Public health nursing.

ORIGINAL
Senate
File No
.
SF0060

ENROLLED ACT NO. 42,

SENATE

SIXTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2016 Budget Session

AN ACT relating to public health and safety; specifying options for public health nursing cooperation between the state and counties; repealing temporary provisions related to public health nursing; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 35
‑
1
‑
243
is
created to read:

35
‑
1
‑
243
.

Public health nursing.

(a)

In exercising its powers and duties under W.S. 35
‑
1
‑
240(a)(xx), the department of health
may
enter into memoranda of understanding with the several counties
separately for the organization, management, delivery and financing of public heal
th nursing and related functions
. The county commissioners of each county shall have at least the following choices for organizing public health nursing and related functions:

(i)

A partnership memorandum of understanding system;

(ii)

A state administered public health nursing system with a county contribution;
or

(iii)

Subject to the limitation stated in subsection (e) of this section, a
system under which the state contracts with a county for the provision of all or a portion of
the
public health nursing
and other
public health
functions.

(
b
)

A memorandum
of understanding entered into pursuant to this section may:

(
i
)

S
pecify how the state and
county
employees will be supervised and disciplined;

(ii
)

S
pecify the hours that public health offices will be open and the holidays that will be observed and may require both state and county employees in the public health functions to conform to a common work schedule, which may be different in different counties;

(iii
)

S
pecify which resources, including financial and physical resources, will be furnished by the state and which by the county or other local entity;

(iv)

Contain
any other provisions useful in the organization, management or delivery of public health services.

(c
)

Any county entering into a memorandum of understanding with the department to provide public health nursing services under the systems specified in pa
ragraph
(a
)(
i) or
(ii) of this section shall be allowed to provide services under a different system
specified in paragraph
(a)(i), (ii) or (iii) of this section
at any time on or before July 1, 2018. After July 1, 2018, a county shall not be allowed to change the system under which public
health nursing services are provided unless the department consents to the change
.

(
d
)

If the commissioners of a county enter into a memorandum of understanding to provide
public health nursing services under the
system
specified in paragraph (a)(ii) of this section
,
at the r
equest of the commissioners of the
county, county employee positions assisting in providing public health functions may be transferred to state at
‑
will employee contract position
s under W.S. 9
‑
2
‑
1022(a)(xi)(F) or to permanent state positions,
provided that the number of positions transferred under this
subsection
shall not exceed the largest number of public health nursing positions in the county between
July 1 and December 31 of the year prior to the transfe
r
. A transfer under this subsection shall mean payment of monies to the department for the purpose of creating a position under W.S. 35
‑
1
‑
243(
a)(ii). Any state employee position created shall comply with the state of Wyoming personnel rules.
The department may
charge an administrative fee and
accept county or other local funds to defray the cost of transferred positions as provided in the memorandum of understanding. The funds shall be
deposited by the state treasurer in a separate account. The funds in the account are continuously appropriated to the department of health and shall be paid out upon request of the department as provided by law
. Positions transferred under this
subsection
into state permanent positions shall be paid benefits in the same manner and at the same rates as for
comparable
state employees

pursuant to the state of Wyoming compensation policy
. The department's authorization
for employee positions

shall be expanded
by operation of law
to accommodate all positions transferred to the state under this
subsection
and sha
ll continue
so long as
the county that
requested the transfers
satisfies
its obligations under its memorandum of understanding with the department.
Upon a county's failure to make all payments required by its memorandum of understanding with the department or upon the county's request, the department shall no longer have any state positions transferred by the county under this subsection and, upon written notice to the transferred employees and the county, shall follow the state of Wyoming personnel rules regarding reductions in force.

All
positions
created under this
subsection
shall be included within the department's standard
or supplemental
budget reques
t.

(e
)

A
ny
entity
providing public health n
ursing services under paragraph
(a
)(
i)
or
(ii)

o
f this section
and which maintains a city, county or district board of health under W.S. 35
‑
1
‑
301 through 35
‑
1
‑
309
may enter
into
a

contract
w
ith the department to
perform
public health nur
sing services under paragraph (a
)(iii) of this section

pursuant to subsection (c) of this section
.

This subsection
and any
contract
made pursuant to it
shall be operable only
for the period for which the
department
is specifically authorized by law
to
trans
fer funds
between expenditure s
eries for the purpose of making
payments
to those
entities
that
operate public health nursing services pursuant to this subsection.

T
he department's authorization for employee positions shall be reduced automatically to correspond with any transfer of funds from a salary expenditure series to a
contract
series
. All contracts made pursuant to this subsection shall be conditioned upon the availability of appropriate funding and the authority to transfer funds as provided in this subsection
.
A
contract
made pursuant to this subsection shall provide, with as much specificity as is reasonable and practical given the time available, the services to be
performed, the resources and other assistance to be provided by the state and the outcomes expected.

(f
)

If the commissioners of two (2) or more counties desire to form a joint powers board to manage all or part of the public health functions in the respective counties, the relevant memoranda of understanding may be modified accordingly and may provide for transition to a joint powers board upon its creation pursuant to the Wyoming Joint Powers Act.

(g)

The county commissioners of each county may choose for all or a portion of their county to use, for the delivery and management of public health nursing and related functions, any existing organization which currently delivers any or all public health services.

Section
2
.

W.S. 35
‑
1
‑
242 is repealed.

Section
3
.

This
act is effective July 1,
201
6
.

(END)

1