Department - Additional and cumulative powers.

The Department of Mental Health is given hereby the following additional and cumulative powers through its commissioner:

(1) It is authorized and directed to set up state plans for the purpose of controlling and treating any and all forms of mental and emotional illness and any and all forms of mental retardation and shall divide the state into regions, districts, areas or zones, which need not be geographic areas, but shall be areas for the purpose of establishing priorities and programs and for organizational and administrative purposes in accordance with these state plans.

(2) It is designated and authorized to supervise, coordinate, and establish standards for all operations and activities of the state related to mental health and the providing of mental health services; and it is authorized to receive and administer any funds available from any source for the purpose of acquiring building sites for, constructing, equipping, maintaining or operating mental health centers, and community mental retardation programs or facilities or institutions for the purpose of providing mental health services and mental retardation services.

(3) It is hereby designated as the single state agency of the State of Alabama to receive and administer any and all funds available from any source for the purpose of training, research and education in regard to all forms of mental and emotional illness and all forms of intellectual disability through its commissioner.

(4) It is hereby authorized to enter into contracts with any other state or federal agency or with any private person, organization or group capable of contracting if it finds such action to be in the public interest. However, a resident of Alabama shall not be transferred from a state institution or facility to any institution or facility outside the State of Alabama, by contract or otherwise; provided, that with the consent of the patient or client or the consent of the members of his immediate family, a resident of this state may be transferred to a mental hospital, mental retardation facility or other facility of another state.

(5) It may, in its discretion, develop a program for the care of aged patients and operate, in any area of the state, nursing homes which shall care for and treat patients that require primary treatment for their geriatric infirmities; such nursing homes operated by the department shall meet the standards duly promulgated by the State Board of Health and shall be licensed under its authority. The department is further authorized to transfer such geriatric patients to private nursing homes within the State of Alabama if it finds such action to be in the public interest; provided, that with the consent of the patient or client or the consent of the members of his immediate family a resident of this state may be transferred to a mental hospital, intellectual disability facility, or other facility of another state.

(6) It is hereby authorized to appoint advisory councils as needed from among those leaders in disciplines concerned with mental and emotional illness and disciplines concerned with intellectual disability or from the public generally to advise it in regard to plans, programs and regulations. The Mental Health Commissioner is ex-officio chairman of these advisory councils and shall call meetings when advice is needed or when a majority of any such advisory council requests a meeting.

(7) The members of such advisory councils shall be entitled to be reimbursed for mileage expenses, not to exceed the amount prescribed by state law for attending meetings called by the Mental Health Commissioner. Such sums as are necessary to meet these mileage expenses are hereby appropriated from the Alabama Special Mental Health and Mental Retardation Fund and shall be paid on warrants signed by the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Commissioner.

(8) The Mental Health Department is hereby authorized and directed to establish and promulgate reasonable rules, policies, orders and regulations providing details of carrying out its duties and responsibilities, including bylaws for its own organization, government and procedures.

(9) It is authorized and directed to purchase or lease land or acquire property by eminent domain and to purchase, lease, rent, sell, exchange or otherwise transfer property, land, buildings or equipment in order to carry out its duties and responsibilities.

(10) It is authorized and directed to determine reasonable fees for services which it makes available to the public and it shall collect such fees unless, on application and investigation, it is determined that the person receiving such services is unable to pay the established fee, and in such case, such amount as he is able to pay will be collected.

(11) It is authorized and directed to establish and promulgate reasonable minimum standards for the construction and operation of facilities, including reasonable minimum standards for the admission, diagnosis, care, treatment, transfer of patients or clients and their records, and also including reasonable minimum standards for providing day care, outpatient care, emergency care, inpatient care and follow-up care when such care is provided for persons, with mental or emotional illness, or day care or residential care for persons who are individuals with an intellectual disability.

(12) It is authorized to inspect any institution or facility providing any kind of treatment or care for those suffering from mental or emotional illness or intellectual disability, and shall certify any such institution or facility which meets its minimum standards to the State Board of Health.

(13) The State Board of Health may issue a license to operate such facilities or institutions as may be established under the provisions of this chapter upon recommendation of the department and upon certification by said department that such facility or institution is in compliance with rules and regulations promulgated by said department and approved by said State Board of Health.

(14) It is authorized to establish and collect reasonable fees for necessary inspection services incidental to certification of compliance.

(15) It is authorized and directed to provide hearings for anyone claiming to be damaged by decisions of its employees or agents, and it may delegate the holdings of such hearings to administrative hearing officers. When a decision of an administrative hearing officer is adopted by the commissioner, the said decision then and there becomes a final decision and may be reviewed in the circuit court only upon a finding of the court that such decision was arbitrary, illegal, or capricious.

(16) It may file and prosecute civil actions in any court in the name of the Mental Health Department to enforce this article and such rules and regulations as may be duly promulgated under authority of this article; such civil actions may include actions for an injunction to restrain any person, agency, or organization from violating any provision of this article or any rule or regulation duly promulgated under authority of this article, and it may also, with the approval of the Attorney General, authorize its legal counsel to attend to any other litigation which concerns the department.

(17) It is authorized to accept gifts, trusts, bequests, grants, endowments or transfers of property of any kind and shall prudently manage such property in accordance with the terms of such gifts or transfer of property and in accordance with sound financial principles.

(18) It is hereby authorized and directed to receive moneys coming to it by way of fees for services or by appropriations and shall prudently manage such moneys in accordance with sound financial principles.

(19) The employees of the department shall be governed by personnel Merit System rules and regulations, the same as other employees in state service, as administered by the state's Personnel Department; provided, that such rules and regulations shall not be applicable to the appointment, tenure or compensation of physicians, surgeons, psychiatrists, psychologists, dentists, social workers, nurses and attorneys. Employees of the department on October 1, 1965, who have been so employed for six months immediately preceding such date, shall remain in their respective employments during good behavior; but nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prevent or preclude the removal of an employee for cause in the manner provided by law.

(20) All offices, services, programs or other activities of the Alabama Mental Health Board are hereby made offices, services, programs or other activities of the Department of Mental Health, and the commissioner is hereby authorized to reorganize such offices, services, programs, or other activities so as to achieve economy and efficiency; and the said commissioner may establish bureaus, divisions, hospitals, clinics, mental health centers, intellectual disability programs, alternative living arrangements for individuals with an intellectual disability, or other facilities for providing mental health services and mental retardation services, if he finds such action to be in the public interest.

(21) All purchases and construction and supply contracts of the department shall be made or let on a competitive bidding basis, and may be made through the state purchasing agent, or otherwise, as the commissioner may direct. No purchases, except for rights-of-way, shall be made from, nor shall any sales be made to, any member of the Legislature, any member of the Mental Health Board of Trustees hereby created or any other person holding an office of profit with the State of Alabama.

(22) The department is authorized, at its discretion, to provide funding to community or statewide programs for the prevention and/or treatment of epilepsy.

(Acts 1965, No. 881, p. 1649, §§8, 10; Acts 1984, No. 84-242, p. 365, §1.)