SB2275_S_(Cmte_Sub)_Amend

SECTION 1. From and after passage, the Executive Directors of the Department of Finance and Administration, the Department of Information Technology Services, and the Mississippi State Personnel Board shall develop a plan for the implementation of streamlined administration of the services provided by these agencies to increase efficiency in state government. The plan created by each agency shall be submitted to the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House, the Chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, the Chairs of the Senate Government Structures and House Government Affairs Committees, the Chairs of the Senate and House Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency Committees, and the Executive Director of the PEER Committee no later than November 1, 2025. Each agency's plan shall consist of, but not be limited to:

(a) A proposed organization structure and budget for each agency following the streamlined administration of the services provided by each agency to include, at a minimum, human resources, information technology, payroll, procurement, fleet, purchasing, and travel;

(b) The identification of any positions to be abolished or consolidated;

(c) Recommendations for changes to existing law to make the future delivery of services under the authority of these agencies more efficient;

(d) Recommendations for the implementation of shared services plans for the administration of administrative support services and office space for professional regulatory boards and other agencies;

(e) Recommendations to the Legislature on how each agency can provide shared or consolidated services set out in paragraph (a) of this section to state agencies, thereby reducing or eliminating the need for such agencies to have in-house staff responsible for these services;

(f) Criteria for determining which agencies should receive shared or consolidated services are set out in paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section; and

(g) Recommendations for necessary legislation to implement the plan.

SECTION 2. (1) There is hereby created the "State Task Force for Agency Reorganization." The purpose of the Task Force is to develop recommendations to improve governmental operations and reduce costs creating a more efficient state government. The Task Force shall be composed of the following individuals:

(a) Two (2) appointees selected by the Governor, each of whom shall be a knowledgeable, high-level businessman or businesswoman with a leading multifaceted or multiproduct business in Mississippi;

(b) One (1) appointee selected by the Lieutenant Governor, who shall be a knowledgeable, high-level businessman or businesswoman who is a Chief Executive Officer of a multifaceted or multiproduct business in Mississippi;

(c) One (1) appointee selected by the Speaker of the House of Representatives who shall be a knowledgeable, high-level businessman or businesswoman who is a Chief Executive Officer of a multifaceted or multiproduct business in Mississippi;

(d) The Chairmen of the Senate Appropriations and the appropriate House Appropriations Committees;

(e) The Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees;

(f) The Chairmen of the Senate Government Structures and House Government Affairs Committees; and

(g) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration, or his or her designee.

(2) The open meetings laws in Section 25-41-1 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, and the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 in Section 25-61-1 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, shall apply to the Task Force and its activities.

(3) The Governor, Lieutenant Governor or Speaker of the House may appoint advisory committees to assist the Task Force in its study. Each member of the advisory committee shall be an individual with special expertise corresponding to particular departmental or subject matter areas. Advisory committee members shall receive no compensation.

(4) The Task Force shall hold its first meeting no later than January 31, 2026, and organize for business. The Task Force shall submit the final report and recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature by October 1, 2026, together with the necessary legislation to enact those recommendations into law.

(5) The Task Force shall be located for administrative and clerical purposes within the Department of Finance and Administration. As soon as practical after it is organized, the Task Force shall employ such research staff as deemed necessary and as approved by the Department of Finance and Administration, subject to appropriation.

(6) Nonlegislative Task Force members may be paid per diem for each day of actual attendance at meetings of the Task Force or at meetings of committees thereof. Task force members may be compensated for travel expenses. No Task Force member shall be paid per diem after the Task Force dissolves.

(7) The Task Force shall conduct a comprehensive study of the organization structure of the executive branch of state government and shall issue a report making specific recommendations for the Legislature for the reorganization of the executive branch of government.

(8) When the report of the Task Force recommends the transfer of an office, agency, department, board or commission to another department, the recommendation shall propose the transfer or placement of such office, agency, department, board or commission in a particular manner and shall also include transfer mechanisms to establish the degree to which the agency whose transfer is proposed will continue to exercise its functions and the degree of independence with which these functions may be performed.

SECTION 3. Section 1 of this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Section 2 of this act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025.