House Concurrent Resolution 68

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO SECTION 213-A, MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890, TO RECONSTITUTE THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING BY PROVIDING THAT BEGINNING MAY 8, 2004, THE BOARD SHALL CONSIST OF ELEVEN MEMBERS APPOINTED FOR EIGHT-YEAR TERMS; TO PROVIDE THAT THE GOVERNOR SHALL APPOINT FIVE MEMBERS, ONE FROM THE STATE AT LARGE AND ONE FROM EACH OF THE FOUR CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS OF THE STATE, AND THAT THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE SHALL EACH APPOINT THREE MEMBERS, ONE FROM EACH OF THE SUPREME COURT DISTRICTS; 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 board of trustees to be known as the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning. The members of the board shall be appointed * * * with the advice and consent of the Senate. Each appointee must be a qualified elector, must reside in the congressional district or Supreme Court district from which he or she is appointed if required under this section, must be at least twenty-five (25) years of age, and must be of the highest order of intelligence, character, learning, and fitness for the performance of such duties, to the end that such board shall perform the high and honorable duties thereof to the greatest advantage of the people of the state of such educational institutions, uninfluenced by any political considerations. From and after May 8, 2004, the board shall be reconstituted to consist of eleven (11) members to be appointed as follows: (a) the Governor shall appoint one (1) member from the state at large for an initial term of six (6) years, and one (1) member from each congressional district of the state as such districts are constituted on January 1, 2004, with two (2) of such members serving an initial term of two (2) years and two (2) of such members serving an initial term of four (4) years; (b) the Lieutenant Governor shall appoint one (1) member from each Supreme Court district of the state as such districts are constituted on January 1, 2004, with one (1) of such members serving an initial term of two (2) years, one (1) of such members serving an initial term of four (4) years; and one (1) of such members serving an initial term of six (6) years; and (c) the Speaker of the House shall appoint one (1) member from each Supreme Court district of the state as such districts are constituted on January 1, 2004, with one (1) of such members serving an initial term of two (2) years, one (1) of such members serving an initial term of four (4) years; and one (1) of such members serving an initial term of six (6) years. Each appointing authority shall make such appointments during the regular session of the Legislature of Mississippi that convenes immediately preceding the beginning of the members' terms of office. All appointees to the board subsequent to the initial appointees shall hold office for a period of eight (8) years. The members of the board of trustees as constituted at the time the amendment proposed to this section by House Concurrent Resolution No. , 2002 Regular Session, is ratified by the electorate and inserted in the Constitution * * * shall continue to hold office until their successors are appointed and take office. Any member of the board may be reappointed to the board if he or she meets the residence requirements of this section and is otherwise qualified. In case of a vacancy on the board by death or resignation of a member, or for any * * * cause other than the expiration of the member's term of office, the board shall elect his or her successor, who shall hold office until the end of the next session of the Legislature. During such * * * session of the Legislature the appointing authority shall appoint the successor member of the board and, if the member is required under this section to be appointed from a congressional district or a Supreme Court district, the successor shall be appointed from the same congressional district or Supreme Court district from which his or her predecessor was appointed * * *.

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.

Such board shall have the power and authority to elect the heads of the various institutions of higher learning, and contract with all deans, professors and other members of the teaching staff, and all administrative employees of the institutions for a term not exceeding four (4) years; but the board shall have the power and authority to terminate any such contract at any time for malfeasance, inefficiency or contumacious conduct, but never for political reasons.

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 reduces the membership of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning from twelve to eleven members and reduces the members' terms of office from twelve years to eight years. The Governor is given five appointments, one from the state at large and one from each of the four congressional districts; and the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House are given three appointments each, one from each Supreme Court District."