MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2000 Regular Session

To: Penitentiary; Appropriations

By: Representative Malone

AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS TO CONTRACT WITH THE MARSHALL COUNTY INDUSTRIAL OR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY FOR THE PRIVATE INCARCERATION OF STATE INMATES; TO AMEND SECTION 47-4-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF INMATES THAT MAY BE INCARCERATED AT THE DELTA CORRECTIONAL FACILITY IN LEFLORE COUNTY; TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-193, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DELETE CERTAIN LANGUAGE; TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-941, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF INMATES THAT MAY BE INCARCERATED AT THE WILKINSON COUNTY FACILITY; TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-943, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS THAT MAY BE HOUSED BY THE WALNUT GROVE CORRECTIONAL AUTHORITY; TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-1001, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF HOUSE ARREST; TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-1003, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT A COURT FROM REQUIRING AN OFFENDER TO COMPLETE THE INTENSIVE SUPERVISION PROGRAM AS A CONDITION OF PROBATION OR POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION; TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-34, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ESTABLISH LIMITS ON THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS MAY SUPERVISE AN OFFENDER IN THE POST-RELEASE SUPERVISION PROGRAM; TO AMEND SECTION 25-1-87, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXEMPT THE COMMISSIONER OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS FROM THE PROVISION WHICH REQUIRES ALL STATE OWNED OR LEASED VEHICLES TO EXHIBIT A STATE DECAL; TO AMEND SECTION 69-11-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PERMIT THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS TO FEED GARBAGE TO SWINE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. In addition to any other authority granted by law, the Department of Corrections may contract with the Marshall County industrial development or economic development authority for the private incarceration of not more than one thousand five hundred (1,500) state inmates at a facility in Marshall County. Any such contract must comply with Sections 47-5-1211 through 47-5-1227.

SECTION 2. Section 47-4-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-4-1. (1) It is lawful for there to be located within Wilkinson County and Leflore County a correctional facility operated entirely by a private entity pursuant to a contractual agreement between such private entity and the federal government, any state, or a political subdivision of any state to provide correctional services to any such public entity for the confinement of inmates subject to the jurisdiction of such public entity. Any person confined in such a facility pursuant to the laws of the jurisdiction from which he is sent shall be considered lawfully confined within this state. The private entity shall assume complete responsibility for the inmates and shall be liable to the State of Mississippi for any illegal or tortious actions of such inmates.

(2) The Department of Corrections shall contract with the "Delta Correctional Facility Authority," a public body authorized in Chapter 852, Local and Private Laws of 1992, for the private incarceration of not more than one thousand five hundred (1,500) state inmates at a facility in Leflore County. Any contract must comply with the requirements of Section 47-5-1211 through Section 47-5-1227.

(3) It is lawful for any county to contract with a private entity for the purpose of providing correctional services for the confinement of federal inmates subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Any person confined in such a facility pursuant to the laws of the United States shall be considered lawfully confined within this state. The private entity shall assume complete responsibility for the inmates and shall be liable to the county or the State of Mississippi, as the case may be, for any illegal or tortious actions of the inmates.

(4) It is lawful for there to be located within any county a correctional facility operated entirely by a private entity and the federal government to provide correctional services to the United States for the confinement of federal inmates subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Any person confined in a facility pursuant to the laws of the United States shall be considered lawfully confined within this state. The private entity shall assume complete responsibility for the inmates and shall be liable to the State of Mississippi for any illegal or tortious actions of the inmates.

A person convicted of simple assault on an employee of a private correctional facility while such employee is acting within the scope of his or her duty or employment shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, or both.

A person convicted of aggravated assault on an employee of a private correctional facility while such employee is acting within the scope of his or her duty or employment shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or by imprisonment for not more than thirty (30) years, or both.

(5) If a private entity houses state inmates, the private entity shall not displace state inmate beds with federal inmate beds unless the private entity has obtained prior written approval from the Commissioner of Corrections.

SECTION 3. Section 47-5-193, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-5-193. It is unlawful for any officer or employee of the department, of any county sheriff's department, of any private correctional facility in this state in which offenders are confined or for any other person to furnish, attempt to furnish, or assist in furnishing to any offender confined in this state any weapon, deadly weapon or contraband item. * * *

SECTION 4. Section 47-5-941, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-5-941. In addition to any other authority granted by law, the Department of Corrections may contract with the Wilkinson County industrial development or economic development authority for the private incarceration of not more than one thousand five hundred (1,500) state inmates at a facility in Wilkinson County. Any such contract must comply with Sections 47-5-1211 through 47-5-1227.

SECTION 5. Section 47-5-943, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-5-943. The Mississippi Department of Corrections shall contract with the Walnut Grove Correctional Authority or the governing authorities of the Municipality of Walnut Grove, Leake County, Mississippi, to provide for the private housing, care and control up to one thousand (1,000) juvenile offenders who are in the custody of the Department of Corrections at a maximum security facility in Walnut Grove. The maximum age of any offender housed in this facility shall be nineteen (19) years. A county or circuit judge shall not order any juvenile to be housed in the correctional facility authorized in this act. Commitment of juvenile offenders shall not be to this facility, but shall be to the jurisdiction of the department. The commissioner shall assign newly sentenced offenders to an appropriate facility consistent with public safety. Any facility owned or leased by the Walnut Grove Correctional Authority or the Municipality of Walnut Grove for this purpose shall be designed, constructed, operated and maintained in accordance with American Correctional Association standards, and shall comply with all constitutional standards of the United States and the State of Mississippi and with all court orders that may now or hereinafter be applicable to the facility. The contract must comply with Sections 47-5-1211 through 47-5-1227.

SECTION 6. Section 47-5-1001, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-5-1001. For purposes of Sections 47-5-1001 through 47-5-1015, the following words shall have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context shall otherwise require:

(a) "Approved electronic monitoring device" means a device approved by the department which is primarily intended to record and transmit information regarding the offender's presence or nonpresence in the home.

(b) "Correctional field officer" means the supervising probation and parole officer in charge of supervising the offender.

(c) "Court" means a circuit court having jurisdiction to place an offender to the intensive supervision program.

(d) "Department" means the Department of Corrections.

(e) "House arrest" means the confinement of a person convicted of a felony to his place of residence under the terms and conditions established by the department or court.

(f) "Operating capacity" means the total number of state offenders which can be safely and reasonably housed in facilities operated by the department and in local or county jails or other facilities authorized to house state offenders as certified by the department, subject to applicable federal and state laws and rules and regulations.

(g) "Participant" means an offender placed into an intensive supervision program.

SECTION 7. Section 47-5-1003, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-5-1003. (1) An intensive supervision program may be used as an alternative to incarceration for offenders who are low risk and nonviolent as selected by the department or court. Any offender convicted of a sex crime or a felony for the sale or manufacture of a controlled substance under the uniform controlled substances law shall not be placed in the program.

(2) The court placing an offender in the intensive supervision program may, acting upon the advice and consent of the commissioner at the time of the initial sentencing only, and not later than one (1) year after the defendant has been delivered to the custody of the department, suspend the further execution of the sentence and place the defendant on intensive supervision, except when a death sentence or life imprisonment is the maximum penalty which may be imposed or if the defendant has been confined for the conviction of a felony on a previous occasion in any court or courts of the United States and of any state or territories thereof or has been convicted of a felony involving the use of a deadly weapon.

(3) To protect and to ensure the safety of the state's citizens, any offender who violates an order or condition of the intensive supervision program shall be arrested by the correctional field officer and placed in the actual custody of the Department of Corrections. Such offender is under the full and complete jurisdiction of the department and subject to removal from the program by the classification committee.

The courts may not require an offender to complete the intensive supervision program as a condition of probation or post-release supervision.

SECTION 8. Section 47-7-34, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-7-34. (1) When a court imposes a sentence upon a conviction for any felony committed after June 30, 1995, the court, in addition to any other punishment imposed if the other punishment includes a term of incarceration in a state or local correctional facility, may impose a term of post-release supervision. However, the total number of years of incarceration plus the total number of years of post-release supervision shall not exceed the maximum sentence authorized to be imposed by law for the felony committed. The defendant shall be placed under post-release supervision upon release from the term of incarceration. The period of supervision shall be established by the court.

(2) The period of post-release supervision shall be conducted in the same manner as a like period of supervised probation, including a requirement that the defendant shall abide by any terms and conditions as the court may establish. Failure to successfully abide by the terms and conditions shall be grounds to terminate the period of post-release supervision and to recommit the defendant to the correctional facility from which he was previously released. Procedures for termination and recommitment shall be conducted in the same manner as procedures for the revocation of probation and imposition of a suspended sentence.

(3) Post-release supervision programs shall be operated through the probation and parole unit of the Division of Community Services of the department. The maximum amount of time that the Mississippi Department of Corrections may supervise an offender on the post-release supervision program is five (5) years.

SECTION 9. Section 25-1-87, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

25-1-87. All motor vehicles owned or leased by the State of Mississippi or any agency, department or political subdivision thereof, which shall include counties and municipalities, when such agency or department or political subdivision, which shall include counties and municipalities, is supported wholly or in part by public taxes or by appropriations from public funds, shall have painted on both sides in letters at least three (3) inches in height, and on the rear in letters not less than one and one-half (1-1/2) inches in height, the name of the state agency or department, or political subdivision, which shall include counties and municipalities, in a color which is in contrast with the color of the vehicle; provided, however, that a permanent decal may be used in lieu of paint, and provided further, that any municipality may affix a permanent decal or design at least twelve (12) inches in height and twelve (12) inches in width on both sides of the vehicle with the name of the municipality within or across the permanent decal or design, and the permanent design or decal shall be in a color or colors which are in contrast with the color of the vehicle. No privilege license tag shall be issued for such vehicle until the name has been painted thereon or a permanent design or decal affixed thereto as required by this section. A permanent decal may be used in lieu of paint. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply to vehicles used by the Chief Executive of the State of Mississippi, to vehicles owned or leased by the Department of Economic Development, to vehicles owned or leased by the Office of the Attorney General, to vehicles owned or leased by the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure and used only by the Investigative Division of the board, to one (1) vehicle owned or leased by the Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, to not more than three (3) vehicles owned or leased by the Department of Corrections and used only by Community Services Division officers, to not more than one (1) vehicle owned or leased by the Mississippi Department of Transportation and used only by an investigator employed by the Mississippi Department of Transportation or to not more than one (1) vehicle owned or leased by the Mississippi State Tax Commission; and upon receipt of a written request from the State Adjutant General, the Commissioner of Public Safety, the Director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the Mississippi State Tax Commission, the Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, the Director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Wildlife of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the Director of the Bureau of Narcotics, the Executive Officer of the Board of Pharmacy, the Executive Director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, the State Auditor or a president or chancellor of a state institution of higher learning, the Governor may authorize the use of specified unmarked vehicles only in instances where such identifying marks will hinder official investigations, and the governing authorities of any municipality may authorize the use of specified, unmarked police vehicles when identifying marks would hinder official criminal investigations by the police. The written request or the order or resolution authorizing such shall contain the manufacturer's serial number, the state inventory number, where applicable, and shall set forth why the vehicle should be exempt from the provisions of this paragraph. In the event the request is granted, the Governor shall furnish the State Department of Audit with a copy of his written authority for the use of the unmarked vehicles, or the governing authority, as the case may be, shall enter its order or resolution on the minutes and shall furnish the State Department of Audit with a certified copy of its order or resolution for the use of the unmarked police vehicle. The state property auditors of the State Department of Audit shall personally examine vehicles owned or leased by the State of Mississippi or any agency, department or commission thereof and report violations of the provisions of this paragraph to the State Auditor and the Chairman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review. Any vehicle found to be in violation of this paragraph shall be reported immediately to the department head charged with such vehicle, and five (5) days shall be given for compliance; and if not complied with, such vehicles shall be impounded by the State Auditor until properly marked or exempted.

Upon notification to the State Tax Commission by the State Auditor that any municipality or political subdivision is not in compliance with this section, the State Tax Commission shall withhold any sales tax due for distribution to any such municipality and any excise tax on gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene and oil due any such county and for any months thereafter, and shall continue to withhold such funds until compliance with this section is certified to the State Tax Commission by the State Department of Audit.

County-owned motor vehicles operated by the sheriff's department shall not be subject to the provisions of this section, but shall be subject to the provisions of Section 19-25-15. County-owned motor vehicles operated by a family court established pursuant to Section 43-23-1 et seq., shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.

State-owned or leased motor vehicles operated by the Department of Mental Health or by facilities operated by the Department of Mental Health and used for transporting patients living in group homes or alternative living arrangements shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.

Up to four (4) passenger automobiles owned or leased by economic development districts or economic development authorities shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.

State-owned or leased motor vehicles operated by the Agricultural and Livestock Theft Bureau of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce and used to investigate livestock theft shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.

Up to three (3) motor vehicles owned or leased by the Pascagoula Municipal Separate School District for use by district security officers shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.

Up to two (2) motor vehicles owned or leased by the Department of Human Services for use only by the Program Integrity Division shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.

The motor vehicles of a public airport shall not be subject to the provisions of this section upon a finding by the governing authority of such airport that marking a motor vehicle as required in this section will compromise security at such airport.

SECTION 10. Section 69-11-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

69-11-5. (1) It shall be unlawful for any person, municipality, county, political subdivision, governmental agency or department, institution, individual, partnership, corporation, association, other entity or organization to feed garbage to swine, except as permitted under subsection (2) of this section.

(2) This chapter shall not apply to any person who feeds only household garbage to swine for household consumption only.

(3) This chapter shall not apply to the Mississippi Department of corrections who is authorized to feed to swine cooked garbage and vegetable refuse. The Mississippi Department of corrections shall follow applicable state rules, regulations and guidelines that are equal to or exceed federal rules and regulations for cooking and feeding cooked garbage to swine. The Mississippi Department of Corrections may market and/or use for consumption swine that has been fed garbage.

SECTION 11. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2000.