MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency
By: Senator(s) Wiggins, Barrett, Blackwell, Parker, Simmons
(12th), Williams, Simmons (13th), Branning, Sparks, Boyd, Butler, Norwood
Senate Bill 2311
(As Sent to Governor)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-3-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972,
TO REVISE THE CAP FOR AN ANNUAL SUPPLEMENT PAYABLE BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF ANY COUNTY TO ITS SHERIFF; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section
25-3-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-3-25. (1) Except as otherwise
provided in subsections (2) through ( * * *123) of this section, the salaries of sheriffs
of the various counties are fixed as full compensation for their services.
The annual salary for each sheriff
shall be based upon the total population of his county according to the latest federal
decennial census in the following categories and for the following amounts; however,
no sheriff shall be paid less than the salary authorized under this section to be
paid the sheriff based upon the population of the county according to the most recent
federal decennial census:
(a) For counties with a
total population of more than one hundred thousand (100,000), a salary of One Hundred
Four Thousand Dollars ($104,000.00).
(b) For counties with a
total population of more than forty-four thousand (44,000) and not more than one
hundred thousand (100,000), a salary of Ninety-five Thousand Dollars ($95,000.00).
(c) For counties with a
total population of more than thirty thousand (30,000) and not more than forty-four
thousand (44,000), a salary of Ninety Thousand Dollars ($90,000.00).
(d) For counties with a
total population of more than twelve thousand five hundred (12,500) and not more
than thirty thousand (30,000), a salary of Eighty-five Thousand Dollars ($85,000.00).
(e) For counties with a
total population of not more than twelve thousand five hundred (12,500), a salary
of Eighty Thousand Dollars ($80,000.00).
* * * (2) In addition to the salary provided for in subsection
(1) of this section, the Board of Supervisors of Leflore County, in its discretion,
may pay an annual supplement to the sheriff of the county in an amount not to exceed
Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00). The Legislature finds and declares that the
annual supplement authorized by this subsection is justified in such county for
the following reasons:
(a)
The Mississippi Department of Corrections operates and maintains a restitution center
within the county;
(b)
The Mississippi Department of Corrections operates and maintains a community work
center within the county;
(c)
There is a resident circuit court judge in the county whose office is located at
the Leflore County Courthouse;
(d)
There is a resident chancery court judge in the county whose office is located
at the Leflore County Courthouse;
(e)
The Magistrate for the Fourth Circuit Court District is located in the county and
maintains his office at the Leflore County Courthouse;
(f)
The Region VI Mental Health‑Mental Retardation Center, which serves a multicounty
area, calls upon the sheriff to provide security for out‑of‑town mental
patients, as well as patients from within the county;
(g)
The increased activity of the Child Support Division of the Department of Human
Services in enforcing in the courts parental obligations has imposed additional
duties on the sheriff; and
(h)
The dispatchers of the enhanced E‑911 system in place in Leflore County have
been placed under the direction and control of the sheriff.
(3)
In addition to the salary provided for in subsection (1) of this section, the Board
of Supervisors of Rankin County, in its discretion, may pay an annual supplement
to the sheriff of the county in an amount not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00).
The Legislature finds and declares that the annual supplement authorized by this
subsection is justified in such county for the following reasons:
(a)
The Mississippi Department of Corrections operates and maintains the Central Mississippi
Correctional Facility within the county;
(b)
The State Hospital is operated and maintained within the county at Whitfield;
(c)
Hudspeth Regional Center, a facility maintained for the care and treatment of persons
with an intellectual disability, is located within the county;
(d)
The Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy is operated and maintained
within the county;
(e)
The State Fire Academy is operated and maintained within the county;
(f)
The Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, ordinarily known as the "Reservoir
District," is located within the county;
(g)
The Jackson‑Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport is located within the
county;
(h)
The patrolling of the state properties located within the county has imposed additional
duties on the sheriff; and
(i)
The sheriff, in addition to providing security to the nearly one hundred thousand
(100,000) residents of the county, has the duty to investigate, solve and assist
in the prosecution of any misdemeanor or felony committed upon any state property
located in Rankin County.
(4)
In addition to the salary provided for in subsection (1) of this section, the Board
of Supervisors of Neshoba County shall pay an annual supplement to the sheriff of
the county an amount equal to Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00).
(5)
In addition to the salary provided for in subsection (1) of this section, the Board
of Supervisors of Tunica County, in its discretion, may pay an annual supplement
to the sheriff of the county an amount equal to Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00),
payable beginning April 1, 1997.
(6)
In addition to the salary provided for in subsection (1) of this section, the Board
of Supervisors of Hinds County shall pay an annual supplement to the sheriff of
the county in an amount equal to Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00). The Legislature
finds and declares that the annual supplement authorized by this subsection is justified
in such county for the following reasons:
(a)
Hinds County has the greatest population of any county, two hundred fifty‑four
thousand four hundred forty‑one (254,441) by the 1990 census, being almost
one hundred thousand (100,000) more than the next most populous county;
(b)
Hinds County is home to the State Capitol and the seat of all state government offices;
(c)
Hinds County is the third largest county in geographic area, containing eight hundred
seventy‑five (875) square miles;
(d)
Hinds County is comprised of two (2) judicial districts, each having a courthouse
and county office buildings;
(e)
There are four (4) resident circuit judges, four (4) resident chancery judges, and
three (3) resident county judges in Hinds County, the most of any county, with the
sheriff acting as chief executive officer and provider of bailiff services for all;
(f)
The main offices for the clerk and most of the judges and magistrates for the United
States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi are located within
the county;
(g)
The state's only urban university, Jackson State University, is located within the
county;
(h)
The University of Mississippi Medical Center, combining the medical school, dental
school, nursing school and hospital, is located within the county;
(i)
Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, the state's largest sports arena, is located
within the county;
(j)
The Mississippi State Fairgrounds, including the Coliseum and Trade Mart, are located
within the county;
(k)
Hinds County has the largest criminal population in the state, such that the Hinds
County Sheriff's Department operates the largest county jail system in the state,
housing almost one thousand (1,000) inmates in three (3) separate detention facilities;
(l)
The Hinds County Sheriff's Department handles more mental and drug and alcohol commitment
cases than any other sheriff's department in the state;
(m)
The Mississippi Department of Corrections maintains a restitution center within
the county;
(n)
The Mississippi Department of Corrections regularly houses as many as one hundred
(100) state convicts within the Hinds County jail system; and
(o)
The Hinds County Sheriff's Department is regularly asked to provide security services
not only at the Fairgrounds and Memorial Stadium, but also for events at the Mississippi
Museum of Art and Jackson City Auditorium.
(7)
In addition to the salary provided for in subsection (1) of this section, the Board
of Supervisors of Wilkinson County, in its discretion, may pay an annual supplement
to the sheriff of the county in an amount not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00).
The Legislature finds and declares that the annual supplement authorized by this
subsection is justified in such county because the Mississippi Department of Corrections
contracts for the private incarceration of state inmates at a private correctional
facility within the county.
(8)
In addition to the salary provided for in subsection (1) of this section, the Board
of Supervisors of Marshall County, in its discretion, may pay an annual supplement
to the sheriff of the county in an amount not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00).
The Legislature finds and declares that the annual supplement authorized by this
subsection is justified in such county because the Mississippi Department of Corrections
contracts for the private incarceration of state inmates at a private correctional
facility within the county.
(9)
In addition to the salary provided in subsection (1) of this section, the Board
of Supervisors of Greene County, in its discretion, may pay an annual supplement
to the sheriff of the county in an amount not to exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00).
The Legislature finds and declares that the annual supplement authorized by this
subsection is justified in such county for the following reasons:
(a)
The Mississippi Department of Corrections operates and maintains the South Mississippi
Correctional Facility within the county;
(b)
In 1996, additional facilities to house another one thousand four hundred sixteen
(1,416) male offenders were constructed at the South Mississippi Correctional Facility
within the county; and
(c)
The patrolling of the state properties located within the county has imposed additional
duties on the sheriff justifying additional compensation.
( * * *102) In addition to the salary provided
in subsection (1) of this section, the board of supervisors of any county, in its
discretion, may pay an annual supplement to the sheriff of the county in an amount
not to exceed * * * Ten Thousand
Dollars ($10,000.00) Thirty-five Thousand Dollars ($35,000.00).
The amount of the supplement shall be spread on the minutes of the board. * * * The annual supplement authorized in this subsection shall
not be in addition to the annual supplements authorized in subsections (2) through
(9).
* * * (11) In addition to the salary provided in subsection (1)
and the supplements authorized in subsections (2) through (10), the board of supervisors
of any county, in its discretion, may pay an annual supplement in an amount not
to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) to the sheriff of any county in which
a juvenile detention center is located. The amount of the supplement shall be spread
on the minutes of the board.
( * * *123) In addition to the salary provided
in subsection (1) of this section and any supplements authorized in * * * subsections (2) through (11) subsection (2)
of this section, a sheriff may receive the premium pay provided for in Section 45-2-41
as part of the sheriff's compensation.
( * * *134) (a) The salaries provided in this
section shall be payable monthly on the first day of each calendar month by chancery
clerk's warrant drawn on the general fund of the county; however, the board of supervisors,
by resolution duly adopted and entered on its minutes, may provide that such salaries
shall be paid semimonthly on the first and fifteenth day of each month. If a pay
date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, salary payments shall be made on the workday
immediately preceding the weekend or legal holiday.
(b) At least Ten Dollars
($10.00) from each fee collected and deposited into the county's general fund under
the provisions of paragraphs (a), (c) and (g) of subsection (1) of Section 25-7-19
shall be used for the sheriffs' salaries authorized in Section 25-3-25; as such
Ten Dollar ($10.00) amount was authorized during the 2007 Regular Session in Chapter
331, Laws of 2007, for the purpose of providing additional monies to the counties
for sheriffs' salaries.
( * * *145) (a) All sheriffs, each year, shall
attend twenty (20) hours of continuing education courses in law enforcement. Such
courses shall be approved by the Mississippi Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards
and Training. Such education courses may be provided by an accredited law enforcement
academy or by the Mississippi Sheriffs' Association.
(b) The Mississippi Board
on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training shall reimburse each county for
the expenses incurred by sheriffs and deputy sheriffs for attendance at any approved
training programs as required by this subsection.
(6) Notwithstanding
any provision of this section to the contrary, no sheriff shall receive for his
services an annual salary less than the salary paid to that sheriff on the
effective date of this act.
SECTION 2. This act
shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.