Senate Bill 2998

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-63-1 THROUGH 37-63-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE MISSISSIPPI AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION SHALL BE ORGANIZED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI AS A TAX-EXEMPT CORPORATION, AND THAT THE OPERATION OF THE PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION PROGRAM SHALL BE TRANSFERRED FROM THE AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THAT CORPORATION ON JULY 1, 2012; TO AMEND SECTION 37-63-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT STATE FUNDING OF THE MISSISSIPPI AUTHORITY FOR EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION SHALL BE REDUCED BY 20% ANNUALLY AND THAT THERE SHALL BE NO STATE FUNDS APPROPRIATED FOR THAT PURPOSE AFTER JULY 1, 2016; TO PROVIDE A TAX CREDIT FOR ANY CONTRIBUTION TO SUPPORT A PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORPORATION WHICH PROVIDES AT LEAST 50% OF ITS PROGRAMMING TO EDUCATIONAL AND PUBLIC SERVICE PROGRAMS; TO PROVIDE THAT SECTIONS 37-63-3, 37-63-5, 37-63-7, 37-63-8, 37-63-10, 37-63-13, 37-63-15 AND 37-63-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, OF WHICH PROVIDE FOR THE OPERATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI AUTHORITY FOR PUBLIC TELEVISION SHALL STAND REPEALED ON JULY 1, 2012; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 37-63-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-63-1. * * * From and after July 1, 2012, the agency of state government * * * known as the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television or Mississippi Public Broadcasting (MPB) which has the responsibility for the administration, operation, control and supervision of educational television and radio in Mississippi, shall be transferred to a corporation incorporated in the State of Mississippi, and organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi as a nonprofit corporation. The corporation shall obtain 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service. The purpose of the corporation shall be to provide educational television, radio and online educational and public service programs to the students and citizens of Mississippi.

SECTION 2. Section 37-63-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-63-3. The Authority for Educational Television shall consist of the State Superintendent of Public Education, or his designee, and six (6) members appointed, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint four (4) members, one (1) of whom shall be actively engaged as a teacher or principal in a secondary school system in the State of Mississippi and one (1) of whom shall be actively engaged as a teacher or principal in an elementary school system in the State of Mississippi. Beginning July 1, 1994, the appointee actively engaged as a teacher or principal in a secondary school shall be appointed for an initial term of three (3) years. The member actively engaged as a teacher or principal in an elementary school shall be appointed for an initial term of four (4) years. The remaining two (2) gubernatorial appointees shall serve until July 1, 1996. Beginning July 1, 1996, the Governor shall appoint two (2) members for initial terms of three (3) and four (4) years, with the Governor specifically designating which member shall be appointed for three (3) years and which shall be appointed for four (4) years. The State Board for Community and Junior Colleges shall appoint one (1) member, and the Board of Trustees of * * * State Institutions of Higher Learning shall appoint one (1) member. After the expiration of the initial terms, all members shall serve for terms of four (4) years. An appointment to fill a vacancy among the gubernatorial appointees, other than by expiration of a term of office, shall be made by the Governor for the balance of the unexpired term.

This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 3. Section 37-63-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-63-5. The Authority for Educational Television shall elect a chairman, vice chairman and such other officers it deems necessary. The authority shall adopt rules and regulations governing times and places for meetings, and governing the manner of conducting its business. Any member who does not attend three (3) consecutive regular meetings of the authority shall be subject to removal by a majority vote of the board members.

The authority shall meet at least bimonthly. Special meetings may be called by the chairman, vice chairman or the executive director. Four (4) members of the authority shall constitute a quorum.

Authority members who are not employed by the state shall receive per diem and actual and necessary expenses for attending meetings as provided by general law for public officers and employees. Elementary and secondary school teachers and/or elementary and secondary principals shall not be considered to be state employees for the purposes of this section.

This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 4. Section 37-63-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-63-7. The authority for educational television shall employ an executive director who shall be the administrative officer of the authority and shall perform such duties as are required of him by law and such other duties as may be assigned him by the authority and who shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by the authority. In addition, the executive director shall be entitled to remuneration for his necessary traveling expenses consistent with general law.

The authority shall have the power and authority to employ such technical, professional and clerical personnel as may be necessary for the administration of this chapter and for the performance of such other duties as may be imposed upon the authority by law, and to define the duties and fix the compensation of such employees.

This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 5. Section 37-63-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-63-8. The authority shall have the authority, with the assistance and approval of the State Personnel Board, to implement extern training programs for its employees and contract with private sector businesses for such training. The training programs shall be available, at the discretion of the authority and the executive director, to employees who have served with the agency for one (1) year or more. The salary of the employees may be paid by the authority while the employee is receiving such training. No training shall be in excess of three (3) months and forty (40) hours per week. Any employee participating in such extern training program shall be required to remain employed with the authority for a period of one (1) year following completion of the training period. Any person leaving the employment of the authority prior to the completion of the required one (1) year period shall be liable for the salary and fringe benefits expended for the employee during the training period.

This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 6. Section 37-63-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-63-9. (1) The authority is authorized and empowered to lease, purchase, own, construct, operate, manage and be the licensee of educational television and radio stations, production centers, transmission sites and all related equipment and facilities for the production and/or transmission of broadcast, closed circuit, fixed services (ITFS-2500 megahertz), radio and any other means necessary to provide complete coverage of educational television and radio in the state. The authority is also authorized and empowered to lease, purchase, own and operate any type of vehicle necessary for use in transporting equipment, production crews and service personnel.

(2) The authority, and any other state agency or board licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to provide ITFS educational television, are authorized and empowered to provide access to video learning resources for all Mississippi public schools through the development of multichannel interactive video systems (ITFS) for the public schools which shall be able to interact with other school districts in the state. In order to establish the ITFS system without expenditure of significant state funds, the authority, and any such other state agency or board licensee with the approval of the authority, are authorized and empowered to enter such contracts as may be necessary, including contracts with any private educational institution or private nonprofit educational organization in regard to the construction, purchase, lease or lease-purchase of facilities and equipment, employment of personnel, and the operation and management of said ITFS system for the purpose of providing ITFS educational television services to educational institutions and interested citizens in the state. The authority shall provide that all public schools are equipped to utilize the ITFS system by no later than July 1, 1998.

(3) On or before July 1, 2012, the Department of Finance and Administration, acting for the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television, shall transfer to the nonprofit corporation organized pursuant to the provisions of Section 37-63-1 all necessary facilities, equipment and records to effectuate the privatization of the operation of the programs formerly operated by Mississippi Authority for Educational Television. Said transfer of the facilities, equipment and records operated by Mississippi Authority for Educational Television shall be for the fair market value of said facilities, equipment and records as negotiated by the Department of Finance and Administration and approved by the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi. The Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration shall be authorized to issue regulations providing for the transfer of personnel, records and equipment and make all necessary business decisions relating to the transfer of the programs of Mississippi Educational Television to the said nonprofit corporation on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 7. Section 37-63-10, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-63-10. No individual who sits on any board or authority empowered to contract with the Educational Television Authority or to appoint members to the board which shall govern the use of the ITFS channels shall own or be interested in, directly or indirectly, any interest in any private organization doing business under the FCC license herein approved.

This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 8. Section 37-63-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-63-11. (1) The Authority for Educational Television is empowered to request and to receive such state funds for educational television construction and operation as may be appropriated or allocated to it, and to solicit and receive contributions, matching funds, gifts, bequests and devises from any source, whether federal, state, public or private. It may enter into agreements with federal, state, public or private agencies, departments, institutions, firms, corporations or persons for the production, transmission, sale, lease or purchase of educational television and educational radio programs, or any research and development projects, joint ventures pertaining to content or other projects that do not duplicate communication facilities or services utilized under contract by the state and that the authority determines are in its best interests. The authority may enter into any contracts and other agreements necessary for those purposes, and in doing so, the authority may agree to terms of indemnification, the law of another state or jurisdiction or other necessary terms when, in the judgment of the authority, that would be in its best interests. The authority may delegate to its executive director its power to enter into these contracts or other agreements, or to exercise any of its other powers, in accordance with guidelines established by the authority. All materials produced or received by the authority in the exercise of its power, in the preceding provisions of this subsection, that are protected by copyright or considered confidential or proprietary information of third parties, shall not be public records. All such materials shall not be subject to release under the Public Records Act. The authority may also lease antenna space on television towers which it owns. Before the authority is empowered to contract for communication facilities to carry television signals, it shall obtain written authority to do so from the Department of Finance and Administration in order to ensure that there be no duplication of state communication facilities.

(2) There is hereby established in the State Treasury a special fund for the purpose of providing for the payment of all expenses in respect to the administration of this chapter. Such fund shall be administered by the authority. The State Treasurer shall be the custodian of such funds and all monies and securities in such fund shall be held in trust by such Treasurer and shall not be the money or property of the state. The State Treasurer is authorized to disburse monies from such fund only upon order of the authority. The official bond of the State Treasurer shall be conditioned for the faithful performance of his duty hereunder. The State Treasurer shall deposit any monies paid into such fund into such qualified depository banks as the authority may designate and is authorized to invest any portion of the fund which, in the opinion of the authority, is not needed for current requirements in the same manner and subject to all provisions of the law with respect to the deposit of state funds by such Treasurer. All interest earned by such portion of the fund as may be invested by the State Treasurer shall be collected by him and placed to the credit of such fund.

(3) The Authority for Educational Television is empowered to provide noncommercial production or reproduction services for other public agencies, and may collect the costs of providing the services from the public agency. These costs shall be deposited into the special fund.

(4) Beginning with the fiscal year on July 1, 2011, and ending June 30, 2012, the Legislature shall reduce the appropriation of state funds for the support of the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television and its programs by an amount equal to twenty percent (20%) per year of the amount appropriated in the previous fiscal year, and increase said reduction by an additional twenty percent (20%) in each succeeding fiscal year, until the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, after which no state funds shall be appropriated.

SECTION 9. Section 37-63-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-63-13. The Authority for Educational Television is empowered and is hereby designated as the proper and official state agency to:

(1) Control and supervise the use of television broadcast and ITFS channels and radio frequencies reserved by the Federal Communications Commission for noncommercial, educational purposes in Mississippi. It is further empowered to authorize the sale or lease of any excess capacity of such ITFS channels for commercial use to provide the funds necessary to implement the purposes of Section 37-63-9(2). No pornographic material or political advertisements shall be allowed on any ITFS channel or radio frequency;

(2) Initiate or receive for review and approval all applications for educational television and educational radio licenses submitted to the Federal Communications Commission for or on behalf of any public school system, junior college, institution of higher learning, private educational institution, or nonprofit community or municipal educational organization;

(3) Initiate or receive for review and approval all applications for federal, state or private funds which involve the construction of educational television or radio facilities or acquisition of educational television or radio equipment;

(4) Prescribe official state-approved standards for appropriate educational television equipment which may be purchased by any public school, junior college, institution of higher learning, private educational institution, or nonprofit community or municipal educational organization in order to insure a standard of quality and technical compatibility throughout the state;

(5) Provide consultative services in all aspects of educational television and radio to any agency, public or private, within the state;

(6) Serve as a clearinghouse for information on television and radio for educational purposes;

(7) Perform all other things necessary to insure the orderly and coordinated development of educational television and radio in Mississippi; and

(8) Determine and approve all policies governing the programming, administration, control and supervision of Mississippi Educational Television and educational radio. All programs prepared for use in the elementary and secondary schools of this state must be prepared in conjunction with the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Education prior to broadcast on Mississippi Educational Television.

This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 10. Section 37-63-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-63-15. No SEICUS (or any of its subsidiaries or connections known by any other name whatsoever) programming whatsoever shall be carried by any educational television station in the State of Mississippi.

This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 11. Section 37-63-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-63-17. (1) The Mississippi Authority for Educational Television is empowered to provide noncommercial production or reproduction services for other public agencies and may collect the costs of providing the services from the public agency plus a separate equipment usage fee in an amount determined by the authority and based upon the equipment used. The costs shall be deposited to the credit of the authority. The separate equipment usage fee shall be deposited in the Capital Equipment Replacement Revolving Fund.

(2) The Authority for Educational Television may establish a Capital Equipment Replacement Revolving Fund into which shall be deposited equipment usage fees collected under subsection (1) and funds from other sources designated for deposit in the Capital Equipment Replacement Revolving Fund. The authority may expend monies from the Capital Equipment Replacement Revolving Fund subject to appropriation therefor by the Legislature to purchase technical equipment for operating the educational radio and television facilities.

(3) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2012.

SECTION 12. (1) For any taxpayer who makes a payment to any corporation dedicating at least fifty percent (50%) of its television, radio or Internet programming to educational programs and public service programs for the students and citizens of Mississippi, as verified by the Department of Revenue, a credit against the taxes imposed by this chapter shall be allowed in an amount equal to Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) but not to exceed the actual amount of such contributors during the applicable calendar year.

(2) The tax credit allowed by this section shall not exceed the amount of taxes due the State of Mississippi and may be claimed only in the year in which the contribution is made. Any amount allowable as a credit pursuant to this section that exceeds the taxpayer's tax liability shall not be refundable or carried forward to any other taxable year. Any amounts utilized by the taxpayer as a credit pursuant to this section shall not be utilized by the taxpayer as a deduction under Section 27-7-17. In the case of married individuals filing separate returns, each person may claim an amount not to exceed one-half (1/2) of the tax credit which would have been allowed for a joint return.

(3) The tax credit allowed by this section shall be effective for the calendar year beginning January 1, 2011, and ending December 31, 2011.

(4) This section shall be codified in Chapter 7, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972.

SECTION 13. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2011.