Decree No. 108/2020/ND-CP amending the Decree No. 37/2014/ND-CP

DECREE

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 37/2014/ND-CP of May 5, 2014, providing the organization of specialized agencies under People’s Committees of rural districts, urban districts, towns or provincial cities^[1]

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of Local Administration;

Pursuant to the November 22, 2019 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration;

At the proposal of the Minister of Home Affairs;

The Government promulgates the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 37/2014/ND-CP of May 5, 2014, providing the organization of specialized agencies under People’s Committees of rural districts, urban districts, towns or provincial cities.

Article 1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 37/2014/ND-CP of May 5, 2014, providing the organization of specialized agencies under People’s Committees of rural districts, urban districts, towns or provincial cities:

1. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 4 as follows:

“1. To submit to district-level People’s Committees and chairpersons of district-level People’s Committees:

a/ To submit to district-level People’s Committees: draft decisions; master plans as well as medium-term and annual development plans; programs and measures to organize the performance of their assigned state administrative reform tasks in the fields under their management; and draft documents defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structures of specialized agencies under district-level People’s Committees;

b/ To submit to chairpersons of district-level People’s Committees draft documents falling within the promulgating competence of chairpersons of district-level People’s Committees as assigned.”

2. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 5 as follows:

“1. The head of a specialized agency under a district-level People’s Committee (below referred to as the division’s head) is a member of the district-level People’s Committee who is elected by the district-level People’s Council and appointed by the chairperson of the district-level People’s Committee and who shall take responsibility before the district-level People’s Committee and chairperson of the district-level People’s Committee and before law for the performance of the functions and tasks and the exercise of the powers of his/her division and the performance of the tasks and the exercise of the powers of a member of the district-level People’s Committee under the Working Regulation and as assigned by the district-level People’s Committee.”

3. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 5 as follows:

“3. Number of deputy heads of a division

Each division has 2 deputy heads on average. Based on the number of specialized divisions established and the total number of deputy heads of divisions, the district-level People’s Committee shall decide on the specific number of deputy heads of each specialized division as appropriate.”

4. To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 6 as follows:

“4. Divisions’ heads shall report to district-level People’s Committees, chairpersons of district-level People’s Committees and line departments on the organization and operation of their divisions; present work reports before district-level People’s Councils and district-level People’s Committees upon request; coordinate with heads of district-level specialized agencies and socio-political organizations in settling matters related to their functions, tasks and powers.”

5. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 7 as follows:

“1.  Home Affairs Divisions:  

To advise and assist district-level People’s Committees in performing the state management of organizational apparatuses; working positions; payrolls of civil servants and structures of civil servant ranks in state administrative agencies and organizations; working positions and structures of public employees based on professional titles and numbers of employees in public non-business units; salaries of cadres, civil servants, public employees and contractual laborers in administrative agencies and organizations as well as public non-business units; administrative reform; local administrations; administrative boundaries; cadres, civil servants and public employees; commune-level cadres and civil servants and part-time officers in communes, villages and residential quarters; associations and non-governmental organizations; state clerical and archives work; belief and religion; youth work; and emulation and commendation.

2. Justice Divisions:

To advise and assist district-level People’s Committees in performing the state management of law making and implementation, monitoring of law implementation, examination and handling of legal documents, and law dissemination and education; grassroots conciliation, legal aid, child adoption, civil status, certification, and other judicial matters in accordance with law; and management of the implementation of the law on handling of administrative violations.”

6. To amend and supplement Clauses 4, 5 and 6, Article 7 as follows:

“4. Natural Resources and Environment Divisions:

To advise and assist district-level People’s Committees in performing the state management of land; water resources; minerals; environment; sea areas and islands (for districts having sea areas and islands); survey and mapping; and climate change.

5. Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Divisions:

To advise and assist district-level People’s Committees in performing the state management of employment; vocational education; labor; salaries; wages; social insurance (compulsory social insurance, voluntary social insurance and unemployment insurance); occupational safety; people with meritorious service to the country; social protection; child protection and care; gender equality; and prevention and combat of social evils.

6. Culture and Information Divisions:

To advise and assist district-level People’s Committees in performing the state management of culture; family; physical training and sports; tourism; advertising; post; telecommunications; information technology; radio and television broadcasting; press; publication; electronic information; grassroots information; foreign service information; and information infrastructure.”

7. To amend and supplement Clauses 8, 9 and 10, Article 7 as follows:

“8. Health Divisions:

To advise and assist district-level People’s Committees in performing the state management of preventive medicine; medical examination and treatment and functional rehabilitation; traditional medicine and pharmacy; reproductive health; medical equipment; pharmacy; cosmetics; food safety; health insurance; and population.

In case no Health Division is organized, the Office of the People’s Council and People’s Committee shall advise and assist the district-level People’s Committee in performing the state management of the health sector.

9. Inspectorates:

To advise and assist district-level People’s Committees in performing the state management of inspection, and settlement of complaints and denunciations within the scope of state management of district-level People’s Committees; and perform tasks and powers related to inspection, settlement of complaints and denunciations, corruption prevention and control, and citizen reception in accordance with law.

10. Offices of People’s Councils and People’s Committees:

To generally advise People’s Councils and People’s Committees on the operation of People’s Councils and People’s Committees; to advise chairpersons of People’s Committees on the latter’s direction and administration work; to control administrative procedures; to provide information serving the management by, and operation of, People’s Councils, People’s Committees and state agencies in localities; to ensure physical and technical foundations for the operation of People’s Councils and People’s Committees; to organize the implementation of the single-window and inter-agency single-window mechanisms in the settlement of administrative procedures within the management scope and functions of district-level People’s Committees; to guide and receive dossiers from individuals and organizations in all fields falling within the competence of district-level People’s Committees, forward dossiers to specialized agencies under district-level People’s Committees for processing, and receive dossier-processing results for return to individuals and organizations.

For district-level administrative units having national boundary borderlines on land, sea or island, the Offices of district-level People’s Councils and People’s Committees shall advise and assist district-level People’s Committees in performing the state management of foreign and border affairs.”

8. To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 1, Article 8 as follows:

“a/ Economic Divisions:

To advise and assist People’s Committees of urban districts in performing the state management of small and cottage industries; science and technology; industry; trade; and disaster prevention and control.”

9. To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 3, Article 8 as follows:

b/ Economic and Infrastructure Divisions:

To advise and assist People’s Committees of rural districts in performing the state management of industry; small and cottage industries; trade; construction planning and architecture; construction investment activities; urban development; technical infrastructure of urban areas, industrial parks, economic zones and hi-tech parks (covering water supply and drainage in urban areas, industrial parks, economic zones, hi-tech parks and building-material production establishments; urban lighting and greeneries; management of cemeteries, except martyrs’ cemeteries; management of underground construction in urban areas; and management of the shared use of urban technical infrastructure); housing; working offices; building materials; transport; and science and technology.

For rural districts with a high speed of urbanization, district-level People’s Committees shall propose district-level People’s Councils to decide on the organization of 2 specialized divisions as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.”

10. To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 8 as follows:

4. Ethnic Affairs Divisions:

To advise and assist district-level People’s Committees in performing the state management of ethnic affairs.

An Ethnic Affairs Division may be established when fully satisfying the following criteria:

a/ The district has at least 5,000 ethnic minority people who need the State’s assistance and support for development;

b/ The district has ethnic minority people living in critical security and national defense areas; areas with interwoven residence and cultivation; and border areas witnessing frequent travel by many ethnic minority people of Vietnam and neighbor countries.

In case no Ethnic Affairs Division is organized, the Office of the People’s Committee and People’s Council shall advise and assist the district-level People’s Committee in performing the state management of ethnic affairs.”

11. To amend and supplement Article 9 as follows:

“Article 9. Organization of specialized agencies in island districts

1. Based on the specific conditions of each island district, the district People’s Committee shall submit to the district People’s Council for decision the number and names of specialized divisions under the district People’s Committees, ensuring that the number of specialized divisions does not exceed the number of specialized agencies specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The number of specialized agencies under the People’s Committee of an island district must not exceed 10. Particularly, Phu Quoc island district of Kien Giang province may establish no more than 12 divisions.”

12. To amend and supplement Article 10 as follows:

“Article 10. Provincial-level People’s Committees

1. To specifically guide the functions, tasks, powers and organization of specialized agencies under district-level People’s Committees in accordance with this Decree and other relevant legal documents.

2. To carry out examination and inspection and settle complaints and denunciations according to their competence.”

13. To amend and supplement Article 11 as follows:

“Article 11. District-level People’s Committees

1. Based on this Decree, district-level People’s Committees shall propose district-level People’s Councils to consider and decide to establish divisions or not to establish divisions but to consolidate the organization of divisions to suit state management requirements in localities, provided that the number of divisions does not increase as a result of implementation of this Decree.

2. To define the functions, tasks and powers of divisions in compliance with the guidance of line ministries and relevant documents.

3. To specify the number of deputy heads of each division in accordance with this Decree.

4. To decentralize commune-level People’s Committees and decentralize or authorize divisions and divisions’ heads (members of district-level People’s Committees) to perform and exercise one or several of tasks and powers within the competence of district-level People’s Committees under regulations.

5. Annually, to report on the organization and operation of divisions to district-level People’s Councils and provincial-level People’s Committees.

6. To carry out examination and inspection and settle complaints and denunciations according to competence.”

14. To amend and supplement Article 12 as follows:

“Article 12. Chairpersons of district-level People’s Committees

1. To lead and direct divisions to perform the assigned functions and tasks.

2. To appoint, reappoint, relieve from duty, approve resignation of, transfer, rotate, commend, discipline, and implement regimes and policies toward, divisions’ heads and deputy heads in accordance with the Party regulations and law.”

Article 2. Transitional provisions

Localities which have conducted pilot consolidation or merger of specialized agencies under the Political Bureau’s Conclusion No. 34-KL/TW of August 7, 2018, on implementation of a number of pilot models under Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW of October 25, 2017, shall summarize the pilot implementation at the request of competent agencies.

Article 3. Effect

This Decree takes effect on November 25, 2020.

Article 4. Implementation responsibility

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall implement this Decree.-

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC