2020 -- S 2005 | |
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LC003166 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - DEPARTMENTS OF STATE | |
GOVERNMENT | |
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Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Gallo, and Conley | |
Date Introduced: January 08, 2020 | |
Referred To: Senate Judiciary | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Sections 42-6-1, 42-6-2, 42-6-3 and 42-6-4 of the General Laws in Chapter |
2 | 42-6 entitled "Departments of State Government" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 42-6-1. Enumeration of departments. |
4 | All the administrative powers and duties heretofore vested by law in the several state |
5 | departments, boards, divisions, bureaus, commissions, and other agencies shall be vested in the |
6 | following departments and other agencies that are specified in this title: |
7 | (a) Executive department (chapter 7 of this title); |
8 | (b) Department of state (chapter 8 of this title); |
9 | (c) Department of the attorney general (chapter 9 of this title); |
10 | (d) Treasury department (chapter 10 of this title); |
11 | (e) Department of administration (chapter 11 of this title); |
12 | (f) Department of business regulation (chapter 14 of this title); |
13 | (g) Department of children, youth and families (chapter 72 of this title); |
14 | (h) Department of corrections (chapter 56 of this title); |
15 | (i) [Deleted by P.L. 2019, ch. 88, art. 4, § 12]; |
16 | (j) Department of elementary and secondary education (chapter 60 of title 16); |
17 | (k) Department of environmental management (chapter 17.1 of this title); |
18 | (l) Department of health (chapter 18 of this title); |
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1 | (m) Board of governors for higher education (chapter 59 of title 16); |
2 | (n) Department of labor and training (chapter 16.1 of this title); |
3 | (o) Department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals |
4 | (chapter 12.1 of this title); |
5 | (p) Department of human services (chapter 12 of this title); |
6 | (q) Department of transportation (chapter 13 of this title); |
7 | (r) Public utilities commission (chapter 14.3 of this title); |
8 | (s) Department of revenue (chapter 142 of this title); |
9 | (t) Department of public safety (chapter 7.3 of this title).; |
10 | (u) Executive office of commerce (chapter 64.19 of this title); and |
11 | (v) Executive office of health and human services (chapter 7.2 of this title). |
12 | 42-6-2. Heads of departments. Heads of departments, executive offices, and |
13 | commissioners of education. |
14 | The governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and general treasurer, hereinafter |
15 | called general officers, shall each be in charge of a department. There shall also be a director of |
16 | administration, a director of revenue, a director of public safety, a director of human services, a |
17 | director of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals, a director of |
18 | transportation, a director of business regulation, a director of labor and training, a director of |
19 | environmental management, a director for children, youth and families, and a director of |
20 | corrections, a secretary of the executive office of health and human services, a secretary of |
21 | commerce of the commerce corporation, and the commissioners of elementary and secondary |
22 | education and postsecondary education. Each director, secretary, and commissioner shall hold |
23 | office at the pleasure of the governor and he or she shall serve until his or her successor is duly |
24 | appointed and qualified unless the director, secretary, or commissioner is removed from office by |
25 | special order of the governor. |
26 | 42-6-3. Appointment of directors. Appointment of directors, secretaries of executive |
27 | offices, and commissioners of education. |
28 | (a) At the January session following his or her election to office, the governor shall |
29 | appoint a director of administration, a director of revenue, a director of public safety, a director of |
30 | human services, a director of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals, a |
31 | director of transportation, a director of business regulation, a director of labor and training, a |
32 | director of environmental management, a director for children, youth and families, and a director |
33 | of corrections, a secretary of the executive office of health and human services, a secretary of |
34 | commerce, and the commissioners of elementary and secondary education and postsecondary |
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1 | education. The governor shall, in all cases of appointment of a director, secretary, or |
2 | commissioner, while the senate is in session, notify the senate of his or her appointment and the |
3 | senate shall, within sixty (60) legislative days after receipt of the notice, act upon the |
4 | appointment. If the senate shall, within sixty (60) legislative days, vote to disapprove the |
5 | appointment, it shall so notify the governor, who shall forthwith appoint and notify the senate of |
6 | the appointment of a different person as director, secretary, or commissioner and so on in like |
7 | manner until the senate shall fail to so vote disapproval of the governor's appointment. If the |
8 | senate shall fail, for sixty (60) legislative days next after notice, to act upon any appointment of |
9 | which it has been notified by the governor, the person so appointed shall be the director, |
10 | secretary, or commissioner. The governor may withdraw any appointment of which he or she has |
11 | given notice to the senate, at any time within sixty (60) legislative days thereafter and before |
12 | action has been taken thereon by the senate. |
13 | (b) Except as expressly provided in § 42-6-9, no director, secretary, or commissioner of |
14 | any department or office shall be appointed or employed pursuant to any contract of employment |
15 | for a period of time greater than the remainder of the governor's current term of office. Any |
16 | contract entered into in violation of this section after July 1, 1994, is hereby declared null and |
17 | void. |
18 | 42-6-4. Filling of vacancies. |
19 | (a) In case of a vacancy in any of the offices listed in § 42-6-3 while the senate is in |
20 | session, the governor shall appoint a director, secretary, or commissioner to hold the office until |
21 | his or her successor is appointed and qualified in the same manner as provided in § 42-6-3; |
22 | provided, however, that no person so appointed to hold the office until his or her successor is |
23 | appointed and qualified shall serve in such position for more than ten (10) days unless that |
24 | person's name shall have been submitted to the senate for its approval. |
25 | (b) In case of a vacancy while the senate is not in session, the governor shall appoint a |
26 | director, secretary, or commissioner to hold the office until the next session thereof; provided, |
27 | however, that no person should serve in such position for more than three (3) legislative days |
28 | after the senate convenes unless that person's name shall have been submitted to the senate for its |
29 | approval. |
30 | (c) In no case shall the governor appoint or designate any person to serve as "interim" or |
31 | "acting" director, secretary, or commissioner of any department or office in circumvention of this |
32 | section. |
33 | SECTION 2. Section 16-97-1.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-97 entitled "The |
34 | Rhode Island Board of Education Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
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1 | 16-97-1.2. Powers and duties of the board of education. |
2 | The board of education shall have the following powers and duties: |
3 | (a) To develop and adopt a strategic plan defining broad goals and objectives for |
4 | education in the state. These goals and objectives shall be expressed in terms of the future |
5 | educational attainment of the population, quality of life and economy of Rhode Island, including |
6 | but not limited to what children, men and women should know and be able to do as a result of |
7 | their educational experience and the contributions of education to meeting the workforce and |
8 | economic development needs of Rhode Island. The board shall approve the strategic plans for |
9 | elementary and secondary education and postsecondary education in terms of the alignment of |
10 | these strategic plans with the overall strategic plan of the board of education. The board shall |
11 | continuously evaluate the efforts of the council on elementary and secondary education and the |
12 | council on postsecondary education to implement the strategic plans and shall review the results |
13 | of education in the light of these objectives; |
14 | (b) To prepare and maintain a five (5) year strategic funding plan for all levels of |
15 | education in Rhode Island. The board shall determine priorities of expenditures for public |
16 | education purposes of state revenues and other public resources made available for the support of |
17 | public education and direct the council on elementary and secondary education and the council on |
18 | postsecondary education to implement those priorities when developing the annual budget for |
19 | elementary and secondary education and higher education. The councils shall present their annual |
20 | budgets to the board for its review and approval. Nothing contained in this subdivision shall |
21 | authorize the board to alter the allocation of grants or aid otherwise provided by law; |
22 | (c) To develop and submit to the general assembly for approval a performance funding |
23 | formula for public higher education that furthers the purposes of the board and ensures that all |
24 | students may achieve educational excellence; |
25 | (d) To develop policies that maximize the potential of collaboration from elementary and |
26 | secondary education through higher education systems and that improve efficiencies at all levels |
27 | of the education system through improved coordination of activities; |
28 | (e) To embrace the legislative findings regarding virtual education established by § 16- |
29 | 22.1-2 of the general laws and adopt goals and policies that address these findings and to |
30 | encourage the council on elementary and secondary education and the council for postsecondary |
31 | education to develop and or improve virtual learning experiences for Rhode Island students; |
32 | (f) To approve the appointment of a commissioner of elementary and secondary |
33 | education. |
34 | (g) To approve the appointment of a commissioner of postsecondary education. |
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1 | (h) To conduct a training course for newly appointed and qualified board members within |
2 | six (6) months of their qualification. The course shall be developed by the chairperson of the |
3 | board, approved by the board, and conducted by the chairperson of the board. The board may |
4 | approve the use of any board or staff members or other individuals to assist with training. The |
5 | training course shall include instruction in the following areas: the provisions of chapters 42-46, |
6 | 36-14, and 38-2; and the board's own rules. |
7 | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - DEPARTMENTS OF STATE | |
GOVERNMENT | |
*** | |
1 | This act would require that the secretary of the executive office of health and human |
2 | services (EOHHS), the secretary of commerce of the commerce corporation and the |
3 | commissioners of elementary and secondary education and postsecondary education be appointed |
4 | subject to the approval of the senate. Senate approval would also be required for most temporary |
5 | appointments to these positions. |
6 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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