“I STRONGLY believe that this particular legislation is very important for the Commonwealth Medicaid Agency,” said Rota Sen. Teresita Santos regarding a Medicaid personnel bill that was vetoed by Gov. Ralph DLG Torres.
Introduced by Rep. Leila Staffler, House Bill 22-53 proposes to “further enable recruitment, retention and appropriate classification and compensation” in the Commonwealth Medicaid Agency.
Torres said due to ambiguities in the language of the bill as noted by the attorney general, and similar concerns of the Office of Personnel Management, he must respectfully exercise his constitutional authority to veto this bill.
He said if approved, the measure would create a narrow exception to the reprogramming restrictions in the Planning and Budgeting Act with regard to the Medicaid agency.
Funds appropriated to the agency could be reprogrammed by the director regardless of whether the funds are for personnel or non-personnel expenditures, he added.
He said the Planning and Budgeting Act currently permits the reprogramming of funds from personnel to non-personnel or operations, but not vice versa.
Moreover, the governor said the attorney general has made it clear that the Legislature’s lawmaking authority over the civil service system “is not plenary.”
Only the Civil Service Commission has the authority over the civil service system and is the sole authority to exempt positions from civil service classification, he added.
Santos, for her part, said the Commonwealth Medicaid Agency and its directors strongly supported House Bill 22-53.
She urges the author of the bill to “work closely with the Attorney General’s Office and the Office of Personnel Management to resolve the ambiguities and language of the bill, as indicated by the governor’s veto message and reintroduce it for the Legislature’s action.”
Teresita A. Santos
