and insert:
1.4    "(d) "Early childhood education access grant organization" means a charitable
1.5nonprofit organization that is exempt from federal taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the
1.6Internal Revenue Code, maintains funds separate from funding for other activities for the
1.7distinct purpose of providing early childhood education access grants to qualified students,
1.8and is certified by the commissioner of education as meeting the criteria of this section."
1.9Page 14, line 5, delete "and MELF"
1.10Page 14, delete subdivision 2 and insert:
1.11    "Subd. 2. Early childhood education access grant organizations. Early childhood
1.12education access grant organizations must:
1.13    (1) accept contributions from corporations and others for use in providing early
1.14childhood education access grants and allocate at least 85 percent of annual contributions
1.15received for making early childhood education access grants to qualified students;
1.16    (2) develop a process for parents of qualified students to apply for and receive a
1.17$5,000 early childhood education access grant, which the parents must use to enroll the
1.18student in the qualified early childhood educational program of their choice;
1.19    (3) not charge parents of qualified students a fee of any kind;
1.20    (4) not restrict the availability of access grants to students of any one qualified early
1.21childhood educational program;
1.22    (5) report annually to the commissioner of education on:
1.23    (i) the number of students awarded access grants from contributions under the tax
1.24credit program;
1.25    (ii) the total amount awarded in access grants from contributions under the tax
1.26credit program; and
2.1    (iii) the total number of early childhood educational programs attended by access
2.2grant recipients; and
2.3    (6) report annually no later than October 15 to the commissioner of education on
2.4the names of students receiving access grants for the current school year, so that the
2.5commissioner may reduce the amount of child care assistance under section 119B.03
2.6provided to the students' families in the next calendar year as provided in section 119B.09,
2.7subdivision 1, paragraph (d).
2.8Parents of more than one qualified student are eligible to apply for and receive an access
2.9grant for each qualified student."
2.10Page 14, line 29, delete "MELF" and insert "early childhood education access grant
2.11organizations"
2.12Page 14, delete subdivision 4 and insert:
2.13    "Subd. 4. Commissioner of education. (a) The commissioner of education must,
2.14on application, certify organizations that meet the criteria provided in this section for early
2.15childhood access grant organizations. The commissioner must maintain a list of certified
2.16early childhood access grant organizations, and make the list available on the Department
2.17of Education's Web site and by other means.
2.18    (b) The commissioner of education, in consultation with the commissioner of
2.19revenue, must report annually to the committees of the legislature with jurisdiction over
2.20early childhood education on:
2.21    (i) the total number of students awarded access grants from contributions under the
2.22tax credit program, and summary information on the geographic distribution throughout
2.23the state of access grant recipients;
2.24    (ii) the total amount awarded in access grants from contributions under the tax
2.25credit program; and
2.26    (iii) the total number of early childhood educational programs attended by access
2.27grant recipients.
2.28    Subd. 5. Application for credit certificate. A corporation shall apply to the
2.29commissioner of education for a tax credit certificate. Tax credit certificates under this
2.30section shall be made available by the commissioner of education on a first-come,
2.31first-served basis until the maximum statewide credit amount has been reached. The
2.32statewide credit maximum amount is $100,000,000 in fiscal year 2008 and following
2.33years. A contribution by a corporation to an early childhood access grant organization
2.34must be made no later than 60 days following written notification of the approval by the
2.35commissioner of education of the application. The commissioner of education shall issue
2.36the tax credit certificate in the amount of 75 percent of the amount contributed to an early
3.1childhood access grant organizations after the corporation has made the contribution. The
3.2commissioner of education shall not issue a tax credit certificate for an amount greater
3.3than $2,500,000."
3.4Renumber the sections in sequence and correct the internal references
3.5Amend the title accordingly