MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2021 Regular Session

To: Judiciary B

By: Representative Massengill

House Bill 15

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 45-6-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD ON LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER STANDARDS AND TRAINING; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

     SECTION 1.  Section 45-6-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

     45-6-5.  (1)  There is hereby created the Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training, which shall consist of * * * thirteen (13) fourteen (14) members.

     (2)  (a)  The Governor shall appoint * * *six (6) five (5) members of the board from the following specified categories:

              (i)  * * *Two (2) members, each of whom One (1) member who is a chief of police of a municipality in this state * * *, with one (1) of the appointees being appointed from a municipality having a population of less than five thousand (5,000) according to the latest federal decennial census.

              (ii)  One (1) member who is a sheriff in this state.

              (iii)  One (1) member who is a district attorney in this state.

              (iv)  One (1) member who is a representative of higher education and who has a degree in one (1) of the following areas of study:  corrections, criminal justice or public administration.

              (v)  One (1) member who is a nonsupervisory rank-and-file law enforcement officer.

          (b)  The initial appointments to the board shall be made by the Governor no later than twenty (20) days after April 7, 1981, as follows:  the chief of police and the representative of higher education each shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years; and the sheriff and the district attorney each shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years.  Upon the expiration of the terms of the initial appointees to the board, each subsequent appointment shall be made for a term of three (3) years, beginning on the date of the expiration of the previous term.  A vacancy in any appointed position on the board * * *prior to before the expiration of a term shall be filled by appointment of the Governor only for the balance of the unexpired term.  Appointments shall be made within sixty (60) days of the occurrence of the vacancy.

          (c)  Any member appointed under this subsection who fails to attend three (3) consecutive meetings of the board shall be subject to removal by the Governor.  The president of the board shall notify the Governor in writing when a member has failed to attend three (3) consecutive regular meetings.

     (3)  The remaining * * *seven (7) nine (9) members of the board shall be the following:

          (a)  The Attorney General, or his or her designee.

          (b)  The Director of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, or his or her designee.

          (c)  The President of the Mississippi Municipal Association, or his or her designee who is a member of the association.

          (d)  The President of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors, or his or her designee who is a member of the association.

(e) The President of the Mississippi Constable Association, or his or her designee who is a member of the association.

          (f)  The President of the Mississippi Campus Law Enforcement Officers Association, or his or her designee who is a member of the association.

          (g)  The President of the Mississippi Sheriffs' Association, or his or her designee who is a member of the association.

(h)  The President of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police, or his or her designee who is a member of the association.

(i)  A chief of police of a municipality, to be appointed by the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police.

     The Attorney General, the Director of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol and the respective presidents of the foregoing associations, or their designees, shall serve only for their respective terms of office.

     (4)  Members of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to receive reimbursement for any actual and reasonable expenses incurred as a necessary incident to such service, including mileage, as provided in Section 25-3-41.

     (5)  There shall be a * * *chairman chair and a vice * * * chairman chair of the board, elected by and from the membership of the board.  The board shall adopt rules and regulations governing times and places for meetings and governing the manner of conducting its business, but the board shall meet at least every three (3) months.

     (6)  The Governor shall call an organizational meeting of the board not later than thirty (30) days after April 7, 1981.

     (7)  If a person appointed to the board no longer occupies the status qualifying that person's appointment, that position on the board shall be immediately vacated and filled ex officio or by appointment of the Governor as otherwise provided in this section.

     (8)  The board shall report annually to the Governor and the Legislature on its activities, and may make such other reports as it deems desirable.

     (9)  The training officers of all police academies in the state whose curricula are approved by the board shall be advisors to the board.  They shall be entitled to all privileges of the board members, including travel expenses and subsistence, but shall not be eligible to vote at board meetings.

     SECTION 2.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.