MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2007 Regular Session
To: Judiciary, Division A; Appropriations
By: Senator(s) Doxey, Albritton, Butler, Chassaniol, Dawkins, Dearing, Fillingane, Frazier, Harden, Hyde-Smith, Jackson (11th), King, Lee (35th), Morgan, Posey, Ross, Walls, White, Williamson
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-111, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT STATE FUNDING WILL BE CONTINGENT ON A COUNTY'S REGULAR YOUTH COURT REFEREE COMPLYING WITH ANNUAL TRAINING REQUIREMENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-123, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR STATE AND COUNTY CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARD THE YOUTH COURT BUDGET; TO AMEND SECTION 43-21-107, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 43-21-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-111. (1) In any county not having a county court, * * * the judge may appoint as provided in Section 43-21-123 regular or special referees who shall be attorneys at law and members of the bar in good standing to act in cases concerning children within the jurisdiction of the youth court, and a regular referee shall hold office until removed by the judge. The requirement that regular or special referees appointed pursuant to this subsection be attorneys shall apply only to regular or special referees who were not first appointed regular or special referees prior to July 1, 1991.
(2) Any referee appointed pursuant to subsection (1) of this section or Section 43-21-107(2) and any municipal youth court judge shall be required to receive judicial training approved by the Mississippi Judicial College and shall be required to receive regular annual continuing education in the field of juvenile justice. The amount of judicial training and annual continuing education which shall be satisfactory to fulfill the requirements of this section shall conform with the amount prescribed by the Rules and Regulations for Mandatory Continuing Judicial Education promulgated by the Supreme Court. The Administrative Office of Courts shall maintain a roll of referees appointed under this section, shall enforce the provisions of this subsection, shall maintain records on all such referees regarding such training, and shall not disburse funds to any county for the budget of a youth court referee or municipal youth court judge who is not in compliance with the judicial training requirements. Should a referee miss two (2) consecutive training sessions sponsored or approved by the Mississippi Judicial College as required by this subsection or fail to attend one (1) such training session within six (6) months of their initial appointment as a referee, the referee shall be disqualified to serve and be immediately removed as a referee and another member of the bar shall be appointed as provided in this section.
(3) The judge may direct that hearings in any case or class of cases be conducted in the first instance by the referee. The judge may also delegate his own administrative responsibilities to the referee.
(4) All hearings authorized to be heard by a referee shall proceed in the same manner as hearings before the youth court judge. A referee shall possess all powers and perform all the duties of the youth court judge in the hearings authorized to be heard by the referee.
(5) An order entered by the referee shall be mailed immediately to all parties and their counsel. A rehearing by the judge shall be allowed if any party files a written motion for a rehearing or on the court's own motion within three (3) days after notice of referee's order. The youth court may enlarge the time for filing a motion for a rehearing for good cause shown. Any rehearing shall be upon the record of the hearing before the referee, but additional evidence may be admitted in the discretion of the judge. A motion for a rehearing shall not act as a supersedeas of the referee's order, unless the judge shall so order.
(6) The salary for the referee shall be * * * as provided in Section 43-21-123 * * *.
(7) * * * The judge of the chancery court may appoint a suitable person as referee to two (2) or more counties within his district * * *.
SECTION 2. Section 43-21-123, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-123. (1) Except for expenses provided by state funds and/or other monies, the board of supervisors, or the municipal governing board where there is a municipal youth court, shall adequately provide funds for the operation of the youth court division of the appropriate court in conjunction with the regular * * * court budget * * *. In preparation for said funding, on an annual basis at the time requested, the youth court judge, regular youth court referee or administrator shall prepare and submit to the board of supervisors, or the municipal governing board of the youth court wherever the youth court is a municipal court, an annual budget which will identify the number, staff position, title and amount of annual or monthly compensation of each position as well as provide for other expenditures necessary to the functioning and operation of the youth court. When the budget of the youth court or youth court judge is approved by the board of supervisors or the governing authority of the municipality, then the youth court, youth court judge, regular youth court referee or administrator may employ such persons as provided in the budget from time to time.
(2) The board of supervisors of any county in which there is located a youth court, and the governing authority of any municipality in which there is located a municipal youth court, are each authorized to reimburse the youth court referees and other county-employed or municipally employed youth court employees or personnel for reasonable travel and expenses incurred in the performance of their duties and in attending educational meetings offering professional training to such persons as budgeted.
(3) (a) In order to ensure that all youth courts served by a county court or a referee court have sufficient support funds to carry on the business of the court, the Administrative Office of Courts shall establish a formula for providing state support for the support of all county and referee youth courts. Funds may also be provided to youth courts existing under Section 43-21-107(3). In each referee court, youth court support funds shall be available to each regular youth court referee so long as the senior chancellor does not elect to employ a youth court administrator as set forth in paragraph (b) of this subsection, and each regular youth court referee shall have the individual discretion to appropriate those funds as expense monies to assist in hiring secretarial staff and acquiring materials incident to carrying on the business of the court within the referee's private practice of law, or may direct the use of those funds through the county budget for court support supplies or services. Youth court support funds authorized under this subsection shall be subject to specific appropriation therefor by the Legislature. Recipients of funds under this section shall be accountable for assuring, through private, county or municipal employees, the proper preparation and filing of all necessary tracking and other documentation attendant to the administration of the youth court. The formula developed by the Administrative Office of Courts for providing youth court support funds shall be reviewed by the Administrative Office of Courts every two (2) years to ensure that the youth court support funds provided herein are proportional to each youth court's caseload. Approval of the use of any of the youth court support funds made under this subsection shall be made by the Administrative Office of Courts in accordance with procedures established by the Administrative Office of Courts.
(b) In lieu of accepting any referee support funds as provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection, when permitted by the Administrative Office of Courts, the senior chancellors of Chancery Districts One, Two, Three, Four, Six, Seven, Nine, Ten, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen and Eighteen may appoint a youth court administrator for the district whose responsibility will be to perform all reporting, tracking and other duties of a court administrator for all youth courts in the district which are under the chancery court system. The Administrative Office of Courts shall allocate to each chancellor so electing a sum not to exceed Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000.00) per year to cover the salary, fringe benefits and equipment of such administrator, and an additional sum not to exceed One Thousand Nine Hundred Dollars ($1,900.00) to cover travel expenses of the administrator.
SECTION 3. Section 43-21-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-21-107. * * *
(1) A youth court division is hereby created as a division of the county court of each county now or hereafter having a county court * * *, and the county judge shall be the judge of the youth court unless another judge is named by the county judge as provided by this chapter.
(2) A youth court division is hereby created as a division of the chancery court of each county in which no county court * * * is maintained and any chancellor within a chancery court district shall be the judge of the youth court of that county within such chancery court district unless another judge is named by the senior chancellor of the county or chancery court district as provided by this chapter.
(3) In any county where there is no county court or family court on July 1, 1979, there may be created a youth court division as a division of the municipal court in any city if the governing authorities of such city adopt a resolution to that effect. The cost of the youth court division of the municipal court shall be paid from any funds available to the municipality * * *.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2007.