House Bill 579

AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE SALARIES OF STATE EMPLOYEES WHO ARE REQUIRED TO HOLD A TEACHER'S LICENSE AS A CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT TO BE ESTABLISHED ACCORDING TO THE SALARY SCALE PRESCRIBED FOR TEACHERS IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. A state employee who is required to possess, as a condition of employment, a teacher's license issued by the State Board of Education under Section 37-3-2 must be paid an annual salary according to the salary scale established for licensed teachers in the public school districts under Section 37-19-7. Notwithstanding the provisions of the variable compensation plan administered by the State Personnel Board, the appointing authority of the state agency for which the employee works shall determine the employee's annual salary, with consideration given to the type of license held by the employee and the employee's number of years of experience, including experience as a classroom teacher and in any position in state employment which requires a teacher's license as a condition of employment. If the employee's position requires the employee to work on a year round basis, the appointing authority shall adjust the base salary to which the employee is entitled under the salary scale to an amount that is equivalent compensation for twelve (12) months of work. For the purpose of calculating this equivalent salary, the base salaries for teachers prescribed in Section 37-19-7 are assumed to be compensation for a period of one hundred eighty-seven (187) working days.

For purposes of this section, the term "state agency" means an agency as defined in Section 25-9-107.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2002.