CHAPTER 356
HB 65 – FINAL VERSION
23Jan2008… 2638h
04Jun2008… 2074cofc
04Jun2008… 2163eba
2008 SESSION
05/03
HOUSE BILL 65
AN ACT relative to the Pease development authority.
SPONSORS: Rep. Pantelakos, Rock 16; Rep. Powers, Rock 16
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
This bill:
I. Provides that service of non-classified employees of the authority shall be credited as continuous state service for all purposes.
II. Makes the Pease development authority fund a nonlapsing fund for the benefit of the division of ports and harbors.
III. Requires a biennial report on the division of ports and harbors.
IV. Repeals provisions relative to coordination with the department of resources and economic development, reports on economic development programs, and the harbor management fund.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
23Jan2008… 2638h
04Jun2008… 2074cofc
04Jun2008… 2163eba
07-0089
05/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT relative to the Pease development authority.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
356:1 Status of Authority Employees; Entitlement to State Benefits. Amend RSA 12-G:11 to read as follows:
12-G:11 Status of Authority Employees; Entitlement to State Benefits; Reimbursement of Costs.
I. Except for any classified employee as provided in paragraph IV, the authority may hire, fix, and pay compensation, prescribe duties and qualifications, and establish personnel policies without regard to any personnel or civil service law or personnel or civil service rule of the state. Except for any classified employee of the division, the employees of the authority shall not be classified employees of the state within the meaning of RSA 21-I:49. Except for any classified employee of the division, any individual employed by the authority shall be [deemed] an employee at will and shall serve at the pleasure of the authority.
II. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any nonclassified employee’s service with the authority, including employment with the authority prior to the effective date of this paragraph, shall be credited to such employee as continuous state service for all purposes, including without limitation rate of pay, determination of seniority and years of state service, longevity pay, and annual, sick, or other forms of leave.
[II.] III. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph I, any individual employed by the authority, except for any classified employee of the authority, whose employment calls for 30 hours or more work in a normal calendar week, and whose position is anticipated to have a duration of 6 months or more, shall be entitled to elect to receive such health, dental, life insurance, deferred compensation, and retirement benefits as are afforded to classified employees of the state. Upon election by such individual, the authority shall pay from its revenues the state’s share of such benefits. Any remaining costs of health, dental, life insurance, deferred compensation, and retirement benefits which an individual elects to receive pursuant to this section, shall be withheld from such individual’s salary as a payroll deduction. Written notice of the availability of these benefit options shall be provided to each individual upon employment by the authority. This paragraph shall not apply to any classified employee of the division.
[III.] IV. The state classified positions of the port authority shall be transferred to the authority when the duties, functions, and jurisdiction of the port authority are transferred to the authority. Any person employed in such a position at the time of such transfer or at any time subsequent thereto shall be deemed a classified employee of the division. All classified employees of the division shall be classified employees of the state of New Hampshire within the meaning of RSA 21-I:49 and shall be subject to all requirements, and be entitled to all benefits and emoluments, of the state personnel system. Nothing herein shall preclude the general court from increasing or decreasing the number of classified positions within the division.
V. Any person holding or appointed to the position of chief harbor master or deputy chief harbor master shall be a certified police officer and a group II member of the state retirement system. If such person is not a member of the state retirement system at the time of employment as chief harbor master or deputy chief harbor master, such person shall become immediately upon appointment a member of the retirement system subject to the requirements of such system then in effect.
[IV.] VI. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the authority or the executive director may assign as necessary any employee of the authority with appropriate skills and training to perform any responsibility, task, or duty assigned by statute to the authority or the division, including without limitation, on a temporary basis, any responsibility, task, or duty previously or otherwise assigned to any classified employee of the division. To the extent that the wages, salary, benefits, or other expenses, including without limitation reasonable overhead expenses, of any employee of the authority assigned to carry out any responsibility, task, or duty of the division are paid from the fund established under RSA 12-G:36 or revenues of the authority other than division revenues, such fund or other source of revenue shall be reimbursed for the cost of such wages, salary, benefits, and other expenses, including without limitation reasonable overhead expenses, from funds drawn from the fund established under RSA 12-G:37 and, to the extent authorized, from the fund established under RSA 12-G:46. The executive director of the authority, subject to the approval of the board, is authorized to determine and fix, as necessary, rates of reimbursement.
356:2 Pease Development Authority; Ports and Harbors Fund Nonlapsing. Amend RSA 12-G:37 to read as follows:
12-G:37 Pease Development Authority Ports and Harbors Fund.
I. For the purpose of providing a fund to be known as the Pease Development Authority Ports and Harbors Fund, the state treasurer shall credit to such fund any appropriation made to the authority for each fiscal year relating to the division, division property, a division project, or any activity of the division, except any appropriation made to the harbor dredging and pier maintenance fund in accordance with RSA 12-G:46.
II. All sums so credited are appropriated to the authority for the benefit of the division:
(a) To purchase, lease, acquire, own, improve, use, sell, convey, transfer, or otherwise deal in and with division property, a division project, or any interest therein, whether tangible or intangible, as otherwise authorized under this chapter;
(b) To pay the costs of operating, maintaining, improving, and repairing all division property and division projects;
(c) To pay all costs as allocated by the authority for administering and operating the division, including, but not limited to, all wages, salaries, benefits, and other expenses authorized by the board, the executive director, the division director, or other provision of law, including without limitation, reimbursement of the fund established under RSA 12-G:36 or any other source of revenue of the authority other than division revenues to the extent that the wages, salary, benefits, or other expenses, including without limitation reasonable overhead expenses, of any employee of the authority assigned to carry out any responsibility, task, or duty of the division are paid from the fund established under RSA 12-G:36 or from revenues of the authority other than division revenues;
(d) To pay the principal of, and premium, if any, and the interest on any outstanding bonds of the state related to division property or division projects as the same become due and payable;
(e) To create and maintain reserves required or provided for in any resolution authorizing, or any security document securing, such bonds of the authority related to division property or division projects;
(f) To pay all payments in lieu of taxes owed by the authority, if any, related to division property or division projects; and
[(f)] (g) In general for the payment of all expenses incident to the management and operation of the division, division property, or division projects as are consistent with its statutory purpose and as the board may from time to time determine.
III. This fund shall constitute a continuing nonlapsing appropriation for the benefit of the division [authority. Except as provided in RSA 12-G:42, XIII, all division revenues associated with operations and responsibilities assigned by the authority to the division in excess of the operating expenditures required for the activities of the division shall be deposited in the general fund until such time as any bonds authorized and issued relating to division property or division projects have been retired. After such bonds have been retired, any amount remaining to the credit of the authority in this fund at the close of any fiscal year in excess of the amounts required under paragraph II shall lapse and shall be returned to the general fund of the state].
IV. Money in this fund shall be paid to the treasurer of the authority on manifests approved by the governor and council in the same manner as other state claims are paid, provided that there shall be advanced to the treasurer such money as may be requested by the treasurer of the authority and approved by the governor and council, and provided further that manifests covering the money so advanced shall be submitted according to regular procedure at the earliest practicable time.
V. Division revenues or any other revenues, other than revenues from or associated with airport property or airport projects, received and due to the authority shall be retained by the authority and shall be used for division property or division projects in such manner as the board may determine consistent with the provisions of this chapter or as is otherwise provided by law or by the terms and conditions incident to any gift, grant, devise, bequest, trust, or security document.
VI. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no money in the fund shall be used for or paid on account of any obligation or liability of the authority related to or arising out of the ownership, operation, or maintenance of airport property or airport projects.
356:3 Pease Development Authority; Division of Ports and Harbors; Authority Relative to Employment of Division Director. Amend RSA 12-G:43 to read as follows:
12-G:43 Division of Ports and Harbors.
I. There is established within the authority a division of ports and harbors that is subject to the direction and control of the board, the executive director, and the division director. The division of ports and harbors shall:
(a) Plan for the maintenance and development of the ports and state tidal waters from the head of navigation to the seaward limits within the jurisdiction of the state, in order to foster and stimulate commerce and the shipment of freight through the state’s ports and, as an agency of the state, to assist shipping, and commercial and industrial interests that may depend on the sea for transport of products, including such interests as may be desirous of locating in tidewater areas of the state; as well as to encourage the establishment of accommodations for the boat traveler, the area boat owners, the pleasure fishermen, and others who pass up and down our coast line or in its tributaries.
(b) Aid in the development of salt water fisheries and associated industries.
(c) Cooperate with any agencies or departments of the federal government in planning the maintenance, development, and use of the state ports and state tidal waters.
(d) Plan, develop, maintain, use, and operate a heliport facility on property owned or controlled by the division. The division shall cooperate with departments, agencies, authorities, or commissions of the federal, state, or local governments and accept grants, aid, or services from such agencies in the carrying out of this purpose. Such authorization relating to heliport facilities shall include and be governed by all other provisions of this chapter.
(e) Maintain at all times a complete inventory of division property and port projects.
(f) Perform such other duties and functions relating to the administration, management, and operation of division property and division projects as are assigned to division by the authority.
II. The governor and council shall appoint a director of the division of ports and harbors who shall be qualified by education and experience and who shall hold office for a term of 5 years. Whenever an appointment of the director of the division is to be made, the board may make recommendations to the governor and submit such recommendations to the governor for the governor’s consideration; however, the governor shall not be bound by such recommendations. The governor and council shall have authority to remove the director of the division as provided in RSA 4:1. The director of the division shall be the administrative officer of the division and shall have general and active supervision and direction over the day-to-day business and affairs of the division and its employees, subject, however, to the direction and control of the board and the executive director. The division director shall perform all such other duties as from time to time may be assigned by the board or the executive director. The division director shall also be the secretary of the division of ports and harbors advisory council, shall keep a record of the proceedings of the council, and shall be the custodian of all books, documents, and papers filed with the division or the ports and harbors advisory council. The division director shall have the power to cause copies to be made of all minutes and other records and documents of the council and to give certificates under the seal of the authority to the effect that such copies are true copies, and all persons dealing with the division or authority may rely upon such certificates. In addition to the classified employees of the division, the division director, with the concurrence of the executive director, may employ such assistants and clerical and administrative staff as are within the limits of funds available for that purpose. The salary of the division director shall be established by the board.
356:4 New Section; Report on the Division of Ports and Harbors. Amend RSA 12-G by inserting after section 43 the following new section:
12-G:43-a Report on the Division of Ports and Harbors.
I. The division director shall submit a biennial report on the status of development at the division to the governor and council, the board, the mayor and the city council in the city of Portsmouth, the selectmen in the towns of Rye, Newington, Hampton, North Hampton, New Castle, and Seabrook, the chairmen of the house and senate executive departments and administration committees, and the commissioner of the department of resources and economic development. Such report shall be submitted and made available to the public biennially beginning on June 30, 2010. The first report issued on June 30, 2010 shall be for the 2-year period ending on June 30, 2009.
II. The report shall include descriptions of:
(a) The financial status of the division, including a report on the activities of the Pease development authority ports and harbors fund and a recommendation on whether to continue the fund as a nonlapsing fund and an accounting of the activities of the division of ports and harbors revolving loan fund.
(b) Any contracts involving use of division property that have been executed in the previous 24-month period and the status and scope of all ongoing port development projects.
(c) Programs and informational meetings held to permit and encourage communication between the division and the communities it serves.
(d) Environmental reports, investigations, and permits received by, prepared by or on behalf of the division with respect to division property and activities on division property.
(e) Any proposals for the sale of division property.
356:5 Division of Ports and Harbors Advisory Council. Amend RSA 12-G:44, I to read as follows:
I. There is hereby established a division of ports and harbors advisory council consisting of 8 members, 6 of whom shall be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the council. [At least 3] Two of said appointive members shall be residents of the cities and towns of the seacoast region or state tidal waters [and at least] that are not represented on the board, one appointive member shall be a commercial fisherman engaged in that industry on the seacoast, and 2 appointive members shall be experienced in a maritime industry. Each appointive member shall serve for a term of 5 years. Said members shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified. Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the appointive members shall be filled by the governor and council for the unexpired term. In addition to the 6 appointive members, the commissioner of the department of resources and economic development, or designee, and the mayor of the city of Portsmouth, or designee, shall be, by virtue of their offices, members of the council.
356:6 Pease Development Authority; Division of Ports and Harbors; Authority Relative to Dredge Management. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 12-G:45 to read as follows:
12-G:45 Dredge Management in Tidal Waters. The division, subject to the supervision, direction, and control of the authority and in consultation with the division of ports and harbors advisory council, the executive director, and the division director, shall be responsible for managing harbor and channel dredging activities within state tidal waters. The division shall:
356:7 Pease Development Authority; Division of Ports and Harbors; Rules Relative to Pilot Qualifications. Amend RSA 12-G:47 to read as follows:
12-G:47 Pilots. The authority, in consultation with the executive director, the division director, and the division of ports and harbors advisory council, may adopt rules prescribing the qualifications of pilots, and from time to time appoint and commission, under its hand and seal, as many pilots as it may judge necessary, and remove the same at pleasure; and it shall take from them such security, by bond or otherwise, as it may deem proper.
356:8 Pease Development Authority; Division of Ports and Harbors; Clarification of Agency Management Authority. Amend RSA 12-G:50 to read as follows:
12-G:50 Duties; Chief Harbor Master; Deputy Chief Harbor Master; Harbor Masters.
I. Subject to the supervision of the authority, the executive director, and the division director, the chief harbor master’s duties shall include but not be limited to the following:
(a) Enforcement of authority directives and rules adopted by the authority pursuant to this chapter relating to the activities and operations of the division or division property.
(b) Issuing and overseeing mooring permits and management of the mooring wait list and of the assignment and placement of moorings.
(c) Designation of anchorage areas.
(d) Management of navigation aides outside of the federal channel.
(e) Management of the movement of traffic, as necessary.
(f) Direction of the removal or movement of vessels during emergencies.
(g) Overseeing the dredge management program.
(h) Overseeing the harbor management program.
(i) Inquiring into and prosecuting all offenses occurring within the chief harbor master’s jurisdiction.
(j) Any other duties assigned by the authority or the division director.
II. Subject to the supervision of the authority, the executive director, the division director, and the chief harbor master, the deputy chief harbor master’s duties shall include but not be limited to the following:
(a) Enforcement of authority directives and rules adopted pursuant to this chapter relating to the division or division property.
(b) Performance of the duties of the chief harbor master during the absence or incapacity of the chief harbor master or when such duties are specifically delegated to the deputy chief harbor master by the authority, the division director, or the chief harbor master.
(c) Performance of any other duties assigned by the authority, the division director, or the chief harbor master.
III. Subject to the supervision of the authority, the executive director, the division director, the chief harbor master, and the deputy chief harbor master, the duties of a harbor master shall include but not be limited to the following:
(a) Monitoring the placement and use of moorings in state tidal waters to which the harbor master has been specifically assigned by the chief harbor master or the deputy chief harbor master.
(b) Notifying the chief harbor master or the deputy chief harbor master of any violations of any provision of RSA 12-G or any rules of the authority adopted under RSA 12-G relating to the division or division property.
(c) Performance of any other duties assigned by the division director or the chief harbor master or the deputy chief harbor master.
IV. An assistant harbor master shall assist the chief harbor master, the deputy chief harbor master, or any harbor master as directed by the division director, the chief harbor master, or the deputy chief harbor master in the performance of the chief harbor master’s, the deputy chief harbor master’s, or harbor master’s duties.
356:9 Impoundment and Forfeiture of Vessels and Moorings; Reference Change. Amend RSA 12-G:52-b, V to read as follows:
V. Upon the expiration of the 90-day period identified in paragraph III, the division director may dispose of any unredeemed vessel or mooring by destroying such vessel or mooring or by offering such vessel or mooring for sale at public auction or the division director may retain such vessel or mooring for use by the state; provided, however, if the vessel or mooring is sold or retained, the purchaser or the state, in the event of retention, shall pay the cost of impoundment, removal, and storage, and shall obtain release of the lien identified in paragraph I. Any money received by reason of sale of such vessel or mooring at public auction shall be deposited in the [harbor management fund] Pease development authority ports and harbors fund established in RSA 12-G:37.
356:10 Review of Report on Economic Development; Reference Change. Amend RSA 12-A:34 to read as follows:
12-A:34 Review of Reports Required. For the purpose of ensuring comparability of impact reports on economic development programs issued under [RSAs] RSA 4-C:6-a, RSA 12-A:33, [12-G:30,] and RSA 162-A:23-a, the department of resources and economic development, in consultation with the legislative budget assistant, shall periodically review such reports at least once every 5 years and make recommendations to be utilized by the agencies making such reports for an improved and consistent methodology for assessing the quantity and quality of jobs created and saved and the growth potential and environmental impacts of such programs. This section shall not apply to promotional literature.
356:11 New Subparagraph; Special Accounts; Pease Development Authority Ports and Harbors Fund. Amend RSA 6:12, I(b) by inserting after subparagraph (268) the following new subparagraph:
(269) Moneys deposited in the Pease development authority ports and harbors fund established in RSA 12-G:37.
356:12 Repeal. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 12-G:10, relative to coordination with the department of resources and economic development.
II. RSA 12-G:30, relative to reports on economic development programs.
III. RSA 12-G:42, XIII, relative to a special account within the ports and harbors fund.
IV. RSA 12-G:46-a, relative to the harbor management fund.
V. RSA 6:12, I(b)(225), relative to the harbor management fund.
356:13 Effective date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved: July 11, 2008
Effective Date: July 11, 2008