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Committee passes cleanup bill for Department of Labor and Licensing; bill clarifies hiring and delegations
Summary
Senate Bill 439, described as a statutory cleanup following agency reorganization, clarifies that the secretary of the Department of Labor and Licensing — not a division director — has authority to hire, fire and delegate in most instances. The committee passed the bill after questions about delegations and hiring authority.
Sen. Missy Irvin introduced Senate Bill 439 as a cleanup measure for the Department of Labor and Licensing following a prior reorganization. Steve Gunthorpe of the Department said the bill reassigns powers and duties to the department secretary or the secretary's designee, corrects conflicting statutory language left over from the earlier transformation, and clarifies hiring and rulemaking authority.
Gunthorpe and Lacey Kirchner, counsel for the Department, told the committee the bill resolves an inconsistency where some statutes still referenced a "director" appointed by the governor while transformation language made the director an employee hired by the secretary. Kirchner pointed lawmakers to a late section of the bill (section 137, pages 73–74) that explicitly grants the secretary authority to hire and fire executive directors, commission members, sections or divisions under the Department of Labor and Licensing.
Committee members asked why the bill uses language allowing the secretary to designate a designee for duties; witnesses said the intent is to ensure operational clarity and that, in practice, the secretary will generally delegate day-to-day functions to division leaders while retaining ultimate authority.
No public opponents signed up to speak. After questions were answered, Sen. Irvin closed and the committee passed SB 439 on a motion to pass, seconded by Senator Tucker; the committee approved the bill by voice vote.
