§ 409-C — Powers and duties of the commissioner; administrative and fiscal functions

§ 409-c. Powers and duties of the commissioner; administrative and\nfiscal functions. 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections\nforty-four, forty-nine, fifty, fifty-one and ninety-three of the state\nfinance law, section nine of the public buildings law or any other\nprovision of law to the contrary, the commissioner is authorized and\nempowered:\n (a) to expend all lump sum or consolidated appropriations and other\nappropriations made for the institutional program. Within aggregate\nfunds available for expenditures, the state comptroller shall draw\nwarrants for the payment of all vouchers approved by the commissioner,\nor by such person as shall be designated by the commissioner by a rule\nor written direction filed with the state comptroller. Such lump sum or\nconsolidated appropriations made for personal service, or for\nmaintenance and operation or for non-personal service, or maintenance\nundistributed including personal service, other than appropriations from\nproprietary or fiduciary funds, shall be available for payments for\npersonal service, or maintenance and operation or for non-personal\nservice, or for maintenance undistributed including personal service\nupon the filing of a schedule of positions and salaries and the amounts\nto be available for other personal service classes of expenditure, and\nfor the expenses of maintenance and operation, or for non-personal\nservice with the director of the budget, chairman of the senate finance\ncommittee, chairman of the assembly ways and means committee, and the\nstate comptroller. Any such schedule may be amended and such amendment\nshall be filed with the officers named above. The state comptroller is\nauthorized to pay any amounts required for the salaries and related\nemployment benefits of employees of the institutional program from any\nappropriations available therefor.\n (b) To increase or decrease capital projects fund appropriations by\ntransfer or interchange as follows:\n (i) Amounts appropriated for the programs or purposes or for any item\nor items within such programs or purposes of the institutional program\nin the department from a particular fund or funds, excluding\nappropriations for major new facility construction or comprehensive\nfacility renovation or modernization projects, in a fiscal year may be\ninterchanged between items within the same program or purposes of an\ninstitution, or with other items appropriated from such fund not in the\nsame program or purpose within an institution, but which are contained\nin the state comptroller's classification of items as last promulgated\npursuant to a certificate of allocation. Such certificate shall be\nsubmitted by the commissioner to the state comptroller with copies to be\nsent to the chairs of the senate finance committee and the assembly ways\nand means committee and the director of the budget for informational\npurposes only.\n 2. (a) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of section\nninety-three of the state finance law or any other law to the contrary,\nany capital projects fund appropriation for state hospitals in the\ndepartment shall be available to the department upon issuance of a\ncertificate of approval of availability by the director of the budget.\nThe certificate shall be for so much as shall be necessary to accomplish\nthe purposes described in the report from the department specifying the\nscope of the project and the project budget within the limits of the\nappropriation and a copy of such certificate of approval shall be filed\nwith the state comptroller, the chair of the senate finance committee\nand the chair of the assembly ways and means committee. Moneys so\napproved shall be paid on the audit and warrant of the state comptroller\npursuant to vouchers approved by the commissioner.\n (b) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of section nine of the\npublic buildings law or any other law to the contrary, when the\ncommissioner shall determine that there is a construction emergency, as\ndefined in section nine of the public buildings law, the commissioner is\nempowered and authorized to exceed the limit of forty thousand dollars\nbut not to exceed the limit of two hundred thousand dollars for such\nproject and may utilize any capital projects fund appropriation for\nstate hospitals within the department for the purposes of addressing\nsuch construction emergency.\n 3. The commissioner shall provide the chairs of the senate finance\ncommittee and the assembly ways and means committee and the director of\nthe budget with: (i) quarterly reports of all expenditures within the\ninstitutional program pursuant to this section on the fifteenth day of\nJuly, October, January and April of each year; and (ii) a report on the\nhealth care activities of the facilities within the institutional\nprogram pursuant to this section and their participation in health care\ndelivery networks, either directly or under contract on or around\nsubmission of the annual budget request, but in no event later than\nOctober fifteenth of each year. This report shall provide information\nregarding: the impact of existing managed care contracts on services,\ncensus levels, operational costs and revenue; and the impact of planned\nexpansion of existing managed care networks, including anticipated\nchanges in service areas, census, operating costs and revenue projected\nas a result of such expansion.\n 4. Notwithstanding any provision of section one hundred sixty-three of\nthe state finance law or any other law, rule or regulation to the\ncontrary, the commissioner may:\n (a) authorize contracts with public, non-profit or business entities\nfor the provision of general comprehensive and specialty health care\nservices in department inpatient or outpatient hospitals, clinics or\nother ancillary facilities, as defined in section four hundred three of\nthis title, through managed care networks or other health care\ncontractual arrangements for the provision of health care services.\nConsistent with applicable laws and regulations, the commissioner shall\ndevelop policies concerning the terms and conditions for such contracts\nincluding length of term, contributions, evidence of insurance, risk\nassumption and indemnification. Health care services to be provided\nunder such contracts may be delivered directly by state hospitals in the\ndepartment, as defined in section four hundred three of this title, or,\nwith respect to health care services not provided by such hospitals,\nthrough contract, agreement or other arrangement with physicians and\nother health practitioners and providers or professional corporations,\nnot-for-profit or business entities comprised thereof. Contracts for the\nprovision of health care services hereunder: (i) shall be consistent\nwith applicable provisions of agreements between the state and employee\norganizations pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law;\n(ii) may be entered into without formal competitive bidding subject to\nthe policies of the commissioner which shall include requirements for\ncomparative review or other competitive processes where appropriate; and\n(iii) shall not increase operating costs above resulting increases in\nrevenue such that expenditures related to services provided pursuant to\nsuch contracts will be limited to revenues projected to be received over\nthe life of the contract. Before entering into any contract pursuant to\nthis paragraph, the commissioner shall provide a written assurance to\nthe director of the budget that such contract will not require any\nadditional resources from the state of New York not supported by\ncontract revenues, based on the projected financial and economic\nanalyses of the proposed contract submitted by the facility, including\nrelevant assumptions regarding the projection.\n * (b) notwithstanding section one hundred twelve of the state finance\nlaw to the contrary, authorize contracts for the purchase of goods and\nservices for state hospitals in the department, as defined in section\nfour hundred three of this title, without prior review and approval of\nany other state office or agency and subject to the commissioner's rules\nand regulations: (i) for any contract which does not exceed one hundred\nthousand dollars; or (ii) for joint or group purchasing arrangements\nwhich do not exceed three hundred thousand dollars. The state\ncomptroller shall have ninety days to review arrangements over the\nlimitations prescribed pursuant to this subparagraph. Purchases made\npursuant to such joint or group purchasing arrangements shall not\ninclude services and be made from contracts awarded by a regionally or\nnationally recognized purchasing organization, and contracts with a\nregionally or nationally recognized purchasing organization shall be\nmade on a competitive basis.\n * NB Repealed March 31, 2027\n (c) authorize contracts for the participation by state hospitals in\nthe department, as defined in section four hundred three of this title,\nin joint and cooperative programs and arrangements for the delivery of\nhealth care services, or for the planning and administration thereof,\nwith public, non-profit or business entities, including programs and\narrangements on a regional or national basis.\n (d) authorize the department to: (i) lease, sublease or otherwise make\navailable in accordance with the commissioner's policies, space or\nfacilities within its hospitals, as defined in section four hundred\nthree of this title, to one or more practitioners or public, non-profit\nor business entities for the purposes specified in paragraphs (a) and\n(c) of this subdivision; or (ii) to lease or sublease any facilities or\nother property necessary for the delivery of health care services in\naccordance with the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this\nsubdivision.\n (e) nothing contained in this subdivision shall in any way alter or\nimpair the rights provided pursuant to a collective bargaining\nagreement, state law implementing such agreement or under article\nfourteen of the civil service law of all members of certified bargaining\nunits currently or hereafter employed by the department in hospitals, as\ndefined in section four hundred three of this title, and all certified\nemployee organizations and negotiating units of such employees shall\ncontinue in accordance with the provisions of article fourteen of the\ncivil service law. The commissioner shall assure that any contract or\nagreement entered into for the provision of general comprehensive and\nspecialty health care services in department hospitals, as defined in\nsection four hundred three of this title, through participation in\nmanaged care networks or other joint and cooperative programs and\narrangements including those on a regional basis in fulfillment of any\nprovision of this subdivision, the service of which is being provided by\ndepartment employees at hospitals defined in section four hundred three\nof this title who are members of certified bargaining units at such\nhospital will be subject to the terms and conditions of any current or\nfuture collectively negotiated agreement between the state and certified\nemployee organizations pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service\nlaw.\n 5. The commissioner shall submit a report to the governor, the\ntemporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly and the\noffice of the state comptroller on or before May first, two thousand\ntwo, which shall include a record of all group purchasing arrangements,\nincluding for each group purchasing arrangement: the name of the\npurchasing organization, overall contract amount, dollar value of\npurchases made by fiscal year, description of the commodities purchased,\nand methodology used to determine the cost effectiveness of such\npurchase.\n