HB1279 - Conference Report

SECTION 1. Section 27-103-125, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-103-125. The proposed budget of each state agency shall show the amounts required for operating expenses separately from the amounts required for permanent improvements. The overall budget shall show, separately by each source, the estimated amount of general fund revenue and of special fund revenues of general fund agencies. The total proposed expenditures in Part 1 of the overall budget shall not exceed the amount of estimated revenues that will be available in the general and special funds for appropriation or use during the succeeding fiscal year, including any balances that will be on hand in the general and special funds at the close of the then current fiscal year. * * * The total proposed expenditures from the State General Fund in Part 1 of the overall budget shall not exceed ninety-eight percent (98%) of the amount of general fund revenue estimate for the succeeding fiscal year, plus any unencumbered balances in general funds that will be available and on hand at the close of the then current fiscal year. However, for fiscal years 2004 and 2005 only, the total proposed expenditures from the State General Fund in Part 1 of the overall budget shall not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the amount of the general fund revenue estimate for the succeeding fiscal year, plus any unencumbered balances in general funds that will be available and on hand at the close of the then current fiscal year. The general fund revenue estimate shall be the estimate jointly adopted by the Governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Unencumbered balances in general funds that will be available and on hand at the close of the current fiscal year shall not include projected amounts required to be deposited into the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund under Section 27-103-203. The Legislative Budget Office may recommend additional taxes or sources of revenue if in its judgment those additional funds are necessary to adequately support the functions of the state government.

SECTION 2. Section 27-103-139, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-103-139. On or before November 15 preceding each regular session of the Legislature, except the first regular session of a new term of office, the Governor shall submit to the members of the Legislature, the Legislative Budget Office or the members-elect, as the case may be, and to the executive head of each state agency a balanced budget for the succeeding fiscal year. * * * The budget submitted shall be prepared in a format that will include performance measurement data associated with the various programs operated by each agency. The total proposed expenditures in the balanced budget shall not exceed the amount of estimated revenues that will be available for appropriation or use during the succeeding fiscal year, including any balances that will be on hand at the close of the then current fiscal year, as determined by the revenue estimate jointly adopted by the Governor and the Legislative Budget Committee. * * * The total proposed expenditures from the State General Fund in the balanced budget shall not exceed ninety-eight percent (98%) of the amount of general fund revenue estimate for the succeeding fiscal year, plus any unencumbered balances in general funds that will be available and on hand at the close of the then current fiscal year. However, for fiscal years 2004 and 2005 only, the total proposed expenditures from the State General Fund in the balanced budget shall not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the amount of the general fund revenue estimate for the succeeding fiscal year, plus any unencumbered balances in general funds that will be available and on hand at the close of the then current fiscal year. The general fund revenue estimate shall be the estimate jointly adopted by the Governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Unencumbered balances in general funds that will be available and on hand at the close of the fiscal year shall not include projected amounts required to be deposited into the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund and the Education Enhancement Fund under Section 27-103-203.

The revenues used in preparing the balanced budget shall be only those revenues that will be available under the general laws of the state as they exist when the balanced budget is prepared, and shall not include any proposed revenues that would become available only after the enactment of new legislation. If the Governor has any recommendations for additional proposed expenditures or proposed revenues that are not included in his balanced budget, he shall submit those recommendations in a supplement that is separate from his balanced budget, and whenever the Governor recommends any such additional proposed expenditures, he also shall recommend proposed revenues that are sufficient to fund the additional proposed expenditures, providing specific details regarding the sources and the total amount of those proposed revenues.

The Governor may employ a budget officer for the purpose of receiving information from the State Fiscal Officer and preparing his recommendations on the budget. If the Governor determines that information received from the State Fiscal Officer is not sufficient to enable him to prepare his budget recommendations, he may request an appropriation from the Legislature to provide additional staff within the Governor's Office for that purpose. At the first regular session after his election for Governor, the Governor shall submit any budget recommendations plus the required revenue source recommendations no later than January 31 of that year.

SECTION 3. Section 27-103-211, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-103-211. * * * The total sum appropriated by the Legislature from the State General Fund for any fiscal year shall not exceed ninety-eight percent (98%) of the general fund revenue estimate for that fiscal year developed by the Tax Commission and the University Research Center and adopted by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, plus any unencumbered balances in general funds that will be available and on hand at the close of the then current fiscal year. The unencumbered balances in general funds that will be available and on hand at the close of the fiscal year shall not include projected amounts required to be deposited into the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund under Section 27-103-203. However, for fiscal years 2004 and 2005 only, the total sum appropriated by the Legislature from the State General Fund shall not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the amount of the general fund revenue estimate for that fiscal year, plus any unencumbered balances in general funds that will be available and on hand at the close of the then current fiscal year.

SECTION 4. Section 27-103-135, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-103-135. (1) At such regular or special times and on such forms as the Legislative Budget Office may require, every tax or fee-collecting or other revenue-producing agency shall furnish the Legislative Budget Office with complete and detailed information as to the amount of revenue collected or otherwise received by it during the then current fiscal year, together with an estimate of the revenue that is anticipated for such succeeding periods as the Legislative Budget Office may require. In addition, each state agency that maintains funds in accounts that are not in the State Treasury shall furnish the Legislative Budget Office with detailed information about the amount of those funds that the agency has on hand and the location of those funds.

(2) At such regular or special times and on such forms as the State Fiscal Officer may require, every tax or fee-collecting or other revenue-producing agency shall furnish the Department of Finance and Administration with complete and detailed information as to the amount of revenue collected or otherwise received by it during the then current fiscal year, together with an estimate of the revenue that is anticipated for such succeeding periods as the board may require. The information required to be furnished under this section shall include all revenues from every fee, penalty, tax, assessment or other charge levied, whether authorized by law or not, and shall further include an itemized statement by the agency of the costs of services for which fees are charged, comparing the costs with revenues generated by the fees.

(3) The State Fiscal Officer shall review the information so furnished and report to the Legislature any fees that do not appear to be reasonably calculated to recover the costs of services for which the fees are charged, and any fees that are collected without legal authority.

SECTION 5. (1) Not later than September 1, 2004, each agency, department and institution of the State of Mississippi shall submit a report to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and the State Auditor on the usage of cellular telephones by the agency, department or institution during fiscal year 2004. The report shall include the number and types of cellular telephones, the annual cost of using those telephones, a listing of the positions using those telephones, and a separate justification for using each of those telephones.

(2) The Department of Audit shall review and determine the accuracy of the reports on the usage of cellular telephones during fiscal year 2004 that are submitted by state agencies, departments and institutions as required by subsection (1) of this section.

SECTION 6. The State Fiscal Officer shall transfer to the Budget Contingency Fund created in Section 27-103-301, out of the following special fund, the amount listed below during the period beginning upon the passage of this act through June 30, 2004:

Agency/Fund Fund No. Amount

Casino Roads Bond

Sinking Fund 397W $69,000,000.00

TOTAL $69,000,000.00

SECTION 7. (1) The State Fiscal Officer shall transfer to the Budget Contingency Fund created in Section 27-103-301, out of the following enumerated special funds, the amount listed below from each fund throughout the period beginning upon July 1, 2004, and through June 30, 2005:

Agency/Fund Fund No. Amount

Mississippi Department of

Transportation (truck

and bus permits) 3941 $ 6,000,000.00

State General Fund 102,000,000.00

Working Cash-Stabilization

Reserve Fund 8,000,000.00

Mississippi Development

Authority/State Aid Roads 34HG 500,000.00

Chiropractic Examiners Board 3849 101,239.00

Criminal Justice Fund 3086 300,000.00

Department of Marine Resources 3452 200,000.00

DFA - Employment Compensation

Revolving Fund 3644 471,958.00

DFA - Self-Insured Workers

Compensation Fund 3642 2,715,295.00

DPS - Emergency

Telecommunications Standards

and Training Board 3744 671,292.00

Engineers and Land Surveyors

Board 3842 106,647.00

Department of Information

Technology Services 3601 360,430.00

Public Contractors Board 3834 351,076.00

State Fire Academy 3502 152,756.00

Treasury - Unclaimed Property

Fund 3178 1,000,000.00

UM - State Court Education

Program 3257 150,000.00

Department of Wildlife,

Fisheries and Parks 3462

and/or 3464,

and/or 3461 2,000,000.00

Department of Finance and

Administration 3931 6,884,235.00

Insurance Department Fees

and Assessments Fund 3501 2,000,000.00

TOTAL $133,964,928.00

(2) The funds required to be transferred from the Department of Finance and Administration's Fund No. 3931 in subsection (1) of this section shall be derived from the following projects:

Project No. Amount

412 - 149 $ 866,136.13

412 - 150 $1,562,064.30

412 - 160 $ 23,730.85

421 - 069 $ 255,331.00

421 - 070 $ 950,433.95

421 - 072 $ 433,294.95

421 - 073 $ 495,100.00

422 - 142 $ 859,643.82

601 - 071 $ 600,000.00

601 - 098 $ 382,000.00

601 - 099 $ 456,500.00

TOTAL $6,884,235.00

(3) The funds required to be transferred from the Insurance Department's Fund No. 3501 in subsection (1) of this section shall be derived from funds transferred to the Insurance Department under Section 83-21-21(9), Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended by House Bill No. 834, 2004 Regular Session.

(4) During the period beginning upon July 1, 2004, and through June 30, 2005, the Board of Levee Commissioners of the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee District, upon demand of the State Fiscal Officer, shall transfer to the State Treasurer a sum or sums not exceeding a total of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00), which shall be deposited into the Budget Contingency Fund.

SECTION 8. (1) During the period beginning upon July 1, 2004, and until June 30, 2005, the State Fiscal Officer shall transfer to the Budget Contingency Fund created in Section 27-103-301, from the aggregate of special funds in the State Treasury, an amount equal to Eighty-three Million Four Hundred Thousand Dollars ($83,400,000.00). Not later than July 31, 2004, the State Fiscal Officer shall notify each agency that is subject to the provisions of this section of the total amount of funds that the agency shall transfer during the fiscal year and the time period or periods within which the funds must be transferred. The funds shall be transferred in accordance with a schedule established by the State Fiscal Officer, but the total amount transferred in any one (1) month shall not exceed Twenty Million Eight Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($20,850,000.00).

(2) The State Fiscal Officer shall determine which special funds shall be transferred to the Budget Contingency Fund at any time under this section and shall notify the appropriate agencies, except that the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund, trust funds, bond proceed funds, federal funds, special-source funds used to match federal funds, special-source funds to the credit of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, special-source funds to the credit of the Department of Mental Health derived from client care, and special-source funds to the credit of the Telecommunications Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund established under Section 27-38-7, shall be exempt from any required transfer under this section. Upon notification from the State Fiscal Officer, the agency shall make the transfer from its special funds as required by the State Fiscal Officer.

SECTION 9. Section 27-65-75, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-65-75. On or before the fifteenth day of each month, the revenue collected under the provisions of this chapter during the preceding month shall be paid and distributed as follows:

(1) On or before August 15, 1992, and each succeeding month thereafter through July 15, 1993, eighteen percent (18%) of the total sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter, except that collected under the provisions of Sections 27-65-15, 27-65-19(3) and 27-65-21, on business activities within a municipal corporation shall be allocated for distribution to the municipality and paid to the municipal corporation. On or before August 15, 1993, and each succeeding month thereafter, eighteen and one-half percent (18-1/2%) of the total sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter, except that collected under the provisions of Sections 27-65-15, 27-65-19(3) and 27-65-21, on business activities within a municipal corporation shall be allocated for distribution to the municipality and paid to the municipal corporation.

A municipal corporation, for the purpose of distributing the tax under this subsection, shall mean and include all incorporated cities, towns and villages.

Monies allocated for distribution and credited to a municipal corporation under this subsection may be pledged as security for any loan received by the municipal corporation for the purpose of capital improvements as authorized under Section 57-1-303, or loans as authorized under Section 57-44-7, or water systems improvements as authorized under Section 41-3-16.

In any county having a county seat that is not an incorporated municipality, the distribution provided under this subsection shall be made as though the county seat was an incorporated municipality; however, the distribution to the municipality shall be paid to the county treasury in which the municipality is located, and those funds shall be used for road, bridge and street construction or maintenance in the county.

(2) On or before September 15, 1987, and each succeeding month thereafter, from the revenue collected under this chapter during the preceding month One Million One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($1,125,000.00) shall be allocated for distribution to municipal corporations as defined under subsection (1) of this section in the proportion that the number of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel sold by distributors to consumers and retailers in each such municipality during the preceding fiscal year bears to the total gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel sold by distributors to consumers and retailers in municipalities statewide during the preceding fiscal year. The State Tax Commission shall require all distributors of gasoline and diesel fuel to report to the commission monthly the total number of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel sold by them to consumers and retailers in each municipality during the preceding month. The State Tax Commission shall have the authority to promulgate such rules and regulations as is necessary to determine the number of gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel sold by distributors to consumers and retailers in each municipality. In determining the percentage allocation of funds under this subsection for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1987, and ending June 30, 1988, the State Tax Commission may consider gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel sold for a period of less than one (1) fiscal year. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "fiscal year" means the fiscal year beginning July 1 of a year.

(3) On or before September 15, 1987, and on or before the fifteenth day of each succeeding month, until the date specified in Section 65-39-35, the proceeds derived from contractors' taxes levied under Section 27-65-21 on contracts for the construction or reconstruction of highways designated under the highway program created under Section 65-3-97 shall, except as otherwise provided in Section 31-17-127, be deposited into the State Treasury to the credit of the State Highway Fund to be used to fund that highway program. The Mississippi Department of Transportation shall provide to the State Tax Commission such information as is necessary to determine the amount of proceeds to be distributed under this subsection.

(4) On or before August 15, 1994, and on or before the fifteenth day of each succeeding month through July 15, 1999, from the proceeds of gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes as provided in Section 27-5-101(a)(ii)1, Four Million Dollars ($4,000,000.00) shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of a special fund designated as the "State Aid Road Fund," created by Section 65-9-17. On or before August 15, 1999, and on or before the fifteenth day of each succeeding month, from the total amount of the proceeds of gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes apportioned by Section 27-5-101(a)(ii)1, Four Million Dollars ($4,000,000.00) or an amount equal to twenty-three and one-fourth percent (23.25%) of those funds, whichever is the greater amount, shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of the "State Aid Road Fund," created by Section 65-9-17. Those funds shall be pledged to pay the principal of and interest on state aid road bonds heretofore issued under Sections 19-9-51 through 19-9-77, in lieu of and in substitution for the funds previously allocated to counties under this section. Those funds may not be pledged for the payment of any state aid road bonds issued after April 1, 1981; however, this prohibition against the pledging of any such funds for the payment of bonds shall not apply to any bonds for which intent to issue those bonds has been published, for the first time, as provided by law before March 29, 1981. From the amount of taxes paid into the special fund under this subsection and subsection (9) of this section, there shall be first deducted and paid the amount necessary to pay the expenses of the Office of State Aid Road Construction, as authorized by the Legislature for all other general and special fund agencies. The remainder of the fund shall be allocated monthly to the several counties in accordance with the following formula:

(a) One-third (1/3) shall be allocated to all counties in equal shares;

(b) One-third (1/3) shall be allocated to counties based on the proportion that the total number of rural road miles in a county bears to the total number of rural road miles in all counties of the state; and

(c) One-third (1/3) shall be allocated to counties based on the proportion that the rural population of the county bears to the total rural population in all counties of the state, according to the latest federal decennial census.

For the purposes of this subsection, the term "gasoline, diesel fuel or kerosene taxes" means such taxes as defined in paragraph (f) of Section 27-5-101.

The amount of funds allocated to any county under this subsection for any fiscal year after fiscal year 1994 shall not be less than the amount allocated to the county for fiscal year 1994. Monies allocated to a county from the State Aid Road Fund for fiscal year 1995 or any fiscal year thereafter that exceed the amount of funds allocated to that county from the State Aid Road Fund for fiscal year 1994, first must be expended by the county for replacement or rehabilitation of bridges on the state aid road system that have a sufficiency rating of less than twenty-five (25), according to National Bridge Inspection standards before the monies may be approved for expenditure by the State Aid Road Engineer on other projects that qualify for the use of state aid road funds.

Any reference in the general laws of this state or the Mississippi Code of 1972 to Section 27-5-105 shall mean and be construed to refer and apply to subsection (4) of Section 27-65-75.

(5) One Million Six Hundred Sixty-six Thousand Six Hundred Sixty-six Dollars ($1,666,666.00) each month shall be paid into the special fund known as the "State Public School Building Fund" created and existing under the provisions of Sections 37-47-1 through 37-47-67. Those payments into that fund are to be made on the last day of each succeeding month hereafter.

(6) An amount each month beginning August 15, 1983, through November 15, 1986, as specified in Section 6 of Chapter 542, Laws of 1983, shall be paid into the special fund known as the Correctional Facilities Construction Fund created in Section 6 of Chapter 542, Laws of 1983.

(7) On or before August 15, 1992, and each succeeding month thereafter through July 15, 2000, two and two hundred sixty-six one-thousandths percent (2.266%) of the total sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter, except that collected under the provisions of Section 27-65-17(2) shall be deposited by the commission into the School Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund created under Section 37-61-35. On or before August 15, 2000, and each succeeding month thereafter, two and two hundred sixty-six one-thousandths percent (2.266%) of the total sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter, except that collected under the provisions of Section 27-65-17(2), shall be deposited into the School Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund created under Section 37-61-35 until such time that the total amount deposited into the fund during a fiscal year equals Forty-two Million Dollars ($42,000,000.00). Thereafter, the amounts diverted under this subsection (7) during the fiscal year in excess of Forty-two Million Dollars ($42,000,000.00) shall be deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund created under Section 37-61-33 for appropriation by the Legislature as other education needs and shall not be subject to the percentage appropriation requirements set forth in Section 37-61-33.

(8) On or before August 15, 1992, and each succeeding month thereafter, nine and seventy-three one-thousandths percent (9.073%) of the total sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter, except that collected under the provisions of Section 27-65-17(2), shall be deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund created under Section 37-61-33.

(9) On or before August 15, 1994, and each succeeding month thereafter, from the revenue collected under this chapter during the preceding month, Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00) shall be paid into the State Aid Road Fund.

(10) On or before August 15, 1994, and each succeeding month thereafter through August 15, 1995, from the revenue collected under this chapter during the preceding month, Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) shall be deposited into the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund established in Section 27-51-105.

(11) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, on or before February 15, 1995, and each succeeding month thereafter, the sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of Section 27-65-17(2) and the corresponding levy in Section 27-65-23 on the rental or lease of private carriers of passengers and light carriers of property as defined in Section 27-51-101 shall be deposited, without diversion, into the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund established in Section 27-51-105.

(12) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, on or before August 15, 1995, and each succeeding month thereafter, the sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of Section 27-65-17(1) on retail sales of private carriers of passengers and light carriers of property, as defined in Section 27-51-101 and the corresponding levy in Section 27-65-23 on the rental or lease of these vehicles, shall be deposited, after diversion, into the Motor Vehicle Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund established in Section 27-51-105.

(13) On or before July 15, 1994, and on or before the fifteenth day of each succeeding month thereafter, that portion of the avails of the tax imposed in Section 27-65-22 that is derived from activities held on the Mississippi state fairgrounds complex, shall be paid into a special fund that is created in the State Treasury and shall be expended upon legislative appropriation solely to defray the costs of repairs and renovation at the Trade Mart and Coliseum.

(14) On or before August 15, 1998, and each succeeding month thereafter through July 15, 2005, that portion of the avails of the tax imposed in Section 27-65-23 that is derived from sales by cotton compresses or cotton warehouses and that would otherwise be paid into the General Fund, shall be deposited in an amount not to exceed Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) into the special fund created under Section 69-37-39.

(15) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, on or before September 15, 2000, and each succeeding month thereafter, the sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of Section 27-65-19(1)(f) and (g)(i)2, shall be deposited, without diversion, into the Telecommunications Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund established in Section 27-38-7.

(16) On or before August 15, 2000, and each succeeding month thereafter, the sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter on the gross proceeds of sales of a project as defined in Section 57-30-1 shall be deposited, after all diversions except the diversion provided for in subsection (1) of this section, into the Sales Tax Incentive Fund created in Section 57-30-3.

(17) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, on or before April 15, 2002, and each succeeding month thereafter, the sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under Section 27-65-23 on sales of parking services of parking garages and lots at airports shall be deposited, without diversion, into the special fund created under Section 27-5-101(d).

(18) On or before August 15, 2005, and each succeeding month thereafter through July 15, 2006, from the sales tax revenue collected during the preceding month under the provisions of this chapter, Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,500,000.00) shall be deposited into the Special Funds Transfer Fund created in Section 4 of Chapter 556, Laws of 2003.

(19) The remainder of the amounts collected under the provisions of this chapter shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of the General Fund.

(20) It shall be the duty of the municipal officials of any municipality that expands its limits, or of any community that incorporates as a municipality, to notify the commissioner of that action thirty (30) days before the effective date. Failure to so notify the commissioner shall cause the municipality to forfeit the revenue that it would have been entitled to receive during this period of time when the commissioner had no knowledge of the action. If any funds have been erroneously disbursed to any municipality or any overpayment of tax is recovered by the taxpayer, the commissioner may make correction and adjust the error or overpayment with the municipality by withholding the necessary funds from any later payment to be made to the municipality.

SECTION 10. Section 4, Chapter 556, Laws of 2003, is amended as follows:

Section 4. (1) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the Special Funds Transfer Fund, which shall be comprised of the monies required to be deposited into the fund under Section 27-65-75(18) for the repayment of certain funds transferred to the Budget Contingency Fund. Upon receipt of monies deposited into the fund under Section 27-65-75(18), the State Treasurer shall transfer those monies to the special funds from which transfers were made under Sections 2 and 3 of Chapter 556, Laws of 2003.

(2) Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund on September 30, 2006, shall lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund.

SECTION 11. Section 27-25-506, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-25-506. There is * * * created a special fund in the State Treasury into which the state's share of proceeds collected under Sections 27-25-505 and 27-25-705 shall be deposited.

The state's share of all oil and gas severance taxes derived from oil and gas resources under state-owned lands or from severed state-owned minerals shall be deposited into the State Treasury to the credit of the trust fund created in Section 206A, Mississippi Constitution of 1890. The following amounts of the remainder of tax collections apportioned to the state shall be deposited to the credit of the trust fund created in Section 206A, Mississippi Constitution of 1890:

(a) For fiscal year 1994, all amounts collected in excess of Thirty-five Million Dollars ($35,000,000.00);

(b) For fiscal year 1995, all amounts collected in excess of Thirty-two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($32,500,000.00);

(d) For fiscal year 1997, all amounts collected in excess of Twenty-seven Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($27,500,000.00);

(e) For fiscal year 1998, all amounts collected in excess of Twenty-five Million Dollars ($25,000,000.00);

(f) For fiscal year 1999, all amounts collected in excess of Twenty Million Dollars ($20,000,000.00);

(g) For fiscal year 2000, all amounts collected in excess of Fifteen Million Dollars ($15,000,000.00);

(h) For fiscal year 2001 through December 31, 2000, all amounts collected and transferred in excess of Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00);

(i) For fiscal year 2005, all amounts collected in excess of Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00);

(j) For fiscal year 2006, all amounts collected in excess of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00); and

(k) For fiscal year 2007 and each fiscal year thereafter, all such tax collections apportioned to the state shall be deposited to the credit of the trust fund.

The monies collected under paragraphs (a) through (j) of this section that are not deposited into the trust fund shall be deposited into the State General Fund. For fiscal year 2005, the monies not deposited into the State General Fund shall be deposited into the Budget Contingency Fund created in Section 27-103-301. All monies deposited into the Budget Contingency Fund under this section shall be appropriated by the Legislature for the support of the * * * Mississippi Adequate Education Program * * *.

SECTION 12. Section 43-13-407, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended by House Bill No. 438, 2004 Regular Session, is amended as follows:

43-13-407. (1) In accordance with the purposes of this article, there is established in the State Treasury the Health Care Expendable Fund, into which shall be transferred from the Health Care Trust Fund the following sums:

(a) In fiscal year 2005, Two Hundred Sixteen Million Dollars ($216,000,000.00);

(b) In fiscal year 2006, One Hundred Eighty-six Million Dollars ($186,000,000.00);

(d) In fiscal year 2008, One Hundred Six Million Dollars ($106,000,000.00);

(e) In fiscal year 2009, Sixty-six Million Dollars ($66,000,000.00);

* * *

(f) In fiscal year 2010 and each fiscal year thereafter, a sum equal to the average annual amount of the dividends, interest and other income, including increases in value of the principal, earned on the funds in the Health Care Trust Fund during the preceding four (4) fiscal years.

(2) In any fiscal year in which interest, dividends and other income from the investment of the funds in the Health Care Trust Fund are not sufficient to fund the full amount of the annual transfer into the Health Care Expendable Fund as required in subsection (1)(f) of this section, the State Treasurer shall transfer from tobacco settlement installment payments an amount that is sufficient to fully fund the amount of the annual transfer.

(3) (a) On March 6, 2002, the State Treasurer shall transfer the sum of Eighty-seven Million Dollars ($87,000,000.00) from the Health Care Trust Fund into the Health Care Expendable Fund. In addition, at the time the State of Mississippi receives the tobacco settlement installment payments for each of the calendar years 2002 and 2003 * * *, the State Treasurer shall deposit the full amount of each of those installment payments into the Health Care Expendable Fund.

(b) If during any fiscal year after March 6, 2002, the general fund revenues received by the state exceed the general fund revenues received during the previous fiscal year by more than five percent (5%), the Legislature shall repay to the Health Care Trust Fund one-third (1/3) of the amount of the general fund revenues that exceed the five percent (5%) growth in general fund revenues. The repayment required by this paragraph shall continue in each fiscal year in which there is more than five percent (5%) growth in general fund revenues, until the full amount of the funds that were transferred and deposited into the Health Care Expendable Fund under the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection have been repaid to the Health Care Trust Fund.

(4) All income from the investment of the funds in the Health Care Expendable Fund shall be credited to the account of the Health Care Expendable Fund. Any funds in the Health Care Expendable Fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund.

(5) The funds in the Health Care Expendable Fund shall be available for expenditure under specific appropriation by the Legislature beginning in fiscal year 2000, and shall be expended exclusively for health care purposes.

(6) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section may not be changed in any manner except upon amendment to that subsection by a bill enacted by the Legislature with a vote of not less than three-fifths (3/5) of the members of each house present and voting.

(7) Subsections (1), (2), (4) and (5) of this section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2009.

SECTION 13. (1) For the period beginning upon the effective date of this section and through June 30, 2005, the personnel actions of the Mississippi Department of Corrections regarding employees at the central offices of the department, the State Penitentiary at Parchman and the Central Correctional Facility in Rankin County shall be exempt from State Personnel Board procedures. However, all new employees of the Department of Corrections at those locations shall meet the criteria of the State Personnel Board that presently exists for employment. Whenever an employee at any of those locations is dismissed or involuntarily terminated under the authority of this section during that period of time, that employee's position shall be eliminated.

(2) The Department of Corrections shall consult with the Office of the Attorney General before taking personnel actions permitted by this section to review those actions for compliance with applicable state and federal law.

SECTION 14. Section 27-3-79, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended by House Bill No. 611, 2004 Regular Session, is amended as follows:

27-3-79. (1) The State Tax Commission shall develop and implement a tax amnesty program in accordance with the provisions of this section. The program shall begin on September 1, 2004, and end on December 31, 2004. The program shall apply to all taxes that are required to be collected by the State Tax Commission or commissioner and that were first due and payable for the year 1999 and after. Tax amnesty shall be available to any individuals or corporations who are liable for those taxes and who have failed to pay all or any portion of their taxes, failed to file returns or filed inaccurate returns; however, tax amnesty shall not be available to individuals or corporations subject to tax-related criminal investigations or prosecution, or where the taxes have been previously assessed by the commission, or to estimated tax payments required to be made under Section 27-7-319. All civil and criminal penalties for nonpayment of taxes, including the penalties set forth in subsection (2) of this section, shall be waived for any eligible individual or corporation who, during the tax amnesty period, makes total payment of the taxes due. The State Tax Commission is authorized to do all things necessary to carry out the tax amnesty programs that are not inconsistent with this section.

(2) Any person eligible for the tax amnesty program and who fails to make total payment of the taxes due during the tax amnesty period, or any person who willfully attempts in any manner to evade or defeat any tax imposed by the State Tax Commission, or assists in the evading of that tax or the payment thereof, including violations determined under Section 1 of House Bill No. 611, 2004 Regular Session, shall, in addition to other penalties provided by law, be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) and, in the case of a corporation, not more than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00), or imprisoned not more than five (5) years, or both.

(3) Any prosecutions for tax evasion as described in this section shall be begun within six (6) years next after the statutory due date for the taxes in issue.

SECTION 15. During the period beginning upon July 1, 2004, and through June 30, 2005, any interest earned on state-source special funds to the credit of the Mississippi Department of Transportation shall be deposited by the State Treasurer into the State General Fund.

SECTION 16. Section 65-1-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

65-1-111. All monies from any source provided by law shall be covered and paid into the State Treasury as other public funds are paid, and it shall be the duty of the Department of Finance and Administration to advise the Mississippi Transportation Commission of the amount of money allotted to the commission on hand from time to time. It shall be the duty of the Department of Finance and Administration to place and allocate those funds so covered into the State Treasury in the State Highway Fund. The interest earned on the investment of any highway funds shall be paid into the State Highway Fund, except as otherwise provided in Section 16 of this act. If any highway bonds or notes are issued, the Transportation Commission will adopt a resolution requesting the Bond Commission to issue such bonds or notes as may be authorized and a "bond and interest sinking fund" and "note fund" shall * * * be kept separate from the highway fund by the State Treasurer pursuant to the bond resolution adopted by the State of Mississippi Bond Commission.

SECTION 17. Section 41-29-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

41-29-107. (1) There is * * * created within the Mississippi Department of Public Safety an office to be known as the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics * * *. The office shall have * * * a director who shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Public Safety. The commissioner may assign to the appropriate offices of the department such powers and duties deemed appropriate to carry out the lawful functions of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.

(2) The Commissioner of Public Safety is empowered to employ or appoint necessary agents. The commissioner may also employ such secretarial, clerical and administrative personnel, including a duly licensed attorney, as necessary for the operation of the bureau, and shall have such quarters, equipment and facilities as needed. The salary and qualifications of the attorney authorized by this section shall be fixed by the director, but the salary shall not exceed the salary authorized for an assistant attorney general who performs similar duties.

(3) The director and agents so appointed shall be citizens of the United States and of the State of Mississippi, and of good moral character. The agents shall be not less than twenty-one (21) nor shall have attained the age of thirty-six (36) years of age at the time of such appointment. In addition thereto, those appointed shall have satisfactorily completed at least two (2) years of college studies. However, two (2) years of satisfactory service as a law enforcement officer and the completion of the prescribed course of study at a school operated by the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, United States Justice Department, shall satisfy one (1) year of such college studies, and four (4) years of satisfactory service as a law enforcement officer and the completion of the prescribed course of study at such federal bureau school as stated heretofore shall fully satisfy the two (2) years of college requirement. The director shall also be required to complete a prescribed course of study at a school operated by the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, United States Justice Department.

During the period of the first twelve (12) months after appointment, any employee of the bureau shall be subject to dismissal at the will of the director. After twelve (12) months' service, no employee of the bureau shall be subject to dismissal unless charges have been filed with the director, showing cause for dismissal of the employee of the bureau. A date shall be set for hearing before the director and the employee notified in writing of the date of such hearing and of the charges filed. The hearing shall be held not less than ten (10) days after notification to the employee. After the hearing, at which the employee shall be entitled to legal counsel, a written order of the director shall be necessary for dismissal and the decision shall be final. Any such order of the director shall be a public record and subject to inspection as such.

(4) The Commissioner of Public Safety may assign members of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, regardless of age, to the bureau * * *; however, when any highway patrolman or other employee, agent or official of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety is assigned to duty with, or is employed by, the bureau, he shall not be subject to assignment or transfer to any other office or department within the Mississippi Department of Public Safety except by the commissioner. Any highway patrolman assigned to duty with the bureau shall retain his status as a highway patrolman, but shall be under the supervision of the director. For purposes of seniority within the Highway Safety Patrol and for purposes of retirement under the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System, highway patrolmen assigned to the bureau will be credited as if performing duty with the Highway Safety Patrol. The commissioner may assign employees of the Highway Safety Patrol to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and may assign agents of the bureau to the Highway Safety Patrol; however, any employees so assigned must meet all established requirements for the duties to which they are assigned.

(5) The Commissioner of Public Safety may enter into contracts or agreements with the State Board of Health for purposes of recruitment and screening of applicants through the merit system.

(6) The Commissioner of Public Safety may enter into agreements with bureaus or departments of other states or of the United States for the exchange or temporary assignment of agents for special undercover assignments and for performance of specific duties.

(7) The Commissioner of Public Safety may assign agents of the bureau to such duty and to request and accept agents from such other bureaus or departments for such duty.

(8) (a) All funds, property and/or PINs belonging to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics are transferred to the Department of Public Safety on July 1, 2004. Any funds, property or PINs that are appropriated to or otherwise received by the bureau, or appropriated to, transferred to or otherwise received by the Department of Public Safety for the use of the bureau, shall be budgeted and maintained by the department as funds of the department. Personnel occupying PINs transferred from the bureau to the department shall serve on a probationary basis during the twelve (12) months after July 1, 2004.

(b) In transferring the responsibilities of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics to the Department of Public Safety, the commissioner and the director of the bureau shall develop and implement written security precautions that shall be observed by all affected employees. The commissioner and the director shall review, modify and approve the plan before the effective date of the merger of responsibilities of the bureau and the department.

SECTION 18. Section 41-29-108, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

41-29-108. (1) The Commissioner of Public Safety is * * * authorized to accept vehicles which may be available from the federal government for use in enforcement of this article. The commissioner is further authorized to expend reasonable funds from any funds appropriated for the bureau for the delivery, repair and maintenance of such automobiles.

(2) The commissioner is further authorized to rent or lease motor vehicles for undercover missions. Such vehicles shall be used only on specified missions and not as additions to the regularly authorized and budgeted vehicles of the bureau.

SECTION 19. Section 41-29-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

41-29-111. The Commissioner of Public Safety shall administer this article and shall work in conjunction and cooperation with the State Board of Pharmacy, county and municipal law enforcement agencies, the district and county attorneys, the Office of the Attorney General and the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol. The State Board of Health shall work with the bureau in an advisory capacity and shall be responsible for recommending to the Legislature the appropriate schedule for all substances to be scheduled or rescheduled in Sections 41-29-113 through 41-29-121. In making a recommendation regarding a substance, the board shall consider the following:

(a) (i) The actual or relative potential for abuse;

(ii) The scientific evidence of its pharmacological effect, if known;

(iii) The state of current scientific knowledge regarding the substance;

(iv) The history and current pattern of abuse;

(v) The scope, duration and significance of abuse;

(vi) The risk to the public health;

(vii) The potential of the substance to produce psychic or physiological dependence liability; and

(viii) Whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled under this article.

(b) After considering the factors enumerated in paragraph (a), the board shall make findings with respect thereto and issue a recommendation to control the substance if it finds the substance has a potential for abuse.

(c) If the board designates a substance as an immediate precursor, substances that are precursors of the controlled precursor shall not be recommended for control solely because they are precursors of the controlled precursor.

(d) If any substance is designated, rescheduled, or deleted as a controlled substance under federal law and notice thereof is given to the board, it shall recommend the control of the substance under this article at the next session of the Legislature.

(e) Authority to control under this article does not extend to distilled spirits, wine, malt beverages, or tobacco as those terms are defined or used in the Local Option Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, being Sections 67-1-1 through 67-1-91, and the Tobacco Tax Law of 1934, being Sections 27-69-1 through 27-69-77. It is the intent of the Legislature of the State of Mississippi that the bureau shall concentrate its efforts and resources on the enforcement of the Uniform Controlled Substances Law with respect to illicit narcotic and drug traffic in the state.

The controlled substances listed in the schedules in Sections 41-29-113 through 41-29-121 are included by whatever official, common, usual, chemical or trade name designated.

(f) The board shall recommend the exclusion of any nonnarcotic substance from a schedule if such substance may, under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the laws of this state, be lawfully sold over the counter without a prescription.

SECTION 20. Section 45-1-2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

45-1-2. (1) The Executive Director of the Department of Public Safety shall be the Commissioner of Public Safety.

(2) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall establish the organizational structure of the Department of Public Safety, which shall include the creation of any units necessary to implement the duties assigned to the department and consistent with specific requirements of law, including, but not limited to:

(a) Office of Public Safety Planning;

(b) Office of Medical Examiner;

(d) Office of Crime Laboratories;

(e) Office of Law Enforcement Officers' Training Academy;

(f) Office of Support Services;

(g) Office of Narcotics, which shall be known as the Bureau of Narcotics; and

(h) Office of Homeland Security.

(3) The department shall be headed by a commissioner, who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The appointment of the commissioner shall be made with the advice and consent of the Senate. The commissioner may assign to the appropriate offices such powers and duties as deemed appropriate to carry out the department's lawful functions.

(4) The commissioner of the department shall appoint heads of offices, who shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner. The commissioner shall have the authority to organize the offices established by subsection (2) of this section as deemed appropriate to carry out the responsibilities of the department. The organization charts of the department shall be presented annually with the budget request of the Governor for review by the Legislature.

(5) The commissioner of the department shall appoint, from within the Department of Public Safety, a statewide safety training officer who shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner and whose duty it shall be to perform public training for both law enforcement and private persons throughout the state concerning proper emergency response to the mentally ill, terroristic threats or acts, domestic conflict, other conflict resolution, and such other matters as the commissioner may direct.

SECTION 21. Section 1, Chapter 520, Laws of 1972, which provides that funds appropriated to the Bureau of Narcotics shall be kept separate from the funds of the Department of Public Safety, is repealed.

SECTION 22. Section 77-1-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

77-1-21. (1) For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of the Mississippi Motor Carrier Regulatory Law of 1938, the Mississippi Department of Transportation is * * * authorized to employ, in addition to personnel already employed by the department, one (1) chief enforcement officer and twenty-one (21) inspectors, who shall be under the management of the department. The chief enforcement officer and the inspectors shall devote their full time to the performance of their duties and shall take an oath faithfully to perform the duties of their position. The department shall require bonds to be carried on such employees as the department may deem necessary, the cost thereof to be paid by the department. The chief enforcement officer and inspectors shall be qualified by experience and training in law enforcement or investigative work, and shall attend and satisfactorily complete an appropriate course of instruction established by the Commissioner of Public Safety at the Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy. The chief enforcement officer and the inspectors * * * referred to in this section shall be selected after an examination as to physical and mental fitness. Such employees shall be citizens of the United States and the State of Mississippi, and of good moral character. All such members of staff shall be appointed by the Mississippi Department of Transportation and shall be subject to removal at any time by the department.

(2) The Public Service Commission shall transfer all employees, equipment, inventory and resources of the commission employed and used to enforce the Motor Carrier Regulatory Law of 1938 to the Mississippi Department of Transportation on July 1, 2004. The transfer of personnel shall be commensurate with the number and classification of positions allocated to that law enforcement. The transfer also shall include direct support, clerical, data processing and communications positions allocated to that law enforcement.

(3) The Public Service Commission shall transfer to the Mississippi Department of Transportation each year the amount of funds necessary to support the law enforcement functions being performed for the commission by the department, as specified in the appropriation bill for the Public Service Commission.

(4) Any reference in any statute, rule or regulation to law enforcement duties being performed by the Public Service Commission shall be construed to mean law enforcement duties being performed for the commission by the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

SECTION 23. Section 75-76-129, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

[Through June 30, 2022, this section shall read as follows:]

75-76-129. On or before the last day of each month all taxes, fees, interest, penalties, damages, fines or other monies collected by the State Tax Commission during that month under the provisions of this chapter, with the exception of (a) the local government fees imposed under Section 75-76-195, and (b) an amount equal to Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00) of the revenue collected pursuant to the fee imposed under Section 75-76-177(1)(c), or an amount equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of the revenue collected pursuant to the fee imposed under Section 75-76-177(1)(c), whichever is the greater amount, shall be paid by the State Tax Commission to the State Treasurer to be deposited in the State General Fund. The local government fees shall be distributed by the State Tax Commission pursuant to Section 75-76-197. Except for the period beginning on July 1, 2004, and through June 30, 2005, an amount equal to Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00) of the revenue collected during that month pursuant to the fee imposed under Section 75-76-177(1)(c) shall be deposited by the State Tax Commission into the bond sinking fund created in Section 65-39-3. Except for the period beginning on July 1, 2004, and through June 30, 2005, the revenue collected during that month pursuant to the fee imposed under Section 75-76-177(1)(c) that is in excess of Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00), but is less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount of revenue collected during that month, shall be deposited into the State Highway Fund to be used exclusively for the reconstruction and maintenance of highways of the State of Mississippi.

For the period beginning on July 1, 2004, and through June 30, 2005, twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount of revenue collected during each month pursuant to the fee imposed under Section 75-76-177(1)(c) shall be deposited into the Budget Contingency Fund created in Section 27-103-301.

[From and after July 1, 2022, this section shall read as follows:]

75-76-129. On or before the last day of each month, all taxes, fees, interest, penalties, damages, fines or other monies collected by the State Tax Commission during that month under the provisions of this chapter, with the exception of the local government fees imposed under Section 75-76-195, shall be paid by the State Tax Commission to the State Treasurer to be deposited in the State General Fund. The local government fees shall be distributed by the State Tax Commission pursuant to Section 75-76-197.

SECTION 24. Section 37-61-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

[Until July 1, 2005, this section shall read as follows:]

37-61-33. (1) There is created within the State Treasury a special fund to be designated the "Education Enhancement Fund" into which shall be deposited all the revenues collected pursuant to Sections 27-65-75(7) and (8) and 27-67-31(a) and (b).

(2) Of the amount deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund, Sixteen Million Dollars ($16,000,000.00) shall be appropriated each fiscal year to the State Department of Education to be distributed to all school districts. Such money shall be distributed to all school districts in the proportion that the average daily attendance of each school district bears to the average daily attendance of all school districts within the state for the following purposes:

(a) Purchasing, erecting, repairing, equipping, remodeling and enlarging school buildings and related facilities, including gymnasiums, auditoriums, lunchrooms, vocational training buildings, libraries, teachers' homes, school barns, transportation vehicles (which shall include new and used transportation vehicles) and garages for transportation vehicles, and purchasing land therefor.

(b) Establishing and equipping school athletic fields and necessary facilities connected therewith, and purchasing land therefor.

(c) Providing necessary water, light, heating, air conditioning and sewerage facilities for school buildings, and purchasing land therefor.

(d) As a pledge to pay all or a portion of the debt service on debt issued by the school district under Sections 37-59-1 through 37-59-45, 37-59-101 through 37-59-115, 37-7-351 through 37-7-359, 37-41-89 through 37-41-99, 37-7-301, 37-7-302 and 37-41-81, or debt issued by boards of supervisors for agricultural high schools pursuant to Section 37-27-65, if such pledge is accomplished pursuant to a written contract or resolution approved and spread upon the minutes of an official meeting of the district's school board or board of supervisors. The annual grant to such district in any subsequent year during the term of the resolution or contract shall not be reduced below an amount equal to the district's grant amount for the year in which the contract or resolution was adopted. The intent of this provision is to allow school districts to irrevocably pledge a certain, constant stream of revenue as security for long-term obligations issued under the code sections enumerated in this paragraph or as otherwise allowed by law. It is the intent of the Legislature that the provisions of this paragraph shall be cumulative and supplemental to any existing funding programs or other authority conferred upon school districts or school boards. Debt of a district secured by a pledge of sales tax revenue pursuant to this paragraph shall not be subject to any debt limitation contained in the foregoing enumerated code sections.

(3) The remainder of the money deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund shall be appropriated as follows:

(a) To the State Department of Education as follows:

(i) Sixteen and sixty-one one-hundredths percent (16.61%) to the cost of the adequate education program determined under Section 37-151-7; of the funds generated by the percentage set forth in this section for the support of the adequate education program, one and one hundred seventy-eight one-thousandths percent (1.178%) of the funds shall be appropriated to be used by the State Department of Education for the purchase of textbooks to be loaned under Sections 37-43-1 through 37-43-59 to approved nonpublic schools, as described in Section 37-43-1. The funds to be distributed to each nonpublic school shall be in the proportion that the average daily attendance of each nonpublic school bears to the total average daily attendance of all nonpublic schools;

(ii) Seven and ninety-seven one-hundredths percent (7.97%) to assist the funding of transportation operations and maintenance pursuant to Section 37-19-23; and

(iii) The revenue generated from nine and sixty-one one-hundredths percent (9.61%) that exceeds Fifteen Million Nine Hundred Thousand Dollars ($15,900,000.00), for classroom supplies, instructional materials and equipment, including computers and computer software, to be distributed to all school districts in the proportion that the average daily attendance of each school district bears to the average daily attendance of all school districts within the state. Classroom supply funds shall not be expended for administrative purposes. Local school districts shall allocate classroom supply funds equally among all classroom teachers in the school district. For purposes of this subparagraph, "teacher" means any employee of the school board of a school district who is required by law to obtain a teacher's license from the State Department of Education and who is assigned to an instructional area of work as defined by the department, but shall not include a federally funded teacher. Two (2) or more teachers may agree to pool their classroom supply funds for the benefit of a school within the district. It is the intent of the Legislature that all classroom teachers shall be involved in the development of a spending plan that addresses individual classroom needs and supports the overall goals of the school regarding supplies, instructional materials, equipment, computers or computer software under the provisions of this subparagraph, including the type, quantity and quality of such supplies, materials and equipment. This plan shall be submitted in writing to the school principal for approval. Classroom supply funds allocated under this subparagraph shall supplement, not replace, other local and state funds available for the same purposes. School districts need not fully expend the funds received under this subparagraph in the year in which they are received, but such funds may be carried forward for expenditure in any succeeding school year. The State Board of Education shall develop and promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of this subparagraph consistent with the above criteria, with particular emphasis on allowing the individual teachers to expend funds as they deem appropriate. The revenue generated from the percentage under this subparagraph that does not exceed Fifteen Million Nine Hundred Thousand Dollars ($15,900,000.00) shall be appropriated to the State Department of Education for the support of educational programs authorized by law;

(b) Twenty-two and nine one-hundredths percent (22.09%) to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning for the purpose of supporting institutions of higher learning; and

(c) Fourteen and forty-one one-hundredths percent (14.41%) to the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges for the purpose of providing support to community and junior colleges.

(4) The amount remaining in the Education Enhancement Fund after funds are distributed as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section shall be disbursed as follows:

(a) Twenty-five Million Dollars ($25,000,000.00) shall be deposited into the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund created pursuant to Section 27-103-203(1), until the balance in such fund reaches the maximum balance of seven and one-half percent (7-1/2%) of the General Fund appropriations in the appropriate fiscal year. After the maximum balance in the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund is reached, such money shall remain in the Education Enhancement Fund to be appropriated in the manner provided for in paragraph (b) of this subsection.

(b) The remainder shall be appropriated for other educational needs.

(5) None of the funds appropriated pursuant to subsection (3)(a) of this section shall be used to reduce the state's General Fund appropriation for the categories listed in an amount below the following amounts:

(a) For subsection (3)(a)(ii) of this section, Thirty-six Million Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars ($36,700,000.00);

(b) For the aggregate of minimum program allotments in the 1997 fiscal year, formerly provided for in Chapter 19, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, excluding those funds for transportation as provided for in subsection (5)(a) in this section.

[From and after July 1, 2005, this section reads as follows:]

(b) Establishing and equipping school athletic fields and necessary facilities connected therewith, and purchasing land therefor.

(c) Providing necessary water, light, heating, air conditioning and sewerage facilities for school buildings, and purchasing land therefor.

(3) The remainder of the money deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund shall be appropriated as follows:

(a) To the State Department of Education as follows:

(ii) Seven and ninety-seven one-hundredths percent (7.97%) to assist the funding of transportation operations and maintenance pursuant to Section 37-19-23; and

(iii) Nine and sixty-one one-hundredths percent (9.61%) for classroom supplies, instructional materials and equipment, including computers and computer software, to be distributed to all school districts in the proportion that the average daily attendance of each school district bears to the average daily attendance of all school districts within the state. Classroom supply funds shall not be expended for administrative purposes. Local school districts shall allocate classroom supply funds equally among all classroom teachers in the school district. For purposes of this subparagraph, "teacher" means any employee of the school board of a school district who is required by law to obtain a teacher's license from the State Department of Education and who is assigned to an instructional area of work as defined by the department, but shall not include a federally funded teacher. Two (2) or more teachers may agree to pool their classroom supply funds for the benefit of a school within the district. It is the intent of the Legislature that all classroom teachers shall be involved in the development of a spending plan that addresses individual classroom needs and supports the overall goals of the school regarding supplies, instructional materials, equipment, computers or computer software under the provisions of this subparagraph, including the type, quantity and quality of such supplies, materials and equipment. This plan shall be submitted in writing to the school principal for approval. Classroom supply funds allocated under this subparagraph shall supplement, not replace, other local and state funds available for the same purposes. School districts need not fully expend the funds received under this subparagraph in the year in which they are received, but such funds may be carried forward for expenditure in any succeeding school year. The State Board of Education shall develop and promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of this subparagraph consistent with the above criteria, with particular emphasis on allowing the individual teachers to expend funds as they deem appropriate;

(b) Twenty-two and nine one-hundredths percent (22.09%) to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning for the purpose of supporting institutions of higher learning; and

(c) Fourteen and forty-one one-hundredths percent (14.41%) to the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges for the purpose of providing support to community and junior colleges.

(4) The amount remaining in the Education Enhancement Fund after funds are distributed as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section shall be disbursed as follows:

(b) The remainder shall be appropriated for other educational needs.

(a) For subsection (3)(a)(ii) of this section, Thirty-six Million Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars ($36,700,000.00);

SECTION 25. Section 49-6-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

49-6-3. (1) There is * * * created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the "Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Motor Vehicle Fund." * * * All funds derived from the sale of used motor vehicles, funds transferred from the "Game and Fish Protection Fund" and any other funds which may be needed for the purchase of motor vehicles, boats and outboard motors shall be deposited into this special fund. Other funds as needed may be transferred by the commission from the department's regular support appropriation. The commission may transfer funds from the motor vehicle fund to the game and fish protection fund as needed for the operation of the department. The motor vehicle fund is a special trust fund and the interest earned thereon shall be credited to the fund.

(2) The commission shall adopt regulations for the administration of the fund. The executive director shall administer the fund and expenditures may be made from the fund upon requisition by the executive director. The department shall spend monies in the fund by an annual appropriation approved by the Legislature.

SECTION 26. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2004, except for Sections 6 and 13, which shall take effect and be in force from and after the passage of this act.


X (SIGNED)	X (SIGNED)
Johnny W. Stringer	Jack Gordon

(NOT SIGNED)	X (SIGNED)
Percy W. Watson	Travis L. Little

X (SIGNED)	X (SIGNED)
Cecil Brown	Terry C. Burton