House Concurrent Resolution 9

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 213-A, MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890, TO ABOLISH THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING; TO PROVIDE THAT THE LEGISLATURE, BY GENERAL LAW, SHALL ESTABLISH A SEPARATE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR EACH STATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING AND SHALL PRESCRIBE THE MANNER OF CHOOSING THE MEMBERS THEREOF, THE QUALIFICATIONS AND TERMS OF OFFICE OF MEMBERS, AND THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF SUCH BOARDS OF TRUSTEES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That the following amendment to the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 is proposed to the qualified electors of the state:

Amend Section 213-A, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read as follows:

"Section 213-A. The state institutions of higher learning now existing in Mississippi, to wit: University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science, Mississippi University for Women, University of Southern Mississippi, Delta State University, Alcorn State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi Valley State University, and any others of like kind which may be hereafter organized or established by the State of Mississippi, shall be under the management and control of a separate board of trustees for each of such institutions, the members thereof to be chosen in such manner, meet such qualifications, serve for such terms and exercise such powers and duties as the Legislature, by general law, prescribes. However, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the members of the board of trustees as constituted at the time this amendment shall be inserted in the Constitution as a part thereof shall continue to exist and the members shall continue to hold office until separate boards of trustees for each of the institutions of higher learning are established by general law.

The Legislature shall provide by law for the appointment of a trustee for the La Bauve Fund at the University of Mississippi and for the perpetuation of such fund.

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Nothing herein contained shall in any way limit or take away the power the Legislature had and possessed, if any, at the time of the adoption of this amendment, to consolidate, abolish or change the status of any of the above-named institutions."

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this proposed amendment shall be submitted by the Secretary of State to the qualified electors at an election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2002, as provided by Section 273 of the Constitution and by general law.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the explanation of this proposed amendment for the ballot shall read as follows: "This proposed constitutional amendment abolishes the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and provides that the Legislature, by general law, shall establish a separate board of trustees for each state institution of higher learning."

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall submit this resolution, immediately upon adoption by the Legislature, 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.