Chapter 04-590
2004 -- S 2193 SUBSTITUTE A AS AMENDED
Enacted 7/30/04
A N A C T
RELATING
TO PUBLIC OFFICERS -- APPOINTMENTS
Introduced
By: Senators Ciccone, Connors, DaPonte, Lanzi, and Lenihan
Date
Introduced: January 29, 2004
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Sections 36-1-6 and 36-1-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 36-1 entitled
"Appointment,
Qualification, and Tenure of Officers" are hereby amended to read as
follows:
36-1-6.
Tenure of officers appointed by governor. – (a) All persons
appointed by the
governor,
or appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate, shall
severally
continue
in and hold their respective offices for and during the term for which they
were severally
appointed
and until their respective successors are qualified to act, unless sooner
removed in
accordance
with law.
(b)
Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, no person appointed to any
office or
position
subject to the advice and consent of the senate shall assume such office or
position or
exercise
any of the powers of such office or position until the senate shall have given
its advice
and
consent to such appointment. In no case shall the governor appoint or designate
any person
to
serve on an "interim" or "acting" basis in circumvention of
this section.
36-1-12.
Time allowed for senate action on nominations -- Disapproval --
Withdrawal.
--
Whenever the senate shall have been in session for thirty (30) sixty
(60)
legislative
days after notice of the making of appointments by the governor and shall not
have
disapproved
the appointments or shall have failed to act thereon, the appointment by the
governor
shall
stand as confirmed. If the senate shall within the thirty (30) sixty
(60) legislative days vote
to
disapprove the appointment, it forthwith shall notify the governor who, within
seven (7)
legislative
days after notice, shall again make the appointments as desired and notify the
senate
thereof
and so on in like manner until the senate shall approve or fail to act upon or
to disapprove
in thirty
(30) sixty (60) legislative days, as aforesaid, of the governor's
appointments. The
governor
may withdraw any appointment of which he or she has given notice to the senate
at any
time
within thirty (30) sixty (60) legislative days thereafter and
before action has been taken
thereon
by the senate.
SECTION
2. Sections 42-6-3 and 42-6-11 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-6 entitled
"Departments
of State Government" are hereby amended to read as follows:
42-6-3.
Appointment of directors. -- (a) At the January session following his
or her
election
to office, the governor shall appoint a director of administration, a director
of human
services,
a director of mental health, retardation, and hospitals, a director of
transportation, a
director
of business regulation, a director of labor and training, a director of
environmental
management,
a director for children, youth and families, a director of elderly affairs, and
a
director
of corrections. The governor shall, in all cases of appointment of a director
while the
senate
is in session, notify the senate of his or her appointment and the senate
shall, within thirty
(30) sixty (60) legislative
days after receipt of the notice, act upon the appointment. If the senate
shall,
within thirty (30) sixty (60) legislative days, vote to
disapprove the appointment it shall so
notify
the governor, who shall forthwith appoint and notify the senate of the
appointment of a
different
person as director and so on in like manner until the senate shall fail to so
vote
disapproval
of the governor's appointment. If the senate shall fail, for thirty (30)
sixty (60)
legislative
days next after notice, to act upon any appointment of which it has been
notified by the
governor,
the person so appointed shall be the director. The governor may withdraw any
appointment
of which he or she has given notice to the senate, at any time within thirty
(30) sixty
(60) legislative days
thereafter and before action has been taken thereon by the senate.
(b) Except as expressly provided in section 42-6-9, no director of any
department shall
be
appointed or employed pursuant to any contract of employment for a period of
time greater
than
the remainder of the governor's current term of office. Any contract entered
into in violation
of
this section after [July 1, 1994] is hereby declared null and void.
42-6-11.
Appointment. -- The governor shall appoint a director of health and in
all cases
of
appointment of the director of health the governor shall while the senate is in
session, notify
the
senate of his or her appointment and the senate shall, within thirty (30)
sixty (60) legislative
days
after receipt of the notice, act upon the appointment. If the senate shall,
within thirty (30)
sixty
(60)
legislative days, vote to disapprove the appointment it shall notify the
governor, who
shall
forthwith appoint and notify the senate of the appointment of a different
person as director
and
so on in like manner until the senate shall fail to vote disapproval of the
governor's
appointment.
If the senate shall fail, for thirty (30) sixty (60) legislative
days next after notice, to
act
upon any appointment of which it has been notified by the governor, the person
appointed
shall
be the director. The governor may withdraw any appointment of which he or she
has given
notice
to the senate, at any time within thirty (30) sixty (60)
legislative days thereafter and before
action
has been taken thereon by the senate.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01179/SUB
A
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