The commissioner may, with the approval of the Governor, appoint a deputy commissioner, who shall be is the chief of one of the department bureaus and shall perform the duties of the commissioner during the commissioner's absence, in addition to his the deputy commissioner's regular duties. The compensation and expense of the deputy commissioner shall be is paid from any available funds appropriated for the use of the bureau of which he the deputy commissioner is chief. The commissioner may

appoint and employ the bureau chiefs and the assistant to the commissioner to be under his the commissioner's immediate supervision, direction and control, and to serve at his the commissioner's pleasure and perform such duties as he the commissioner may prescribe, except as otherwise provided by law. In addition, the commissioner may appoint an associate commissioner for administrative services who is not subject to the Civil Service Law and who serves at the pleasure of the commissioner.

Sec. C-2. 5 MRSA §947-B, sub-§1, ¶I, as amended by PL 1999, c. 731, Pt. F, §2, is further amended to read:

I. State Budget Officer; and

Sec. C-3. 5 MRSA §947-B, sub-§1, ¶J, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 731, Pt. F, §3, is amended to read:

J. Chief Information Officer.; and

Sec. C-4. 5 MRSA §947-B, sub-§1, ¶K is enacted to read:

K.__Associate Commissioner, Administrative Services.

Sec. C-5. PL 2003, c. 20, Pt. D, §23 is amended to read:

*Sec. D-23. Department of Administrative and Financial Services; lease-purchase authorization. Pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 1587, the Department of Administrative and Financial Services in cooperation with the Treasurer of State may enter into financing arrangements related to in fiscal years 2003-04 and 2004-05 for the acquisition of motor vehicles for the Central Motor Pool. The financing agreements entered into in each fiscal year may not exceed $5,000,000 in principal costs, and no financing arrangement may exceed 4 years in duration and $5,000,000 in principal costs. The interest rate may not exceed 6%, and total interest costs with respect to the financing arrangements entered into in each fiscal year may not exceed $762,000. The annual principal and