Contains the Articles of Organization of the International Centre for Education, Capacity-Building and Applied Research in Water Foundation - HidroEx.
THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF MINAS GERAIS, by virtue of the authority vested in him by Article 90, subsection VII of the State Constitution and pursuant to the terms of Law n. 18,505, of November 4, 2009,
HEREBY DECREES:
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS
Art.1. The International Center for Education, Capacity-Building and Applied Research in Water Foundation (HidroEx), established by Law n. 18,505, ofNovember 4, 2009, is subject to the terms of this Decree and other applicable legislation.
§ 1. HidroEx is endowed with administrative and financial autonomy, having public law legal personality, indefinite duration, headquarters and jurisdiction in the municipal district of Frutal and being subordinate to the State Department for Science, Technology and Higher Education – SECTES.
§ 2. HidroEx’s activities are to be carried out in partnership with Brazilian or international, public or private institutions, under a project approved by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and pursuant to the guidelines established in the International Hydrological Program (IHP) and Brazilian norms as well as those of other countries where appropriate.
CHAPTER II
PURPOSES AND COMPETENCIES
Art.2. HidroEx’s brief is to plan, coordinate, implement, supervise and assess programs and projects designed to protect and preserve the environment and related to management of water resources, by training and developing human resources, promoting educational actions, creating databases and providing services of public interest, it being entrusted with:
I – creating and guaranteeing standards for capacity building and development of human resources, research and provision of services, relating to surface and groundwater;
II – promoting and developing research, studies and events in its sphere of action;
III – participating in the process of creating and supervising a network of public and private law organizations and institutions legally constituted to act in the field of surface and groundwater, including mineral and drinking water, with due observance of applicable legislation;
IV – promoting and cooperating in the selection and training of professionals, by offering fully on-site teaching, semi-on-site tuition, distance learning and further education courses as well as organizing seminars, symposiums and conferences on water protection and integrated surface and groundwater management;
V – cooperating in the investigation and study of reality and scenarios related to surface and groundwater in the regions where it may operate;
VI – establishing partnerships with universities, organizations from the tertiary sector, schools, colleges and other legally constituted Brazilian or international, public or private law institutions, permanently engaged in the field of water resources and environmental protection and preservation;
VII – setting up and managing a website and an internet portal providing information and references on water and environmental realities in its sphere of action, focusing on sustainable water management practices and available technologies;
VIII – contributing to information and data systems related to water resource management;
IX – promoting social mobilization activities on matters relating to water protection and state and national water resource management, with due observance of the principles established in Federal Law n. 9,433, of January 8, 1997, which institutes the National Water Resource Policy and creates the National Water Resource Management System;
X – developing and employing appropriate tools for educating different communities, with a view to improving the quality of their lives and attaining sustainable use of water;
XI – contributing to the achievement of United Nations Millennium Development Goals as well as to the implementation of IHP objectives;
XII – providing technical assistance for Brazilian and international policy-makers, communities and professionals in its sphere of action;
XIII – liaising with Brazilian or international, public or private institutions, aiming to raise investment or financing funds for the development of its activities;
XIV – signing contracts and agreements of any sort for providing advisory, research, human resource capacity building, environmental education services and other services related to its area of expertise;
XV – establishing partnerships with civil society organizations of public interest under the terms of state legislation;
XVI – developing other activities requisite for fulfilling its purposes.
CHAPTER III
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Art. 3. HidroEx is organized as follows:
I – Collegiate Units:
a) Administrative Council; and
b) Scientific Council;
II – Board of Governors:
a) President; and
b) Vice-President;
III – Administrative Units:
a) Management Office;
b) Legal Department;
c) Sectional Auditing Office;
d) Public Relations Office;
e) Planning, Management and Finance Board;
f) Research Board; and
g) Education and Capacity Building Board.
Sole paragraph. HidroEx shall be governed by a Collegiate Board, comprised by the President, Vice-President and directors of the units to which items “e”, “f” and “g”, subsection III of this article refer.
Section I
The Administrative Council
Art. 4. Hidroex’s Administrative Council is entrusted with:
I – upholding the Foundation’s institutional mission in all its deliberations and decisions:
II – deciding on the participation of regional intergovernmental organizations as well as international institutions in the development of the Foundation’s activities;
III – sanctioning:
a) the multi-annual investment plan;
b) the annual budget proposal;
c) the work plans and programs;
d) the monthly and annual activities reports; and
e) the Foundation’s annual accounting.
Art. 5. The Administrative Council is comprised by:
I – Brazilian-born members:
a) a representative invited from UNESCO, who shall act as its Chairman; and
b) the HidroEx Foundation’s President, who shall act as its Executive Secretary;
II – guest members:
a) three representatives from among UNESCO member states appointed by IHP’s Inter-governamental Council;
b) one representative of the National Water Agency – ANA;
c) two representatives of private organizations active in areas related to the Foundation’s area of expertise;
d) a representative of the Federal Executive Branch;
III – appointed members:
a) a representative of the Minas Gerais Water Management Institute (IGAM); and
b) a representative of the State Executive Branch.
§ 1. The members to which subsections II and III of this article refer shall be appointed by the State Governor for a two-year term, renewable for a single term.
§ 2. A deputy for each member to which subsection I, items “a” and “b” refer shall be appointed by UNESCO and the HidroEx Vice-president, respectively.
§ 3. Acting as a member of the Trustee Council is deemed to be of relevant public interest, thus not being entitled to remuneration;
§ 4. The Administrative Council shall meet, ordinarily, once a year and, extraordinarily, when summoned by its Chairman or a simple majority of its members.
§ 5. The Administrative Council’s Chairman is entitled not only to cast an ordinary vote but also to cast a deciding vote.
§ 6. Other provisions concerning the workings of the Administrative Council shall be established by its internal regulations.
Section II
The Scientific Council
Art. 6. The Scientific Council is entrusted with:
I – advising Hidroex’s directors on matters involving development of scientific, cultural and artistic activities, including projects and agreements to be entered into by the Foundation;
II – creating Hidroex’s scientific policy and monitoring the development of activities resulting therefrom;
III – proposing rules for access and criteria for the courses offered by Hidroex;
IV – establishing the organization of PhD, MSc and Scientific-pedagogical Skill exams and appointing the respective board of examiners;
V – proposing the organization of a selection procedure and appointing the board of examiners responsible for filling teaching posts;
VI – proposing the teaching, research and technical staff required for the development of scientific activities; and
VII – deciding on the creation, modification, suspension and abolishment of courses and establishing the syllabuses for courses run by Hidroex.
Art. 7. The Scientific Council is comprised by:
I – Brazilian-born members:
a) a representative of IHP, who shall act as its Chairman; and
b) the HidroEx Foundation’s President, who shall act as its Executive Secretary;
II – appointed members:
a) a representative of the State Department for Science, Technology and Higher Education (SECTES); and
b) a representative of the Minas Gerais Research Support Foundation – FAPEMIG;
III – guest members:
a) two representatives of teaching staff from universities recognized by the Brazilian Ministry of Education and located in Minas Gerais;
b) two representatives of teaching staff from foreign universities;
c) a representative of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPQ); and
d) a representative of the Brazilian Agriculture & Livestock Research Company (EMBRAPA).
§ 1. The members to which subsections II and III of this article refer shall be appointed by the State Governor for a two-year term, renewable for a single term.
§ 2. A deputy for each member to which subsection I, items “a” and “b” refer, shall be appointed by UNESCO and the HidroEx Vice-president, respectively.
§ 3. Acting as a member of the Trustee Council is deemed to be of relevant public interest, thus not being entitled to remuneration;
§ 4. The Scientific Council shall meet, ordinarily, once a year and, extraordinarily, when summoned by its Chairman or a simple majority of its members.
§ 5. The Scientific Council’s Chairman is entitled not only to cast an ordinary vote but also to cast a deciding vote.
§ 6. Other provisions concerning the workings of the Scientific Council shall be established by its internal regulations.
Section III
The Collegiate Board of Governors
Art. 8. The Collegiate Board of Governors is entrusted with:
I - overseeing the Foundation’s management, without affecting the briefs of the President and Vice-president;
II - analyzing and submitting the documents mentioned in art. 4, subsection III for the Administrative Council’s approval;
III – sanctioning:
a) proposals for amending the Foundation’s Articles of Organization and Internal Regulations;
b) proposals for renting, leasing, commodatum and loan for use of the Foundation’s property and equipment;
IV – suggesting to the President the standardization of internal and external procedures and the implementation of administrative procedures within the Foundation.
Section IV
The President
Art. 9. The Foundation’s President is entrusted with:
I – running the Foundation, by taking measures necessary for fulfilling its purposes;
II – representing HidroEx in and out of court;
III – signing agreements, settlements and other such instruments with public or private, Brazilian or international corporate bodies and natural persons; and
IV – promoting the Foundation’s liaison with Brazilian or international, public or private institutions, with a view to attracting investment or raising funds for the development of its activities.
Section V
The Vice-president
Art. 10. The vice-president is entrusted with:
I – substituting the President in the event of any legal impediment; and
II – performing other activities assigned to him by the President.
CHAPTER IV
THE ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS
Section I
The Management Office
Art. 11. The purpose of the Management Office is to provide direct and immediate advice to the President and the Vice-president on political and administrative affairs, it being entrusted with:
I – forwarding matters pertinent to the various units of the Foundation and organizing the provision of expert technical support, when required;
II – developing and performing activities to serve public authorities and the general public; and
III – overseeing the development of public relations activities within HidroEx.
Section II
The Legal Department
Art. 12. The purpose of the Legal Department, which is subject to regulatory guidance and technical supervision from the State Attorney General’s Office (AGE), is to address legal issues of the Foundation’s interest, it being entrusted, under the terms of Delegated Law n. 103, of January 29, 2003 and of Supplementary Law n. 81, of August 10, 2004, with the following:
I – representing the Foundation in and out of court;
II – analyzing and issuing opinions and judicial notes on bills and draft legislation and norms in general and other acts of interest to the Foundation;
III – producing and signing draft administrative rules, invitations to bid, contracts, agreements and settlements to which the Foundation may be party;
IV – analyzing and issuing preliminary opinions on juridical acts to which the Foundation may be party;
V – registering and collecting overdue tax liabilities due to the Foundation;
VI – suggesting amendments to the Foundation’s rules and normative acts, when deemed necessary or in the Foundation’s interest;
VII – defending the Foundation in litigation or administrative procedures of its interest;
VIII – preparing a draft response to any writ of mandamus or in any other constitutional cases;
IX – defending, by legal precept and through the offices of AGE, the Foundation’s permanent employees and holders of managerial and advisory positions when, in performance of their institutional activities, they are made victim or held liable for any act or omission that constitutes a crime or misdemeanor, as well as in civil proceedings resulting from performance of their institutional activities;
X – filing public civil proceedings or intervening in the same as the Foundation’s legal representative;
XI – complying with and enforcing AGE’s guidelines; and
XII – interpreting the normative acts to which the Foundation is subject in the absence of AGE guidelines.
Sole Paragraph: The technical supervision to which this article refers implies prior acceptance by the State Attorney General of the person appointed to run the Legal Department.
Section III
The Sectional Auditing Office
Art. 13. The purpose of the sectional auditing office, which is part of the Central Internal Auditing System, is to perform auditing and correction activities within HidroEx, it being entrusted with:
I – performing, on an ongoing basis, operational and management auditing and administrative correction, in a systematic and standardized fashion;
II – observing guidelines, parameters, rules and techniques established by the State General Auditing Office (AUGE) in each area of competency;
III – observing auditing and correction rules and techniques established by the regulatory bodies for the purpose of internal auditing;
IV – preparing and implementing the annual auditing and correction plans, under the guidance and approval of AUGE;
V – adopting auditing and correction plans and guidelines made available by AUGE, as well as data, standards and technical parameters designed to assist auditing and correction work;
VI – monitoring the adoption of recommendations made by AUGE, the State Auditing Court (TCE-MG), the State Public Prosecution Service, the Federal Controller General’s Office (CGU), the Federal Auditing Court (TCU) and independent auditing institutions;
VII – providing support for the improvement of rules and procedures aimed at ensuring the effectiveness of the Foundation’s actions and internal control policy.
VIII – forwarding to AUGE information on the respective auditing activities, organizing the results obtained and explaining discrepancies between planning and implementation;
IX – informing AUGE about auditing report recommendations not implemented within the Foundation, for appropriate action;
X – ensuring the Foundation’s rules and procedures comply with appropriate laws, regulations and other normative acts, as well as governmental guidelines;
XI – notifying HidroEx’s President and AUGE, upon pain of joint and several liability, of any instances of non-compliance, unlawfulness or illegality that may come to its notice;
XII – informing HidroEx’s President about the withholding of information or the occurrence of circumstances that restrict or prevent performance of auditing and correction activities;
XIII – recommending to HidroEx’s President the institution of Special Accounting Procedures as well as the establishment of investigation and disciplinary administrative proceedings for ascertaining liability; and
XIV – producing an assessment report of the fiscal year annual accounts submitted by HidroEx’s directors, in addition to issuing a report and conclusive certificate of findings obtained by means of Special Accounting’s procedures, pursuant to TCE-MG requirements.
Section IV
The Public Relations Office
Art. 14. The purpose of the Public Relations Office is to promote public relations activities, covering the press, publicity, advertising, and promotion of HidroEx events, with due observance of the guidelines established by the State Government’s Public Relations Sub-department, it being ntrusted with:
I – advising HidroEx’s directors and administrative units regarding relations with the press;
II – planning, coordinating and supervising programs and projects relating to internal and external communications of the Foundation’s activities;
III – planning and coordinating press conferences and attending to requests submitted by the press;
IV – monitoring, selecting and examining matters of interest to HidroEx published in newspapers and magazines in order to assist the development of communication activities;
V – proposing and overseeing publicity and advertising, events and promotions designed to disseminate institutional activities, in liaison, where necessary, with the Protocol Office, the Governor’s Press Office and the Public Relations Sub-department; and
VI – managing and ensuring the institutional database updating necessary to the development of communicating activities; and
VII – continuously updating the electronic sites and the intranet under HidroEx’s responsibility, within the public information activities.
Section V
The Planning, Management and Finance Board
Art. 15. The purpose of the Planning, Management and Finance Board is to ensure the efficacy and efficiency of Hidroex’s strategic-administrative management, it being entrusted with:
I – coordinating the preparation of Hidroex’s overall planning, monitoring and assessing its implementation and proposing measures for attaining the goals and targets set;
II – coordinating the preparation of HidroEx’s budget proposal, monitoring its implementation and the respective financial execution;
III – creating instruments and mechanisms capable of ensuring interfaces and processes for continuous managerial innovation and modernization of the sector’s institutional organization, taking due account of environmental changes;
IV – creating and implementing HidroEx’s Information Technology and Communications Policy – ITC;
V – assuming responsibility for the preservation of institutional information and documentation;
VI – planning, coordinating, guiding and carrying out personnel management and human resources development activities;
VII – coordinating the equipment, assets and logistics management system; and
VIII – coordinating, guiding and carrying out financial management and accounting activities;
Sole Paragraph: The Planning, Management and Finance Board is to comply with regulatory norms set by a central unit to which it is technically subordinate in the Central General Coordination, Planning, Management and Finance System.
Section VI
The Research Board
Art. 16. The purpose of the Research Board is to plan, coordinate, supervise and assess the development of research actions concerning management of water, water resources, river basins and ecosystems surrounding bodies of water, seeking to preserve the environment and foster sustainable development, it being entrusted with:
I – planning, developing and coordinating studies and applied research on river basins, surface and groundwater, and management of water resources;
II – collecting and disseminating information on research and scientific work produced by other institutions and prospecting the needs identified with a view to solving environmental problems;
III – undertaking studies to assess the water resources market, aiming to support the definition of programmatic contents, costs, investments and other aspects related to planning activities;
IV – creating plans, projects and programs in its sphere of action;
V – promoting and providing advisory services in its field of research;
VI – setting up and operating a website and an internet portal to provide information and references on water and environmental realities in Foundation’s area of expertise, with cooperation from the Education and Capacity Building Board.
Section VII
The Education and Capacity Building Board
Art. 17. The purpose of the Education and Capacity Building Board is to plan, coordinate, oversee and perform activities concerning capacity building, education and training of students and professionals involved with water resources, with reference to river basins, surface and groundwater and management of water resources, it being entrusted with:
I – offering, coordinating and accrediting on-site tuition and distance learning in further and higher education courses;
II – coordinating the definition of syllabus contents and programs to be developed in the courses run by the Foundation;
III – promoting studies and developing experience for the strengthening and improvement of professional education approaches and strategies;
IV – assessing the Foundation’s education and capacity building activities, as to the didactic-pedagogical quality of the educational programs developed;
V – creating plans, projects and programs in its sphere of action;
VI – promoting and providing advisory services in its area of expertise.
CHAPTER V
ASSETS AND REVENUE
Section I
Assets
Art. 18. HidroEx’s assets consist of:
I – property and rights to which it may lay claim; and
II – stocks and bequests made by Brazilian or foreign, public or private natural persons or corporate bodies that may be transferred to the Foundation.
§ 1. Conveyance of HidroEx’s assets requires prior approval of the Administrative Council, with due observance of pertinent legislation.
§ 2. In cases of donations from third parties, the destination stipulated in the agreement shall be strictly observed.
§ 3. In the event the Foundation being abolished, HidroEx’s assets and rights shall revert to the property of the State, unless otherwise provided for in a specific law.
Section II
Revenue
Art. 19. HidroEx’s revenue shall consist of:
I – allocations made annually from the State budget to provide the resources required for its maintenance;
II – proceeds of revenue directly collected, resulting from any sort of contracts, covenants or agreements entered into for provision of the services to which art. 2, subsection XIV refers;
III – transfers, subsidies, aids grants obtained from covenants, consortia or other agreements with Brazilian or international institutions;
IV – donations and bequests of which it is the beneficiary; and
V – proceeds from other sources.
Art. 20. The Foundation’s assets, rights and revenues shall be exclusively used to accomplish its purposes.
CHAPTER VI
ECONOMIC AND FISCAL SYSTEM
Art. 21. HidroEx’s fiscal year shall coincide with the calendar year.
Art. 22. HidroEx has a single annual budget comprising revenues, expenditures and investments made in programs.
Art. 23. HidroEx shall submit to TCE-MG and to AUGE, by the date set in specific legislation, a management report on its administration in the preceding fiscal year together with its accounts, duly approved by the Administrative Council.
CHAPTER VII
FINAL PROVISIONS
Art. 24. HidroEx shall succeed the Minas Gerais State University (UEMG) in contracts, covenants and other rights and liabilities it may have assumed through the Center for Research,CapacityBuildingand Education on Water, created by art. 1 of Decree n. 44,919, ofOctober 14, 2008.
Art. 25. This Decree shall come into force on the date it is published.
Art. 26. The following are hereby revoked:
I – art. 33, subsection III, item “d” and Annex XXXII of Decree n. 36,898, of May 24, 1995; and
II – art. 6, subsection IV, item “a”, sub-item 3 of Decree n. 44,466, ofFebruary 16, 2007.
Palácio Tiradentes, Belo Horizonte, on May 14, 2010; 222nd year of the Inconfidência Mineira rebellion and 189th year of Brazil’s Independence.