Bill Text - HB749 (2007)

Changing the position of forensic toxicologist within the department of safety from an unclassified to a classified position.


Revision: Jan. 11, 2010, midnight

HB 749 – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

05/10/07 1386s

2007 SESSION

07-0505

09/01

HOUSE BILL 749

AN ACT relative to positions within the department of safety and making an appropriation therefor.

SPONSORS: Rep. J. Flanders, Rock 8

COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill eliminates the unclassified position of forensic toxicologist in the department of safety and establishes classified toxicologist and chief of policy and planning positions in the department. The bill makes appropriations for salary, benefits, and equipment for the chief of policy and planning position.

The bill also authorizes the commissioner of safety to make certain personnel reallocations.

This bill was requested by the department of safety.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

05/10/07 1386s

07-0505

09/01

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seven

AN ACT relative to positions within the department of safety and making an appropriation therefor.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Unclassified Salaries, Forensic Toxicologist Deleted. Amend RSA 94:1-a, I(b) by deleting the following:

FF Department of safety forensic toxicologist

2 Unclassified Salary, Chief of Policy and Planning. There is hereby established within the department of safety, office of the commissioner, the unclassified position of chief of policy and planning. Pursuant to RSA 94:1-d, the commissioner of safety shall submit his or her recommendation relative to the appropriate letter grade in RSA 94:1-a, I(b) for the position to the commissioner of administrative services, who shall submit the recommendation to an outside consultant for the purpose of assessing the appropriate letter grade for unclassified officers. The commissioner of administrative services shall submit the consultant's report to the joint committee established in RSA 14:14-c, for its review and temporary letter grade allocation.

3 New Section; Unclassified Position Established; Chief of Policy and Planning. Amend RSA 21-P by inserting after section 5-a the following new section;

21-P:5-b Chief of Policy and Planning. The commissioner of safety shall nominate a chief of policy and planning for appointment by the governor, with the consent of the council. The chief of policy and planning shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner and shall be qualified to hold that position by reason of education and experience and shall perform such duties as are assigned.

4 Classified Position Established; Forensic Toxicologist. There is established within the department of safety, division of state police, forensic laboratory, toxicology laboratory, an additional criminalist position to serve as state toxicologist at such labor grade and step as shall be determined by the director of state personnel. The comptroller, upon request of the commissioner of safety, is authorized to transfer sufficient funds from PAU 02-15-04-16-03, class 12, personnel services -unclassified, allocated to the unclassified position of state toxicologist in the operating budget to class 10, personal services - permanent, to support the salary of the new classified position.

5 Appropriation.

I. The following sums are hereby appropriated to the office of the commissioner, department of safety for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2008 and June 30, 2009:

FY 08 FY 09

Class 19, chief of policy and planning 75,857 75,857

Class 30, equipment 5,000 0

Class 60, benefits $ 36,639 $ 36,639

$117,496 $112,496

II. The sums appropriated under paragraph I are additional to any other sums appropriated to the department of safety for fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

III(a). Of the sums appropriated, the sum of $82,277 for fiscal year 2008 and the sum of $78,747 for fiscal year 2009 shall be a charge on the highway fund.

(b) Of the remainder of the sums appropriated, the sum of $35,249 for fiscal year 2008 and the sum of $33,749 for fiscal year 2009 shall be general funds. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sums out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated.

6 Personnel Reallocations Authorized. For the biennium ending June 30, 2009, the commissioner of safety, whenever he or she deems it will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of service within the department, may, with approval of the fiscal committee of the general court and governor and council and further subject to approval of the position classifications by the director of personnel, eliminate certain personnel positions that may become vacant during the biennium and establish in their place other personnel positions from the same funding source, provided the cost of the new positions does not exceed the amounts budgeted for the positions being eliminated. The commissioner of safety shall submit reports on or before December 1, 2007, June 30, 2008, and December 1, 2008 to the chairs of the house and senate executive departments and administration committees on any actions taken as a result of this authorization.

7 Effective Date.

I. Sections 1 and 4 of this act shall take effect upon its passage.

II. The remainder of this act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

LBAO

07-0505

Amended 06/04/07

HB 749 FISCAL NOTE

AN ACT relative to positions within the department of safety and making an appropriation therefor.

FISCAL IMPACT:

      The Department of Administrative Services and Department of Safety state this bill, as amended by the Senate (Amendment #2007-1386s), will increase state expenditures by $117,496 in FY 2008 and $112,496 in FY 2009. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county and local revenue or county and local expenditures.

      This bill appropriates $82,277 in FY 2008 and $78,747 in FY 2009 from the highway fund and $35,249 in FY 2008 and $33,749 in FY 2009 from the general fund to the Department of Safety.

METHODOLOGY:

    The Department of Administrative Services states this bill eliminates the unclassified position of state toxicologist in the Department of Safety and establishes it as a classified position. This bill further establishes the unclassified position of chief of policy and planning for the Department of Safety. The Department states it is unable to determine the fiscal impact on state expenditures of reclassifying the position of state toxicologist and establishing the position of chief of policy and planning as this bill does not establish a labor grade and step for either position. The fiscal impact on state expenditures of reclassifying the position of state toxicologist is the difference between the cost of the abolished unclassified position and the cost of the new classified position.

    The Department of Safety states this bill intends to change the position of forensic toxicologist from unclassified to classified. The Department assumes the classified salary will be the same as the unclassified salary and therefore this change will have no fiscal impact on expenditures. The Department further states this bill establishes an unclassified position of chief of policy and planning and makes an appropriation for that purpose, as follows:

                      FY 2008 FY 2009

    Class 19 $75,857 $75,857

    Class 30 $5,000 $0

    Class 60 $36,639 $36,639

    Total $117,496 $112,496

    The allocation of funds is established by the bill as follows:

                      FY 2008 FY 2009

    General Fund $35,249 $33,749

    Highway Fund $82,277 $78,747

          Total $117,596 $112,496