§206. Additional duties of the commissioner

In addition to other duties set out in this Title, the commissioner has the following duties.   [PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. N, §45 (NEW).]

1.  General.  The commissioner has general supervision, management and control of the research and planning, grounds, buildings, property, officers, employees and clients of all state institutions.

[PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. N, §45 (NEW).]

2.  Enforcement of laws.  The commissioner shall enforce all laws concerning the institutions within the department, unless specific law enforcement duties are given by law to other persons.

[PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. N, §45 (NEW).]

3.  Rules.  Rules adopted pursuant to section 205, subsection 2 must be established as set out in this subsection.

A. The commissioner shall establish such rules, regulations, procedures and practices as the commissioner may determine appropriate or necessary for the care and management of the property of all state institutions, for the production and distribution of the products of the institutions, for guiding the institutions in determining whether to approve admissions and for the execution of the statutory purposes and functions of the institutions.   [PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. N, §45 (NEW).]

B. The central principle underlying all rules relating to residents of the institutions within the department is that the residents retain all rights of ordinary citizens, except those expressly or by necessary implication taken from them by law.   [PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. N, §45 (NEW).]

[PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. N, §45 (NEW).]

4.  Grievance procedures.  The commissioner shall establish procedures for hearing grievances of clients who receive mental health services or adult developmental services or of children who receive behavioral health services. The procedures must include the opportunity for a timely hearing before a state hearing examiner or an independent fair hearing examiner. The commissioner may contract for the services of the hearing examiner, who shall conduct adjudicatory proceedings pursuant to the Maine Administrative Procedure Act.

[PL 2011, c. 542, Pt. A, §51 (AMD).]

5.  Residential child care facilities.  The commissioner shall approve all programs for the provision of mental health services to residential child care facilities, as defined in Title 22, section 8101, subsection 4, and shall participate in licensure of these programs in accordance with Title 22, section 8104.

[PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. N, §45 (NEW).]

6.  Abuse allegations in state institutions.  The commissioner shall ensure appropriate intervention and remediation in cases of substantiated abuse and neglect in state institutions. The commissioner shall ensure, through inspection on a periodic basis, that all state institutions meet appropriate federal and state standards relating to the health, safety and welfare of clients of these institutions.

[PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. N, §45 (NEW).]

7.  Establish standards of care.  The commissioner shall establish standards of care for patients at the Riverview Psychiatric Center and the Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center.

[PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. N, §45 (NEW).]

8.  Substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery.  The commissioner shall administer and carry out the purposes of the Maine Substance Use Disorder Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Act.

[PL 2019, c. 524, §18 (AMD).]

9.  Annual reporting.  The commissioner shall report annually as set out in this subsection.

A. After the end of the state fiscal year and no later than July 30th of each year, the commissioner shall issue a press release and post on the department's publicly accessible website a report of the total annual spending in the following programs: the MaineCare program, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program under Title 22, chapter 1053-B, the statewide food supplement program under Title 22, section 3104 and municipal general assistance under Title 22, chapter 1161. This report must include a specific breakdown of General Fund funds spent and other spending, including spending figures from the 5 previous years for comparison.   [PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. NNNNNNN, §17 (NEW).]

B. After the end of the calendar year and no later than January 30th of each year, the commissioner shall issue a press release and post on the department's publicly accessible website the following welfare fraud-related statistics for the MaineCare program, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program under Title 22, chapter 1053-B, the statewide food supplement program under Title 22, section 3104 and municipal general assistance under Title 22, chapter 1161: the number of cases investigated, the number of cases referred to the Office of the Attorney General for prosecution, the number of cases referred to district attorneys' offices for prosecution and the number of cases successfully prosecuted. The department shall follow the same procedure outlined in this paragraph for all intentional program violations.   [PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. NNNNNNN, §17 (NEW).]

C. After the end of the state fiscal year and no later than July 30th of each year, the commissioner shall issue a press release and post on the department's publicly accessible website each individual contract the department has with providers of services. The report must include the following information for each contract: the provider's name, the program office, the contract period, the total contract dollar value, the amount of General Fund funds allocated to the contract and a description of the services provided pursuant to the contract. The report must indicate whether the contract was a sole-source contract or the result of a competitive bidding process.   [PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. NNNNNNN, §17 (NEW).]

D. After the end of the state fiscal year and no later than July 30th of each year, the commissioner shall issue a press release and post on the department's publicly accessible website each individual grant the department receives from the Federal Government. The report must include the following information: the program office, the grant period, the total grant award, the number of fully or partially funded staff funded by the grant and a description of the grant. The report must indicate whether or not the grant is discretionary and the amount of General Fund funds necessary to support the grant.   [PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. NNNNNNN, §17 (NEW).]

E. After the end of the state fiscal year and no later than July 30th of each year, the commissioner shall issue a press release and post on the department's publicly accessible website the total out-of-state travel costs for employees of the department. The report must include travel costs by year for each of the previous 5 years, listed by individual division or agency within the department as well as by funding type.   [PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. NNNNNNN, §17 (NEW).]

[PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. NNNNNNN, §17 (NEW).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. N, §45 (NEW). PL 2011, c. 542, Pt. A, §51 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. NNNNNNN, §17 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 407, Pt. A, §91 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 524, §18 (AMD).