House Bill 708

(As Passed the House)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-27-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO MAKE ALTERNATIVE USES OF COLUMBIA TRAINING SCHOOL PROPERTIES AND FACILITIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 43-27-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

43-27-39. (1) The purpose of this section is to ensure that Mississippi's juvenile justice system is cost-efficient and effective at reducing juvenile crime and to create a continuum of options for Mississippi's youth court judges so that they are better equipped to protect our communities and to care for our children.

(2) The Columbia Training School shall no longer operate as a secure training school for juvenile delinquents. All youth, both male and female, committed to the custody of the Department of Human Services and adjudicated to training school shall be housed at the Oakley Training School. The Oakley Training School shall provide gender-specific treatment for youth who are adjudicated delinquent.

(3) All or part of the Columbia Training School property and facilities may be retained by the Department of Human Services or transferred or leased to public or private entities for any appropriate purpose, which is determined by the Department of Human Services to serve the best interests of the state and the community. Priority shall be given to any proposal to use the facilities as an educational center, an institute of higher learning or another use that does not require secure or similar care.

(4) The State of Mississippi shall retain all rights and interests in the timber situated on the property transferred or leased under this act. All monies derived from the sale of timber on the Columbia Training School property, whether by the Department of Human Services, the transferee or lessee, shall be deposited into a special fund designated as the Columbia Training School Timber Management Fund which is created in the State Treasury. The principal of the fund shall remain inviolate and shall be invested as provided by law. Interest and income derived from investment of the principal of the special fund shall be disbursed by the Department of Finance and Administration to and may be expended by the Department of Human Services. Unexpended amounts remaining in the special fund at the end of the fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned on the amounts in the special fund shall be deposited to the credit of the special fund.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.