MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2002 Regular Session
To: Education; Appropriations
By: Representative Ford
AN ACT TO REENACT SECTIONS 37-19-1 THROUGH 37-19-5, 37-19-9, 37-19-11, 37-19-15 THROUGH 37-19-19, 37-19-21 AND 37-19-23 THROUGH 37-19-53, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH ESTABLISH THE MINIMUM EDUCATION PROGRAM AND DEFINE THE VARIOUS FUNDING COMPONENTS OF THE PROGRAM; TO REENACT SECTIONS 37-22-1 AND 37-22-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL DISTRICT UNIFORM MILLAGE ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM AND THE SECOND LEVEL FUNDING PROGRAM; TO REENACT SECTION 37-151-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH REQUIRES THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO ANNUALLY CONDUCT STATE FUNDING PROJECTIONS AND COMPARISONS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO AMEND REENACTED SECTION 37-19-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DELETE THE JULY 1, 2002, REPEALER DATE ON THAT SECTION, WHICH PROVIDES AN ALLOTMENT UNDER THE MINIMUM EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR SUPPORTIVE SERVICES; TO AMEND REENACTED SECTION 37-19-24, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DELETE THE JULY 1, 2002, REPEALER DATE ON THAT SECTION, WHICH PROVIDES AN ALLOTMENT UNDER THE MINIMUM EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR THE LOCAL COST OF TEACHER SALARY INCREASES; TO AMEND REENACTED SECTION 37-151-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE REPEAL OF THE STATUTE THAT REQUIRES THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO ANNUALLY CONDUCT STATE FUNDING PROJECTIONS AND COMPARISONS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2003; TO REPEAL SECTION 30, CHAPTER 612, LAWS OF 1997, WHICH PROVIDES FOR THE JULY 1, 2002, REPEAL OF THE MINIMUM EDUCATION PROGRAM, THE MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL DISTRICT UNIFORM MILLAGE ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM AND SECOND LEVEL FUNDING PROGRAM, AND THE STATUTE REQUIRING THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO ANNUALLY CONDUCT STATE FUNDING PROJECTIONS AND COMPARISONS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS; TO CREATE NEW SECTION 37-19-55, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE REPEAL OF THE MINIMUM EDUCATION PROGRAM ON JULY 1, 2003; TO CREATE NEW SECTION 37-22-4, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR THE REPEAL OF THE MISSISSIPPI SCHOOL DISTRICT UNIFORM MILLAGE ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM AND SECOND LEVEL FUNDING PROGRAM ON JULY 1, 2003; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-19-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-1. As used in this chapter:
(a) The term "minimum education program" shall mean the program of education made possible by the financing plan provided for in this chapter;
(b) The term "teacher" shall include any employee of a school board of a school district who is required by law to obtain a teacher's license from the State Board of Education and who is assigned to an instructional area of work as defined by the State Department of Education the equivalent of a minimum of three (3) normal periods per school day;
(c) The term "principal" shall mean the head of an attendance center or division thereof;
(d) The term "superintendent" shall mean the head of a school district;
(e) The term "teacher unit" means one (1) teacher unit for each twenty-four (24) pupils in average daily attendance in kindergarten and in Grades 1, 2, 3 and 4 and one (1) teacher unit for each twenty-seven (27) pupils in average daily attendance in all other grades;
(f) The term "cost of the minimum program" shall mean the calculated allowance as fixed by law or by regulations of the State Board of Education for teachers' salaries, administrative expense, transportation, the employer's part of the public employees' retirement and social security, and "supportive services" as defined elsewhere in this chapter;
(g) The term "school district" shall, for purposes of this chapter, be construed to include any type of school district in the State of Mississippi;
(h) "Minimum school term" shall mean a term of at least one hundred eighty (180) days of school in which both teachers and pupils are in regular attendance for scheduled classroom instruction for not less than sixty percent (60%) of the normal school day. It is the intent of the Legislature that any tax levies generated to produce additional local funds required by any school district to operate school terms in excess of one hundred seventy-five (175) days shall not be construed to constitute a new program for the purposes of exemption from the limitation on tax revenues as allowed under Sections 27-39-321 and 37-57-107 for new programs mandated by the Legislature;
(i) The term "transportation density" shall mean the number of transported children in average daily attendance per square mile of area served in a county or a separate school district, as determined by the State Department of Education;
(j) The term "transported children" shall mean children being transported to school who live within legal limits for transportation and who are otherwise qualified for being transported to school at public expense as fixed by Mississippi state law;
(k) The term "year of teaching experience" shall mean nine (9) months of actual teaching in the public or private schools of this or some other state. In no case shall more than one (1) year of teaching experience be given for all services in one (1) calendar or school year. In determining a teacher's experience, no deduction shall be made because of the temporary absence of the teacher because of illness or other good cause, and the teacher shall be given credit therefor. The State Board of Education shall fix a number of days, not to exceed twenty-five (25) consecutive school days, during which a teacher may not be under contract of employment during any school year and still be considered to have been in full-time employment for a regular scholastic term. In determining the experience of school librarians, each complete year of continuous, full-time employment as a professional librarian in a public library in this or some other state shall be considered a year of teaching experience. If a full-time school administrator returns to actual teaching in the public schools, the term "year of teaching experience" shall include the period of time he or she served as a school administrator;
(l) The term "average daily attendance" shall be the figure which results when the total aggregate attendance during the period or months counted is divided by the number of days during the period or months counted upon which both teachers and pupils are in regular attendance for scheduled classroom instruction;
(m) The term "local supplement" shall mean the amount paid to an individual teacher over and above the minimum foundation program salary schedule for regular teaching duties;
(n) The term "aggregate amount of support from ad valorem taxation" shall mean the amounts produced by the district's total tax levies for operations;
(o) The term "minimum program funds" shall mean all funds, both state and local, constituting the requirements for meeting the cost of the minimum program as provided for in this chapter.
SECTION 2. Section 37-19-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-3. The total cost of the minimum education program shall be the sum of the amounts provided for in Sections 37-19-5 through 37-19-33.
SECTION 3. Section 37-19-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-5. (1) The total number of teachers included in the program for each school district shall not be in excess of the number of teachers employed or the number of teacher units allowed, whichever number is smaller. The number of teacher units shall be determined by the State Department of Education for each school district for the current year as follows: For Kindergarten and Grades 1, 2, 3 and 4, one (1) teacher unit shall be allotted for each twenty-four (24) pupils in average daily attendance for the prior school year or for months two and three of the current year, whichever is greater, and for all other grades, one (1) teacher unit shall be allotted for each twenty-seven (27) pupils in average daily attendance for the prior school year or for months two and three of the current year, whichever is greater. A remaining major fraction of a unit shall be counted as a whole unit. It shall be the duty of the State Department of Education to determine that each school district actually has employed in Kindergarten and Grades 1, 2, 3 and 4, a number of teachers which shall not be fewer than the earned units calculated in accordance with this subsection and, to that end, the State Department of Education is empowered to make regulations not inconsistent with this chapter which are reasonably necessary to implement and assure its compliance. No teacher may be included in such number of teachers unless he spends not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of his working time in actual classroom instruction in Kindergarten and Grades 1, 2, 3 and 4, and the State Department of Education shall require the school district to certify, under oath of a person informed of such matters, and authorized by the school district governing authority to do so, that only such teachers have been so included in that number. If a school district employs more teachers than the teacher units allotted, the State Department of Education shall use the teachers of highest training and number of years experience in determining the allotment for salaries. It is the intent of the Legislature that the additional teachers provided herein for Kindergarten and Grades 1, 2, 3 and 4 shall be utilized exclusively in Kindergarten and in those grades, and that such classes shall not exceed a maximum number of twenty-seven (27) students in enrollment at any time during the school term unless exempted under rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education providing for hardship, emergency or other special situations. In addition, the total number of students that may be taught by an individual teacher in core subjects at any time during the school year shall not exceed one hundred fifty (150) unless exempted under the rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education. Any such exemption regarding the maximum number of students per class or per individual teacher shall be certified by the local board of education to the State Department of Education with each monthly average daily attendance report. In the event any school district meets Level 4 or 5 accreditation standards, the State Board of Education may, in its discretion, exempt such school district from the maximum pupil-teacher ratio in Grades 1, 2, 3 and 4 prescribed herein.
(2) One-half (1/2) of a teacher unit shall be added to the teacher unit allotment for each school district for each vocational teacher employed full time during the regular school term in a vocational education program approved by the State Department of Education. For each teacher employed in a vocational program less than full time, the additional one-half (1/2) teacher unit shall be prorated by the percentage of time spent in the vocational program. Minimum program funds will be allotted based on the type of certificate and number of years teaching experience held by each approved vocational teacher.
(3) One (1) additional teacher unit shall be added to the teacher unit allotment for each school district for each teacher employed in a State Department of Education approved program for exceptional children as defined in Section 37-23-3, except that only seventy percent (70%) of a teacher unit will be approved for the program for three- and four-year-old exceptional children. Exceptional children as defined in Section 37-23-3 who are under the age of three (3) years shall receive teacher units for each teacher employed in an approved program for those children. However, notwithstanding the calculation of teacher units as defined in subsection (1) above, exceptional children enrolled in a self-contained class, as defined by the State Department of Education, shall not be counted in average daily attendance when determining the regular teacher unit allocation. Minimum program funds will be allotted based on the type of certificate and the number of years teaching experience held by each approved exceptional education teacher.
(4) In addition to the allowances provided above, for each handicapped child who is being educated by a public school district or is placed in accord with Section 37-23-77 and whose individualized educational program (IEP) requires an extended school year in accord with the State Department of Education criteria, a sufficient amount of minimum program funds shall be allocated for the purpose of providing the educational services the student requires. The State Board of Education shall promulgate such regulations as are required to insure the equitable distribution of these funds. All costs for the extended school year for a particular summer shall be reimbursed from minimum program funds appropriated for the fiscal year beginning July 1 of that summer. If sufficient funds are not made available to finance all of the required educational services, the State Department of Education shall expend available funds in such a manner that it does not limit the availability of appropriate education to handicapped students more severely than it does to nonhandicapped students.
(5) The State Department of Education is hereby authorized to match minimum program funds allocated for provision of services to handicapped children with Division of Medicaid funds to provide language-speech services, physical therapy and occupational therapy to handicapped students who meet State Department of Education or Division of Medicaid standards and who are Medicaid eligible. Provided further, that the State Department of Education is authorized to pay such minimum program funds as may be required as a match directly to the Division of Medicaid pursuant to an agreement to be developed between the State Department of Education and the Division of Medicaid.
(6) In the event of an inordinately large number of absentees in any school district as a result of epidemic, natural disaster, or any concerted activity discouraging school attendance, then in such event school attendance for the purposes of determining teacher units shall be based upon the average daily attendance for the three (3) preceding school years for such school district.
(7) In addition to the allotments provided above, a school district may provide a program of education and instruction to children ages five (5) years through twenty-one (21) years, who are resident citizens of the State of Mississippi, who cannot have their educational needs met in a regular public school program and who have not finished or graduated from high school, if those children are determined by competent medical authorities and psychologists to need placement in a state licensed facility for inpatient treatment, day treatment or residential treatment or a therapeutic group home. Such program shall operate under rules, regulations, policies and standards of school districts as determined by the State Board of Education. If a private school approved by the State Board of Education is operated as an integral part of the state licensed facility that provides for the treatment of such children, the private school within the facility may provide a program of education, instruction and training to such children by requesting the State Department of Education to allocate one (1) teacher unit or a portion of a teacher unit for each approved class. The facility shall be responsible for providing for any additional costs of the program.
Minimum program funds will be allotted based on the type of certificate and number of years' teaching experience held by each approved teacher. Such children shall not be counted in average daily attendance when determining the regular teacher unit allocation.
SECTION 4. Section 37-19-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-9. Any special license-nonrenewable issued in accordance with Section 37-3-2(6)(d) will be considered equivalent to a Class A certification and license for the purpose of the scale as set forth in Section 37-19-7, and for the purpose of the experience increases provided for in Section 37-19-7.
SECTION 5. Section 37-19-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-11. No school district shall pay any teacher on the minimum foundation program less than the state minimum salary provided for in Section 37-19-7. No school district shall receive any funds under the provisions of this chapter for any school year during which the aggregate amount of local supplement as defined in Section 37-19-1 shall have been reduced below such amount for the previous year; however, where there has been a reduction in the number of teacher units in such district in such year, where there has been a reduction in the amount of federal funds to such district below the previous year, or where there has been a reduction in ad valorem taxes to such school district for the 1986-1987 school year below the amount for the previous year due to the exemption of nuclear generating plants from ad valorem taxation, pursuant to Section 27-35-309, the aggregate amount of local supplement in such district may be reduced proportionately without loss of funds under this chapter. No school district may receive any funds under the provisions of this chapter for any school year if the aggregate amount of support from ad valorem taxation shall be reduced during such school year below such amount for the previous year; however, where there is a loss in teacher units, or where there is or heretofore has been a decrease in the total assessed value of taxable property within a school district, the aggregate amount of such support may be reduced proportionately. Nothing herein contained shall prohibit any school district from adopting or continuing a program or plan whereby teachers are paid varying salaries according to the teaching ability, classroom performance and other similar standards.
SECTION 6. Section 37-19-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-15. The minimum base pay for all classroom teachers as fixed in this chapter may be increased by the district from any funds available to it other than minimum program funds; and those districts which have not prior to July 1, 1978, so increased said base pay, shall increase the minimum base pay for classroom teachers as fixed by this chapter and as authorized by any of the provisions of or standards set forth in this chapter.
SECTION 7. Section 37-19-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-17. The total allowance made by the State Board of Education in the minimum education program for teachers' salaries for each type of certificate in any school district shall not be in excess of the total amount determined by the scale for teachers holding each type of certificate as provided in this chapter or the amount actually paid to such teachers with such type of certificates, whichever amount is smaller. However, the school boards of all school districts may establish salary schedules based on training, experience, and other such factors as may be incorporated therein, including student progress and performance as developed by the State Board of Education, paying teachers greater amounts than the scale provided herein, but no teacher may be paid less than the amount allotted for such teacher based upon the scale of pay provided in this chapter, and all supplements paid from local funds shall be based upon the salary schedules so established. The school boards may call upon the State Department of Education for aid and assistance in formulating and establishing such salary schedules, and it shall be the duty of the State Department of Education, when so called upon, to render such aid and assistance.
The amount allotted for teachers' salaries by the State Board of Education and the amount actually paid to each teacher shall be based upon and determined by the type of certificate held by such teacher.
SECTION 8. Section 37-19-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-19. Each county and separate school district shall be allotted Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00) per teacher unit for paying or supplementing superintendents' and principals' salaries.
SECTION 9. Section 37-19-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted and amended as follows:
37-19-21. For fiscal year 2002, each school district shall be allotted Five Thousand Ninety-seven Dollars ($5,097.00) per teacher unit for use in supportive services.
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SECTION 10. Section 37-19-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-23. The amount to be included in the minimum education program by the State Board of Education for transportation shall be determined as follows:
(1) The State Department of Education shall calculate the cost of transportation in school districts by ascertaining the average cost per pupil in average daily attendance of transported pupils in school districts classified in different density groups as determined by the State Department of Education. Based on these calculations, the State Department of Education shall develop a scale for determining the allowable cost per pupil in different density groups, which scale shall provide greatest allowance per pupil transported in school districts with lowest densities and smallest allowance per pupil in school districts
with highest densities. The total allowance in the minimum education program for transported children for any school district for the current year shall be the average daily attendance of the transported children for the nine (9) months of the prior year, multiplied by the allowance per transported pupil as provided herein. However, the State Department of Education is hereby authorized and empowered to make proper adjustments in allotments, under rules and regulations of the State Board of Education, in cases where major changes in the number of children in average daily attendance transported occur from one year to another as a result of changes or alterations in the boundaries of school districts, a change in or relocation of attendance centers, or for other reasons which would result in major decrease or increase in the number of children in average daily attendance transported during the current school year as compared with the preceding year. Moreover, the State Board of Education is hereby authorized and empowered to make such payments to all districts and/or university-based programs as deemed necessary in connection with transporting exceptional children as defined in Section 37-23-3. The State Board of Education shall establish and implement all necessary rules and regulations to allot transportation payments to university-based programs. In developing density classifications under the provisions hereof, the State Department of Education may give consideration to the length of the route, the sparsity of the population, the lack of adequate roads, highways and bridges, and the presence of large streams or other geographic obstacles. In addition to funds allotted under the above provisions, funds shall be allotted to each school district that transports students from their assigned school or attendance center to classes in an approved vocational-technical center at a rate per mile not to exceed the average statewide cost per mile of school bus transportation during the preceding year exclusive of bus replacement. All such transportation must have prior approval by the State Department of Education.
(2) The average daily attendance of transported children shall be reported by the school district in which such children attend school. If children living in a school district are transported at the expense of such school district to another school district, the average daily attendance of such transported children shall be deducted by the State Department of Education from the aggregate average daily attendance of transported children in the school district in which they attend school and shall be added to the aggregated average daily attendance of transported children of the school district from which they come for the purpose of calculating transportation allotments. However, such deduction shall not be made for the purpose of calculating teacher units.
(3) The State Department of Education shall include in the allowance for transportation for each school district an amount for the replacement of school buses or the purchase of new buses, which amount shall be calculated upon the estimated useful life of all school buses being used for the transportation of children in such school district, whether such buses be publicly or privately owned.
(4) The school boards of all districts operating school bus transportation are authorized and directed to establish a salary schedule for school bus drivers. No school district shall be entitled to receive the funds herein allotted for transportation unless it pays each of its nonstudent adult school bus drivers paid from such transportation allotments a minimum of One Hundred Ninety Dollars ($190.00) per month. In addition, local school boards may compensate school bus drivers for actual expenses incurred when acquiring an initial commercial license or any renewal of a commercial license to drive a school bus.
(5) The State Board of Education shall be authorized and empowered to use such part of the funds appropriated for transportation in the minimum education fund as may be necessary to finance driver training courses as provided for in Section 37-41-1.
SECTION 11. Section 37-19-24, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted and amended as follows:
37-19-24. Beginning with the 1999-2000 school year, in addition to other funds allotted under this chapter, an amount subject to appropriation shall be provided to fund the local cost of state mandated salary increases as provided through Section 37-19-7. Such funds are provided where amounts provided through Section 37-19-21 are insufficient to fund such increases and shall be distributed based on district staffing for the immediate preceding school year, as determined by the State Department of Education.
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SECTION 12. Section 37-19-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-25. School districts embracing territory in more than one (1) county shall be administered in the county where the buildings are located insofar as the minimum education program is concerned, and the cost of the education program for a line school shall be included in the total for the county in which the school buildings are located, except that the children attending such school and residing in another county shall be counted for transportation allotment purposes in the county which furnishes or provides the transportation.
SECTION 13. Section 37-19-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-27. (1) Legally transferred students going from one school district to another shall be counted for teacher allotment and allotments for supportive services by the school district wherein the pupils attend school, including cost allotments prescribed in Sections 37-19-19 and 37-19-31 for school district administrative and clerical salaries and other expenses, but shall be counted for transportation allotment purposes in the school district which furnishes or provides the transportation. The school boards of the school districts which approve the transfer of a student under the provisions of Section 37-15-31 shall enter into an agreement and contract for the payment or nonpayment of any portion of their local maintenance funds which they deem fair and equitable in support of any transferred student. Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, local maintenance funds shall be transferred only to the extent specified in the agreement and contract entered into by the affected school districts. The terms of any local maintenance fund payment transfer contract shall be spread upon the minutes of both of the affected school district school boards. The school district accepting any transfer students shall be authorized to accept tuition from such students under the provisions of Section 37-15-31(1) and such agreement may remain in effect for any length of time designated in the contract. The terms of such student transfer contracts and the amounts of any tuition charged any transfer student shall be spread upon the minutes of both of the affected school boards. No school district accepting any transfer students under the provisions of Section 37-15-31(2), which provides for the transfer of certain school district employee dependents, shall be authorized to charge such transfer students any tuition fees.
(2) Local maintenance funds shall be paid by the home school district to the transferee school district for students granted transfers under the provisions of Sections 37-15-29(3) and 37-15-31(3), Mississippi Code of 1972, not to exceed the "individual student entitlement" as defined in Section 37-22-1(2)(d), Mississippi Code of 1972, multiplied by the number of such legally transferred students.
SECTION 14. Section 37-19-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted follows:
37-19-29. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or any other law requiring the number of children in average daily attendance or the average daily attendance of transported children to be determined on the basis of the preceding year, the state board of education is hereby authorized and empowered to make proper adjustments in allotments in cases where major changes in the number of children in average daily attendance or the average daily attendance of transported children occurs from one year to another as a result of changes or alterations in the boundaries of school districts, the sending of children from one county or district to another upon a contract basis, the termination or discontinuance of a contract for the sending of children from one county or district to another, a change in or relocation of attendance centers, or for any other reason which would result in a major decrease or increase in the number of children in average daily attendance or the average daily attendance of transported children during the current school year as compared with the preceding year.
SECTION 15. Section 37-19-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-31. The State Department of Education shall include in the minimum education program for each school system annually the sum of Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00) and an additional amount of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) for each teacher unit in excess of fifty (50) teacher units as defined and determined in this chapter. However, no school district shall be allotted more than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00).
SECTION 16. Section 37-19-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-33. In addition to the allowances provided in Sections 37-19-5 through 37-19-31, the State Department of Education may allot to each school district an amount to cover and pay the employer's part of the public employees' retirement and social security. The allowance under this section shall be based upon the current rate applied to each funding element except for transportation which shall be the amount appropriated for salaries. In the event a rate changes during the fiscal year, the State Department of Education shall apportion the allowance under this section by the number of days of the regular school term occurring in each rate period.
SECTION 17. Section 37-19-34, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-34. The State Board of Education shall allot to each school district such funds appropriated to pay one hundred percent (100%) of the cost of the State and School Employees' Life and Health Insurance Plan created under Article 7, Chapter 15, Title 25, Mississippi Code of 1972, for all district employees who work no less than twenty (20) hours during each week and regular nonstudent school bus drivers employed by the district.
Where the use of federal funding is allowable to defray, in full or in part, the cost of participation in the insurance plan by district employees who work no less than twenty (20) hours during each week and regular nonstudent school bus drivers, whose salaries are paid, in full or in part, by federal funds, the allowance under this section shall be reduced to the extent of the federal funding. Where the use of federal funds is allowable but not available, it is the intent of the Legislature that school districts contribute the cost of participation for such employees from local funds, except that parent fees for child nutrition programs shall not be increased to cover such cost.
The State Department of Education, in accordance with rules and regulations established by the State Board of Education, may withhold a school district's minimum program funds for failure of the district to timely report student, fiscal and personnel data necessary to meet state and/or federal requirements. The rules and regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education shall require the withholding of minimum program funds for those districts that fail to remit premiums, interest penalties and/or late charges under the State and School Employees' Life and Health Insurance Plan. Noncompliance with such rules and regulations shall result in a violation of compulsory accreditation standards as established by the State Board of Education and Commission on School Accreditation.
SECTION 18. Section 37-19-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-35. The minimum local ad valorem tax effort required of each school district in proportion to its relative taxpaying ability shall be determined as follows:
(a) The total minimum local ad valorem tax effort required of all school districts in the state shall be as follows: Sixteen Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($16,500,000.00) for fiscal year 1987, Seventeen Million Dollars ($17,000,000.00) for fiscal year 1988, Seventeen Million Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($17,750,000.00) for fiscal year 1989, Eighteen Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($18,500,000.00) for fiscal year 1990, Nineteen Million Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($19,250,000.00) for fiscal year 1991, Twenty Million Dollars ($20,000,000.00) for fiscal year 1992, Twenty-one Million Dollars ($21,000,000.00) for fiscal year 1993, Twenty-two Million Dollars ($22,000,000.00) for fiscal year 1994, Twenty-three Million Dollars ($23,000,000.00) for fiscal year 1995, Twenty-four Million Dollars ($24,000,000.00) for fiscal year 1996 and each fiscal year thereafter.
(b) The State Department of Education shall determine for each county its percent of the total taxpaying ability of the state by the following economic index of taxpaying ability: (1) multiply .242152 times the county's percent of the assessed valuation of public utilities in the state; (2) multiply .282970 times the county's percent of the retail sales tax paid in the state; (3) multiply .044144 times the county's percent of the state total of motor vehicle license receipts as sold by the tax collectors of the various counties of the state; (4) multiply .065110 times the county's percent of the total value of farm products in the state; (5) multiply .142688 times the average of the county's percent of the state total personal income taxes paid in the state; (6) multiply .222936 times the county's percent of the state total of gainfully employed nonfarm, nongovernment workers. The sum of the products obtained in items (1) through (6), inclusive, shall be the index of the relative taxpaying ability of each county, including the separate school districts therein, expressed in percent of the total taxpaying ability of the state. The index for each county shall be recalculated every two (2) years and the data for the economic factors included in the index shall be the latest and most reliable official sources as determined by the State Department of Education.
(c) The annual minimum required local ad valorem tax effort in dollars for each county shall be its percent of the taxpaying ability of the state as determined in subsection (b) of this section multiplied by the total statewide required local ad valorem tax effort as determined in the manner provided in subsection (a) of this section.
(d) The minimum local ad valorem tax effort in dollars for each school district within a county for each year shall be that district's percent of the total assessed valuation of the county for the previous year multiplied by the total minimum ad valorem tax effort required of that county as provided in subsection (c) of this section. In making this calculation the countywide assessment shall be used.
(e) If the school board of any school district shall determine that it is not economically feasible or practicable to operate any school within the district for the full one hundred eighty (180) days required for a school term of nine (9) months as contemplated, due to an enemy attack, a manmade, technological or natural disaster in which the Governor has declared a disaster emergency under the laws of this state or the President of the United States has declared an emergency or major disaster to exist in this state, that said school board may notify the State Department of Education of such disaster and submit a plan for altering the school term. If the State Board of Education finds such disaster to be the cause of the school's not being able to operate for the contemplated school term and that such school was in a county covered by the Governor's or President's disaster declaration, it may permit said school board to operate the schools in its district for not less than one hundred eighty (180) days, and, in such case, the State Department of Education shall not reduce the allotment mentioned hereinabove, because of the failure to operate said schools for one hundred eighty (180) days.
The State Board of Education shall not approve any such plan which does not comply with standards, if any, provided by the State of Mississippi or the State Department of Education to meet any of the above enumerated disasters. Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter the responsibility of each school board of each school district to make every reasonable effort to operate the schools of their district for the full school term of one hundred eighty (180) days.
SECTION 19. Section 37-19-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-37. (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4) of this section, the total state funds needed annually by each county, excluding the separate school districts therein, for the support of the minimum education program shall be the cost of the minimum education program for that county as determined in Section 37-19-3, less the minimum local ad valorem tax effort required of that county, as provided in Section 37-19-35, and less one-half (1/2) of all refunds of severance taxes made by the state to the county for the preceding year; provided, however, in the event that, during any county fiscal year, one-half (1/2) of all severance taxes returned or to be returned to such county from the State Tax Commission will be less than one-half (1/2) of all severance taxes returned to such county during the preceding fiscal year, the state funds for the support of the minimum education program shall be increased in the amount of such deficit. The foregoing provisions shall be fully applicable to the distribution of minimum education program funds to a district designated as a municipal separate or special municipal separate school district prior to July 1, 1986, which embraces an entire county, subject to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section. In any county wherein there is located a nuclear generating power plant on which a tax is assessed under subsection (3) of Section 27-35-309, the minimum local ad valorem tax effort required of the county for school year 1986-1987 and school year 1987-1988 shall not be more than Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00) per school year. In no case shall the total state funds provided in any year for the support of the minimum education program in any county be less than forty percent (40%) of the cost of the minimum education program for that county as determined by Section 37-19-3, and in the event the workings of this proviso should result in a lesser local contribution for the support of the minimum education program of the county than is otherwise required by this section, then the local funds otherwise required for the support of said minimum education program shall be reduced or eliminated in the following order of priority: (a) severance taxes; (b) the minimum local ad valorem tax effort.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4) of this section, the total state funds needed annually by each separate school district for the support of the minimum education program in that district shall be the cost of the minimum education program for that district, as determined in Section 37-19-3, less the minimum local ad valorem tax effort required of that district, as provided in Section 37-19-35, and less one-half (1/2) of all refunds of severance taxes made by the state to the municipality for the preceding year; provided, however, in the event that, during any municipal fiscal year, one-half (1/2) of all severance taxes returned or to be returned to such municipality from the State Tax Commission will be less than one-half (1/2) of all severance taxes returned to such municipality during the preceding fiscal year, the state funds for the support of the minimum education program shall be increased in the amount of such deficit.
(3) The total state funds needed for the support of the minimum education program annually shall be the total of the amounts needed by all the counties and separate school districts in the state as provided in subsections (1) and (2) of this section.
(4) For any school district the following percentage reduction shall be substituted for the use of the ratio of one-half (1/2) as provided in subsection (1) hereinabove:
Fiscal Year Percentage to be Applied
1995-1996 45%
1996-1997 40%
1997-1998 35%
1998-1999 30%
1999-2000 25%
2000-2001 20%
2001-2002 15%
2002-2003 10%
2003-2004 5%
2004-2005 and each fiscal
year thereafter 0%
This subsection (4) shall take effect from and after July 1, 1995.
SECTION 20. Section 37-19-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-39. The total state funds available annually for the support of the minimum education program shall consist of the State Common School Fund and the Minimum Education Program Fund, which funds are hereby established and which shall be apportioned and distributed in the manner hereinafter set forth:
(a) The state common school allotment shall be apportioned annually to each school district proportionately on the basis of the number of educable children.
(b) The minimum education program allotment shall be allotted annually to each school district in the manner provided by this chapter. This allotment shall be such an amount which, together with the common school allotment provided in subsection (a) above of this section, shall equal the state's part of the cost of the minimum education program as determined in the manner specified in subsection (3) of Section 37-19-37. The total amount annually to which each school district is entitled from the minimum education program allotment shall be determined by subtracting from the cost of the minimum program in such school district as provided in Section 37-19-3, the following: the minimum local ad valorem tax effort as required by Section 37-19-35, the amount of the common school fund received for the current year, and the applicable amount or percentage established in Section 37-19-37 of the refund of severance taxes made by the state to the counties and municipalities for the preceding year.
If in any year the Legislature or the Governor acting through the Department of Finance and Administration provides less funds than the total state funds needed for the support of the minimum education program, as determined in Section 37-19-37, the minimum program payment as provided in Section 37-19-47 shall be reduced in the proportion which the funds actually made available bear to the funds needed for the full support of the minimum education program. If in any year the Legislature provides more funds than the total state funds needed for the full support of the minimum education program, as determined by Section 37-19-37, the excess of such state funds above the amount needed for the full support of the minimum education program for the then current year shall be carried forward as a balance for use by the State Department of Education for the following school year, and any or all of such balances may be used by the State Department of Education, if needed, for the full support of the minimum education program for such following year.
SECTION 21. Section 37-19-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-41. Not later than April 15 of each year, the State Department of Education shall prepare an information report which shall contain, in addition to such other and further information as may be required by the State Board of Education, the following information:
(a) The average daily attendance in the schools of the school district during the then current scholastic year, or if such information be not then available, the average daily attendance for the first six (6) months of school;
(b) The average daily attendance of pupils transported at public expense, as authorized by law, to the schools of the school district during the then current scholastic year, which information may also, if necessary, be based on the first six (6) months of school;
(c) The estimated number of minimum program teachers to be employed in the school district during the next succeeding scholastic year which shall be grouped separately by types of certificates held and number of years of teacher experience possessed;
(d) The estimated administrative expense of the school district system for the succeeding scholastic year broken down into and classified by major items of expenditure as prescribed by the State Board of Education;
(e) Until July 1, 2005, the estimated amount of refunds of severance taxes received or to be received during the then current fiscal year and required to be paid into the Minimum Education Program Fund of the school district for the succeeding scholastic year under the provisions of this chapter and other applicable statutes, the amount for each source of revenue to be stated separately; and
(f) The total assessed valuation of the county, including all school districts therein, for the then current fiscal year, based upon the county assessment roll, and the assessed valuation of each individual school district in the county for the then current fiscal year based upon the county tax assessor's assessment roll.
In addition to the information specified herein, the State Board of Education shall have full and plenary authority and power to require the furnishing of such further, additional and supplementary information as it may deem necessary for the purpose of determining the cost of the minimum education program in such school district for the succeeding fiscal year, the amount of the minimum education program funds to be allotted to each school district for the succeeding fiscal year, and for any other purpose authorized by law or deemed necessary by said State Board of Education.
It shall be the duty of the State Department of Education to prescribe the forms for the reports provided for in this section.
SECTION 22. Section 37-19-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-43. Based upon the information obtained pursuant to Section 37-19-41 and upon such other and further information as provided by law, the State Department of Education shall, on or before June 1 of each year, or as soon thereafter as is practical, furnish each school board the preliminary estimate of the amount each will receive from the Common School Fund and the Minimum Education Program Fund for the succeeding scholastic year, and at the same time shall furnish each such school board with a tentative estimate of the cost of the minimum education program in the school district for such succeeding fiscal year.
A final estimate of the amounts each will receive from the common school fund and the minimum education program fund shall be furnished on or before January 15 for that year.
SECTION 23. Section 37-19-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-45. It shall be the duty of the State Department of Education to file with the State Treasurer and the State Fiscal Management Board such data and information as may be required to enable the said State Treasurer and State Fiscal Management Board to distribute the common school funds and minimum education program funds by electronic funds transfer to the several school districts at the time required and provided under the provisions of this chapter. Such data and information so filed shall show in detail the amount of funds to which each school district is entitled from such common school fund and minimum education program fund. Such data and information so filed may be revised from time to time as necessitated by law. At the time provided by law, the State Treasurer and the State Fiscal Management Board shall distribute to the several school districts the amounts to which they are entitled from the common school fund and the minimum education program fund as provided by this chapter. Such distribution shall be made by electronic funds transfer to the depositories of the several school districts designated in writing to the State Treasurer based upon the data and information supplied by the State Department of Education for such distribution. In such instances, the State Treasurer shall submit a request for an electronic funds transfer to the State Fiscal Management Board, which shall set forth the purpose, amount and payees, and shall be in such form as may be approved by the State Fiscal Management Board so as to provide the necessary information as would be required for a requisition and issuance of a warrant. A copy of the record of said electronic funds transfers shall be transmitted by the school district depositories to the Treasurer, who shall file duplicates with the State Fiscal Management Board. The Treasurer and State Fiscal Management Board shall jointly promulgate regulations for the utilization of electronic funds transfers to school districts.
SECTION 24. Section 37-19-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-47. Funds due each school district under the terms of this chapter from the Common School Fund and the Minimum Education Program Fund shall be paid in the following manner: On the twenty-fifth day of each month, or the next business date after that date, there shall be paid to each school district by electronic funds transfer one-twelfth (1/12) of the funds to which the district is entitled from funds appropriated for the Common School Fund and the Minimum Education Program Fund. Provided, however, that in December said payments shall be made on December 15th or the next business day after that date.
Provided, however, that if the cash balance in the State General Fund is not adequate on the due date to pay the amounts due to all school districts in the state as determined by the State Superintendent of Education, the State Fiscal Management Board shall not transfer said funds payable to any school district or districts until money is available to pay the amount due to all districts.
SECTION 25. Section 37-19-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-49. The number of teachers, excluding nonteaching superintendents and principals, who may be employed in each school district and school therein shall not be less than the number of teacher units in that school as determined by subsection (1) of Section 37-19-5. Vocational teachers, exceptional education teachers and teachers whose salaries are paid from federal funds shall not be counted in determining the number of teachers to be employed under this section. For the purpose of determining the number of teachers to be employed, a remaining fraction of a teacher unit may be counted as a whole in any school district or school therein, in the discretion of the superintendent of schools.
SECTION 26. Section 37-19-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-51. The State Board of Education shall have the authority to make such regulations not inconsistent with law which it deems necessary for the administration of this chapter. The State Board of Education, if it deems such practice necessary, may use reports of the first six (6) months of school for the purpose of determining average daily attendance and the number of pupils transported for that year.
SECTION 27. Section 37-19-53, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-19-53. Any county superintendent of education, member of the county board of education, member of the board of trustees of any school district, superintendent, principal, teacher, carrier, bus driver, or member or employee of the State Department of Education or State Board of Education, or any other person, who shall wilfully violate any of the provisions of this chapter, or who shall wilfully make any false report, list or record, or who shall wilfully make use of any false report, list or record, concerning the number of school children in average daily attendance or the number of children being transported or entitled to be transported in any county or school district, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed sixty (60) days or by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00), nor more than Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court. In addition, any such person shall be civilly liable for all amounts of public funds which are illegally, unlawfully or wrongfully expended or paid out by virtue of or pursuant to such false report, list or record, and upon conviction or adjudication of civil liability hereunder, such person shall forfeit his license to teach for a period of three (3) years, if such person is the holder of such a license. Any suit to recover such funds illegally, unlawfully, or wrongfully expended or paid out may be brought in the name of the State of Mississippi by the Attorney General or the proper district attorney or county attorney, and, in the event such suit be brought against a person who is under bond, the sureties upon such bond shall likewise be liable for such amount illegally, unlawfully, or wrongfully expended or paid out.
SECTION 28. Section 37-22-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-22-1. (1) There is hereby established a Mississippi School District Uniform Millage Assistance Grant Program. It is the intent of the Legislature that through this grant program, each student counted in average daily attendance in the public schools in Mississippi shall have equal access to funds generated by a uniform minimum school district ad valorem tax levy.
(2) For the purposes of this section the following terms shall have the following meanings unless context shall provide otherwise:
(a) "Average daily attendance" means the average daily attendance as calculated under the provisions of Section 37-19-1(1) for months one (1) through nine (9) for each school district and agricultural high school during the preceding fiscal year.
(b) "Uniform minimum school district ad valorem tax levy" means that amount of millage which the State Board of Education shall annually certify to the board of trustees of all school districts as the "uniform minimum school district ad valorem tax levy," on August 15 of each year. Until June 30, 1993, the State Board of Education shall determine the amount of the uniform minimum school district ad valorem tax levy by computing the statewide combined average millage levy for school district maintenance purposes as prescribed in Section 37-57-105 and minimum program contributions as prescribed in Section 37-57-1 for the preceding fiscal year, then subtracting four (4) mills from such statewide average millage levy. From and after July 1, 1993, the uniform minimum school district ad valorem tax levy shall be the amount of millage so certified by the State Board of Education for the 1993 fiscal year. Beginning with the 1993 fiscal year, the State Board of Education shall determine and certify an equivalent uniform minimum school district ad valorem tax levy for agricultural high school support and maintenance.
(c) "Maximum yield at the uniform minimum school district ad valorem tax levy" shall mean ad valorem tax dollars collectible in each school district if the district levies such required number of mills for the support of the school district as certified by the State Board of Education. It is calculated by (i) subtracting the assessed value of exempt property owned by homeowners aged sixty-five (65) or older or disabled as defined in Section 27-33-67(2), Mississippi Code of 1972, from the district's gross assessed value to arrive at the district's taxable assessed value; (ii) applying the required millage levy to the taxable assessed value to arrive at the base revenue; (iii) subtracting the district's tax loss from exemptions provided to applicants under the age of sixty-five (65) and not disabled as defined in Section 27-33-67(1) to arrive at the maximum collectible; and (iv) adding the district's homestead reimbursement revenue to arrive at the district's maximum yield at the uniform minimum school district ad valorem tax levy. The clerk of the board of supervisors shall list in his report of tax losses for homestead exemption as defined in Section 27-33-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, the total assessed value in each school district. The homestead exemption tax losses used in this formula shall be losses for exemptions granted from taxes due and payable in the preceding year. Reimbursements used in this formula shall be amounts reimbursed to the school districts for said losses.
(d) "Individual student entitlement" means that amount of funds which results from dividing the aggregate amount of funds which would be generated by the levy of the uniform minimum school district ad valorem tax by the aggregate average daily attendance in all school districts and agricultural high schools located within the state.
(e) "District entitlement" means the total amount of funds which a school district or agricultural high school may be entitled to receive under the provisions of this section. Such amount shall be calculated by multiplying the individual student entitlement by the average daily attendance for the respective school district or agricultural high school.
(f) "Deficit funding allocation" means the amount of money needed by each school district or agricultural high school to insure the individual student entitlement for each pupil enrolled in such district or agricultural high school. The deficit funds for each school district or agricultural high school shall be calculated by subtracting the maximum yield of the uniform minimum school district ad valorem tax levy in such school district or agricultural high school from its district entitlement. In the event the millage levy of any school district or agricultural high school shall be less than the uniform minimum school district ad valorem tax levy or its equivalent, as the case may be, as certified by the State Board of Education for any fiscal year, yet generate funds in an amount equal to or greater than such school district's or agricultural high school's district entitlement, no deficit funding allocation shall be available to that respective school district or agricultural high school.
(g) "Other local revenue sources" shall mean the sum of the following local revenues which are or may be available from the preceding fiscal year for expenditure by the school district: (i) interest on short- or long-term investments of surplus funds as prescribed in Section 37-59-23; (ii) sixteenth section school land expendable income as prescribed in Chapter 3, Title 29, Mississippi Code of 1972; (iii) Chickasaw School Fund appropriations by the Legislature as prescribed in Sections 29-3-137 and 29-3-139; (iv) TVA in lieu revenues as prescribed in Section 27-39-303; (v) national forest revenues as prescribed in 16 USCS Section 500; (vi) Grand Gulf income as prescribed in Section 27-35-309. However, no funds held in escrow to the benefit of any school district due to federal litigation concerning the distribution of Grand Gulf revenues shall be considered as "other local revenue sources" under the provisions of this paragraph; and (vii) the amount of any Emergency Fund Loss Assistance Program funds received annually under the provisions of Section 37-22-5.
(3) A state uniform millage assistance grant award shall be provided to each school district and agricultural high school requiring additional funds in order to provide their pupils the individual student entitlement. The amount of the grant provided each school district shall be calculated by subtracting other local revenue sources from its deficit funding allocation.
(4) The total state funds needed for the School District Uniform Millage Assistance Grant Program annually shall be the total of the amounts needed to award grants to school districts and agricultural high schools in the state as provided in subsection (3) of this section. If the total amount of funds annually appropriated for the School District Uniform Millage Assistance Grant Program exceeds the total amount determined by the basic formula, the excess funds shall be distributed proportionately to those school districts so entitled under the provisions of this section. The State Uniform Millage Assistance Grant Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury which shall be used to distribute the funds to school districts so entitled under the provisions of this section. Any such grant funds shall be transferred to the school district maintenance fund of such district or agricultural high school in the manner prescribed in Section 37-19-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, and shall be expended in the manner provided by law exclusively for classroom instructional purposes.
SECTION 29. Section 37-22-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted as follows:
37-22-3. There is herein provided a Second Level Funding Program which shall qualify any school district within a county wherein there is only one (1) school district located for additional state funding on an annual basis. The nonparticipation of any line consolidated school district to conform their district administration to receive second level funding under the provisions of this section shall not prohibit the participation of any other school districts located within any of the affected counties in such funding program. In the event the board of trustees of a line consolidated school district elects to participate in second level funding, it shall merge its administration with the county in which the majority of its facilities are located. The State Board of Education shall designate the county in which the majority of such line consolidated district facilities are located in accordance with its established inventory of school district facilities. The school boards in any such county having only one (1) school district on July 1, 1989, and the school boards in any county having more than one (1) school district which hereafter adopts a plan for the transition of all administrative functions into one (1) school district for such county, shall qualify for this Second Level Funding Program. Any uniform millage assistance grant received by an agricultural high school shall not affect the granting of second level funding grants to any school district under the provisions of this section; and any agricultural high school located in such school district shall also be eligible for such second level funding grants. The state funds available to such school district for the Second Level Funding Program shall be Thirty-six Dollars ($36.00) per pupil in average daily attendance. The total state funds needed for the Second Level Funding Program annually shall be the total of the amounts needed by all of the school districts in the state having one (1) school district within the county. The State Second Level Funding Program Fund is hereby established in the State Treasury which shall be used to distribute the funds to school districts entitled under the provisions of this section. Any such funds shall be transferred to the school district maintenance fund of such district in the manner prescribed in Section 37-19-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, and shall be expended in the manner provided by law for classroom instructional purposes.
SECTION 30. Section 37-151-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted and amended:
37-151-3. The State Department of Education shall, on or before July 1, 1994, calculate the state funds which would be allocated to each school district of the state under the base student cost funding formula defined in Sections 37-151-5 and 37-151-7, and shall develop a district by district projection which compares the state education funds to be allocated to each district in fiscal year 1995 with the projected funds which would be allocated to each district under the said base student cost funding formula in fiscal year 1995. Said funding projections and comparisons shall be prepared in report form and shall be distributed to each school district, the State Board of Education and the Chairmen of the Education Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives on or before July 1, 1994, and shall be updated on an annual basis. Said report shall include a comparison of the total state funds required to fund the base student cost funding formula in fiscal year 1995 compared to the total state funds appropriated to fund education programs.
This section shall be repealed on July 1, 2003.
SECTION 31. Section 30 of Chapter 612, Laws of 1997, which provides for the July 1, 2002, repeal of the Minimum Education Program, the Mississippi School District Uniform Millage Assistance Grant Program and Second Level Funding Program, and the statute requiring the State Department of Education to annually conduct state funding projections and comparisons for school districts, is repealed.
SECTION 32. The following shall be codified as Section 37-19-55, Mississippi Code of 1972:
37-19-55. Sections 37-19-1 through 37-19-5 and 37-19-9 through 37-19-55 shall be repealed on July 1, 2003.
SECTION 33. The following shall be codified as Section 37-22-4, Mississippi Code of 1972:
37-22-4. Sections 37-22-1 through 37-22-4 shall be repealed on July 1, 2003.
SECTION 34. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2002.