MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2021 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Clark
AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI SPECIAL NEEDS HOUSING STEERING COUNCIL; TO REQUIRE THE COUNCIL TO ASSIST THE MISSISSIPPI HOME CORPORATION IN THE CREATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF A SPECIAL NEEDS HOUSING PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) There is created the Mississippi Special Needs Housing Steering Council. The council will be made up of the following members, or their designees:
(a) A representative from the Office of the Governor;
(b) The Executive Director of the State Department of Mental Health;
(c) The Executive Director of the Division of Medicaid;
(d) A representative from the Office of the Attorney General;
(e) The Commissioner of Corrections;
(f) The State Health Officer;
(g) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority;
(h) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Home Corporation;
(i) The Executive Director of Human Services;
(j) A representative from the Mississippi Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials;
(k) A representative from the Mississippi Association of Community Mental Health Centers;
(l) A representative from Disability Rights Mississippi;
(m) A representative from the Mississippi Association of Affordable Housing Providers; and
(n) An individual residing in housing provided by the Special Needs Housing Program, to be selected jointly by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Mississippi and the Mississippi Association of Community Mental Health Centers after the program is fully operational.
(2) The Mississippi Home Corporation shall provide administrative support to the council.
(3) The council shall be tasked with cooperating and assisting the Mississippi Home Corporation in the creation and administration of a Special Needs Housing Program. The program must provide for bridge funding and stable supported community-integrated housing for individuals with mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and other populations with special needs, as may be defined by the council. Other populations identified by the council may include, but are not limited to, persons re-entering society following an incarceration, persons with HIV/AIDS, homeless persons and families, and other similarly identified individuals and families with special needs, as defined by the council.
(4) Funds necessary for the support of the council and the Special Needs Housing Program must be provided from the Mississippi Affordable Housing Development Fund, as authorized under Section 43-33-759, or by a dedicated sustainable funding source, or both.
SECTION 2. Section 1 of this act shall be codified as a new section in Chapter 33, Title 43, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2021.