MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2005 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Welfare
By: Senator(s) Nunnelee
AN ACT TO REENACT SECTIONS 43-1-1, 43-1-2, 43-1-3, 43-1-5 AND 43-1-6, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH ESTABLISH THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, THE OFFICE OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT, AND THE JOINT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE OF THE DEPARTMENT AND PRESCRIBE THEIR POWERS AND DUTIES, AND WHICH WERE REPEALED BY OPERATION OF LAW ON JULY 1, 2004; TO AMEND REENACTED SECTIONS 43-1-1, 43-1-2, 43-1-3, 43-1-5 AND 43-1-6, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THOSE SECTIONS WILL STAND REPEALED ON JULY 1, 2007; TO RATIFY CERTAIN ACTIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TAKEN BETWEEN JUNE 30, 1994, AND THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 25-9-127, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR, THE PERSONNEL ACTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM CERTAIN STATE PERSONNEL BOARD PROCEDURES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 43-1-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted and amended as follows:
43-1-1. (1) The Department of Human Services shall be the State Department of Public Welfare and shall retain all powers and duties as granted to the State Department of Public Welfare. Wherever the term "State Department of Public Welfare" or "State Board of Public Welfare" appears in any law, the same shall mean the Department of Human Services. The Executive Director of the Department of Human Services may assign to the appropriate offices such powers and duties deemed appropriate to carry out the lawful functions of the department.
(2) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2007.
SECTION 2. Section 43-1-2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted and amended as follows:
43-1-2. (1) There is created the Mississippi Department of Human Services, whose offices shall be located in Jackson, Mississippi, and which shall be under the policy direction of the Governor.
(2) The chief administrative officer of the department shall be the Executive Director of Human Services. The Governor shall appoint the Executive Director of Human Services with the advice and consent of the Senate, and he shall serve at the will and pleasure of the Governor, and until his successor is appointed and qualified. The Executive Director of Human Services shall possess the following qualifications:
(a) A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher learning and ten (10) years' experience in management, public administration, finance or accounting; or
(b) A master's or doctoral degree from an accredited institution of higher learning and five (5) years' experience in management, public administration, finance or accounting.
Those qualifications shall be certified by the State Personnel Board.
(3) There shall be a Joint Oversight Committee of the Department of Human Services composed of the respective chairmen of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, the Senate Appropriations Committee, the House Public Health and Human Services Committee and the House Appropriations Committee, two (2) members of the Senate appointed by the Lieutenant Governor to serve at the will and pleasure of the Lieutenant Governor, and two (2) members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House to serve at the will and pleasure of the Speaker. The chairmanship of the committee shall alternate for twelve-month periods between the Senate members and the House members, with the Chairman of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee serving as the first chairman. The committee shall meet once each month, or upon the call of the chairman at such times as he deems necessary or advisable, and may make recommendations to the Legislature pertaining to any matter within the jurisdiction of the Mississippi Department of Human Services. The appointing authorities may designate an alternate member from their respective houses to serve when the regular designee is unable to attend such meetings of the oversight committee. For attending meetings of the oversight committee, such legislators shall receive per diem and expenses which shall be paid from the contingent expense funds of their respective houses in the same amounts as provided for committee meetings when the Legislature is not in session; however, no per diem and expenses for attending meetings of the committee will be paid while the Legislature is in session. No per diem and expenses will be paid except for attending meetings of the oversight committee without prior approval of the proper committee in their respective houses.
(4) The * * * Department of Human Services shall provide the services authorized by law to every individual determined to be eligible therefor, and in carrying out the purposes of the department, the executive director is authorized:
(a) To formulate the policy of the department regarding human services within the jurisdiction of the department;
(b) To adopt, modify, repeal and promulgate, after due notice and hearing, and where not otherwise prohibited by federal or state law, to make exceptions to and grant exemptions and variances from, and to enforce rules and regulations implementing or effectuating the powers and duties of the department under any and all statutes within the department's jurisdiction, all of which shall be binding upon the county departments of human services;
(c) To apply for, receive and expend any federal or state funds or contributions, gifts, devises, bequests or funds from any other source;
(d) Except as limited by Section 43-1-3, to enter into and execute contracts, grants and cooperative agreements with any federal or state agency or subdivision thereof, or any public or private institution located inside or outside the State of Mississippi, or any person, corporation or association in connection with carrying out the programs of the department; and
(e) To discharge such other duties, responsibilities and powers as are necessary to implement the programs of the department.
(5) The executive director shall establish the organizational structure of the Mississippi Department of Human Services 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 Family and Children's Services;
(b) Office of Youth Services;
(c) Office of Economic Assistance;
(d) Office of Child Support Enforcement.
(6) The Executive Director of Human Services shall appoint heads of offices, bureaus and divisions, as defined in Section 7-17-11, who shall serve at the pleasure of the executive director. The salary and compensation of such office, bureau and division heads shall be subject to the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the State Personnel Board as created under Section 25-9-101 et seq. The executive director shall have the authority to organize offices 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.
(7) The Attorney General shall be counsel and attorney of record for the Mississippi Department of Human Services and shall provide such legal services as may be requested from time to time, without cost. The Executive Director of Human Services is hereby authorized to employ such legal counsel as may be necessary or appropriate for the operation of the department.
(8) By fiscal year 2007 the Office of Youth Services shall ensure that every county shall have available at least one (1) nonresidential, community-based dispositional service for juveniles who are adjudicated delinquent. Examples of such services include, but are not limited to, the existing adolescent offender program, mentoring programs, home detention, counseling services, conflict resolution programs, community service and substance abuse treatment. The Office of Youth Services shall seek funds for a statewide system of nonresidential, community-based dispositional services through the state budget process, federal grants, private foundations and donations. When possible the Office of Youth Services shall contract with nonprofit organizations and universities to provide such services to youth. No TANF funds shall be used for any of the services in this subsection (8). The provisions of this subsection shall stand repealed on June 30, 2006.
(9) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2007.
SECTION 3. Section 43-1-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted and amended as follows:
43-1-3. Notwithstanding the authority granted under subsection (4)(d) of Section 43-1-2, the Department of Human Services or the Executive Director of Human Services shall not be authorized to delegate, privatize or otherwise enter into a contract with a private entity for the operation of any office, bureau or division of the department, as defined in Section 7-17-11, without specific authority to do so by general act of the Legislature. However, nothing in this section shall be construed to invalidate (i) any contract of the department that is in place and operational before January 1, 1994; or (ii) the continued renewal of any such contract with the same entity upon the expiration of the contract; or (iii) the execution of a contract with another legal entity as a replacement of any such contract that is expiring, provided that the replacement contract is substantially the same as the expiring contract. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the department shall be authorized to continue the operation of its child support collection program with a private entity on a pilot program basis in Hinds and Warren Counties in Mississippi, and the department and the private entity shall specifically be prohibited from expanding such pilot program to any counties other than Hinds and Warren Counties without specific authority to do so by amendment to this section by general act of the Legislature. Before December 15, 1994, the department shall provide a detailed report to the Joint Oversight Committee established by Section 43-1-2 and to the Legislature that describes the results of the pilot program for the privatization of the department's child support collection program as of December 1, 1994, including an evaluation of whether there has been substantial compliance with the performance standards specified in the contract for the private entity in conducting the pilot program.
This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2007.
SECTION 4. Section 43-1-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted and amended as follows:
43-1-5. It shall be the duty of the Department of Human Services to:
(1) Establish and maintain programs not inconsistent with the terms of this chapter and the rules, regulations and policies of the * * * Department of Human Services, and publish the rules and regulations of the department pertaining to such programs.
(2) Make such reports in such form and containing such information as the federal government may, from time to time, require, and comply with such provisions as the federal government may, from time to time, find necessary to assure the correctness and verification of such reports.
(3) Within ninety (90) days after the end of each fiscal year, and at each regular session of the Legislature, make and publish one (1) report to the Governor and to the Legislature, showing for the period of time covered, in each county and for the state as a whole:
(a) The total number of recipients;
(b) The total amount paid to them in cash;
(c) The maximum and the minimum amount paid to any recipients in any one (1) month;
(d) The total number of applications;
(e) The number granted;
(f) The number denied;
(g) The number cancelled;
(h) The amount expended for administration of the provisions of this chapter;
(i) The amount of money received from the federal government, if any;
(j) The amount of money received from recipients of assistance and from their estates and the disposition of same;
(k) Such other information and recommendations as the Governor may require or the department shall deem advisable;
(l) The number of state-owned automobiles purchased and operated during the year by the department, the number purchased and operated out of funds appropriated by the Legislature, the number purchased and operated out of any other public funds, the miles traveled per automobile, the total miles traveled, the average cost per mile and depreciation estimate on each automobile;
(m) The cost per mile and total number of miles traveled by department employees in privately-owned automobiles, for which reimbursement is made out of state funds;
(n) Each association, convention or meeting attended by any department employees, the purposes thereof, the names of the employees attending and the total cost to the state of such
convention, association or meeting;
(o) How the money appropriated to the institutions under the jurisdiction of the department has been expended during the preceding year, beginning and ending with the fiscal year of each institution, exhibiting the salaries paid to officers and employees of the institutions, and each and every item of receipt and expenditure;
(p) The activities of each division within the Department of Human Services and recommendations for improvement of the services to be performed by each division;
(q) In order of authority, the twenty (20) highest paid employees in the department receiving an annual salary in excess of Forty Thousand Dollars ($40,000.00), by P.I.N. number, job title, job description and annual salary.
Each report shall be balanced and shall begin with the balance at the end of the preceding fiscal year, and if any property belonging to the state or the institution is used for profit such report shall show the expenses incurred in managing the property and the amount received from the same. Such reports shall also show a summary of the gross receipts and gross disbursements for each fiscal year and shall show the money on hand at the beginning of the fiscal period of each division and institution of the department.
This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2007.
SECTION 5. Section 43-1-6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is reenacted and amended as follows:
43-1-6. The following programs within the Division of Federal-State Programs, Office of the Governor, shall be transferred to the * * * Department of Human Services:
(a) Office of Energy and Community Services;
(b) Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee; and
(c) Mississippi Council on Aging.
All authority to implement those programs shall be vested in the * * * Department of Human Services.
This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2007.
SECTION 6. The Department of Human Services created by Section 2 of this act is a continuation of the Department of Human Services that existed on June 30, 2004, and the Joint Oversight Committee created by Section 2 of this act is a continuation of the Joint Oversight Committee that existed on June 30, 2004. The Order Appointing a Receiver for the Department of Human Services issued by the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, in the case of State of Mississippi, Ex Rel. Jim Hood, Attorney General v. Haley Barbour, Governor, et al., Cause No. 62004-1170, shall be moot and have no force or effect from and after the effective date of this act;the Department of Human Services created by Section 2 of this act supersedes the receivership referred to in said court order in all respects after the effective date of this act, and the Attorney General shall file appropriate motions in the chancery court to dismiss this case. Provided, however, all actions taken by the receivership referred to in said court order between June 30, 2004, and the effective date of this act that would have been lawful if they had been taken by the Department of Human Services as it existed on June 30, 2004, pursuant to the department's powers or duties as they existed on June 30, 2004, or pursuant to any powers or duties as they existed on June 30, 2004, or pursuant to any powers or duties of the department provided for by any state law enacted during the 2004 Regular Session or any federal law or regulation that was in effect between June 30, 2004, and the effective date of this act, are retroactively ratified, confirmed and validated. In addition, all actions taken by the State Fiscal Officer, the State Treasurer and their respective employees between June 30, 2004, and the effective date of this act in connection with the expenditure by the receivership referred to in said court order of any of the funds appropriated to the Department of Human Services by House Bill No. 1747, 2004 Regular Session, are retroactively ratified, confirmed and validated.
SECTION 7. Section 25-9-127, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-9-127. (1) No employee of any department, agency or institution who is included under this chapter or hereafter included under its authority, and who is subject to the rules and regulations prescribed by the state personnel system may be dismissed or otherwise adversely affected as to compensation or employment status except for inefficiency or other good cause, and after written notice and hearing within the department, agency or institution as shall be specified in the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board complying with due process of law; and any employee who has by written notice of dismissal or action adversely affecting his compensation or employment status shall, on hearing and on any appeal of any decision made in such action, be required to furnish evidence that the reasons stated in the notice of dismissal or action adversely affecting his compensation or employment status are not true or are not sufficient grounds for the action taken; provided, however, that this provision shall not apply (a) to persons separated from any department, agency or institution due to curtailment of funds or reduction in staff when such separation is in accordance with rules and regulations of the state personnel system; (b) during the probationary period of state service of twelve (12) months; and (c) to an executive officer of any state agency who serves at the will and pleasure of the Governor, board, commission or other appointing authority.
(2) The operation of a state-owned motor vehicle without a valid Mississippi driver's license by an employee of any department, agency or institution that is included under this chapter and that is subject to the rules and regulations of the state personnel system shall constitute good cause for dismissal of such person from employment.
(3) Beginning July 1, 1999, every male between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26) who is required to register under the federal Military Selective Service Act, 50 USCS App. 453, and who is an employee of the state shall not be promoted to any higher position of employment with the state until he submits to the person, commission, board or agency by which he is employed satisfactory documentation of his compliance with the draft registration requirements of the Military Selective Service Act. The documentation shall include a signed affirmation under penalty of perjury that the male employee has complied with the requirements of the federal selective service act.
(4) For a period of one (1) year after the effective date of this act, the provisions of Section 25-9-127(1) shall not apply to the personnel actions of the Mississippi Department of Human Services. All new employees in the Department of Human Services shall meet criteria of the State Personnel Board as presently exists for employment.
SECTION 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.