A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS SO AS TO CREATE THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND POLICY AND PROVIDE FOR THE DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF THE AGENCY; BY AMENDING SECTION 1-30-10, RELATING TO DEPARTMENTS OF STATE GOVERNMENT, SO AS TO DISSOLVE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS AND CREATE THE STATE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND POLICY; BY AMENDING SECTION 8-17-370, RELATING TO THE MEDIATION OF GRIEVANCES BY THE STATE HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR SO AS TO ADD THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND POLICY, THE DIRECTORS OF THE COMPONENT DEPARTMENTS OF THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HEALTH AND POLICY, AND ALL DIRECT REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY AND TO DIRECTORS OF THE COMPONENT DEPARTMENTS; BY AMENDING SECTION 43-21-70, RELATING TO THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT AND ADVISORY COUNCIL ON AGING, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND POLICY SHALL APPOINT A DIRECTOR TO BE THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT ON AGING; AND TO REPEAL TITLE 44, CHAPTER 9 RELATING TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH.

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  Title 44 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

CHAPTER 12

 

Executive Office of Health and Policy

 

    Section 44-12-10.  There is created within the executive branch of the state government an agency to be known as the Executive Office of Health and Policy with the organization, duties, functions, and powers defined in this Chapter and other applicable provisions of law.

 

    Section 44-12-20.  The Secretary of Health and Policy shall be the head and governing authority of the office. The secretary must be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, subject to removal from office by the Governor pursuant to provisions of Section 1-3-240(B).

 

    Section 44-12-30.  As used in this chapter:

    (1) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Health and Policy.

    (2) "Office" means the Executive Office of Health and Policy.

    (3) "Department" or "departments" mean any one or more of the component departments housed within the office.

    (4) "State Health Plan" means the cohesive, coordinated, and comprehensive State Plan for public health services developed by the Secretary.

 

    Section 44-12-40.  In performing his duties as authorized by this chapter, the secretary:

    (1) shall develop a cohesive, coordinated, and comprehensive State Health Plan for public health services provided by the component departments housed within the office so that there is a maximum level of coordination among the component departments. The plan should serve as a blueprint for the State to assess and improve the quality of care that South Carolinians receive. The plan should be continually updated and must include, at a minimum, an inventory, projections, and standards for health services, facilities, equipment, and workforce which have the potential to substantially impact delivery of care, costs, and accessibility within the State. The plan should also address how to improve health services delivery in the State, recognize operational efficiencies, and maximize resource utilization. The secretary shall establish and appoint members to a health planning advisory committee to provide advice in the development of the plan. Members of the advisory committee should include health care providers, consumers, payers, and public health professionals. Members of the advisory committee are allowed the usual mileage and subsistence as provided for members of boards, committees, and commissions;

    (2) shall review and approve or disapprove all regulations promulgated by the component departments prior to their submission to the General Assembly;

    (3) shall be the sole advisor of the State concerning all questions involving the protection of public health within its limits;

    (4) shall have the authority to determine the appropriate course of treatment for patients with complex or co-occurring diagnoses necessitating involvement of two or more component departments;

    (5) shall, subject to applicable federal law, require data sharing to the fullest extent possible among the component departments when necessary to accomplish the goals of the plan;

    (6) shall, to the extent practicable, consolidate administrative services among the component departments. Consolidated administrative services include, but are not limited to:

       (a) financial and accounting support, such as accounts payable and receivable processing, procurement processing, journal entry processing, and financial reporting assistance;

       (b) human resources administrative support, such as transaction processing and reporting, payroll processing, and human resources training;

       (c) budget support, such as budget transaction processing and budget reporting assistance; and

       (d) information technology;

    (7) shall, with regard to information technology, ensure that the office and the component departments comply with all plans, policies, and directives of the Department of Administration;

    (8) may employ such persons as he determines are necessary to carry out the office's duties; and

    (9) may enter into contracts with public agencies, institutions of higher education, and private organizations or individuals for the purpose of carrying out the office's duties.

 

    Section 44-12-50.  (A) The Executive Office of Health and Policy shall consist of the following component departments:

        (1) the Department of Health Financing;

        (2) the Department of Public Health;

        (3) the Department on Aging;

        (4) the Department of Intellectual and Related Disabilities; and

        (5) the Department of Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Services.

    (B)(1) The component departments shall be headed by a department director appointed by the secretary with the advice and consent of the Senate. Department directors shall serve at the will and pleasure of the secretary. In the case of a vacancy in a department director's position prior to the appointment and confirmation of a successor, the secretary may assign an employee of the department or the office to perform the duties required of the vacant position on an interim basis.

       (2) The secretary shall develop the budget for the office with each component department constituting a separate program area. The secretary shall consult with each component department director in developing the priorities and funding request for his component department.

       (3) The secretary may, to the extent authorized through the annual appropriations act or relevant permanent law, organize the administration of the office, including the assignment of personnel to the office and among its component departments, as is necessary to carry out the office's duties.

 

    Section 44-12-60.  The component departments shall carry out their duties, functions, and powers as provided in their respective enabling statutes and as otherwise provided by laws subject to the management decisions, policy development, and standards established of and by the secretary as provided in this chapter.

 

SECTION 2.  Section 1-30-10(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 

    (A) There are hereby created, within the executive branch of the state government, the following departments:

       1. Department of Administration

       2. Department of Agriculture

       3. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services

       4.3. Department of Commerce

       5.4. Department of Corrections

       6. Department of Disabilities and Special Needs

       7.5. Department of Education

       8. Department of Public Health

       9. Department of Health and Human Services

       10.6. Department of Insurance

       11.7. Department of Juvenile Justice

       12.8. Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation

       13. Department of Mental Health

       14.9. Department of Motor Vehicles

       15.10. Department of Natural Resources

       16.11. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism

       17.12. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services

       18.13. Department of Public Safety

       19.14. Department of Revenue

       20.15. Department of Social Services

       21.16. Department of Transportation

       22.17. Department of Employment and Workforce

       23. Department on Aging

       24.18. Department of Veterans' Affairs.

       25.19 Department of Environmental Services

       20. State Office of the Secretary of Public Health and Policy

 

SECTION 3.  Section 8-17-370 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

(21) The Secretary of Health and Policy, the directors of the component departments of the Executive Office of Health and Policy, and all direct reports to the Secretary and to directors of the component departments.

 

SECTION 4.  Section 43-21-70 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 

    Section 43-21-70.  The Governor Secretary of Health and Policy shall appoint with the advice and consent of the Senate a director to be the administrative officer of the Department on Aging who shall serve at the Governor's pleasure and who is subject to removal pursuant to the provisions of Section 1-3-240.

 

SECTION 5.  The Code Commissioner is directed to change the following headings in the S.C. Code:

    (1) Article 1, Chapter 6, Title 44 shall be styled as "State Department of Health and Human Services";

    (2) Chapter 1, Title 44 shall be styled as "Department of Public Health";

    (3) Chapter 20, Title 44 shall be styled as "Department of Disabilities and Special Needs"; and

    (4) Chapter 9, Title 44 shall be styled as "Department of Mental Health".

 

SECTION 6.  Chapter 9, Title 44 of the S.C. Code is repealed.

 

SECTION 7.  (A) Upon the effective date of this Act, the Directors of the Departments of Public Health and Aging shall serve as the interim department directors of their respective departments within the Executive Office of Health and Policy, unless otherwise removed by the Secretary of Health and Policy, until such time as a successor is appointed and assumes the position following confirmation by the Senate. The Director of the Department of Health and Human Services shall serve as the interim Director of the Department of Health Financing, unless otherwise removed by the Secretary of Health and Policy, until such time as a successor is appointed and assumes the position following confirmation by the Senate. The Director of the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs shall serve as the interim Director of the Department of Intellectual and Related Disabilities, unless otherwise removed by the Secretary of Health and Policy, until such time as a successor is appointed and assumes the position following confirmation by the Senate.  In the case of a vacancy in the director's position in one or more of the departments on or after the effective date of this act and prior to the appointment and confirmation of a successor, the Secretary of Health and Policy may assign an employee of the department or the Executive Office of Health and Policy to perform the duties required of the vacant position in the interim.

    (B) Upon the effective date of this Act, the Director of the Department of Mental Health shall serve as the interim director of the Department of Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Services, unless otherwise removed by the Secretary of Health and Policy, until such time as a successor is appointed and assumes his or her duties. In the case of a vacancy in the director's position at the Department of Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Services on or after the effective date of this act and prior to the appointment and confirmation of a successor, the Secretary of Health and Policy may assign an employee of the department or the Executive Office of Health and Policy to perform the duties required of the vacant position in the interim.

    (C) Upon the effective date of this act, the Director of the Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services shall serve as the interim director of the Division on Alcohol and Drug Addiction of the Department of Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Services until such time as a replacement is appointed by the director of the Department of Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Services. Prior to the appointment and confirmation of the director of the Department of Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Services, the Secretary of Health and Policy has the discretion to remove the division director.  In the case of a vacancy in the director's position at the Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction or the Division on Alcohol and Drug Addiction on or after the effective date of this act and prior to the appointment of a successor by the director of the Department of Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Services, the Secretary of Health and Policy may assign an employee of the department or the Executive Office of Health and Policy to perform the duties required of the vacant position in the interim.

    (D) Nothing in this act prevents the Secretary of Health and Policy from reappointing the directors of their respective departments serving in those roles as of the effective date of this act.

    (E) The Governor's initial appointee as Secretary of Health and Policy shall serve in an interim capacity with the powers and duties assigned to the Secretary through this act until such time as the Senate provides advise and consent regarding the appointment. Should the Senate not advise and consent to the initial appointee prior to sine die adjournment of the 2025 regular session, the office shall be vacant, and the interim appointee shall not serve in hold over status.

 

SECTION 8.  (A) Except for personnel and funds transferred pursuant to subsection (B) of this Section, the Departments of Health Financing, Public Health, Aging, and Intellectual and Related Disabilities shall operate as component departments of the Executive Office of Health and Policy in the 2024-25 fiscal year using the authority and funds appropriated to the Departments of Health and Human Services, Public Health, Aging, and Disabilities and Special Needs as standalone agencies in the appropriations act of 2024. Except for personnel and funds transferred pursuant to subsection (B) of this Section, the Department of Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Services shall operate as a component department of the Executive Office of Health and Policy in the 2024-25 fiscal year using the authority and funds appropriated to the Departments of Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services as standalone agencies in the appropriations act of 2024.

    (B) Upon appointment and confirmation, the Secretary of Health and Policy may cause the transfer to the Executive Office of Health and Policy such: (1) personnel and attendant funding included in the administrative areas of the 2024 appropriations act and (2) operating expenses included in the administrative areas of the 2024 appropriations act of one or more of the component departments of the Office as, in the determination of the Secretary, is necessary to carry out the duties of the Office. The Department of Administration shall cause all necessary actions to be taken to accomplish any such transfer and shall in consultation with the Secretary prescribe the manner in which the transfer provided for in this section shall be accomplished. The Department of Administration's action in facilitating the provisions of this section are ministerial in nature and shall not be construed as an approval process over any of the transfers.

    (C) Except for those positions transferred pursuant to this section or otherwise specifically referenced in this act, employees of the Departments of Health and Human Services, Public Health, Aging, Disabilities and Special Needs, Mental Health, or Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services shall maintain their same status with the appropriate component department of the Executive Office of Health and Policy. Employees of the Departments of Public Health and Aging shall become employees of their respective departments within the Executive Office of Health and Policy. Employees of the Department of Health and Human Services shall become employees of the Department of Health Financing within the Executive Office of Health and Policy.  Employees of the Departments of Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services shall become employees of the Department of Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse Services within the Executive Office of Health and Policy.

    (D) Nothing in this act affects bonded indebtedness, if applicable, real and personal property, assets, liabilities, contracts, regulations, or policies of the Departments of Health and Human Services, Public Health, Aging, Disabilities and Special Needs, Mental Health, or Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services existing on the effective date. All applicable bonded indebtedness, real and personal property, assets, liabilities, contracts, regulations, or policies shall continue in effect in the name of the Executive Office of Health and Policy or the appropriate component division.

 

SECTION 9.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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