HB395: AN ACT relating to the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and declaring an emergency.

Legislative Summary

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 150 to require the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to conduct all procurements necessary for its performance pursuant to KRS Chapter 45A or pursuant to administrative regulations it promulgates; exempt procurements it makes for personal service contracts from the requirements of KRS 45A.695(2)(b); provide that the department's procurement procedures or administrative regulations be designed with the best interests of the Commonwealth, the department, and the public in mind; allow the department to conduct its own bidding and procurements or to utilize the services of the Finance and Administration Cabinet, or both; allow the commissioner of the department, in lieu of the secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet, to declare an emergency for purchasing purposes; amend KRS 150.021 to provide that the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources be attached administratively to the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet only for those limited functions and purposes expressly requested by the department; remove language making the powers conferred to the department by KRS Chapters 150 and 235 subject to KRS Chapters 42, 45, 45A, 56, and 64; require the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet to transfer to the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources all records, files, and documents associated with functions that the cabinet no longer performs for the department; exempt the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources from reorganization under KRS Chapter 12; amend KRS 150.022 to change references from wildlife districts to commission districts; make commission members' terms end on December 31 of the fourth calendar year following their appointments and until their successors are duly appointed and confirmed by the Senate; require that a member serve no more than two full terms, excluding any partial terms that a member may serve; require that a candidate to be a commission member have held hunting and fishing licenses for the previous five consecutive years; require that an appointment to the commission to replace a member whose term has expired be made no later than January 20 of the year following the year in which the term expired; require that the Governor and the Commissioner of Agriculture make alternating appointments to the commission based on the commission district, except the Governor shall always make the appointments for the first commission district; make conforming changes; amend KRS 150.061 to make the commissioner the appointing authority for the department for the purposes of KRS Chapter 18A and to conform; amend KRS 235.030 to provide that the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources be attached administratively to the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet only for those limited functions and purposes expressly requested by the department; amend KRS 150.0241, 235.010, and 235.130 to conform; EMERGENCY.