MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2004 Regular Session
To: Appropriations
By: Representative Coleman (29th), Denny, Dickson, Green, McBride
AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF DEFRAYING THE EXPENSES OF THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR FISCAL YEAR 2005.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the State General Fund not otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the Office of the Attorney General for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004, and ending June 30, 2005
............................................ $ 5,654,600.00.
SECTION 2. The following sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any money in any special fund in the State Treasury to the credit of the Office of the Attorney General which is comprised of special source funds collected by or otherwise available to the office, for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the office for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004, and ending June 30, 2005..................................................
............................................ $ 18,506,652.00.
SECTION 3. With the funds appropriated under the provisions of Section 1 and Section 2, the following positions are authorized:
AUTHORIZED POSITIONS:
Permanent: Full Time........... 86
Part Time........... 0
Time-Limited:Full Time........... 145
Part Time........... 0
Any transfers or escalations shall be made in accordance with the terms, conditions and procedures established by law or allowable under the terms set forth within this act. The State Personnel Board shall not escalate positions without written approval from the Department of Finance and Administration. The Department of Finance and Administration shall not provide written approval to escalate any funds for salaries and/or positions without proof of availability of new or additional funds above the appropriated level.
No general funds authorized to be expended herein shall be used to replace federal funds and/or other special funds which are being used for salaries authorized under the provisions of this act and which are withdrawn and no longer available.
SECTION 4. The funds authorized herein shall be used to fund all operations of the agency with the following prohibitions:
(1) The agency shall not fill any current or future vacant positions;
(2) The agency shall not take any action to promote or otherwise award salary increases through reallocation, reclassification, realignment, education benchmark, career ladder, or any other means to increase salaries of employees or positions except as allowed under the provisions set forth in House Bill No. 1279, 2004 Regular Legislative Session;
(3) The agency shall not expend funds for out-of-state travel except as allowed under the provisions set forth in House Bill No. 1279, 2004 Regular Legislative Session;
(4) The agency shall not expend funds for the purchase of or contract for cellular phones, two-way radios or pagers, except for support of employees in the Department of Public Safety and the Bureau of Narcotics as recommended by Information Technology Services or as allowed under the provisions set forth in House Bill No. 1279, 2004 Regular Legislative Session;
(5) The agency shall not expend funds to publish or distribute any annual reports or other publications;
(6) The agency shall not expend funds for public relation activities regarding the functions, programs or services of the agency except as allowed under the provisions set forth in House Bill No. 1279, 2004 Regular Legislative Session;
(7) The agency shall not advertise the functions, programs or services of the agency except that the Mississippi Development Authority is authorized to expend funds for advertising to carry out the purposes of key programs administered by the authority;
(8) The agency shall not expend funds for staff development or training services;
(9) The agency shall not expend funds for the purchase of new or replacement equipment or furniture, excluding lease purchase payments on agreements in effect upon passage of this appropriation bill, except as allowed under the provisions set forth in House Bill No. 1279, 2004 Regular Legislative Session.
SECTION 5. It is the intention of the Legislature that none of the funds appropriated above shall be expended unless members of the Mississippi House of Representatives and Mississippi Senate are notified at least five (5) days prior to a public ceremony announcing the award of any grant in their district or any public announcement or ceremony regarding the groundbreaking or opening of a facility, roadway or bridge for which the Legislature has made funds available. Any signage regarding any public event or any new facility, roadway or bridge shall include the following language: "Funds were made available for this project by the Mississippi State Legislature."
SECTION 6. It is the intention of the Legislature that the Office of the Attorney General shall maintain complete accounting and personnel records related to the expenditure of all funds appropriated under this act and that such records shall be in the same format and level of detail as maintained for Fiscal Year 2004. It is further the intention of the Legislature that the agency's budget request for Fiscal Year 2006 shall be submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee in a format and level of detail comparable to the format and level of detail provided during the Fiscal Year 2005 budget request process.
SECTION 7. In compliance with the "Mississippi Performance Budget and Strategic Planning Act of 1994," it is the intent of the Legislature that the funds provided herein shall be utilized in the most efficient and effective manner possible to achieve the intended mission of this agency. Based on the funding authorized, this agency shall make every effort to attain the targeted performance measures provided below:
FY2005
Performance Measures Target
Support Services
Cost of Support Services as Percentage
of Budget (percent) 6.18
DFA Error Exception Slips per Month (Items) 36
Training
Approval on Prosecutors Training (percent) 95
Litigation
Minimum Affirmations of Criminal
Convictions (percent) 85
Minimum Affirmations of Death Penalty
Appeals (percent) 60
Minimum Denial of Relief in Federal
Habeas Corpus (percent) 90
Minimum Positive Results of Civil Cases (percent) 70
Minimum Positive Results of Section 1983
Cases (percent) 80
Opinions
Assigned to Attorneys in 3 Days or Less (percent) 100
Opinions Completed in 30 Days or Less (percent) 75
Good & Excellent Ratings for Training (percent) 85
State Agency Contracts
Good & Excellent Ratings for Legal
Services (percent) 80
Insurance Integrity Enforcement
Minimum Positive Results of Workers'
Compensation Cases (percent) 80
Minimum Positive Results of Insurance
Cases (percent) 80
Other Mandated Programs
Medicaid Fraud Convictions vs Dispositions(percent) 80
Medicaid Abuse Convictions vs Dispositions(percent) 80
Minimum Defendants Convicted After
Indictments (percent) 90
Response to Consumer Complaints (Days) 7
Minimum Positive Results of Consumer
Cases (percent) 75
A reporting of the degree to which the performance targets set above have been or are being achieved shall be provided in the agency's budget request submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee for Fiscal Year 2006.
SECTION 8. Of the funds appropriated under the provisions of Section 2, funds included therein which are derived from penalties and/or other funds collected by the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit shall be available for the purpose of providing the state match for federal funds available for the support of the unit, or for other lawful purposes as deemed appropriate by the Attorney General. Further, it is the intent of the Legislature that any penalties and/or other funds collected and/or expended shall be accounted for separately as to source and/or application of such funds.
SECTION 9. It is the intention of the Legislature that the Attorney General's Office charge legal fees to all agencies where such legal services are provided. The Attorney General's Office may contract these fees on a contract rate or an hourly rate, whichever is more appropriate. Contracts with the Attorney General's Office for legal services or reimbursement for hourly legal services shall not require the approval of the State Personnel Board. The Attorney General's Office is further authorized to escalate the amount of any of its major objects of expenditure in an amount not to exceed Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($750,000.00) above any amounts herein authorized, and to increase the number of authorized positions in order to provide the required legal services for such state agencies.
SECTION 10. Of the funds appropriated under the provisions of Section 2, the amount of Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($750,000.00), or so much thereof as may be necessary, shall be made available for expenditure by the Prosecutors Training Division.
SECTION 11. It is the intention of the Legislature that the Attorney General's Office shall have the authority to accept, budget and expend any source funds not to exceed Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($750,000.00), that become available to the office to carry out the provisions of those funds in a manner consistent with the rules and regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration. None of the funds authorized in this section shall be used to increase the major object of expenditure "Salaries, Wages and Fringe Benefits."
SECTION 12. No part of the money herein appropriated shall be used, either directly or indirectly, for the purpose of paying any clerk, stenographer, assistant, deputy or other person who may be related by blood or marriage within the third degree, computed by the rules of civil law, to the official employing or having the right of employment or selection thereof; and in the event of any such payment, then the official or person approving and making or receiving such payment shall be jointly and severally liable to return to the State of Mississippi and to pay into the State Treasury three (3) times any such amount so paid or received; however, when the relationship is by affinity and the person through whom the relationship was established is dead, this provision shall not apply.
SECTION 13. None of the funds appropriated by this act shall be expended for any purpose that is not actually required or necessary for performing any of the powers or duties of the Office of the Attorney General that are authorized by the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, state or federal law, or rules or regulations that implement state or federal law.
SECTION 14. The following sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the State Treasury to the credit of the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the commission for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2004 and through June 30, 2005 $ 100,000.00.
This appropriation is made for the purpose of providing funds to defray the expenses of the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women as established pursuant to Sections 43-59-1 through 43-59-14, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 15. Of the funds appropriated under the provisions of Section 2, One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) shall be derived from the Budget Contingency Fund created in Section 27-103-301, Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 16. The money herein appropriated shall be paid by the State Treasurer out of any money in the State Treasury to the credit of the proper fund or funds as set forth in this act, upon warrants issued by the State Fiscal Officer; and the State Fiscal Officer shall issue his warrants upon requisitions signed by the proper person, officer or officers, in the manner provided by law.
SECTION 17. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2004.