Senate Bill 2188

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT BEGINNING NOT LATER THAN JULY 1, 2015, THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING SHALL ADMINISTER A CENTRAL BUSINESS OFFICE FOR ALL PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN THE STATE, TO PROVIDE ACCOUNTING SERVICES, PAYROLL SERVICES AND PREPARE AND DISTRIBUTE ALL CHECKS FOR THE SALARIES OF INSTRUCTIONAL AND NONINSTRUCTIONAL UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES IN THE STATE; TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO ESTABLISH AN OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY BUSINESS AND PAYROLL, TO DIRECT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO FILE WITH THE STATE TREASURER AND THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION NECESSARY DATA AND INFORMATION TO ENABLE THE DEPARTMENT TO PREPARE ALL UNIVERSITY PAYROLL CHECKS AND DISTRIBUTE SAID PAYMENTS BY ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER TO EACH EMPLOYEE; TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE TREASURER AND THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TO ESTABLISH NECESSARY FUNDS AND ACCOUNTS IN THE NAME OF EACH UNIVERSITY IN THE STATE IN ORDER TO VERIFY EACH EMPLOYEE TO WHOM PAYROLL CHECKS ARE DISTRIBUTED; TO PROVIDE THAT EACH UNIVERSITY SHALL TRANSFER TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING FROM GRANT FUNDS ANY AMOUNTS TO BE USED FOR UNIVERSITY SALARIES ON A MONTHLY BASIS; TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE TREASURER AND THE STATE FISCAL OFFICER TO JOINTLY PROMULGATE REGULATIONS FOR THE UTILIZATION OF ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER TO UNIVERSITIES FOR SALARY PAYROLL PURPOSES; TO PROVIDE THAT THE SAVINGS RESULTING FROM THE CONSOLIDATION OF ALL PAYROLL FUNCTIONS TO A CENTRAL DEPARTMENT SHALL BE CERTIFIED TO THE LEGISLATIVE BUDGET OFFICE AND SHALL BE APPROPRIATED BY THE LEGISLATURE FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE UNIVERSITIES; TO PROVIDE THAT THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING SHALL BE THE PURCHASING AGENT FOR ALL UNIVERSITIES IN THE STATE; TO PROVIDE THAT ALL UNIVERSITIES SHALL PURCHASE PERISHABLES, FOOD, COMMODITIES, EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES, UTILITIES AND TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES THROUGH THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING; TO ESTABLISH AN OFFICE OF PURCHASING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING; TO AMEND SECTION 37-101-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY; TO AUTHORIZE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TO CONSOLIDATE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY BUSINESS AND PAYROLL AND UNIVERSITY PURCHASING INTO THE DEPARTMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) Beginning not later than July 1, 2015, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall be the central business office for all public universities in the State of Mississippi, and shall administer the following functions: (a) the preparation and distribution of all payroll checks and electronic funds transfer for all instructional and noninstructional university employees in the State of Mississippi; and (b) the administration of accounts receivable, accounts payable, budget preparation and accounting services for all universities in the State of Mississippi. All salary payments for university employees shall be made by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning may establish an Office of University Business and Payroll and employ a competent person as Director of the Office of University Business and Payroll who shall be a member of the state service and shall receive a salary as determined by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning with the approval of the State Personnel Board. It shall be the duty of each university in the state to make, or cause to be made, a list of all university instructional and noninstructional employees, including necessary years of service and salary information, and make this available to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning at such times as determined to be necessary by the board. Such information shall be used by the Office of University Business and Payroll in the preparation of all employee checks or electronic funds transfer made to the university employees. It shall be the duty of each university to make, or cause to be made, all necessary financial information, balance sheets, source of funds statements, property inventories and records of transactions to enable the Office of University Business and Payroll to administer a central business and accounting office for each university in the state.

(2) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall, on an annual basis, determine the savings in state funds which has accrued as a result of the consolidation of the payroll function of universities to a central state agency, and shall include this amount in its annual budget request as a separate line item which shall be appropriated by the Legislature for the support of the university system in Mississippi.

(3) It shall be the duty of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning to file with the State Treasurer and the Department of Finance and Administration such data and information as may be required to enable the said State Treasurer and State Fiscal Officer to distribute the salary checks and by electronic funds transfer to the instructional and noninstructional employees of all universities at the time required by law, and to make other lawful expenditures by all universities at the time required by law. Such data and information so filed shall show in detail the amount of funds to which each employee is entitled from state funds, and from grant or other private funds available to the university. Such data and information so filed may be revised from time to time as necessitated by law. At the time provided by law, the Office of University Business and Payroll shall prepare the salary payments for all such employees and distribute to the university employees the amounts to which they are entitled by electronic funds transfer as provided by law. In such instances, the State Treasurer shall submit a request for an electronic funds transfer to the State Fiscal Officer, which shall set forth the purpose, amount and payees, and shall be in such form as may be approved by the State Fiscal Officer so as to provide the necessary information as would be required for a requisition and issuance of a warrant. A copy of the record of said electronic funds transfer shall be transmitted to the universities.

(4) Any university making payments of salaries or other lawful expenditures of instructional or noninstructional university employees from grant funds or other private funds shall transfer to the Office of University Business and Payroll one-twelfth (1/12) of its pro rata cost of authorized compensation from grant or other funds by the twentieth day of each month for the compensation that is to be paid on the last day of that month.

(5) The State Fiscal Officer shall promulgate regulations for the utilization of the central payment of salaries to university employees by electronic funds transfer from the Office of University Business and Payroll.

SECTION 2. (1) Beginning not later than July 1, 2015, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall be the purchasing agent for all universities in the State of Mississippi. The purchases of all perishables, food, commodities, supplies, equipment, utilities and transportation vehicles for the use of universities shall be made by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning may establish an Office of University Purchasing and employ a competent person as Director of the Office of University Purchasing who shall be a member of the state service and shall receive a salary as determined by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning with the approval of the State Personnel Board. It shall be the duty of each university to make, or cause to be made, a list of perishables, food, commodities, supplies, equipment, utilities and transportation vehicles, including quality specifications when applicable, regularly used in the universities under its supervision, and to maintain such a list in the Office of University Purchasing of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning. Such list shall be used by the Office of University Purchasing in obtaining competitive bids for perishables, food, commodities, supplies, equipment, utilities and transportation vehicles to be purchased for each university, and shall be available to any interested person. Purchases made by universities from the petty cash fund of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) shall be exempt from Office of University Purchasing disbursement and competitive bid.

(2) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall, on an annual basis, determine the savings in state funds which has accrued as a result of the consolidation of the purchasing function of universities to a central state agency, and shall include this amount in its annual budget request as a separate line item which shall be appropriated by the Legislature for the support of the university system in Mississippi.

(3) For the further purpose of carrying out the provisions of Section 2 of this act, the Office of University Purchasing of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning is further authorized and empowered to adopt and promulgate reasonable rules and regulations not inconsistent with the law for such purpose.

SECTION 3. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall study and make a report to the Legislature at the 2013 Regular Session regarding the effect of the consolidation of the payroll, business and purchasing functions of universities to be implemented under this act in the 2015-2016 academic year. Such report shall include any technical legislative or administrative recommendations for further consolidation of the business functions of universities. Such report shall also include an administrative recommendation for the consolidation or outsourcing of shared information technology, computer and telecommunications services for all universities, in conjunction with the Council for Education Technology established under Section 37-151-25.

SECTION 4. Section 37-101-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-101-15. (1) (a) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall succeed to and continue to exercise control of all records, books, papers, equipment, and supplies, and all lands, buildings, and other real and personal property belonging to or assigned to the use and benefit of the board of trustees formerly supervising and controlling the institutions of higher learning named in Section 37-101-1. The board shall have and exercise control of the use, distribution and disbursement of all funds, appropriations and taxes, now and hereafter in possession, levied and collected, received, or appropriated for the use, benefit, support, and maintenance or capital outlay expenditures of the institutions of higher learning, including the authorization of employees to sign vouchers for the disbursement of funds for the various institutions, except where otherwise specifically provided by law.

(b) The board shall have general supervision of the affairs of all the institutions of higher learning, including the departments and the schools thereof. The board shall have the power in its discretion to determine who shall be privileged to enter, to remain in, or to graduate therefrom. The board shall have general supervision of the conduct of libraries and laboratories, the care of dormitories, buildings, and grounds; the business methods and arrangement of accounts and records; the organization of the administrative plan of each institution; and all other matters incident to the proper functioning of the institutions. The board shall have the authority to establish minimum standards of achievement as a prerequisite for entrance into any of the institutions under its jurisdiction, which standards need not be uniform between the various institutions and which may be based upon such criteria as the board may establish.

(c) The board shall exercise all the powers and prerogatives conferred upon it under the laws establishing and providing for the operation of the several institutions herein specified. The board shall adopt such bylaws and regulations from time to time as it deems expedient for the proper supervision and control of the several institutions of higher learning, insofar as such bylaws and regulations are not repugnant to the Constitution and laws, and not inconsistent with the object for which these institutions were established. The board shall have power and authority to prescribe rules and regulations for policing the campuses and all buildings of the respective institutions, to authorize the arrest of all persons violating on any campus any criminal law of the state, and to have such law violators turned over to the civil authorities.

(d) For all institutions specified herein, the board shall provide a uniform system of recording and of accounting approved by the State Department of Audit. The board shall annually prepare, or cause to be prepared, a budget for each institution of higher learning for the succeeding year which must be prepared and in readiness for at least thirty (30) days before the convening of the regular session of the Legislature. All relationships and negotiations between the State Legislature and its various committees and the institutions named herein shall be carried on through the board of trustees. No official, employee or agent representing any of the separate institutions shall appear before the Legislature or any committee thereof except upon the written order of the board or upon the request of the Legislature or a committee thereof.

(e) For all institutions specified herein, the board shall prepare an annual report to the Legislature setting forth the disbursements of all monies appropriated to the respective institutions. Each report to the Legislature shall show how the money appropriated to the several institutions has been expended, beginning and ending with the fiscal years of the institutions, showing the name of each teacher, officer, and employee, and the salary paid each, and an itemized statement of each and every item of receipts and expenditures. Each report must be balanced, and must begin with the former balance. If any property belonging to the state or the institution is used for profit, the reports shall show the expense incurred in managing the property and the amount received therefrom. The reports shall also show a summary of the gross receipts and gross disbursements for each year and shall show the money on hand at the beginning of the fiscal period of the institution next preceding each session of the Legislature and the necessary amount of expense to be incurred from said date to January 1 following. The board shall keep the annual expenditures of each institution herein mentioned within the income derived from legislative appropriations and other sources, but in case of emergency arising from acts of providence, epidemics, fire or storm with the written approval of the Governor and by written consent of a majority of the senators and of the representatives it may exceed the income. The board shall require a surety bond in a surety company authorized to do business in this state, of every employee who is the custodian of funds belonging to one or more of the institutions mentioned herein, which bond shall be in a sum to be fixed by the board in an amount that will properly safeguard the said funds, the premium for which shall be paid out of the funds appropriated for said institutions.

(f) The board shall have the power and authority to elect the heads of the various institutions of higher learning and to contract with all deans, professors, and other members of the teaching staff, and all administrative employees of said institutions for a term of not exceeding four (4) years. The board shall have the power and authority to terminate any such contract at any time for malfeasance, inefficiency, or contumacious conduct, but never for political reasons. It shall be the policy of the board to permit the executive head of each institution to nominate for election by the board all subordinate employees of the institution over which he presides. It shall be the policy of the board to elect all officials for a definite tenure of service and to reelect during the period of satisfactory service. The board shall have the power to make any adjustments it thinks necessary between the various departments and schools of any institution or between the different institutions.

(g) The board shall keep complete minutes and records of all proceedings which shall be open for inspection by any citizen of the state.

(h) The board shall have the power to contract, on a shared-savings, lease or lease-purchase basis, for energy efficiency services and/or equipment as prescribed in Section 31-7-14, not to exceed ten (10) years.

(i) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, for and on behalf of Jackson State University, is hereby authorized to convey by donation or otherwise easements across portions of certain real estate located in the City of Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, for right-of-way required for the Metro Parkway Project.

(j) In connection with any international contract between the board or one (1) of the state's institutions of higher learning and any party outside of the United States, the board or institution that is the party to the international contract is hereby authorized and empowered to include in the contract a provision for the resolution by arbitration of any controversy between the parties to the contract relating to such contract or the failure or refusal to perform any part of the contract. Such provision shall be valid, enforceable and irrevocable without regard to the justiciable character of the controversy. Provided, however, that in the event either party to such contract initiates litigation against the other with respect to the contract, the arbitration provision shall be deemed waived unless asserted as a defense on or before the responding party is required to answer such litigation.

(k) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning ("board"), on behalf of any institution under its jurisdiction, shall purchase and maintain business property insurance and business personal property insurance on all university-owned buildings and/or contents as required by federal law and regulations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as is necessary for receiving public assistance or reimbursement for repair, reconstruction, replacement or other damage to those buildings and/or contents caused by the Hurricane Katrina Disaster of 2005 or subsequent disasters. The board is authorized to expend funds from any available source for the purpose of obtaining and maintaining that property insurance. The board is authorized to enter into agreements with the Department of Finance and Administration, local school districts, community/junior college districts, community hospitals and/or other state agencies to pool their liabilities to participate in a group business property and/or business personal property insurance program, subject to uniform rules and regulations as may be adopted by the Department of Finance and Administration.

(l) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, or its designee, may approve the payment or reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses incurred by candidates for open positions at the board's executive office or at any of the state institutions of higher learning, when the job candidate has incurred expenses in traveling to a job interview at the request of the board, the Commissioner of Higher Education or a state institution of higher learning administrator.

(m) Beginning not later than July 1, 2015, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall administer a central business office for all universities under the jurisdiction of the board of trustees, shall provide for the preparation and distribution of all payroll checks and electronic funds transfers for all instructional and noninstructional university employees in the state, shall administer accounts receivable, accounts payable, budget preparation and other accounting services for all universities. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning may establish an Office of University Business and Payroll and employ a director of the office as prescribed in Section 1 of this act.

(n) Beginning not later than July 1, 2015, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall be the purchasing agent for all universities under the jurisdiction of the board of trustees, and shall provide for the purchase of all perishables, food, commodities, supplies, equipment, utilities and transportation vehicles. The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning may establish an Office of University Purchasing and employ a Director of the Office of University Purchasing as prescribed in Section 2 of this act.

(2) Subsection (1)(m) and (n) of this section shall no longer apply if the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration consolidates the Office of University Business and Payroll and the Office of University Purchasing into the Department of Finance and Administration, pursuant to the authority provided by Section 5 of this act.

SECTION 5. (1) The Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration may, with the written approval of the Governor, consolidate the Office of University Business and Payroll and the Office of University Purchasing into the Department of Finance and Administration.

(2) If the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration elects to consolidate pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, any personnel employed by the Office of University Business and Payroll and the Office of University Purchasing shall be transferred to the Department of Finance and Administration. The staff transferred to the Department of Finance and Administration under this section shall remain nonstate service members for two (2) years following their transfer.

(3) If the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration elects to consolidate pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, any reference to the Office of University Business and Payroll or the Office of University Purchasing shall mean the Department of Finance and Administration.

(4) The Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration is authorized and empowered to establish rules and guidelines to implement such consolidation.

(5) The Department of Finance and Administration shall make a report to the Legislature during the Regular Session following such consolidation. The report shall include any technical legislative or administrative recommendations necessary for the orderly consolidation of these functions into the Department of Finance and Administration and any recommendations for further consolidation.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2012.