TITLE I
THE STATE AND ITS GOVERNMENT

CHAPTER 21-I
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES

General Provisions

Section 21-I:13

    21-I:13 Duties of Commissioner. –
In addition to the powers, duties and functions otherwise vested by law in the commissioner of the department of administrative services, he shall:
I. Represent the public interest in the administration of the functions of the department and be responsible to the governor, the general court and the public for such administration.
II. Develop and implement, subject to approval by the governor and the legislature, a long range 6-year financial plan for the state of New Hampshire.
III. Attend all meetings of the executive council and joint legislative fiscal committee, answer questions and give information called for by these bodies, and their members, relative to financial operations of the state and its several agencies.
IV. Furnish to any committee of either house of the legislature having jurisdiction over revenue or appropriations such aid and information regarding the financial affairs of the state as it may request.
V. Receive cooperation from all agencies in providing information which he shall request in order to carry out his statutory functions.
VI. Have authority to destroy at the end of 6 years from the time of filing any records, reports, or miscellaneous papers in the department which, in his opinion, are no longer of value to the state, provided that any such destruction shall have the prior approval of the legislative budget assistant.
VII. Assign physical facilities, including rented office space, for the use of state agencies, after consultation with the governor and the prior approval of the fiscal committee of the general court, except:
(a) In the legislative office building and the state house.
(b) In any facilities under the control of the judicial branch of government.
VIII. Have the authority to assign and reassign the personnel of the department among the divisions, bureaus, sections, units, or other organizational subdivisions or components of the department.
IX. Administer all state employee and retiree benefit programs, other than those administered by the retirement system or the deferred compensation commission established in RSA 101-B, as provided by RSA 21-I:28.
X. Supervise the operation of the program of distribution of surpluses and commodities made available to the state by the federal government or any other source, including entering into all necessary contracts and agreements.
XI. Administer the retirement benefits for certain legislative and constitutional officers as provided in RSA 14:27-c.
XII. [Repealed.]
XIII. Have the authority to contract with an outside consulting group knowledgeable in the area of employee compensation of state officers, for the purpose of the commissioner's duty under RSA 94:3-b, in an amount not to exceed $20,000 annually. The cost of such contract shall be funded from the salary adjustment fund.
XIV. Establish a general liability insurance provision for standard state contracts that requires any contractor who qualifies for nonprofit status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and whose annual gross amount of contract work with the state does not exceed $500,000 to provide insurance in amounts of not less than $1,000,000 per claim or occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate.
XV. Administer, and, as necessary, revise an integrated system of governmental budgeting, financial accounting, financial reporting, financial and human resources management systems, and related systems and subsystems which accurately and systematically account for all revenues, receipts, resources, and property of the state and each of its agencies; which record information about the financial activities of the state and its agencies necessary to compare and control expenditures and commitments, within budgets and appropriations; from which it shall be possible to obtain accurate annual and interim financial statements and other reports which present fairly and with full disclosure the financial position and results of operations of the state of New Hampshire in conformance with generally accepted accounting principles; and which makes it possible to determine and demonstrate compliance with finance-related legal and contractual provisions, including federal grants, to which the state or any of its agencies are subject. The commissioner of administrative services may delegate the performance of functions associated with the above systems, including accounting functions, to appropriate units, divisions, or bureaus within the department and may authorize deviations from generally accepted accounting principles when the commissioner deems it in the best interest of the state, provided that the explanation for so deviating is provided in the annual report required by RSA 21-I:8, II(a).
XVI. Implement and manage an integrated, multi-module, information technology system that facilitates collection and integration of information related to various areas of government such as finance, accounting, human resources, inventory, procurement, and customer service. The commissioner of administrative services may delegate the performance of functions associated with the above system to appropriate units, divisions, or bureaus within the department.
XVII. Maintain a list of persons who have been prohibited from participating in public works projects under RSA 638:20. Such list shall be a public record under RSA 91-A.
XVIII. Establish within the department such divisions, units, and officers, not expressly provided for or prohibited by law, as the commissioner deems advisable for the discharge of his or her duties. The commissioner may appoint such deputy division directors and other officers as he or she believes are necessary to carry out the functions of the divisions of the department.
XIX. (a) Beginning July 1, 2023, create and make available on the department's public Internet website, a report of all federal relief funds disbursed, within 30 days of each disbursement. The report shall be in check register format, and shall include the amount, date, and person or other entity to whom the disbursement was made, the accounting unit and class code of the disbursement, the title and number of the expense account, and a brief description of each disbursement.
(b) Any resident who is aggrieved by a violation of this section may appeal to the office of the right-to-know ombudsman.

Source. 1983, 416:40. 1985, 188:6; 399:20, 21. 1986, 65:2. 1993, 231:1, 2. 2001, 158:103. 2006, 70:12. 2008, 177:8; 358:8, 16, I; 378:1. 2011, 131:3, eff. Aug. 6, 2011. 2012, 247:11, eff. Aug. 17, 2012. 2017, 193:5, eff. Aug. 29, 2017. 2021, 202:2, Pt. III, Sec. 2, eff. July 1, 2021. 2023, 102:1, eff. June 20, 2023.