SENATE BILL 170

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

Mark Moores

AN ACT

RELATING TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES; PROVIDING THAT FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES OF THE GOVERNOR'S RESIDENCE ARE EXEMPT FROM COVERAGE BY THE PERSONNEL ACT; PLACING THOSE EMPLOYEES UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OF GENERAL SERVICES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 9-17-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, Chapter 301, Section 5) is amended to read:

     "9-17-5. SECRETARY--DUTIES AND GENERAL POWERS.--

          A. The secretary is responsible to the governor for the operation of the department. It is [his] the secretary's duty to manage all operations of the department and to administer and enforce the laws with which [he] the secretary or the department is charged.

          B. To perform [his] the secretary's duties, the secretary has every power expressly enumerated in the laws, whether granted to the secretary or the department, or any division of the department, except where authority conferred upon any division is explicitly exempted from the secretary's authority by statute. In accordance with these provisions, the secretary shall:

                (1) except as otherwise provided in the General Services Department Act, exercise general supervisory and appointing authority over all department employees and full-time employees of the governor's residence, subject to any applicable personnel laws and [regulations] rules;

                (2) delegate authority to subordinates as [he] the secretary deems necessary and appropriate, clearly delineating such delegated authority and the limitations thereto;

                (3) organize the department into those organizational units [he] the secretary deems will enable it to function most efficiently, subject to any provisions of law, including executive orders of the governor, requiring or establishing specific organizational units;

                (4) within the limitations of available appropriations and applicable laws, employ and fix the compensation of those persons necessary to discharge [his] the secretary's duties;

                (5) take administrative action by issuing orders and instructions, not inconsistent with law, to assure implementation of and compliance with the provisions of law for whose administration or execution [he] the secretary is responsible, and to enforce those orders and instructions by appropriate administrative action or action in the courts;

                (6) conduct research and studies that will improve the operations of the department and the provision of services to other departments and the citizens of the state;

                (7) provide courses of instruction and practical training for employees of the department and to other persons involved in the administration of programs, with the objective of improving the operations and efficiency of administration;

                (8) prepare the department's annual budget;

                (9) cooperate with the heads of administratively attached agencies, and adjunct agencies, at their request, in order to:

                     (a) minimize or eliminate duplication of services and jurisdictional conflicts;

                     (b) coordinate activities and resolve problems of mutual concern; and

                     (c) resolve by agreement the manner and extent to which the department shall provide budgeting, recordkeeping and related clerical assistance to administratively attached agencies;

                (10) appoint, with the governor's consent, one "deputy secretary" and, for each division, a "director". These appointed positions are exempt from the provisions of the Personnel Act. Persons appointed to these positions shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary;

                (11) give bond as provided in the Surety Bond Act. The department shall pay the cost of such bond; and

                (12) require faithful performance or other fidelity bonds of such department employees and officers as [he] the secretary deems necessary, as provided in the Surety Bond Act. The department shall pay the cost of such bonds.

          C. The secretary may apply for and receive, with the governor's approval, in the name of the department, any public or private funds, including but not limited to United States government funds, available to the department to carry out its programs, duties or services.

          D. Where functions of departments overlap or a function assigned to one department could be better performed by another department, the secretary may recommend appropriate legislation to the next session of the legislature for its approval.

          E. The secretary may make and adopt such reasonable administrative and procedural rules [and regulations] as may be necessary to carry out the duties of the department and its divisions. No rule [or regulation] promulgated by the director of any division in carrying out the functions and duties of the division shall be effective until approved by the secretary unless otherwise provided by statute. Unless otherwise provided by statute, no [regulation] rule affecting any person or agency outside the department shall be adopted, amended or repealed without a public hearing on the proposed action before the secretary or a hearing officer designated by [him] the secretary. The public hearing shall be held in Santa Fe unless otherwise permitted by statute. Notice of the subject matter of the [regulation] rule, the action proposed to be taken, the time and place of the hearing, the manner in which interested persons may present their views and the method by which copies of the proposed [regulation] rule or proposed amendment or repeal of an existing [regulation] rule may be obtained shall be published once at least thirty days prior to the hearing date in a newspaper of general circulation in the state and mailed at least thirty days prior to the hearing date to all persons who have made written request for advance notice of hearing. All rules [and regulations] shall be filed in accordance with the State Rules Act."

     SECTION 2. Section 10-9-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1961, Chapter 240, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:

     "10-9-4. COVERAGE OF SERVICE.--The Personnel Act and the service cover all state positions except:

          A. officials elected by popular vote or appointed to fill vacancies to elective offices;

          B. members of boards and commissions and heads of agencies appointed by the governor;

          C. heads of agencies appointed by boards or commissions;

          D. directors of department divisions;

          E. those in educational institutions and in public schools;

          F. those employed by state institutions and by state agencies providing educational programs and who are required to hold valid certificates as certified school instructors as defined in Section 22-1-2 NMSA 1978 issued by the [state board of] public education department;

          G. those in the governor's office;

          H. those in the state militia or the commissioned officers of the New Mexico state police division of the department of public safety;

          I. those in the judicial branch of government;

          J. those in the legislative branch of government;

          K. not more than two assistants and one secretary in the office of each official listed in Subsections A, B and C of this section, excluding members of boards and commissions in Subsection B of this section;

          L. those of a professional or scientific nature [which] that are temporary in nature;

          M. those filled by patients or inmates in charitable, penal or correctional institutions;

          N. state employees if the personnel board in its discretion decides that the position is one of policymaking; [and]

          O. disadvantaged youth under twenty-two years of age regularly enrolled or to be enrolled in a secondary educational institution approved by the [state board of] public education department or in an accredited state institution of advanced learning or vocational training and who are to be employed for not more than seven hundred twenty hours during any calendar year, provided that:

                (1) the term "disadvantaged youth" shall be defined for purposes of this exemption by [regulation] rule duly promulgated by the board; and

                (2) the board shall:

                     (a) require that all the criteria of this subsection have been met;

                     (b) establish employment lists for the certification of the highest-standing candidates to the prospective employers; and

                     (c) establish the pay rates for such employees; and

          P. those employees of the general services department employed to provide full-time services at the governor's residence."

     SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2013.

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