MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2021 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B; Appropriations
By: Representatives Sanford, Shanks, Miles, Owen
AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WHO ARE EMPLOYED BY AN ACCREDITED LAW ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT SHALL RECEIVE SUPPLEMENTARY PAY ANNUALLY; TO AMEND SECTION 27-115-85, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FOUR MILLION DOLLARS OF THE LOTTERY PROCEEDS FUND SHALL BE TRANSFERRED INTO THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ACCREDITATION SUPPLEMENTAL PAY FUND; TO CREATE A NEW STATUTE THAT ESTABLISHES THE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS ACCREDITATION SUPPLEMENTAL PAY FUND; TO CREATE A NEW STATUTE THAT ESTABLISHES THE BULLETPROOF VESTS REVOLVING FUND; TO AMEND SECTION 45-6-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD ON LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER STANDARDS AND TRAINING; TO AMEND SECTION 37-105-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ALLOW UNIVERSITY POLICE OFFICERS TO HAVE JURISDICTION GREATER THAN FIVE HUNDRED FEET FROM THE UNIVERSITY; TO PROVIDE FOR THE CRIME OF RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. In addition to any other compensation, law enforcement officers who are employed by an accredited law enforcement department shall receive supplementary pay of One Thousand Two Hundred Dollars ($1,200.00) annually. Such supplemental pay shall be paid out of the Law Enforcement Officers Accreditation Supplemental Pay Fund created in Section 3 of this act.
SECTION 2. Section 27-115-85, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-115-85. Until June 30, 2028, net proceeds generated by the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law, created pursuant to this chapter and deposited into the Lottery Proceeds Fund under Section 27-115-51(2), except as otherwise provided in this section, shall be paid into the State Highway Fund by warrant issued by the State Fiscal Officer upon requisition of the State Transportation Commission as needed to provide funds to repair, renovate and maintain highways and bridges of the state; however, funds paid into the State Highway Fund under this section shall be first used for matching federal funds authorized to the state pursuant to any federal highway infrastructure program implemented after September 1, 2018. However, Four Million Dollars ($4,000,000.00) of all such monies deposited into the Lottery Proceeds Fund in a fiscal year shall be transferred into the Law Enforcement Officers Accreditation Supplemental Pay Fund created in Section 3 of this act, and all such monies deposited into the Lottery Proceeds Fund over Eighty Million Dollars ($80,000,000.00) in a fiscal year shall be transferred into the Education Enhancement Fund for the purposes of funding the Early Childhood Learning Collaborative, the Classroom Supply Fund and/or other educational purposes. From and after July 1, 2028, the net proceeds shall be deposited into the Lottery Proceeds Fund and shall be transferred to the State General Fund, except for the Four Million Dollars ($4,000,000.00) which shall continue to be transferred into the Law Enforcement Officers Accreditation Supplemental Pay Fund created in Section 3 of this act, and for the amounts over Eighty Million Dollars ($80,000,000.00) which shall continue to be deposited in the Education Enhancement Fund as provided above.
SECTION 3. There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be designated as the Law Enforcement Officers Accreditation Supplemental Pay Fund. The special fund shall consist of monies as may be appropriated by the Legislature and any other monies authorized under by law. Monies in the fund shall be used as supplemental pay for law enforcement officers of accredited departments as provided by law. Unexpended amounts remaining in the special fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned on amounts in the special fund shall be deposited to the credit of the special fund.
SECTION 4. There is created in the State Treasury a special fund designated as the Bulletproof Vests Revolving Fund to be funded by annual appropriations of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) by the Mississippi Legislature. The fund shall be administered by the Department of Public Safety for local law enforcement departments to apply for monies necessary for the match requirement for the Department of Justice Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998. For fiscal year 2022 and every third fiscal year thereafter, departments that serve populations less than fifteen thousand (15,000) may apply. For fiscal year 2023 and every third fiscal year thereafter, departments that serve populations less than fifty thousand (50,000) but not less than fifteen thousand (15,000) may apply. For fiscal year 2024 and every third fiscal year thereafter, departments that serve populations greater than fifty thousand (50,000) may apply.
SECTION 5. 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 * * * fourteen (14) members.
(2) (a) The Governor shall
appoint * * *
five (5) members of the board from the following specified categories:
(i) * * * One (1) member
who is a chief of police of a municipality in this state * * *.
(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 * * * 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 * * * 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 and a vice chairman 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 6. Section 37-105-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-105-3. (1) The traffic officers duly appointed by the president of any state institution of higher learning, or any peace officer or highway patrolman of this state, are vested with the powers and authority to perform all duties incident to enforcing such rules and regulations as may be enacted under the authority granted in Section 37-105-1, including the arrest of violators.
(2) The peace officers duly
appointed by the president of any state institution of higher learning are also
vested with the powers and subjected to the duties of a constable for the
purpose of preventing all violations of law that occur within * * * the
city and/or county where property is owned by the university, if such
universities determine that they want such peace officers to exercise such
powers and if reasonably determined to have a possible impact on the safety of
students, faculty or staff of the university * * *. If a university
determines that it wants such peace officers to exercise such powers, the
university may enter into an interlocal agreement with other law enforcement
entities specifying the individual and joint duties to be exercised on property
within the peace officers' jurisdiction. Provided, however, that nothing in
this section shall be interpreted to require action by any such peace officer
appointed by such universities to events occurring outside the boundaries of
university property, nor shall any such university or its employees be liable
for any failure to act to any event occurring outside the boundaries of
property owned by the university.
With approval from the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, the university may enter into an interlocal agreement with other law enforcement entities for the provision of equipment or traffic control duties, however, the duty to enforce traffic regulations and to enforce the laws of the state or municipality off of university property lies with the local police or sheriff's department which cannot withhold its services solely because of the lack of such an agreement.
SECTION 7. (1) A person commits an offense who recklessly engages in conduct that places or may place another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.
(2) (a) Reckless endangerment is a misdemeanor, and a person convicted shall be fined not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or imprisoned not more than six (6) months, or both.
(b) Reckless endangerment committed with a deadly weapon is a felony, and a person convicted shall be fined not more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) or committed to the custody of the State Department of Corrections not to exceed two (2) years, or both.
SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2021.