GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

S	1 

SENATE BILL 356

Short Title:  GPAC/DHR Decentralization.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senator Martin of Guilford.
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Referred to:  Government Performance Audit.
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February 24, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO IMPLEMENT A RECOMMENDATION OF THE GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE AUDIT COMMITTEE TO DECENTRALIZE CERTAIN PROGRAM FUNCTIONS LOCATED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  The General Assembly finds that a Cabinet Secretary's Office should act as a policy and administrative oversight function and should rarely if ever be directly involved with program service delivery.  There should, generally, be no programmatic functions located in the Secretary's office and all pertinent functions should be decentralized and performed at the program division level.  The General Assembly further finds that a considerable number of programmatic functions is currently inappropriately placed in the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Human Resources.
Sec. 2.  (a) The following programmatic functions are transferred from the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Human Resources to the specified divisions:
(1)	The Division of Economic Opportunities, which administers grant programs that provide opportunities for low-income individuals and families, to the Division of Social Services;
(2)	The Council on Developmental Disabilities, which is a federal program designed to assist states in developing and implementing plans for the developmentally disabled, to the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services;
(3)	The North Carolina Interagency Coordinating Council, which provides the necessary management and interagency coordination for the planning, development, and evaluation of services to developmentally disabled and at-risk infants, the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services;
(4)	The volunteer services provided by the Office of Volunteer Development Services, to the respective program divisions being served; and
(5)	Effective July 1, 1995, when the program is fully operational, the Director of Family-Centered Services, which is a newly created program that provides policy and resource coordination among the various divisions within the Department of Human Resources to strengthen family-centered services, to the Division of Social Services.
(b) The position of Special Assistance for Education in the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Human Resources is eliminated and its position responsibilities are transferred to the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Human Resources.
Sec. 3.  All of the powers, duties, and functions of the Office of Rural Health and Resource Development are transferred from the Department of Human Resources to the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources.  This transfer shall include all elements of a Type I transfer, as defined in G.S. 143A-6.
Sec. 4.  (a) Effective upon the transfers mandated by Section 2 of this act being effected, the following organizational units in the Department of Human Resources shall report to the Secretary:
(1)	Deputy Secretary;
(2)	DHR Counsel/Office of Legal Affairs;
(3)	Office of External Affairs;
(4)	Division of Information Systems;
(5)	Division of Personnel Management Services;
(6)	Division of Budget and Analysis; and
(7)	Office of the Controller.
(b) Effective upon the transfers mandated by Section 2 of this act, the program divisions shall report to the Deputy Secretary.
Sec. 5.  The base budget of the Department of Human Resources is reduced by two hundred forty-three thousand dollars ($243,000) for the 1993-94 fiscal year and by two hundred forty-three thousand dollars ($243,000) for the 1994-95 fiscal year due to the implementation of this act.
Sec. 6.  The base budget of the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources is reduced by ––- for the 1993-94 fiscal year and by –– for the 1994-95 fiscal year due to the transfer of the budget of the Office of Rural Health and Resource Development.
Sec. 7.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1993.