Senate Bill 2620

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 39-3-101, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO TRANSFER THE AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI LIBRARY COMMISSION TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY; TO AMEND SECTION 39-3-355, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE MISSISSIPPI LIBRARY COMMISSION TO REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE BY JANUARY 1, 2007, ON ITS IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LIBRARY ACCREDITATION SYSTEM THAT WAS MANDATED IN 1988; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 39-3-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

[Through June 30, 2007, this section shall read as follows:]

39-3-101. There is hereby created a board of commissioners of the Mississippi Library Commission to be composed of five (5) members appointed by the Governor with overlapping terms, the members of the first board to be appointed one (1) for one (1) year, one (1) for two (2) years, one (1) for three (3) years, one (1) for four (4) years, one (1) for five (5) years, and their successors each to be appointed for five-year terms, each member to serve until his successor is appointed. Two (2) members shall be appointed by the Governor from the state at large. Two (2) members shall be appointed by the Governor from a list of not less than six (6) names submitted by the Mississippi Library Association, one (1) of whom shall be a librarian who is a graduate of a library school accredited by the American Library Association and actively engaged in full-time library work at the time of the appointment and one (1) of whom shall be, at time of the appointment, a member of a legally organized board of trustees of a Mississippi free public library; and one (1) member shall be the President of the Mississippi Federation of Women's Clubs, or a member of said federation recommended by her; and which federation member shall, when appointed, serve a full term as herein provided for members to serve under a staggered term basis, and the successor to the federation member shall be the president of the federation then serving, or a member of the federation recommended by her, when the term of the federation member shall expire; and after the appointment of a federation member to the board, and when her term as a member thereof shall expire, each succeeding member of the federation who becomes a member of the board shall serve a full term under the provisions of this article. Vacancies created by resignation shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term.

[From and after July 1, 2007, this section shall read as follows:]

39-3-101. The Board of Trustees of the Department of Archives and History created by Section 39-5-3 shall be the Board of Commissioners of the Mississippi Library Commission. Any reference to the Board of Commissioners of the Mississippi Library Commission shall mean the Board of Trustees of the Department of Archives and History. The Board of Trustees of the Department of Archives and History shall have all power necessary to oversee and manage the Mississippi Library Commission that was heretofore vested in the Board of Commissioners of the Mississippi Library Commission.

SECTION 2. Section 39-3-355, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

[Through June 30, 2007, this section shall read as follows:]

39-3-355. (1) The Mississippi Library Commission shall be responsible for developing a system of public service incentives within a public library accreditation program on the recommendation of a committee of qualified public library professionals and trustees. The committee of fifteen (15) members shall be appointed by the Mississippi Library Commission Board of Commissioners as follows: seven (7) public library trustees with at least one (1) from each congressional district; five (5) professional public librarians, one (1) appointed by each commissioner; and three (3) at-large members.

(2) The Legislature recognizes the paramount importance of devising an accreditation system for local libraries and for allocating state funds to such libraries based on accreditation. To this end, the Legislature finds that the Mississippi Library Commission's lack of an accreditation system in 2005 represents flagrant disregard for the legislation requiring such that was adopted in 1988.

(3) On or before January 1, 2007, the Mississippi Library Commission shall report to the Legislature on its implementation of the accreditation system it has devised and implemented.

[From and after July 1, 2007, this section shall read as follows:]

39-3-355. The Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History shall be responsible for developing a system of public service incentives within a public library accreditation program on the recommendation of a committee of qualified public library professionals and trustees. The committee of fifteen (15) members shall be appointed by the Mississippi Library Commission Board of Commissioners as follows: seven (7) public library trustees with at least one (1) from each congressional district; five (5) professional public librarians, one (1) appointed by each commissioner; and three (3) at-large members.

The commission shall have the authority to revise the system of accreditation from time to time as it deems appropriate.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2006.