_____________ bill NO. _____________

INTRODUCED BY _________________________________________________

By Request of the ****

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT PROVIDING PERSONAL STAFF FOR agency heads appointed by the governor; expanding the definition of "personal staff"; providing for the use of existing full-time equivalent personnel positions as personal staff; and AMENDING SECTIONS 2-18-101 AND 2-18-104, MCA."

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

Section 1. Section 2-18-101, MCA, is amended to read:

"2-18-101. Definitions. As used in parts 1 through 3 and part 10 of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Agency" means a department, board, commission, office, bureau, institution, or unit of state government recognized in the state budget.

(2) "Base salary" means the base hourly pay rate annualized paid to an employee, excluding overtime and longevity.

(3) "Benchmark" means a representative position in a specific occupation that is used to illustrate the application of the job evaluation factor used to classify the occupation.

(4) "Blue-collar pay plan" means a strictly negotiated classification and pay plan consisting of unskilled or skilled labor, trades, and crafts occupations.

(5) "Board" means the board of personnel appeals established in 2-15-1705.

(6) "Broadband classification plan" means a job evaluation method that measures the difficulty of the work and the knowledge or skills required to perform the work.

(7) "Broadband pay plan" means a pay plan using a pay hierarchy of broad pay bands based on a classification plan, including market midpoint and occupational wage ranges.

(8) "Compensation" means the annual or hourly wage or salary and includes the longevity allowance provided in 2-18-304 and leave and holiday benefits provided in part 6 of this chapter.

(9) "Competencies" means sets of measurable and observable knowledge, skills, and behaviors that contribute to success in a position.

(10) "Department" means the department of administration created in 2-15-1001.

(11) (a) Except in 2-18-306, "employee" means any state employee other than an employee excepted under 2-18-103 or 2-18-104.

(b) The term does not include a student intern.

(12) "Job evaluation factor" means a measure of the complexities of the predominant duties of a position.

(13) "Job sharing" means the sharing by two or more persons of a position.

(14) "Market midpoint" means the median base salary that other employers pay to employees in comparable occupations as determined by the department's salary survey of the relevant labor market.

(15) "Occupation" means a generalized family of positions having substantially similar duties and requiring similar qualifications, education, and experience.

(16) "Occupational wage range" means a range of pay, including a minimum, market midpoint, and maximum salary, for a specific occupation that is most consistent with the pay being offered by competing employers for fully competent employees within that occupation. The salary for an employee may be less than the minimum salary.

(17) "Pay band" means a wide salary range covering a number of different occupations. Pay bands are used for reporting and analysis purposes only.

(18) "Pay progression" means a process by which an employee's compensation may be increased, based on documented factors determined by the department, to bring the employee's compensation to a higher rate within the occupational wage range of the employee.

(19) "Permanent employee" means an employee who is designated by an agency as permanent, who was hired through a competitive selection process unless excepted from the competitive process by law, and who has attained or is eligible to attain permanent status.

(20) "Permanent status" means the state an employee attains after satisfactorily completing an appropriate probationary period.

(21) "Personal staff" means those positions occupied by employees appointed by the elected officials enumerated in Article VI, section 1, of the Montana constitution or by the public service commission as a whole, or by each director appointed by the governor as provided in 2-15-111(1).

(22) "Position" means a collection of duties and responsibilities currently assigned or delegated by competent authority, requiring the full-time, part-time, or intermittent employment of one person.

(23) "Program" means a combination of planned efforts to provide a service.

(24) "Seasonal employee" means a permanent employee who is designated by an agency as seasonal, who performs duties interrupted by the seasons, and who may be recalled without the loss of rights or benefits accrued during the preceding season.

(25) "Short-term worker" means a person who:

(a) may be hired by an agency without using a competitive hiring process for an hourly wage established by the agency;

(b) may not work for the agency for more than 90 days in a continuous 12-month period;

(d) may not be hired into a permanent position by the agency without a competitive selection process;

(e) is not eligible to earn the leave and holiday benefits provided in part 6 of this chapter; and

(f) may be discharged without cause.

(26) "Student intern" means a person who:

(a) has been accepted in or is currently enrolled in an accredited school, college, or university and may be hired by an agency in a student intern position without using a competitive selection process;

(b) is not eligible for permanent status;

(d) must be covered by the hiring agency's workers' compensation insurance;

(e) is not eligible to earn the leave and holiday benefits provided for in part 6 of this chapter; and

(f) may be discharged without cause.

(27) (a) "Telework" means a flexible work arrangement where a designated employee may work from:

(i) home within the state of Montana or an alternative worksite within the state of Montana 1 or more days a week instead of physically traveling to a central workplace; or

(ii) an alternative worksite outside the state of Montana limited to:

(A) employees who are mental health professionals as defined in 27-1-1101 involved in psychological or psychiatric evaluations and treatment;

(B) employees engaged in providing services related to information technology as defined in 2-17-506;

(D) employees who are engaged in providing services related to economic development outside the state and whose work duties require the employees to reside out of state.

(b) The office of budget and program planning must approve a designated employee's alternative worksite outside the state of Montana before the employee begins work.

(28) "Temporary employee" means an employee who:

(a) is designated as temporary by an agency for a definite period of time not to exceed 12 months;

(b) performs duties on a temporary basis;

(d) is terminated at the end of the employment period; and

(e) is not eligible to become a permanent employee without a competitive selection process."

Section 2. Section 2-18-104, MCA, is amended to read:

"2-18-104. Exemption for personal staff -- limit. (1) Subject to the limitations in subsections (2) and (3), members of a personal staff are exempt from parts 1 through 3 and 10.

(2) The personal staff who are exempted by subsection (1) may not exceed 10 unless otherwise approved by the department according to criteria developed by the department. Under no circumstances may the total exemptions of each elected official exceed 15.

(3) The number of members of the personal staff of the public service commission who are exempted by subsection (1) may not exceed 6.

(4) The number of members of the personal staff of the leadership of the legislature who are exempted by subsection (1) may not exceed:

(a) one personal staff for the speaker of the house of representatives;

(b) one personal staff for the minority leader of the house of representatives;

(d) one personal staff for the minority leader of the senate; and

(e) one personal staff that serves at the pleasure of the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate for the purposes provided in 5-5-110.

(5) (a) The number of members of the personal staff to be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the agency head and be exempted by subsection (1) may not exceed the following:

(i) two personal staff for the following departments:

(A) administration;

(B) agriculture;

(D) military affairs; and

(ii) three personal staff for the following departments:

(A) corrections;

(B) environmental quality;

(D) labor and industry;

(E) natural resources and conservation;

(F) public health and human services;

(G) revenue; and

(H) transportation.

(b) When appointing personal staff under subsection (5)(a), only an existing full-time equivalent personnel position must be used. Agencies may not create a new full-time equivalent personnel position when appointing personal staff. (Subsection (4)(e) terminates June 1, 2023--sec. 6, Ch. 523, L. 2021.)"