2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 2. Government Structure and Administration › Chapter 15. Executive Branch Officers and Agencies › Part 1. General Provisions › 2-15-112. Duties and powers of department heads

2-15-112. Duties and powers of department heads.
(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, each department head shall:
(a) supervise, direct, account for, organize, plan, administer, and execute the functions vested in the department by this chapter or other law;
(b) establish the policy to be followed by the department and employees;
(c) compile and submit reports and budgets for the department as required by law or requested by the governor;
(d) provide the governor with any information that the governor requests at any time on the operation of the department;
(e) represent the department in communications with the governor;
(f) (i) prescribe rules, consistent with law and rules established by the governor, for the:
(A) administration of the department;
(B) conduct of the employees;
(C) distribution and performance of business; and
(D) custody, use, and preservation of the records, documents, and property pertaining to department business.
(ii) The lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, auditor, and superintendent of public instruction may prescribe their own rules for their departments or offices, and the governor may not prescribe rules for them.
(iii) The rules described in this subsection (1)(f) are limited to statements concerning only the internal management of the agency and not affecting private rights or procedures available to the public. This section does not authorize the adoption of any rule as rules are defined in the Montana Administrative Procedure Act.
(g) subject to the approval of the governor, establish the internal organizational structure of the department and allocate the functions of the department to units to promote the economic and efficient administration and operation of the department. The internal structure of the department must be established in accordance with 2-15-104(2).
(h) subject to law, establish and make appointments to necessary subordinate positions and abolish unnecessary positions;
(i) maintain a central office in Helena for the department and maintain other facilities throughout the state as may be required for the effective and efficient operation of the department.
(2) Except as otherwise provided by law, each department head may:
(a) subject to law, transfer employees between positions, remove persons appointed to positions, and change the duties, titles, and compensation of employees within the department;
(b) delegate any of the functions vested in the department head to subordinate employees;
(c) apply for, accept, administer, and expend funds, grants, gifts, and loans from the federal government or any other source in administering the department's functions;
(d) enter into agreements with federal, state, and local agencies necessary to carry out the department's functions; and
(e) eliminate positions within the department. If the salary for an eliminated position is not redistributed as provided for under 2-18-1107, the office of budget and program planning shall increase the department's appropriation in the second year of the biennium by an amount equal to one-half of the savings resulting from the elimination of a position. The increased appropriation in the second year of the biennium may be expended at the discretion of the department head, provided that the expenditure is consistent with the goals and objectives of the department. The remaining one-half must revert to the original funding source. This subsection (2)(e) does not apply to an agency allocated to a department in either year of the 2 years of the biennium for administrative purposes, as provided in 2-15-121.
History: En. 82A-107 by Sec. 1, Ch. 272, L. 1971; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 358, L. 1973; amd. Sec. 26, Ch. 285, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 82A-107; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 239, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 601, L. 1993; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 23, Sp. L. November 1993; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 255, L. 2001.