Senate Bill 2717

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 27-103-129, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THE DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION REGARDING THE MAKING OF RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE LEGISLATURE ON VEHICLE PROCUREMENT, TO REQUIRE LANGUAGE OF LIMITATION IN AGENCY APPROPRIATIONS BILLS REGARDING THE AMOUNT THAT CAN BE SPENT ON VEHICLES; TO AMEND SECTION 29-9-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE THE MAGIC SYSTEM THE INVENTORY RECORD FOR ALL STATE AGENCIES THAT USE MAGIC; TO AMEND SECTIONS 29-9-7, 29-9-11 AND 29-9-21, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 27-103-129, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-103-129. (1) To enable the Legislative Budget Office to prepare such budget, it shall have full and plenary power and authority to require all general-fund and special-fund agencies and the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Division of State Aid Road Construction of the Mississippi Department of Transportation to file a budget request with such information and in such form and in such detail as it may deem necessary and advisable, and it shall have the further power and authority to reduce or eliminate any item or items of requested appropriation by any state agency in the Legislative Budget Office's recommended budget to the Legislature. However, where any item of requested appropriation shall be so reduced or eliminated, the head of the agency involved shall have the right to appear before the appropriate legislative committee to urge a revision of the budget to restore the item reduced or eliminated. The budget requests shall include a definition of the mission of the agency, a description of the duties and responsibilities of the agency, financial data relative to the various programs operated by the agency and performance measures associated with each program of the agency. The performance measures to be contained within the agency budget request shall be developed by cooperative efforts of the Legislative Budget Office, the Department of Finance and Administration and the agency itself and shall be approved jointly by the Legislative Budget Office and the Department of Finance and Administration prior to inclusion within the agency budget request. The budget requests shall also include in an addendum format a five-year strategic plan for the agency which shall include, but not be limited to, the following items of information:

(a) A comprehensive mission statement,

(b) Performance effectiveness objectives for each program of the agency for each of the five (5) years covered by the plan,

(d) A description of the agency's internal management system utilized to evaluate its performance achievements in relationship to the targeted performance levels,

(e) An evaluation by the agency of the agency's performance achievements in relationship to the targeted performance levels for the two (2) preceding fiscal years for which accounting records have been finalized.

(2) All agencies enumerated in subsection (1) of this section shall include in their budget requests the following information regarding contract workers for the most recently completed fiscal year:

(a) The name of each worker;

(b) The specific type of services provided;

(d) Total gross salary or wages paid; and

(e) Whether the worker is a retired member of the Public Employees' Retirement System.

(3) (a) In addition to any other information required by law, each state agency, general-fund agency and special-fund agency, as defined in Section 27-103-103, desiring to purchase any vehicle as defined by this section shall submit as part of its budget request to the Legislative Budget Office and the Department of Finance and Administration a detailed justification for the proposed purchase. The Legislative Budget Office and the Department of Finance and Administration shall jointly prescribe the forms and formats to be used by agencies making the requests. Such forms shall require, at minimum, the following information:

(i) The kind of vehicle to be purchased;

(ii) The person to whom the vehicle will be assigned and the employment responsibilities of that person which necessitate a state-owned vehicle;

(iii) Whether the vehicle is a work vehicle or passenger vehicle; and

(iv) If the vehicle is assigned to a pool and not an individual, the purposes for which the pool vehicle is assigned and the names of the anticipated users of the pool vehicle.

(b) The * * * ~~Legislative Budget Office and the~~ Department of Finance and Administration shall consult with the Legislative Budget Office regarding useful types of analyses to be conducted in conjunction with the making of recommendations regarding agency vehicle procurements, and shall offer a recommendation to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee on all agency requests for vehicles. In making the recommendation, the * * * ~~Legislative Budget Office and the~~ Department of Finance and Administration may consider break-even analyses for the kind of vehicle requested, the travel patterns of the person for whom the vehicle shall be acquired, and shall determine if there exists surplus vehicles in the possession of other agencies that could be used as a substitute for a new vehicle and why such vehicle should not be used. * * * Appropriations bills for state agencies shall contain language of restriction which places a ceiling on the amount of appropriated funds an agency may expend on vehicles.

(c) If an agency determines that an urgent need exists for a vehicle when it is not feasible to obtain prior legislative approval, the agency may make an emergency request to the Bureau of Fleet Management. Any emergency determination shall be made only upon the existence of extraordinary circumstances. The Bureau of Fleet Management shall make a recommendation to the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration and shall give notification of such recommendation to the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House and the Chairmen of the Senate and House of Representatives Appropriations Committees. The Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration shall have the final authority to approve or disapprove the emergency request. The executive director must set forth specific reasons for approval which shall be a public record. If approved and if adequate funding is available, the agency may purchase a specific vehicle to meet its specific emergency needs. The Bureau of Fleet Management shall report any emergency purchase to the Legislative Budget Office. Any such vehicle shall be subject to the same rules and regulations as provided for nonemergency vehicles.

(d) For purposes of subsections (3) and (4) of this section, the term "passenger vehicle" shall mean a vehicle used primarily in transporting agency personnel and the agency's equipment from one location to another. This term shall include only those vehicles for which a license plate or tag is required under Chapter 19, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(e) For purposes of subsections (3) and (4) of this section, the term "work vehicle" shall mean a vehicle used primarily to perform a work assignment or task while incidentally transporting agency personnel and agency equipment from one location to another. This term shall include only those vehicles for which a license plate or tag is required under Chapter 19, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(4) All state agencies, special-fund agencies and general-fund agencies making budget requests under the authority of this section shall include with their budget requests a report of all passenger and work vehicles in their possession. Such report shall detail the persons to whom the vehicles are assigned and the purposes for the vehicles.

(5) Subsections (3) and (4) of this section shall not apply to any vehicle assigned to a sworn officer of the Department of Public Safety and used in undercover operations.

(6) The provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of this section shall not apply to any state institution of higher learning.

(7) The purchase of wireless communication devices as defined in Section 25-53-191 by any state agency, special-fund agency or general-fund agency making budget requests under the authority of this section shall be a specific line item in the agency's appropriation bill.

(8) (a) Beginning with the fiscal year 2017 budget submission, the Legislative Budget Office shall annually publish on its website all budget requests submitted under the authority of this section by state agencies, special-fund agencies and general-fund agencies and shall include all budget units for which budget requests are submitted.

(b) Beginning with the fiscal year 2017 budget submission, any state agency, special-fund agency and general-fund agency making a budget request under the authority of this section shall annually publish on its agency website a copy of the budget request that it submitted.

SECTION 2. Section 29-9-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

29-9-1. The State Auditor of Public Accounts shall require the heads of all state agencies to make an inventory of all lands, buildings, equipment, furniture, and other personal property owned by or under the control of the respective agencies, except highway rights-of-way owned or acquired by the Mississippi State Highway Commission. The inventories shall be made on forms to be prescribed and furnished by said State Auditor. Agencies, including the Legislature, which have on file proper inventories on August 8, 1968, shall not be required to make new inventories, but the remaining provisions of this chapter respecting inventories shall be applicable thereto.

From and after the effective date of the act, all state agencies shall utilize Mississippi's Accountability System for Government Information and Collaboration (MAGIC) to satisfy the inventory recordkeeping and management requirements of this section, except in instances where an agency is not using the MAGIC system.

SECTION 3. Section 29-9-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

29-9-7. The auditor of public accounts shall compile or cause to be compiled from the inventories thus submitted to him one (1) master inventory for the state as a whole, which shall be available for inspection to all state officials and newly elected or appointed officials who are about to take office.

From and after the effective date of the act, Mississippi's Accountability System for Government Information and Collaboration (MAGIC) shall provide the information to satisfy the master inventory requirements of this section for all state agencies that use MAGIC.

SECTION 4. Section 29-9-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

29-9-11. On or before the fifteenth day of each month, the heads of all state agencies shall add to their inventory or inventories the items purchased or otherwise acquired during the last preceding month in the same manner as set forth in the original inventory, and indicate items that have been disposed of and that should be deleted therefrom, showing how and where disposals were made. Should there be no change in the inventory, a report shall be filed so indicating. This additional list and items to be deleted shall be submitted to the auditor of public accounts, to be used to add to or delete from the inventory or inventories in his office.

For all state agencies using Mississippi's Accountability System for Government Information and Collaboration (MAGIC), all reporting required by this section shall be accomplished by reporting changes in inventory in the MAGIC system.

SECTION 5. Section 29-9-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

29-9-21. It is the purpose of this chapter to provide for more accurate, detailed, and readily available inventory information on all state property * * *. In carrying out the purpose hereof, it shall be the duty of the * * * ~~auditor~~ Department of Finance and Administration to maintain * * * ~~his~~ inventory records complete and current and accurate make such reports to the Governor and the Legislature whenever required, or when the * * * ~~said auditor, in his discretion,~~ department finds it necessary to make other and additional reports.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.