2023 New York Laws › PBH - Public Health › Article 4 - Property and Hospitals in the Department of Health › Title 1 - General Provisions › 409-C - Powers and Duties of the Commissioner; Administrative and Fiscal Functions.

§  409-c.  Powers  and  duties of the commissioner; administrative and
fiscal  functions.  1.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions   of   sections
forty-four,  forty-nine,  fifty, fifty-one and ninety-three of the state
finance law, section nine of the  public  buildings  law  or  any  other
provision  of  law  to  the contrary, the commissioner is authorized and
empowered:
(a) to expend all lump sum or consolidated  appropriations  and  other
appropriations  made  for  the  institutional  program. Within aggregate
funds available for  expenditures,  the  state  comptroller  shall  draw
warrants  for  the payment of all vouchers approved by the commissioner,
or by such person as shall be designated by the commissioner by  a  rule
or  written direction filed with the state comptroller. Such lump sum or
consolidated  appropriations  made  for   personal   service,   or   for
maintenance  and  operation  or for non-personal service, or maintenance
undistributed including personal service, other than appropriations from
proprietary or fiduciary funds, shall  be  available  for  payments  for
personal  service,  or  maintenance  and  operation  or for non-personal
service, or for maintenance  undistributed  including  personal  service
upon  the filing of a schedule of positions and salaries and the amounts
to be available for other personal service classes of  expenditure,  and
for  the  expenses  of  maintenance  and  operation, or for non-personal
service with the director of the budget, chairman of the senate  finance
committee,  chairman  of  the assembly ways and means committee, and the
state comptroller. Any such schedule may be amended and  such  amendment
shall  be  filed with the officers named above. The state comptroller is
authorized to pay any amounts required  for  the  salaries  and  related
employment  benefits  of employees of the institutional program from any
appropriations available therefor.
(b) To increase or decrease capital projects  fund  appropriations  by
transfer or interchange as follows:
(i)  Amounts appropriated for the programs or purposes or for any item
or items within such programs or purposes of the  institutional  program
in   the   department   from  a  particular  fund  or  funds,  excluding
appropriations for major  new  facility  construction  or  comprehensive
facility  renovation  or modernization projects, in a fiscal year may be
interchanged between items within the same program  or  purposes  of  an
institution,  or with other items appropriated from such fund not in the
same program or purpose within an institution, but which  are  contained
in  the  state comptroller's classification of items as last promulgated
pursuant to a certificate  of  allocation.  Such  certificate  shall  be
submitted by the commissioner to the state comptroller with copies to be
sent to the chairs of the senate finance committee and the assembly ways
and  means  committee  and  the director of the budget for informational
purposes only.
2.  (a)  Notwithstanding  any  inconsistent   provision   of   section
ninety-three  of the state finance law or any other law to the contrary,
any capital projects fund  appropriation  for  state  hospitals  in  the
department  shall  be  available  to  the  department upon issuance of a
certificate of approval of availability by the director of  the  budget.
The certificate shall be for so much as shall be necessary to accomplish
the  purposes described in the report from the department specifying the
scope of the project and the project budget within  the  limits  of  the
appropriation  and a copy of such certificate of approval shall be filed
with the state comptroller, the chair of the  senate  finance  committee
and  the  chair  of  the  assembly  ways  and means committee. Moneys so
approved shall be paid on the audit and warrant of the state comptroller
pursuant to vouchers approved by the commissioner.
(b) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of section nine of  the
public  buildings  law  or  any  other  law  to  the  contrary, when the
commissioner shall determine that there is a construction emergency,  as
defined in section nine of the public buildings law, the commissioner is
empowered  and  authorized to exceed the limit of forty thousand dollars
but not to exceed the limit of two hundred  thousand  dollars  for  such
project  and  may  utilize  any  capital projects fund appropriation for
state hospitals within the department for  the  purposes  of  addressing
such construction emergency.
3.  The  commissioner  shall  provide the chairs of the senate finance
committee and the assembly ways and means committee and the director  of
the  budget  with:  (i) quarterly reports of all expenditures within the
institutional program pursuant to this section on the fifteenth  day  of
July,  October, January and April of each year; and (ii) a report on the
health care  activities  of  the  facilities  within  the  institutional
program  pursuant to this section and their participation in health care
delivery networks, either  directly  or  under  contract  on  or  around
submission  of  the  annual  budget  request, but in no event later than
October fifteenth of each year. This report  shall  provide  information
regarding:  the  impact  of existing managed care contracts on services,
census levels, operational costs and revenue; and the impact of  planned
expansion  of  existing  managed  care  networks,  including anticipated
changes in service areas, census, operating costs and revenue  projected
as a result of such expansion.
4. Notwithstanding any provision of section one hundred sixty-three of
the  state  finance  law  or  any  other  law, rule or regulation to the
contrary, the commissioner may:
(a) authorize contracts with public, non-profit or  business  entities
for  the  provision  of  general comprehensive and specialty health care
services in department inpatient or  outpatient  hospitals,  clinics  or
other  ancillary facilities, as defined in section four hundred three of
this  title,  through  managed  care  networks  or  other  health   care
contractual  arrangements  for  the  provision  of health care services.
Consistent with applicable laws and regulations, the commissioner  shall
develop  policies concerning the terms and conditions for such contracts
including length of term, contributions,  evidence  of  insurance,  risk
assumption  and  indemnification.  Health  care  services to be provided
under such contracts may be delivered directly by state hospitals in the
department, as defined in section four hundred three of this title,  or,
with  respect  to  health  care services not provided by such hospitals,
through contract, agreement or other  arrangement  with  physicians  and
other  health  practitioners and providers or professional corporations,
not-for-profit or business entities comprised thereof. Contracts for the
provision of health care services hereunder:  (i)  shall  be  consistent
with  applicable provisions of agreements between the state and employee
organizations pursuant to article fourteen of  the  civil  service  law;
(ii)  may  be entered into without formal competitive bidding subject to
the policies of the commissioner which shall  include  requirements  for
comparative review or other competitive processes where appropriate; and
(iii)  shall  not  increase operating costs above resulting increases in
revenue such that expenditures related to services provided pursuant  to
such contracts will be limited to revenues projected to be received over
the  life of the contract. Before entering into any contract pursuant to
this paragraph, the commissioner shall provide a  written  assurance  to
the  director  of  the  budget  that  such contract will not require any
additional resources from  the  state  of  New  York  not  supported  by
contract  revenues,  based  on  the  projected  financial  and  economic

analyses of the proposed contract submitted by the  facility,  including
relevant assumptions regarding the projection.
* (b)  notwithstanding section one hundred twelve of the state finance
law to the contrary, authorize contracts for the purchase of  goods  and
services  for  state  hospitals in the department, as defined in section
four hundred three of this title, without prior review and  approval  of
any other state office or agency and subject to the commissioner's rules
and  regulations: (i) for any contract which does not exceed one hundred
thousand dollars; or (ii) for joint  or  group  purchasing  arrangements
which   do   not  exceed  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  state
comptroller shall have ninety  days  to  review  arrangements  over  the
limitations  prescribed  pursuant  to  this subparagraph. Purchases made
pursuant to such  joint  or  group  purchasing  arrangements  shall  not
include  services  and be made from contracts awarded by a regionally or
nationally recognized purchasing  organization,  and  contracts  with  a
regionally  or  nationally  recognized  purchasing organization shall be
made on a competitive basis.
* NB Repealed March 31, 2027
(c) authorize contracts for the participation by  state  hospitals  in
the  department, as defined in section four hundred three of this title,
in joint and cooperative programs and arrangements for the  delivery  of
health  care  services,  or for the planning and administration thereof,
with public, non-profit or business  entities,  including  programs  and
arrangements on a regional or national basis.
(d) authorize the department to: (i) lease, sublease or otherwise make
available  in  accordance  with  the  commissioner's  policies, space or
facilities within its hospitals, as  defined  in  section  four  hundred
three  of this title, to one or more practitioners or public, non-profit
or business entities for the purposes specified in  paragraphs  (a)  and
(c)  of this subdivision; or (ii) to lease or sublease any facilities or
other property necessary for the delivery of  health  care  services  in
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  paragraphs  (a)  and  (b) of this
subdivision.
(e) nothing contained in this subdivision shall in any  way  alter  or
impair   the   rights  provided  pursuant  to  a  collective  bargaining
agreement, state  law  implementing  such  agreement  or  under  article
fourteen of the civil service law of all members of certified bargaining
units currently or hereafter employed by the department in hospitals, as
defined  in  section four hundred three of this title, and all certified
employee organizations and negotiating units  of  such  employees  shall
continue  in  accordance  with the provisions of article fourteen of the
civil service law. The commissioner shall assure that  any  contract  or
agreement  entered  into  for the provision of general comprehensive and
specialty health care services in department hospitals,  as  defined  in
section  four  hundred  three  of  this  title, through participation in
managed care networks  or  other  joint  and  cooperative  programs  and
arrangements  including  those on a regional basis in fulfillment of any
provision of this subdivision, the service of which is being provided by
department employees at hospitals defined in section four hundred  three
of  this  title  who  are  members of certified bargaining units at such
hospital will be subject to the terms and conditions of any  current  or
future collectively negotiated agreement between the state and certified
employee organizations pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service
law.
5.  The  commissioner  shall  submit  a  report  to  the governor, the
temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly  and  the
office  of  the  state  comptroller on or before May first, two thousand
two, which shall include a record of all group purchasing  arrangements,

including  for  each  group  purchasing  arrangement:  the  name  of the
purchasing  organization,  overall  contract  amount,  dollar  value  of
purchases made by fiscal year, description of the commodities purchased,
and  methodology  used  to  determine  the  cost  effectiveness  of such
purchase.