It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 16-59-7.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-59 entitled "Board of Governors for Higher Education" is hereby amended to read as follows:

16-59-7.1. Permanent status for nonclassified employees. -- All nonclassified employees of the board of governors who shall have twenty (20) years, not necessarily consecutive, of service credit, such credits having been earned in either the classified, nonclassified or unclassified service or any combination thereof, shall be deemed to have acquired full status in their positions as such status is defined by section 36-4-59 of the general laws, provided however, {ADD that this provision shall not apply to those employees whose base entry date is after the effective date of this act and provided further ADD} that this provision shall not apply to faculty employed by the board of governors nor shall it apply to nonclassified employees who have acquired tenure as faculty.

SECTION 2. Section 16-60-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-60 entitled "Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education" is hereby amended to read as follows:

16-60-7. Department of elementary and secondary education -- Personnel board. -- The board of regents shall maintain a department of elementary and secondary education which shall perform the research, administrative and instructional functions and duties, including technical assistance and statewide educational information services for local school districts, required of the regents by the provisions of this chapter. Within that department the appointment, promotion, salaries, term of service and dismissal of all professional employees, including instructional and research employees, and administrative employees and secretaries shall be at the pleasure of the commissioner of elementary and secondary education excepting that the regents shall approve all assistant commissioners; all professional employees including instructional and research employees, and administrative employees may be initially engaged under contract for not more than two (2) years. All professional employees including instructional and research employees, and administrative employees shall not be in the classified service of the state nor be subject in any manner of control by the personnel administrator or by any officer or board other than the commissioner of elementary and secondary education. All nonclassified employees of the board of regents who shall have twenty (20) years, not necessarily consecutive, of service credit, such credits having been earned in either the classified, nonclassified, or unclassified service or any combination thereof, shall be deemed to have acquired full status in their positions as the status is defined by section 36-4-59; provided, however, {ADD that this provision shall not apply to those employees whose base entry date is after the effective date of this act and provided further ADD} that this provision shall not apply to faculty employed by the board of regents nor shall it apply to nonclassified employees who have acquired tenure as faculty. Provided that employees who had permanent status prior to May 7, 1981, shall continue to retain their status. Persons employed by the department on February 1, 1974 in either the classified or unclassified service and who were receiving longevity payments on or before February 1, 1974 shall continue to be eligible for longevity benefits upon transfer to the nonclassified service within the department. Hereinafter all vacant, reestablished or newly established positions, except professional employees, and student employees, shall be subject to the personnel board (or committee) as established by this section. The board (or committee) shall consist of three (3) members as follows: the state personnel administrator, the representative of the appropriate collective bargaining unit of which the individual is a member and the appropriate commissioner of education or his or her designee. The board (or committee) shall review each vacant position, newly established position, or reestablished position and determine whether or not the individual position be established in the classified service of the state of Rhode Island. Notwithstanding any provision of any other general or special law to the contrary all statutes or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed; and provided, further that the provisions of this section shall not be construed to require the appointment of anyone serving prior to, on or subsequent to May 7, 1981 as commissioner of education pursuant to the provisions of former section 16-49-6 to the position of commissioner of elementary and secondary education. The table of organization, as submitted by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education, together with the pay ranges, shall be subject to approval by the board of regents.

For fiscal year 1988-1989 the sum of four hundred thousand dollars ($400,000) not otherwise appropriated shall be included in the appropriation made to support the department of elementary and secondary education.

SECTION 3. Sections 36-5-7 and 36-5-8 of the General Laws in Chapter 36-5 entitled "Military Service and Veterans" are hereby amended to read as follows:

36-5-7. State employees -- Veterans. -- {ADD (a) ADD} Any person who is an honorably discharged veteran of the armed forces of the United States and who has completed fifteen (15) or more years not necessarily consecutive of service credit, such credits having been earned in either the classified, nonclassified or unclassified service of the state or a combination of both, shall be deemed to have acquired full status in the position he or she holds at the time of obtaining fifteen (15) years of service credit. For any other position he or she may hold subsequent to the obtaining fifteen (15) years of service credit, the person, subject to a then existing list, shall be deemed to have acquired full status in the subsequent position and shall be protected by the provisions of this chapter; providing, however;

(1) That military service not to exceed four (4) years of active service shall constitute service credit within the meaning of this section;

(2) That in case of layoff or the abolition of a position through reorganization or otherwise, any person in such position or subject to layoff, who has full status, otherwise qualified under this section, shall be retained within the state services in a position of similar grade;

(3) That this section shall not apply to employees of the state government whose method of appointment and salary and term of office is specified by statute;

(4) That all employees otherwise qualified under this section shall be subject to all of the provisions of dismissal and appeal as elsewhere described in this chapter.

{ADD (b) This section shall not apply to those employees whose base entry date is after the effective date of this act. ADD}

36-5-8. State employment tenure for disabled veterans. -- (a) Any person who is an honorably discharged veteran of the armed forces of the United States of America and is also receiving a disability pension from the United States government for a service connected disability and has completed ten (10) years or more not necessarily consecutive, of service credit, such credits having been earned in either the classified, nonclassified or unclassified service of the state or a combination of both, shall be deemed to have acquired full status in the position he or she holds at the time of obtaining such ten (10) years of service credit. For any other position he or she may hold subsequent to the obtaining such ten (10) years of service credit, the person, subject to a then existing list, shall be deemed to have acquired full status in the subsequent position and shall be protected by the provisions of this chapter; provided, however:

(1) That military service not to exceed four (4) years of active service shall constitute service credit within the meaning of this section;

(2) That in case of layoff or the abolition of a position through reorganization or otherwise, any person in such position or subject to layoff, who has full status, otherwise qualified under this section, shall be retained within the state services in a position of similar grade;

(3) That this section shall not apply to employees of the state government whose method of appointment and salary and term of office is specified by statute;

(4) That all employees otherwise qualified under this section shall be subject to all of the provisions of dismissal and appeal as elsewhere described in this chapter;

(b) "Veteran" is defined herein as any man or woman who has been engaged heretofore, is now or may hereafter be engaged in the active service of the armed forces of the United States with a minimum of ninety (90) days of active duty time served during any declared war, undeclared war, Korean Campaign, Conflict in Vietnam or any war, campaign or conflict which the armed forces of the United States of America actively engages in.

{ADD (c) This section shall not apply to those employees whose base entry date is after the effective date of this act. ADD}

SECTION 4. Section 36-4-59 in Chapter 36-4 of the General Laws, entitled"Merit System" is hereby amended to read as follows:

36-4-59. Tenure in state service. -- {ADD (a) ADD} Every person who shall have twenty (20) years, not necessarily consecutive, of service credit, such credits having been earned in either the classified, nonclassified or unclassified service of the state or a combination of both, shall be deemed to have acquired full status in the position he or she holds at the time of obtaining such twenty (20) years of service credit.

For any other position he or she may hold subsequent to the time of obtaining such twenty (20) years of service credit, the person, subject to a then existing list is to be deemed to have acquired full status in the subsequent position and shall be protected by the provisions of this chapter, provided, however:

(1) That military service not to exceed four (4) years of active service shall constitute service credit within the meaning of this section;

(2) That in case of layoff or the abolition of a position through reorganization or otherwise, any person in that position or subject to layoff, who has full status, otherwise qualified under this section, shall be retained within the state services in a position of similar grade;

(3) That this section shall not apply to employees of the state government whose method of appointment and salary and term of office is specified by statute;

(4) That all employees otherwise qualified under this section shall be subject to all of the provisions of dismissal and appeal as elsewhere described in this chapter.

{ADD (b) This section shall not apply to those employees whose base entry date is after the effective date of this act. ADD}

SECTION 5. Chapter 36-4 of the General Laws entitled "Merit System" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:

{ADD 36-4-34.1. Transfer of state employees. -- The director of the department of administration is hereby authorized to transfer any employee within the executive branch who is not covered by a collective bargaining unit as provided in Chapter 36-11 of the General Laws. Any such employee may be transferred to a comparable position upon the approval of the director of the department of administration and the personnel administrator. Such transfers may be initially authorized for a period up to one (1) year's duration and may be further extended with the approval of the personnel administrator. ADD}

SECTION 6. Sections 36-12-2 and 36-12-6 in Chapter 36-12 of the General Laws, entitled "Insurance Benefits", are hereby amended to read as follows:

36-12-2. Hospital care and surgical-medical service benefits. -- (a) Employees of the state of Rhode Island shall receive in addition to wages, salaries, and any other remuneration or benefits, hospital care and surgical-medical services, rights and benefits equal to the semi-private benefit plan of the Hospital service corporation of Rhode Island (Rhode Island blue cross) and physicians service plan B of the Rhode Island medical society physicians service, both in form as presently and from time to time hereafter on file with and approved by the state insurance commissioner, or hospital care, and surgical-medical services, rights and benefits provided by other nonprofit hospital service or medical service corporations or other insurance corporations, which benefits shall be the equivalent of the benefits under the above described plans. Employees of the state of Rhode Island sixty-five (65) years of age or over shall receive in addition to wages, salaries, and any other remuneration or benefits, hospital care and surgical-medical services, rights and benefits which, when taken together with their federal medicare program benefits (public law 89-97), (42 U.S.C. section 1305 et seq.) shall be at least equivalent to those provided by this section for other employees of the state. {ADD purchased by the director of administration pursuant to section 36-12-6, with the specific condition that the benefits and services provided by the carrier(s) will be substantially equivalent to those set forth in any collective bargaining agreement(s) executed between the state of Rhode Island and authorized representatives of the unions representing state employees or the health care coverage presently being provided.

The state will work diligently with leadership of organized labor in order to ensure competitive, cost effective health care services for all employees of the state who may be eligible for such benefits.

Any new plan must accept pre-existing conditions for those individuals who will be covered by the new policy. ADD}

(b) Part-time employees whose work week is less than twenty (20) hours a week may purchase the benefits set forth above. The employees shall pay the same rate for the benefits as the group rate paid by the state for the benefits. Payments for said benefits may be deducted in accordance with the provisions of section 36-12-3.

{ADD 36-12-6. Authority to purchase group life, accidental death, long term health care, and other insurance benefits. -- (a) The director of administration, or any employee of the department of administration designated by the director as his or her agent, is hereby authorized, empowered, and directed to contract with one or more insurance companies duly licensed by this state for the purchase of one or more contracts providing for group life, accidental death, long term health care and other insurance benefits in conformity with the provisions of sections 36-12-6 -- 36-12-14, inclusive, to purchase contracts of insurance and to administer all provisions of sections 36-12-6 -- 36-12-14, inclusive. Before entering into any insurance contract hereunder, the director shall invite proposals from such qualified insurers as in his or her opinion would desire to accept any part of the insurance coverage authorized by sections 36-12-6 -- 36-12-14, inclusive. {ADD Hospital care and surgical-medical services with the specific condition that the benefits and services provided by the carrier(s) will be substantially equivalent to those set forth in any collective bargaining agreements executed between the state of Rhode Island and authorized representatives of the unions representing state employees or the health care coverage presently being provided.

The state will work diligently with leadership of organized labor in order to ensure competitiveness, cost effective health care services for all employees of the state who may be eligible for such benefits.

Any new plan must accept pre-existing conditions for those individuals who will be covered by the new policy. ADD}

(b) The director may arrange with the company or companies from which the policy or policies of insurance authorized herein are purchased to reinsure portions of any contract or contracts of insurance with other insurance companies duly licensed in this state which elect to enter into contracts of reinsurance and are legally competent to do so. The director may annually redetermine the amount or amounts of coverage to be allocated to reinsuring companies in advance of any contract year after the first year.

(c) The director, may designate one or more such insurance companies as the administering company or companies.

(d) Each employee who is covered under any contract or contracts shall receive a certificate setting forth the benefits to which the employee and his or her dependents are entitled thereunder, to whom benefits shall be payable, to whom claims should be submitted, and summarizing the provisions of the contract principally affecting the employee and his or her dependents.

(e) The director may, on June 30, 1961, or at the end of any fiscal year thereafter, discontinue any insurance contract or contracts he or she has purchased from any corporation or corporations and replace it or them with a contract or contracts in any other corporation or corporations meeting the requirements of sections 36-12-6 -- 36-12-14, inclusive.

SECTION 7. Severability of provisions. -- If any provisions of this act or of any rule or regulation made thereunder, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of this act or any rule or regulation and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. The invalidity of any section or sections or parts of any section or sections of this act shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the act.

SECTION 8. This act shall take effect upon passage.