House Bill 118

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 47-1-57, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF ANY COUNTY SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PAYMENT OF COSMETIC MEDICAL PROCEDURES FOR INMATES; TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-901, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT THE REIMBURSEMENT OF FUNDS TO COUNTIES FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS FOR THE PAYMENT OF COSMETIC MEDICAL PROCEDURES FOR STATE OFFENDERS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 47-1-57, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-1-57. (1) When any person confined in jail shall be in need of medical or surgical aid, the sheriff shall immediately examine the condition of such prisoner and, if he or she is of the opinion that the prisoner needs such aid, he or she shall call in a nurse or physician to attend him or her. If the prisoner be unable to pay the cost, the account of the nurse or physician, when allowed and certified as required in respect to accounts of sheriffs for keeping prisoners, shall be paid, in like manner, out of the treasury of the county in which a prisoner is charged with the crime for which he is imprisoned. The board of supervisors may contract with a physician for the jail by the year.

(2) The board of supervisors of any county may authorize the sheriff to establish a program under which prisoners expressing the need for nonemergency medical attention will have access to a registered nurse who will evaluate their condition and determine the necessity for treatment by a physician. Charges for such a visit with a registered nurse shall be paid by the prisoner by deductions made by the sheriff out of any funds of the prisoner held by the sheriff or in any other manner satisfactory to the sheriff; however, such prisoner shall not be required to pay out of funds of the prisoner held by the sheriff, more than ten dollars ($10.00) per visit. If the prisoner is unable to pay the cost, the cost shall be paid out of the county treasury in the same manner as provided for payment of other medical costs in subsection (1) of this section.

(3) No costs for cosmetic medical procedures for prisoners shall be paid out of the county treasury. Cosmetic medical procedures means any medical procedure performed in order to change an individual's appearance without significantly serving to prevent or treat illness or disease or to promote proper functioning of the body.

SECTION 2. Section 47-5-901, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-5-901. (1) Any person committed, sentenced or otherwise placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections, on order of the sentencing court and subject to the other conditions of this subsection, may serve all or any part of his or her sentence in the county jail of the county wherein such person was convicted if the Commissioner of Corrections determines that physical space is not available for confinement of such person in the state correctional institutions. Such determination shall be promptly made by the Department of Corrections upon receipt of notice of the conviction of such person. The commissioner shall certify in writing that space is not available to the sheriff or other officer having custody of the person. Any person serving his or her sentence in a county jail shall be classified in accordance with Section 47-5-905.

(2) If state prisoners are housed in county jails due to a lack of capacity at state correctional institutions, the Department of Corrections shall determine the cost for food and medical attention for such prisoners. The cost of feeding and housing offenders confined in such county jails shall be based on actual costs or contract price per prisoner. In order to maximize the potential use of county jail space, the Department of Corrections is encouraged to negotiate a reasonable per day cost per prisoner, which in no event may exceed Twenty Dollars ($20.00) per day per offender.

(3) Upon vouchers submitted by the board of supervisors of any county housing persons due to lack of space at state institutions, the Department of Corrections shall pay to such county, out of any available funds, the actual cost of food, or contract price per prisoner, not to exceed Twenty Dollars ($20.00) per day per offender, as determined under subsection (2) of this section for each day an offender is so confined beginning the day that the Department of Corrections receives a certified copy of the sentencing order and will terminate on the date on which the offender is released or otherwise removed from the custody of the county jail. The department shall pay the cost for medical attention for prisoners at an amount no greater than the reimbursement rate based on the Mississippi Medicaid reimbursement rate. This limitation applies to all medical care services, durable and nondurable goods, prescription drugs and medications. Such payment shall be placed in the county general fund and shall be expended only for food and medical attention for such persons. The Department of Corrections shall not pay a county for offenders housed in county jails pending a probation or parole revocation hearing.

(4) The Department of Corrections shall not reimburse any county for cosmetic medical procedures obtained by any state offenders. Cosmetic medical procedures means any medical procedure performed in order to change an individual's appearance without significantly serving to prevent or treat illness or disease or to promote proper functioning of the body.

(5) A person, on order of the sentencing court, may serve not more than twenty-four (24) months of his sentence in a county jail if the person is classified in accordance with Section 47-5-905 and the county jail is an approved county jail for housing state inmates under federal court order. The sheriff of the county shall have the right to petition the Commissioner of Corrections to remove the inmate from the county jail. The county shall be reimbursed in accordance with subsection (2).

(6) The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall defend the employees of the Department of Corrections and officials and employees of political subdivisions against any action brought by any person who was committed to a county jail under the provisions of this section.

(7) This section does not create in the Department of Corrections, or its employees or agents, any new liability, express or implied, nor shall it create in the Department of Corrections any administrative authority or responsibility for the construction, funding, administration or operation of county or other local jails or other places of confinement which are not staffed and operated on a full-time basis by the Department of Corrections. The correctional system under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections shall include only those facilities fully staffed by the Department of Corrections and operated by it on a full-time basis.

(8) An offender returned to a county for post-conviction proceedings shall be subject to the provisions of Section 99-19-42 and the county shall not receive the per day allotment for such offender after the time prescribed for returning the offender to the Department of Corrections as provided in Section 99-19-42.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2007.