Minnesota
State Bar
Association

Assembly

Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 12:30 p.m. Friday, December 14, 2007, at the Minnesota CLE Conference Center, with President Brian Melendez presiding and Secretary Terry Votel recording. President Melendez directed attention to handouts distributed just prior to the meeting, noting that these materials, along with changes to agenda items, had been received too late to satisfy notice requirements under MSBA Bylaws. He called for a motion to approve the revised business agenda as amended with these late additions. A motion to that effect was made, seconded, and carried with 75% voting in favor.

I.      Presentation of Elmer Wiblishauser Award
Publications Committee Chair Mike McCarthy presented the Wiblishauser Award to Hennepin County Judge Robert A. Blaeser and Andrea R. Martin of the Hennepin County Attorney's Office for their article, "Engendering Tribal Court/State Court Cooperation," which appeared in the December 2006 issue of Bench & Bar of Minnesota.

II.     President’s Report
President Melendez discussed several items of interest to Assembly members:

·          Cameras in the Courtroom: The Supreme Court is considering changes to the rules governing cameras in Minnesota courtrooms. President Melendez indicated that he had sent notices to Bar leaders inviting comments, but had not received any to date. He invited all MSBA committees and sections to weigh in on this issue, and read dates of upcoming public hearings to be conducted by the Supreme Court. In the event that the full Bar chooses not to take a formal position on this issue, individual committees and sections are permitted under MSBA Bylaws to take their own independent positions.

·          Judicial Elections: President Melendez praised Judiciary Committee co-chairs Mary Vasaly and Karna Peters for their efforts to inform the public about judicial independence and other issues related to judicial elections. The Committee's Public Education Subcommittee has developed documents, handouts, and a video to assist volunteer lawyers in delivering presentations to the public on this issue. All of these materials were presented on a disc distributed to all Assembly members and available to attorneys across the state. President Melendez stressed that the materials do not take a position on which mechanism for judicial selection is "best," stressing instead the value to society of an impartial judiciary.

·          Convention: President Melendez recognized Edward Toussaint, chief judge of the Court of Appeals, for an update on the June 15-17, 2008, MSBA Convention in Duluth. Judge Toussaint praised the work of the committee chairs and encouraged all Assembly members to attend the event, which will focus on diversity and environmental issues.

President Melendez also directed attention to a new agenda item submitted by the Human Rights Committee. He recognized Hennepin County Judge Lloyd Zimmerman for a presentation of the recommendation as stated in a handout to Assembly members. The recommendation, patterned after a resolution by the American Bar Association, voiced support for the international rule of law in the wake of November 2007 developments in Pakistan. A motion was made, seconded, and carried unanimously to add this recommendation from the Human Rights Committee to the calendar items appearing under the General Policy Committee's agenda.

III.    Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Leo Brisbois presented highlights of the Treasurer's Report as presented in the meeting materials. As of October 31, 2007, membership dues were at 98.5 percent of budget, compared with 98.1 percent for the same period in 2006. Year-to-date revenues were at 76.7 percent of budget (compared with 77.8 percent in 2006), and year-to-date expenses were at 27.1 percent (compared with 26.5 percent in 2006).

IV.    Executive Director’s Report
President Melendez directed attention to the written report by Executive Director Tim Groshens.

V.     Consent Calendar
President Melendez directed attention to the following agenda items as they appeared in the meeting materials:
A.         Approval of minutes of the September 28, 2007, meeting
B.         Approval of recommendation of the Governance Committee to adopt the Bylaw amendments recommended by the Real Property Law Section and the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section
A motion to approve the Consent Calendar was made, seconded, and carried.

VI.    Elections/Appointments Committee
President Melendez indicated that no report or action was before the Assembly from this Committee.

VII.   General Policy Committee
Committee Chair Lisa Montpetit Brabbit presented the following two items.

A.     Resolved that the Assembly approve the recommendations of the Stowman Committee related to the Judicial Elections Campaign Conduct Committee
Ms. Montpetit Brabbit directed attention to this recommendation and its accompanying report as presented in the meeting materials, along with a handout distributed at the meeting. That handout contained three changes to the Affirmation, developed and approved by the General Policy Committee on December 12, 2007. As presented in the handout, these changes were to strike paragraph 4, to insert a new paragraph following paragraph 6, and to renumber paragraphs as needed to reflect these changes. President Melendez asked Assembly members for additions or discussion; hearing none, he called the question on the Committee's motion to adopt the Stowman Committee report as amended. The motion carried with Judge Ostby and Justice Gildea abstaining.

B.     Action on the recommendation of the MSBA Human Rights Committee
Ms. Montpetit Brabbit advised Assembly members that the General Policy Committee had voted to recommend adoption of a recommendation by the Human Rights Committee. That recommendation, patterned after actions by the American Bar Association and other U.S. bar associations, condemned recent actions against judges and lawyers in Pakistan, and voiced support for the international rule of law. She directed attention to the complete recommendation as presented in the handout, and recognized Judge Lloyd Zimmerman and Kristen Gast, co-chairs of the committee, to speak to its merits. The General Policy Committee's motion to approve carried with one abstention.

VIII.  Governance Committee
Governance Committee Chair Aaron Biber presented the following Committee motions as they appeared in the meeting materials:

A.     Resolved that the Assembly approve the recommendation of the Governance Committee to amend Section 4.11.1 of the Bylaws
Mr. Biber noted that current MSBA Bylaws state that "[t]he chair of each Assembly committee shall be a representative from the Council." The proposed amendment would add "unless otherwise approved by the Council" to this section, permitting non-Council members to serve as chairs if approved by the Assembly. Subsequent discussion clarified that the resolution would also permit non-Assembly members to serve as chairs of Assembly committees if approved by the Assembly. The motion carried with the approval of a majority of the representatives of the Assembly entitled to vote.

B.     Resolved that the Assembly approve the recommendation of the Governance Committee to amend the Bylaws of the Animal Law Section
Mr. Biber directed attention to restated bylaws of the Animal Law Section. The key provision of these new bylaws was to give the Section the authority to take legislative positions in its own name as provided for in Sections 13 and 14 of the MSBA Bylaws. This redrafted bylaw provision was intended to match related provisions for all MSBA sections. The motion carried with Judge Ostby abstaining.

IX.    Legislative Committee
President Melendez praised the efforts of the Legislative Committee in reviewing proposals from MSBA sections and committees. He recognized Committee Chair Susan Holden, who characterized the process as an effort to resolve potential conflicts between bar constituencies, apply legal expertise to advance the public good, and develop an effective legislative agenda. She noted a three-fold increase in proposals for the 2008 legislative session.

A.     The Legislative Committee recommended Assembly approval of the following items, as presented in the meeting materials:

1.    Business Law Section
               a.    Technical amendments to Minn. Stat. 322B, the Minnesota Limited Liability Company Act and to Minn. Stat. 321, the Minnesota Uniform Limited Partnership Act of 2001;

                b.    Amend Minn. Stat. 322B to permit formation of non-profit Minnesota limited liability company and permit a MN LLC to be formed for any “lawful” purpose rather than for any “business” purpose; and

                c.    Technical amendments to Minn. Stat. 302A, the Minnesota Business Corporation Act, as amended.

The motion to approve the recommendations of the Business Law Section carried with Justice Gildea abstaining.

2.    Real Property Law Section
Ms. Holden noted that the Section had submitted several proposals, four of which were before the Assembly with a recommendation from the Legislative Committee to approve:

                a.    Amend Minn. Stat. 557.02 to eliminate obsolete language regarding marginal discharge of a lis pendens;

                b.    Amend Minn. Stat. 508.02, 508A.02 and 08.671 to clarify common law and statutory law that the doctrine of practical location of boundaries applies to Torrens property;

                c.    Amend Minn. Stat. 507.24, 508.48 and 508A.48 to clarify that a corporate acknowledgment to execute real estate documents is sufficient authority upon which an examiner of the title can rely; and

                d.    Amend Minn. Stat. Chapter 507 and related statutes to create a transfer on death deed, giving real property owners another tool for estate planning.

These four recommendations from the Real Property Law Section were approved with Justice Gildea abstaining.

 3.    Probate and Trust Law Section
               a.    That the Legislature defer action on the Uniform Power of Attorney Act to allow time for further study;

               b.    That the Legislature defer action on the Uniform Principal and Income Act to allow time for further study;

               c.    Amend the Probate Code regarding a) changing the share of a surviving spouse of a decedent who made a pre-marital will from elective to intestate; b) extending the homestead exemption to situations where the homestead passes in trust for the children or spouse of the decedent; c) clarifying amendment to creditors section of the Probate Code, as amended in accordance with the recommendation of the Real Property Section; and

               d.    Technical corrections to the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, conforming the mortician’s statute to the new Darlene Luther Uniform Anatomical Gift Act.

These four recommendations from the Probate and Trust Law Section were approved with Justice Gildea abstaining.

4.    Family Law Section
Ms. Holden reported that three of the Section's proposals had been approved by the Legislative Committee, and indicated that the Section may present additional proposals during the upcoming session. The three proposals before the Assembly were:

                a.    Proposal A: Amend Minn. Stat. 518.552 and 518A.29 so that spousal maintenance is calculated after child support;

                b.    Proposal B: Amend Minn. Stat. 518A to revise the self support reserve calculation for obligors on child support; and

                c.    Proposal G: Delete language in Minn. Stat. 518.10 regarding social security numbers in a Petition for dissolution to conform to best practices, as amended.

Discussion centered on Proposal G. As presented in the meeting materials, Proposal G would strike a requirement that the social security numbers of petitioners and respondents be included in petitions for dissolution or legal separation in which child support or spousal maintenance will be addressed. A motion was made to strike the following final paragraph from Proposal G:

REASON FOR CHANGE: New federal regulations prohibit use of social security numbers in public records. Therefore, to comply with §518.10, the social security numbers must be pled in a separate form called a Confidential Information Form. This form has to be placed in a special envelope concealed from public view. This adds much red tape to the filing process and takes productive time away from the filing clerks.

During discussion, it was clarified that the intent to strike this paragraph was not to eliminate the Confidential Information Form, but to bring the proposal into conformity with actual practice. The motion to approve all three of the Family Law Section's recommendations, including Proposal G as amended, carried, with Judge Ostby, Chief Judge Toussaint, and Justice Gildea abstaining.

5.    Animal Law Section
                a.    That the MSBA endorse the proposal of the Animal Law Section to create a pet trust statute.

The recommendation from the Animal Law Section was approved with Judge Otsby and Justice Gildea abstaining.

6.    Tax Law Section
That the MSBA endorse the proposal of the Tax Law Section to amend Minn. Stat. § 278.05, subd. 6(a), “the 60-Day Rule,” to give taxpayers guidance as to what information they must turn over to a County Assessor within 60 days of the tax petition filing deadline, and change the sanction for non-compliance from automatic dismissal with prejudice to a sanction within the discretion of a judge under Rule 37 of the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure.

The recommendation from the Tax Law Section carried. Tax Court Judges Perez and Sanberg and Justice Gildea abstained.

7.    Legislative Committee
That the MSBA endorse the proposal of the Legislative Committee to recommend the Legislature defer action on any bill to modify the structure of the Pollution Control Agency as outlined in HF 294/SF 1876 to allow time for further study.

The recommendation from the Legislative Committee was approved with Justice Gildea abstaining.

B.     Ms. Holden then directed attention to two housekeeping items appearing in the meeting materials. 
1.    That the Assembly affirm the current MSBA legislative positions;

        2.    That the MSBA approve a general allocation of the legislative counsel’s time as follows:  30% to judicial election/selection issues; 30% to specific agenda items approved by the Assembly; 30% to general reserve and 10% to sales tax on legal services, with the understanding that the lobbyist’s time can be redistributed by the President and his designee(s) as the need arises during the legislative session.

With regard to the first item, Ms. Holden indicated that the list appearing in the meeting materials represented an updated summary of active legislative positions, and did not reflect new positions by the MSBA. The motion to approve this recommendation carried.

The second item was intended as an estimate of lobbyist hours that will likely be needed to advance each proposal. These notes concerning time allocations are intended as budgeting guides and do not reflect the actual number of hours that will be spent during the upcoming legislative session. The motion to approve this recommendation carried.

Ms. Holden also directed attention to reports of the Legislative Committee that did not require Assembly action. These reports appeared in online postings prior to the meeting.

X.     Operations Committee
Operations Committee Chair Leo Brisbois presented the following resolutions as they appeared in the meeting materials:

A.     Resolved that the Assembly approve the recommendation of the Operations Committee for an approved unbudgeted expenditure of up to $500 for the Life and Law Committee

B.     Resolved that the Assembly approve the recommendation of the Operations Committee related to the MSBA office lease

C.     Resolved that the Assembly approve the recommendation of the Operations Committee for an approved unbudgeted expenditure of up to $30,000 ($15,000 in 2007-08 and $15,000 in 2008-09) for the Real Property and Civil Litigation Certification programs

D.     Resolved that the Assembly approve the recommendation of the Operations Committee for an approved unbudgeted expenditure of up to $5,000 for the Stowman Committee

E.     Resolved that the Assembly approve the request of the Civic Education Committee for additional staff time at a cost of $19,150 for the remainder of the 2007-08 bar year

Mr. Brisbois presented each item individually. Separate motions to approve each of the five recommendations carried with Judge Ostby and Justice Gildea abstaining on Item D.

XI. Reports
A.     Assembly Committees

        1.    Elections/Appointments

        2.    General Policy

        3.    Governance

        4.    Legislative

        5.    Operations

President Melendez noted that the Assembly had heard agenda items from most of these committees, and called upon individual chairs to supply additional reports. Hearing none, he proceeded with the meeting calendar.

B.     Civic Education Committee Progress Report
Co-chairs Nena Street and Eldon Kaul reported on behalf of the committee. They presented highlights of the report appearing in the meeting materials, providing background on the growth of the committee, projects implemented to date, and future initiatives.

XII. New Business
There was no new business.

XIII.  Announcements
A.     Notice of nominations/appointments to the following boards:
(Election of nominees will take place at the April 24, 2008 meeting of the Assembly.  Members should encourage any Association member who is interested in being nominated to submit a Qualifications and Interest Statement to the MSBA office by March 7, 2008.)

        1.    Client Security Board -- The term of Harriet Sims, Hennepin County, expires June 30, 2008.  Ms. Sims has served one term and is eligible to serve an additional term.

        2.    State Board of Continuing Legal Education – The terms of Laura Hage, Ramsey County, and James Rogers, Hennepin County, expire June 30, 2008.  Ms. Hage has served one term and is eligible to serve an additional term; Mr. Rogers has served two terms and is not eligible to serve an additional term. 

        3.    Legal Services Advisory Committee -- The term of Scott Richardson, Mower County, expires July 1, 2008.  Mr. Richardson has served two terms and is not eligible to serve an additional term.

        4.    Central Minnesota Legal Services – The terms of Carol Klaphake and Patrick O’Donnell expire April 30, 2008.  Ms. Klaphake and Mr. O’Donnell are eligible to serve an additional term. 

        5.    MSBA/ABA Delegates – The terms of Aaron Biber, Jon Duckstad, Trudy Halla and Judge George Perez expire at the end of the ABA meeting in August.  Ms. Halla has served three terms and is not eligible to serve an additional term.  Mr. Biber, Mr. Duckstad, and Judge Perez are eligible to serve an additional term. 

B.     Future Meetings
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008

XIV. Adjournment
A motion was made, seconded, and carried to adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 2:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Terry Votel
Secretary