House Bill 447

AN ACT TO ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI TRAINING AND EDUCATION MARKETING BOARD AND PROVIDE FOR ITS MEMBERSHIP; TO EMPOWER THIS BOARD TO CONDUCT PROGRAMS TO ADVERTISE AND INCREASE PARTICIPATION IN WORK FORCE TRAINING AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS; TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD TO ADOPT REGULATIONS AND EMPLOY PERSONNEL; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) The Legislature finds that:

(a) The continued economic development of the State of Mississippi depends greatly on the skills and educational levels of the workers of the state;

(b) Mississippi's work force skills and educational attainment levels are low compared to other work forces;

(c) The workplace in the United States and Mississippi is changing in response to heightened international competition and new technologies, and those forces, which are ultimately beneficial to our state, are shrinking the demand for and undermining the earning power of unskilled labor; and

(d) Mississippi lacks a system to help parents, youth and employed workers understand the importance of education and training for entry and progression in the workplace.

(2) The Legislature declares that the public policy of the state requires a comprehensive and coordinated marketing and promotion effort to inform parents, youth and workers of the importance of continued skill building and education and to raise the awareness of the citizens of the state to the importance of a highly skilled, flexible and competitive work force.

(3) There is created the Mississippi Training and Education Marketing Board to be domiciled in the City of Jackson. The board shall be composed of fifteen (15) members: one (1) member shall be the Commissioner of Higher Education, or his designee; one (1) member shall be the Executive Director of the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, or his designee; one (1) member shall be the State Superintendent of Public Education, or his designee; one (1) member shall be the private sector Co-Chair of the State Work force Development Council; one (1) member shall be the Chairman of the Mississippi Education Council; ten (10) members shall be composed of (a) representatives of business in the state who are owners of business, chief executives or operating officers of business, (b) representatives of secondary and postsecondary educational institutions, (c) representatives of organizations that have experience with respect to youth activities, and (d) representatives of organizations that have experience and expertise with respect to work force skills development. A majority of the members of the state board shall be representatives of business. The members of the board shall represent diverse regions of the state and diverse population groups of the state. The appointment of the members of the board shall be made by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. All appointments shall be made within sixty (60) days after the effective date of this act, for terms of six (6) years. Each member shall serve after the completion of his term until the successor is appointed and duly qualified. Each vacancy shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term. The chairman shall be designated by the Governor from among its members.

(4) A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business and the carrying out of the duties of the board. No member shall receive any salary, but each member shall receive per diem compensation as authorized in Section 25-3-69 and shall be reimbursed for expenses in the manner and amount specified in Section 25-3-41. The board shall meet on the call of its chairman or at the request of a majority of its members, but in any event the board shall meet not less than four (4) times in each year.

(5) The Mississippi Training and Education Marketing Board shall be and is declared and created a corporate body. The board shall have the power to contract and be contracted with and shall have and possess all the powers of a body corporate for all purposes necessary for fully carrying out the provisions of this section. The board shall adopt a corporate seal by which it shall authenticate its proceedings. Copies of the proceedings, records and acts of the board and certificates purporting to relate the facts concerning such proceedings, records and acts signed by the chairman of the board and authenticated by the seal shall be prima facie evidence thereof in all courts of the state.

(6) The board shall plan and conduct campaigns for advertising parent, student and worker information and promotion to increase the participating in training and education programs, to make aware career and job skill and education requirements, trends earning potentials, advancements and other such relevant information. The board may contract for any advertising parent, student and worker information and promotion services. To accomplish those purposes, the board shall disseminate information:

(a) Relating to training and education programs within the state and nation and the importance thereof in the selection of careers and jobs.

(b) On the various economic aspects relating to the careers and job trends and opportunities in Mississippi.

(c) To decide upon some distinctive and suggestive emblem for Mississippi trained and educated workers and to promote the use of same in the advertisement and promotion of Mississippi workers.

(7) The powers and duties of the board shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) To adopt, alter, rescind, modify or amend the rules and regulations necessary for the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties. Those rules and regulations shall have the force and effect of law when not inconsistent with the law.

(b) Employ such personnel as it deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this section and to fix and pay the salaries thereof, including technical and professional services on a fee basis when necessary.

(c) Make such advertising contracts and other agreements as it deems appropriate including particularly cooperative agreements with other advertisers of similar products.

(d) Make cooperative agreements with the various local state and federal agencies and entities in the marketing and promotion of training and education. The board may use as much of its funds as it deems necessary for matching monies available from any of the local state and federal agencies or political subdivisions thereof.

(e) Seek grants, donations, contributions, including in-kind services from state and federal agencies and from state and national nonprofit corporations and foundations.

(f) Keep books, records and accounts of all its proceedings, which shall be open to the inspection and audit by the State Auditor at all times.

(g) Purchase or authorize the purchase of all office equipment and supplies and to incur all other reasonable and necessary expenses and obligations necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2004.