Executive Order

Executive Order  No. 517: Enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the executive departments

Date: 01/26/2010
Issuer: Deval L. Patrick
Mass Register: No. 1150

Table of Contents

WHEREAS, the national economy, the financial system on which the economy relies, and the state budget are now under significant stress;

WHEREAS, state government must strive to achieve every possible efficiency in its operations and in its delivery of services to the people of the Commonwealth; and,

WHEREAS, one mechanism for achieving greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness is by further coordinating, standardizing and automating the delivery systems from the Executive Department's Human Resources units;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Deval L. Patrick, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution, Part 2, c. 2, § I, Art. I, do hereby order as follows:

Section 1.
This Executive Order shall apply to all state agencies in the Executive Department. As used in this Order, "state agencies" (or "agencies") shall include all executive offices, boards, commissions, agencies, departments, divisions, councils, bureaus, and offices, now existing and hereafter established, including the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

Section 2.
The Secretary of each Executive Office ("Secretariat") shall appoint a Secretariat Human Resources Officer (SHRO). Such appointments shall be made jointly with the approval of the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO). Each SHRO shall report both to his/her respective Secretary and to the CHRO. Where warranted operationally, SHRO's shall have the authority, following consultation with Agency Heads, to appoint an HR Director for each agency within the Secretariat. Each Agency HR Director shall report both to the Agency Head and to the SHRO of his or her Secretariat. All agency HR personnel shall report to the Agency HR Director or to his or her designee. When no Agency HR director is appointed, said personnel shall report to the Secretariat HRO.

Section 3.
There shall be established by February 5, 2010, a Secretariat HR Modernization Oversight Committee consisting of Secretaries or their designees, and the CHRO. This committee will provide the CHRO with advice and consultation on both the content of the HR strategic plan and its implementation strategy. The oversight committee will meet as often as necessary to carry out the provisions of this Executive Order. The CHRO will provide this committee with periodic updates on implementation progress.

Section 4.
There shall be an HR Modernization Steering Committee consisting of Secretariat Human Resources Officers, or their designees, and the CHRO and his/her designees. The steering committee will meet as often as necessary to carry out the provisions of this Executive Order and will be the primary planning and implementing board for the HR Modernization Project.

Section 5.
There shall also be established a Governor's HR Advisory Council, consisting of representatives from academia and private industry who will be appointed by the Governor. In addition, because the participation and input of state employees is essential for the success of the HR Modernization Plan and the development of a high performance workforce, there shall be one representative of executive branch labor organizations on this Council, who shall be appointed by the Governor on an annual basis. Said representatives shall provide advice and consultation to the CHRO. All members of this Council will provide HR with experience, guidance, and best practices information. The CHRO shall be the chairman of the Governor's HR Advisory Council and shall convene the Council as often as necessary to carry out the provisions of this order.

Section 6.
The Chief Human Resources Officer shall, following consultation with Cabinet Secretaries and Agency Heads, the Oversight and Steering committees and the Governor's HR Advisory Council, develop an HR strategic plan by May 15, 2010 to move the Commonwealth to a more cost efficient and effective human resources services delivery model under a Human Resources Modernization initiative and submit such plan by May 30, 2010 to the Governor and Secretary of Administration.

Section 7.
The Chief Human Resources Officer will submit by June 1, 2010 to the Secretary of Administration and Finance a high-level Project Implementation Plan for maximizing savings while increasing workforce effectiveness through automating manual transactions and eliminating overlapping and redundant HR delivery systems.

Section 8.
The Chief Human Resources Officer will submit by December 1st, 2010 to the Secretary of Administration a final Project Implementation Plan for HR Modernization. The plan shall include major deliverables, programmatic impacts and efficiency gains for the current and future fiscal years and shall include performance metrics to increase transparency and accountability and to promote a culture of continuous improvement.

Section 9.
The CHRO shall submit by July 15th of each fiscal year, to the Governor and the Secretary of Administration and Finance an annual report detailing accomplishments for the previous fiscal year, including progress made implementing the HR strategic plan in the most recent twelve months and specific implementation goals for the succeeding year.

Section 10.
The Chief Human Resources Officer shall have the authority to issue policies, standards and guidelines governing all HR functions, including but not limited to Personnel, Payroll and Benefits, HRIS, Labor Relations, Training, Diversity and Recruitment, and for identifying opportunities for cost savings based on standardization, cross-agency collaboration, and the use of shared services delivery systems; provided however, that nothing in this section shall be construed to require action inconsistent with or to otherwise alter sections 7 through 12 of Executive Order 478.

Section 11.
To improve administrative efficiency and preserve fiscal resources, the Chief Human Resources Officer, with the approval of the affected Cabinet Secretaries, and the Secretary of Administration and Finance in conjunction with the Secretariat Human Resources Officers, may identify HR activities and functions common to the separate secretariats within the executive branch and designate them as "core HR functions".

The CHRO may direct that core Human Resources functions be performed by the Human Resources Division or by one or more designated state agencies. Core human resources activities consist of but are not limited to classification, training, professional development, employee relations, diversity, workers' compensation, and other transactional activities.
Upon designation of a core HR function, the CHRO may direct that employees of each state agency who perform that function be transferred to the Human Resources Division or to one or more designated state agencies to continue performing said function. In accordance with Chapter 29, Section 2Q, and predetermined service level agreements, HRD, on behalf of any agency designated to perform core functions, may charge the state agencies that receive such services for the reasonable costs of providing the services in order to reimburse the agencies performing administrative functions.

Any employee transfers that occur in connection with the consolidation of core administrative processing functions within the executive office or state agencies shall not: (a) impair the civil service status of any such transferred employee who immediately before the effective date of this executive order either holds a permanent appointment in a position classified under chapter 31 or has tenure in a position by reason of section 9A of chapter 30; or (b) impair or change an employee's status, rights, or benefits under chapter 150E unless such employee is transferred to the Human Resources Division. Within thirty days of any transfer of personnel or funding pursuant to this section, the Secretary of Administration shall notify both the Senate and House Ways and Means Committees.

Section 12.
Where appropriate, and with the approval of the Secretary for Administration, the Chief Human Resources Officer shall have the authority to enforce this Executive Order by determining and imposing remedial courses of action in instances of HR secretariat or agency non-compliance with this Order's requirements. Such actions may include, without limitation, a freeze on the non-compliant secretariat's or agency's authority to make HR transactions.

Section 13.
Nothing in this Executive Order shall be construed to require action inconsistent with sections 7 through 12 of Executive Order 478 or any applicable state or federal law.

Section 14.
This Executive Order shall take effect immediately and shall continue in effect until amended, superseded or revoked by subsequent Executive Order.

Deval Patrick
Governor
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

William Francis Galvin
Secretary of the Commonwealth

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