MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2000 Regular Session

To: Judiciary

By: Senator(s) Burton

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 19-19-5 AND 19-19-6, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE CONSTABLES TO ATTEND AND PASS A TRAINING PROGRAM PROVIDED OR APPROVED BY THE MISSISSIPPI LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS TRAINING ACADEMY, TO PRESCRIBE THE COMPONENTS OF THE TRAINING PROGRAM AND TO PROVIDE CERTAIN EXEMPTIONS FROM THE PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

1 SECTION 1. Section 19-19-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

19-19-5. * * * It shall be the duty of every constable to keep and preserve the peace within his county, by faithfully aiding and assisting in executing the criminal laws of the state; to give information, without delay, to some justice court judge or other proper officer, of all riots, routs and unlawful assemblies, and of every violation of the penal laws which may come to his knowledge in any manner whatsoever; to execute and return all process, civil and criminal, lawfully directed to him, according to the command thereof; and to pay over all moneys, when collected by him to the person lawfully authorized to receive the same. No constable shall receive any fee provided by law for making an arrest, or attending any trial, wherein the defendant has been arrested, or is being tried for any violation of the motor vehicle laws committed on any designated United States highway located within the district or county of the constable.

SECTION 2. Section 19-19-6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

19-19-6.

(1) All constables shall attend and pass the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy or any other similar law enforcement training program approved by the Board of Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training for the training of constables. The constable training program shall be two (2) weeks in duration. No physical fitness test shall be required to be successfully completed in order to complete the training program. No constable shall be entitled to the receipt of any fees, costs or compensation authorized by law after the first eighteen (18) months in office if he or she fails to attend and pass the training program. Any constable who does not complete the required training within eighteen (18) months shall not be allowed to exercise any law enforcement functions or carry a firearm, but may be allowed to execute civil process without compensation. The board of supervisors shall be responsible for paying one (1) time, the tuition, living, and travel expense incurred by any constable of that county in attendance at such training program.

(2) The Board of Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training shall develop a program of training for constables to attend at least twelve (12) hours yearly. The program shall be divided equally between firearms training and safety and instruction in both substantive and procedural law. The training program shall be conducted by the Mississippi Constables Association, and appropriate parts of the program can be conducted by members who have been certified by the board to conduct the training program. The cost of travel and living expenses in attending such training shall be paid out of the Law Enforcement Officers Training Fund created in Section 45-6-15.

(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a constable elected prior to the November 1991 general election or who has received a certificate from the Board of Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training evidencing satisfaction of subsections (2) and (3) of Section 45-6-11, or who is exempt from the requirements of subsections (2) and (3) of Section 45-6-11 by the provisions of subsection (1) of Section 45-6-11.

SECTION 3. The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall submit this act, immediately upon approval by the Governor, or upon approval by the Legislature subsequent to a veto, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the date it is effectuated under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended, or on July 1, 2000, whichever occurs later.