SB2717_H_Cmte_Amend

SECTION 1. Section 47-5-26, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-5-26. (1) The commissioner shall employ the following personnel:

(a) A Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Finance, who shall supervise and implement all fiscal policies and programs within the department, supervise and implement all hiring and personnel matters within the department, supervise the department's personnel director, supervise and implement all purchasing within the department and supervise and implement all data processing activities within the department, and who shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Division of Administration and Finance. He shall possess either:

(i) A master's degree from an accredited four-year college or university in public or business administration, accounting, economics or a directly related field, and four (4) years of experience in work related to the above-described duties, one (1) year of which must have included line or functional supervision; or

(ii) A bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university in public or business administration, accounting, economics or a directly related field, and six (6) years of experience in work related to the above-described duties, one (1) year of which must have included line or functional supervision. Certification by the State of Mississippi as a certified public accountant may be substituted for one (1) year of the required experience.

(b) A Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections, who shall initiate and administer programs, including, but not limited to, supervision of probationers, parolees and suspensioners, counseling, community-based treatment, interstate compact administration and enforcement, prevention programs, halfway houses and group homes, technical violation centers, restitution centers, presentence investigations, and work and educational releases, and shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Division of Community Services. The Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections is charged with full and complete cooperation with the State Parole Board and shall make monthly reports to the Chairman of the Parole Board in the form and type required by the chairman, in his discretion, for the proper performance of the probation and parole functions. After a plea or verdict of guilty to a felony is entered against a person and before he is sentenced, the Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections shall procure from any available source and shall file in the presentence records any information regarding any criminal history of the person such as fingerprints, dates of arrests, complaints, civil and criminal charges, investigative reports of arresting and prosecuting agencies, reports of the National Crime Information Center, the nature and character of each offense, noting all particular circumstances thereof and any similar data about the person. The Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections shall keep an accurate and complete duplicate record of this file and shall furnish the duplicate to the department. This file shall be placed in and shall constitute a part of the inmate's master file. The Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections shall furnish this file to the State Parole Board when the file is needed in the course of its official duties. He shall possess either: (i) a master's degree in counseling, corrections psychology, guidance, social work, criminal justice or some related field and at least four (4) years' full-time experience in such field, including at least one (1) year of supervisory experience; or (ii) a bachelor's degree in a field described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph and at least six (6) years' full-time work in corrections, one (1) year of which shall have been at the supervisory level.

(c) A Deputy Commissioner for Institutions, who shall administer institutions, reception and diagnostic centers, prerelease centers and other facilities and programs provided therein, and shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Division of Institutions. He shall possess either: (i) a master's degree in counseling, criminal justice, psychology, guidance, social work, business or some related field, and at least four (4) years' full-time experience in corrections, including at least one (1) year of correctional management experience; or (ii) a bachelor's degree in a field described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph and at least six (6) years' full-time work in corrections, four (4) years of which shall have been at the correctional management level.

(d) A Deputy Commissioner for Programs, Education and Reentry, who shall initiate and administer programs, including but not limited to, education services, religious services, moral rehabilitation, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, and court reentry. The Deputy Commissioner for Programs, Education and Reentry may coordinate with any educational institution to develop a program for moral rehabilitation with an emphasis on promoting effective programs for release. The Deputy Commissioner for Programs, Education and Reentry shall focus on reentry programs aimed at reducing recidivism. The programs shall incorporate a moral component focused on providing offenders with an opportunity to make positive changes while incarcerated that will enable them to be productive members of society upon their release. Such deputy commissioner shall possess either:

(i) A master's degree in counseling, corrections, psychology, guidance, social work, criminal justice or some related field and at least four (4) years' full-time experience in such field, including at least one (1) year of supervisory experience; or

(ii) A bachelor's degree in a field described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph and at least six (6) years full-time work in corrections, one (1) year of which shall have been at the supervisory level.

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Out of the deputy commissioners employed under this subsection (1), as set out in paragraphs (a) through (e), the commissioner shall designate one (1) of the commissioners as an executive deputy commissioner who shall have the duties prescribed under Section 47-5-8.

(2) The commissioner shall employ an administrative assistant for parole matters who shall be selected by the State Parole Board who shall be an employee of the department assigned to the State Parole Board and who shall be located at the office of the State Parole Board, and who shall work under the guidance, supervision and direction of the board.

(3) The administrative assistant for parole matters shall receive an annual salary to be established by the Legislature. The salaries of department employees not established by the Legislature shall receive an annual salary established by the State Personnel Board.

(4) The commissioner shall employ a superintendent for the Parchman facility, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility and South Mississippi Correctional Institution of the Department of Corrections. The Superintendent of the Mississippi State Penitentiary shall reside on the grounds of the Parchman facility. Each superintendent shall appoint an officer in charge when he is absent.

Each superintendent shall develop and implement a plan for the prevention and control of an inmate riot and shall file a report with the Chairman of the Senate Corrections Committee and the Chairman of the House Penitentiary Committee on the first day of each regular session of the Legislature regarding the status of the plan.

In order that the grievances and complaints of inmates, employees and visitors at each facility may be heard in a timely and orderly manner, each superintendent shall appoint or designate an employee at the facility to hear grievances and complaints and to report grievances and complaints to the superintendent. Each superintendent shall institute procedures as are necessary to provide confidentiality to those who file grievances and complaints.

(5) For a one-year period beginning July 1, 2016, any person authorized for employment under this section shall not be subject to the rules, regulations and procedures of the State Personnel Board, except as otherwise provided under Section 25-9-127(5).

SECTION 2. Section 47-5-541, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-5-541. (1) The corporation shall be governed by a board of directors. The terms of the board of directors in place before July 1, 2022, shall expire June 30, 2022. From and after July 1, 2022, the board of directors of the nonprofit corporation shall be composed of the following five (5) members:

(a) The Commissioner of the Department of Corrections or his or her designee;

(b) One (1) representative of the faith-based community, appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections with the advice and consent of the Senate;

(c) One (1) representative of the business community, appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections with the advice and consent of the Senate;

(d) The Executive Director of * * * ~~AccelerateMS~~ the Office of Workforce Development or his or her designee; and

(e) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board or his or her designee.

For the initial appointments, the representative of the faith-based community shall serve for a term of one (1) year; the representative of the business community shall serve for a term of two (2) years; the Executive Director of the * * * ~~AccelerateMS~~ Office of Workforce Development or his or her designee shall serve for a term of three (3) years and the Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board shall serve for a term of four (4) years. All succeeding terms shall be for four (4) years from the expiration date of the previous term. The term of the Commissioner of Corrections shall run concurrent with his or her term or terms as commissioner. Initial appointments shall be made within thirty (30) days after July 1, 2022. Any vacancy on the board prior to the expiration of a term for any reason, including resignation, removal, disqualification, death or disability shall be filled in the manner prescribed in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this subsection for the balance of the unexpired term. The officers of the corporation shall consist of a chairman, vice chairman and a secretary-treasurer. The officers shall be selected by the members of the board. However, the Commissioner of Corrections shall not be eligible to serve as an officer of the corporation.

(2) (a) The board of directors shall select and employ a chief executive officer of the corporation as the Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development who shall serve at the pleasure of the board. The board shall set the compensation of the * * * ~~chief executive officer~~ Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development. The * * * ~~chief executive officer~~ Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development shall be responsible for the general business and entire operations of the corporation, and shall be responsible for operating the corporation in compliance with the bylaws of the corporation and in compliance with any provision of law. The board shall be authorized and empowered to do only those acts provided by law and by the bylaws of the corporation. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, such board shall have the authority to establish prison industries, to cease the operation of any industry which it deems unsuitable or unprofitable, to enter into any lease or contract for the corporation and it shall have the full authority to establish prices for any industry good.

(b) The Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development shall work in collaboration with the Executive Director of the Office of Workforce Development to implement workforce development programs within the corrections system which align with the strategic plan for an integrated workforce development system for the state, as described in Section 37-153-7.

(c) The Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development shall be a person with extensive experience in development of economic, human and physical resources, with an emphasis in the corrections or reentry environments preferred. The Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development shall have at least a bachelor's degree from a state-accredited institution and no less than eight (8) years of professional experience related to workforce development.

(d) With the assistance of the Office of Workforce Development, the Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development shall:

(i) Inventory and measure the effectiveness of current workforce development programs in the state corrections system, with the goal of eliminating any programs which do not result in desired outcomes, including, but not limited to, an increase in employment in reentering offenders, a better environment within correctional facilities in the state, or a reduction in recidivism;

(ii) Partner with educational institutions to provide additional opportunities in workforce development programs for offenders leading to high-wage, high-skill jobs upon reentry;

(iii) Provide information, as appropriate, to offenders on workforce development programs available within the corrections system;

(iv) Work with industry to identify barriers which inhibit offender reentry and employment and evaluate the responsiveness of the corrections system and other support entities to the needs of industry;

(v) Develop short-term and long-term goals for the state related to workforce development and reentry offender employment within the corrections system; and

(vi) Perform a comprehensive review of workforce development in the corrections system, including the amount expended on programs supported by state or federal money and their outcomes.

(3) No member of the board of directors shall vote on any matter that comes before the board that could result in pecuniary benefit for himself or for any entity in which such member has an interest.

(4) In addition to the board of directors, an advisory board may be set up for the benefit of each industry which is established pursuant to the provisions of Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575. Such boards shall be advisory only, and may be set up in the discretion of the board of directors of the corporation.

(5) Each member of the board of directors of the corporation shall receive per diem as provided in Section 25-3-69 for each day or fraction thereof spent in actual discharge of his official duties and shall be reimbursed for mileage and actual expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties in accordance with the requirements of Section 25-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(6) The board of directors shall make and publish policies, rules and regulations governing all business functions, including but not limited to accounting, marketing, purchasing and personnel, not inconsistent with the terms of Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575, as may be necessary for the efficient administration and operation of the corporation.

(7) The chief executive officer of the corporation shall:

(a) Employ all necessary employees of the corporation and dismiss them as is necessary;

(b) Administer the daily operations of the corporation, including establishing education, training and workforce development programs in collaboration with the Office of Workforce Development and other relevant state and federal agencies;

(d) Take any further actions which are necessary and proper toward the achievement of the corporation purposes.

(8) A member of the board of directors of the corporation shall not be liable for any civil damages for any personal injury or property damage caused to a person as a result of any acts or omissions committed in good faith in the exercise of their duties as members of the board of directors of the corporation, except where a member of the board engages in acts or omissions which are intentional, willful, wanton, reckless or grossly negligent.

SECTION 3. Section 47-5-577, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-5-577. Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575, which create the Mississippi Prison Industries Act of 1990, shall stand repealed from and after July 1, * * * ~~2024~~ 2027.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024, and shall stand repealed on June 29, 2024.