House Bill 744

AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI CHILD POVERTY TASK FORCE; TO PROVIDE FOR THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE TASK FORCE; TO PROVIDE THE DUTIES OF THE TASK FORCE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) There is created the Mississippi Child Poverty Task Force to review and make recommendations on how to reduce overall child poverty in Mississippi and how to reduce the number of Mississippi households that are asset limited, income constrained, employed.

(2) The task force shall be composed of the following members:

(a) Two (2) members of the Senate, to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, with one (1) such member being a Democrat and one (1) being a Republican;

(b) Two (2) members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with one (1) such member being a Democrat and one (1) being a Republican;

(d) One (1) representative from Springboard to Opportunities;

(e) One (1) representative from the United Way;

(f) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, or his or her designee; and

(g) The Executive Director of Accelerate Mississippi, or his or her designee.

(3) The duties of the task force shall include the following:

(a) Identifying and evaluating poverty's root causes and contributing factors in Mississippi, the needs of those in poverty in Mississippi, and the effectiveness of efforts on all levels that have been undertaken or are currently being undertaken to address poverty; and developing strategies for supporting or otherwise improving the efficacy of those efforts, including programmatic effectiveness and administrative efficiencies;

(b) Identifying and evaluating the nature and scope of poverty's impact on various locations and communities throughout Mississippi and what response actions would be most effective in helping each of those impacted areas, and developing strategies for implementing those response actions;

(c) Identifying and evaluating what financial and other resources are available on all levels to combat poverty in Mississippi, and developing strategies for securing, coordinating, augmenting, and deploying those resources;

(d) Identifying and evaluating key barriers to upward mobility among populations in poverty in Mississippi, and developing strategies for overcoming these barriers, focusing on improved economic development and opportunities for upward mobility among families and individuals experiencing poverty in Mississippi;

(e) Developing strategies for increasing public awareness of poverty in Mississippi, its causes and effects, the resources available to those impacted by it, and the actions that can be taken to combat it;

(f) Developing routine communication and information-sharing protocols between members of the task force and stakeholders on all levels;

(g) Identifying key stakeholders in impacted areas and performing outreach to ensure stakeholders are informed, educated, and empowered. Stakeholder outreach will include, but is not limited to, community leaders, partner organizations, tribal governments, local government officials, and other elected officials representing the impacted areas;

(h) Performing outreach to the general public regarding poverty in Mississippi and the work of the task force;

(i) Creating measurable goals and objectives along an established timeline;

(j) Recommending changes in Mississippi law and policy-related changes that can be implemented by governmental and nongovernmental agencies, relevant to fighting poverty in Mississippi;

(k) Examining proposals to create, expand or strengthen tax proposals that have an impact on children; and

(l) Meeting with William Winter for Racial Reconciliation officials to offer strategies to acknowledge and address racial disparities in policy decision-making.

(4) (a) Appointments to the task force shall be made within thirty (30) days after the effective date of this act. Within fifteen (15) days thereafter on a day to be designated jointly by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Lieutenant Governor, the task force shall meet and organize by selecting from its membership a chair and a vice chair. The vice chair shall also serve as secretary and shall be responsible for keeping all records of the task force. A majority of the members of the task force shall constitute a quorum. In the selection of its officers and the adoption of rules, resolutions and reports, an affirmative vote of a majority of the task force shall be required. All members shall be notified in writing of all meetings, and those notices shall be mailed at least fifteen (15) days before the date on which a meeting is to be held.

(b) The task force shall meet at least once quarterly and provide quarterly reports to the Legislature on its activities.

(c) The task force shall make a final report of its findings and recommendations, including any recommended legislation, to the Legislature not later than July 1, 2025, at which time the task force will be dissolved.

(5) Members of the task force shall receive no compensation for their service on the task force, but may receive reimbursement for mileage and actual expenses as provided in Section 25-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, to the extent that funds are available for that purpose.

(6) The Mississippi Development Authority shall provide the staff and other support necessary for the task force to perform its duties.

(7) To effectuate the purposes of this act, any department, division, board, bureau, committee, institution or agency of the state, or any political subdivision thereof, shall, at the request of the chairman of the task force, provide the facilities, assistance, information and data needed to enable the task force to carry out its duties.

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