Adopted

AMENDMENT NO 1 PROPOSED TO

Cmte Sub for House Bill No.  728

BY: Representative Wells-Smith

     AMEND after line 64 by inserting the following language:

     (4)  Each county court judge who desires to employ support staff after the effective date of this act shall make application to the Administrative Office of Courts by submitting to the Administrative Office of Courts a proposed personnel plan setting forth what support staff is deemed necessary.  Such plan may be submitted by a single judge or by any combination of judges desiring to share support staff.  In the process of the preparation of the plan, the judges, at their request, may receive advice, suggestions, recommendations and other assistance from the Administrative Office of Courts.  The Administrative Office of Courts must approve the positions, job descriptions and salaries before the positions may be filled.  The Administrative Office of Courts shall not approve any plan which does not first require the expenditure of the funds in the support staff fund for compensation of any of the support staff before expenditure is authorized of county funds for that purpose.  Upon approval by the Administrative Office of Courts, the judge or judges may appoint the employees to the position or positions, and each employee so appointed will work at the will and pleasure of the judge or judges who appointed him but will be employees of the Administrative Office of Courts.  Upon approval by the Administrative Office of Courts, the appointment of any support staff shall be evidenced by the entry of an order on the minutes of the court.  When support staff is appointed jointly by two (2) or more judges, the order setting forth any appointment shall be entered on the minutes of each participating court.

     (5)  The Administrative Office of Courts shall develop and promulgate minimum qualifications for the certification of court administrators.  Any court administrator appointed on or after the effective date of this act, shall be required to be certified by the Administrative Office of Courts.

     (6)  Support staff shall receive compensation pursuant to personnel policies established by the Administrative Office of Courts; however, from and after the effective date of this act, the Administrative Office of Courts shall allocate from the support staff fund an amount of Sixty Thousand Dollars ($60,000.00) per fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) per judge for whom support staff is approved for the funding of support staff assigned to a judge or judges.  Any employment pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the provisions of Section 25-1-53.   

     The Administrative Office of Courts may approve expenditure from the fund for additional equipment for support staff appointed pursuant to this section in any year in which the allocation per judge is sufficient to meet the equipment expense after provision for the compensation of the support staff.

     (7)  For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

          (a)  "Support staff" means court administrators, law clerks, legal research assistants or secretaries, resource administrator and/or case managers appointed by a youth court judge, or any combination thereof, but shall not mean school attendance officers; and

          (b)  "Compensation" means the gross salary plus all amounts paid for benefits or otherwise as a result of employment or as required by employment; provided, however, that only salary earned for services rendered shall be reported and credited for Public Employees' Retirement System purposes.  Amounts paid for benefits or otherwise, including reimbursement for travel expenses, shall not be reported or credited for retirement purposes.

     (8)  Title to all tangible property, excepting stamps, stationery and minor expendable office supplies, procured with funds authorized by this section, shall be and forever remain in the State of Mississippi to be used by the judgeduring the term of his office and thereafter by his successors.

    

     AMEND FURTHER the title by inserting the following language after the semicolon on line 3:  "TO INCLUDE COUNTY COURT JUDGES AMONG THOSE FOR WHOM AN OFFICE ALLOWANCE IS APPROPRIATED;"