Senate Bill 2939

AN ACT TO CREATE THE "SPORTSMEN HELPING THE HUNGRY PROGRAM"; TO PROVIDE FOR VOLUNTARY DONATIONS WITH THE PURCHASE OF EACH WILDLIFE LICENSE; TO CREATE THE "MISSISSIPPI SPORTSMEN HELPING THE HUNGRY FUND"; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) Every application for a license issued by the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall include a solicitation for a voluntary donation to the "Mississippi Sportsmen Helping the Hungry Program." The applicant shall be offered an opportunity to designate a donation in the amount of One Dollar ($1.00) or more to the program.

(2) There is created a "Mississippi Sportsmen Helping the Hungry Fund." The fund shall be a special trust fund. All donations received under this section shall be placed in the fund. On a monthly basis, the monies collected along with any interest in the fund will be expended to a fund administered by an external accounting firm which will administer the fund for the organization running the program.

(3) (a) The Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks shall audit the operations of the organization running the program and approve/disapprove of any and all projects of the Mississippi Sportsmen Helping the Hungry Program.

(b) The commission shall appoint a nonprofit organization to run the Mississippi Sportsmen Helping the Hungry Program and shall have the authority to reappoint the program to a different nonprofit organization if it deems that the current nonprofit organization is not properly running the program as agreed upon between the commission and the nonprofit organization.

Section 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2006.