House Bill 870

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 45-6-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ADD A MEMBER TO THE BOARD ON LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER STANDARDS AND TRAINING; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 45-6-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

45-6-5. (1) There is hereby created the Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training, which shall consist of twelve (12) members.

(2) The Governor shall appoint five (5) members of the board from the following specified categories:

(a) Two (2) members, each to be a chief of police of a municipality in this state, with one (1) of such municipalities having a population of less than one thousand two hundred (1,200) according to the latest federal decennial census.

(b) One (1) member shall be a sheriff in this state.

(d) One (1) member shall be a representative of higher education.

The initial appointments to the board shall be made by the Governor no later than twenty (20) days after the effective date of this chapter, as follows: the chief of police and the representative of higher education each shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years; and the sheriff and the district attorney each shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years. Upon the expiration of the terms of the initial appointees to the board, each subsequent appointment shall be made for a term of three (3) years, beginning on the date of the expiration of the previous term. A vacancy in any appointed position on the board prior to the expiration of a term shall be filled by appointment of the Governor only for the balance of the unexpired term.

(3) The remaining seven (7) members of the board shall be the following:

(a) The Attorney General.

(b) The Director of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol.

(d) The President of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors or his designee.

(e) The President of the Mississippi Constable Association or his designee.

(f) The President of the Mississippi Campus Law Enforcement Officers Association or his designee.

(g) The President of the Mississippi Police Benevolent Association or his designee.

The Attorney General, the Director of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol and the respective presidents of the foregoing associations shall serve only for their respective terms of office.

(4) Members of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to receive reimbursement for any actual and reasonable expenses incurred as a necessary incident to such service, including mileage, as provided in Section 25-3-41.

(5) There shall be a chairman and a vice chairman of the board, elected by and from the membership of the board. The board shall adopt rules and regulations governing times and places for meetings and governing the manner of conducting its business, but the board shall meet at least every three (3) months.

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(6) The board shall report annually to the Governor and the Legislature on its activities, and may make such other reports as it deems desirable.

(7) The training officers of all police academies in the state whose curricula are approved by the board shall be advisors to the board. They shall be entitled to all privileges of the board members, including travel expenses and subsistence, but shall not be eligible to vote at board meetings.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2007.