MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1998 Regular Session

To: Agriculture

By: Representative Holland

House Bill 1163

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 69-1-32, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE TO ACCEPT GIFTS, GRANTS AND DONATIONS FOR THE BENEFIT AND USE OF THE MISSISSIPPI AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY MUSEUM; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 39-17-3, 39-17-5 AND 69-1-30, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 69-1-32, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

69-1-32. The Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum shall be renamed and known as the Jim Buck Ross Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum. The Department of Agriculture and Commerce shall have an appropriate sign or signs placed at the museum displaying the new name of the museum. The Department of Agriculture and Commerce may accept gifts, devises, bequests, grants and any other aid from any source, public or private, for the benefit and use of the museum. The Department of Agriculture and Commerce shall deposit such funds in a special fund of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce created in the State Treasury and designated as the "Museum Fund." The department shall use such funds solely to defray the expenses of the museum. Expenditures of such funds shall be made upon requisition by the Commissioner of Agriculture and subject to appropriation by the Legislature.

SECTION 2. Section 39-17-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

39-17-3. The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Dizzy Dean Museum may be constructed on property currently owned by the state and located adjacent to the Jim Buck Ross Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson, Mississippi, or on property located adjacent to the Jim Buck Ross Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum and conveyed to the state by the City of Jackson. The Department of Finance and Administration may enter into agreement with the governing authorities of the City of Jackson for the movement and relocation of exhibits housed in the currently existing Dizzy Dean Museum.

SECTION 3. Section 39-17-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

39-17-5. The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Dizzy Dean Museum shall be funded, in part, by the sale of exclusive rights to market soft drinks at the State Fairgrounds, the Jim Buck Ross Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Dizzy Dean Museum; however, the sale of such rights for the state fairgrounds shall include the Mississippi State Fair and the Dixie National Livestock Show and Rodeo and no other event or activity on the state fairgrounds. The Mississippi Fair Commission and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce shall have the authority to enter contracts for the sale of the aforementioned exclusive rights for a term not exceeding twelve (12) years per contract. If bids for the purchase of such rights are in an amount that is less than the amount needed to construct the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Dizzy Dean Museum, then the Mississippi Fair Commission and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce may reject all bids and shall not be obligated to enter into such contracts. Funds so generated shall be deposited in a special, interest-bearing account, in the State Treasury to be administered by the Department of Finance and Administration. The account shall be known as the "Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Dizzy Dean Museum Account" and all interest accrued thereon shall be credited to the account. Any funds in the account shall not lapse into the General Fund at the end of the fiscal year but shall remain in the account. Any balance remaining at the end of the project shall be transferred to the operating account of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Dizzy Dean Museum.

SECTION 4. Section 69-1-30, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

69-1-30. The Department of Agriculture and Commerce is hereby authorized to employ or to contract with private security agencies to provide security for the Jim Buck Ross Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum. The jurisdiction of the security guards shall be limited to the museum property and shall not supplant the authority or jurisdiction of any state or local law enforcement officer.

SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1998.