MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2018 Regular Session
To: County Affairs
By: Representatives Touchstone, Sykes
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 19-25-13, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE THE ANNUAL CLOTHING ALLOWANCE ALLOWED TO EACH PLAINCLOTHES INVESTIGATOR EMPLOYED BY A SHERIFF'S OFFICE FROM $400.00 TO $700.00; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 19-25-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-25-13. The sheriff
shall, at the July meeting of the board of supervisors, submit a budget of
estimated expenses of his or her office for the ensuing fiscal year
beginning October 1 in such form as shall be prescribed by the Director of the
State Department of Audit. The board shall examine this proposed budget and
determine the amount to be expended by the sheriff in the performance of his or
her duties for the fiscal year and may increase or reduce * * * that amount as it deems necessary
and proper.
The budget shall include
amounts for compensating the deputies and other employees of the sheriff's
office, for insurance providing protection for the sheriff and his or her deputies
in case of disability, death and other similar coverage, for travel and
transportation expenses of the sheriff and deputies, for feeding prisoners and
inmates of the county jail, and for * * * any other expenses * * * that may be incurred in the
performance of the duties of the office of sheriff. In addition, the budget
shall include amounts for the payment of premiums on bonds and insurance for
the sheriff and his or her deputies which, in the opinion of the board
of supervisors, are deemed necessary to protect the interests of the county or
the sheriff and his or her deputies. * * * The amounts may include official
bonds and any bonds required of his or her deputies by the sheriff;
liability insurance; insurance against false arrest charges; insurance against
false imprisonment charges; theft, fire and other hazards insurance; and
hospitalization insurance as provided for in Sections 25-15-101 and 25-15-103.
The board may authorize the reimbursement of the sheriff and deputies for the
use of privately owned automobiles or other motor vehicles in the performance
of official duties at the rate provided by law for state officers and
employees, or may authorize the purchase by the sheriff of such motor vehicles
and such equipment as may be needed for operation of the sheriff's office, * * * the vehicles and equipment to be
owned by the county. In counties * * * that have elected to purchase the
motor vehicles and * * *
the equipment for the operation of the sheriff's office, if a sheriff or
deputy shall be required in the performance of his or her official
duties, in the event of an emergency, to use his or her privately owned
automobile or other motor vehicle, the board of supervisors may, in its
discretion, authorize the reimbursement for * * * that use at the rate per mile
provided by law for state officers and employees. This shall not be construed
as giving an officer a choice of whether to use his or her own or the
county's vehicle, but shall be construed so as not to penalize an officer who
must use his or her own vehicle because the county's vehicle was not
available.
The board of supervisors, in its discretion, may include in its annual budget for the sheriff's office an amount not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), which may be expended by the sheriff to provide food, water and beverages for the sheriff, the sheriff's deputies, state, national and local law enforcement officers, emergency personnel, county employees and members of the general public who the sheriff requests to assist him or her and his or her office while in the performance of search and rescue missions, disasters or other emergency operations.
The board of supervisors may
acquire one or more credit cards * * * that may be used by the sheriff
and his or her deputies to pay expenses incurred by them when traveling
in or out of state in the performance of their official duties. The chancery
clerk or county purchase clerk shall maintain complete records of all credit
card numbers and all receipts and other documents relating to the use of * * * those credit cards. The sheriff
shall furnish receipts for the use of * * * the credit cards each month to the
chancery clerk or purchase clerk who shall submit a written report monthly to
the board of supervisors, which report shall include an itemized list of all
expenditures and use of the credit cards for the month, and * * * the expenditures may be allowed for
payment by the county in the same manner as other items on the claims docket.
The issuance of a credit card to a sheriff or his or her deputy under
the provisions of this section shall not be construed to authorize * * * the sheriff or deputy sheriff to
use * * * the
credit card to make any expenditure * * * that is not otherwise authorized
by law.
The board of supervisors is
hereby authorized and empowered, in its discretion, to appropriate and pay a
sum not to exceed * * * Seven Hundred Dollars ($700.00)
annually as a clothing allowance to each plainclothes investigator employed by
the sheriff's office of * * *such that county. The board of supervisors of any
county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and having a population of more than
thirty-one thousand seven hundred (31,700) but less than thirty-one thousand
eight hundred (31,800) according to the 1990 Federal Census may appropriate and
pay a sum not to exceed * * *Four Hundred Dollars ($ 400) Seven Hundred Dollars
($700.00) annually as a clothing allowance to the administrator of the
county jail.
The board of supervisors shall, at its first meeting of each quarter beginning on October 1, January 1, April 1 and July 1, appropriate a lump sum for the sheriff for the expenses of his or her office during the current quarter. The quarterly appropriation shall be one-fourth (1/4) of the amount approved in the annual budget unless the sheriff requests a different amount. Except in case of emergency, as provided in the county budget law, the appropriation for the quarter beginning in October of the last year of the sheriff's term shall not exceed one-fourth (1/4) of the annual budget.
The sheriff shall file a
report of all expenses of his or her office incurred during the
preceding month with the board of supervisors for approval at its regular
monthly meeting in a form to be prescribed by the Director of the State
Department of Audit, and upon filing thereof, and approval by the board, the
clerk of the board shall issue warrants in payment thereof but not to exceed
the budget appropriation for that quarter. Any appropriated funds * * * that are unexpended at the end of
the fiscal year shall remain in the county general fund.
The budget for the sheriff's office may be revised at any regular meeting by the board of supervisors. Upon recommendation of the sheriff, the board may at any regular meeting make supplemental appropriations to the sheriff's office.
Any fees previously required
to be paid by a sheriff shall be paid by the board of supervisors by including
the estimates therefor in the sheriff's budget. All fees and charges for
services heretofore collected by sheriffs shall be collected by * * * the sheriff and paid monthly into
the general fund of the concerned county. However, any fees heretofore
collected by * * *
those sheriffs from the county shall not be paid.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.