CCS SCS HB 1868 -- STATE GOVERNMENT

This bill changes the laws regarding keys to the Capitol dome,
state agencies, and MO HealthNet claims and establishes the Joint
Committee on the Reduction and Reorganization of Programs within
State Government.  In its main provisions, the bill:

(1)  Requires the Commissioner of the Office of Administration to
provide a key that accesses the State Capitol dome to each member
of the General Assembly.  The President Pro Tem of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House of Representatives must provide a
training program for the members and General Assembly staff
regarding access to secured areas of the State Capitol Building.
They may consult with the Office of Administration and the
Department of Public Safety when developing the program (Section
8.016, RSMo);

(2)  Establishes the Joint Committee on the Reduction and
Reorganization of Programs within State Government.  The
membership of the committee is specified in the bill.  The
13-member committee must submit a report to the General Assembly
by December 31, 2010, with recommendations for reducing,
eliminating, or combining a state program with another program or
programs in the same or a different department.  All state
departments must provide the committee with requested information
(Section 21.910);

(3)  Requires each employee of the Oversight Division of the
Joint Committee on Legislative Research before entering upon his
or her duties to take and file with the Chief Clerk of the House
of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate an oath to
support the Missouri Constitution, to faithfully demean himself
or herself in office, not to disclose specified information to
unauthorized persons, and not to accept any pay for the discharge
of his or her duties other than that fixed and accorded to the
employee by law.  Anyone violating this provision will be guilty
of a class A misdemeanor (Section 23.156);

(4)  Allows state departments to purchase information technology
services not exceeding $75,000 using the informal procurement
standards authorized in Section 34.040 if the contract or
agreement is for less than 12 months and the department posts the
proper notice on the online bidding/vendor system maintained by
the Office of Administration (Section 34.047);

(5)  Transfers the jurisdiction over certain employee claims in
Chapters 36 and 105 from the Personnel Advisory Board in the
Office of Administration to the Administrative Hearing
Commission.  The commission is also granted power to hear an
appeal from a merit employee who has been fired or demoted.  The
appeals process and possible remedies provided by the commission
are specified in the bill (Sections 36.031, 36.050, 36.060,
36.150, 36.280, 36.370 - 36.400, 105.055, and 621.075);

(6)  Replaces the Director of the Forms Management Unit with the
Commissioner of the Office of Administration or his or her
authorized representative as a voting member on the State Records
Commission within the Office of the Secretary of State (Sections
37.320 and 109.250);

(7)  Allows a statewide elected official to request a
determination of the lowest and best bidder regarding a contract
for purchasing, printing, or services for which he or she has the
authority to contract from the Office of Administration which
must respond to the elected official within 45 days after the
submission of the request.  The Office of Administration cannot
prevent any state agency, political subdivision, or other state
entity from purchasing supplies from an authorized General
Services Administrator vendor if the contract does not exceed the
competitive bid limits in Section 34.040 (Section 37.900 and
Section 1);

(8)  Allows the Superintendent of the State Highway Patrol to
appoint up to one additional major, nine additional captains,
eight additional lieutenants, and 99 additional patrolmen and
officers by raising the current established limits (Sections
43.040 and 43.050);

(9)  Transfers, effective January 1, 2011, the powers and duties
of the State Water Patrol to the newly established Division of
Water Patrol within the State Highway Patrol in the Department of
Public Safety.  The Superintendent of the State Highway Patrol
will appoint a director of the new division and may transfer
employees to the new division.  The county sheriff must
participate in search warrants served by the division except for
the investigation of boating while intoxicated and vessel
accidents.  The bill  allows members of the water patrol joining
the new division to choose the Missouri State Employees'
Retirement System or the Department of Transportation and Highway
Patrol Employees' Retirement System.  The procedure for the
election, which must be made within 90 days of January 1, 2011,
is specified in the bill.  A member will be provided with a
comprehensive written analysis of the differences between the
plans prior to making his or her decision.  An employee who
becomes a uniformed member of the highway patrol and joins that
retirement system will be subject to the mandatory retirement age
as provided in Section 104.081 (Sections 43.390, 58.445, 104.810,
301.716, 306.010, 306.165, 306.167, 306.168, 306.185, 542.261,
544.157, 577.090, and 650.005.11);

(10)  Changes the laws regarding the authority of the MO
HealthNet Division within the Department of Social Services to
collect payments from third-party payers.  Health benefit plans,
third-party administrators, administrative service organizations,
and pharmacy benefits managers are required to process and pay
properly submitted medical assistance or MO HealthNet subrogation
claims using standard electronic transactions or paper claim
forms for a period of three years from the date services were
provided by an entity.  The entity cannot be required to
reimburse for items or services not covered under MO HealthNet;
cannot deny a claim based solely on the date of submission, the
type or format of the claim form, failure to present proper
documentation of coverage at the point of sale, or failure to
obtain prior authorization; cannot be required to reimburse for
items or services previously submitted to the third-party payer
by the provider or the participant and the claim was properly
denied for procedural reasons; and cannot be required to
reimburse for items or services which are not covered under the
plan offered by the entity against which a claim for subrogation
has been filed.  An entity must reimburse for items or services
to the same extent that the entity would have been liable if it
had been properly billed at the point of sale and the amount due
is limited to what the entity would have paid if it had been
properly billed at the point of sale.  Health benefit plans,
third-party administrators, administrative service organizations,
and pharmacy benefits managers must also pay a subrogation claim
if the state enforces its right to a claim within six years of
the submission of the claim.  The computerized records of the
division, if certified by the division director or his designee,
will be prima facie evidence of proof of moneys expended and the
amount of the debt due the state (Section 208.215);

(11)  Allows the Administrative Hearing Commission to consist of
up to five commissioners.  Currently, it can only consist of up
to three commissioners (Section 621.015);

(12)  Requires the Department of Mental Health to cooperate with
and allows it to directly contract with all state agencies; local
units of government; any of the Governor's advisory councils or
commissions, or their successor agencies; and the Missouri Mental
Health Foundation, or its successor entity, in the delivery of
programs designed to improve public understanding of attitudes
toward mental disorders, developmental disabilities, and alcohol
and drug abuse (Section 630.060); and

(13)  Assigns the Missouri Veterans Commission to the Department
of Public Safety.  Currently, the commission is assigned to the
Office of Adjutant General (Section 650.005.12).

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated September 14, 2010 at 3:12 pm