SB456 - Revises provisions relating to the Office of Federal Assistance in the Office of the Governor. (BDR 18-1148)

EXEMPT S.B. 456 - *SB456* SENATE BILL NO. 456–COMMITTEE ON FINANCE (ON BEHALF OF THE OFFICE OF FINANCE IN THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR) APRIL 1, 2025 ____________ Referred to Committee on Finance SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to the Office of Federal Assistance in the Office of the Governor. (BDR 18-1148) FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: No. Effect on the State: Yes. ~ EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. AN ACT relating to governmental administration; transferring the Office of Federal Assistance in the Office of the Governor to the Office of Finance in the Office of the Governor; making the Director of the Office of Federal Assistance a Deputy Director for the Office of Federal Assistance; revising the membership of the Nevada Advisory Council on Federal Assistance; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law creates the Office of Federal Assistance within the Office of the 1 Governor. (NRS 223.472) Sections 2 and 4 of this bill transfer the Office of 2 Federal Assistance to the Office of Finance. 3 Existing law authorizes the Governor, within the limits of available money to 4 employ such persons as he or she deems necessary to provide an appropriate staff 5 for the Office of the Governor, including the Office of Federal Assistance. (NRS 6 223.085) Section 1 of this bill eliminates the authority of the Governor to employ 7 appropriate staff in the Office of Federal Assistance to account for the transfer of 8 the Office to the Office of Finance. 9 Existing law requires the Governor to appoint a Director of the Office of 10 Federal Assistance, who serves at the pleasure of the Governor. (NRS 223.474) 11 Section 5 of this bill provides instead that the Director of the Office of Finance is 12 required to appoint a Deputy Director for the Office of Federal Assistance, who 13 serves at the pleasure of the Director of the Office of Finance. Sections 3 and 5-15 14 of this bill change references in existing law from the Director of the Office of 15 Federal Assistance to the Deputy Director for the Office. 16 – 2 – - *SB456* Existing law creates the Nevada Advisory Council on Federal Assistance, 17 which consists of 11 members including the Chief of the Budget Division. (NRS 18 358.020) Section 14 replaces the Chief of the Budget Division with the Director of 19 the Office of Finance or his or her designee. 20 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. NRS 223.085 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1 223.085 1. The Governor may, within the limits of available 2 money, employ such persons as he or she deems necessary to 3 provide an appropriate staff for the Office of the Governor, 4 including, without limitation, the Office of Economic Development, 5 [the Office of Federal Assistance,] the Office of Science, Innovation 6 and Technology, the Public Health Resource Office and the 7 Governor’s mansion. Except as otherwise provided by specific 8 statute, such employees are not in the classified or unclassified 9 service of the State and, except as otherwise provided in NRS 10 231.043 and 231.047, serve at the pleasure of the Governor. Such 11 staff and employees include, without limitation: 12 (a) Executive staff; 13 (b) Administrative and clerical staff; 14 (c) Outreach and communications staff; 15 (d) Research and analytical staff; and 16 (e) Any other persons the Governor determines are necessary to 17 effectively fulfill the duties, responsibilities and obligations of the 18 Office of the Governor. 19 2. Except as otherwise provided by specific statute, the 20 Governor shall: 21 (a) Determine the salaries and benefits of the persons employed 22 pursuant to subsection 1, within limits of money available for that 23 purpose; and 24 (b) Adopt such rules and policies as he or she deems appropriate 25 to establish the duties and employment rights of the persons 26 employed pursuant to subsection 1. 27 3. The Governor shall appoint a Chief Information Officer of 28 the State who is responsible for: 29 (a) Information technology leadership and accountability; 30 (b) Strategic planning for information technology; 31 (c) Information technology workforce for the State; 32 (d) Budgeting and planning for information technology for the 33 State; 34 (e) Data storage and integrity; 35 (f) Investment management for information technology; 36 – 3 – - *SB456* (g) Information technology security, cyber security and privacy; 1 and 2 (h) Any other duties or responsibilities prescribed by statute or 3 regulation. 4 4. The Governor shall appoint a Chief Innovation Officer of 5 the State who is responsible for: 6 (a) Providing overall leadership and guidance relating to 7 employee acquisition, career development, succession planning, 8 retention, professional development and training, leadership 9 development, compensation and benefits; 10 (b) Developing human resource plans and strategies 11 prospectively by at least 10 years; 12 (c) Reviewing and monitoring the efficiency of the State 13 Government and providing recommendations on how to reduce 14 costs, improve the delivery of services and ensure the cost- 15 effectiveness of all state governmental programs; 16 (d) Evaluating, overseeing and administering the 17 competitiveness, appropriateness and effectiveness of the wages, 18 salaries, benefits and work environment of public employees; 19 (e) Evaluating, overseeing and administering the training and 20 readiness programs for public employees; and 21 (f) Developing comprehensive and strategic recruitment and 22 retention plans to meet the human resource needs of the State. 23 Sec. 2. NRS 223.400 is hereby amended to read as follows: 24 223.400 1. The Office of Finance is hereby created in the 25 Office of the Governor. 26 2. The Office of Finance consists of a Director and the 27 following: 28 (a) The Budget Division; [and] 29 (b) The Division of Internal Audits [.] ; and 30 (c) The Office of Federal Assistance. 31 Sec. 3. NRS 223.462 is hereby amended to read as follows: 32 223.462 [“Director”] “Deputy Director” means the Deputy 33 Director [of] for the Office [.] of Federal Assistance. 34 Sec. 4. NRS 223.472 is hereby amended to read as follows: 35 223.472 1. There is hereby created within the Office of [the 36 Governor] Finance the Office of Federal Assistance for the purpose 37 of obtaining and maximizing federal assistance. 38 2. The [Governor] Director of the Office of Finance shall 39 propose a budget for the Office [.] of Federal Assistance. 40 3. The Office of Federal Assistance shall maintain an office 41 located in an urban area in northern Nevada and an office located in 42 an urban area in southern Nevada. 43 – 4 – - *SB456* Sec. 5. NRS 223.474 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1 223.474 1. The [Governor] Director of the Office of Finance 2 shall appoint a Deputy Director [of] for the Office of Federal 3 Assistance who must possess: 4 (a) Extensive expertise and experience in applying for and 5 receiving federal assistance; 6 (b) Specialized knowledge of the process of grant writing and 7 approval in the public and private sectors; and 8 (c) Proven experience in designing and managing programs 9 which rely solely or partially upon federal assistance. 10 2. The Deputy Director shall devote his or her entire time and 11 attention to the business of his or her office and shall not engage in 12 any other gainful employment or occupation. 13 3. The Deputy Director is in the unclassified service of the 14 State and serves at the pleasure of the [Governor.] Director of the 15 Office of Finance. 16 Sec. 6. NRS 223.476 is hereby amended to read as follows: 17 223.476 The Deputy Director shall, within the limits of money 18 appropriated or authorized to be expended for this purpose, employ 19 such persons in the classified or unclassified service of the State as 20 he or she deems necessary to carry out the provisions of NRS 21 223.460 to 223.498, inclusive. 22 Sec. 7. NRS 223.478 is hereby amended to read as follows: 23 223.478 1. The Deputy Director [of] for the Office of Federal 24 Assistance shall: 25 (a) Coordinate and collaborate with state agencies, local 26 agencies, tribal governments and nonprofit organizations to 27 implement the State Plan for Maximizing Federal Assistance 28 developed pursuant to NRS 223.486; 29 (b) To the extent money is available, administer a grant 30 management system; 31 (c) Develop a manual of policies and procedures relating to 32 federal assistance and post the manual on the Internet website 33 maintained by the Office; 34 (d) Serve as the entity designated by the State to review and 35 coordinate proposed federal financial assistance and direct federal 36 development for purposes of 47 Fed. Reg. 30,959 (July 14, 1982); 37 (e) To the greatest extent practicable, coordinate with the 38 members of Congress representing this State to combine efforts 39 relating to identifying and managing available federal assistance; 40 (f) To the greatest extent practicable, if requested by a state 41 agency, research the availability of federal assistance for the state 42 agency. 43 – 5 – - *SB456* (g) To the greatest extent practicable, ensure that state agencies 1 are aware of any opportunities to obtain federal assistance for which 2 they are or may be eligible. 3 (h) To the greatest extent practicable, if requested by the 4 executive head of a state agency, advise the state agency concerning 5 the requirements for receiving and managing federal assistance; 6 (i) To the greatest extent practicable, coordinate with state 7 agencies and local agencies that have received federal assistance for 8 similar projects to ensure that the efforts and services of those 9 agencies are not duplicated. 10 (j) To the greatest extent practicable, serve as a clearinghouse 11 for disseminating information relating to unexpended grant money 12 of state agencies by: 13 (1) Compiling and updating periodically a list of the grants 14 and unexpended amounts thereof for which the Office received 15 notification from state agencies pursuant to subsection 3 of NRS 16 223.480; and 17 (2) Making the list available on the Internet website 18 maintained by the Office; 19 (k) To the greatest extent practicable, develop and provide to 20 state agencies, local agencies, tribal governments and nonprofit 21 organizations, training opportunities relating to the acquisition and 22 administration of grants, including, without limitation, compliance 23 with requirements during the term of the grant; and 24 (l) On or before January 1 of each odd-numbered year, submit to 25 the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for transmittal to the 26 Legislature a report regarding all activity relating to the application 27 for, receipt of and use of grants in this State. 28 2. The Deputy Director may: 29 (a) Adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of this section 30 and NRS 223.480 and 223.482. 31 (b) If requested by a state agency, local agency, tribal 32 government or nonprofit organization, write grant proposals and 33 applications and otherwise assist such an entity in obtaining federal 34 resources. 35 (c) Provide administrative support to the Nevada Advisory 36 Council on Federal Assistance created by NRS 358.020. 37 Sec. 8. NRS 223.484 is hereby amended to read as follows: 38 223.484 1. The Account for the Office of Federal Assistance 39 is hereby created in the State General Fund. The Account must be 40 administered by the Deputy Director. 41 2. Any money accepted pursuant to NRS 223.482 must be 42 deposited in the Account. 43 – 6 – - *SB456* 3. The interest and income earned on the money in the 1 Account, after deducting any applicable charges, must be credited to 2 the Account. 3 4. The money in the Account which is donated for a purpose 4 specified by the donor, within the scope of the duties of the Deputy 5 Director, must only be used for that purpose. If no purpose is 6 specified, the money in the Account must only be used to carry out 7 the duties of the Deputy Director. 8 5. Claims against the Account must be paid as other claims 9 against the State are paid. 10 Sec. 9. NRS 223.486 is hereby amended to read as follows: 11 223.486 1. The Deputy Director shall, in consultation with 12 the Nevada Advisory Council on Federal Assistance created by NRS 13 358.020, develop and may periodically revise a State Plan for 14 Maximizing Federal Assistance, which must identify: 15 (a) Methods for expanding opportunities for obtaining federal 16 assistance, including, without limitation, expanding opportunities 17 for obtaining matching funds for federal assistance through the 18 Nevada Grant Matching Program created by NRS 223.490; 19 (b) Methods for streamlining process, regulatory, structural and 20 other barriers to the acquisition of federal assistance that exist at 21 each level of federal, state or local government; 22 (c) Methods for the effective administration of grants, including, 23 without limitation, best practices relating to indirect cost allocation; 24 (d) Opportunities for: 25 (1) Reducing administrative costs associated with obtaining 26 federal assistance; and 27 (2) Coordination between state agencies, local agencies, 28 tribal governments and nonprofit organizations to avoid duplication 29 and achieve common goals; 30 (e) Specific tasks which must be performed to improve the 31 administration of grants and maximize the amount of federal 32 assistance received by this State and a schedule for implementing 33 any such tasks; 34 (f) Performance metrics and targets relating to obtaining and 35 maximizing federal assistance and improving the administration of 36 grants; and 37 (g) Best practices for considering whether to respond to a grant 38 opportunity, including, without limitation, the monetary and 39 programmatic cost of implementing a grant. 40 2. The Deputy Director shall post the State Plan for 41 Maximizing Federal Assistance on the Internet website maintained 42 by the Office. 43 – 7 – - *SB4 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]