MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1998 Regular Session

To: Appropriations

By: Representatives Watson, Stevens, Bowles, Coleman (29th), Denny, Perry, Simmons (37th)

AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEFRAYING THE EXPENSES OF THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR FISCAL YEAR 1999.  

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

SECTION 1. The following sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the State General Fund not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the Office of the Attorney General for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998, and ending June 30, 1999 $ 6,460,798.00.

SECTION 2. The following sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any money in any special fund in the State Treasury to the credit of the Office of the Attorney General which is comprised of special source funds collected by or otherwise available to the office, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the office for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1998, and ending June 30, 1999 $ 6,478,453.00.

SECTION 3. With the funds appropriated under the provisions of Section 1 and Section 2, the following positions are authorized:

AUTHORIZED POSITIONS:

Permanent: Full Time. . . . . . . . . 99

Part Time. . . . . . . . . 3

Time-Limited: Full Time. . . . . . . . . 104

Part Time. . . . . . . . . 0

From the funds provided herein, funds may be expended for the following purposes, in compliance with the policies established by the State Personnel Board and any conditions placed on such expenditures:

(a) The components of the Variable Compensation Plan shall be maintained within the constraints of the funds appropriated herein. Unless otherwise permitted by law, no single event, including appointment, promotion, reclassification, reallocation, or other employee salary increase shall exceed the greater of (1) the difference between the starting salary of the current classification and the new classification added to the current salary, (2) one-half the relative distance into the current salary range added to the starting salary of the new salary range, or (3) the salary that could be paid to a newly hired employee.

(b) Funds are provided herein to implement the Information Technology Special Compensation Plan as approved by the State Personnel Board.

(c) Funds are provided herein to fund MH-Direct Care Worker classification increases resulting from implementing the provisions of Senate Bill No. 2100 passed by the 1997 Legislature.

It is the agency's responsibility to make certain that funds required to be appropriated for Personal Services for Fiscal Year 2000 do not exceed Fiscal Year 1999 funds appropriated for that purpose unless programs and/or positions are added to the agency's budget by the Mississippi Legislature.

Any transfers or escalations shall be made in accordance with the terms, conditions and procedures established by law.

No general funds authorized to be expended herein shall be used to replace federal funds and/or other special funds which are being used for salaries authorized under the provisions of this act and which are withdrawn and no longer available.

SECTION 4. Of the funds appropriated under the provisions of Section 2, funds included therein which are derived from penalties and/or other funds collected by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit shall be available for the purpose of providing the state match for federal funds available for the support of the unit, or for other lawful purposes as deemed appropriate by the Attorney General. Further, it is the intent of the Legislature that any penalties and/or other funds collected and/or expended shall be accounted for separately as to source and/or application of such funds.

SECTION 5. It is the intention of the Legislature that the Attorney General's Office charge legal fees to all agencies where such legal services are provided. The Attorney General's Office may contract these fees on a contract rate or an hourly rate, whichever is more appropriate. Contracts with the Attorney General's Office for legal services or reimbursement for hourly legal services shall not require the approval of the State Personnel Board. The Attorney General's Office is further authorized to escalate the amount of any of its major objects of expenditure in an amount not to exceed Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($750,000.00) above any amounts herein authorized, and to increase the number of authorized positions in order to provide the required legal services for such state agencies.

SECTION 6. Of the funds appropriated under the provisions of Section 2, the amount of Four Hundred Twenty Thousand Dollars ($420,000.00), or so much thereof as may be necessary, shall be made available for expenditure by the Prosecutors Training Division.

SECTION 7. It is the intention of the Legislature that the Attorney General's Office shall have the authority to accept, budget and expend any source funds not to exceed Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($750,000.00), that become available to the office to carry out the provisions of those funds in a manner consistent with the rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration. None of the funds authorized in this section shall be used to increase the major object of expenditure "Salaries, Wages and Fringe Benefits."

SECTION 8. No part of the money herein appropriated shall be used, either directly or indirectly, for the purpose of paying any clerk, stenographer, assistant, deputy or other person who may be related by blood or marriage within the third degree, computed by the rules of civil law, to the official employing or having the right of employment or selection thereof; and in the event of any such payment, then the official or person approving and making or receiving such payment shall be jointly and severally liable to return to the State of Mississippi and to pay into the State Treasury three (3) times any such amount so paid or received; however, when the relationship is by affinity and the person through whom the relationship was established is dead, this provision shall not apply.

SECTION 9. None of the funds appropriated by this act shall be expended for any purpose that is not actually required or necessary for performing any of the powers or duties of the Office of the Attorney General that are authorized by the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, state or federal law, or rules or regulations that implement state or federal law.

SECTION 10. In compliance with the "Mississippi Performance Budget and Strategic Planning Act of 1994," it is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided herein shall be utilized in the most efficient and effective manner possible to achieve the intended mission of this agency. Based on the funding authorized, this agency shall make every effort to attain the targeted performance measures provided below:

FY99

Performance Measures Target

Support Services

Cost of support services as percentage of

budget (percent) 6.25

DFA error exception slips per month (items) 36

Training

Approval on prosecutors training (%) 95

Litigation

Minimum affirmation of criminal convictions (%) 85

Minimum affirmations of death penalty appeals (%) 60

Minimum denial of relief in federal habeas

corpus (%) 90

Minimum positive results of civil cases (%) 70

Minimum positive results of Section 1983 cases (%) 80

Opinions

Assigned to attorneys in three days or less (%) 100

Opinions completed in 30 days or less (%) 75

Good/excellent ratings for training (%) 85

State Agency Contracts

Good/excellent ratings for legal services (%) 80

Other Mandated Programs

Medicaid fraud convictions vs dispositions (%) 80

Medicaid abuse convictions vs dispositions (%) 80

Minimum defendants convicted after indictments (%) 90

Response to consumer complaints (days) 7

Minimum positive results of consumer cases (%) 75

A reporting of the degree to which the performance targets set above have been or are being achieved shall be provided in the agency's budget request submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee for Fiscal Year 2000.

SECTION 11. The money herein appropriated shall be paid by the State Treasurer out of any money in the State Treasury to the credit of the proper fund or funds as set forth in this act, upon warrants issued by the State Fiscal Officer; and the State Fiscal Officer shall issue his warrants upon requisitions signed by the proper person, officer or officers in the manner provided by law.

SECTION 12. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1998.