House Bill 1422

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-4-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE STATE BOARD FOR COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES TO CONDUCT AN AUDIT OF EACH COLLEGE'S FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT ENROLLMENT AT THE CLOSE OF EACH GRADING TERM, WHICH SHALL BE USED AS THE BASIS FOR DISTRIBUTING FUNDS TO EACH COLLEGE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37-4-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-4-3. (1) From and after July 1, 1986, there shall be a State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, which shall receive and distribute funds appropriated by the Legislature for the use of the public community and junior colleges and funds from federal and other sources that are transmitted through the state governmental organization for use by those colleges. This board shall provide general coordination of the public community and junior colleges, assemble reports and such other duties as may be prescribed by law.

(2) The board shall consist of ten (10) members of which none shall be an elected official and none shall be engaged in the educational profession. The Governor shall appoint two (2) members from the First Mississippi Congressional District, one (1) who shall serve an initial term of two (2) years and one (1) who shall serve an initial term of five (5) years; two (2) members from the Second Mississippi Congressional District, one (1) who shall serve an initial term of five (5) years and one (1) who shall serve an initial term of three (3) years; and two (2) members from the Third Mississippi Congressional District, one (1) who shall serve an initial term of four (4) years and one (1) who shall serve an initial term of two (2) years; two (2) members from the Fourth Mississippi Congressional District, one (1) who shall serve an initial term of three (3) years and one (1) who shall serve an initial term of four (4) years; and two (2) members from the Fifth Mississippi Congressional District, one (1) who shall serve an initial term of five (5) years and one (1) who shall serve an initial term of two (2) years. All subsequent appointments shall be for a term of six (6) years and continue until their successors are appointed and qualify. An appointment to fill a vacancy that arises for reasons other than by expiration of a term of office shall be for the unexpired term only. No two (2) appointees shall reside in the same junior college district. All members shall be appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(3) There shall be a chairman and vice chairman of the board, elected by and from the membership of the board; and the chairman shall be the presiding officer of the board. The board shall adopt rules and regulations governing times and places for meetings and governing the manner of conducting its business.

(4) The members of the board shall receive no annual salary, but shall receive per diem compensation as authorized by Section 25-3-69 for each day devoted to the discharge of official board duties, and shall be entitled to reimbursement for all actual and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties, including mileage as authorized by Section 25-3-41.

(5) The board shall name a director for the state system of public junior and community colleges, who shall serve at the pleasure of the board. The director shall be the chief executive officer of the board, give direction to the board staff, carry out the policies set forth by the board, and work with the presidents of the several community and junior colleges to assist them in carrying out the mandates of the several boards of trustees and in functioning within the state system and policies established by the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges. The State Board for Community and Junior Colleges shall set the salary of the Director of the State System of Community and Junior Colleges. The Legislature shall provide adequate funds for the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, its activities and its staff.

(6) The powers and duties of the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges shall be:

(a) To authorize disbursements of state appropriated funds to community and junior colleges through orders in the minutes of the board.

(b) To make studies of the needs of the state as they relate to the mission of the community and junior colleges.

(d) To require community and junior colleges to supply such information as the board may request and compile, publish and make available the reports based on that information as the board may deem advisable.

(e) To approve proposed new attendance centers (campus locations) as the local boards of trustees should determine to be in the best interest of the district; however, * * * no new community/junior college branch campus shall be approved without an authorizing act of the Legislature.

(f) To serve as the state approving agency for federal funds for proposed contracts to borrow money for the purpose of acquiring land, erecting, repairing, etc. dormitories, dwellings or apartments for students and/or faculty, the loans to be paid from revenue produced by those facilities as requested by local boards of trustees.

(g) To approve applications from community and junior colleges for state funds for vocational-technical education facilities.

(h) To approve any university branch campus offering lower undergraduate level courses for credit.

(i) To appoint members to the Post-Secondary Educational Assistance Board.

(j) To appoint members to the Authority for Educational Television.

(k) To contract with other boards, commissions, governmental entities, foundations, corporations or individuals for programs, services, grants and awards when those are needed for the operation and development of the state public community and junior college system.

(l) To fix standards for community and junior colleges to qualify for appropriations, and qualifications for community and junior college teachers.

(m) To have sign-off approval on the State Plan for Vocational Education that is developed in cooperation with appropriate units of the State Department of Education.

(n) To approve or disapprove of any proposed inclusion within municipal corporate limits of state-owned buildings and grounds of any community college or junior college and to approve or disapprove of land use development, zoning requirements, building codes and delivery of governmental services applicable to state-owned buildings and grounds of any community college or junior college. Any agreement by a local board of trustees of a community college or junior college to annexation of state-owned property or other conditions described in this paragraph shall be void unless approved by the board and by the board of supervisors of the county in which the state-owned property is located.

(o) To require the executive director of the board, or another designee, to audit the enrollment of each community and junior college and determine the full-time equivalent enrollment of each community and junior college at the close of each grading term. That full-time equivalent enrollment count shall be used as the basis for distributing funds to each community and junior college. The board shall direct the executive director to report the audit results for the four (4) most recently completed semesters to the Legislature and the board not later than December 15 of each year.

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