House Concurrent Resolution 75

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROPOSING TO AMEND SECTION 56 OF THE MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890 TO ALLOW A QUALIFIED ELECTOR WITH CERTAIN EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS TO REQUEST THAT A PROPOSED BILL BE DRAFTED BY THE APPLICABLE LEGAL OFFICES OF THE STATE SENATE AND THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; TO ADD A NEW SECTION TO CREATE NEW CRIMINAL OFFENSES RELATED TO THE CONDUCT OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, ATTORNEY, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY OR JUDGE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That the following amendments to the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 are proposed to the qualified electors of the state:

Amend Section 56, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read as follows:

"Section 56. (1) The style of the laws of the state shall be: "Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi.

(2) A bill may be introduced by a legislator, or by any other citizen in the method and manner described in this subsection, provided that the bill meets all applicable requirements set forth in the House Rules, the Senate Rules and the Joint Rules of the Senate and House, including all legislative deadlines pertaining to the introduction of bills. A citizen who is a qualified elector, who possesses a high school diploma or its equivalent, and who has earned at least twenty-four (24) hours of course credit at a state community or junior college or a public or state institution of higher learning, may submit a request for the drafting of legislation directly to the respective Legislative Services Offices of the State Senate and House of Representatives, and such request shall be prepared and processed by such office. The Legislature shall provide by legislative rule for the procedures to be followed in effectuating this provision."

II.

Amend the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 by adding a new section 272B to read as follows:

Section 272B. (1) (a) A law enforcement officer who commits misconduct, racial misconduct, unnecessary physical abuse or other improper conduct against another shall, upon conviction, be fined Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) and suspended from employment as a law enforcement officer for thirty (30) days.

(b) Any person aggrieved by an alleged act of a law enforcement officer as described above may file a complaint in the circuit court of the district in which the act allegedly occurred, and the court shall hold a jury trial within forty-five (45) days after receiving the complaint. The jury shall be composed of seven (7) residents of the state, representing diversity in gender and ethnicity. No later than two (2) weeks before the trial, the complainant and the law enforcement officer shall each submit to a polygraph examination with regard to the facts surrounding the alleged act.

(c) Any person who is convicted of filing a false complaint under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall, upon conviction, be fined One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisoned in the county jail for up to thirty (30) days.

(d) Conviction of any person under the provisions of this section does not preclude conviction under any other provision of law. If the conduct which was the subject of a complaint under paragraph (a) constitutes a violation of any other provision of criminal law, then the appropriate district attorney shall charge the person under the other provision of criminal law.

(2) (a) An attorney, district attorney, other prosecuting attorney or judge who: (i) deprives a person of his constitutional or civil rights, (ii) abuses or exceeds the authority of his office, (iii) does not maintain proper decorum in the court room, or (iv) engages in unethical conduct, shall, upon conviction of a first offense, be fined Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) and suspended from the practice of law for ninety (90) days. Upon conviction of a second or subsequent offense, the person shall be suspended from the practice of law for one (1) year.

(b) If an offense as described in paragraph (a) is found to have been committed with malice, then any person who is aggrieved by the conduct of the person convicted of committing the offense may petition the court and the Mississippi Bar Association to disbar the convicted person for up to five (5) years.

(c) Conviction of any person under the provisions of this section does not preclude conviction under any other provision of law. If the conduct which was the subject of a complaint under paragraph (a) constitutes a violation of any other provision of criminal law, then the appropriate district attorney shall charge the person under the other provision of criminal law.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this proposed amendment shall be submitted by the Secretary of State to the qualified electors at an election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2012, as provided by Section 273 of the Constitution and by general law.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the explanation of this proposed amendment for the ballot shall read as follows: "This proposed amendment allows a qualified elector with certain educational qualifications to request that a proposed bill be drafted by the applicable legal offices of the State Senate and House of Representatives. It also creates new criminal offenses related to the conduct of a law enforcement officer, attorney, district attorney, prosecuting attorney or judge."

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall submit this resolution, immediately upon adoption by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.