SS/SB 1057 - This act transfers and merges the duties of certain state entities. WATER PATROL Effective January 1, 2011, the act transfers all powers, duties and functions of the State Water Patrol to the newly created Division of Water Patrol within the State Highway Patrol. The superintendent of the Highway Patrol shall appoint a director of the Division of Water Patrol and may assign Highway Patrol members to serve in the division on a permanent or temporary basis. The act increases the number of captains, lieutenants, and officers that the superintendent of the Highway Patrol may appoint. The county sheriff shall participate in serving a search warrant requested by the Water Patrol Division, except for offenses related to boating while intoxicated or investigation of vessel accidents. DIVISION OF ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO CONTROL All powers, duties and functions of the Division are transferred from the Department of Public Safety to the Department of Revenue. PERSONNEL ADVISORY BOARD This act transfers the hearing of all merit system employee appeals from the Personnel Advisory Board to the Administrative Hearing Commission (AHC) and increases the number of administrative hearing commissioners from three to five. The act also shortens the time period for filing an appeal with the AHC from 30 to 15 days for persons who have taken an exam for a merit system job and felt they were dealt with unfairly and persons who were removed from the merit system job registry. OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION This act requires the Commissioner of the Office of Administration to issue a report to the General Assembly by December 31, 2010, in consultation with the directors of each state department, that analyzes programs within every department that should be eliminated, reduced or combined with another program or programs. The provisions of this section shall expire on January 1, 2011. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TRANSITION COMMITTEE This act establishes a "Health and Human Services Transition Committee" to study and make recommendations by December 31, 2010, on consolidating the Departments of Health and Senior Services, Mental Health and Social Services into one department to be named the "Department of Health and Human Services." The duties of the committee are to make recommendations on: (1) Efficiencies that could be made within programs administered by the three departments; (2) Any programs administered or overseen by the three departments that should be eliminated, reduced, or combined with another program or programs, particularly programs involving MO HealthNet services; and (3) A plan for reducing expenditures within each program administered or overseen by the three departments for fiscal year 2012 from fiscal year 2011 levels at increments of five percent up to twenty-five percent. The provisions of this section shall expire on January 1, 2011. COMMISSION ON THE REORGANIZATION OF STATE HEALTH CARE This act establishes a Commission on the Reorganization of State Health Care which shall have as its purpose the study, review and recommendation of creating a Division of State Health Care within the Office of Administration. The proposed new division would be dedicated to providing health care coverage for all state employees, dependents, retirees and those recipients of MO HealthNet and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by focusing the purchasing power and streamlining the administration of the state's health care purchasing. The commission shall submit a report to the General Assembly and Governor by December 31, 2010, on the creation of the new division, which will serve through three implementation phases as the lead planning state entity for all health issues in the state. The commission shall designate a work group to provide analysis on the recommendations required of the commission consisting of members representing any health policy center or program from the public institutions of higher education in the state. The commission shall also investigate coordinating and purchasing health care benefit plans, during the second phase, for employees of the public schools, community colleges and political subdivisions of the state. The study shall also include the feasibility of creating and administering insurance programs in the third phase for small businesses and the uninsured in the state. The provisions of this section contain an emergency clause and shall expire on February 1, 2011. The provisions of this section are similar to SB 712 (2010). JIM ERTLE