MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2020 Regular Session
To: Universities and Colleges; Appropriations; Public Health and Human Services
By: Representatives Bell (65th), Banks, Crudup, Dortch, Hines, Holloway, Johnson, McCray, Straughter, Walker
AN ACT TO ABOLISH THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING EFFECTIVE MAY 7, 2021; TO PROVIDE THAT THE GOVERNANCE OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING SHALL BE VESTED IN A BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR EACH UNIVERSITY ELECTED BY THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONS AND DULY ENROLLED MEMBERS OF THE STUDENT BODY OF EACH RESPECTIVE UNIVERSITY; TO PRESCRIBE THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD AND TERMS OF OFFICE OF SUCH INDIVIDUALS ELECTED TO SERVE AS TRUSTEES; TO REPEAL SECTION 37-101-3, TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-101-1, 37-101-5, 37-101-7, 37-101-9, 37-101-11, 37-101-13, 37-101-15, 37-101-16, 37-101-19, 37-101-21, 37-101-23, 37-101-27, 37-101-29, 37-101-30, 37-101-31, 37-101-41, 37-101-42, 37-101-43, 37-101-44, 37-101-61, 37-101-63, 37-101-71, 37-101-91, 37-101-93, 37-101-95, 37-101-99, 37-101-101, 37-101-103, 37-101-121, 37-101-123, 37-101-125, 37-101-141, 37-101-143, 37-101-145, 37-101-147, 37-101-149, 37-101-153, 37-101-155, 37-101-157, 37-101-159, 37-101-181, 37-101-183, 37-101-185, 37-101-283, 37-101-303, 37-101-305, 37-101-351, 37-101-413, 1-1-11, 7-7-27, 11-46-1, 11-46-17, 17-13-5, 19-3-47, 19-9-1, 21-25-23, 21-33-301, 25-3-41, 25-53-5, 27-7-704, 27-103-127, 27-104-155, 27-104-203, 29-1-205, 29-5-77, 31-1-1, 31-7-10, 31-7-13, 31-11-33, 37-3-7, 37-4-4, 37-7-485, 37-9-77, 37-9-213, 37-11-17, 37-11-29, 37-15-38, 37-26-9, 37-61-33, 37-63-3, 37-65-7, 37-67-1, 37-99-1, 37-102-1 37-102-3, 37-102-5, 37-102-7, 37-102-13, 37-102-15, 37-103-1, 37-103-9, 37-103-25, 37-103-29, 37-104-5, 37-105-1, 37-105-3, 37-105-7, 37-105-9, 37-106-5, 37-106-9, 37-106-75, 37-111-3, 37-111-7, 37-111-9, 37-111-11, 37-113-7, 37-113-17, 37-113-19, 37-113-21, 37-113-23, 37-113-25, 37-113-28, 37-113-29, 37-119-31, 37-113-33, 37-113-41, 37-113-43, 37-113-45, 37-113-47, 37-113-51, 37-115-33, 37-115-35, 37-115-45, 37-115-50.1, 37-115-51, 37-115-69, 37-115-71, 37-115-73, 37-115-101, 37-115-105, 37-115-107, 37-115-109, 37-119-3, 37-119-7, 37-119-9, 37-119-11, 37-123-3, 37-125-3, 37-125-7, 37-127-3, 37-127-5, 37-127-7, 37-129-1, 37-131-1, 37-131-3, 37-131-9, 37-131-13, 37-131-15, 37-133-5, 37-133-7, 37-133-9, 37-138-7, 37-139-7, 37-140-5, 37-141-3, 37-141-5, 37-141-6, 37-141-13, 37-141-15, 37-141-17, 37-141-19, 37-141-21, 37-144-3, 37-145-3, 37-147-5, 37-147-15, 37-148-3, 37-149-1, 37-154-1, 37-155-9, 37-155-117, 37-163-1, 39-33-1, 39-37-1, 41-7-191, 41-13-15, 41-23-45, 41-63-4, 41-87-5, 41-123-1, 43-14-1, 43-55-5, 43-55-23, 47-5-401, 47-5-451, 49-3-5, 49-3-7, 49-3-11, 55-23-5, 55-23-8, 57-1-357, 57-13-22, 57-15-3, 57-15-9, 57-18-5, 57-18-7, 57-18-9, 57-19-5, 57-19-7, 57-19-11, 57-21-7, 57-23-5, 57-23-7, 57-23-11, 57-39-19, 57-49-11, 57-55-5, 57-55-7, 57-55-9, 57-55-11, 57-55-13, 57-55-15, 57-55-17, 57-64-7, 57-67-5, 57-67-13, 57-75-13, 61-5-71, 61-5-73, 61-5-75, 63-3-210, 63-11-32, 69-2-5, 73-15-19, 73-15-33, 75-59-1, 75-60-5, 75-76-34, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; TO REPEAL SECTION 55-23-53, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH REQUIRED THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO DEVELOP A FOOTBALL SCHEDULE PROPOSAL FOR THE MISSISSIPPI VETERANS MEMORIAL STADIUM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. When used in this act and for the purposes of Title 1, Title 7, Title 11, Title 17, Title 19, Title 21, Title 25, Title 27, Title 29, Title 31, Title 37, Title 39, Title 41, Title 43, Title 47, Title 49, Title 55, Title 57, Title 61, Title 63, Title 69, Title 73 and Title 75, Mississippi Code of 1972, whenever the terms "Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning" or "board of trustees" appears in state law, such terms shall mean the university board of trustees of each publicly funded state institution of higher learning, unless the context of use clearly requires otherwise.
SECTION 2. (1) Pursuant to Section 213-A, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, each public postsecondary state institution of higher learning shall be administered by a university board of trustees comprised of three (3) members who shall be residents of the State of Mississippi, and who shall be elected by members of the university's alumni association and duly enrolled members of the university's student body at any such times that elections are conducted. In addition to the elected trustees, the president of each university shall serve on the board of trustees as an ex-officio member of the board for the university in which he or she serves. The chairperson of the faculty senate or the equivalent and the president of the student body of the university shall serve the board in an advisory capacity. The elected members shall serve staggered five-year terms. In order to achieve staggered terms, beginning May 7, 2021, of the initially elected trustees, one (1) member shall serve a five-year term, one (1) member shall serve a three-year term, and one (1) member shall serve a two-year term, and thereafter, each elected trustee shall serve a term of five (5) years.
(2) Members of the boards of trustees shall receive no compensation but may be reimbursed for travel and per diem expenses as provided in Section 25-3-41.
(3) Each university board of trustees shall select from among its membership an individual to serve as chair. Each chair shall serve for two (2) years and may be reselected for one additional consecutive two-year term. The chair shall preside at all meetings of the board of trustees and may call special meetings of the board. The chair shall also attest to actions of the board of trustees. The chair shall notify the president of the university and the alumni association, in writing, whenever a board member has three (3) consecutive unexcused absences from regular board meetings in any fiscal year, which may be grounds for recall by the voting electoral body.
(4) Each university board of trustees shall keep and, within two (2) weeks after a board meeting, post prominently on the university's website, detailed meeting minutes for all meetings, including the vote history and attendance of each trustee.
SECTION 3. (1) Each board of trustees shall be a public body corporate by the name of "The (Name of University) Board of Trustees," with all the powers of a body corporate, including the power to adopt a corporate seal, to contract and be contracted with, to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded in all courts of law or equity, and to give and receive donations. In all suits against a board of trustees, service of process shall be made on the chair of the board of trustees or, in the absence of the chair, on the corporate secretary or designee.
(2) The corporation is constituted as a public instrumentality, and the exercise by the corporation of the power conferred by this section is considered to be the performance of an essential public function. The corporation is subject to the open meetings requirements under Chapter 41, Title 25, Mississippi Code of 1972. The corporation shall be entitled to provide notice of internal review committee meetings for competitive proposals or procurement to applicants by mail or facsimile rather than by means of publication.
SECTION 4. (1) Whenever appointed by any competent court of the state, or by any statute, or in any will, deed, or other instrument, or in any manner whatever as trustee of any funds or real or personal property in which any of the institutions or agencies under its management, control, or supervision, or their departments or branches or students, faculty members, officers, or employees, may be interested as beneficiaries, or otherwise, or for any educational purpose, a university board of trustees is authorized to act as trustee with full legal capacity as trustee to administer such trust property, and the title thereto shall vest in said board as trustee. In all such cases, the university board of trustees shall have the power and capacity to do and perform all things as fully as any individual trustee or other competent trustee might do or perform, and with the same rights, privileges, and duties, including the power, capacity, and authority to convey, transfer, mortgage or pledge such property held in trust and to contract and execute all other documents relating to said trust property which may be required for, or appropriate to, the administration of such trust or to accomplish the purposes of any such trust.
(2) Deeds, mortgages, leases and other contracts of the university board of trustees relating to real property of any such trust or any interest therein may be executed by the university board of trustees, as trustee, in the same manner as is provided by the laws of the state for the execution of similar documents by other corporations or may be executed by the signatures of a majority of the members of the board of trustees; however, to be effective, any such deed, mortgage, or lease contract for more than ten (10) years of any trust property, executed hereafter by the university board of trustees, shall be approved by the Public Procurement Review Board, evidenced by an endorsement on the instrument approved, reciting the date of such approval, and bearing the seal of the Public Procurement Review Board. Such signed and sealed endorsement shall be a part of the instrument and entitled to record without further proof.
(3) (a) Nothing herein shall be construed to authorize a university board of trustees to contract a debt on behalf of, or in any way to obligate, the state.
(b) The satisfaction of any debt or obligation incurred by the university board as trustee under the provisions of this section shall be exclusively from the trust property, mortgaged or encumbered.
(c) Any mortgage, lease or other agreement entered into pursuant to this section is subject to the provisions of Section 37-101-301, et seq., relating to the issuance of general obligation bonds for state institutions of higher learning.
SECTION 5. Section 37-101-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-1. The following state institutions of higher learning, namely:
(a) The University of Mississippi;
(b) The Mississippi
State University * * *;
(c) The Mississippi * * * University for Women;
(d) The University of Southern Mississippi;
(e) The Delta State * * * University;
(f) The Alcorn * * * State
University;
(g) The Jackson State * * * University;
(h) The Mississippi
Valley State * * *
University;
(i) And any other of
like kind which may be hereafter established by the state; shall be under the
management and control of a board of trustees to be known as "The (Name
of University) Board of Trustees * * *.
SECTION 6. Section 37-101-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, which establishes the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning is repealed.
SECTION 7. Section 37-101-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-5. There shall be * * * elected only men or women to
membership on * * *
a university board of trustees * * * as
shall be qualified electors residing in the * * * State
of Mississippi and at least twenty-five years of age and of the highest
order of intelligence, character, learning and fitness for the performance of
such duties to the end that such board shall perform the high and honorable
duties thereof to the greatest advantage of the people of the state and of such
institutions, uninfluenced by any political considerations.
SECTION 8. Section 37-101-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-7. Within ten (10)
days after the beginning of the terms of office of its members, upon call of
the * * *
respective university president or chancellor, * * * all university boards of
trustees * * * shall meet in the City of Jackson
and organize by electing one (1) of its number as president, whose term of
office shall be for one (1) year or until a successor shall be elected, and
shall transact such other business as may come before the meeting. When the
presiding officer has voted and the result is a tie, he cannot vote again to
break the tie.
The trustees shall have authority to appoint a nonmember as Commissioner of Higher Education, who shall possess the highest qualifications as an administrator and research worker. The Commissioner of Higher Education shall maintain an office and be responsible to the board for the efficient functioning of the staff which the board may from time to time establish. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Higher Education to make constant inquiry into the problems of higher education, to survey and study carefully the organization, management and all other affairs of each institution under the control of said trustees, to make report of all findings and recommend such changes as will increase efficiency and economy in the operation of each institution, and to perform such other duties as the board may prescribe. The Commissioner of Higher Education shall be responsible for compiling all laws and all rules and regulations of a general nature adopted by the board for the governance of the various institutions of higher learning in pamphlet or loose-leaf form. Current copies of such compilations shall be furnished to all officials directly responsible for the carrying out of such laws, rules and regulations. The expenses for such compilation and publication shall be paid by the board out of any funds available for the operation of said board.
The trustees shall authorize the employment of such other personnel as may be required from time to time to carry out the functions of the board and may assign to the personnel so employed such functions and duties and may delegate to the commissioner or other personnel such powers of the board as may be necessary to accomplish the purposes for which the board was established. All such personnel shall be employed by the commissioner with the approval of the board and shall hold office at the pleasure of the commissioner. The board shall also have the authority to employ on a fee basis such technical and professional assistance as may be necessary to carry out the powers, duties and purposes of the board.
The Commissioner of Higher Education and other personnel employed by the board shall receive reasonable salaries commensurate with their duties and functions, the amount of which shall be fixed by the board. The reasonable traveling expenses and other authorized expenses incurred by the commissioner and other personnel in the performance of their duties, together with other expenses of the operation of the executive office, shall be prorated and deducted from the appropriations for the current expenses of the several institutions.
SECTION 9. Section 37-101-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-9. * * * Members of a university board of
trustees * * * shall serve without salary
compensation but shall receive a per diem and mileage as authorized by law
including time of going to and returning from meetings of said board, together
with actual travel and hotel expenses incident to the meetings of the board,
and in the discharge of duties prescribed by the board.
The board of trustees shall
hold * * *
three (3) regular quarterly slated meetings annually, one (1) in * * * January and the others in * * * May and September, and as many
special meetings as may be necessary on call of the university president * * *. In either
case, the call shall be in writing and shall be mailed by registered letter
with return receipt requested, or by certified mail, to each and every member
at least five (5) days prior to the date of meeting. * * *
All three (3) members must be present for the transaction of business.
SECTION 10. Section 37-101-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-11. * * * Each university board of trustees * * * is
hereby authorized and empowered, in its discretion, to adopt and have an
official seal in such form as it deems appropriate for its official use.
SECTION 11. Section 37-101-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-13. It shall be the
duty of the university boards of trustees * * * and
the boards of trustees of the community colleges to begin immediately a
comprehensive study of gaming and related programs, degrees and courses
offered. Following the completion of such study, the boards shall make
such adjustments as may be found to be necessary in the programs of the various
institutions, to the end that the broadest possible educational opportunities
shall be offered to the citizens of this state without inefficient and needless
duplication. Subject to the provisions of Section 75-76-34, the boards
shall, through such officers of the boards and through such procedures
as it shall see fit to establish, exercise continuing jurisdiction and control
over the establishment of new courses of study, new departments and new
functions and activities in each institution so that the growth and development
of the program of higher education in the state shall proceed in an orderly and
rational manner, inefficient and needless duplication may be avoided, and new
expanded programs will be undertaken only as the same may become justified,
based upon objective criteria to be established by the respective boards.
In carrying out the purposes of this section, particular attention shall be given
to the extension programs of the various institutions. The boards, in
conjunction with the chancellor and presidents of the institutions, shall take
such steps as may be necessary to improve and coordinate such programs and
shall exercise such direct control over the establishment, organization,
operation and granting of credit for such programs as may be necessary to
accomplish such purposes.
SECTION 12. Section 37-101-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-15. (a) * * * Each university board of trustees,
respectively, * * * 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 * * *
institutions of higher learning named in Section 37-101-1. The boards
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 under its jurisdiction, 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 boards shall have general supervision of the affairs of all the respective institutions of higher learning, including the departments and the schools thereof. The boards shall have the power in its discretion to determine who shall be privileged to enter, to remain in, or to graduate therefrom. The boards 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 boards 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 boards 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 boards 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 boards 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 boards shall provide a uniform system of recording and of accounting approved by the State Department of Audit. The boards shall annually prepare, or cause to be prepared, a budget for each institution of higher learning under its jurisdiction 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 boards of trustees. Other than a university chancellor or president, 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 boards 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 reporting 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 boards 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 boards 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 boards 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 boards 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 not exceeding four (4) years. The boards 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 boards to permit the executive head of each
institution to nominate for election by the boards all subordinate
employees of the institution over which he presides. It shall be the policy of
the boards to elect all officials for a definite tenure of service and
to reelect during the period of satisfactory service. The boards shall
have the power to make any adjustments it thinks necessary between the various
departments and schools of * * * the institution * * * under
its jurisdiction.
(g) The boards shall keep complete minutes and records of all proceedings which shall be open for inspection by any citizen of the state.
(h) The boards shall have the power to enter into an energy performance contract, energy services contract, on a shared-savings, lease or lease-purchase basis, for energy efficiency services and/or equipment as prescribed in Section 31-7-14.
(i) The Jackson State
University Board of Trustees * * *, 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 * * * one (1) of the state's
institutions of higher learning and any party outside of the United States, the
respective board * * *or of an 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) * * * A university board of trustees * * *, 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. * * *
A board is authorized to expend funds from any available source for the
purpose of obtaining and maintaining that property insurance. * * * A 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) * * * A university board of trustees * * *, 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) (i) * * * A university board of trustees * * * is
authorized to administer and approve contracts for the construction and
maintenance of buildings and other facilities of the state institutions of
higher learning, including related contracts for architectural and engineering
services, which are paid for with self-generated funds.
(ii) Additionally, * * * a board that is capable of
procuring and administering contracts for architectural and engineering
services, as annually designated by the board, is authorized to oversee,
administer and approve all such contracts for the construction and
maintenance of buildings and other facilities of the * * * institution
of higher learning, * * * which
are funded in whole or in part by general obligation bonds of the State of
Mississippi * * *. Prior to the disbursement of funds,
an agreement for each project between the institution and the Department of
Finance and Administration shall be executed. The approval and execution of
the agreement shall not be withheld by either party unless the withholding
party provides a written, detailed explanation of the basis for withholding to
the other party. The agreement shall stipulate the responsibilities of each
party, applicable procurement regulations, documentation and reporting
requirements, conditions prior to, and schedule of, disbursement of general
obligation bond funds to the institution and provisions concerning handling any
remaining general obligation bonds at the completion of the project. Such
agreement shall not include provisions that constitute additional
qualifications or criteria that act to invalidate the designation of an
institution as capable of procuring and administering such project. Inclusion
of any such provisions may be appealed to the Public Procurement Review Board.
This subparagraph (ii) shall stand repealed from and after July 1, 2022.
SECTION 13. Section 37-101-16, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-16. The university
boards of trustees * * *of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall develop a
system of manpower management which shall be implemented in all institutions
under the control of * * *
each board. The manpower management system shall be so designed to
insure accurate and rapid reporting of all manpower positions within each
institution by job classification to include position number and title, grade,
salary and fringe benefits, name of incumbent, social security number and date
of hire.
SECTION 14. Section 37-101-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-19. The University
of Southern Mississippi Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized and empowered to establish and maintain a marine research
laboratory on lands belonging to the State of Mississippi, said lands being a
part of the Magnolia State Park in Jackson County, Mississippi, and to be
assigned for the use of such laboratory by the Mississippi Department of Marine
Resources.
The marine research
laboratory may, in the discretion of the board of trustees * * *, be
operated by the Mississippi Academy of Science, Inc., under the supervision and
control of the University of Southern Mississippi Board of Trustees * * *.
The University of
Southern Mississippi Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized and empowered to expend annually out of its regular
appropriation for * * * a sum not
exceeding Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for the support and maintenance of
the marine research laboratory.
SECTION 15. Section 37-101-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-21. A body politic and corporate is hereby created under the name of Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, to have perpetual succession, with powers to contract and be contracted with; to receive and acquire, by any legal method, property of any description, necessary or convenient for its operation, and to hold, employ, use and convey the same; to adopt and use a corporate seal; and to adopt bylaws, rules and regulations for the government of the same, its employees, officials, agents, and members.
The object and purposes of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory shall be to promote the study and knowledge of science including the natural resources of the State of Mississippi and to provide for the dissemination of research findings and specimens from the Gulf Coast area.
The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory shall be under
the control and supervision of the University of Southern Mississippi
Board of Trustees * * *, and the powers of said
laboratory shall be vested in and its duties performed by said board.
The laboratory shall be located at some
appropriate place within the state and on the Gulf of Mexico to be determined
by the university board of trustees * * *.
It shall be the duty of the board of trustees * * * to
appoint or elect a director for said laboratory, determine the number of
instructors, assistants and other employees and fix their compensation, and in
cooperation with the Mississippi Academy of Science, prescribe rules,
regulations, and policies governing the operation of the institution,
qualifications of instructors and employees and for the admission of students,
and for the direction of research programs.
SECTION 16. Section 37-101-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-23. (1) The
Mississippi Small Farm Development Center, which shall be referred to in this
section as the SFDC, is established under the management and control of the Alcorn
State University Board of Trustees * * *. The
principal offices of the SFDC shall be located at Alcorn State University and
shall be under the direction of the president of the university subject to the
governance of the university board of trustees. The president shall
appoint a director of the SFDC who shall recommend to the president necessary
professional and administrative staff of the center, all subject to the
approval of the board of trustees.
(2) It shall be the function and duty of the SFDC to:
(a) Develop a system to deliver management and technical assistance to small farms utilizing the resources of local, state and federal government programs, various segments of the private sector, and universities and colleges throughout the state;
(b) Make management and technical assistance available to small farms by linking together with the above resources;
(c) Research and develop small farm opportunities for new or alternative crops;
(d) Develop a clearinghouse for the collection and dissemination of agricultural and economic data; and
(e) Assist small farms in developing more efficient marketing and distribution channels, including foreign trade marketing.
SECTION 17. Section 37-101-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-27. (1) There is created within the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund in the State Treasury a trust to be known as the Ayers Endowment Trust, which shall be used as provided in this section. On July 1, 1997, Fifteen Million Dollars ($15,000,000.00) in the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund shall be set aside and placed in the Ayers Endowment Trust.
(2) The principal of the Ayers Endowment Trust shall remain inviolate within the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund, and shall be invested in the same manner as the remainder of the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund.
(3) The interest and income
earned from the investment of the principal of the Ayers Endowment Trust shall
be appropriated by the Legislature to the boards of trustees of * * *
Jackson State University, Alcorn State University and Mississippi Valley State
University, the historically black institutions of higher learning in
Mississippi, with one-third (1/3) of the amount of the interest and income
earned being allocated for the benefit of each of those universities. The
money allotted for each university shall be used for continuing educational
enhancement and racial diversity, including recruitment of white students and
scholarships for white applicants.
(4) The creation of the Ayers Endowment Trust and the appropriation of the interest and income for the purposes specified in this section shall be to comply with the order of the United States District Court in the case of Ayers v. Fordice, 879 F.Supp. 1419 (N.D. Miss. 1995), with regard to Jackson State University and Alcorn State University, and to provide Mississippi Valley State University with an equal amount of funding for the same purposes as for the other historically black institutions of higher learning.
(5) If the United States
District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi approves and directs
the implementation of a settlement agreement in the case of Ayers v.
Musgrove (Civil Action No. 4:75CV9-B-D, in the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Mississippi), and if the agreement becomes final
and effective according to its terms (including, but not limited to, the
exhaustion of all rights of appeal) before the first day of the 2005 Regular
Session of the Legislature, there shall be created in the State Treasury a fund
to be known as the Ayers Settlement Fund. Monies deposited into the Ayers
Settlement Fund under Section 27-103-203(2) shall be appropriated by the
Legislature * * * for the
purpose of establishing a public endowment for the benefit of Jackson State
University, Alcorn State University and Mississippi Valley State University in
compliance with the settlement agreement.
(6) If the Ayers Settlement Fund is created under subsection (5) of this section, subsection (1) through (4) of this section shall be repealed when the Ayers Endowment Trust reaches Zero Dollars ($0.00) in accordance with Section 27-103-203(3).
SECTION 18. Section 37-101-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-29. Each institution
of higher learning with a teacher education program approved by the State Board
of Education shall prepare and submit to the State Board of Education and to * * * its board of trustees * * * an
annual performance report on the institution's teacher education program. The
report shall include the following information:
(a) Teacher enrollment data;
(b) Professional education faculty data;
(c) Characteristics of students receiving initial licensure;
(d) Number and percentage of program completers scoring at or above the proficiency level on the prescribed teacher education exit tests;
(e) Satisfaction rate of employers and graduates;
(f) Follow-up profiles of graduates of the teacher education program; and
(g) Any other information
required by the State Board of Education. Before requiring any other
information, the State Board of Education shall conduct collaborative planning
activities with the Mississippi Association of Colleges of Teacher Education
and the university boards of trustees * * *.
The State Department of
Education, in collaboration with the Mississippi Association of Colleges of
Teacher Education and the university boards of trustees * * *, shall
prepare a common form for the preparation and submission of the annual
performance reports. The State Department of Education shall establish the
date by which such reports must be submitted to the board. No later than sixty
(60) days after the deadline date established for the submission of reports,
the department shall submit a compilation of all annual performance reports
received from the state institutions of higher learning to the Chairmen of the
Education Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
SECTION 19. Section 37-101-30, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-30. (1) The Legislature finds and declares that a compelling state interest exists in providing a retirement incentive program or encouraging the retirement of those employees of institutions of higher learning who are current and active contributing members of the Public Employees' Retirement System.
(2) As used in this section:
(a) "Board"
means the university board of trustees of a state * * * institution of higher
learning.
(b) "Program" means the retirement incentive program established under this section.
(3) (a) The board is authorized to pay, in fiscal years selected by the board, a monetary incentive to employees who are eligible for retirement in exchange for a voluntary agreement of the employee:
(i) To retire on a specific date as set forth in subsection (6) of this section, and
(ii) To waive any
and all claims, known or unknown, arising out of or related to employment or
cessation of employment at the * * * institution of higher
learning.
(b) The granting of additional compensation shall be made in exchange for additional consideration given by the employee.
(c) The retirement incentive authorized by this section is a voluntary plan for institutions of higher learning faculty and staff offering an incentive for retirement. The plan shall be available to all full-time faculty and staff who meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subsection (4) of this section.
(4) (a) To be eligible to participate in the program, full-time faculty and staff of institutions of higher learning must, as of the effective date of their retirement, be eligible to retire under the laws governing the Public Employees' Retirement System by virtue of:
(i) Having twenty-five (25) years of creditable service, or
(ii) Being age sixty (60) and having at least four (4) years of creditable service.
(b) The institution of higher learning offering the program shall, in all cases, utilize the records of the Public Employees' Retirement System as the source for determining eligibility.
(c) The program is offered as an alternative to any other retirement incentive plan that may be offered by the state or the Public Employees' Retirement System in the future.
(5) In accordance with applicable law, the institution of higher learning shall provide a cash benefit to each participant in the program based upon a percentage of the participant's current salary that is subject to federal income tax, state income tax and Federal Insurance Contributions Act withholding. The participant shall be compensated for unused annual leave as otherwise provided by law. The cash benefit paid under this section shall not be subject to employer or employee contributions under the laws governing the Public Employees' Retirement System.
(6) Eligible employees shall make their election to participate in the program in the manner and at the time prescribed by the board. The date of retirement for all employees participating in this program shall be June 30 of any fiscal year in which the program is offered. Employees electing to participate in the program shall agree to waive any claims, known or unknown, arising out of or related to employment or cessation of employment at institutions of higher learning. An employee may revoke the election to participate in the program within seven (7) days after the execution of the election.
(7) The additional compensation authorized under the program is made in exchange for additional consideration given by the employee.
(8) The board shall prescribe such rules and regulations as it shall consider necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.
SECTION 20. Section 37-101-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-31. In addition to the powers vested in * * * each university board of trustees * * * by
Section 213-A, Mississippi Constitution of 1890 and by this chapter, said boards * * * are hereby authorized to establish a
reserve fund to receive funds from state, federal or private sources for the
purpose of guaranteeing payment of loans obtained by college or university
students from public or private lenders or banking institutions. The boards * * * are authorized and empowered to do
and perform all the necessary and requisite acts and deeds necessary to carry
out the provisions of this section.
SECTION 21. Section 37-101-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-41. (1) (a) Except
as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this section, and subject to the
provisions of Section 37-101-42, * * * an university board of trustees * * * (the "board")
is authorized and empowered to lease to private individuals or corporations for
a term not exceeding thirty-five (35) years any land or land with existing
auxiliary facilities at * * *any of the following state-supported institutions:
Mississippi State University * * *, Jackson
State University, Mississippi Valley State University, University of
Mississippi, Alcorn State University, University of Southern Mississippi,
Mississippi University for Women and Delta State University, for the purpose of
erecting or renovating, furnishing, maintaining and equipping auxiliary
facilities thereon for active faculty, staff and/or students. The auxiliary
facilities shall be constructed or renovated, and may be furnished, maintained
and equipped thereon by private financing, and may be leased back to the board
for use by the concerned state-supported institution of higher learning. The
lease shall contain a provision permitting the board to purchase the building
located thereon, including any furnishings and equipment therein, for the sum
of One Dollar ($1.00) after payment by the board of all sums of money due under
said lease.
(b) The university
board of trustees of * * * may * * * lease to
private individuals or corporations for a period not exceeding thirty-five (35)
years, any land or land with existing auxiliary facilities at the university,
for the purpose of erecting or renovating, furnishing, maintaining and
equipping auxiliary facilities thereon for active faculty, staff and/or
students. The auxiliary facilities shall be constructed or renovated, and may
be furnished, maintained and equipped thereon by private financing, and may be
leased back to the board for use by the university. The lease shall contain a
provision permitting the board to purchase the auxiliary facilities located
thereon, including any furnishings and equipment therein, for the sum of One
Dollar ($1.00) after payment by the board of all sums of money due under the
lease.
(2) Upon there being an
agreement reached between the board of trustees * * * and a
university upon whose land the auxiliary facility will be constructed or
renovated and a private individual(s) or corporation(s) to enter into such
lease agreement as described in subsection (1), it shall be stipulated in the
agreement that all newly constructed or renovated auxiliary facilities shall be
in compliance with the minimum building code standards employed by the state as
required under Section 31-11-33.
(3) The board, * * * acting on behalf of
the university, shall have sole discretion to decide the placement of new
auxiliary facilities upon the university's campus. However, the scope of any
such construction or renovation by private entities shall be limited to two (2)
leases entered into pursuant to this Section 37-101-41 per year for each
university, and shall not exceed in the aggregate twenty-five percent (25%) of
the university's total main campus or satellite campus property under the
original lease period. In addition, the scope of any such renovation by
private entities shall be limited to one (1) project per fiscal year for each
university.
(4) No contractual lease
agreement for the construction or renovation, furnishing, maintaining and
equipping of privately financed auxiliary facilities shall be entered into by a
university without prior approval of the board of trustees * * *. An
auxiliary facility is a facility that is described by the current Postsecondary
Education Facilities Inventory and Classification Manual (FICM) as within
categories 500/600/700/800/900.
Before entering into
contractual lease agreements for the construction or renovation, furnishing,
maintaining and equipping of privately financed auxiliary facilities, the board
of trustees * * * shall establish rules and procedures
to ensure adequate public advertisement of any requirement for the construction
or renovation, furnishing, maintaining and equipping of privately financed
auxiliary facilities at a university in order to promote full and open
competition and which set forth the requirements for evaluation of offers and
award of the contract lease agreement to the private entity.
(5) In addition to the above stated authority, the university, with the permission of the board, is authorized to enter into such marketing, support, management, operating, cooperating or other similar agreements as the university and board may deem advisable or prudent in connection with the ongoing operations of such auxiliary facilities for a period not to exceed the term of the lease relating to such auxiliary facilities.
SECTION 22. Section 37-101-42, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-42. There is created
an advisory committee to the university boards of trustees * * * for
the lease of the property described in Sections 37-101-41, 37-101-43 and 37-101-44,
which shall be composed of the following members:
(a) The respective Chairmen of the Public Property Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate;
(b) The respective Chairmen of the Universities and Colleges Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate;
(c) One (1) member of the House of Representatives, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House; and
(d) One (1) member of the Senate, to be appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.
Before selecting the private
developer to which to lease the property described in Sections 37-101-41, 37-101-43
and 37-101-44, and while negotiating the terms of the lease with the private
developer that has been selected, the each university board of trustees * * * shall
consult with the advisory committee and consider any suggestions and
recommendations made by the advisory committee regarding the lease of the
property.
SECTION 23. Section 37-101-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-43. (a) Except as
otherwise provided in Section 37-101-44, and subject to the provisions of
Section 37-101-42, before entering into or awarding any such lease contract
under the provisions of Section 37-101-41, * * * each university board of trustees * * * shall
cause the interested * * *
institution under its control and supervision and upon which a facility
is proposed to be constructed or renovated to select and submit three (3)
architects to the board. Thereupon, the board shall approve and employ an
architect, who shall be paid by the interested institution from any funds
available to the interested institution. The architect, under the direction of
the interested institution, shall prepare complete plans and specifications for
the facility or facilities desired to be constructed or renovated on the leased
property.
Upon completion of the plans and specifications and the approval thereof by the board, and before entering into any lease contract, the board shall cause to be published once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks and not less than twenty-one (21) days in at least one (1) newspaper having a general circulation in the county in which the interested institution is located and in one (1) newspaper with a general statewide circulation, a notice inviting bids or proposals for the leasing, construction or renovation, including the furnishing, maintaining and equipping, if applicable, and leasing back, if applicable, of the land and constructed or renovated facility, including any applicable furnishings or equipment, of the facility to be constructed or renovated in accordance with the plans and specifications. The notice shall distinctly state the thing to be done, and invite sealed proposals, to be filed with the board, to do the thing to be done. The notice shall contain the following specific provisions, together with such others as the board in its discretion deems appropriate, to wit: bids shall be accompanied by a bid security evidenced by a certified or cashier's check or bid-bond payable to the board in a sum of not less than five percent (5%) of the gross construction cost of the facility to be constructed as estimated by the board and the bids shall contain proof satisfactory to the board of interim and permanent financing. The board shall state in the notice when construction shall commence. The bid shall contain the proposed contractor's certificate of responsibility number and bidder's license. In all cases, before the notice shall be published, the plans and specifications shall be filed with the board and also in the office of the president of the interested institution, there to remain.
The board shall award the lease contract to the lowest and best bidder, who will comply with the terms imposed by the contract documents. At the time of the awarding of the lease contract the successful bidder shall enter into bond with sufficient sureties, to be approved by the board, in such penalty as may be fixed by the board, but in no case to be less than the estimated gross construction or renovation cost of the facility to be constructed or renovated as estimated by the board, conditioned for the prompt, proper and efficient performance of the contract. The bond shall be made by an authorized corporate surety bonding company. The bid security herein provided for shall be forfeited if the successful bidder fails to enter into lease contract and commence construction or renovation within the time limitation set forth in the notice. At such time, and simultaneously with the signing of the contract, the successful bidder shall deposit a sum of money, in cash or certified or cashier's check, not less than the bid security previously deposited as bid security to reimburse the interested institution for all sums expended by it for architectural services and other expenditures of the board and interested institution connected with the bidded lease contract, of which such other anticipated expenditures notice is to be given to bidder in the notice. The bid security posted by an unsuccessful bidder shall be refunded to him.
(b) Under the
authority granted under Section 37-101-44, the requirements of paragraph (a) of
this section shall not apply to * * * universities' * * * authority to contract with a single entity
for privately financed design and construction or renovation, and if applicable,
the furnishing, maintaining and equipping of facilities on university campuses,
and if applicable, the furnishing, maintenance and equipping of facilities on
university campuses.
SECTION 24. Section 37-101-44, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-44. (1) In lieu of
exercising the authority set forth in Section 37-101-43 and before entering
into or awarding any lease under Section 37-101-41, * * * each university board of trustees * * *,
subject to the provisions of Section 37-101-42, may award contracts to a single
entity for privately financed design and construction or renovation of
facilities on university campuses, as well as for maintaining, furnishing and
equipping of such facilities, if the entities receiving the contract or
contracts and those entities to which work or services are subcontracted are
duly licensed and qualified in the state to perform the contract or contracts.
State General Fund appropriations or bonds backed by the state may not be used
to finance the construction or maintenance of any such facility.
(2) The design-build
delivery system described under subsection (1) of this section shall be
administered pursuant to Section 31-7-13.1 and may be authorized only when * * * a university board of trustees * * * makes
a determination, entered on its minutes, with specific findings for the project
demonstrating how it is in the best interest of the public to enter into a
design-build contract.
SECTION 25. Section 37-101-61, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-61. Whenever * * * a university board of trustees * * * shall by a proper resolution declare the necessity of
the formation of nonprofit corporations for the purpose of acquiring or
constructing facilities for institutions of higher learning under the
jurisdiction and control of said board, any number of natural persons, not less
than three (3), who are residents of the State of Mississippi, may file with
the Secretary of State of this state an application in writing for authority to
incorporate a public nonprofit corporation, known as an "educational
building corporation." If it shall be made to appear that each of said
persons is a duly qualified resident of this state, then the persons filing
such application shall be authorized, subject to the prior approval by said
board of the form of the articles of incorporation and bylaws thereof, to
proceed to form such corporation as provided by the general law of this state
with respect to corporations organized not for profit except as hereinafter
provided. The Secretary of State, upon receipt of such application, shall
forthwith issue a certificate of incorporation.
SECTION 26. Section 37-101-63, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-63. Each corporation
formed under the provisions of Section 37-101-61 shall have the following
powers, together with all powers incidental thereto or necessary to the
discharge thereof in corporate form: to have succession by its corporate name
for the duration of time (which may be in perpetuity) specified in its
certificate of incorporation; to sue and be sued and to defend suits against
it; to make use of a corporate seal and to alter it at pleasure; to acquire,
whether by purchase, construction or gift, facilities for one or more
institutions of higher learning and land therefor; to equip, maintain, enlarge
or improve such facilities; to lease under such terms and conditions as its
board of directors may deem advisable and as shall not conflict with the
provisions of Sections 37-101-61 through 37-101-71 to the * * *
university board of trustees or to such other entity as may be approved
by such board subject to prior approval by said board of each issue of bonds;
to issue its bonds for the purpose of defraying the cost of acquiring,
constructing, maintaining, enlarging, improving or equipping any of such
facilities or land in the manner provided in Section 37-101-65; to secure the
payment of such bonds through the pledge of and lien on such revenues or other
sources of income, including lease payments, entering into trust agreements,
and the making of such covenants as are provided in Section 37-101-101; to
refund bonds previously issued; to enter into contracts and agreements or do
any act necessary for or incidental to the performance of its duties and the
execution of its powers under Sections 37-101-61 through 37-101-71; to accept
gifts from any source whatsoever; to appoint and employ such officers and
agents, including attorneys, as its business may require; and to provide for
such insurance as its board of directors may deem advisable.
SECTION 27. Section 37-101-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-71. * * * University boards of trustees * * * are hereby authorized and empowered, in * * * their discretion, to pass proper
resolutions declaring the necessity of the formation of nonprofit educational
building corporations, as set forth in Section 37-101-61, and to lease
facilities from said corporations in the manner provided by law.
When the principal of and the interest on any
bonds of an educational building corporation payable from the revenues derived
from the operation of facilities owned by such corporation shall have been paid
in full, then such facilities shall thereupon become the property of the * * * state * * * institution of higher
learning upon which is located and title to the facilities shall
thereupon immediately vest in the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 28. Section 37-101-91, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-91. * * * Each university board of trustees is hereby
authorized and empowered to contract with and borrow money from the United
States of America, or any department, instrumentality, or agency thereof, as
may be designated or created to make loans and grants, or from private lenders,
at an overall rate of interest to maturity not to exceed that allowed in
Section 75-17-103, for the purpose of acquiring land for, and erecting,
repairing, remodeling, maintaining, adding to, extending, improving, equipping,
or acquiring dormitories, dwellings, apartments, athletic stadium, gymnasiums,
student union buildings, student service centers, athletic fields, swimming
pools, parking facilities, cafeterias, dining halls, and/or other revenue
producing facilities, to be located at or near * * * its campuses * * *.
In agreements or commitments
by or between * * * university boards of trustees and private
lenders and/or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to make
loans or grants for the construction of dormitories in which bonds are to be
issued under the provisions of Sections 37-101-91 through 37-101-103, and in
which part or all of the principal and/or interest on said bonds is to be paid
or guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said
bonds shall bear a net interest rate not in excess of that allowed in Section
75-17-103.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, bonds referred to hereinabove may be issued pursuant to the supplemental powers and authorizations conferred by the provisions of the Registered Bond Act, being Sections 31-21-1 through 31-21-7.
SECTION 29. Section 37-101-93, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-93. Bonds issued for
the purposes enumerated in Section 37-101-91 shall be authorized by resolution
of the university board of trustees * * * for
whose benefit the bonds were issued. Said resolution shall positively show
the said land, to be acquired, if any, and the said dormitories, dwellings,
apartments, athletic stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings, student
service centers, athletic fields, swimming pools and the like, to be erected,
repaired, remodeled, maintained, added to, extended, improved, equipped or
acquired, together with equipment therefor. A majority vote of all the members
of * * * the
university board of trustees shall be necessary to the passage of said
resolution, and all votes on such resolutions shall be by yea and nay vote,
duly recorded on the minutes of the proceedings of the board.
The bonds may be issued in one or more series, may bear such date or dates, may be in such denomination or denominations, may mature at such time or times, not exceeding forty (40) years from the respective dates thereof, may mature in such amount or amounts, may bear interest at such rate or rates, not exceeding that allowed in Section 75-17-103, payable semiannually, may be in such forms, either coupon or registered, may carry such registration privileges, may be executed in such manner, may be payable in such medium of payment, at such place or places, and may be subject to such term of redemption, with or without premium, as such resolution or other resolutions may provide. The bonds may be sold at a private sale, at not less than par and accrued interest, without advertising the same at competitive bidding. The bonds shall be fully negotiable within the meaning and for all purposes of the Uniform Commercial Code.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any resolution authorizing bonds hereunder, including refunding bonds, the university board of trustees may provide for the initial issuance of one or more bonds (hereinafter sometimes collectively called "bond"), may make such provision for installment payments of the principal amount of any such bond as it may consider desirable, and may provide for the making of any such bond registerable as to principal or as to both principal and interest and, where interest accruing thereon is not represented by interest coupons, for the endorsing of payments of interest on such bond. The board may further make provision in any such resolution for the manner and circumstances in and under which any such bond may in the future, at the request of the holder thereof, be converted into bonds of smaller denominations, which bonds of small denominations may in turn be either coupon bonds or bonds registerable as to principal or principal and interest.
SECTION 30. Section 37-101-95, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-95. Bonds issued for the purposes enumerated in Section 37-101-91 may be refunded, in whole or in part:
(a) When any such bonds have by their terms become due and payable and there are not sufficient sums in the fund established for their payment to pay such bonds and the interest thereon;
(b) When any such bonds are by their terms callable for payment and redemption in advance of their date of maturity and shall have been duly called for payment and redemption;
(c) When any such bonds are voluntarily surrendered by the holder or holders thereof in exchange for refunding bonds; or
(d) When, in
connection with the issuance of any additional bonds under Sections 37-101-91
through 37-101-103 for the purpose of financing any additional authorized
construction, * * *
a university board of trustees * * * shall
determine to combine such new issue of bonds with any issue or issues of bonds
of the * * *
institution of higher learning * * * under its
control and supervision then outstanding for the purpose of unifying such
indebtedness and utilizing the income and revenues derived from all projects or
facilities operated at such institution to the payment of such indebtedness,
and * * * that
board of trustees shall determine that such outstanding bonds are by their
terms then callable for redemption or are obtainable by and through the
voluntary surrender thereof by the holder or holders thereof.
For the purpose of refunding
any bonds, including refunding bonds, * * * each university board of trustees
may respectively make and issue refunding bonds in such amount as may be
necessary to pay off and redeem bonds to be refunded together with unpaid and
past due interest thereon and any premium which may be due under the terms of
such bonds, together also with the cost of issuing and refunding bonds, and may
sell the same in like manner as provided in Section 37-101-97 for the initial
issuance of bonds. With the proceeds of any such refunding bonds, * * * each board shall pay off, redeem,
and cancel such old bonds and coupons as may have matured or such bonds as may
have been called for payment and redemption together with the past due interest
and the premium, if any, due thereon; such bonds may be issued and delivered in
exchange for a like par value amount of bonds to refund which the refunding
bonds were issued. No refunding bonds issued hereunder shall be payable in
more than forty (40) years from the date thereof or shall bear interest at a
rate in excess of the rate of interest authorized in Section 75-17-103 for the
bonds being refunded.
Such refunding bonds shall be payable from the same sources as were pledged to the payment of the bonds refunded thereby and, in the discretion of the university board of trustees, may be payable from any other sources which may be pledged to the payment of revenue bonds issued under Sections 37-101-91 through 37-101-103. Bonds of two (2) or more issues of any institution of higher learning of the State of Mississippi may be refunded by a single issue of refunding bonds.
Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, bonds referred to hereinabove may be issued pursuant to the supplemental powers and authorizations conferred by the provisions of the Registered Bond Act, being Sections 31-21-1 through 31-21-7.
SECTION 31. Section 37-101-99, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-99. The Department
of Finance and Administration, acting through the Bureau of Building, Grounds
and Real Property Management, is hereby authorized to supervise the contracting
for, and the erection of, all buildings erected as a result of the
provisions of Sections 37-101-91 through 37-101-103 * * * allows a
state institution of higher learning to administer.
SECTION 32. Section 37-101-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-101. * * * Each university board of trustees * * * in
connection with the issuance of the bonds for its respective institution
for the purposes enumerated in Section 37-101-91, or in order to secure the
payment of such bonds and interest thereon, shall have power by resolutions:
(a) To fix and maintain * * * (i) fees, rentals, and other
charges to be paid by students, faculty members and others using or being
served by any dormitories, dwellings, apartments, athletic stadiums,
gymnasiums, student union buildings, student service centers, athletic fields,
swimming pools, or other projects or facilities, erected, repaired, remodeled,
maintained, added to, extended, improved, or acquired under the authority of
Section 37-101-91; * * * (ii) fees, rentals and other charges to be paid by students,
faculty members, and others using or being served by any other dormitories,
dwellings, apartments, athletic stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings,
student service centers, athletic fields, swimming pools, or other projects or
facilities at any institution which so issues bonds, which fees, rentals and
other charges to be paid by students, faculty members, and others using or
being served by such other dormitories, dwellings, apartments, athletic
stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings, student service centers,
athletic fields, swimming pools, or other projects or facilities, shall be the
same as those applicable to the dormitories, dwellings, apartments, athletic
stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings, student service centers, athletic
fields, swimming pools, or other projects or facilities referred to in the
preceding * * * subparagraph (i); however, in fixing such fees, rentals
and other charges, there may be allowed reasonable differentials based on the
condition, type, location and relative convenience of the dormitories,
dwellings, apartments, athletic stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings,
student service centers, athletic fields, swimming pools, or other projects or
facilities in question, but such differentials shall be uniform as to all such
students or faculty members and others similarly accommodated;
(b) To provide that bonds so issued shall be secured by a first, exclusive and closed lien on, and shall be payable from, all or any part of the income and revenues derived from fees, rentals and other charges to be paid by students, faculty members or others using or being served by any dormitories, dwellings, apartments, athletic stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings, student service centers, athletic fields, swimming pools, or other projects or facilities operated at any such institution, and erected, repaired, remodeled, maintained, added to, extended, improved or acquired under Section 37-101-91, or any other law, or otherwise, and not theretofore so pledged;
(c) To pledge and assign to, or in trust for the benefit of the holder or holders of any bond or bonds, coupon or coupons so issued, an amount of the income and revenues derived from such fees, rentals and other charges to be paid by students, faculty members, or others using or being served by any dormitories, dwellings, apartments, athletic stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings, student service centers, athletic fields, swimming pools, or other projects or facilities operated at any such institution, and erected, repaired, remodeled, maintained, added to, extended, improved or acquired under Section 37-101-91, or any other law, or otherwise, and not theretofore so pledged, which rentals, fees and charges imposed and pledged pursuant to the terms of this section shall be sufficient to pay when due the bonds so issued and interest thereon, to create and maintain a reasonable reserve therefor and to operate and maintain the project so constructed, and to create and at all times maintain an adequate reserve for contingencies and for major repairs and replacements;
(d) To covenant with or for the benefit of the holder or holders of any bond or bonds, coupon or coupons so issued to erect, repair, remodel, maintain, add to, extend, improve or acquire any dormitories, dwellings, apartments, athletic stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings, student service centers, athletic fields, swimming pools, or other projects or facilities, that so long as any of said bonds or coupons shall remain outstanding and unpaid, such institution shall fix, maintain and collect, in such installments as may be agreed upon, an amount of fees, rentals or other charges from students, faculty members, and others using or being served by any dormitories, dwellings, apartments, athletic stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings, student service centers, athletic fields, swimming pools, or other projects or facilities operated at any such institution and erected, repaired, remodeled, maintained, added to, extended, improved or acquired under Section 37-101-91, or any other law, or otherwise, which shall be sufficient to pay when due any bond or bonds, coupons or coupons so issued, and to create and maintain a reasonable reserve therefor, and to pay the cost of operation and maintenance of such dormitories, dwellings, apartments, athletic stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings, student service centers, athletic fields, swimming pools, or other projects or facilities, including a sum sufficient to pay the cost of insuring such dormitories, dwellings, apartments, athletic stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings, student service centers, athletic fields, swimming pools, or other projects or facilities against loss or damage by fire and windstorm or other calamities, in such sum as may be acceptable to the purchaser or purchasers of such bonds. The rentals, fees and other charges shall at all times be sufficient to maintain an adequate bond sinking fund to provide for the payment of interest on and principal of the bonds as and when they accrue and mature, to create a reasonable reserve therein and to pay the cost of operation and maintenance and insurance as herein provided and to create and at all times maintain an adequate reserve for contingencies and for major repairs and replacements;
(e) To make and enforce and agree to make and enforce parietal rules that shall insure the use of any such dormitory, dwelling, apartment, athletic stadium, gymnasium, student union building, student service center, athletic field, swimming pool, or other project or facility by all students in attendance at such institution, and faculty members thereof, to the maximum extent to which such dormitories, dwellings, apartments, athletic stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings, student service centers, athletic fields, swimming pools, or other projects or facilities are capable of serving same, so long as it does not interfere with any existing contract;
(f) To covenant that as long as any of the bonds so issued
shall remain outstanding and unpaid, it will not, except upon such terms and
conditions as may be determined by the resolution issuing such bonds, * * * (i) voluntarily create, or cause to
be created, any debt, lien, pledge, assignment, encumbrance, or other charge
having priority to or being on a parity with the lien of the bonds so issued
upon any of the income and revenues derived from fees, rentals and other
charges to be paid by students, faculty members and others using or being
served by any dormitories, dwellings, apartments, athletic stadiums,
gymnasiums, student union buildings, student service centers, athletic fields,
swimming pools, or other projects or facilities operated at any such
institution and erected, repaired, remodeled, maintained, added to, extended,
improved or acquired under Section 37-101-91, or any other law, or otherwise,
or * * * (ii)
convey or otherwise alienate any such dormitories, dwellings, apartments,
athletic stadiums, gymnasiums, student union buildings, student service
centers, athletic fields, swimming pools, or other projects or facilities, or
the real estate upon which the same shall be located, except at a price
sufficient to pay all the bonds then outstanding payable from the revenues
derived therefrom and interest accrued on such bonds, and then only in
accordance with any agreements with the holder or holders of such bonds, or * * * (iii) mortgage or otherwise
voluntarily create, or cause to be created, any encumbrance on any such
dormitory, dwelling, apartment, athletic stadium, gymnasium, student union
building, student service center, athletic field, swimming pool, or other
project or facility, or the real estate upon which it shall be located;
(g) To covenant as to the proceedings by which the terms of any contract with a holder or holders of such bonds may be amended or rescinded, the amount or percentage of bonds the holder or holders of which must consent thereto and the manner in which such consent may be given;
(h) To vest in a trustee or trustees the right to receive all or any part of the income and revenue and proceeds of insurance pledged and assigned to, or for the benefit of, the holder or holders of such bonds, and to hold, apply and dispose of the same and the right to enforce any covenant made to secure or pay or in relation to such bonds;
(i) To authorize the chairman and the secretary of said board to execute and deliver, in the name of the institution for which such bonds are being issued, a trust agreement or agreements which may set forth the powers and duties of such trustee or trustees, and limiting the liabilities thereof, and describing what occurrences shall constitute events of default and prescribing the terms and conditions upon which such trustee or trustees or the holder or holders of bonds of any specified amount or percentage of such bonds may exercise such right and enforce any and all such covenants and resort to any such remedies as may be appropriate; and
(j) To vest in a trustee or trustees or the holder or holders of any specified amount or percentage of bonds the right to apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for and have granted the appointment of a receiver or receivers of the income and revenue pledged and assigned to or for the benefit of the holder or holders of such bonds, which receiver or receivers may have and be granted such powers and duties as are usually granted under the laws of the State of Mississippi to a receiver or receivers appointed in connection with the foreclosure of a mortgage made by a private corporation.
SECTION 33. Section 37-101-103, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-103. No * * * monies derived from the sale of
bonds of any institution or otherwise borrowed or received by such institution
under Sections 37-101-91 through 37-101-103, or from the fees, rentals, and
charges received and collected for the use of any project constructed,
repaired, remodeled, maintained, added to, extended, improved, or acquired
under authority of said sections, shall be required to be paid into the State
Treasury, but shall, except as herein otherwise provided, be deposited by the
treasurer or other fiscal officer of the institution in a separate bank account
or accounts in such bank or banks or trust company or trust companies as may be
designated by * * *
a university board of trustees * * *. All
deposits of such * * * monies shall, if required by the board, be secured by
obligations of the United States of America or of the State of Mississippi, of
a market value equal at all times to the amount of the deposit, and all banks
and all trust companies are hereby authorized to give such security. Such * * * monies may be disbursed as may
be directed by the board and in accordance with the terms of any agreements
with the holder or holders of any bonds. This section shall be construed as
limiting the power of said board to agree in connection with issuance of any
such bonds as to the custody and disposition of the * * * monies received from the sale of
such bonds or the income and revenues pledged and assigned to or in trust for
the benefit of the holder or holders thereof.
It is specifically provided, however,
notwithstanding any other provision of this section, that when any project
financed by the proceeds of revenue bonds issued hereunder shall be supervised
by the State Building Commission and the said State Building Commission shall
execute and enter into construction contracts with respect thereto, the appropriate
university board of trustees * * * shall
have the power and authority to pay into the State Treasury in a special
account for said project an amount from the proceeds of the sale of the bonds which
shall be sufficient to pay all such construction contracts and all fees and
expenses incidental thereto, including any amount, plus interest thereon, which
may have been borrowed for interim financing of said project. The amount so
paid into such special account shall be expended by the State Building
Commission in the manner provided by law in payment of the amounts due under
such construction contracts, and fees and expenses incidental thereto, and in
repayment of * * *
monies, if any, borrowed for interim financing, plus interest thereon.
If, at the conclusion of the project, any sum should remain in said special
account it shall be repaid to the institution entitled thereto to be handled in
accordance with the terms of the agreement with the holder or holders of the
bonds.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, such reports as may be required by the State Auditor of public accounts shall be made to him by the institutions of higher learning in the manner and at the times he may prescribe, so that his records may reflect full and complete information relative thereto.
SECTION 34. Section 37-101-121, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-121. The university boards
of trustees of each state * * * institution of higher
learning * * *
are hereby authorized and empowered, in its discretion, and with the
consent and approval of the State Building Commission, to invest any funds
derived or made available for the purpose of constructing, erecting, repairing,
remodeling or equipping dormitories and other housing facilities under projects
approved and sanctioned by the Home and Housing Finance Agency of the United
States of America, whether said funds be derived from the proceeds of bonds
issued under the provisions of Sections 37-101-91 through 37-101-103, or from * * * monies borrowed for the interim
financing of any such project, or from any other sources, in short-term bonds
or other direct obligations of the United States of America. However, no such
funds shall be so invested except the amount of such funds which is in excess
of the sums which will be required for expenditure in financing the
construction of said projects during the succeeding ninety (90) days.
In all cases, the bonds or other obligations in which such funds are invested
shall mature or be redeemable prior to the time the funds so invested will be
needed for expenditure in financing the construction of said projects.
* * * A university board of trustees * * *, with
the consent and approval of the State Building Commission, may, by order or
resolution spread upon its minutes, authorize and empower any member or members
of said board of trustees, or any officers or employees thereof, or any other
person or persons, to make investments of such funds, from time to time,
as they shall be available for investment under the provisions of this
section. Any such member or members or officers or employees, or other person
or persons, when so authorized by such order or resolution, shall have the
power and authority to make such investments of such funds, to make purchases
of such bonds or other obligations, to execute all necessary instruments in
connection therewith, and to take such other action as may be necessary to
effectuate the investment of such funds.
SECTION 35. Section 37-101-123, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-123. When any such bonds or other direct
obligations of the United States of America shall have been purchased with such
excess funds as is provided for in Section 37-101-121, such bonds or other
obligations may be sold or surrendered for redemption at any time by order or
resolution adopted by * * *
a university board of trustees * * *, and
approved by the State Building Commission. Any member or members thereof or
any officers or employees thereof, or any other person or persons, when
authorized by such order or resolution, shall have the power and authority to
sell said bonds or other obligations or to surrender same for redemption and to
execute all instruments and take such other action as may be necessary to
effectuate the sale or redemption thereof. When such bonds or other
obligations shall be sold or redeemed, the proceeds thereof, including the
accrued interest thereon, shall be paid into the proper fund and shall in all
respects be dealt with and expended for the purpose for which said funds were
originally derived or made available.
SECTION 36. Section 37-101-125, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-125. Orders or resolutions of * * * a university board of trustees * * *
authorizing the investment of funds or the sale and redemption of bonds and
other obligations purchased therewith under the provisions of Sections 37-101-121
and 37-101-123, may be in general terms and may confer continuing authority
upon the person or persons authorized to act. It shall not be necessary that separate
resolutions or orders be passed and adopted with reference to each transaction.
SECTION 37. Section 37-101-141, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-141. * * * Each university board of trustees,
as it relates to real property under its control and supervision * * * is
hereby authorized and empowered, in its discretion, to sell and dispose of the
timber, trees, dead wood and stumps standing, growing and being upon the lands
granted to the State of Mississippi for the use and benefit of the University
of Mississippi by an act of Congress of the United States approved June 20,
1894, and upon the lands granted to the State of Mississippi for the use and
benefit of Mississippi * * * University for Women by an act of Congress of the
United States approved March 2, 1895, and upon the lands granted to the State
of Mississippi for the use and benefit of Mississippi State University * * *, and Alcorn * * * State
University by an act of Congress of the United States approved February 20,
1895, whenever the sale or disposition of such timber shall be to the best
advantage of the institutions named herein. Such timber shall be sold and
disposed of under the direction and specifications of the State Forestry
Commission in accordance with sound and efficient principles of forestry
management and conservation.
SECTION 38. Section 37-101-143, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-143. * * * Each university board of trustees of
state institutions of higher learning is also authorized and empowered to lease
those lands referred to in Section 37-101-141, or any part thereof, for oil,
gas and mineral development, or for any other purpose, for such consideration,
upon such terms and conditions as said board of trustees shall deem proper, and
for the best advantage of the respective institutions. Any such oil, gas or
mineral lease shall not be for a primary term of more than six (6) years and so
long thereafter as oil, gas or other minerals are produced from said lands.
The royalties reserved in such lease or leases shall be not less than the
following:
(a) On oil, one-eighth (1/8) part produced and saved from said land;
(b) On gas, including casinghead gas, or other gaseous substances, produced from said land and sold or used off the premises, or for the extraction of gasoline or other products therefrom, the market value at the well of one-eighth (1/8) of the gas so sold or used; and
(c) On all other minerals mined and marketed, one-eighth (1/8) part in kind or value at the well or mine except sulphur on which the royalty shall be Two Dollars ($2.00) per long ton.
SECTION 39. Section 37-101-145, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-145. Before any
timber, trees, dead wood, or stumps, standing, growing or being upon lands
shall be sold from said lands as is authorized in Section 37-101-141, and
before any lands shall be leased for oil, gas and mineral purposes, or other
purposes as is authorized in Section 37-101-143, the university board of
trustees * * * having control and supervision of
such timber shall advertise its intention to do so by publication in a
newspaper in the City of Jackson, and also in a newspaper published in each
county where such lands are situated, such notice to be published once a week
for three (3) consecutive weeks preceding such sale or lease, and by
posting one (1) notice at the courthouse in the county or counties where
the lands are situated. In any county having no paper published therein, the
publication shall be placed in some paper having a general circulation in said
county. Said board shall sell or lease at public auction, or by sealed bids,
at the place designated in said notices, to the highest and best bidder for
cash. The board shall have the right to reject any or all of such bids.
SECTION 40. Section 37-101-147, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-147. All leases and
conveyances of timber, trees, dead wood and stumps, and all oil, gas and
mineral leases, or leases for other purposes, provided for in Sections 37-101-141
and 37-101-143, shall be executed by the president or chancellor of the
university upon the approval of the appropriate university board of
trustees * * *, and attested by the Commissioner of
Higher Education, respectively, for and on behalf of the University of Mississippi,
Mississippi * * * University for Women, Mississippi State University * * * and Alcorn * * * State
University, as the case may be. The corporate seal of the proper
institution shall be affixed to all conveyances and leases of the lands held
for the use and benefit of such institutions. In all such cases such
conveyances and leases shall be executed only upon the order or resolution of
the appropriate university board of trustees * * * in the
manner and method hereinbefore set forth.
SECTION 41. Section 37-101-149, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-149. The proceeds
derived or received from all sales of timber, trees, dead wood, and stumps, and
from all oil, gas and mineral leases, or leases for other purposes, provided
for in Sections 37-101-141 and 37-101-143, including, but not limited to,
rentals, bonuses, royalties and delay rentals, shall be deposited in such
special funds as the said board of trustees * * * may
designate for the use and benefit of the institution owning or having the use
and benefit of the land from which such money was derived. Such money, after
all expenditures for maintenance, operation and improvements necessary for
effective and scientific management of said resources shall have been deducted,
shall be used and expended under the supervision of said board of trustees for
the erection and construction of permanent improvements on the campuses of such
institutions, or for the repair of permanent improvements existing on said
campuses. It is the purpose of this section that the funds received from lands
held for the use of each of the respective institutions shall be kept in a
special fund for the use and benefit of the institution having the use and
benefit of the land from which such funds were derived, and that such funds
shall be expended only for the purposes hereinabove set forth.
Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, such reports as may be required by the state auditor of public accounts shall be made to him by the institutions of higher learning in the manner and at the times he may prescribe, so that his records may reflect full and complete information relative thereto.
SECTION 42. Section 37-101-153, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-153. * * * Each university board of trustees * * * is
hereby authorized and empowered in its discretion to lease any lands, or any
part thereof, belonging to * * * the institution * * * of higher learning * * *
under its control and supervision, for oil, gas and mineral development, upon
such terms, conditions and considerations as said board of trustees shall deem
proper and for the best interest of the institution or institutions. Any such
oil, gas or mineral lease shall be for a primary term of not more than six (6)
years and so long thereafter as oil, gas or other mineral is produced from said
land. The royalty reserved in such lease or leases shall not be less than the
following:
(a) On oil, one-eighth (1/8) part produced and saved from said land;
(b) On gas, including casinghead gas, or other gaseous substances, produced from said land and sold or used off the premises, or for the extraction of gasoline or other products therefrom the market value at the well of one-eighth (1/8) of the gas so sold or used; and
(c) On all other minerals mined and marketed, one-eighth (1/8) part in kind or value at the well or mine except sulphur on which the royalty shall be Two Dollars ($2.00) per long ton.
SECTION 43. Section 37-101-155, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-155. Before any of
the land named in Section 37-101-153, shall be leased for oil, gas and mineral
purposes, the university board of trustees * * * owning
or having control and supervision of such lands shall give notice of its
intention by publishing a notice in some newspaper in the City of Jackson and
also a newspaper published in the county or counties where such lands are
situated, giving the time and place that said board will receive bids. Said
notice shall be published once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks. Said
board at said time and place will receive sealed bids for such lease or leases,
and will consider the highest and best bid that is the most advantageous to the
institution or institutions. The board shall have the right to reject any or
all such bids.
SECTION 44. Section 37-101-157, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-157. All oil, gas
and mineral leases provided for in Section 37-101-153, shall be executed by the
president or chancellor of the university upon the approval of the appropriate
university board of trustees * * * and
attested by the Commissioner of Higher Education, respectively, on behalf of
the institution owning or having the use of such lands as the case may be. The
corporate seal of the institution owning or having benefit of such land shall
be affixed to all leases. In all such cases such leases shall be executed only
upon order or resolution of the university board of trustees * * * in the
manner hereinbefore set forth.
SECTION 45. Section 37-101-159, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-159. The consideration
and proceeds derived or received from all oil, gas and mineral leases provided
for in Section 37-101-153, including, but not limited to, bonuses,
rentals, royalties and delay rentals, shall be paid to the university
board of trustees * * * having control and
supervision of such leased lands for the use and benefit of the institution
owning or having the use and benefit of the land from which said money was
derived. All such money or funds shall be allocated to or used for the benefit
of such institution * * *.
SECTION 46. Section 37-101-181, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-181. Any member of the faculties of
Alcorn * * * State University, Jackson State * * * University, and Mississippi
Valley State * * *
University shall be eligible for leave of absence to pursue advanced
academic training so as to elevate the scholastic qualifications of the
faculties of these above-mentioned colleges, in line with the requirements of
the several accrediting agencies.
In order to provide for the above leaves the respective
university board of trustees * * * shall
have power to adopt rules and regulations regarding such leave. In no instance
shall leave be granted unless there is a contract providing for continued
service, after expiration of the leave, in the college where the faculty member
is employed.
* * * Each university board of trustees of
state institutions of higher learning is hereby authorized to make payment of
salary, or such part of salary as may be decided, of such faculty members who
are under contract for academic leaves.
SECTION 47. Section 37-101-183, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-183. Any members of the faculty of the state institutions of higher learning of the State of Mississippi shall be eligible for sabbatical leaves, for the purpose of professional improvement, for not more than two (2) semesters immediately following any twelve (12) or more consecutive semesters of active service in the institutions of higher learning of this state where such faculty member is employed or for not more than one (1) semester immediately following any six (6) or more consecutive semesters of such service. Absence on sick leave shall not be deemed to interrupt the active service herein provided for.
Applications for sabbatical leave shall be made
to the respective university board of trustees * * * with
the approval of the chancellor or the president of the * * * institution of higher learning.
Approval or disapproval of the applications for sabbatical leave shall be made
on the basis of regulations prescribed by the board of trustees * * *.
Any person who is granted a sabbatical leave and
who fails to comply with the provisions of such leave as approved by the state
institution of higher learning may have his or her leave terminated by the
board of trustees * * *.
No person on sabbatical leave can be denied any regular increment of increase in salary because of absence on sabbatical leave.
Service on sabbatical leave shall count as active service for the purpose of retirement and contributions to the retirement fund shall be continued.
In order to provide for the above leaves the
board of trustees * * * shall have power to adopt
rules and regulations regarding such leave. In no instance shall leave be
granted unless there is a contract providing for continued service, after
expiration of the leave, in the college where the faculty member is employed.
Every person on sabbatical leave shall enjoy all the rights and privileges pertaining to his or her employment in the institution of higher learning in which such person is employed, which such person would have enjoyed if in active service during such leave in the position from which such leave was taken.
Each person granted sabbatical leave may receive and be paid compensation up to the rate of fifty percent (50%) of such person's annual salary.
Compensation payable to persons on sabbatical leave shall be paid at the same time and in the same manner salaries of the other members of the faculty are paid.
SECTION 48. Section 37-101-185, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-185. * * * Each university board of trustees * * * is
hereby authorized to cooperate with the State Building Commission, in the
discretion of both agencies, in the employment of technical and professional
personnel for supervising the planning and constructing or repairs of physical
plant facilities located on the campuses of the several institutions of higher
learning. Upon determination by the State Building Commission as to the
proportionate amount due from the respective university board of
trustees for salaries and other expenses of such employees, said board is
authorized and empowered to pay over to the State Building Commission such sums
from funds available to the board of trustees * * * for
such purposes.
SECTION 49. Section 37-101-283, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-283. Each male
applicant for any scholarship or loan funded in whole or in part by this state,
whether granted by the * * *, the Post-Secondary
Education Financial Assistance Board, or otherwise granted by any state-supported
college or university, and whether to be used at a state-supported institution
of higher learning or at a private institution, shall within six (6) months
after he attains the age of eighteen (18) years submit to the person,
commission, board or agency in which his application for scholarship or loan is
or has been made satisfactory evidence of his compliance with the draft
registration requirements of the Military Selective Service Act. Such evidence
shall consist of a copy of the draft registration acknowledgment letter
received from the Selective Service System by the scholarship or loan applicant
or holder. If an applicant for or holder of any such scholarship or loan fails
to submit a copy of his draft registration acknowledgment letter in the manner
and within the time allowed therefor, any pending application of such person
for the award, grant or renewal of any such scholarship or loan shall be
denied, and any such scholarship or loan currently held by such person shall be
revoked to the extent that no further payments under that scholarship or loan
may be made to him or on his behalf. The person, commission, board or agency
to which an application for the award, grant or renewal of such scholarship or
loan is made, or by or through which any such scholarship or loan is
administered or issued shall notify the applicant or holder and the chief
executive officer of any institution at which a holder of a scholarship or loan
so revoked is enrolled of its action, and upon request of the scholarship or
loan applicant or holder shall afford him the opportunity, either in person, in
writing or by counsel of his choice to present evidence against such action.
SECTION 50. Section 37-101-303, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-303. Before the
issuance of any of the bonds herein authorized for the benefit of state
institutions of higher learning, the appropriate university board of
trustees * * * shall forward to the State Bond
Commission its recommendation declaring the necessity for the issuance of
general obligation bonds as authorized by Sections 37-101-301 through 37-101-331
for the purpose of erecting, repairing, constructing, remodeling, adding to or
improving capital facilities for * * * the institution of higher
learning. The State Bond Commission shall have the power and is hereby
authorized, upon receipt of the aforesaid recommendations, at one (1) time or
from time to time, to declare the necessity for issuance of negotiable general
obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi in an aggregate amount not to
exceed Forty Million Dollars ($40,000,000.00) to provide funds for the purposes
hereinabove set forth and to issue and sell bonds in the amount specified.
Out of the total amount of bonds authorized to be issued, funds shall be allocated among the institutions of higher learning as follows:
Alcorn State University......................$ 4,416,000.00
Delta State University....................... 1,882,000.00
Jackson State University..................... 2,396,000.00
Mississippi State University................. 9,810,000.00
Mississippi University for Women............. 1,909,000.00
Mississippi Valley State University.......... 1,775,000.00
University of Mississippi.................... 6,086,000.00
University of Southern Mississippi........... 5,971,000.00
University of Southern Mississippi -
Gulf Park Campus......................... 309,000.00
University Medical Center.................... 3,465,000.00
Gulf Coast Research Laboratory............... 260,000.00
Education and Research Center................ 475,000.00
Division of Agriculture, Forestry and
Veterinary Medicine..................... 1,246,000.00
It is expressly provided,
however, that in the event any emergencies or unforeseen contingencies arise,
the amount set forth above for any institution may be increased by the respective
university board of trustees * * *,
provided that the amount of such increase is achieved by a pro rata reduction
in the amounts allocated to the other institutions.
SECTION 51. Section 37-101-305, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-305. Upon receipt of
a certified copy of a resolution of * * * a university board of trustees * * *
declaring the necessity for the issuance of any part or all of the bonds
authorized by Sections 37-101-301 et seq., the State Bond Commission is hereby
authorized and empowered to sell and issue general obligation bonds of the
State of Mississippi in the principal amount requested, not to exceed an
aggregate principal amount of Forty Million Dollars ($40,000,000.00) for the
purposes hereinabove set forth. The State Bond Commission is authorized and
empowered to pay the costs that are incident to the sale, issuance and delivery
of the bonds authorized under Sections 37-101-301 et seq. from the proceeds
derived from the sale of such bonds.
SECTION 52. Section 37-101-351, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-351. * * * Each university board of trustees * * * is
hereby authorized to establish an executive institute which shall be
responsible for providing advanced training and assessment for public sector
executives, elected officials, state board and commission members, and officers
and employees of local government entities of the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 53. Section 37-101-413, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-101-413. (1) As used in this section, the term "state institutions of higher learning" means those institutions identified in Section 37-101-1 and the University Research Center.
(2) * * * Each university board of trustees * * * may
establish an equipment leasing and purchase program for the use of the state * * * institution of higher learning under
its control and supervision. In establishing and administering the
program, * * *
a board may perform the following actions:
(a) Adopt policies and procedures to implement the program;
(b) Establish offices or subordinate units as may be necessary for the administration of the program;
(c) Adopt rules and regulations pertaining to the program;
(d) Acquire by purchase, lease or lease-purchase contract and retain or transfer ownership or possession of instructional and other equipment;
(e) Contract for the leasing of such properties and for the financing of leases and purchases;
(f) Enter into contracts with others to provide any services deemed necessary and advisable by the board;
(g) Make purchases and enter into leases according to the requirements of the state public purchasing laws and the requirements of those laws establishing the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services;
(h) Enter into lease financing agreements in connection with purchases made under the authority of this section;
(i) Require the transfer of appropriations of general funds or self-generated funds from the state institutions to those funds that the board may determine are required in connection with any lease financing agreements;
(j) Develop administrative methods for determining age, useful life, replacement value, current use, condition and other characteristics of instructional and research equipment at the state institutions and research facilities;
(k) Determine obsolescence of the equipment and establish priorities for replacement or provision of the equipment or its transfer to another state institution that can continue to utilize it; and
(l) Develop long-range plans for the orderly and systematic acquisition and utilization of the instructional and research equipment in order to eliminate waste and duplication, provide the maximum efficiency of use for expenditures, and achieve equitable allocations of equipment funds to the state institutions consistent with the roles of the institutions and disciplines served.
(3) All institutions of higher learning desiring to purchase, lease or lease-purchase equipment involving an expenditure or expenditures of more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) must procure that equipment under the equipment leasing and purchase program unless funds for the procurement of the equipment under the program are unavailable or the equipment can be procured elsewhere at an overall cost lower than that for which the equipment can be procured under the program.
SECTION 54. Section 1-1-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
1-1-11. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the Joint Committee on Compilation, Revision and Publication of Legislation shall distribute or provide for the distribution of the sets of the compilation of the Mississippi Code of 1972 purchased by the state as follows:
Fifty-seven (57) sets to the Mississippi House of Representatives and forty (40) sets to the Mississippi Senate for the use of the Legislative Reference Bureau, Legislative Services Offices, staffs and committees thereof.
Ten (10) sets to the Governor's Office; nine (9) sets to the Secretary of State; and twenty (20) sets to the Auditor's Office.
One (1) set to each of the following: the Lieutenant Governor; each member of the Legislature; the Treasurer; each district attorney; each county attorney; each judge of the Court of Appeals and each judge of the Supreme, circuit, chancery, county, family, justice and municipal courts; each Mississippi Senator and Mississippi Representative in Congress; State Superintendent of Education; Director of the Department of Finance and Administration; six (6) sets to the Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) Committee; three (3) sets to the Director of the Legislative Budget Office; the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce; each Mississippi Transportation Commissioner; six (6) sets to the Department of Corrections; the Insurance Commissioner; the Clerk of the Supreme Court; the State Board of Health; each circuit clerk; each chancery clerk in the state for the use of the chancery clerk and the board of supervisors; each sheriff in the state for the use of his office and the county officers; and each county for the county library (and an additional set shall be given to each circuit clerk, chancery clerk, sheriff and county library in counties having two (2) judicial districts).
Two (2) sets to the
Department of Archives and History; two (2) sets to the State Soil and Water
Conservation Commission; sixty-eight (68) sets to the Attorney General's
office; six (6) sets to the Public Service Commission; four (4) sets to the
Public Utilities Staff; thirty-five (35) sets to the Department of Revenue; one
(1) set to the Board of Tax Appeals; two (2) sets to the State Personnel Board;
six (6) sets to the State Law Library; one (1) set to the Library of Congress;
ten (10) sets to the University of Mississippi Law School; one (1) set each to
the Mississippi School for the Deaf and the Mississippi School for the Blind; one
(1) set each to the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University,
Mississippi University for Women, University of Southern Mississippi, Delta
State University, Alcorn State University, Jackson State University * * * and Mississippi Valley State
University * * *; and one
(1) set to the Supreme Court judges' conference room. In furtherance of the
State Library's reciprocal program of code exchange with libraries of the
several states, the joint committee shall, at the direction and only upon the
written request of the State Librarian, distribute or provide for the
distribution of sets of the code to such libraries.
One (1) set to each state junior or community college; three (3) sets to the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks; two (2) sets to the Department of Environmental Quality; two (2) sets to the Department of Marine Resources; two (2) sets to the Mississippi Ethics Commission; six (6) sets to the Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission; four (4) sets to the State Department of Rehabilitation Services; and seven (7) sets to the Department of Human Services. One (1) set to each of the following: State Textbook Procurement Commission; University Medical Center; State Library Commission; Department of Agriculture and Commerce; Forestry Commission; and seventeen (17) sets to the Department of Public Safety. Also, one (1) set to each of the following: Adjutant General, Mississippi Development Authority, Department of Banking and Consumer Finance, Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management, the State Educational Finance Commission, the Mississippi Board of Vocational and Technical Education, Division of Medicaid, State Board of Mental Health, and Department of Youth Services.
The joint committee is authorized to distribute or provide for the distribution of additional sets of the Mississippi Code, not to exceed three (3) sets, to the office of each district attorney for the use of his assistants.
The joint committee shall provide to the Mississippi House of Representatives and the Mississippi Senate the annual supplements to the Mississippi Code of 1972 for each set of the code maintained by the House and Senate.
The set of the Mississippi Code of 1972 to be provided to each member of the Legislature shall be provided unless specifically waived by such legislator in writing.
An elected or appointed officeholder in the State of Mississippi, except for a member of the Legislature, shall deliver to his successor in office, or to the joint committee if there is no successor, the set of the Mississippi Code of 1972 provided the officeholder under this section.
Before the joint committee delivers or provides for delivery of a copy of the Mississippi Code of 1972 to an individual officeholder, the joint committee shall prepare and submit a written agreement to the officeholder. The agreement shall, among other provisions, state that the code is the property of the State of Mississippi, that it shall be transferred to the officeholder's successor in office, that the officeholder has an obligation to make such transfer and that the officeholder shall be responsible for the failure to deliver the code and for any damage or destruction to the code, normal wear and tear excepted. The joint committee shall execute the agreement and forward it to the officeholder for execution. The joint committee shall not deliver or provide for delivery of the code to the officeholder until the executed agreement is received by the committee. The joint committee may include in the agreement such other provisions as it may deem reasonable and necessary. In addition to damages or any other remedy for not transferring a set of the code to his successor, an officeholder who does not transfer his set of the code shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, upon conviction, pay a fine of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00). Upon request of the joint committee, the Attorney General shall assist the joint committee in taking such actions as necessary to require an officeholder to transfer the set of code provided under this section to his successor, or to the joint committee if there is no successor, and to recover reimbursement or damages from any officeholder for the loss of or damage or destruction to any volumes of the set of the code provided under this section, other than normal wear and tear.
Replacement of missing, damaged or destroyed sets or volumes of the code provided by this chapter may be obtained from the code publisher through the joint committee at the established state cost, the cost to be borne by the recipient.
No more than one (1) set of the Mississippi Code of 1972 shall be furnished to any one (1) individual, regardless of the office or offices he may hold.
(2) (a) The joint committee, in its discretion, may determine whether electronic access to the Mississippi Code of 1972 is available and a sufficient substitute for actual bound volumes of the code and, if so, may omit furnishing any one or more sets otherwise required by this section.
(b) Each elected state official, elected state district official and member of the Legislature shall receive a CD-ROM version of the Mississippi Code of 1972 in lieu of bound volumes of the Mississippi Code of 1972 unless the official or member of the Legislature makes a request in writing to the Joint Committee on Compilation, Revision and Publication of Legislation that he receive bound volumes of the Mississippi Code of 1972.
SECTION 55. Section 7-7-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
7-7-27. (1) Except as provided otherwise in subsection (2) of this section, all claims against the state as the result of purchases, services, salaries, travel expense, or other encumbrances made or liabilities incurred by any officer, department, division, board, commission, institution or other agency of the state authorized to incur such obligations, whether as the result of the issuance of purchase orders, as hereinabove provided, or not, shall be filed with, certified and approved by the agency incurring such obligation pursuant to rules and regulations established by the Department of Finance and Administration. These rules and regulations shall set forth certain circumstances where certification by the approving officers that the goods and services have been received or performed may be waived by the Department of Finance and Administration. Such waivers may pertain to, but should not be limited to, service contracts of limited time periods for lease of office space and equipment, computer software and subgrantee disbursements under federal grant programs.
(2) * * * Each university board of trustees * * * and
the local board of trustees of a community or junior college shall adopt rules
and regulations for institutions under their governance for the waiver of
certification that goods or services have been received or performed. These
rules and regulations shall be consistent with those established by the
Department of Finance and Administration under subsection (1) of this section.
SECTION 56. Section 11-46-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
11-46-1. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Claim" means any demand to recover damages from a governmental entity as compensation for injuries.
(b) "Claimant" means any person seeking compensation under the provisions of this chapter, whether by administrative remedy or through the courts.
(c) "Board" means the Mississippi Tort Claims Board.
(d) "Department" means the Department of Finance and Administration.
(e) "Director" means the executive director of the department who is also the executive director of the board.
(f) "Employee" means any officer, employee or servant of the State of Mississippi or a political subdivision of the state, including elected or appointed officials and persons acting on behalf of the state or a political subdivision in any official capacity, temporarily or permanently, in the service of the state or a political subdivision whether with or without compensation, including firefighters who are members of a volunteer fire department that is a political subdivision. The term "employee" shall not mean a person or other legal entity while acting in the capacity of an independent contractor under contract to the state or a political subdivision; and
(i) For purposes of the limits of liability provided for in Section 11-46-15, the term "employee" shall include:
1. Physicians under contract to provide health services with the State Board of Health, the State Board of Mental Health or any county or municipal jail facility while rendering services under the contract;
2. Any physician, dentist or other health care practitioner employed by the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and its departmental practice plans who is a faculty member and provides health care services only for patients at UMMC or its affiliated practice sites, including any physician or other health care practitioner employed by UMMC under an arrangement with a public or private health-related organization;
3. Any
physician, dentist or other health care practitioner employed by any state-funded
college or university * * *under the control of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of
Higher Learning who practices only on the campus of any university under the
control of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning;
4. Any physician, dentist or other health care practitioner employed by the State Veterans Affairs Board and who provides health care services for patients for the State Veterans Affairs Board;
(ii) The term "employee" shall also include Mississippi Department of Human Services licensed foster parents for the limited purposes of coverage under the Tort Claims Act as provided in Section 11-46-8; and
(iii) The term "employee" also shall include any employee or member of the governing board of a charter school but shall not include any person or entity acting in the capacity of an independent contractor to provide goods or services under a contract with a charter school.
(g) "Governmental entity" means the state and political subdivisions.
(h) "Injury" means death, injury to a person, damage to or loss of property or any other injury that a person may suffer that is actionable at law or in equity.
(i) "Political subdivision" means any body politic or body corporate other than the state responsible for governmental activities only in geographic areas smaller than that of the state, including, but not limited to, any county, municipality, school district, charter school, volunteer fire department that is a chartered nonprofit corporation providing emergency services under contract with a county or municipality, community hospital as defined in Section 41-13-10, airport authority, or other instrumentality of the state, whether or not the body or instrumentality has the authority to levy taxes or to sue or be sued in its own name.
(j) "State" means the State of Mississippi and any office, department, agency, division, bureau, commission, board, institution, hospital, college, university, airport authority or other instrumentality thereof, whether or not the body or instrumentality has the authority to levy taxes or to sue or be sued in its own name.
(k) "Law" means all species of law, including, but not limited to, any and all constitutions, statutes, case law, common law, customary law, court order, court rule, court decision, court opinion, court judgment or mandate, administrative rule or regulation, executive order, or principle or rule of equity.
SECTION 57. Section 11-46-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
11-46-17. (1) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the "Tort Claims Fund."
All monies that the Department of Finance and Administration receives and collects under the provisions of subsection (2) of this section and all funds that the Legislature appropriates for use by the board in administering the provisions of this chapter shall be deposited in the fund. All monies in the fund may be expended by the board for any and all purposes for which the board is authorized to expend funds under the provisions of this chapter. All interest earned from the investment of monies in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Monies remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund.
(2) From and after July 1, 1993, each governmental entity other than political subdivisions shall participate in a comprehensive plan of self-insurance or one or more policies of liability insurance or combination of the two (2), all to be administered by the Department of Finance and Administration. The plan shall provide coverage to each of such governmental entities for every risk for which the board determines the respective governmental entities to be liable in the event of a claim or suit for injuries under the provisions of this chapter, including claims or suits for injuries from the use or operation of motor vehicles; the board may allow the plan to contain any reasonable limitations or exclusions not contrary to Mississippi state statutes or case law as are normally included in commercial liability insurance policies generally available to governmental entities. The plan may also provide coverage for liabilities outside the provisions of this chapter, including, but not limited to, liabilities arising from Sections 1983 through 1987 of Title 42 of the United States Code and liabilities from actions brought in foreign jurisdictions, and the board shall establish limits of coverage for such liabilities. Each governmental entity participating in the plan shall make payments to the board in such amounts, times and manner determined by the board as the board deems necessary to provide sufficient funds to be available for payment by the board of the costs it incurs in providing coverage for the governmental entity. Each governmental entity of the state other than the political subdivisions thereof participating in the plan procured by the board shall be issued by the board a certificate of coverage whose form and content shall be determined by the board but which shall have the effect of certifying that, in the opinion of the board, each of such governmental entities is adequately insured.
* * *
From and after * * * the date that the House Concurrent Resolution No. ____,
2020, which is the constitutional provision abolishing the Board of Trustees of
State Institutions of Higher Learning is ratified by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of
the qualified electorate of this state, each university board of
trustees shall be responsible for carrying forward the liability coverage
established by the predecessor board of trustees * * * as such coverage must conform to
the provisions of this section * * * as approved
by the predecessor board of trustees. * * * If the predecessor board of
trustees * * *
rejected a plan, * * *the each university board of trustees shall participate
in the liability program for state agencies established by the predecessor
board of trustees.
(3) All political subdivisions shall, from and after October 1, 1993, obtain a policy or policies of insurance, establish self-insurance reserves, or provide a combination of insurance and reserves as necessary to cover all risks of claims and suits for which political subdivisions may be liable under this chapter; a political subdivision shall not be required to obtain pollution liability insurance. However, this shall not limit any cause of action against a political subdivision relative to limits of liability under the Tort Claims Act. The policy or policies of insurance or self-insurance may contain any reasonable limitations or exclusions not contrary to Mississippi state statutes or case law as are normally included in commercial liability insurance policies generally available to political subdivisions. All the plans of insurance or reserves or combination of insurance and reserves shall be submitted for approval to the board. The board shall issue a certificate of coverage to each political subdivision whose plan it approves in the same manner as provided in subsection (2) of this section. Whenever any political subdivision fails to obtain the board's approval of its plan, the political subdivision shall act in accordance with the rules and regulations of the board and obtain a satisfactory plan of insurance or reserves or combination of insurance and reserves to be approved by the board.
(4) Any governmental entity may purchase liability insurance to cover claims in excess of the amounts provided for in Section 11-46-15 and may be sued by anyone in excess of the amounts provided for in Section 11-46-15 to the extent of the excess insurance carried; however, the immunity from suit above the amounts provided for in Section 11-46-15 shall be waived only to the extent of excess liability insurance carried.
(5) Any two (2) or more political subdivisions may contract to pool their liabilities as a group under this chapter. The pooling agreements and contracts may provide for the purchase of one or more policies of liability insurance or the establishment of self-insurance reserves or a combination of insurance and reserves and shall be subject to approval by the board in the manner provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section.
(6) The board shall have subrogation rights against a third party for amounts paid out of any plan of self-insurance administered by the board pursuant to this section on behalf of a governmental entity that is not a political subdivision as a result of damages caused under circumstances creating a cause of action in favor of such governmental entity against a third party. The board shall deposit in the Tort Claims Fund all monies received in connection with the settlement or payment of any claim, including proceeds from the sale of salvage.
(7) During fiscal year 2017, the board shall have full authority to assess agencies and governmental entities as per Section 11-46-19(1)(r).
SECTION 58. Section 17-13-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
17-13-5. For the purpose of this chapter, the following words shall be defined as herein provided unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) "Local governmental unit" shall mean any county, any incorporated city, town or village, any school district, any utility district, any community college, any institution of higher learning, any municipal airport authority or regional airport authority in the state, any local tourism commission in the state or any public improvement district created under the Public Improvement District Act.
(b) "Governing
authority" shall mean the board of supervisors of any county, board of
trustees of any school district or community college whether elective or
appointive, the governing board of any city, town or village, the board of
commissioners of a utility district, * * * a university board of trustees * * *, the
commissioners of a municipal airport authority or regional airport authority,
the commission of a local tourism commission or the board of directors of any
public improvement district created under the Public Improvement District Act.
SECTION 59. Section 19-3-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-3-47. (1) (a) The board of supervisors shall have the power, in its discretion, to employ counsel by the year at an annual salary at an amount that it deems proper, not to exceed the maximum annual amount authorized by law for payment to a member of the board.
(b) The board of supervisors shall have the power, in its discretion, to employ counsel in all civil cases in which the county is interested, including eminent domain proceedings, the examination and certification of title to property the county is acquiring and in criminal cases against a county officer for malfeasance or dereliction of duty in office, when by the criminal conduct of the officer the county may be liable to be affected pecuniarily, with the counsel to conduct the proceeding instead of the district attorney, or in conjunction with him, and to pay the counsel out of the county treasury or the road fund that may be involved reasonable compensation, or if counsel so employed is retained on an annual basis as provided in this subsection, reasonable additional compensation for his services.
(c) The board of supervisors shall have the power, in its discretion, to pay reasonable compensation to attorneys who may be employed by it in the matter of the issuance of bonds and the drafting of orders and resolutions in connection therewith. In no instance shall the attorney's fee for the services exceed the following amounts, to wit:
One percent (1%) of the first Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) of any one (1) bond issue; one-half percent (1/2%) of the amount of the issue in excess of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) but not more than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00); and one-fourth percent (1/4%) of the amount of the issue in excess of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00). The limitations imposed in this paragraph shall not apply to any bond issue for which a declaration to issue the bonds has heretofore been adopted by proper resolution.
(d) This subsection shall not in anyway amend or repeal or otherwise affect subsection (2) of this section, but this subsection shall remain in full force and effect.
(2) The board of supervisors of any county, in addition to the authority conferred upon it in subsection (1) of this section, may employ, in its discretion, a firm of attorneys to represent it as its regular attorneys on the same terms, conditions and compensation as provided for employment of an attorney as its regular attorney. However, there shall not be both an attorney and a firm of attorneys employed at the same time as the regular attorney for the board.
(3) In any county having a
1980 federal census population in excess of one hundred eighteen thousand
(118,000), and in which is located a major refinery for the production of
petroleum products and a facility for the construction of ships for the United
States Navy; in any county which is traversed by an interstate highway and
having a 1980 federal census population in excess of sixty-six thousand
(66,000), and in which is located a comprehensive university * * * and a National Guard training base; in any county in
which is located the State Capitol and the state's largest municipality; in any
county which is traversed by Interstate Highway 55, United States Highway 51
and United States Highway 98; in any county bordering the Gulf of Mexico, having
a 1980 federal census population in excess of one hundred fifty-seven thousand
(157,000), and in which is located a state-owned port; and in any county which
is traversed by Interstate Highway 20, United States Highway 49 and United
States Highway 80, and in which is located the State Hospital and an
international airport; all of which foregoing criteria the Legislature finds to
be conducive to industrial development requiring the issuance of industrial
revenue bonds and which counties would gain benefits by employment of counsel
in the manner authorized by this subsection, the board of supervisors, as an
alternative to the authority conferred upon it in subsections (1) and (2) of
this section, may employ annually, in its discretion, an attorney as a full-time
employee of the county, subject to the following conditions:
(a) The attorney shall maintain an office in the county courthouse or other county-owned building and shall represent the board of supervisors and all county agencies responsible to the board;
(b) The attorney shall be employed by the board of supervisors in the matter of the issuance of all bonds of the county and the drafting of resolutions in connection therewith, and shall represent the board in all state and federal courts. Attorney's fees for the services which otherwise would have been paid to an attorney under paragraph (1)(c) of this section shall be paid into the county general fund and used to defray the salary of the attorney and his necessary office expenses;
(c) During his employment by the county, the attorney shall not engage otherwise in the practice of civil or criminal law and shall not be associated with any other attorney or firm of attorneys;
(d) The board of supervisors shall have the power, in its discretion, to pay the attorney an annual salary not to exceed the maximum annual salary authorized by law to be paid to the county judge of that county; and
(e) The board of supervisors may authorize, in its discretion, the employment of special counsel to assist the counsel employed pursuant to this subsection, provided that the board shall determine and spread on its minutes that the employment of the special counsel is necessary and in the best interest of the county and setting forth the duties or responsibilities assigned to the special counsel.
SECTION 60. Section 19-9-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-9-1. The board of supervisors of any county is authorized to issue negotiable bonds of the county to raise money for the following purposes:
(a) Purchasing or erecting, equipping, repairing, reconstructing, remodeling and enlarging county buildings, courthouses, office buildings, jails, hospitals, nurses' homes, health centers, clinics, and related facilities, and the purchase of land therefor;
(b) Erecting, equipping, repairing, reconstructing, remodeling, or acquiring county homes for indigents, and purchasing land therefor;
(c) Purchasing or constructing, repairing, improving and equipping buildings for public libraries and for purchasing land, equipment and books therefor, whether the title to same be vested in the county issuing such bonds or in some subdivision of the state government other than the county, or jointly in such county and other such subdivision;
(d) Establishing county farms for convicts, purchasing land therefor, and erecting, remodeling, and equipping necessary buildings therefor;
(e) Constructing, reconstructing, and repairing roads, highways and bridges, and acquiring the necessary land, including land for road building materials, acquiring rights-of-way therefor; and the purchase of heavy construction equipment and accessories thereto reasonably required to construct, repair and renovate roads, highways and bridges and approaches thereto within the county;
(f) Erecting, repairing, equipping, remodeling or enlarging or assisting or cooperating with another county or other counties in erecting, repairing, equipping, remodeling, or enlarging buildings, and related facilities for an agricultural high school, or agricultural high school-junior college, including gymnasiums, auditoriums, lunchrooms, vocational training buildings, libraries, teachers' homes, school barns, garages for transportation vehicles, and purchasing land therefor;
(g) Purchasing or renting voting machines and any other election equipment to be used in elections held within the county;
(h) Constructing, reconstructing or repairing boat landing ramps and wharves fronting on the Mississippi Sound or the Gulf of Mexico and on the banks or shores of the inland waters, levees, bays and bayous of any county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico or fronting on the Mississippi Sound, having two (2) municipalities located therein, each with a population in excess of twenty thousand (20,000) in accordance with the then last preceding federal census;
(i) Assisting * * * a university board of trustees * * *, the
Office of General Services or any other state agency in acquiring a site for
constructing suitable buildings and runways and equipping an airport for any
state university or other state-supported four-year college now or hereafter in
existence in such county;
(j) Aiding and cooperating in the planning, undertaking, construction or operation of airports and air navigation facilities, including lending or donating money, pursuant to the provisions of the airport authorities law, being Sections 61-3-1 through 61-3-83, Mississippi Code of 1972, regardless of whether such airports or air navigation facilities are located in the county or counties issuing such bonds;
(k) Establishing rubbish and garbage disposal systems in accordance with the provisions of Sections 19-5-17 through 19-5-27;
(l) Defraying the expenses of projects of the county cooperative service district in which it is a participating county, regardless of whether the project is located in the county issuing such bonds;
(m) Purchasing machinery and equipment which have an expected useful life in excess of ten (10) years. The life of such bonds shall not exceed the expected useful life of such machinery and equipment. Machinery and equipment shall not include any motor vehicle weighing less than twelve thousand (12,000) pounds;
(n) Purchasing fire fighting equipment and apparatus, and providing housing for the same and purchasing land necessary therefor;
(o) A project for which a certificate of public convenience and necessity has been obtained by the county pursuant to the Regional Economic Development Act;
(p) Constructing dams or low-water control structures on lakes or bodies of water under the provisions of Section 19-5-92;
(q) For the purposes provided for in Section 57-75-37.
SECTION 61. Section 21-25-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
21-25-23. The governing authorities of any
municipality are hereby authorized, when petitioned so to do by * * * a university board of trustees * * *, to
create, by ordinance, a fire district encompassing the area adjoining such
municipality on which a part or all of * * * the state institution of higher
learning is located, after the creation of which such governing authorities and
the board of trustees of the affected state * * * institution of higher
learning shall have full power to contract for laying of water mains and any
other pipes or connections to the water mains to be used in said fire district,
and for the establishment and maintenance of fire service therein. However, no
such governing authority shall have the power either to promulgate or enforce
any charge, rule or regulation upon said district without first having received
the ratification and consent of the board of trustees of the affected
state * * *
institution of higher learning as reflected by the minutes of said
trustees.
SECTION 62. Section 21-33-301, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
21-33-301. The governing authorities of any municipality are authorized to issue negotiable bonds of the municipality to raise money for the following purposes:
(a) Erecting municipal buildings, armories, auditoriums, community centers, gymnasiums and athletic stadiums, preparing and equipping athletic fields, and purchasing buildings or land therefor, and for repairing, improving, adorning and equipping the same, and for erecting, equipping and furnishing of buildings to be used as a municipal or civic arts center;
(b) Erecting or purchasing waterworks, gas, electric and other public utility plants or distribution systems or franchises, and repairing, improving and extending the same;
(c) Purchasing or constructing, repairing, improving and equipping buildings for public libraries and for purchasing land, equipment and books therefor, whether the title to same be vested in the municipality issuing such bonds or in some subdivision of the state government other than the municipality, or jointly in such municipality and other such subdivision;
(d) Establishing sanitary, storm, drainage or sewerage systems, and repairing, improving and extending the same;
(e) Protecting a municipality, its streets and sidewalks from overflow, caving banks and other like dangers;
(f) Constructing, improving or paving streets, sidewalks, driveways, parkways, walkways or public parking facilities, and purchasing land therefor;
(g) Purchasing land for parks, cemeteries and public playgrounds, and improving, equipping and adorning the same, including the constructing, repairing and equipping of swimming pools and other recreational facilities;
(h) Constructing bridges and culverts;
(i) Constructing, repairing and improving wharves, docks, harbors and appurtenant facilities, and purchasing land therefor;
(j) Constructing, repairing and improving public slaughterhouses, markets, pest houses, workhouses, hospitals, houses of correction, reformatories and jails in the corporate limits, or within three (3) miles of the corporate limits, and purchasing land therefor;
(k) Altering or changing the channels of streams and water courses to control, deflect or guide the current thereof;
(l) Purchasing fire-fighting equipment and apparatus, and providing housing for same, and purchasing land therefor;
(m) Purchasing or renting voting machines and any other election equipment needed in elections held in the municipality;
(n) Assisting * * * university boards of trustees * * *, the
Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management of the Governor's
Office of General Services, or any other state agency in acquiring a site for,
constructing suitable buildings and runways and equipping an airport for the
university or other state-supported four-year college, now or hereafter in
existence, in or near which the municipality is located, within not more than
ten (10) miles of the municipality;
(o) Acquiring and improving existing mass transit system; however, no municipal governing authorities shall authorize any bonds to be issued for the acquiring and improving of an existing mass transit system unless an election be conducted in said municipality in the same manner provided for general and special elections, and a majority of the qualified electors of the municipality participating in said election approve the bond issuance for the acquiring and improving of an existing mass transit system;
(p) Purchasing machinery and equipment which have an expected useful life in excess of ten (10) years. The life of such bonds shall not exceed the expected useful life of such machinery and equipment. Machinery and equipment shall not include any motor vehicle weighing less than twelve thousand (12,000) pounds;
(q) A project for which a certificate of public convenience and necessity has been obtained by the municipality pursuant to the Regional Economic Development Act.
SECTION 63. Section 25-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-3-41. (1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (10) of this section, when any officer or employee of the State of Mississippi, or any department, agency or institution thereof, after first being duly authorized, is required to travel in the performance of his official duties, the officer or employee shall receive as expenses for each mile actually and necessarily traveled, when the travel is done by a privately owned automobile or other privately owned motor vehicle, the mileage reimbursement rate allowable to federal employees for the use of a privately owned vehicle while on official travel.
(2) When any officer or employee of any county or municipality, or of any agency, board or commission thereof, after first being duly authorized, is required to travel in the performance of his official duties, the officer or employee shall receive as expenses Twenty Cents (20¢) for each mile actually and necessarily traveled, when the travel is done by a privately owned motor vehicle; provided, however, that the governing authorities of a county or municipality may, in their discretion, authorize an increase in the mileage reimbursement of officers and employees of the county or municipality, or of any agency, board or commission thereof, in an amount not to exceed the mileage reimbursement rate authorized for officers and employees of the State of Mississippi in subsection (1) of this section.
(3) Where two (2) or more officers or employees travel in one (1) privately owned motor vehicle, only one (1) travel expense allowance at the authorized rate per mile shall be allowed for any one (1) trip. When the travel is done by means of a public carrier or other means not involving a privately owned motor vehicle, then the officer or employee shall receive as travel expense the actual fare or other expenses incurred in such travel.
(4) In addition to the foregoing, a public officer or employee shall be reimbursed for other actual expenses such as meals, lodging and other necessary expenses incurred in the course of the travel, subject to limitations placed on meals for intrastate and interstate official travel by the Department of Finance and Administration, provided, that the Legislative Budget Office shall place any limitations for expenditures made on matters under the jurisdiction of the Legislature. The Department of Finance and Administration shall set a maximum daily expenditure annually for such meals and shall notify officers and employees of changes to these allowances immediately upon approval of the changes. Travel by airline shall be at the tourist rate unless that space was unavailable. The officer or employee shall certify that tourist accommodations were not available if travel is performed in first class airline accommodations. Itemized expense accounts shall be submitted by those officers or employees in such number as the department, agency or institution may require; but in any case one (1) copy shall be furnished by state departments, agencies or institutions to the Department of Finance and Administration for preaudit or postaudit. The Department of Finance and Administration shall promulgate and adopt reasonable rules and regulations which it deems necessary and requisite to effectuate economies for all expenses authorized and paid pursuant to this section. Requisitions shall be made on the State Fiscal Officer who shall issue his warrant on the State Treasurer. Provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not include agencies financed entirely by federal funds and audited by federal auditors.
(5) Any officer or employee of a county or municipality, or any department, board or commission thereof, who is required to travel in the performance of his official duties, may receive funds before the travel, in the discretion of the administrative head of the county or municipal department, board or commission involved, for the purpose of paying necessary expenses incurred during the travel. Upon return from the travel, the officer or employee shall provide receipts of transportation, lodging, meals, fees and any other expenses incurred during the travel. Any portion of the funds advanced which is not expended during the travel shall be returned by the officer or employee. The Department of Audit shall adopt rules and regulations regarding advance payment of travel expenses and submission of receipts to ensure proper control and strict accountability for those payments and expenses.
(6) No state or federal funds received from any source by any arm or agency of the state shall be expended in traveling outside of the continental limits of the United States until the governing body or head of the agency makes a finding and determination that the travel would be extremely beneficial to the state agency and obtains a written concurrence thereof from the Governor, or his designee, and the Department of Finance and Administration. However, employees of state institutions of higher learning may expend funds for travel outside of the continental limits of the United States upon a written finding by the president or head of the institution that the travel would be extremely beneficial to the institution.
(7) Where any officer or employee of the State of Mississippi, or any department, agency or institution thereof, or of any county or municipality, or of any agency, board or commission thereof, is authorized to receive travel reimbursement under any other provision of law, the reimbursement may be paid under the provisions of this section or the other section, but not under both.
(8) When the Governor, Lieutenant Governor or Speaker of the House of Representatives appoints a person to a board, commission or other position that requires confirmation by the Senate, the person may receive reimbursement for mileage and other actual expenses incurred in the performance of official duties before the appointment is confirmed by the Senate, as reimbursement for those expenses is authorized under this section.
(9) (a) The Department of
Finance and Administration may contract with one or more commercial travel
agencies, after receiving competitive bids or proposals therefor, for that
travel agency or agencies to provide necessary travel services for state
officers and employees. Municipal and county officers and municipal and county
employees may also participate in the state travel agency contract and utilize
these travel services for official municipal or county travel. However, the
administrative head of each state institution of higher learning may, in his
discretion, contract with a commercial travel agency to provide necessary
travel services for all academic officials and staff of the university in lieu
of participation in the state travel agency contract. Any such decision by a
university to contract with a separate travel agency shall be approved by the university's
board of trustees * * * and the Executive
Director of the Department of Finance and Administration.
(b) Before executing a contract with one or more travel agencies, the Department of Finance and Administration shall advertise for competitive bids or proposals once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a regular newspaper having a general circulation throughout the State of Mississippi. If the department determines that it should not contract with any of the bidders initially submitting proposals, the department may reject all those bids, advertise as provided in this paragraph and receive new proposals before executing the contract or contracts. The contract or contracts may be for a period not greater than three (3) years, with an option for the travel agency or agencies to renew the contract or contracts on a one-year basis on the same terms as the original contract or contracts, for a maximum of two (2) renewals. After the travel agency or agencies have renewed the contract twice or have declined to renew the contract for the maximum number of times, the Department of Finance and Administration shall advertise for bids in the manner required by this paragraph and execute a new contract or contracts.
(c) Whenever any state officer or employee travels in the performance of his official duties by airline or other public carrier, he may have his travel arrangements handled by that travel agency or agencies. The amount paid for airline transportation for any state officer or employee, whether the travel was arranged by that travel agency or agencies or was arranged otherwise, shall not exceed the amount specified in the state contract established by the Department of Finance and Administration, Office of Purchasing and Travel, unless prior approval is obtained from the office.
(10) (a) For purposes of this subsection, the term "state agency" means any agency that is subject to oversight by the Bureau of Fleet Management of the Department of Finance and Administration under Section 25-1-77.
(b) Each state agency shall use a trip optimizer type system developed and administered by the Department of Finance and Administration in computing the optimum method and cost for travel by state officers and employees using a motor vehicle where the travel will exceed one hundred (100) miles per day and the officer or employee is not driving a state-owned or state-leased vehicle that has been dedicated or assigned to the officer or employee.
(c) The provisions of this subsection shall be used to determine the most cost-effective method of travel by motor vehicles, whether those vehicles are owned by the state agency, leased by the state agency, or owned by the officer or employee, and shall be applicable for purposes of determining the maximum authorized amount of any travel reimbursement for officers and employees of those agencies related to vehicle usage.
(d) The maximum authorized amount of travel reimbursement related to motor vehicle usage shall be the lowest cost option as determined by the trip optimizer type system. All travel claims submitted for reimbursement shall include the results of the trip optimizer type system indicating the lowest cost option for travel by the state officer or employee.
(e) In providing a calculation of rates, the trip optimizer type system shall account for the distance that an officer or employee must travel to pick up a rental or state fleet vehicle, and shall account for the long-term rate discounts offered through the state purchasing contract for vehicle rentals.
(f) This subsection shall not apply to travel by state officials in motor vehicles driven by the official or in vehicles used for the transport of the official. The exemption in this paragraph (f) applies only to the state official and not to the staff or other employees of the state official. As used in this paragraph (f), "state official" means statewide elected officials and the elected members of the Public Service Commission.
SECTION 64. Section 25-53-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-53-5. The authority shall have the following powers, duties, and responsibilities:
(a) (i) The authority shall provide for the development of plans for the efficient acquisition and utilization of computer equipment and services by all agencies of state government, and provide for their implementation. In so doing, the authority may use the MDITS' staff, at the discretion of the executive director of the authority, or the authority may contract for the services of qualified consulting firms in the field of information technology and utilize the service of such consultants as may be necessary for such purposes. Pursuant to Section 25-53-1, the provisions of this section shall not apply to the Department of Human Services for a period of three (3) years beginning on July 1, 2017. Pursuant to Section 25-53-1, the provisions of this section shall not apply to the Department of Child Protection Services for a period of three (3) years beginning July 1, 2017.
(ii) Notwithstanding the exemption of the Department of Human Services and the Department of Child Protection Services from the provisions of this section, before the Department of Human Services or the Department of Child Protection Services may take an action that would otherwise be subject to the provisions of this section, the department(s) shall give notice of the proposed action to the MDITS for any recommendations by the MDITS. Upon receipt of the notice, the MDITS shall post the notice on its website and on the procurement portal website established by Sections 25-53-151 and 27-104-165. If the MDITS does not respond to the department(s) within seven (7) calendar days after receiving the notice, the department(s) may take the proposed action. If the MDITS responds to the department(s) within seven (7) calendar days, then the MDITS has seven (7) calendar days from the date of its initial response to provide any additional recommendations. After the end of the second seven-day period, the department(s) may take the proposed action. The MDITS is not authorized to disapprove any proposed actions that would otherwise be subject to the provisions of this section. This subparagraph (ii) shall stand repealed on July 1, 2020.
(b) The authority shall immediately institute procedures for carrying out the purposes of this chapter and supervise the efficient execution of the powers and duties of the office of executive director of the authority. In the execution of its functions under this chapter, the authority shall maintain as a paramount consideration the successful internal organization and operation of the several agencies so that efficiency existing therein shall not be adversely affected or impaired. In executing its functions in relation to the institutions of higher learning and junior colleges in the state, the authority shall take into consideration the special needs of such institutions in relation to the fields of teaching and scientific research.
(c) Title of whatever nature of all computer equipment now vested in any agency of the State of Mississippi is hereby vested in the authority, and no such equipment shall be disposed of in any manner except in accordance with the direction of the authority or under the provisions of such rules and regulations as may hereafter be adopted by the authority in relation thereto.
(d) The authority shall adopt rules, regulations, and procedures governing the acquisition of computer and telecommunications equipment and services which shall, to the fullest extent practicable, insure the maximum of competition between all manufacturers of supplies or equipment or services. In the writing of specifications, in the making of contracts relating to the acquisition of such equipment and services, and in the performance of its other duties the authority shall provide for the maximum compatibility of all information systems hereafter installed or utilized by all state agencies and may require the use of common computer languages where necessary to accomplish the purposes of this chapter. The authority may establish by regulation and charge reasonable fees on a nondiscriminatory basis for the furnishing to bidders of copies of bid specifications and other documents issued by the authority.
(e) The authority shall adopt rules and regulations governing the sharing with, or the sale or lease of information technology services to any nonstate agency or person. Such regulations shall provide that any such sharing, sale or lease shall be restricted in that same shall be accomplished only where such services are not readily available otherwise within the state, and then only at a charge to the user not less than the prevailing rate of charge for similar services by private enterprise within this state.
(f) The authority may, in its discretion, establish a special technical advisory committee or committees to study and make recommendations on technology matters within the competence of the authority as the authority may see fit. Persons serving on the Information Resource Council, its task forces, or any such technical advisory committees shall be entitled to receive their actual and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of such duties, together with mileage as provided by law for state employees, provided the same has been authorized by a resolution duly adopted by the authority and entered on its minutes prior to the performance of such duties.
(g) The authority may provide for the development and require the adoption of standardized computer programs and may provide for the dissemination of information to and the establishment of training programs for the personnel of the various information technology centers of state agencies and personnel of the agencies utilizing the services thereof.
(h) The authority shall adopt reasonable rules and regulations requiring the reporting to the authority through the office of executive director of such information as may be required for carrying out the purposes of this chapter and may also establish such reasonable procedures to be followed in the presentation of bills for payment under the terms of all contracts for the acquisition of computer equipment and services now or hereafter in force as may be required by the authority or by the executive director in the execution of their powers and duties.
(i) The authority shall require such adequate documentation of information technology procedures utilized by the various state agencies and may require the establishment of such organizational structures within state agencies relating to information technology operations as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.
(j) The authority may adopt such further reasonable rules and regulations as may be necessary to fully implement the purposes of this chapter. All rules and regulations adopted by the authority shall be published and disseminated in readily accessible form to all affected state agencies, and to all current suppliers of computer equipment and services to the state, and to all prospective suppliers requesting the same. Such rules and regulations shall be kept current, be periodically revised, and copies thereof shall be available at all times for inspection by the public at reasonable hours in the offices of the authority. Whenever possible no rule, regulation or any proposed amendment to such rules and regulations shall be finally adopted or enforced until copies of the proposed rules and regulations have been furnished to all interested parties for their comment and suggestions.
(k) The authority shall establish rules and regulations which shall provide for the submission of all contracts proposed to be executed by the executive director for computer equipment or services to the authority for approval before final execution, and the authority may provide that such contracts involving the expenditure of less than such specified amount as may be established by the authority may be finally executed by the executive director without first obtaining such approval by the authority.
(l) The authority is authorized to purchase, lease, or rent computer equipment or services and to operate that equipment and use those services in providing services to one or more state agencies when in its opinion such operation will provide maximum efficiency and economy in the functions of any such agency or agencies.
(m) Upon the request of the governing body of a political subdivision or instrumentality, the authority shall assist the political subdivision or instrumentality in its development of plans for the efficient acquisition and utilization of computer equipment and services. An appropriate fee shall be charged the political subdivision by the authority for such assistance.
(n) The authority shall adopt rules and regulations governing the protest procedures to be followed by any actual or prospective bidder, offerer or contractor who is aggrieved in connection with the solicitation or award of a contract for the acquisition of computer equipment or services. Such rules and regulations shall prescribe the manner, time and procedure for making protests and may provide that a protest not timely filed shall be summarily denied. The authority may require the protesting party, at the time of filing the protest, to post a bond, payable to the state, in an amount that the authority determines sufficient to cover any expense or loss incurred by the state, the authority or any state agency as a result of the protest if the protest subsequently is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to have been filed without any substantial basis or reasonable expectation to believe that the protest was meritorious; however, in no event may the amount of the bond required exceed a reasonable estimate of the total project cost. The authority, in its discretion, also may prohibit any prospective bidder, offerer or contractor who is a party to any litigation involving any such contract with the state, the authority or any agency of the state to participate in any other such bid, offer or contract, or to be awarded any such contract, during the pendency of the litigation.
(o) The authority shall make a report in writing to the Legislature each year in the month of January. Such report shall contain a full and detailed account of the work of the authority for the preceding year as specified in Section 25-53-29(3).
All acquisitions of computer equipment and services involving the expenditure of funds in excess of the dollar amount established in Section 31-7-13(c), or rentals or leases in excess of the dollar amount established in Section 31-7-13(c) for the term of the contract, shall be based upon competitive and open specifications, and contracts therefor shall be entered into only after advertisements for bids are published in one or more daily newspapers having a general circulation in the state not less than fourteen (14) days prior to receiving sealed bids therefor. The authority may reserve the right to reject any or all bids, and if all bids are rejected, the authority may negotiate a contract within the limitations of the specifications so long as the terms of any such negotiated contract are equal to or better than the comparable terms submitted by the lowest and best bidder, and so long as the total cost to the State of Mississippi does not exceed the lowest bid. If the authority accepts one (1) of such bids, it shall be that which is the lowest and best.
(p) When applicable, the authority may procure equipment, systems and related services in accordance with the law or regulations, or both, which govern the Bureau of Purchasing of the Office of General Services or which govern the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services procurement of telecommunications equipment, software and services.
(q) The authority is authorized to purchase, lease, or rent information technology and services for the purpose of establishing pilot projects to investigate emerging technologies. These acquisitions shall be limited to new technologies and shall be limited to an amount set by annual appropriation of the Legislature. These acquisitions shall be exempt from the advertising and bidding requirement.
(r) All fees collected by the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services shall be deposited into the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services Revolving Fund unless otherwise specified by the Legislature.
(s) The authority shall work closely with the council to bring about effective coordination of policies, standards and procedures relating to procurement of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) resources. In addition, the authority is responsible for development, operation and maintenance of a delivery system infrastructure for geographic information systems data. The authority shall provide a warehouse for Mississippi's geographic information systems data.
(t) The authority shall manage one or more State Data Centers to provide information technology services on a cost-sharing basis. In determining the appropriate services to be provided through the State Data Center, the authority should consider those services that:
(i) Result in savings to the state as a whole;
(ii) Improve and enhance the security and reliability of the state's information and business systems; and
(iii) Optimize the efficient use of the state's information technology assets, including, but not limited to, promoting partnerships with the state institutions of higher learning and community colleges to capitalize on advanced information technology resources.
(u) The authority
shall increase federal participation in the cost of the State Data Center to
the extent provided by law and its shared technology infrastructure through
providing such shared services to agencies that receive federal funds. With
regard to state institutions of higher learning and community colleges, the
authority may provide shared services when mutually agreeable, following a
determination by both the authority and * * * each university board of trustees * * * or the
Mississippi Community College Board, as the case may be, that the sharing of
services is mutually beneficial.
(v) The authority, in
its discretion, may require new or replacement agency business applications to
be hosted at the State Data Center. With regard to state institutions of higher
learning and community colleges, the authority and * * * university boards of trustees * * * or the
Mississippi Community College Board, as the case may be, may agree that
institutions of higher learning or community colleges may utilize business
applications that are hosted at the State Data Center, following a
determination by both the authority and the applicable board that the hosting
of those applications is mutually beneficial. In addition, the authority may
establish partnerships to capitalize on the advanced technology resources of * * * university boards of trustees * * * or the
Mississippi Community College Board, following a determination by both the authority
and the applicable board that such a partnership is mutually beneficial.
(w) The authority shall provide a periodic update regarding reform-based information technology initiatives to the Chairmen of the House and Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committees.
From and after July 1, 2018, the expenses of this agency shall be defrayed by appropriation from the State General Fund. In addition, in order to receive the maximum use and benefit from information technology and services, expenses for the provision of statewide shared services that facilitate cost-effective information processing and telecommunication solutions shall be defrayed by pass-through funding and shall be deposited into the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services Revolving Fund unless otherwise specified by the Legislature. These funds shall only be utilized to pay the actual costs incurred by the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services for providing these shared services to state agencies. Furthermore, state agencies shall work in full cooperation with the Board of the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services to identify computer equipment or services to minimize duplication, reduce costs, and improve the efficiency of providing common technology services across agency boundaries.
SECTION 65. Section 27-7-701, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-7-701. For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the respective meanings ascribed by this section:
(a) "Claimant
agency" means * * * any state-funded
institution of higher learning * * *, the
Mississippi Guarantee Student Loan Agency, the Mississippi Postsecondary
Education Financial Assistance Board, any public community or junior college,
or any state agency which has loaned money to or is owed a debt by an
individual for educational purposes.
(b) "Debtor" means any individual owing money or having a delinquent account with any claimant agency, which obligation has not been adjudicated satisfied by court order, set aside by court order, or discharged in bankruptcy.
(c) "Debt" means any liquidated sum due and owing any claimant agency which has accrued through contract, subrogation, tort or operation of law, regardless of whether there is an outstanding judgment for that sum.
(d) "Commission," "State Tax Commission" or "department" means the Department of Revenue of the State of Mississippi.
(e) "Refund" means the Mississippi income tax refund which the commission determines to be due any individual taxpayer.
SECTION 66. Section 27-103-127, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-103-127. To the end that the overall budget shall present in comparable terms a complete summary of all financial operations of all state agencies, Part 2 of the overall budget shall include therein the requested budget and the recommended budget for each special fund agency. The overall budget shall show for each special fund agency, in addition to such other information as may be prescribed by the Legislative Budget Office, the following:
(a) The amount by source of all special fund receipts collected or otherwise available in the current fiscal year, and an estimate by source of all special funds which will be collected or become available by the end of the then current fiscal year;
(b) The estimated amount of all expenditures to be made or obligations to be incurred payable from such special funds during the then current fiscal year;
(c) The estimated aggregate amount of special funds which will be needed by the agency for the succeeding fiscal year; beginning with the 1995 fiscal year and in the event that any services proposed to be provided by the agency in the succeeding fiscal year are Medicaid reimbursable, any state general matching funds necessary for such reimbursement shall be included in the agency's proposed budget, and the appropriation to the Division of Medicaid in the 1995 fiscal year shall be adjusted accordingly;
(d) The estimated amount by source of special funds which will be available under existing laws during the succeeding fiscal year, including any balances which will be on hand at the close of the then current fiscal year;
(e) The estimated amount which will be needed and which will require change in existing law or laws;
(f) If any new item of expense is included in the proposed budget of any special fund agency, the reason therefor shall be given; and in any case where the Legislative Budget Office shall eliminate or reduce any item or items in the proposed budget of any special fund agency, it shall note briefly the reasons therefor, together with the reasons advanced by the agency in support of the item or items eliminated or reduced;
(g) The proposed budget of each special fund agency shall show the amounts required for operating expenses separately from the amounts required for permanent improvements.
Proposed expenditures for any agency in Part 2 of the overall budget shall not exceed the amount of estimated revenues which will be available to it. Provided, that the Legislative Budget Office may recommend changes in existing law so as to decrease or increase the revenues available to any agency if in its judgment such changes are necessary or desirable.
Provided further, that expenditures approved or authorized by the Legislature for any special fund agency or special funds approved for general fund agency shall constitute a maximum to be expended or encumbered by such agency, and shall not constitute authority to expend or encumber more than the amount of revenue actually collected or otherwise received.
No special fund agency or general fund agency shall make expenditures from special funds available to such agency unless such expenditures are set forth in a budget approved by the Legislature. Such legislative approval shall be set forth in an appropriation act. Provided, however, that special funds derived from the collection of taxes for any political subdivision of the state shall be excepted from the foregoing provisions. The executive head of the state agency shall be liable on his official bond for expenditures or encumbrances which exceed the total amount of the budget or the amount received if receipts are less than the approved budget.
Provided, however, that each
university and college shall submit through * * * its university board of trustees * * * an
annual budget to the Legislative Budget Office prior to the beginning of each
fiscal year with such information and in such form, and in such detail, as may
be required by the Legislative Budget Office. If the Legislative Budget Office
determines that sufficient funds will be available during the fiscal year to
fund the proposed budget as submitted, then and in that event the proposed
budget shall be approved. However, if the Legislative Budget Office determines
that, in its judgment, sufficient funds will not be available to fund the
proposed budget, the affected institution or institutions and * * * their respective university board of
trustees * * * shall be promptly notified and given
an opportunity to either justify the proposed budget or proposed amendments
which can be mutually agreed upon. The Legislative Budget Office shall then
approve the proposed budget or budgets of the several universities and
colleges. The total amount approved for each institution shall constitute the maximum
funds which may be expended during the fiscal year.
The municipal, county or combined municipal and county port and harbor commissions, authorities or other port or harbor agencies not owned or operated by the state, shall submit annual or amended budgets of their estimated receipts and expenditures to the governing bodies of such municipality, county or municipality and county, for their approval, and a copy of such budget as approved by such governing body or bodies shall be filed with the Legislative Budget Office. Such budget shall itemize all estimated receipts and expenditures, and the Legislative Budget Office may require particularization, explanation or audit thereof, and shall report such information to the Legislature.
To the end that the overall budget shall present in comparable terms a complete summary of all financial operations of all state agencies, Part 3 of such overall budget shall consist of an estimated preliminary annual budget of the Department of Transportation and the Division of State Aid Road Construction of the Department of Transportation and such information for the current fiscal year as is necessary to make presentation comparable to that specified for Part 2 special fund agencies.
The annual budget request of the Department of Transportation
shall be divided into the following program budgets: (a) administration and other expenses, (b) construction, (c) maintenance, and (d) debt service. In making its annual appropriation to the Department of Transportation from the State Highway Fund, the Legislature shall separate the appropriation bill into the four (4) program budget areas herein specified. For the purposes of this paragraph, "administration and other expenses" shall be construed to mean those expenses incurred due to departmental support activities which cannot be assigned to a specific construction or maintenance project, and shall be construed to include expenses incurred for office machines, furniture, fixtures, automobiles, station wagons, truck and other vehicles, road machinery, farm equipment and other working equipment, data processing and computer equipment, all other equipment, and replacements for equipment. "Construction" shall be construed to mean those expenses associated with the creation and development of the state highway system and its related facilities; "maintenance" shall be construed to mean those expenses incurred due to activities associated with preservation of safe and aesthetically acceptable highways in an attempt to maintain them in as close to the original condition as possible; and "debt service" shall be construed to mean amounts needed to pay bonds and interest coming due, bank service charges, and bond debt service.
SECTION 67. Section 27-104-155, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-104-155. (1) The Department of Finance and Administration shall develop and operate a searchable website that includes information on expenditures of state funds from all funding sources. The website shall have a unique and simplified website address, and the department shall require each agency that maintains a generally accessible Internet site or for which a generally accessible Internet site is maintained to include a link on the front page of the agency's Internet site to the searchable website required under this section.
(a) With regard to disbursement of funds, the website shall include, but not be limited to:
(i) The name and principal location of the entity or recipients of the funds, excluding release of information relating to an individual's place of residence, the identity of recipients of state or federal assistance payments, and any other information deemed confidential by state or federal law relating to privacy rights;
(ii) The amount of state funds expended;
(iii) A descriptive purpose of the funding action or expenditure;
(iv) The funding source of the expenditure;
(v) The budget program or activity of the expenditure;
(vi) The specific source of authority and descriptive purpose of the expenditure, to include a link to the funding authorization document(s) in a searchable PDF form;
(vii) The specific source of authority for the expenditure including, but not limited to, a grant, subgrant, contract, or the general discretion of the agency director, provided that if the authority is a grant, subgrant or contract, the website entry shall include a grant, subgrant or contract number or similar information that clearly identifies the specific source of authority. The information required under this paragraph includes data relative to tax exemptions and credits;
(viii) The expending agency;
(ix) The type of transaction;
(x) The expected performance outcomes achieved for the funding action or expenditure;
(xi) Links to any state audit or report relating to the entity or recipient of funds or the budget program or activity or agency; and
(xii) Any other information deemed relevant by the Department of Finance and Administration.
(b) When the expenditure of state funds involves the expenditure of bond proceeds, the searchable website must include a clear, detailed description of the purpose of the bonds, a current status report on the project or projects being financed by the bonds, and a current status report on the payment of the principal and interest on the bonds.
(c) The searchable website must include access to an electronic summary of each grant, including amendments; subgrant, including amendments; contract, including amendments; and payment voucher that includes, wherever possible, a hyperlink to the actual document in a searchable PDF format, subject to the restrictions in paragraph (d) of this subsection. The Department of Finance and Administration may cooperate with other agencies to accomplish the requirements of this paragraph.
(d) Nothing in Sections 27-104-151 through 27-104-159 shall permit or require the disclosure of trade secrets or other proprietary information, including confidential vendor information, or any other information that is required to be confidential by state or federal law.
(e) The information available from the searchable website must be updated no later than fourteen (14) days after the receipt of data from an agency, and the Department of Finance and Administration shall require each agency to provide to the department access to all data that is required to be accessible from the searchable website within fourteen (14) days of each expenditure, grant award, including amendments; subgrant, including amendments; or contract, including amendments; executed by the agency.
(f) The searchable website must include all information required by this section for all transactions that are initiated in fiscal year 2015 or later. In addition, all information that is included on the searchable website from the date of the inception of the website until July 1, 2014, must be maintained on the website according to the requirements of this section before July 1, 2014, and remain accessible for ten (10) years from the date it was originally made available. All data on the searchable website must remain accessible to the public for a minimum of ten (10) years.
(g) For the purposes of this subsection (1), the term "contract" includes, but is not limited to, personal and professional services contracts.
(2) * * * Each state * * * institution of higher
learning shall create * * *
an IHL Accountability and Transparency website to include its executive
office and the institutions of higher learning modeled after the website
which was created by the predecessor Board of Trustees of State Institutions of
Higher Learning * * * before July 1, 2012. This website shall:
(a) Provide access to existing financial reports, financial audits, budgets and other financial documents that are used to allocate, appropriate, spend and account for appropriated funds;
(b) Have a unique and simplified website address;
(c) Be directly accessible via a link from the main page of the Department of Finance and Administration website, as well as the IHL website and the main page of the website of each institution of higher learning;
(d) Include other links, features or functionality that will assist the public in obtaining and reviewing public financial information;
(e) Report expenditure information currently available within these enterprise resource planning (ERP) computer systems; and
(f) Design the reporting format using the existing capabilities of these ERP computer systems.
(3) The Mississippi Community College Board shall create the Community and Junior Colleges Accountability and Transparency website to include its executive office and the community and junior colleges no later than July 1, 2012. This website shall:
(a) Provide access to existing financial reports, financial audits, budgets and other financial documents that are used to allocate, appropriate, spend and account for appropriated funds;
(b) Have a unique and simplified website address;
(c) Be directly accessible via a link from the main page of the Department of Finance and Administration website, as well as the Mississippi Community College Board website and the main page of the website of each community and junior college;
(d) Include other links, features or functionality that will assist the public in obtaining and reviewing public financial information;
(e) Report expenditure information currently available within the computer system of each community and junior college; and
(f) Design the reporting format using the existing capabilities of the computer system of each community and junior college.
(4) Not later than January 1, 2016, the owner or owners of a community hospital, as defined in Section 41-13-10, shall create and maintain an accountability and transparency website for the community hospital or set up a separate section for the community hospital on the current website of the owner or owners. This website of the community hospital or section of the website of the owner or owners shall:
(a) Provide access to existing financial reports, financial audits, budgets and other financial documents of the community hospital that are used to allocate, appropriate, spend and account for public funds;
(b) Have a unique and simplified website address if it is a new website for the community hospital, or be an easily accessible section of the website of the owner or owners;
(c) Include links, features or functionality that will assist the public in obtaining and reviewing public financial information of the community hospital;
(d) Report expenditure information of the community hospital in functional expenditure categories that is currently available within the computer system of the community hospital; and
(e) Design the reporting format using the existing capabilities of the computer system or systems of the owner or owners of the community hospital.
SECTION 68. Section 27-104-203, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-104-203. From and after
July 1, 2016, no state agency shall charge another state agency a fee,
assessment, rent, audit fee, personnel fee or other charge for services or
resources received. The provisions of this section shall not apply (a) to
grants, contracts, pass-through funds, project fees or other charges for services
between state agencies and * * * any public university, the Mississippi Community College
Board, any public community or junior college, and the State Department of
Education, nor (b) to charges for services between * * * any public university, the Mississippi Community College
Board, any public community or junior college, and the State Department of
Education, nor (c) to federal grants, pass-through funds, cost allocation
charges, surplus property charges or project fees between state agencies as
approved or determined by the State Fiscal Officer, nor (d) telecommunications,
data center services, and/or other information technology services that are
used on an as-needed basis and those costs shall be passed through to the using
agency, nor (e) to federal grants, special funds, or pass-through funds,
available for payment by state agencies to the Department of Finance and Administration
related to Mississippi Management and Reporting Systems (MMRS) Statewide
Application charges and utilities as approved or determined by the State Fiscal
Officer. * * * Any public university,
the Mississippi Community College Board, any public community or junior
college, and the State Department of Education shall retain the authority to
charge and be charged for expenditures that they deemed nonrecurring in nature
by the State Fiscal Officer.
SECTION 69. Section 29-1-205, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-1-205. (1) The Department of Finance and Administration, Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management, is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to sell and convey on behalf of the State of Mississippi to a nationally recognized organization which has as its purpose the recognition and promotion of scholarship, leadership and service among two-year college students throughout the country for the purpose of constructing a national headquarters thereon, the following described state-owned lands. The property authorized to be sold and conveyed is a certain parcel of land situated in the Northwest 1/4 of the Northeast 1/4 of Section 25, T6N, R1E, Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, and being more particularly described as follows, to wit:
Commence at the Southwest corner of Lot 2 of Northeast Heights, a subdivision on file and of record in the Office of the Chancery Clerk at Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, in Plat Book 10 at page 45; run thence Southerly along the extension of the West line of said Lot 2 for a distance of 80.00 feet to a point on the South line of Eastover Drive; turn thence right through a deflection angle of 89 degrees 13 minutes and run westerly along the South line of Eastover Drive for a distance of 43.84 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING; thence leaving said South line of Eastover Drive, turn left through a deflection angle of 95 degrees 41 minutes 50 seconds and run Southerly along a line twenty-five feet from and parallel to the centerline of a 31 foot asphalt drive for a distance of 118.08 feet; turn thence right through a deflection angle of 3 degrees 07 minutes 37 seconds and continue Southerly along a line twenty-five feet from and parallel to the centerline of a 31 foot asphalt drive for a distance of 132.71 feet to a point on the North line of a United Gas Pipe Line Company easement; turn thence right through a deflection angle of 59 degrees 18 minutes 47 seconds and run Southwesterly along the North line of said United Gas Pipe Line Company easement for a distance of 520.00 feet; turn thence right through a deflection angle of 90 degrees 00 minutes 00 seconds and run Northwesterly for a distance of 410.00 feet; turn thence right through a deflection angle of 69 degrees 42 minutes 33 seconds and run Northeasterly for a distance of 238.99 feet to a point on the South line of said Eastover Drive; said point further being on a 2 degrees 27 minutes curve bearing to the right, said curve having a central angle of 8 degrees 58 minutes 45 seconds and a radius of 2258.60 feet; turn thence right through a deflection angle of 53 degrees 12 minutes 08 seconds and run Easterly along the chord of said 2 degrees 27 minutes curve bearing to the right and the South line of said Eastover Drive for a distance of 27.26 feet to the Point of Tangency; turn thence right through a deflection angle of 00 degrees 20 minutes 45 seconds and run Easterly along the South line said Eastover Drive for a distance of 472.74 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING, containing 5.44 acres more or less.
(2) The Legislature recognizes that Mississippi's public two-year college system is the oldest system of its kind in the nation, and further recognizes that this system enjoys national notoriety and respect for its achievement and promotion of educational, civic, social and cultural excellence. The Legislature declares and finds that the purpose of this legislation is to promote, enhance and foster continued excellence in Mississippi's two-year college system and the overall educational development and improvement of the State of Mississippi and the educational, civic, social, cultural, moral and economic welfare thereof, and that such purposes will be accomplished by the conveyance of the above-described property to an organization within the aforesaid classification for construction of a national headquarters thereon.
(3) The conveyance to be
executed by the Department of Finance and Administration, acting through the
Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management, shall be within the
limits contained in Sections 29-1-205 and 29-1-209 and contain a provision
reserving unto the state all oil, gas and mineral rights of every kind and
character. The conveyance shall make provision for reasonable access to the
conveyed premises over existing roadways and to existing utility lines for the
benefit of the conveyed premises. The conveyance shall include terms granting
to * * * university
boards of trustees * * *of State Institutions of Higher Learning, to the Mississippi
Community College Board and to the Mississippi Authority for Educational
Television reasonable rights to utilize the improvements to be constructed
thereon, or portions thereof, for conference or meeting purposes, specifying
the architectural style of the improvements and providing a reasonable setback
of wooded undeveloped property contiguous to the improvements in order to
maintain the natural environment of the site.
(4) The conveyance herein shall
be for such consideration as determined appropriate by the Public Procurement
Review Board. Such consideration may be paid or provided in installments over a
period of time (not to exceed twenty-five (25) years) and may also be provided
in kind. In kind consideration may include the reasonable use of the
improvements constructed on the property by * * * a university board of trustees * * * and
its institutions, the Mississippi Community College Board and the
community and junior colleges, and the Mississippi Authority for Educational
Television and other state agencies, and the provision of leadership training
certification programs for community and junior college faculty and others.
Such in kind consideration may also constitute full and fair consideration for
the property. In establishing consideration, the board may take into account
the appraised value of the property, but shall allow reasonable credit to the
purchaser for benefits accruing to the State of Mississippi, including the
enhancement of the state's community and junior college program and the
promotion of excellence in public education afforded by the location of such
organization and its headquarters in this state, the increase in employment made
possible, and that the only use which can be made of the conveyed premises is
for the organization's national headquarters with reversion to the state
otherwise.
SECTION 70. Section 29-5-77, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-5-77. (1) The Department of Finance and Administration shall have jurisdiction relative to the enforcement of all laws of the State of Mississippi on the properties, from curb to curb including adjoining streets, sidewalks and leased parking lots within the Capitol complex, set forth in Section 29-5-2, the Court of Appeals Building, the Mississippi Department of Transportation Building and the Public Employees' Retirement System Building, and any property purchased, constructed or otherwise acquired by the State of Mississippi for conducting state business and not specifically under the supervision and care by any other state entity, but which is reasonably assumed the department would be responsible for such, as approved by the Public Procurement Review Board. The Department of Finance and Administration shall, through any person or persons appointed by the Department of Finance and Administration, or through the Department of Public Safety when requested by the Department of Finance and Administration, make arrests for any violation of any law of the State of Mississippi on those grounds of or within those properties. The Department of Finance and Administration shall enforce the provisions of Sections 29-5-57 through 29-5-67, 29-5-71 through 29-5-77, and 29-5-81 through 29-5-95, and prescribe such rules and regulations as are necessary therefor.
(2) When in the opinion of the Governor or, in his absence, the Lieutenant Governor, it is readily apparent that an emergency exists that the persons appointed by the Department of Finance and Administration are unable to control in the accomplishment of the provisions of Sections 29-5-57 through 29-5-67, 29-5-71 through 29-5-77, and 29-5-81 through 29-5-95 in regard to law enforcement, then the Governor or, in his absence, the Lieutenant Governor, may call upon the Department of Public Safety, members of which shall have power to arrest and detain any persons violating the provisions of those sections of law, until the person can be brought before the proper authorities for trial.
(3) * * * The * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education * * * the Department of Finance and Administration
shall be authorized to enter into a contract for the Department of Finance and
Administration to supply the security personnel with jurisdiction to enforce
all laws of the State of Mississippi on the property of the Board of Trustees
located at the corner of Ridgewood Road and Lakeland Drive in the City of
Jackson.
(4) (a) The Department of Finance and Administration and the Department of Agriculture are authorized to enter into a contract for the Department of Finance and Administration to have jurisdiction and enforce all laws of the State of Mississippi on the property of the Department of Agriculture located at 121 North Jefferson Street and the new Farmer's Market Building located at the corner of High and Jefferson Streets in the City of Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of Finance and Administration will not post any security personnel at such buildings, but will provide regular vehicle patrols and responses to security system alarms.
(b) The Department of Finance and Administration and the Mississippi Fair Commission are authorized to enter into a contract for the Department of Finance and Administration to have jurisdiction and enforce all laws of the State of Mississippi on the property of the Mississippi Fair Commission known as the "Mississippi State Fairgrounds Complex" and any and all of its outlying buildings and property. The Department of Finance and Administration and the Mississippi Fair Commission are authorized to enter into a contract for the Department of Finance and Administration to supply the security personnel to the Mississippi Fair Commission with jurisdiction to enforce all laws of the State of Mississippi on this property and any and all buildings on this property.
(5) The Department of Finance and Administration and the Department of Revenue are authorized to enter into a contract for the Department of Finance and Administration to supply the security personnel with jurisdiction to enforce all laws of the State of Mississippi at the Alcoholic Beverage Control facility and the Department of Revenue main office.
(6) The Department of Finance and Administration shall have jurisdiction relative to the enforcement of all laws of the State of Mississippi within the boundaries of the Capitol Complex Improvement District created in Section 29-5-203. The Department of Finance and Administration shall, through any person or persons appointed by the Department of Finance and Administration, make arrests for any violation of any law of the State of Mississippi which occurs within the boundaries of the district. The jurisdiction of the Department of Finance and Administration under this subsection (6) shall be concurrent with the jurisdiction of the City of Jackson, Mississippi, and that of Hinds County, Mississippi. The jurisdiction and authority of the Department of Finance and Administration under this subsection (6) shall be in addition to any other jurisdiction and authority provided to the department under this section or any other law.
SECTION 71. Section 31-1-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
31-1-1. The responsibility
for the making of contracts for printing, binding, engraving and lithographing
is hereby vested in each state agency or office which requires such printing,
binding, engraving and lithographing, including but not restricted to the
Secretary of State, State Department of Education, * * * Mississippi Department
of Revenue, Supreme Court, Department of Insurance, State Auditor, Public
Service Commission, State Treasurer, State Fiscal Management Board, State
Veterans Affairs Board, Attorney General, Department of Agriculture and
Commerce, State Board of Pharmacy, State Board of Dental Examiners, State Law
Library, State Board of Health, Mississippi Department of Corrections, State
Educational Finance Commission, Department of Archives and History, Mississippi
State Hospital and * * * the respective state institutions of higher
learning.
All contracts referred to herein shall be submitted to and approved by the State Fiscal Management Board prior to their execution, except that those contracts under the jurisdiction of the Legislature shall be submitted to and approved by the Legislative Budget Office.
All state agencies shall purchase all commodities required for their operation or for the proper fulfillment of their duties and functions in accordance with Chapter 7 of this title in order to coordinate and promote efficiency and economy in the purchase of such commodities for the state.
SECTION 72. Section 31-7-10, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
31-7-10. (1) For the purposes of this section, the term "equipment" shall mean equipment, furniture, and if applicable, associated software and other applicable direct costs associated with the acquisition. In addition to its other powers and duties, the Department of Finance and Administration shall have the authority to develop a master lease-purchase program and, pursuant to that program, shall have the authority to execute on behalf of the state master lease-purchase agreements for equipment to be used by an agency, as provided in this section. Each agency electing to acquire equipment by a lease-purchase agreement shall participate in the Department of Finance and Administration's master lease-purchase program, unless the Department of Finance and Administration makes a determination that such equipment cannot be obtained under the program or unless the equipment can be obtained elsewhere at an overall cost lower than that for which the equipment can be obtained under the program. Such lease-purchase agreements may include the refinancing or consolidation, or both, of any state agency lease-purchase agreements entered into after June 30, 1990.
(2) All funds designated by agencies for procurement of equipment and financing thereof under the master lease-purchase program shall be paid into a special fund created in the State Treasury known as the "Master Lease-Purchase Program Fund," which shall be used by the Department of Finance and Administration for payment to the lessors for equipment acquired under master lease-purchase agreements.
(3) Upon final approval of an appropriation bill, each agency shall submit to the Public Procurement Review Board a schedule of proposed equipment acquisitions for the master lease-purchase program. Upon approval of an equipment schedule by the Public Procurement Review Board with the advice of the Department of Information Technology Services, the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management, and the Division of Energy and Transportation of the Mississippi Development Authority as it pertains to energy efficient climate control systems, the Public Procurement Review Board shall forward a copy of the equipment schedule to the Department of Finance and Administration.
(4) The level of lease-purchase debt recommended by the Department of Finance and Administration shall be subject to approval by the State Bond Commission. After such approval, the Department of Finance and Administration shall be authorized to advertise and solicit written competitive proposals for a lessor, who will purchase the equipment pursuant to bid awards made by the using agency under a given category and then transfer the equipment to the Department of Finance and Administration as lessee, pursuant to a master lease-purchase agreement.
The Department of Finance and Administration shall select the successful proposer for the financing of equipment under the master lease-purchase program with the approval of the State Bond Commission.
(5) Each master lease-purchase agreement, and any subsequent amendments, shall include such terms and conditions as the State Bond Commission shall determine to be appropriate and in the public interest, and may include any covenants deemed necessary or desirable to protect the interests of the lessor, including, but not limited to, provisions setting forth the interest rate (or method for computing interest rates) for financing pursuant to such agreement, covenants concerning application of payments and funds held in the Master Lease-Purchase Program Fund, covenants to maintain casualty insurance with respect to equipment subject to the master lease-purchase agreement (and all state agencies are specifically authorized to purchase any insurance required by a master lease-purchase agreement) and covenants precluding or limiting the right of the lessee or user to acquire equipment within a specified time (not to exceed five (5) years) after cancellation on the basis of a failure to appropriate funds for payment of amounts due under a lease-purchase agreement covering comparable equipment. The State Bond Commission shall transmit copies of each such master lease-purchase agreement and each such amendment to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. To the extent provided in any master lease-purchase agreement, title to equipment leased pursuant thereto shall be deemed to be vested in the state or the user of the equipment (as specified in such master lease-purchase agreement), subject to default under or termination of such master lease-purchase agreement.
A master lease-purchase agreement may provide for payment by the lessor to the lessee of the purchase price of the equipment to be acquired pursuant thereto prior to the date on which payment is due to the vendor for such equipment and that the lease payments by the lessee shall commence as though the equipment had been provided on the date of payment. If the lessee, or lessee's escrow agent, has sufficient funds for payment of equipment purchases prior to payment due date to vendor of equipment, such funds shall be held or utilized on an as-needed basis for payment of equipment purchases either by the State Treasurer (in which event the master lease-purchase agreement may include provisions concerning the holding of such funds, the creation of a security interest for the benefit of the lessor in such funds until disbursed and other appropriate provisions approved by the Bond Commission) or by a corporate trustee selected by the Department of Finance and Administration (in which event the Department of Finance and Administration shall have the authority to enter into an agreement with such a corporate trustee containing terms and conditions approved by the Bond Commission). Earnings on any amount paid by the lessor prior to the acquisition of the equipment may be used to make lease payments under the master lease-purchase agreement or applied to pay costs and expenses incurred in connection with such lease-purchase agreement. In such event, the equipment-use agreements with the user agency may provide for lease payments to commence upon the date of payment by the lessor and may also provide for a credit against such payments to the extent that investment receipts from investment of the purchase price are to be used to make lease-purchase payments.
(6) The annual rate of interest paid under any lease-purchase agreement authorized under this section shall not exceed the maximum interest rate to maturity on general obligation indebtedness permitted under Section 75-17-101.
(7) The Department of Finance and Administration shall furnish the equipment to the various agencies, also known as the user, pursuant to an equipment-use agreement developed by the Department of Finance and Administration. Such agreements shall require that all monthly payments due from such agency be paid, transferred or allocated into the Master Lease-Purchase Program Fund pursuant to a schedule established by the Department of Finance and Administration. In the event such sums are not paid by the defined payment period, the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration shall issue a requisition for a warrant to draw such amount as may be due from any funds appropriated for the use of the agency which has failed to make the payment as agreed.
(8) All master lease-purchase agreements executed under the authority of this section shall contain the following annual allocation dependency clause or an annual allocation dependency clause which is substantially equivalent thereto: "The continuation of each equipment schedule to this agreement is contingent in whole or in part upon the appropriation of funds by the Legislature to make the lease-purchase payments required under such equipment schedule. If the Legislature fails to appropriate sufficient funds to provide for the continuation of the lease-purchase payments under any such equipment schedule, then the obligations of the lessee and of the agency to make such lease-purchase payments and the corresponding provisions of any such equipment schedule to this agreement shall terminate on the last day of the fiscal year for which appropriations were made."
(9) The maximum lease term for any equipment acquired under the master lease-purchase program shall not exceed the useful life of such equipment as determined according to the upper limit of the asset depreciation range (ADR) guidelines for the Class Life Asset Depreciation Range System established by the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to the United States Internal Revenue Code and Regulations thereunder as in effect on December 31, 1980, or comparable depreciation guidelines with respect to any equipment not covered by ADR guidelines. The Department of Finance and Administration shall be deemed to have met the requirements of this subsection if the term of a master lease-purchase agreement does not exceed the weighted average useful life of all equipment covered by such agreement and the schedules thereto as determined by the Department of Finance and Administration. For purposes of this subsection, the "term of a master lease-purchase agreement" shall be the weighted average maturity of all principal payments to be made under such master lease-purchase agreement and all schedules thereto.
(10) Interest paid on any master lease-purchase agreement under this section shall be exempt from State of Mississippi income taxation. All equipment, and the purchase thereof by any lessor, acquired under the master lease-purchase program and all lease-purchase payments with respect thereto shall be exempt from all Mississippi sales, use and ad valorem taxes.
(11) The Governor, in his annual executive budget to the Legislature, shall recommend appropriations sufficient to provide funds to pay all amounts due and payable during the applicable fiscal year under master lease-purchase agreements entered into pursuant to this section.
(12) Any master lease-purchase agreement reciting in substance that such agreement has been entered into pursuant to this section shall be conclusively deemed to have been entered into in accordance with all of the provisions and conditions set forth in this section. Any defect or irregularity arising with respect to procedures applicable to the acquisition of any equipment shall not invalidate or otherwise limit the obligation of the Department of Finance and Administration, or the state or any agency of the state, under any master lease-purchase agreement or any equipment-use agreement.
(13) There shall be maintained by the Department of Finance and Administration, with respect to each master lease-purchase agreement, an itemized statement of the cash price, interest rates, interest costs, commissions, debt service schedules and all other costs and expenses paid by the state incident to the lease-purchase of equipment under such agreement.
(14) Lease-purchase
agreements entered into by * * * a university board of trustees * * *
pursuant to the authority of Section 37-101-413 or by any other agency which
has specific statutory authority other than pursuant to Section 31-7-13(e) to
acquire equipment by lease-purchase shall not be made pursuant to the master
lease-purchase program under this section, unless the said board of trustees * * * or
such other agency elects to participate as to part or all of its lease-purchase
acquisitions in the master lease-purchase program pursuant to this section.
(15) The Department of Finance and Administration may develop a master lease-purchase program for school districts and, pursuant to that program, may execute on behalf of the school districts master lease-purchase agreements for equipment to be used by the school districts. The form and structure of this program shall be substantially the same as set forth in this section for the master lease-purchase program for state agencies. If sums due from a school district under the master lease-purchase program are not paid by the expiration of the defined payment period, the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration may withhold such amount that is due from the school district's minimum education or adequate education program fund allotments.
(16) The Department of Finance and Administration may develop a master lease-purchase program for community and junior college districts and, pursuant to that program, may execute on behalf of the community and junior college districts master lease-purchase agreements for equipment to be used by the community and junior college districts. The form and structure of this program must be substantially the same as set forth in this section for the master lease-purchase program for state agencies. If sums due from a community or junior college district under the master lease-purchase program are not paid by the expiration of the defined payment period, the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration may withhold an amount equal to the amount due under the program from any funds allocated for that community or junior college district in the state appropriations for the use and support of the community and junior colleges.
(17) From and after July 1, 2016, the expenses of this agency shall be defrayed by appropriation from the State General Fund and all user charges and fees authorized under this section shall be deposited into the State General Fund as authorized by law.
(18) From and after July 1, 2016, no state agency shall charge another state agency a fee, assessment, rent or other charge for services or resources received by authority of this section.
SECTION 73. Section 31-7-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
31-7-13. All agencies and governing authorities shall purchase their commodities and printing; contract for garbage collection or disposal; contract for solid waste collection or disposal; contract for sewage collection or disposal; contract for public construction; and contract for rentals as herein provided.
(a) Bidding procedure for purchases not over $5,000.00. Purchases which do not involve an expenditure of more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), exclusive of freight or shipping charges, may be made without advertising or otherwise requesting competitive bids. However, nothing contained in this paragraph (a) shall be construed to prohibit any agency or governing authority from establishing procedures which require competitive bids on purchases of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or less.
(b) Bidding procedure for purchases over $5,000.00 but not over $50,000.00. Purchases which involve an expenditure of more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) but not more than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), exclusive of freight and shipping charges, may be made from the lowest and best bidder without publishing or posting advertisement for bids, provided at least two (2) competitive written bids have been obtained. Any state agency or community/junior college purchasing commodities or procuring construction pursuant to this paragraph (b) may authorize its purchasing agent, or his designee, to accept the lowest competitive written bid under Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00). Any governing authority purchasing commodities pursuant to this paragraph (b) may authorize its purchasing agent, or his designee, with regard to governing authorities other than counties, or its purchase clerk, or his designee, with regard to counties, to accept the lowest and best competitive written bid. Such authorization shall be made in writing by the governing authority and shall be maintained on file in the primary office of the agency and recorded in the official minutes of the governing authority, as appropriate. The purchasing agent or the purchase clerk, or their designee, as the case may be, and not the governing authority, shall be liable for any penalties and/or damages as may be imposed by law for any act or omission of the purchasing agent or purchase clerk, or their designee, constituting a violation of law in accepting any bid without approval by the governing authority. The term "competitive written bid" shall mean a bid submitted on a bid form furnished by the buying agency or governing authority and signed by authorized personnel representing the vendor, or a bid submitted on a vendor's letterhead or identifiable bid form and signed by authorized personnel representing the vendor. "Competitive" shall mean that the bids are developed based upon comparable identification of the needs and are developed independently and without knowledge of other bids or prospective bids. Any bid item for construction in excess of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) shall be broken down by components to provide detail of component description and pricing. These details shall be submitted with the written bids and become part of the bid evaluation criteria. Bids may be submitted by facsimile, electronic mail or other generally accepted method of information distribution. Bids submitted by electronic transmission shall not require the signature of the vendor's representative unless required by agencies or governing authorities.
(c) Bidding procedure for purchases over $50,000.00.
(i) Publication requirement.
1. Purchases which involve an expenditure of more than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), exclusive of freight and shipping charges, may be made from the lowest and best bidder after advertising for competitive bids once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a regular newspaper published in the county or municipality in which such agency or governing authority is located. However, all American Recovery and Reinvestment Act projects in excess of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) shall be bid. All references to American Recovery and Reinvestment Act projects in this section shall not apply to programs identified in Division B of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
2. Reverse auctions shall be the primary method for receiving bids during the bidding process. If a purchasing entity determines that a reverse auction is not in the best interest of the state, then that determination must be approved by the Public Procurement Review Board. The purchasing entity shall submit a detailed explanation of why a reverse auction would not be in the best interest of the state and present an alternative process to be approved by the Public Procurement Review Board. If the Public Procurement Review Board authorizes the purchasing entity to solicit bids with a method other than reverse auction, then the purchasing entity may designate the other methods by which the bids will be received, including, but not limited to, bids sealed in an envelope, bids received electronically in a secure system, or bids received by any other method that promotes open competition and has been approved by the Office of Purchasing and Travel. However, reverse auction shall not be used for any public contract for design or construction of public facilities, including buildings, roads and bridges. The Public Procurement Review Board must approve any contract entered into by alternative process. The provisions of this item 2 shall not apply to the individual state institutions of higher learning.
3. The date as published for the bid opening shall not be less than seven (7) working days after the last published notice; however, if the purchase involves a construction project in which the estimated cost is in excess of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), such bids shall not be opened in less than fifteen (15) working days after the last notice is published and the notice for the purchase of such construction shall be published once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks. However, all American Recovery and Reinvestment Act projects in excess of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) shall be bid. For any projects in excess of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, publication shall be made one (1) time and the bid opening for construction projects shall not be less than ten (10) working days after the date of the published notice. The notice of intention to let contracts or purchase equipment shall state the time and place at which bids shall be received, list the contracts to be made or types of equipment or supplies to be purchased, and, if all plans and/or specifications are not published, refer to the plans and/or specifications on file. If there is no newspaper published in the county or municipality, then such notice shall be given by posting same at the courthouse, or for municipalities at the city hall, and at two (2) other public places in the county or municipality, and also by publication once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks in some newspaper having a general circulation in the county or municipality in the above-provided manner. On the same date that the notice is submitted to the newspaper for publication, the agency or governing authority involved shall mail written notice to, or provide electronic notification to the main office of the Mississippi Procurement Technical Assistance Program under the Mississippi Development Authority that contains the same information as that in the published notice. Submissions received by the Mississippi Procurement Technical Assistance Program for projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act shall be displayed on a separate and unique Internet web page accessible to the public and maintained by the Mississippi Development Authority for the Mississippi Procurement Technical Assistance Program. Those American Recovery and Reinvestment Act related submissions shall be publicly posted within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt by the Mississippi Development Authority and the bid opening shall not occur until the submission has been posted for ten (10) consecutive days. The Department of Finance and Administration shall maintain information regarding contracts and other expenditures from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, on a unique Internet web page accessible to the public. The Department of Finance and Administration shall promulgate rules regarding format, content and deadlines, unless otherwise specified by law, of the posting of award notices, contract execution and subsequent amendments, links to the contract documents, expenditures against the awarded contracts and general expenditures of funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Within one (1) working day of the contract award, the agency or governing authority shall post to the designated web page maintained by the Department of Finance and Administration, notice of the award, including the award recipient, the contract amount, and a brief summary of the contract in accordance with rules promulgated by the department. Within one (1) working day of the contract execution, the agency or governing authority shall post to the designated web page maintained by the Department of Finance and Administration a summary of the executed contract and make a copy of the appropriately redacted contract documents available for linking to the designated web page in accordance with the rules promulgated by the department. The information provided by the agency or governing authority shall be posted to the web page for the duration of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding or until the project is completed, whichever is longer.
(ii) Bidding process amendment procedure. If all plans and/or specifications are published in the notification, then the plans and/or specifications may not be amended. If all plans and/or specifications are not published in the notification, then amendments to the plans/specifications, bid opening date, bid opening time and place may be made, provided that the agency or governing authority maintains a list of all prospective bidders who are known to have received a copy of the bid documents and all such prospective bidders are sent copies of all amendments. This notification of amendments may be made via mail, facsimile, electronic mail or other generally accepted method of information distribution. No addendum to bid specifications may be issued within two (2) working days of the time established for the receipt of bids unless such addendum also amends the bid opening to a date not less than five (5) working days after the date of the addendum.
(iii) Filing requirement. In all cases involving governing authorities, before the notice shall be published or posted, the plans or specifications for the construction or equipment being sought shall be filed with the clerk of the board of the governing authority. In addition to these requirements, a bid file shall be established which shall indicate those vendors to whom such solicitations and specifications were issued, and such file shall also contain such information as is pertinent to the bid.
(iv) Specification restrictions.
1. Specifications pertinent to such bidding shall be written so as not to exclude comparable equipment of domestic manufacture. However, if valid justification is presented, the Department of Finance and Administration or the board of a governing authority may approve a request for specific equipment necessary to perform a specific job. Further, such justification, when placed on the minutes of the board of a governing authority, may serve as authority for that governing authority to write specifications to require a specific item of equipment needed to perform a specific job. In addition to these requirements, from and after July 1, 1990, vendors of relocatable classrooms and the specifications for the purchase of such relocatable classrooms published by local school boards shall meet all pertinent regulations of the State Board of Education, including prior approval of such bid by the State Department of Education.
2. Specifications for construction projects may include an allowance for commodities, equipment, furniture, construction materials or systems in which prospective bidders are instructed to include in their bids specified amounts for such items so long as the allowance items are acquired by the vendor in a commercially reasonable manner and approved by the agency/governing authority. Such acquisitions shall not be made to circumvent the public purchasing laws.
(v) Electronic bids. Agencies and governing authorities shall provide a secure electronic interactive system for the submittal of bids requiring competitive bidding that shall be an additional bidding option for those bidders who choose to submit their bids electronically. The Department of Finance and Administration shall provide, by regulation, the standards that agencies must follow when receiving electronic bids. Agencies and governing authorities shall make the appropriate provisions necessary to accept electronic bids from those bidders who choose to submit their bids electronically for all purchases requiring competitive bidding under this section. Any special condition or requirement for the electronic bid submission shall be specified in the advertisement for bids required by this section. Agencies or governing authorities that are currently without available high speed Internet access shall be exempt from the requirement of this subparagraph (v) until such time that high speed Internet access becomes available. Any county having a population of less than twenty thousand (20,000) shall be exempt from the provisions of this subparagraph (v). Any municipality having a population of less than ten thousand (10,000) shall be exempt from the provisions of this subparagraph (v). The provisions of this subparagraph (v) shall not require any bidder to submit bids electronically. When construction bids are submitted electronically, the requirement for including a certificate of responsibility, or a statement that the bid enclosed does not exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), on the exterior of the bid envelope as indicated in Section 31-3-21(1) and (2) shall be deemed in compliance with by including same as an attachment with the electronic bid submittal.
(d) Lowest and best bid decision procedure.
(i) Decision procedure. Purchases may be made from the lowest and best bidder. In determining the lowest and best bid, freight and shipping charges shall be included. Life-cycle costing, total cost bids, warranties, guaranteed buy-back provisions and other relevant provisions may be included in the best bid calculation. All best bid procedures for state agencies must be in compliance with regulations established by the Department of Finance and Administration. If any governing authority accepts a bid other than the lowest bid actually submitted, it shall place on its minutes detailed calculations and narrative summary showing that the accepted bid was determined to be the lowest and best bid, including the dollar amount of the accepted bid and the dollar amount of the lowest bid. No agency or governing authority shall accept a bid based on items not included in the specifications.
(ii) Decision procedure for Certified Purchasing Offices. In addition to the decision procedure set forth in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (d), Certified Purchasing Offices may also use the following procedure: Purchases may be made from the bidder offering the best value. In determining the best value bid, freight and shipping charges shall be included. Life-cycle costing, total cost bids, warranties, guaranteed buy-back provisions, documented previous experience, training costs and other relevant provisions, including, but not limited to, a bidder having a local office and inventory located within the jurisdiction of the governing authority, may be included in the best value calculation. This provision shall authorize Certified Purchasing Offices to utilize a Request For Proposals (RFP) process when purchasing commodities. All best value procedures for state agencies must be in compliance with regulations established by the Department of Finance and Administration. No agency or governing authority shall accept a bid based on items or criteria not included in the specifications.
(iii) Decision procedure for Mississippi Landmarks. In addition to the decision procedure set forth in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (d), where purchase involves renovation, restoration, or both, of the State Capitol Building or any other historical building designated for at least five (5) years as a Mississippi Landmark by the Board of Trustees of the Department of Archives and History under the authority of Sections 39-7-7 and 39-7-11, the agency or governing authority may use the following procedure: Purchases may be made from the lowest and best prequalified bidder. Prequalification of bidders shall be determined not less than fifteen (15) working days before the first published notice of bid opening. Prequalification criteria shall be limited to bidder's knowledge and experience in historical restoration, preservation and renovation. In determining the lowest and best bid, freight and shipping charges shall be included. Life-cycle costing, total cost bids, warranties, guaranteed buy-back provisions and other relevant provisions may be included in the best bid calculation. All best bid and prequalification procedures for state agencies must be in compliance with regulations established by the Department of Finance and Administration. If any governing authority accepts a bid other than the lowest bid actually submitted, it shall place on its minutes detailed calculations and narrative summary showing that the accepted bid was determined to be the lowest and best bid, including the dollar amount of the accepted bid and the dollar amount of the lowest bid. No agency or governing authority shall accept a bid based on items not included in the specifications.
(iv) Construction project negotiations authority. If the lowest and best bid is not more than ten percent (10%) above the amount of funds allocated for a public construction or renovation project, then the agency or governing authority shall be permitted to negotiate with the lowest bidder in order to enter into a contract for an amount not to exceed the funds allocated.
(e) Lease-purchase authorization. For the purposes of this section, the term "equipment" shall mean equipment, furniture and, if applicable, associated software and other applicable direct costs associated with the acquisition. Any lease-purchase of equipment which an agency is not required to lease-purchase under the master lease-purchase program pursuant to Section 31-7-10 and any lease-purchase of equipment which a governing authority elects to lease-purchase may be acquired by a lease-purchase agreement under this paragraph (e). Lease-purchase financing may also be obtained from the vendor or from a third-party source after having solicited and obtained at least two (2) written competitive bids, as defined in paragraph (b) of this section, for such financing without advertising for such bids. Solicitation for the bids for financing may occur before or after acceptance of bids for the purchase of such equipment or, where no such bids for purchase are required, at any time before the purchase thereof. No such lease-purchase agreement shall be for an annual rate of interest which is greater than the overall maximum interest rate to maturity on general obligation indebtedness permitted under Section 75-17-101, and the term of such lease-purchase agreement shall not exceed the useful life of equipment covered thereby as determined according to the upper limit of the asset depreciation range (ADR) guidelines for the Class Life Asset Depreciation Range System established by the Internal Revenue Service pursuant to the United States Internal Revenue Code and regulations thereunder as in effect on December 31, 1980, or comparable depreciation guidelines with respect to any equipment not covered by ADR guidelines. Any lease-purchase agreement entered into pursuant to this paragraph (e) may contain any of the terms and conditions which a master lease-purchase agreement may contain under the provisions of Section 31-7-10(5), and shall contain an annual allocation dependency clause substantially similar to that set forth in Section 31-7-10(8). Each agency or governing authority entering into a lease-purchase transaction pursuant to this paragraph (e) shall maintain with respect to each such lease-purchase transaction the same information as required to be maintained by the Department of Finance and Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-10(13). However, nothing contained in this section shall be construed to permit agencies to acquire items of equipment with a total acquisition cost in the aggregate of less than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) by a single lease-purchase transaction. All equipment, and the purchase thereof by any lessor, acquired by lease-purchase under this paragraph and all lease-purchase payments with respect thereto shall be exempt from all Mississippi sales, use and ad valorem taxes. Interest paid on any lease-purchase agreement under this section shall be exempt from State of Mississippi income taxation.
(f) Alternate bid authorization. When necessary to ensure ready availability of commodities for public works and the timely completion of public projects, no more than two (2) alternate bids may be accepted by a governing authority for commodities. No purchases may be made through use of such alternate bids procedure unless the lowest and best bidder cannot deliver the commodities contained in his bid. In that event, purchases of such commodities may be made from one (1) of the bidders whose bid was accepted as an alternate.
(g) Construction contract change authorization. In the event a determination is made by an agency or governing authority after a construction contract is let that changes or modifications to the original contract are necessary or would better serve the purpose of the agency or the governing authority, such agency or governing authority may, in its discretion, order such changes pertaining to the construction that are necessary under the circumstances without the necessity of further public bids; provided that such change shall be made in a commercially reasonable manner and shall not be made to circumvent the public purchasing statutes. In addition to any other authorized person, the architect or engineer hired by an agency or governing authority with respect to any public construction contract shall have the authority, when granted by an agency or governing authority, to authorize changes or modifications to the original contract without the necessity of prior approval of the agency or governing authority when any such change or modification is less than one percent (1%) of the total contract amount. The agency or governing authority may limit the number, manner or frequency of such emergency changes or modifications.
(h) Petroleum purchase alternative. In addition to other methods of purchasing authorized in this chapter, when any agency or governing authority shall have a need for gas, diesel fuel, oils and/or other petroleum products in excess of the amount set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, such agency or governing authority may purchase the commodity after having solicited and obtained at least two (2) competitive written bids, as defined in paragraph (b) of this section. If two (2) competitive written bids are not obtained, the entity shall comply with the procedures set forth in paragraph (c) of this section. In the event any agency or governing authority shall have advertised for bids for the purchase of gas, diesel fuel, oils and other petroleum products and coal and no acceptable bids can be obtained, such agency or governing authority is authorized and directed to enter into any negotiations necessary to secure the lowest and best contract available for the purchase of such commodities.
(i) Road construction petroleum products price adjustment clause authorization. Any agency or governing authority authorized to enter into contracts for the construction, maintenance, surfacing or repair of highways, roads or streets, may include in its bid proposal and contract documents a price adjustment clause with relation to the cost to the contractor, including taxes, based upon an industry-wide cost index, of petroleum products including asphalt used in the performance or execution of the contract or in the production or manufacture of materials for use in such performance. Such industry-wide index shall be established and published monthly by the Mississippi Department of Transportation with a copy thereof to be mailed, upon request, to the clerks of the governing authority of each municipality and the clerks of each board of supervisors throughout the state. The price adjustment clause shall be based on the cost of such petroleum products only and shall not include any additional profit or overhead as part of the adjustment. The bid proposals or document contract shall contain the basis and methods of adjusting unit prices for the change in the cost of such petroleum products.
(j) State agency emergency purchase procedure. If the governing board or the executive head, or his designees, of any agency of the state shall determine that an emergency exists in regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive bidding would be detrimental to the interests of the state, then the head of such agency, or his designees, shall file with the Department of Finance and Administration (i) a statement explaining the conditions and circumstances of the emergency, which shall include a detailed description of the events leading up to the situation and the negative impact to the entity if the purchase is made following the statutory requirements set forth in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this section, and (ii) a certified copy of the appropriate minutes of the board of such agency requesting the emergency purchase, if applicable. Upon receipt of the statement and applicable board certification, the State Fiscal Officer, or his designees, may, in writing, authorize the purchase or repair without having to comply with competitive bidding requirements.
If the governing board or the executive head, or his designees, of any agency determines that an emergency exists in regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive bidding would threaten the health or safety of any person, or the preservation or protection of property, then the provisions in this section for competitive bidding shall not apply, and any officer or agent of the agency having general or specific authority for making the purchase or repair contract shall approve the bill presented for payment, and he shall certify in writing from whom the purchase was made, or with whom the repair contract was made.
Total purchases made under this paragraph (j) shall only be for the purpose of meeting needs created by the emergency situation. Following the emergency purchase, documentation of the purchase, including a description of the commodity purchased, the purchase price thereof and the nature of the emergency shall be filed with the Department of Finance and Administration. Any contract awarded pursuant to this paragraph (j) shall not exceed a term of one (1) year.
(k) Governing authority emergency purchase procedure. If the governing authority, or the governing authority acting through its designee, shall determine that an emergency exists in regard to the purchase of any commodities or repair contracts, so that the delay incident to giving opportunity for competitive bidding would be detrimental to the interest of the governing authority, then the provisions herein for competitive bidding shall not apply and any officer or agent of such governing authority having general or special authority therefor in making such purchase or repair shall approve the bill presented therefor, and he shall certify in writing thereon from whom such purchase was made, or with whom such a repair contract was made. At the board meeting next following the emergency purchase or repair contract, documentation of the purchase or repair contract, including a description of the commodity purchased, the price thereof and the nature of the emergency shall be presented to the board and shall be placed on the minutes of the board of such governing authority.
(l) Hospital purchase, lease-purchase and lease authorization.
(i) The commissioners or board of trustees of any public hospital may contract with such lowest and best bidder for the purchase or lease-purchase of any commodity under a contract of purchase or lease-purchase agreement whose obligatory payment terms do not exceed five (5) years.
(ii) In addition to the authority granted in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (l), the commissioners or board of trustees is authorized to enter into contracts for the lease of equipment or services, or both, which it considers necessary for the proper care of patients if, in its opinion, it is not financially feasible to purchase the necessary equipment or services. Any such contract for the lease of equipment or services executed by the commissioners or board shall not exceed a maximum of five (5) years' duration and shall include a cancellation clause based on unavailability of funds. If such cancellation clause is exercised, there shall be no further liability on the part of the lessee. Any such contract for the lease of equipment or services executed on behalf of the commissioners or board that complies with the provisions of this subparagraph (ii) shall be excepted from the bid requirements set forth in this section.
(m) Exceptions from bidding requirements. Excepted from bid requirements are:
(i) Purchasing agreements approved by department. Purchasing agreements, contracts and maximum price regulations executed or approved by the Department of Finance and Administration.
(ii) Outside equipment repairs. Repairs to equipment, when such repairs are made by repair facilities in the private sector; however, engines, transmissions, rear axles and/or other such components shall not be included in this exemption when replaced as a complete unit instead of being repaired and the need for such total component replacement is known before disassembly of the component; however, invoices identifying the equipment, specific repairs made, parts identified by number and name, supplies used in such repairs, and the number of hours of labor and costs therefor shall be required for the payment for such repairs.
(iii) In-house equipment repairs. Purchases of parts for repairs to equipment, when such repairs are made by personnel of the agency or governing authority; however, entire assemblies, such as engines or transmissions, shall not be included in this exemption when the entire assembly is being replaced instead of being repaired.
(iv) Raw gravel or dirt. Raw unprocessed deposits of gravel or fill dirt which are to be removed and transported by the purchaser.
(v) Governmental equipment auctions. Motor vehicles or other equipment purchased from a federal agency or authority, another governing authority or state agency of the State of Mississippi, or any governing authority or state agency of another state at a public auction held for the purpose of disposing of such vehicles or other equipment. Any purchase by a governing authority under the exemption authorized by this subparagraph (v) shall require advance authorization spread upon the minutes of the governing authority to include the listing of the item or items authorized to be purchased and the maximum bid authorized to be paid for each item or items.
(vi) Intergovernmental sales and transfers. Purchases, sales, transfers or trades by governing authorities or state agencies when such purchases, sales, transfers or trades are made by a private treaty agreement or through means of negotiation, from any federal agency or authority, another governing authority or state agency of the State of Mississippi, or any state agency or governing authority of another state. Nothing in this section shall permit such purchases through public auction except as provided for in subparagraph (v) of this paragraph (m). It is the intent of this section to allow governmental entities to dispose of and/or purchase commodities from other governmental entities at a price that is agreed to by both parties. This shall allow for purchases and/or sales at prices which may be determined to be below the market value if the selling entity determines that the sale at below market value is in the best interest of the taxpayers of the state. Governing authorities shall place the terms of the agreement and any justification on the minutes, and state agencies shall obtain approval from the Department of Finance and Administration, prior to releasing or taking possession of the commodities.
(vii) Perishable supplies or food. Perishable supplies or food purchased for use in connection with hospitals, the school lunch programs, homemaking programs and for the feeding of county or municipal prisoners.
(viii) Single source items. Noncompetitive items available from one (1) source only. In connection with the purchase of noncompetitive items only available from one (1) source, a certification of the conditions and circumstances requiring the purchase shall be filed by the agency with the Department of Finance and Administration and by the governing authority with the board of the governing authority. Upon receipt of that certification the Department of Finance and Administration or the board of the governing authority, as the case may be, may, in writing, authorize the purchase, which authority shall be noted on the minutes of the body at the next regular meeting thereafter. In those situations, a governing authority is not required to obtain the approval of the Department of Finance and Administration. Following the purchase, the executive head of the state agency, or his designees, shall file with the Department of Finance and Administration, documentation of the purchase, including a description of the commodity purchased, the purchase price thereof and the source from whom it was purchased.
(ix) Waste disposal facility construction contracts. Construction of incinerators and other facilities for disposal of solid wastes in which products either generated therein, such as steam, or recovered therefrom, such as materials for recycling, are to be sold or otherwise disposed of; however, in constructing such facilities, a governing authority or agency shall publicly issue requests for proposals, advertised for in the same manner as provided herein for seeking bids for public construction projects, concerning the design, construction, ownership, operation and/or maintenance of such facilities, wherein such requests for proposals when issued shall contain terms and conditions relating to price, financial responsibility, technology, environmental compatibility, legal responsibilities and such other matters as are determined by the governing authority or agency to be appropriate for inclusion; and after responses to the request for proposals have been duly received, the governing authority or agency may select the most qualified proposal or proposals on the basis of price, technology and other relevant factors and from such proposals, but not limited to the terms thereof, negotiate and enter contracts with one or more of the persons or firms submitting proposals.
(x) Hospital group purchase contracts. Supplies, commodities and equipment purchased by hospitals through group purchase programs pursuant to Section 31-7-38.
(xi) Information technology products. Purchases of information technology products made by governing authorities under the provisions of purchase schedules, or contracts executed or approved by the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services and designated for use by governing authorities.
(xii) Energy efficiency services and equipment. Energy efficiency services and equipment acquired by school districts, community and junior colleges, institutions of higher learning and state agencies or other applicable governmental entities on a shared-savings, lease or lease-purchase basis pursuant to Section 31-7-14.
(xiii) Municipal electrical utility system fuel. Purchases of coal and/or natural gas by municipally owned electric power generating systems that have the capacity to use both coal and natural gas for the generation of electric power.
(xiv) Library books and other reference materials. Purchases by libraries or for libraries of books and periodicals; processed film, videocassette tapes, filmstrips and slides; recorded audiotapes, cassettes and diskettes; and any such items as would be used for teaching, research or other information distribution; however, equipment such as projectors, recorders, audio or video equipment, and monitor televisions are not exempt under this subparagraph.
(xv) Unmarked vehicles. Purchases of unmarked vehicles when such purchases are made in accordance with purchasing regulations adopted by the Department of Finance and Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-9(2).
(xvi) Election ballots. Purchases of ballots printed pursuant to Section 23-15-351.
(xvii) Multichannel interactive video systems. From and after July 1, 1990, contracts by Mississippi Authority for Educational Television with any private educational institution or private nonprofit organization whose purposes are educational in regard to the construction, purchase, lease or lease-purchase of facilities and equipment and the employment of personnel for providing multichannel interactive video systems (ITSF) in the school districts of this state.
(xviii) Purchases of prison industry products by the Department of Corrections, regional correctional facilities or privately owned prisons. Purchases made by the Mississippi Department of Corrections, regional correctional facilities or privately owned prisons involving any item that is manufactured, processed, grown or produced from the state's prison industries.
(xix) Undercover operations equipment. Purchases of surveillance equipment or any other high-tech equipment to be used by law enforcement agents in undercover operations, provided that any such purchase shall be in compliance with regulations established by the Department of Finance and Administration.
(xx) Junior college books for rent. Purchases by community or junior colleges of textbooks which are obtained for the purpose of renting such books to students as part of a book service system.
(xxi) Certain school district purchases. Purchases of commodities made by school districts from vendors with which any levying authority of the school district, as defined in Section 37-57-1, has contracted through competitive bidding procedures for purchases of the same commodities.
(xxii) Garbage, solid waste and sewage contracts. Contracts for garbage collection or disposal, contracts for solid waste collection or disposal and contracts for sewage collection or disposal.
(xxiii) Municipal water tank maintenance contracts. Professional maintenance program contracts for the repair or maintenance of municipal water tanks, which provide professional services needed to maintain municipal water storage tanks for a fixed annual fee for a duration of two (2) or more years.
(xxiv) Purchases of Mississippi Industries for the Blind products. Purchases made by state agencies or governing authorities involving any item that is manufactured, processed or produced by the Mississippi Industries for the Blind.
(xxv) Purchases of state-adopted textbooks. Purchases of state-adopted textbooks by public school districts.
(xxvi) Certain purchases under the Mississippi Major Economic Impact Act. Contracts entered into pursuant to the provisions of Section 57-75-9(2), (3) and (4).
(xxvii) Used heavy or specialized machinery or equipment for installation of soil and water conservation practices purchased at auction. Used heavy or specialized machinery or equipment used for the installation and implementation of soil and water conservation practices or measures purchased subject to the restrictions provided in Sections 69-27-331 through 69-27-341. Any purchase by the State Soil and Water Conservation Commission under the exemption authorized by this subparagraph shall require advance authorization spread upon the minutes of the commission to include the listing of the item or items authorized to be purchased and the maximum bid authorized to be paid for each item or items.
(xxviii) Hospital lease of equipment or services. Leases by hospitals of equipment or services if the leases are in compliance with paragraph (l)(ii).
(xxix) Purchases made pursuant to qualified cooperative purchasing agreements. Purchases made by certified purchasing offices of state agencies or governing authorities under cooperative purchasing agreements previously approved by the Office of Purchasing and Travel and established by or for any municipality, county, parish or state government or the federal government, provided that the notification to potential contractors includes a clause that sets forth the availability of the cooperative purchasing agreement to other governmental entities. Such purchases shall only be made if the use of the cooperative purchasing agreements is determined to be in the best interest of the governmental entity.
(xxx) School yearbooks. Purchases of school yearbooks by state agencies or governing authorities; provided, however, that state agencies and governing authorities shall use for these purchases the RFP process as set forth in the Mississippi Procurement Manual adopted by the Office of Purchasing and Travel.
(xxxi) Design-build method and dual-phase design-build method of contracting. Contracts entered into under the provisions of Section 31-7-13.1, 37-101-44 or 65-1-85.
(xxxii) Toll roads and bridge construction projects. Contracts entered into under the provisions of Section 65-43-1 or 65-43-3.
(xxxiii) Certain purchases under Section 57-1-221. Contracts entered into pursuant to the provisions of Section 57-1-221.
(xxxiv) Certain transfers made pursuant to the provisions of Section 57-105-1(7). Transfers of public property or facilities under Section 57-105-1(7) and construction related to such public property or facilities.
(xxxv) Certain purchases or transfers entered into with local electrical power associations. Contracts or agreements entered into under the provisions of Section 55-3-33.
(xxxvi) Certain purchases by an academic medical center or health sciences school. Purchases by an academic medical center or health sciences school, as defined in Section 37-115-50, of commodities that are used for clinical purposes and 1. intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease, and 2. medical devices, biological, drugs and radiation-emitting devices as defined by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
(xxxvii) Certain purchases made under the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law. Contracts made by the Mississippi Lottery Corporation pursuant to the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law.
(n) Term contract authorization. All contracts for the purchase of:
(i) All contracts for the purchase of commodities, equipment and public construction (including, but not limited to, repair and maintenance), may be let for periods of not more than sixty (60) months in advance, subject to applicable statutory provisions prohibiting the letting of contracts during specified periods near the end of terms of office. Term contracts for a period exceeding twenty-four (24) months shall also be subject to ratification or cancellation by governing authority boards taking office subsequent to the governing authority board entering the contract.
(ii) Bid proposals and contracts may include price adjustment clauses with relation to the cost to the contractor based upon a nationally published industry-wide or nationally published and recognized cost index. The cost index used in a price adjustment clause shall be determined by the Department of Finance and Administration for the state agencies and by the governing board for governing authorities. The bid proposal and contract documents utilizing a price adjustment clause shall contain the basis and method of adjusting unit prices for the change in the cost of such commodities, equipment and public construction.
(o) Purchase law violation prohibition and vendor penalty. No contract or purchase as herein authorized shall be made for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this section requiring competitive bids, nor shall it be lawful for any person or concern to submit individual invoices for amounts within those authorized for a contract or purchase where the actual value of the contract or commodity purchased exceeds the authorized amount and the invoices therefor are split so as to appear to be authorized as purchases for which competitive bids are not required. Submission of such invoices shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment for thirty (30) days in the county jail, or both such fine and imprisonment. In addition, the claim or claims submitted shall be forfeited.
(p) Electrical utility petroleum-based equipment purchase procedure. When in response to a proper advertisement therefor, no bid firm as to price is submitted to an electric utility for power transformers, distribution transformers, power breakers, reclosers or other articles containing a petroleum product, the electric utility may accept the lowest and best bid therefor although the price is not firm.
(q) Fuel management system bidding procedure. Any governing authority or agency of the state shall, before contracting for the services and products of a fuel management or fuel access system, enter into negotiations with not fewer than two (2) sellers of fuel management or fuel access systems for competitive written bids to provide the services and products for the systems. In the event that the governing authority or agency cannot locate two (2) sellers of such systems or cannot obtain bids from two (2) sellers of such systems, it shall show proof that it made a diligent, good-faith effort to locate and negotiate with two (2) sellers of such systems. Such proof shall include, but not be limited to, publications of a request for proposals and letters soliciting negotiations and bids. For purposes of this paragraph (q), a fuel management or fuel access system is an automated system of acquiring fuel for vehicles as well as management reports detailing fuel use by vehicles and drivers, and the term "competitive written bid" shall have the meaning as defined in paragraph (b) of this section. Governing authorities and agencies shall be exempt from this process when contracting for the services and products of fuel management or fuel access systems under the terms of a state contract established by the Office of Purchasing and Travel.
(r) Solid waste contract proposal procedure. Before entering into any contract for garbage collection or disposal, contract for solid waste collection or disposal or contract for sewage collection or disposal, which involves an expenditure of more than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), a governing authority or agency shall issue publicly a request for proposals concerning the specifications for such services which shall be advertised for in the same manner as provided in this section for seeking bids for purchases which involve an expenditure of more than the amount provided in paragraph (c) of this section. Any request for proposals when issued shall contain terms and conditions relating to price, financial responsibility, technology, legal responsibilities and other relevant factors as are determined by the governing authority or agency to be appropriate for inclusion; all factors determined relevant by the governing authority or agency or required by this paragraph (r) shall be duly included in the advertisement to elicit proposals. After responses to the request for proposals have been duly received, the governing authority or agency shall select the most qualified proposal or proposals on the basis of price, technology and other relevant factors and from such proposals, but not limited to the terms thereof, negotiate and enter into contracts with one or more of the persons or firms submitting proposals. If the governing authority or agency deems none of the proposals to be qualified or otherwise acceptable, the request for proposals process may be reinitiated. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this paragraph, where a county with at least thirty-five thousand (35,000) nor more than forty thousand (40,000) population, according to the 1990 federal decennial census, owns or operates a solid waste landfill, the governing authorities of any other county or municipality may contract with the governing authorities of the county owning or operating the landfill, pursuant to a resolution duly adopted and spread upon the minutes of each governing authority involved, for garbage or solid waste collection or disposal services through contract negotiations.
(s) Minority set-aside authorization. Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, any agency or governing authority, by order placed on its minutes, may, in its discretion, set aside not more than twenty percent (20%) of its anticipated annual expenditures for the purchase of commodities from minority businesses; however, all such set-aside purchases shall comply with all purchasing regulations promulgated by the Department of Finance and Administration and shall be subject to bid requirements under this section. Set-aside purchases for which competitive bids are required shall be made from the lowest and best minority business bidder. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "minority business" means a business which is owned by a majority of persons who are United States citizens or permanent resident aliens (as defined by the Immigration and Naturalization Service) of the United States, and who are Asian, Black, Hispanic or Native American, according to the following definitions:
(i) "Asian" means persons having origins in any of the original people of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands.
(ii) "Black" means persons having origins in any black racial group of Africa.
(iii) "Hispanic" means persons of Spanish or Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South or Central America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race.
(iv) "Native American" means persons having origins in any of the original people of North America, including American Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts.
(t) Construction punch list restriction. The architect, engineer or other representative designated by the agency or governing authority that is contracting for public construction or renovation may prepare and submit to the contractor only one (1) preliminary punch list of items that do not meet the contract requirements at the time of substantial completion and one (1) final list immediately before final completion and final payment.
(u) Procurement of
construction services by state institutions of higher learning. Contracts
for privately financed construction of auxiliary facilities on the campus of a
state institution of higher learning may be awarded by the university
board of trustees * * * under whose control and
supervision the construction project will be managed, to the lowest and
best bidder, where sealed bids are solicited, or to the offeror whose proposal
is determined to represent the best value to the citizens of the State of
Mississippi, where requests for proposals are solicited.
(v) Insurability of bidders for public construction or other public contracts. In any solicitation for bids to perform public construction or other public contracts to which this section applies including, but not limited to, contracts for repair and maintenance, for which the contract will require insurance coverage in an amount of not less than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00), bidders shall be permitted to either submit proof of current insurance coverage in the specified amount or demonstrate ability to obtain the required coverage amount of insurance if the contract is awarded to the bidder. Proof of insurance coverage shall be submitted within five (5) business days from bid acceptance.
(w) Purchase authorization clarification. Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing any purchase not authorized by law.
SECTION 74. Section 31-11-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
31-11-33. (1) For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings hereinafter ascribed:
(a) "Department" means the Department of Finance and Administration, Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management.
(b) "Public
facility" means any building or other facility owned by the State of
Mississippi, or by any agency, department of the State of Mississippi, that is
occupied, used or under the control of the State of Mississippi, or any agency
or department of the State of Mississippi, or any junior college district of
the State of Mississippi, or * * * any public * * * state * * * institution of higher
learning * * *.
(2) Any public facility newly constructed from and after July 1, 2006, shall comply with and be built according to specifications not less stringent than those required by the International Code Council and such other standards as adopted by the department that provide guidelines for plumbing, electrical, gas, sanitary and other physical components of new building construction.
(3) Upon the awarding of a design contract for a new public facility, the architect/engineer shall prepare drawings and specifications in conformity with the code requirements in effect at the time of agreement or, if the code requirements at the time of the agreement are amended, then the drawings and specifications shall be prepared according to the more stringent standards.
(4) The department may regulate the height, number of stories and size of public facilities, the percentage of the lot that may be occupied, courts and other open spaces, and the location and use of public facilities.
SECTION 75. Section 37-3-2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-3-2. (1) There is established within the State Department of Education the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development. It shall be the purpose and duty of the commission to make recommendations to the State Board of Education regarding standards for the certification and licensure and continuing professional development of those who teach or perform tasks of an educational nature in the public schools of Mississippi.
(2) (a) The commission
shall be composed of fifteen (15) qualified members. The membership of the
commission shall be composed of the following members to be appointed, three
(3) from each of the four (4) congressional districts, as such districts
existed on January 1, 2011, in accordance with the population calculations
determined by the 2010 federal decennial census, including: four (4) classroom
teachers; three (3) school administrators; one (1) representative of schools of
education of public institutions of higher learning located within the state * * *; one (1) representative from the
schools of education of independent institutions of higher learning to be
recommended by the Board of the Mississippi Association of Independent
Colleges; one (1) representative from public community and junior colleges
located within the state to be recommended by the Mississippi
Community College Board; one (1) local school board member; and four (4)
laypersons. Three (3) members of the commission, at the sole discretion of the
State Board of Education, shall be appointed from the state at large.
(b) All appointments shall be made by the State Board of Education after consultation with the State Superintendent of Public Education. The first appointments by the State Board of Education shall be made as follows: five (5) members shall be appointed for a term of one (1) year; five (5) members shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years; and five (5) members shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years. Thereafter, all members shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years.
(3) The State Board of Education when making appointments shall designate a chairman. The commission shall meet at least once every two (2) months or more often if needed. Members of the commission shall be compensated at a rate of per diem as authorized by Section 25-3-69 and be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses as authorized by Section 25-3-41.
(4) (a) An appropriate staff member of the State Department of Education shall be designated and assigned by the State Superintendent of Public Education to serve as executive secretary and coordinator for the commission. No less than two (2) other appropriate staff members of the State Department of Education shall be designated and assigned by the State Superintendent of Public Education to serve on the staff of the commission.
(b) An Office of Educator Misconduct Evaluations shall be established within the State Department of Education to assist the commission in responding to infractions and violations, and in conducting hearings and enforcing the provisions of subsections (11), (12), (13), (14) and (15) of this section, and violations of the Mississippi Educator Code of Ethics.
(5) It shall be the duty of the commission to:
(a) Set standards and criteria, subject to the approval of the State Board of Education, for all educator preparation programs in the state;
(b) Recommend to the State Board of Education each year approval or disapproval of each educator preparation program in the state, subject to a process and schedule determined by the State Board of Education;
(c) Establish, subject to the approval of the State Board of Education, standards for initial teacher certification and licensure in all fields;
(d) Establish, subject to the approval of the State Board of Education, standards for the renewal of teacher licenses in all fields;
(e) Review and evaluate objective measures of teacher performance, such as test scores, which may form part of the licensure process, and to make recommendations for their use;
(f) Review all existing requirements for certification and licensure;
(g) Consult with groups whose work may be affected by the commission's decisions;
(h) Prepare reports from time to time on current practices and issues in the general area of teacher education and certification and licensure;
(i) Hold hearings concerning standards for teachers' and administrators' education and certification and licensure with approval of the State Board of Education;
(j) Hire expert consultants with approval of the State Board of Education;
(k) Set up ad hoc committees to advise on specific areas; and
(l) Perform such other functions as may fall within their general charge and which may be delegated to them by the State Board of Education.
(6) (a) Standard License - Approved Program Route. An educator entering the school system of Mississippi for the first time and meeting all requirements as established by the State Board of Education shall be granted a standard five-year license. Persons who possess two (2) years of classroom experience as an assistant teacher or who have taught for one (1) year in an accredited public or private school shall be allowed to fulfill student teaching requirements under the supervision of a qualified participating teacher approved by an accredited college of education. The local school district in which the assistant teacher is employed shall compensate such assistant teachers at the required salary level during the period of time such individual is completing student teaching requirements. Applicants for a standard license shall submit to the department:
(i) An application on a department form;
(ii) An official transcript of completion of a teacher education program approved by the department or a nationally accredited program, subject to the following: Licensure to teach in Mississippi prekindergarten through kindergarten classrooms shall require completion of a teacher education program or a Bachelor of Science degree with child development emphasis from a program accredited by the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) or by the National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC) or by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Licensure to teach in Mississippi kindergarten, for those applicants who have completed a teacher education program, and in Grade 1 through Grade 4 shall require the completion of an interdisciplinary program of studies. Licenses for Grades 4 through 8 shall require the completion of an interdisciplinary program of studies with two (2) or more areas of concentration. Licensure to teach in Mississippi Grades 7 through 12 shall require a major in an academic field other than education, or a combination of disciplines other than education. Students preparing to teach a subject shall complete a major in the respective subject discipline. All applicants for standard licensure shall demonstrate that such person's college preparation in those fields was in accordance with the standards set forth by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) or the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC) or, for those applicants who have a Bachelor of Science degree with child development emphasis, the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS). Effective July 1, 2016, for initial elementary education licensure, a teacher candidate must earn a passing score on a rigorous test of scientifically research-based reading instruction and intervention and data-based decision-making principles as approved by the State Board of Education;
(iii) A copy of test scores evidencing satisfactory completion of nationally administered examinations of achievement, such as the Educational Testing Service's teacher testing examinations;
(iv) Any other document required by the State Board of Education; and
(v) From and after September 30, 2015, no teacher candidate shall be licensed to teach in Mississippi who did not meet the following criteria for entrance into an approved teacher education program:
1. Twenty-one (21) ACT equivalent or achieve the nationally recommended passing score on the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators examination; and
2. No less than 2.75 GPA on pre-major coursework of the institution's approved teacher education program provided that the accepted cohort of candidates meets or exceeds a 3.0 GPA on pre-major coursework.
(b) Standard License - Nontraditional Teaching Route. From and after September 30, 2015, no teacher candidate shall be licensed to teach in Mississippi under the alternate route who did not meet the following criteria:
(i) Twenty-one (21) ACT equivalent or achieve the nationally recommended passing score on the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators examination; and
(ii) No less than 2.75 GPA on content coursework in the requested area of certification or passing Praxis II scores at or above the national recommended score provided that the accepted cohort of candidates of the institution's teacher education program meets or exceeds a 3.0 GPA on pre-major coursework.
Beginning January 1, 2004, an individual who has a passing score on the Praxis I Basic Skills and Praxis II Specialty Area Test in the requested area of endorsement may apply for the Teach Mississippi Institute (TMI) program to teach students in Grades 7 through 12 if the individual meets the requirements of this paragraph (b). The State Board of Education shall adopt rules requiring that teacher preparation institutions which provide the Teach Mississippi Institute (TMI) program for the preparation of nontraditional teachers shall meet the standards and comply with the provisions of this paragraph.
(i) The Teach Mississippi Institute (TMI) shall include an intensive eight-week, nine-semester-hour summer program or a curriculum of study in which the student matriculates in the fall or spring semester, which shall include, but not be limited to, instruction in education, effective teaching strategies, classroom management, state curriculum requirements, planning and instruction, instructional methods and pedagogy, using test results to improve instruction, and a one (1) semester three-hour supervised internship to be completed while the teacher is employed as a full-time teacher intern in a local school district. The TMI shall be implemented on a pilot program basis, with courses to be offered at up to four (4) locations in the state, with one (1) TMI site to be located in each of the three (3) Mississippi Supreme Court districts.
(ii) The school sponsoring the teacher intern shall enter into a written agreement with the institution providing the Teach Mississippi Institute (TMI) program, under terms and conditions as agreed upon by the contracting parties, providing that the school district shall provide teacher interns seeking a nontraditional provisional teaching license with a one-year classroom teaching experience. The teacher intern shall successfully complete the one (1) semester three-hour intensive internship in the school district during the semester immediately following successful completion of the TMI and prior to the end of the one-year classroom teaching experience.
(iii) Upon completion of the nine-semester-hour TMI or the fall or spring semester option, the individual shall submit his transcript to the commission for provisional licensure of the intern teacher, and the intern teacher shall be issued a provisional teaching license by the commission, which will allow the individual to legally serve as a teacher while the person completes a nontraditional teacher preparation internship program.
(iv) During the semester of internship in the school district, the teacher preparation institution shall monitor the performance of the intern teacher. The school district that employs the provisional teacher shall supervise the provisional teacher during the teacher's intern year of employment under a nontraditional provisional license, and shall, in consultation with the teacher intern's mentor at the school district of employment, submit to the commission a comprehensive evaluation of the teacher's performance sixty (60) days prior to the expiration of the nontraditional provisional license. If the comprehensive evaluation establishes that the provisional teacher intern's performance fails to meet the standards of the approved nontraditional teacher preparation internship program, the individual shall not be approved for a standard license.
(v) An individual issued a provisional teaching license under this nontraditional route shall successfully complete, at a minimum, a one-year beginning teacher mentoring and induction program administered by the employing school district with the assistance of the State Department of Education.
(vi) Upon successful completion of the TMI and the internship provisional license period, applicants for a Standard License - Nontraditional Route shall submit to the commission a transcript of successful completion of the twelve (12) semester hours required in the internship program, and the employing school district shall submit to the commission a recommendation for standard licensure of the intern. If the school district recommends licensure, the applicant shall be issued a Standard License - Nontraditional Route which shall be valid for a five-year period and be renewable.
(vii) At the discretion of the teacher preparation institution, the individual shall be allowed to credit the twelve (12) semester hours earned in the nontraditional teacher internship program toward the graduate hours required for a Master of Arts in Teacher (MAT) Degree.
(viii) The local school district in which the nontraditional teacher intern or provisional licensee is employed shall compensate such teacher interns at Step 1 of the required salary level during the period of time such individual is completing teacher internship requirements and shall compensate such Standard License - Nontraditional Route teachers at Step 3 of the required salary level when they complete license requirements.
Implementation of the TMI program provided for under this paragraph (b) shall be contingent upon the availability of funds appropriated specifically for such purpose by the Legislature. Such implementation of the TMI program may not be deemed to prohibit the State Board of Education from developing and implementing additional alternative route teacher licensure programs, as deemed appropriate by the board. The emergency certification program in effect prior to July 1, 2002, shall remain in effect.
A Standard License - Approved Program Route shall be issued for a five-year period, and may be renewed. Recognizing teaching as a profession, a hiring preference shall be granted to persons holding a Standard License - Approved Program Route or Standard License - Nontraditional Teaching Route over persons holding any other license.
(c) Special License - Expert Citizen. In order to allow a school district to offer specialized or technical courses, the State Department of Education, in accordance with rules and regulations established by the State Board of Education, may grant a one-year expert citizen-teacher license to local business or other professional personnel to teach in a public school or nonpublic school accredited or approved by the state. Such person may begin teaching upon his employment by the local school board and licensure by the Mississippi Department of Education. The board shall adopt rules and regulations to administer the expert citizen-teacher license. A Special License - Expert Citizen may be renewed in accordance with the established rules and regulations of the State Department of Education.
(d) Special License - Nonrenewable. The State Board of Education is authorized to establish rules and regulations to allow those educators not meeting requirements in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this subsection (6) to be licensed for a period of not more than three (3) years, except by special approval of the State Board of Education.
(e) Nonlicensed Teaching Personnel. A nonlicensed person may teach for a maximum of three (3) periods per teaching day in a public school district or a nonpublic school accredited/approved by the state. Such person shall submit to the department a transcript or record of his education and experience which substantiates his preparation for the subject to be taught and shall meet other qualifications specified by the commission and approved by the State Board of Education. In no case shall any local school board hire nonlicensed personnel as authorized under this paragraph in excess of five percent (5%) of the total number of licensed personnel in any single school.
(f) Special License - Transitional Bilingual Education. Beginning July 1, 2003, the commission shall grant special licenses to teachers of transitional bilingual education who possess such qualifications as are prescribed in this section. Teachers of transitional bilingual education shall be compensated by local school boards at not less than one (1) step on the regular salary schedule applicable to permanent teachers licensed under this section. The commission shall grant special licenses to teachers of transitional bilingual education who present the commission with satisfactory evidence that they (i) possess a speaking and reading ability in a language, other than English, in which bilingual education is offered and communicative skills in English; (ii) are in good health and sound moral character; (iii) possess a bachelor's degree or an associate's degree in teacher education from an accredited institution of higher education; (iv) meet such requirements as to courses of study, semester hours therein, experience and training as may be required by the commission; and (v) are legally present in the United States and possess legal authorization for employment. A teacher of transitional bilingual education serving under a special license shall be under an exemption from standard licensure if he achieves the requisite qualifications therefor. Two (2) years of service by a teacher of transitional bilingual education under such an exemption shall be credited to the teacher in acquiring a Standard Educator License. Nothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to prohibit a local school board from employing a teacher licensed in an appropriate field as approved by the State Department of Education to teach in a program in transitional bilingual education.
(g) In the event any school district meets the highest accreditation standards as defined by the State Board of Education in the accountability system, the State Board of Education, in its discretion, may exempt such school district from any restrictions in paragraph (e) relating to the employment of nonlicensed teaching personnel.
(h) Highly Qualified Teachers. Beginning July 1, 2006, any teacher from any state meeting the federal definition of highly qualified, as described in the No Child Left Behind Act, must be granted a standard five-year license by the State Department of Education.
(7) Administrator License. The State Board of Education is authorized to establish rules and regulations and to administer the licensure process of the school administrators in the State of Mississippi. There will be four (4) categories of administrator licensure with exceptions only through special approval of the State Board of Education.
(a) Administrator License - Nonpracticing. Those educators holding administrative endorsement but having no administrative experience or not serving in an administrative position on January 15, 1997.
(b) Administrator License - Entry Level. Those educators holding administrative endorsement and having met the department's qualifications to be eligible for employment in a Mississippi school district. Administrator License - Entry Level shall be issued for a five-year period and shall be nonrenewable.
(c) Standard Administrator License - Career Level. An administrator who has met all the requirements of the department for standard administrator licensure.
(d) Administrator License - Nontraditional Route. The board may establish a nontraditional route for licensing administrative personnel. Such nontraditional route for administrative licensure shall be available for persons holding, but not limited to, a master of business administration degree, a master of public administration degree, a master of public planning and policy degree or a doctor of jurisprudence degree from an accredited college or university, with five (5) years of administrative or supervisory experience. Successful completion of the requirements of alternate route licensure for administrators shall qualify the person for a standard administrator license.
Individuals seeking school administrator licensure under paragraph (b), (c) or (d) shall successfully complete a training program and an assessment process prescribed by the State Board of Education. All applicants for school administrator licensure shall meet all requirements prescribed by the department under paragraph (b), (c) or (d), and the cost of the assessment process required shall be paid by the applicant.
(8) Reciprocity. (a) The department shall grant a standard license to any individual who possesses a valid standard license from another state and meets minimum Mississippi license requirements or equivalent requirements as determined by the State Board of Education. The issuance of a license by reciprocity to a military-trained applicant or military spouse shall be subject to the provisions of Section 73-50-1.
(b) The department shall grant a nonrenewable special license to any individual who possesses a credential which is less than a standard license or certification from another state. Such special license shall be valid for the current school year plus one (1) additional school year to expire on June 30 of the second year, not to exceed a total period of twenty-four (24) months, during which time the applicant shall be required to complete the requirements for a standard license in Mississippi.
(9) Renewal and Reinstatement of Licenses. The State Board of Education is authorized to establish rules and regulations for the renewal and reinstatement of educator and administrator licenses. Effective May 15, 1997, the valid standard license held by an educator shall be extended five (5) years beyond the expiration date of the license in order to afford the educator adequate time to fulfill new renewal requirements established pursuant to this subsection. An educator completing a master of education, educational specialist or doctor of education degree in May 1997 for the purpose of upgrading the educator's license to a higher class shall be given this extension of five (5) years plus five (5) additional years for completion of a higher degree.
(10) All controversies involving the issuance, revocation, suspension or any change whatsoever in the licensure of an educator required to hold a license shall be initially heard in a hearing de novo, by the commission or by a subcommittee established by the commission and composed of commission members, or by a hearing officer retained and appointed by the commission, for the purpose of holding hearings. Any complaint seeking the denial of issuance, revocation or suspension of a license shall be by sworn affidavit filed with the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development. The decision thereon by the commission, its subcommittee or hearing officer, shall be final, unless the aggrieved party shall appeal to the State Board of Education, within ten (10) days, of the decision of the commission, its subcommittee or hearing officer. An appeal to the State Board of Education shall be perfected upon filing a notice of the appeal and by the prepayment of the costs of the preparation of the record of proceedings by the commission, its subcommittee or hearing officer. An appeal shall be on the record previously made before the commission, its subcommittee or hearing officer, unless otherwise provided by rules and regulations adopted by the board. The decision of the commission, its subcommittee or hearing officer shall not be disturbed on appeal if supported by substantial evidence, was not arbitrary or capricious, within the authority of the commission, and did not violate some statutory or constitutional right. The State Board of Education in its authority may reverse, or remand with instructions, the decision of the commission, its subcommittee or hearing officer. The decision of the State Board of Education shall be final.
(11) (a) The State Board of Education, acting through the commission, may deny an application for any teacher or administrator license for one or more of the following:
(i) Lack of qualifications which are prescribed by law or regulations adopted by the State Board of Education;
(ii) The applicant has a physical, emotional or mental disability that renders the applicant unfit to perform the duties authorized by the license, as certified by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist;
(iii) The applicant is actively addicted to or actively dependent on alcohol or other habit-forming drugs or is a habitual user of narcotics, barbiturates, amphetamines, hallucinogens or other drugs having similar effect, at the time of application for a license;
(iv) Fraud or deceit committed by the applicant in securing or attempting to secure such certification and license;
(v) Failing or refusing to furnish reasonable evidence of identification;
(vi) The applicant has been convicted, has pled guilty or entered a plea of nolo contendere to a felony, as defined by federal or state law. For purposes of this subparagraph (vi) of this paragraph (a), a "guilty plea" includes a plea of guilty, entry of a plea of nolo contendere, or entry of an order granting pretrial or judicial diversion;
(vii) The applicant or licensee is on probation or post-release supervision for a felony or conviction, as defined by federal or state law. However, this disqualification expires upon the end of the probationary or post-release supervision period.
(b) The State Board of Education, acting through the commission, shall deny an application for any teacher or administrator license, or immediately revoke the current teacher or administrator license, for one or more of the following:
(i) If the applicant or licensee has been convicted, has pled guilty or entered a plea of nolo contendere to a sex offense as defined by federal or state law. For purposes of this subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (b), a "guilty plea" includes a plea of guilty, entry of a plea of nolo contendere, or entry of an order granting pretrial or judicial diversion;
(ii) The applicant or licensee is on probation or post-release supervision for a sex offense conviction, as defined by federal or state law;
(iii) The license holder has fondled a student as described in Section 97-5-23, or had any type of sexual involvement with a student as described in Section 97-3-95; or
(iv) The license holder has failed to report sexual involvement of a school employee with a student as required by Section 97-5-24.
(12) The State Board of Education, acting through the commission, may revoke, suspend or refuse to renew any teacher or administrator license for specified periods of time or may place on probation, reprimand a licensee, or take other disciplinary action with regard to any license issued under this chapter for one or more of the following:
(a) Breach of contract or abandonment of employment may result in the suspension of the license for one (1) school year as provided in Section 37-9-57;
(b) Obtaining a license by fraudulent means shall result in immediate suspension and continued suspension for one (1) year after correction is made;
(c) Suspension or revocation of a certificate or license by another state shall result in immediate suspension or revocation and shall continue until records in the prior state have been cleared;
(d) The license holder has been convicted, has pled guilty or entered a plea of nolo contendere to a felony, as defined by federal or state law. For purposes of this paragraph, a "guilty plea" includes a plea of guilty, entry of a plea of nolo contendere, or entry of an order granting pretrial or judicial diversion;
(e) The license holder knowingly and willfully committing any of the acts affecting validity of mandatory uniform test results as provided in Section 37-16-4(1);
(f) The license holder has engaged in unethical conduct relating to an educator/student relationship as identified by the State Board of Education in its rules;
(g) The license holder served as superintendent or principal in a school district during the time preceding and/or that resulted in the Governor declaring a state of emergency and the State Board of Education appointing a conservator;
(h) The license holder submitted a false certification to the State Department of Education that a statewide test was administered in strict accordance with the Requirements of the Mississippi Statewide Assessment System; or
(i) The license holder has failed to comply with the Procedures for Reporting Infractions as promulgated by the commission and approved by the State Board of Education pursuant to subsection (15) of this section.
For purposes of this subsection, probation shall be defined as a length of time determined by the commission, its subcommittee or hearing officer, and based on the severity of the offense in which the license holder shall meet certain requirements as prescribed by the commission, its subcommittee or hearing officer. Failure to complete the requirements in the time specified shall result in immediate suspension of the license for one (1) year.
(13) (a) Dismissal or suspension of a licensed employee by a local school board pursuant to Section 37-9-59 may result in the suspension or revocation of a license for a length of time which shall be determined by the commission and based upon the severity of the offense.
(b) Any offense committed or attempted in any other state shall result in the same penalty as if committed or attempted in this state.
(c) A person may voluntarily surrender a license. The surrender of such license may result in the commission recommending any of the above penalties without the necessity of a hearing. However, any such license which has voluntarily been surrendered by a licensed employee may only be reinstated by a majority vote of all members of the commission present at the meeting called for such purpose.
(14) (a) A person whose license has been suspended or surrendered on any grounds except criminal grounds may petition for reinstatement of the license after one (1) year from the date of suspension or surrender, or after one-half (1/2) of the suspended or surrendered time has lapsed, whichever is greater. A person whose license has been suspended or revoked on any grounds or violations under subsection (12) of this section may be reinstated automatically or approved for a reinstatement hearing, upon submission of a written request to the commission. A license suspended, revoked or surrendered on criminal grounds may be reinstated upon petition to the commission filed after expiration of the sentence and parole or probationary period imposed upon conviction. A revoked, suspended or surrendered license may be reinstated upon satisfactory showing of evidence of rehabilitation. The commission shall require all who petition for reinstatement to furnish evidence satisfactory to the commission of good character, good mental, emotional and physical health and such other evidence as the commission may deem necessary to establish the petitioner's rehabilitation and fitness to perform the duties authorized by the license.
(b) A person whose license expires while under investigation by the Office of Educator Misconduct for an alleged violation may not be reinstated without a hearing before the commission if required based on the results of the investigation.
(15) Reporting procedures and hearing procedures for dealing with infractions under this section shall be promulgated by the commission, subject to the approval of the State Board of Education. The revocation or suspension of a license shall be effected at the time indicated on the notice of suspension or revocation. The commission shall immediately notify the superintendent of the school district or school board where the teacher or administrator is employed of any disciplinary action and also notify the teacher or administrator of such revocation or suspension and shall maintain records of action taken. The State Board of Education may reverse or remand with instructions any decision of the commission, its subcommittee or hearing officer regarding a petition for reinstatement of a license, and any such decision of the State Board of Education shall be final.
(16) An appeal from the action of the State Board of Education in denying an application, revoking or suspending a license or otherwise disciplining any person under the provisions of this section shall be filed in the Chancery Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, Mississippi, on the record made, including a verbatim transcript of the testimony at the hearing. The appeal shall be filed within thirty (30) days after notification of the action of the board is mailed or served and the proceedings in chancery court shall be conducted as other matters coming before the court. The appeal shall be perfected upon filing notice of the appeal and by the prepayment of all costs, including the cost of preparation of the record of the proceedings by the State Board of Education, and the filing of a bond in the sum of Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) conditioned that if the action of the board be affirmed by the chancery court, the applicant or license holder shall pay the costs of the appeal and the action of the chancery court.
(17) All such programs, rules, regulations, standards and criteria recommended or authorized by the commission shall become effective upon approval by the State Board of Education as designated by appropriate orders entered upon the minutes thereof.
(18) The granting of a license shall not be deemed a property right nor a guarantee of employment in any public school district. A license is a privilege indicating minimal eligibility for teaching in the public school districts of Mississippi. This section shall in no way alter or abridge the authority of local school districts to require greater qualifications or standards of performance as a prerequisite of initial or continued employment in such districts.
(19) In addition to the reasons specified in subsections (12) and (13) of this section, the board shall be authorized to suspend the license of any licensee for being out of compliance with an order for support, as defined in Section 93-11-153. The procedure for suspension of a license for being out of compliance with an order for support, and the procedure for the reissuance or reinstatement of a license suspended for that purpose, and the payment of any fees for the reissuance or reinstatement of a license suspended for that purpose, shall be governed by Section 93-11-157 or 93-11-163, as the case may be. Actions taken by the board in suspending a license when required by Section 93-11-157 or 93-11-163 are not actions from which an appeal may be taken under this section. Any appeal of a license suspension that is required by Section 93-11-157 or 93-11-163 shall be taken in accordance with the appeal procedure specified in Section 93-11-157 or 93-11-163, as the case may be, rather than the procedure specified in this section. If there is any conflict between any provision of Section 93-11-157 or 93-11-163 and any provision of this chapter, the provisions of Section 93-11-157 or 93-11-163, as the case may be, shall control.
SECTION 76. Section 37-4-4, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-4-4. The Commissioner of
Higher Education, or his designee, and one (1) member of * * * each university board of trustees * * *, shall attend all regular meetings of
the Mississippi Community College Board. Said university
representatives shall have no jurisdiction or vote on any matter within the
jurisdiction of the board. The Commissioner of Higher Education and any
designee who is a state employee shall receive no per diem for attending
meetings of the board, but shall be entitled to actual and necessary expense
reimbursement and mileage for attending meetings at locations other than
Jackson, Mississippi. The designees of * * * university boards of trustees * * * shall
receive per diem compensation as authorized by Section 25-3-69, Mississippi
Code of 1972, for attending said meetings, and shall be entitled to
reimbursement for all actual and necessary expense reimbursement and mileage,
which shall be paid from funds appropriated to the Mississippi Community
College Board.
SECTION 77. Section 37-7-485, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-7-485. (1) This section shall be referred to as the "School Property Development Act of 2005." It is the intent of the Legislature that this section shall provide school boards with an alternative optional method of disposal of surplus school property that may generate greater returns to the district than a public disposal sale, or to promote or stimulate economic development within the school district or to promote, stabilize or enhance property and tax values within the school district.
(2) The school board of any school district shall be authorized and empowered, in its discretion, to sell, convey or exchange a partial interest, undivided interest or any other interest in real property (other than sixteenth section public school trust land), in whole or in part, for a nonoperational interest in any proposed development of the property, including ownership of shares of a domestic corporation or a membership interest in a limited liability company or a limited partnership interest, any of which is organized for the operation of any project, development or activity that, in the discretion of the school board, will have the potential for fostering economic development activities, increasing property values, increasing student development or enhancing public safety. The school board may contract with any other governmental entity, university or community college, corporation, person or other legal entity for the development, design, construction, financing, ownership or operation of any project, development or activity and may issue notes, leases, bonds or other written obligations to finance such activities. The school board may pledge any revenues or taxes it is to receive from such sale, conveyance or exchange, including any shares of a corporation or membership interest in a limited liability company or limited partnership interest under this subsection or under Sections 37-7-471 through 37-7-483, to secure the repayment of any notes, leases (excluding leases of sixteenth section public school trust land), bonds or other written obligations of the district issued under any provision of state law. Any such pledge of revenues or other monies shall be valid and binding from the date the pledge is made; such revenues or other monies so pledged and thereafter received by the school district shall immediately be subject to the lien of such pledge without any physical delivery thereof or further act, and the lien of any such pledge shall be valid and binding as against all parties having claims of any kind in tort, contract or otherwise against the school district irrespective of whether such parties have notice thereof. Neither the resolutions, contracts or any other instrument by which a pledge is created need be recorded. Any debt secured in whole or in part by a pledge of such revenues or other monies shall not be subject to or included in any debt limitation imposed on the issuance of such debt. This subsection (2) shall not be construed to apply to sixteenth section public school trust land.
(3) The school board shall
use sound business practices when executing exchanges as provided in this
section. The school board may utilize the services of the Mississippi
Development Authority, the local planning and development district or * * * any university board of trustees * * * when
executing exchanges as provided in this section. The local school board shall
require, in any project exceeding Two Hundred Thousand Dollars ($200,000.00)
that the party with whom the school board is contracting shall provide the
following information, at a minimum:
(a) A two-year business plan (which shall include pro forma balance sheets, income statements and monthly cash flow statements);
(b) Financial statements and tax returns for the three (3) years immediately prior to the date the contract is formed;
(c) Credit reports on all persons or entities with a twenty percent (20%) or greater interest in the entity;
(d) Data supporting the expertise of the entity's principals;
(e) A cost benefit analysis of the project performed by the Mississippi Development Authority, a state institution of higher learning or other entity selected by the local school board; and
(f) Any other information required by the local school board.
This subsection (3) shall not be construed to apply to sixteenth section public school trust land.
(4) The local school board shall make public record any final and signed contract created under this section.
(5) No person involved in any economic development project entered into by a school board under the provisions of this section shall be related by consanguinity or affinity within the third degree to any member of the school board or the superintendent or any assistant superintendent of the school district, nor shall any such person have an interest in any business or have an economic relationship with any member of the school board or the superintendent or any assistant superintendent of the school district.
(6) No person, or any agent, subsidiary or parent corporation or firm owned in whole or in part by the person shall be eligible to bid or otherwise participate in the construction, contracting, or subcontracting on any project or part thereof for which the person has been hired to perform construction program management services. Any contract for public construction that violates this provision shall be void and against the public policy of the state. For purposes of this subsection, the term "construction program management services" means a set of management and technical services rendered by a person or firm to a public sector building owner during the predesign, design, construction, or post-construction phases of new construction, demolition, alteration, repair, or renovation projects. These services include any one or more of the following: project planning, budgeting, scheduling, coordination, design management, construction administration, or facility occupancy actions, but shall not include any component of the actual construction work. The term does not include the services performed by the general contractor who is engaged to perform the construction work, or services customarily performed by licensed architects or registered engineers.
(7) This section shall be supplemental and additional to any powers conferred by other laws on school districts. However, this section shall not grant any authority to a school board to issue debt in any amount that is not otherwise expressly provided for by law, and shall not grant any authority to impose, levy or collect any tax that is not otherwise expressly provided for by law.
(8) If a school board exercises its option to enter into a development agreement or other contract under this section or to transfer any property or interest therein to a third party for purposes of future development, the following conditions shall apply:
(a) The board shall have the express authority to retain a deed of trust or such other security interest in the property in an amount equal at least to the value of the property at the time of such transfer, less any consideration paid by the developer or other parties;
(b) The liability of the school board and the school district under any such development agreement shall be limited to the value of any retained property interest in the development agreement or the property that is the subject of the development agreement. Neither the school board nor the district shall be liable to any party nor shall it indemnify or hold harmless any party for any liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, settlements, claims, actions, suits, proceedings or judgments of any kind and nature, costs, expenses, or attorney's fees incurred by such party or parties for any act or action arising out of, or in connection with any development agreement entered into by the school board, other than the value of the retained ownership interest in the property that was conveyed under such development agreement.
(9) Before entering into any transaction as provided in this section, the school board members shall certify that they are in compliance with Section 25-4-25 regarding filings of statements of economic interest with the Mississippi Ethics Commission and that they will receive no direct or indirect pecuniary benefit as a result of the transaction or be in violation of the provisions of Section 25-4-105 regarding the improper use of official position.
(10) [Deleted]
(11) Any property developed by a school district under this section shall be deemed to be for "school purposes" or for "educational purposes."
SECTION 78. Section 37-9-77, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-9-77. (1) There is
established the Mississippi School Administrator Sabbatical Program which shall
be available to licensed teachers employed in Mississippi school districts for
not less than three (3) years, for the purpose of allowing such teachers to
become local school district administrators under the conditions set forth in
this section. The State Board of Education, in coordination with * * * each university board of trustees * * *, shall
develop guidelines for the program. Application shall be made to the State
Department of Education for the Mississippi School Administrator Sabbatical
Program by qualified teachers meeting the criteria for a department-approved
administration program and who have been recommended by the local school
board. Administration programs that are eligible for the administrator
sabbatical program shall be limited to those that have been approved by the
department by the January 1 preceding the date of admission to the program.
Admission into the program shall authorize the applicant to take university
course work and training leading to an administrator's license.
(2) The salaries of the
teachers approved for participation in the administrator sabbatical program
shall be paid by the employing school district from * * * funds other than adequate
education program funds. However, the State Department of Education shall
reimburse the employing school districts for the cost of the salaries and paid
fringe benefits of teachers participating in the administrator sabbatical
program for one (1) contract year. Reimbursement shall be made in accordance
with the then current minimum education program salary schedule under Section
37-19-7, except that the maximum amount of the reimbursement from state funds
shall not exceed the minimum education program salary for a teacher holding a
Class A license and having five (5) years' experience. The local school
district shall be responsible for that portion of a participating teacher's
salary attributable to the local supplement and for any portion of the
teacher's salary that exceeds the maximum amount allowed for reimbursement from
state funds as provided in this subsection, and the school board may not reduce
the local supplement payable to that teacher. Any reimbursements made by the
State Department of Education to local school districts under this section
shall be subject to available appropriations and may be made only to school
districts determined by the State Board of Education as being in need of
administrators.
(3) Such teachers participating in the program on a full-time basis shall continue to receive teaching experience and shall receive the salary prescribed in Section 37-19-7, including the annual experience increments. Such participants shall be fully eligible to continue participation in the Public Employees' Retirement System and the Public School Employees Health Insurance Plan during the time they are in the program on a full-time basis.
(4) As a condition for participation in the School Administrator Sabbatical Program, such teachers shall agree to employment as administrators in the sponsoring school district for not less than five (5) years following completion of administrator licensure requirements. Any person failing to comply with this employment commitment in any required school year, unless the commitment is deferred as provided in subsection (5) of this section, shall immediately be in breach of contract and become liable to the State Department of Education for that amount of his salary and paid fringe benefits paid by the state while the teacher was on sabbatical, less twenty percent (20%) of the amount of his salary and paid fringe benefits paid by the state for each year that the person was employed as an administrator following completion of the administrator licensure requirements. In addition, the person shall become liable to the local school district for any portion of his salary and paid fringe benefits paid by the local school district while the teacher was on sabbatical that is attributable to the local salary supplement or is attributable to the amount that exceeds the maximum amount allowed for reimbursement from state funds as provided in subsection (2) of this section, less twenty percent (20%) of the amount of his salary and paid fringe benefits paid by the school district for each year that the person was employed as an administrator following completion of the administrator licensure requirements. Interest on the amount due shall accrue at the current Stafford Loan rate at the time the breach occurs. If the claim for repayment of such salary and fringe benefits is placed in the hands of an attorney for collection after default, then the obligor shall be liable for an additional amount equal to a reasonable attorney's fee.
(5) If there is not an administrator position immediately available in the sponsoring school district after a person has completed the administrator licensure requirements, or if the administrator position in the sponsoring school district in which the person is employed is no longer needed before the completion of the five-year employment commitment, the local school board shall defer any part of the employment commitment that has not been met until such time as an administrator position becomes available in the sponsoring school district. If such a deferral is made, the sponsoring school district shall employ the person as a teacher in the school district during the period of deferral, unless the person desires to be released from employment by the sponsoring school district and the district agrees to release the person from employment. If the sponsoring school district releases a person from employment, that person may be employed as an administrator in another school district in the state that is in need of administrators as determined by the State Board of Education, and that employment for the other school district shall be applied to any remaining portion of the five-year employment commitment required under this section. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a school district from not renewing the person's contract before the end of the five-year employment commitment in accordance with the School Employment Procedures Law (Section 37-9-101 et seq.). However, if the person is not employed as an administrator by another school district after being released by the sponsoring school district, or after his contract was not renewed by the sponsoring school district, he shall be liable for repayment of the amount of his salary and fringe benefits as provided in subsection (4) of this section.
(6) All funds received by the State Department of Education from the repayment of salary and fringe benefits paid by the state from program participants shall be deposited in the Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Fund.
SECTION 79. Section 37-9-213, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-9-213. The Mississippi Teacher Center shall be responsible for the regular and ongoing evaluation of the beginning teacher support program and may contract for such evaluation. The evaluation shall include, but not be limited to, assessments of the following:
(a) A survey and follow-up of all eligible mentor teachers and beginning teachers and appropriate district officials, to assess satisfaction with and the effectiveness of the beginning teacher support program;
(b) The amount and quality of the contact time between mentor teachers and beginning teachers;
(c) The effectiveness of workshops and other training required under Sections 37-9-201 through 37-9-211;
(d) The effectiveness of the mentor program in enhancing the professional development and retention of new teachers in the district;
(e) The desirability
of extending this assistance program to students participating in graduate
level teacher preparation programs similar to those which have been proposed by * * * state institutions of
higher learning; and
(f) The desirability of extending this assistance program to all probationary teachers.
SECTION 80. Section 37-11-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-11-17. (1) The State
Board of Education, the university boards of trustees * * *, the
Mississippi Community College Board, the boards of trustees of the several
junior colleges, the county boards of education, the governing authorities of
any county, municipal or other public school districts, such other boards set
up by law for any educational institution, school, college or university, or
their authorized representative, or the State Health Officer or his authorized
representative, may require any teacher, supervisor, janitor or other employee
of the school to submit to a thorough physical examination, deemed advisable to
determine whether he has any infectious or communicable disease.
(2) The State Board of Education may develop a program to accomplish the identification of public school district students with abnormal spinal curvature. No state funds shall be expended for the purposes of implementing this subsection. Such program shall:
(a) Provide that an adequate number of school personnel in each district be instructed by qualified medical experts in the proper examination of students for abnormal spinal curvatures;
(b) Provide that all public school district students who are at least ten (10) years old be screened at least every two (2) years but at least in the fourth, sixth, eighth and tenth grades or at such other times as may be recommended by medical experts on a per case basis;
(c) Provide that students identified as having abnormal spinal curvatures or potential for abnormal spinal curvatures be referred to the county health officer or to the student's personal physician or chiropractor with notice of the evaluation; and
(d) Provide for notification of the parent or guardian of any student identified under this program and for the supplying to such parent or guardian information on the condition and resources available for the correction or treatment of such condition. However, the requirement for screening shall not apply to a child whose parent or guardian objects thereto on grounds that the requirement conflicts with his conscientiously held religious beliefs.
SECTION 81. Section 37-11-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-11-29. (1) Any principal, teacher or other school employee who has knowledge of any unlawful activity which occurred on educational property or during a school related activity or which may have occurred shall report such activity to the superintendent of the school district or his designee who shall notify the appropriate law enforcement officials as required by this section. In the event of an emergency or if the superintendent or his designee is unavailable, any principal may make a report required under this subsection.
(2) Whenever any person who shall be an enrolled student in any school or educational institution in this state supported in whole or in part by public funds, or who shall be an enrolled student in any private school or educational institution, is arrested for, and lawfully charged with, the commission of any crime and convicted upon the charge for which he was arrested, or convicted of any crime charged against him after his arrest and before trial, the office or law enforcement department of which the arresting officer is a member, and the justice court judge and any circuit judge or court before whom such student is tried upon said charge or charges, shall make or cause to be made a report thereof to the superintendent or the president or chancellor, as the case may be, of the school district or other educational institution in which such student is enrolled.
If the charge upon which
such student was arrested, or any other charges preferred against him are
dismissed or nol prossed, or if upon trial he is either convicted or acquitted
of such charge or charges, same shall be reported to said respective
superintendent or president, or chancellor, as the case may be. A copy of said
report shall be sent to the secretary of the university board of trustees of
state * * *
institution of higher learning * * *
where the offense occurred.
Said report shall be made within one (1) week after the arrest of such student and within one (1) week after any charge placed against him is dismissed or nol prossed, and within one (1) week after he shall have pled guilty, been convicted, or have been acquitted by trial upon any charge placed against him. This section shall not apply to ordinary traffic violations involving a penalty of less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) and costs.
The State Superintendent of Public Education shall gather annually all of the reports provided under this section and prepare a report on the number of students arrested as a result of any unlawful activity which occurred on educational property or during a school related activity. All data must be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, school, offense and law enforcement agency involved. However, the report prepared by the State Superintendent of Public Education shall not include the identity of any student who was arrested.
On or before January 1 of each year, the State Superintendent of Public Education shall report to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Joint PEER Committee on this section. The report must include data regarding arrests as a result of any unlawful activity which occurred on educational property or during a school related activity.
(3) When the superintendent or his designee has a reasonable belief that an act has occurred on educational property or during a school related activity involving any of the offenses set forth in subsection (6) of this section, the superintendent or his designee shall immediately report the act to the appropriate local law enforcement agency. For purposes of this subsection, "school property" shall include any public school building, bus, public school campus, grounds, recreational area or athletic field in the charge of the superintendent. The State Board of Education shall prescribe a form for making reports required under this subsection. Any superintendent or his designee who fails to make a report required by this section shall be subject to the penalties provided in Section 37-11-35.
(4) The law enforcement authority shall immediately dispatch an officer to the educational institution and with probable cause the officer is authorized to make an arrest if necessary as provided in Section 99-3-7.
(5) Any superintendent, principal, teacher or other school personnel participating in the making of a required report pursuant to this section or participating in any judicial proceeding resulting therefrom shall be presumed to be acting in good faith. Any person reporting in good faith shall be immune from any civil liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed.
(6) For purposes of this section, "unlawful activity" means any of the following:
(a) Possession or use of a deadly weapon, as defined in Section 97-37-1;
(b) Possession, sale or use of any controlled substance;
(c) Aggravated assault, as defined in Section 97-3-7;
(d) Simple assault, as defined in Section 97-3-7, upon any school employee;
(e) Rape, as defined under Mississippi law;
(f) Sexual battery, as defined under Mississippi law;
(g) Murder, as defined under Mississippi law;
(h) Kidnapping, as defined under Mississippi law; or
(i) Fondling, touching, handling, etc., a child for lustful purposes, as defined in Section 97-5-23.
SECTION 82. Section 37-15-38, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-15-38. (1) The following phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) A dual enrolled student is a student who is enrolled in a community or junior college or state institution of higher learning while enrolled in high school.
(b) A dual credit student is a student who is enrolled in a community or junior college or state institution of higher learning while enrolled in high school and who is receiving high school and college credit for postsecondary coursework.
(2) A local school board, * * * university boards of trustees * * * and
the Mississippi Community College Board shall establish a dual enrollment
system under which students in the school district who meet the prescribed
criteria of this section may be enrolled in a postsecondary institution in
Mississippi while they are still in school.
(3) Dual credit eligibility. Before credits earned by a qualified high school student from a community or junior college or state institution of higher learning may be transferred to the student's home school district, the student must be properly enrolled in a dual enrollment program.
(4) Admission criteria
for dual enrollment in community and junior college or university programs.
The Mississippi Community College Board and * * * university boards of trustees * * * may
recommend to the State Board of Education admission criteria for dual
enrollment programs under which high school students may enroll at a community
or junior college or university while they are still attending high school and
enrolled in high school courses. Students may be admitted to enroll in
community or junior college courses under the dual enrollment programs if they
meet that individual institution's stated dual enrollment admission
requirements.
(5) Tuition and cost responsibility. Tuition and costs for university-level courses and community and junior college courses offered under a dual enrollment program may be paid for by the postsecondary institution, the local school district, the parents or legal guardians of the student, or by grants, foundations or other private or public sources. Payment for tuition and any other costs must be made directly to the credit-granting institution.
(6) Transportation responsibility. Any transportation required by a student to participate in the dual enrollment program is the responsibility of the parent, custodian or legal guardian of the student. Transportation costs may be paid from any available public or private sources, including the local school district.
(7) School district average daily attendance credit. When dually enrolled, the student may be counted, for adequate education program funding purposes, in the average daily attendance of the public school district in which the student attends high school.
(8) High school student transcript transfer requirements. Grades and college credits earned by a student admitted to a dual credit program must be recorded on the high school student record and on the college transcript at the university or community or junior college where the student attends classes. The transcript of the university or community or junior college coursework may be released to another institution or applied toward college graduation requirements.
(9) Determining factor of prerequisites for dual enrollment courses. Each university and community or junior college participating in a dual enrollment program shall determine course prerequisites. Course prerequisites shall be the same for dual enrolled students as for regularly enrolled students at that university or community or junior college.
(10) Process for determining articulation of curriculum between high school, university, and community and junior college courses. All dual credit courses must meet the standards established at the postsecondary level. Postsecondary level developmental courses may not be considered as meeting the requirements of the dual credit program. Dual credit memorandum of understandings must be established between each postsecondary institution and the school district implementing a dual credit program.
(11) [Deleted]
(12) Eligible courses for dual credit programs. Courses eligible for dual credit include, but are not necessarily limited to, foreign languages, advanced math courses, advanced science courses, performing arts, advanced business and technology, and career and technical courses. Distance Learning Collaborative Program courses approved under Section 37-67-1 shall be fully eligible for dual credit. All courses being considered for dual credit must receive unconditional approval from the superintendent of the local school district and the chief instructional officer at the participating community or junior college or university in order for college credit to be awarded. A university or community or junior college shall make the final decision on what courses are eligible for semester hour credits.
(13) High school Carnegie unit equivalency. One (1) three-hour university or community or junior college course is equal to one (1) high school Carnegie unit.
(14) Course alignment. The universities, community and junior colleges and the State Department of Education shall periodically review their respective policies and assess the place of dual credit courses within the context of their traditional offerings.
(15) Maximum dual credits allowed. It is the intent of the dual enrollment program to make it possible for every eligible student who desires to earn a semester's worth of college credit in high school to do so. A qualified dually enrolled high school student must be allowed to earn an unlimited number of college or university credits for dual credit.
(16) Dual credit program allowances. A student may be granted credit delivered through the following means:
(a) Examination preparation taught at a high school by a qualified teacher. A student may receive credit at the secondary level after completion of an approved course and passing the standard examination, such as an Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate course through which a high school student is allowed CLEP credit by making a three (3) or higher on the end-of-course examination.
(b) College or university courses taught at a high school or designated postsecondary site by a qualified teacher who is an employee of the school district and approved as an instructor by the collaborating college or university.
(c) College or university courses taught at a college, university or high school by an instructor employed by the college or university and approved by the collaborating school district.
(d) Online courses of any public university, community or junior college in Mississippi.
(17) Qualifications of dual credit instructors. A dual credit academic instructor must meet the requirements set forth by the regional accrediting association (Southern Association of College and Schools). University and community and junior college personnel have the sole authority in the selection of dual credit instructors.
A dual credit career and technical education instructor must meet the requirements set forth by the Mississippi Community College Board in the qualifications manual for postsecondary career and technical personnel.
(18) Guidance on local
agreements. The * * * Commissioner of Higher Education, or his designee
and the Chief Instructional Officers of the Mississippi Community College Board
and the State Department of Education, working collaboratively, shall develop a
template to be used by the individual community and junior colleges and
institutions of higher learning for consistent implementation of the dual
enrollment program throughout the State of Mississippi.
(19) Mississippi Works Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Option. A local school board and the local community colleges board shall establish a Mississippi Works Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Option Program under which potential or recent student dropouts may dually enroll in their home school and a local community college in a dual credit program consisting of high school completion coursework and a community college credential, certificate or degree program. Students completing the dual enrollment-credit option may obtain their high school diploma while obtaining a community college credential, certificate or degree. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security shall assist students who have successfully completed the Mississippi Works Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Option in securing a job upon the application of the student or the participating school or community college. The Mississippi Works Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Option Program will be implemented statewide in the 2012-2013 school year and thereafter. The State Board of Education, local school board and the local community college board shall establish criteria for the Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Program. Students enrolled in the program will not be eligible to participate in interscholastic sports or other extracurricular activities at the home school district. Tuition and costs for community college courses offered under the Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Program shall not be charged to the student, parents or legal guardians. When dually enrolled, the student shall be counted for adequate education program funding purposes, in the average daily attendance of the public school district in which the student attends high school, as provided in Section 37-151-7(1)(a). Any transportation required by the student to participate in the Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Program is the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian of the student, and transportation costs may be paid from any available public or private sources, including the local school district. Grades and college credits earned by a student admitted to this Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Program shall be recorded on the high school student record and on the college transcript at the community college and high school where the student attends classes. The transcript of the community college coursework may be released to another institution or applied toward college graduation requirements. Any course that is required for subject area testing as a requirement for graduation from a public school in Mississippi is eligible for dual credit, and courses eligible for dual credit shall also include career, technical and degree program courses. All courses eligible for dual credit shall be approved by the superintendent of the local school district and the chief instructional officer at the participating community college in order for college credit to be awarded. A community college shall make the final decision on what courses are eligible for semester hour credits and the local school superintendent, subject to approval by the Mississippi Department of Education, shall make the final decision on the transfer of college courses credited to the student's high school transcript.
SECTION 83. Section 37-26-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-26-9. (1) It shall be the duty of the clerk of any court to promptly collect the costs imposed pursuant to the provisions of Section 37-26-3. In all cases the clerk shall monthly deposit all such costs so collected with the State Treasurer either directly or by other appropriate procedures. All such deposits shall be clearly marked for the State Court Education Fund and the State Prosecutor Education Fund. Upon receipt of such deposits, the State Treasurer shall credit seventy-five percent (75%) of any amounts so deposited to the State Court Education Fund created pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, and shall credit the remaining twenty-five percent (25%) of any amounts so deposited to the State Prosecutor Education Fund created pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.
(2) Such assessments as are
collected under Section 99-19-73 shall be deposited in a special fund hereby
created in the State Treasury and designated the "State Court Education
Fund." Monies deposited in such fund shall be expended by the * * *
Commissioner of Higher Education as authorized and appropriated by the
Legislature to defray the cost of providing: (i) education and training for the
courts of Mississippi and related personnel; (ii) technical assistance for the
courts of Mississippi and related personnel; and (iii) current and accurate
information for the Mississippi Legislature pertaining to the needs of the
courts of Mississippi and related personnel.
(3) Such assessments as are collected under Section 99-19-73 shall be deposited in a special fund hereby created in the State Treasury and designated the "State Prosecutor Education Fund." Monies deposited in such fund shall be expended by the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi as authorized and appropriated by the Legislature to defray the cost of providing: (i) education and training for district attorneys, county prosecuting attorneys and municipal prosecuting attorneys; (ii) technical assistance for district attorneys, county prosecuting attorneys and municipal prosecuting attorneys; and (iii) current and accurate information for the Mississippi Legislature pertaining to the needs of district attorneys, county prosecuting attorneys and municipal prosecuting attorneys.
(4) A supplemental fund is hereby created in the State Treasury and designated the State Court Constituents Fund. Monies deposited in such fund shall be for the education and training of judges and related court personnel other than those specified in Section 37-26-1(b). In addition to any other fees or costs now or as may hereafter be provided by law, there is hereby charged in all civil cases in the chancery, circuit, county, justice and municipal courts of this state a supplemental court education and training cost in the amount of Fifty Cents (50¢), except in justice court cases where the amount sued for is less than Fifteen Dollars ($15.00); and in all criminal cases in the circuit, county, justice and municipal courts of this state, except in cases where the fine is less than Ten Dollars ($10.00). Such costs shall be charged and collected as provided by Sections 37-26-3 and 37-26-5.
After the transfer to the State Prosecutor Education Fund of twenty-five percent (25%) of the money provided for in subsection (1) of this section, there shall then be transferred into the State Court Education Fund the money on deposit in the State Court Constituents Fund.
(5) A special fund is created in the State Treasury and designated the "State Court Security Systems Fund." Monies deposited in such fund shall be expended for general courtroom security as well as the maintenance and operation of security surveillance and detection devices for the courtrooms of each court of the State of Mississippi specified in Section 37-26-1(2). The Administrative Office of Courts shall conduct a study to assess and determine the security needs of the courts and is authorized to expend monies in the fund for the purposes of the fund as authorized and appropriated by the Legislature.
(6) From and after July 1, 2017, the expenses of the State Court Education Fund, the State Prosecutors Education Fund, the State Court Constituents Fund and the State Court Security Systems Fund shall be defrayed by appropriation from the State General Fund and all user charges and fees authorized under this section shall be deposited into the State General Fund as authorized by law and as determined by the State Fiscal Officer.
(7) From and after July 1, 2016, no state agency shall charge another state agency a fee, assessment, rent or other charge for services or resources received by authority of this section.
SECTION 84. Section 37-61-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-61-33. (1) There is created within the State Treasury a special fund to be designated the "Education Enhancement Fund" into which shall be deposited all the revenues collected pursuant to Sections 27-65-75(7) and (8) and 27-67-31(a) and (b).
(2) Of the amount deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund, Sixteen Million Dollars ($16,000,000.00) shall be appropriated each fiscal year to the State Department of Education to be distributed to all school districts. Such money shall be distributed to all school districts in the proportion that the average daily attendance of each school district bears to the average daily attendance of all school districts within the state for the following purposes:
(a) Purchasing, erecting, repairing, equipping, remodeling and enlarging school buildings and related facilities, including gymnasiums, auditoriums, lunchrooms, vocational training buildings, libraries, teachers' homes, school barns, transportation vehicles (which shall include new and used transportation vehicles) and garages for transportation vehicles, and purchasing land therefor.
(b) Establishing and equipping school athletic fields and necessary facilities connected therewith, and purchasing land therefor.
(c) Providing necessary water, light, heating, air-conditioning and sewerage facilities for school buildings, and purchasing land therefor.
(d) As a pledge to pay all or a portion of the debt service on debt issued by the school district under Sections 37-59-1 through 37-59-45, 37-59-101 through 37-59-115, 37-7-351 through 37-7-359, 37-41-89 through 37-41-99, 37-7-301, 37-7-302 and 37-41-81, or debt issued by boards of supervisors for agricultural high schools pursuant to Section 37-27-65, if such pledge is accomplished pursuant to a written contract or resolution approved and spread upon the minutes of an official meeting of the district's school board or board of supervisors. The annual grant to such district in any subsequent year during the term of the resolution or contract shall not be reduced below an amount equal to the district's grant amount for the year in which the contract or resolution was adopted. The intent of this provision is to allow school districts to irrevocably pledge a certain, constant stream of revenue as security for long-term obligations issued under the code sections enumerated in this paragraph or as otherwise allowed by law. It is the intent of the Legislature that the provisions of this paragraph shall be cumulative and supplemental to any existing funding programs or other authority conferred upon school districts or school boards. Debt of a district secured by a pledge of sales tax revenue pursuant to this paragraph shall not be subject to any debt limitation contained in the foregoing enumerated code sections.
(3) The remainder of the money deposited into the Education Enhancement Fund shall be appropriated as follows:
(a) To the State Department of Education as follows:
(i) Sixteen and sixty-one one-hundredths percent (16.61%) to the cost of the adequate education program determined under Section 37-151-7; of the funds generated by the percentage set forth in this section for the support of the adequate education program, one and one hundred seventy-eight one-thousandths percent (1.178%) of the funds shall be appropriated to be used by the State Department of Education for the purchase of textbooks to be loaned under Sections 37-43-1 through 37-43-59 to approved nonpublic schools, as described in Section 37-43-1. The funds to be distributed to each nonpublic school shall be in the proportion that the average daily attendance of each nonpublic school bears to the total average daily attendance of all nonpublic schools;
(ii) Seven and ninety-seven one-hundredths percent (7.97%) to assist the funding of transportation operations and maintenance pursuant to Section 37-19-23; and
(iii) Nine and sixty-one one-hundredths percent (9.61%) for classroom supplies, instructional materials and equipment, including computers and computer software, to be distributed to all eligible teachers within the state through the use of procurement cards. Classroom supply funds shall not be expended for administrative purposes. On or before September 1 of each year, local school districts shall determine and submit to the State Department of Education the number of teachers eligible to receive an allocation for the current year. For purposes of this subparagraph, "teacher" means any employee of the school board of a school district, or the Mississippi School for the Arts, the Mississippi School for Math and Science, the Mississippi School for the Blind or the Mississippi School for the Deaf, who is required by law to obtain a teacher's license from the State Department of Education and who is assigned to an instructional area of work as defined by the department, but shall not include a federally funded teacher. It is the intent of the Legislature that all classroom teachers shall utilize these funds in a manner that addresses individual classroom needs and supports the overall goals of the school regarding supplies, instructional materials, equipment, computers or computer software under the provisions of this subparagraph, including the type, quantity and quality of such supplies, materials and equipment. Classroom supply funds allocated under this subparagraph shall supplement, not replace, other local and state funds available for the same purposes. The State Board of Education shall develop and promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of this subparagraph consistent with the above criteria, with particular emphasis on allowing the individual teachers to expend funds as they deem appropriate. Effective with the 2013-2014 school year, the local school board shall require each school to issue procurement cards provided by the Department of Finance and Administration under the provisions of Section 31-7-9(1)(c) for the use of teachers and necessary support personnel in making instructional supply fund expenditures under this section, consistent with the regulations of the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration pursuant to Section 31-7-9. Such procurement cards shall be issued at the beginning of the school year and shall be issued in equal amounts per teacher determined by the total number of qualifying personnel and the current state appropriation for classroom supplies with the Education Enhancement Fund. Such cards will expire on a pre-determined date at the end of each school year. All unexpended amounts will be carried forward, combined with the following year's allocation of Education Enhancement Fund instructional supplies funds and reallocated for the following year;
(b) Twenty-two and
nine one-hundredths percent (22.09%) to the * * * state institutions of
higher learning in proportionate shares based upon student enrollment
for the purpose of supporting institutions of higher learning; and
(c) Fourteen and forty-one one-hundredths percent (14.41%) to the Mississippi Community College Board for the purpose of providing support to community and junior colleges.
(4) The amount remaining in the Education Enhancement Fund after funds are distributed as provided in subsections (2) and (3) of this section shall be disbursed as follows:
(a) Twenty-five Million Dollars ($25,000,000.00) shall be deposited into the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund created pursuant to Section 27-103-203(1), until the balance in such fund reaches the maximum balance of seven and one-half percent (7-1/2%) of the General Fund appropriations in the appropriate fiscal year. After the maximum balance in the Working Cash-Stabilization Reserve Fund is reached, such money shall remain in the Education Enhancement Fund to be appropriated in the manner provided for in paragraph (b) of this subsection.
(b) The remainder shall be appropriated for other educational needs.
(5) None of the funds appropriated pursuant to subsection (3)(a) of this section shall be used to reduce the state's General Fund appropriation for the categories listed in an amount below the following amounts:
(a) For subsection (3)(a)(ii) of this section, Thirty-six Million Seven Hundred Thousand Dollars ($36,700,000.00);
(b) For the aggregate of minimum program allotments in the 1997 fiscal year, formerly provided for in Chapter 19, Title 37, Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, excluding those funds for transportation as provided for in paragraph (a) of this subsection.
(6) Any funds appropriated from the Education Enhancement Fund that are unexpended at the end of a fiscal year shall lapse into the Education Enhancement Fund, except as otherwise provided in subsection (3)(a)(iii) of this section.
SECTION 85. 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 Mississippi
Community College Board shall appoint one (1) member, and the * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * * Education. 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.
SECTION 86. Section 37-65-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-65-7. The board of trustees of any such
school district, agricultural high school district or agricultural high school
and junior college district, and * * * university boards of trustees * * *,
respectively, as the case may be, may, in their discretion, pay all or any part
of the salary of all superintendents, principals, teachers and other employees
during or for the period when any of the said schools, agricultural high
schools, agricultural high schools and junior colleges, or institutions of
higher learning are closed in accordance with the terms of this article, and
funds shall be drawn from the same source or sources as such funds would be
drawn to pay such items if the schools, agricultural high schools, agricultural
high schools and junior colleges, or institutions of higher learning had not
been closed.
SECTION 87. Section 37-67-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-67-1. (1) This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Distance Learning Collaborative Act of 2016."
(2) As used in this section:
(a) "Distance learning" means a method of delivering education and instruction on an individual basis to students who are not physically present in a traditional setting such as a classroom. Distance learning provides access to learning when the source of information and the learners are separated by time and distance, or both. Distance learning courses that require a physical on-site presence for any reason other than taking examinations may be referred to as hybrid or blended courses of study.
(b) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Education.
(c) A "distance learning collaborative" means a school or schools that write and submit an application to participate in the voluntary distance learning program. A distance learning collaborative is comprised, at a minimum, of a public school district, and may include an agency or other nonprofit organization approved by the State Department of Education to provide distance learning resources.
(d) A "lead partner" is a public school district or other nonprofit entity with the instructional expertise and operational capacity to manage the Distance Learning Collaborative Program as described in the approved application for funds. The lead partner serves as the fiscal agent for the collaborative and shall disburse awarded funds in accordance with the collaborative's approved application. The lead partner ensures that the collaborative adopts and implements the Distance Learning Collaborative Program consistent with the standards adopted by the State Board of Education. The public school district shall be the lead partner if no other qualifying lead partner is selected.
(3) Effective with the 2016-2017 school year, the Mississippi State Department of Education shall establish a voluntary distance learning grant program which shall be a collaboration among the entities providing distance learning services for students. The Distance Learning Collaborative Program shall provide financial assistance to encourage and improve distance learning education services in rural areas through the use of telecommunications, computer networks and related advanced technologies to be used by students, teachers and rural residents. Grants are for projects where the benefit is primarily delivered to end users who are not at the same location as the source of the education service.
(4) Distance Learning Collaborative Grants may be used to:
(a) Acquire the following types of equipment: (i) computer hardware and software; (ii) audio and video equipment; (iii) computer network components; (iv) terminal equipment; (v) data terminal equipment; (vi) inside wiring; (vii) interactive video equipment; and (viii) other facilities that further distance learning technology services.
(b) Acquire instructional programming for distance learning programs.
(c) Acquire technical assistance and instruction for using eligible equipment.
(d) The cost of tuition and fees for students to participate over and above the available federal Perkins Loans or Stafford Loans which are loaned directly to qualifying students to assist in covering the cost of distance learning funding.
(e) Any interest charges that accumulate during a student's degree program for the utilization of distance learning services.
(5) Subject to the availability of funds appropriated therefor, the State Department of Education shall administer the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the voluntary Distance Learning Collaborative Program, including awards and the application process. The department shall establish a rigorous and transparent application process for the awarding of funds. Lead partners shall submit the application on behalf of their distance learning collaborative. The department will establish monitoring policies and procedures that shall include at least one (1) site visit per year. The department will provide technical assistance to collaboratives and their providers to improve the quality of distance learning services. The department will evaluate the effectiveness of each distance learning collaborative.
(6) Distance Learning Collaborative Program funds shall be awarded to distance learning collaboratives whose proposed programs meet the program criteria established by the State Board of Education which shall include the following:
(a) Distance learning programs shall be approved and registered with the State Department of Education and course content must be aligned with state standards.
(b) Distance learning instructors shall complete professional development training in online methodology and technical aspects of web-based instruction, and may be credentialed by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS).
(c) Transcript
equivalency of grades between online and traditional classes. Student
enrollment and credits awarded shall be made in accordance with regulations
jointly approved by the State Board of Education, the Mississippi Community
College Board and the * * * Commissioner of Higher * * * Education with the advice of
university boards of trustees.
(d) Curriculum standards for online courses.
(e) Classroom "seat time" requirements for online courses.
(f) Accountability for student achievement, including methods to assess online course completion rates.
(7) A teacher, assistant teacher or other employee whose salary and fringe benefits are paid from state funds allocated for the Distance Learning Collaborative Program shall only be classified as a state or local school district employee eligible for state health insurance benefits or membership in the Public Employees' Retirement System, if the person's employer is already a public school district or an agency or instrumentality of the state, and the employee would be eligible for such benefits in the normal course of business.
(8) Funding shall be provided for the Distance Learning Collaborative Program beginning with the 2016-2017 fiscal year subject to appropriation by the Legislature, and the Legislature may appropriate funds to implement the program on a phased-in basis. The State Department of Education may receive and expend contributions and funding from private sources for the administration and implementation of the Distance Learning Collaborative Program. In the initial phase of implementation, the State Department of Education shall award state funds based on a community's capacity, commitment and need in order to encourage and improve distance learning services in rural areas. The department shall make an annual report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding the effectiveness of the Distance Learning Collaborative Program, and the PEER Committee shall review those reports and other program data and submit an independent evaluation of the program operation and effectiveness to the Legislature and the Governor on or before October 1 of the calendar year before the beginning of the next phased-in period of funding. The State Department of Education shall reserve no more than five percent (5%) of the appropriation in any year for administrative costs. Funds remaining after awards to distance learning collaboratives may be carried over in the following year.
(9) The lead partner of a distance learning collaborative and the local school district shall compile information about online learning programs for high school students to earn college credit and place the information on its website. Examples of information to be compiled and placed on the website include links to providers of approved online learning programs, comparisons among various types of online programs regarding awarding of credit, advantages and disadvantages of online learning programs, and other general assistance and guidance for students, teachers and counselors in selecting and considering online learning programs. Public high schools shall ensure that teachers and counselors have information about online learning programs for high school students to earn college or university credit and are able to assist parents and students in accessing the information. Distance learning collaboratives shall ensure that parents and students have opportunities to learn about online learning programs under this section.
SECTION 88. Section 37-99-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-99-1. (1) * * * University boards of trustees * * * and
the boards of trustees of the community and junior colleges shall adopt
policies requiring the award of educational credits to any student who is
enrolled in a public institution of higher learning, community or junior
college, and is also a veteran, for courses that are part of the student's military
training or service, that meet the standards of the American Council on
Education or equivalent standards for awarding academic credit, and that
are determined by the academic department or appropriate faculty of the
awarding institution to be equivalent in content or experience to courses at
that institution. Credits shall be awarded in
accordance with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on
Colleges standards.
(2) Each board shall adopt the necessary rules, regulations and procedures to implement the provisions of this section, effective no later than the 2020-2021 academic year and continuing thereafter.
SECTION 89. Section 37-102-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-102-1. * * * Each university board of trustees * * * may
establish off-campus instructional programs for existing universities.
However, * * *
said boards * * *of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall not
establish off-campus instructional programs if in its opinion such action is
not in the best interest of quality education for the State of Mississippi and
the university system.
Students at any off-campus
program site may, in the discretion of * * * each respective university board of
trustees * * *, be permitted to register for full-time
course loads.
Attendance at an off-campus site shall fulfill the residency requirements as if the student had attended class on the parent campus of the university, and there shall be no difference in the standards for work nor quality weight of a degree earned in the off-campus program from that earned at the parent institution.
SECTION 90. Section 37-102-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-102-3. * * * A university board of trustees * * * shall
not permit its * * *
university to offer courses for college credit at the lower
undergraduate level at an off-campus site unless approved by the Mississippi
Community College Board. The university board of trustees * * *, in
cooperation with the Mississippi Community College Board, shall study
the need and advisability of offering (a) courses for college credit at the
lower undergraduate level, and (b) advanced centers for technology partnerships
for industrial training and professional development for credit and noncredit
courses, at the following off-campus sites by four-year public state institutions
of higher learning: the Mississippi Gulf Coast counties; Greenville,
Mississippi; Columbus, Mississippi; McComb, Mississippi; Hattiesburg,
Mississippi; Meridian, Mississippi; Laurel, Mississippi; and any other proposed
area of the state. Any such study shall take into account the ongoing programs
of the community and junior colleges in the State of Mississippi when said
board authorizes off-campus programs created under this chapter. It is the
intent of the Legislature to meet the educational needs of students who do not
have ready access to the educational opportunities that they desire. It is the
further intent of this chapter that university off-campus programs established
hereunder will in no way usurp the responsibilities of the public junior
colleges of the State of Mississippi. The said board shall establish
such rules and regulations as it deems necessary and proper to carry out the
purposes and intent of this chapter.
SECTION 91. Section 37-102-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-102-5. * * * Each university board of trustees * * * may
designate the university facility which shall operate and be responsible
for each off-campus site. However, off-campus sites shall be located in such a
manner as to make the services of the institutions of higher learning available
to the people of Mississippi without unnecessary program duplication in the
same geographic area.
SECTION 92. Section 37-102-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-102-7. * * * Each university board of trustees * * * shall
submit to the Legislature budget requests with off-campus programs being an
identified part of the total general support budget request for universities by
being a separate item within the budget request of the respective university
which offers the program. Said budget request shall include a statement of all
actual or estimated receipts and disbursements for such off-campus programs and
such other information as may be required by the Legislative Budget Office.
SECTION 93. Section 37-102-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-102-13. * * * Each university board of trustees * * * shall
take into account the ongoing programs of the private colleges in the State of
Mississippi when said board authorizes off-campus programs created under this
chapter. It is the intent of this chapter to meet the educational needs of
students who do not have ready access to the educational opportunities that
they desire.
SECTION 94. Section 37-102-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-102-15. (1) * * * A university board of trustees * * * and
the Bureau of Buildings, Grounds and Real Property Management shall not make
any expenditure for capital improvements for off-campus sites unless
specifically authorized by the Mississippi Legislature. However, this shall
not preclude such capital improvements from being made by county or municipal
governments locally or regionally involved.
(2) The Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees * * * and
the Bureau of Buildings, Grounds and Real Property Management is specifically
authorized to expend any funds available to it from private sources, from the
proceeds of the sale of any property and improvements currently on the site of
Mississippi State University off-campus instructional program at Meridian and
from the proceeds of funds designated to the Mississippi State University
system for "repair, renovation and new construction" in Chapter 2,
Section 2, General Laws, First Extraordinary Session of 1989, for the
construction, equipping and furnishing and new building, and/or for the repair,
renovation, equipping and furnishing of any existing building at the
Mississippi State University off-campus instructional program site at Meridian,
Mississippi. The board * * *of trustees is hereby authorized to receive and expend
matching funds from the local, county and municipal governments for such
construction, equipping, furnishing, repair or renovation.
SECTION 95. Section 37-103-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-103-1. The board of trustees of each junior
college in this state, * * *
each university board of trustees * * *, and
the administrative authorities of each institution governed by said boards, in
ascertaining and determining the legal residence of and tuition to be charged
any student applying for admission to such institutions shall be governed by
the definitions and conditions set forth in Sections 37-103-1 through 37-103-23.
SECTION 96. Section 37-103-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-103-9. Children of
parents who are members of the faculty or staff of any institution under the
jurisdiction of the board of trustees of any junior college in this state or * * * of any state
institutions of higher learning may be classified as residents for the purpose
of attendance at the institution where their parents are faculty or staff
members.
SECTION 97. Section 37-103-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-103-25. (1) The university
boards of trustees * * *of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the boards of
trustees of the community colleges and junior colleges are authorized to
prescribe the amount of tuition and fees to be paid by students attending the
several state-supported institutions of higher learning and community colleges
and junior colleges of the State of Mississippi.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection and subsections (3) and (4) of this section, the total tuition to be paid by residents of other states shall not be less than the average cost per student from appropriated funds. However, the tuition to be paid by a resident of another state shall be equal to the tuition amount established under subsection (1) of this section if:
(a) The nonresident student is either a veteran, as defined by Title 38 of the United States Code, or a person entitled to education benefits under Title 38 of the United States Code. Nonresident students enrolled in a professional school or college at a state institution of higher learning are excluded from this paragraph (2)(a) except for those nonresident students who must be charged tuition equal to the amount established under subsection (1) due to the provisions of Section 702 of the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014. This paragraph (a) shall be administered and interpreted in the manner necessary to obtain or retain approval of courses of education by the Secretary of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs;
(b) The nonresident
student is an evacuee of an area affected by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane
Rita. This waiver shall be applicable to the 2005-2006 school year only * * *; and
(c) The nonresident student's out-of-state tuition was waived according to subsection (3) or (4) of this section.
(3) * * * Each university board of trustees * * * may,
in its discretion, consider and grant requests to approve institution specific
policies permitting the waiver of out-of-state tuition when such an official
request is made by the president or chancellor of the institution and when such
request is determined by the board to be fiscally responsible and in accordance
with the educational mission of the requesting institution.
(4) The board of trustees of any community college or junior college may develop and implement a policy for waiving out-of-state tuition for the college if the policy is determined by the board to be in accordance with the educational mission of the college and if a local industry or business or a state agency agrees to reimburse the college for the entire amount of the out-of-state tuition that will be waived under the policy. State funds shall be allocated and spent only on students who reside within the State of Mississippi. However, associate degree nursing students who reside outside the State of Mississippi may be counted for pay purposes.
SECTION 98. Section 37-103-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-103-29. Nothing in this chapter shall be
construed to provide that * * *the university boards of trustees * * * or the
board of trustees of any junior college is required to consider for admission
the application of a nonresident.
SECTION 99. Section 37-104-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-104-5. As used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Authority" means the members of the State Bond Commission, which is composed of the Governor, the Attorney General, and the State Treasurer, under Section 31-17-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, acting as the Educational Facilities Authority for Private, Nonprofit Institutions of Higher Learning.
(b) "Private
institution of higher learning" means a nonprofit university, college or
junior college within the State of Mississippi, authorized by law to provide a
program of education beyond the high school level, which is not under the
jurisdiction of * * *
a university board of trustees * * * or the
Mississippi Community College Board, and which is accredited by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
(c) "Educational facility" means any facility or structure, including, but not limited to, a housing or dormitory facility, academic building, library, laboratory, research facility, classroom, athletic facility, health care facility, maintenance, storage or utility facility, student union building, administration building, and parking facility, and any other facility or structure related thereto, which is essential, useful or convenient for the instruction of students, the conducting of research or the operation and conduct of a private institution of higher learning, and the land underlying said facility or structure, but shall not include any facility or structure used or to be used for sectarian instruction or as a place of religious worship nor any facility which is used or to be used primarily in connection with any part of the program of a school or department of divinity for any religious denomination or sect.
(d) "Educational facility project" means the construction, enlargement, repair, improvement, alteration, remodeling, reconstruction, equipping or acquisition of an educational facility.
(e) "Cost of the educational facility project" means the cost of construction, enlargement, repair, improvement, alteration, remodeling, reconstruction, equipping or acquisition of an educational facility; the cost of all lands, properties, rights-of-way, easements, franchises and interests acquired, used for or in connection with the educational facility; the cost of demolishing or removing buildings or structures on land so acquired, including the cost of acquiring any lands to which such buildings or structures may be moved; the cost of all machinery and equipment; financing charges, interest prior to and during construction, enlargement, repair, improvement, alteration, remodeling, reconstruction, or equipping of the said educational facility and for one (1) year after completion of said construction, enlargement, repair, improvement, alteration, remodeling, reconstruction, equipping or acquisition; the cost of engineering, architectural, financial and legal services; the cost of all plans, surveys and specifications; studies, estimates of cost and of revenues, and other expenses necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of the project; administrative expenses; the cost of such other expenses as may be necessary or incident to the financing herein authorized of the construction, enlargement, repair, improvement, alteration, remodeling, reconstruction, equipping or acquisition of any educational facility and the placing of said project in operation. Any obligations or expenses incurred for any of the foregoing purposes shall be regarded as a cost of the educational facility project and may be paid or reimbursed as such out of the proceeds of revenue bonds issued under the provisions of this chapter for such educational facility project.
(f) "Participating private institution of higher learning" means a private institution of higher learning which, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, undertakes an educational facility project, and the financing thereof, or undertakes the refinancing of an educational facility project.
(g) "Revenue bonds" means revenue bonds issued by the authority, under the provisions of this chapter, to finance or refinance an educational facility project at a participating private institution of higher learning and payable from monies received by the authority from the participating private institution of higher learning pursuant to the bond loan agreement as defined herein.
(h) "Bond loan agreement" means an agreement between the participating private institution of higher learning and the authority for the purposes of: (i) establishing the terms for the payment of the revenue bonds by the participating private institution of higher learning; (ii) establishing the collateral of the participating private institution of higher learning which the parties determine to be necessary to secure the payment of the revenue bonds; (iii) establishing the terms for the payment by the authority to the participating private institution of higher learning of the proceeds from the sale of the revenue bonds for the payment of the costs of the educational facilities project by the participating private institution of higher learning; and (iv) setting forth all other matters relating to the revenue bonds.
SECTION 100. Section 37-105-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-105-1. * * * A university board of trustees * * * is
hereby authorized and empowered to enact traffic rules and regulations for the
control, direction, parking and general regulation of traffic and automobiles
on the campus and streets of any state institution of higher learning under the
supervision of such board.
Any rules and regulations promulgated hereunder shall become effective only after notice of the enactment of same has been published in three (3) consecutive weekly issues of the college newspaper and in a newspaper published and having general circulation in the county or municipality where the institution to which same pertain is located; such notice shall state where the full text of such rules and regulations may be found on file. In addition, such rules and regulations shall be posted on five (5) bulletin boards at each such institution for a period of four (4) weeks after their promulgation.
SECTION 101. Section 37-105-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-105-3. (1) The traffic officers duly appointed by the president of any state institution of higher learning, or any peace officer or highway patrolman of this state, are vested with the powers and authority to perform all duties incident to enforcing such rules and regulations as may be enacted under the authority granted in Section 37-105-1, including the arrest of violators.
(2) The peace officers duly appointed by the president of any state institution of higher learning are also vested with the powers and subjected to the duties of a constable for the purpose of preventing all violations of law that occur within five hundred (500) feet of any property owned by the university, if such universities determine that they want such peace officers to exercise such powers and if reasonably determined to have a possible impact on the safety of students, faculty or staff of the university while on said property. If a university determines that it wants such peace officers to exercise such powers, the university may enter into an interlocal agreement with other law enforcement entities specifying the individual and joint duties to be exercised on property within the peace officers' jurisdiction. Provided, however, that nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require action by any such peace officer appointed by such universities to events occurring outside the boundaries of university property, nor shall any such university or its employees be liable for any failure to act to any event occurring outside the boundaries of property owned by the university.
With approval from the university
board of trustees * * *, the university may enter into
an interlocal agreement with other law enforcement entities for the provision
of equipment or traffic control duties, however, the duty to enforce traffic
regulations and to enforce the laws of the state or municipality off of
university property lies with the local police or sheriff's department which
cannot withhold its services solely because of the lack of such an agreement.
SECTION 102. Section 37-105-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-105-7. * * * Each university board of trustees * * * is
hereby authorized and empowered to prevent or regulate the running at large of
animals of all kinds on the campus and the streets of * * * its institution of higher
learning * * *, and to cause such animals as may be
running at large to be impounded and a charge made against the owner to
discharge the cost and expenses of keeping the same. If the owner of any such
animal does not pay such cost within the time prescribed by the board * * *,
such impounded animal may be sold to discharge the cost and expense of
impounding and selling the same.
If the owner of any such animal does not pay such
cost within the time prescribed by the board * * *
and if such impounded animal cannot be sold to discharge the cost and expense
of impounding and selling the same, such impounded animal may be sold or
donated to research organizations.
SECTION 103. Section 37-105-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-105-9. Any act which, if committed within the
limits of a city, town or village, or in any public place, would be a violation
of the general laws of this state, shall be criminal and punishable if done on
the campus, grounds or roads of any of the state institutions of higher
learning. The peace officers duly appointed by the * * * presidents or chancellors
of state institutions of higher learning are vested with the powers and
subjected to the duties of a constable for the purpose of preventing and
punishing all violations of law on university or college grounds, and for preserving
order and decorum thereon.
SECTION 104. Section 37-106-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-106-5. (1) For purposes of this chapter, the following words shall be defined as follows unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) "Eligible applicant or eligible student" means an individual who completes an application by the published application deadline for a given student financial assistance program, meets all initial or continuing eligibility requirements for the program and enrolls in an approved institution for the given program.
(b) "Approved institution" means an institution of higher learning, public or private, which is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, or its equivalent or a business, vocational, technical or other specialized school recognized and approved by the Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board.
(c) "Board" means the Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board created by Section 37-106-9 authorized and empowered to administer the provisions of this chapter.
(d) "Financial need" means anticipated expenses of an eligible student while attending an approved institution which cannot reasonably be met by said student or by the parents thereof as shall be determined according to the criteria established by the rules and regulations of the board. Financial need shall be reevaluated and redetermined at least annually.
(e) "Agency"
means * * * a of state institutions of higher learning acting
through its respective board of trustees.
(f) "Renewal applicant or renewal student" means a student who previously received funding for a given program.
(g) "Resident," "resident status" or "residency" shall be defined and determined in the same manner as resident status for tuition purposes as set forth in Sections 37-103-1 through 37-103-29, with the exception of Section 37-103-17. Unless excepted by the rules of a given program, an applicant must be a Mississippi resident to qualify for financial assistance under this chapter.
(h) "Dependent" shall be defined and used in the same manner as the term "minor" in Sections 37-103-1 through 37-103-29. The board will follow the federal guidelines for classifying a student as "dependent" or "independent."
SECTION 105. Section 37-106-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-106-9. (1) There is
hereby created the Postsecondary Education Financial Assistance Board which
shall consist of the following nine (9) members and two (2) nonvoting advisory
members: two (2) people to be appointed by the * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education, one (1) from its membership to serve for an initial period of
four (4) years and one (1) institutional representative to serve for an initial
period of three (3) years; two (2) people to be appointed by the Mississippi
Community College Board, one (1) from its membership to serve for an initial
period of three (3) years and one (1) institutional representative to serve for
an initial period of two (2) years; two (2) people to be appointed by the
Governor, one (1) to serve for an initial period of two (2) years and one (1)
to serve for an initial period of one (1) year; two (2) people to be appointed
by the Executive Director of the Mississippi Association of Independent
Colleges and Universities, one (1) association representative to serve for an
initial period of two (2) years and one (1) institutional representative to
serve for an initial period of one (1) year; and one (1) person to be appointed
by the Lieutenant Governor for an initial period of (4) years. All subsequent
appointments shall be for a period of four (4) years. Vacancies shall be
filled for the length of the unexpired term only. The board shall elect from
its membership a chairman. Additionally, the Chairmen of the House and Senate
Universities and Colleges Committees shall serve as nonvoting advisory members.
(2) The agency shall designate one (1) member of its staff to serve as director, to administer the provisions of this financial assistance program. The director shall be assigned by the agency sufficient staff, professional and clerical, funds and quarters to administer this program.
(3) The director:
(a) Subject to the review of the board, shall have the power of final approval of any application submitted;
(b) Subject to the approval of the board, shall have authority to promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for effective administration of this chapter, including the method of making application for assistance authorized by this chapter.
SECTION 106. Section 37-106-75, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
[From and after July 1, 2016, this section shall read as follows:]
37-106-75. (1) The Legislature hereby establishes the Higher Education Legislative Plan Grant Program.
(2) For purposes of this section:
(a) "Institution of higher education" shall mean any state institution of higher learning or public community or junior college, or any regionally accredited, state-approved, nonprofit two-year or four-year college or university located in the State of Mississippi approved by the board.
(b) "Tuition" shall mean the semester or trimester or term charges and all required fees imposed by an institution of higher education as a condition of enrollment by all students. However, for a two-year nonpublic institution of higher education defined in paragraph (a), the tuition payments shall not exceed the average charges and fees required by all of the two-year public institutions of higher education defined in paragraph (a), and for a four-year nonpublic institution of higher education defined in paragraph (a), the tuition payments shall not exceed the average charges and fees required by all of the four-year public institutions of higher education defined in paragraph (a).
(3) Subject to the availability of funds, the state may pay the tuition of students who enroll at any state institution of higher education to pursue an academic undergraduate degree who apply for the assistance under the program and who meet all of the following qualifications:
(a) Resident of the State of Mississippi. Resident status for the purpose of receiving assistance under this chapter shall be determined in the same manner as resident status for tuition purposes in Sections 37-103-1 through 37-103-29, with the exception of Section 37-103-17;
(b) Graduate from high school within the two (2) years preceding the application with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 calculated on a 4.0 scale;
(c) Successfully
complete, as certified by the high school counselor or other school official,
seventeen and one-half (17-1/2) units of high school course work which includes
the College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC) approved by * * * all university boards of
trustees * * * and required for admission into a
state university, plus one (1) unit of art which may include one (1) unit or
two (2) one-half (1/2) units from the approved Mississippi Department of
Education Arts-Visual and Performing series, and one (1) additional advanced
elective unit, which may include Foreign Language II;
(d) Have a composite score on the American College Test of at least twenty (20) on the 1989 version or an equivalent concordant value on an enhanced version of such test;
(e) Have no criminal record, except for misdemeanor traffic violations; and
(f) Be in financial need.
(4) Subject to the availability of funds, the state may pay the tuition of students who enroll at any state institution of higher education to pursue an academic undergraduate degree or associate degree who apply for assistance under the program and who meet the qualifications in paragraphs (a), (e) and (f) of subsection (3) but who fail to meet one (1) of the particular requirements established by paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of subsection (3) by an amount of ten percent (10%) or less.
(5) To maintain continued state payment of tuition, once enrolled in an institution of higher education, a student shall meet all of the following requirements:
(a) Make steady academic progress toward a degree, earning not less than the minimum number of hours of credit required for full-time standing in each academic period requiring such enrollment;
(b) Maintain continuous enrollment for not less than two (2) semesters or three (3) quarters in each successive academic year, unless granted an exception for cause by the board;
(c) Have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.5 calculated on a 4.0 scale at the end of the first academic year and thereafter maintain such a cumulative grade point average as evaluated at the end of each academic year;
(d) Have no criminal record, except for misdemeanor traffic violations; and
(e) Be in financial need.
(6) The provisions of this section shall be administered by the board. The board may promulgate rules for all matters necessary for the implementation of this section. By rule, the board shall provide for:
(a) A mechanism for informing all students of the availability of the assistance provided under this section early enough in their schooling that a salutary motivational effect is possible;
(b) Applications, forms, financial audit procedures, eligibility and other program audit procedures and other matters related to efficient operation;
(c) A procedure for waiver through the 1996-1997 academic year of the program eligibility requirement for successful completion of a specified core curriculum upon proper documentation by the applicant that failure to comply with the requirement is due solely to the fact that the required course or courses were not available to the applicant at the school attended.
(7) An applicant shall be found to be in financial need if:
(a) The family has one (1) child under the age of twenty-one (21), and the annual adjusted gross income of the family is less than Forty-two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($42,500.00); or
(b) The family has an annual adjusted gross income of less than Forty-two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($42,500.00) plus Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for each additional child under the age of twenty-one (21).
The annual adjusted gross income of the family shall be verified by completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the completion of the verification process if the applicant is selected for it.
As used in this subsection, the term "family" for an unemancipated applicant means the applicant, the applicant's parents and other children under age twenty-one (21) of the applicant's parents. The term "family" for an emancipated applicant means the applicant, an applicant's spouse, and any children under age twenty-one (21) of the applicant and spouse.
(8) No student shall receive a grant under this section in an amount greater than the tuition charged by the school. The student must apply for a federal grant prior to receiving state funds.
SECTION 107. Section 37-111-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-111-3. No society of the character designated
in Section 37-111-1 shall be organized without first having made written
application to the faculty of the institution concerned, which application
shall be signed by each of the proposed membership. A majority vote of the
faculty present at a regular meeting shall suffice to approve or reject such
application. The university board of trustees * * * may
determine who constitutes the members of the faculty having jurisdiction of
student activities.
SECTION 108. Section 37-111-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-111-7. Organizations of the character
designated in Section 37-111-1 shall be permitted to hold their regular
meetings for academic, social or business purposes in such places as the
authorities may agree upon. Such organizations shall not be permitted to
purchase, lease, or as an organization live within a domicile especially set
apart for their purpose at any time, except under such regulations as shall be
prescribed by * * *
each university board of trustees * * *.
SECTION 109. Section 37-111-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-111-9. * * * Each university board of trustees * * * is
hereby authorized and empowered, in its discretion, to lease to social
fraternities, sororities, or other social organizations, upon such conditions
as it may prescribe, for a term not exceeding ninety-nine (99) years,
any land at * * *
the state-supported institution of higher learning under its control
and supervision for the purpose of erecting fraternity houses, sorority
houses, or other facilities for recreation thereon.
SECTION 110. Section 37-111-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-111-11.
The members of organizations of the character designated in Section 37-111-1,
shall be amenable to the same rules and regulations as any and all other
students in the institution. In the event that the members of such an
organization become guilty of continued violation of the rules and of
infractions of discipline, the university board of trustees * * * shall
have the authority to dissolve such society and prohibit further meetings or
its continuation as an organization. A failure to comply with the requirements
of the trustees shall be a cause for suspension or expulsion from the
institution as the faculty of the same may elect.
SECTION 111. Section 37-113-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-7. (1) The Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized, in its discretion, to acquire by purchase, gift, or otherwise,
any real property required by and for the use and benefit of Mississippi
State University * * * said university, and is
authorized to hold, use and operate such real property in conducting its
authorized and necessary program of work. This section is designed to make it
possible for said university and its subdivisions to acquire, hold and operate
real property needed in its program of operations without the benefit of state
funds specifically appropriated for the purchase of such properties. Such
properties shall be acquired or purchased on the recommendation of the Director
of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Station made to the
president of said university and approved by the board * * *.
(2) The Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized, in its discretion, to sell any such real property purchased
or otherwise acquired under the authority of subsection (1) for the use of
Mississippi State University * * * or its
subdivisions when such property is not needed in the university's programs of
operations. Such properties shall be sold on the recommendation of the
Director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Station made
to the president of the university and approved by the board * * *.
The proceeds from the sale of such properties may be used to purchase other
real properties for the use of the university under the provisions of
subsection (1), or may be retained by the university for its operations.
Consideration for the sale of real property hereunder shall not be less than
the fair market price thereof as determined by a professional property
appraiser selected and approved by the State Building Commission. Said
appraisal shall be filed with the State Building Commission * * * at least thirty (30) days prior to
the proposed sale of said property. Appraisal fees shall be shared equally by
the university and the purchaser.
(3) The Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized and empowered to sell the following described property owned
by Mississippi State University * * * in Oktibbeha
County, Mississippi, to wit:
Commence at the Northeast corner of the Southeast Quarter of Section 15, Township 19 North, Range 15 East, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi and use as the point of beginning. Thence run West along the North boundary of the South Half of Section 15 a distance of 3,997 feet to the East right-of-way of Macon-Aberdeen Road; thence run South along said right-of-way a distance of 20 feet; thence run East a distance of 800 feet; thence run South 78 degrees 41' East a distance of 102 feet; thence run East a distance of 410 feet; thence run South a distance of 1,107 feet; thence run East a distance of 2,687 feet to the East boundary of Section 15; thence run North along said East boundary of Section 15 a distance of 1,147 feet to the point of beginning. Being 71.56 acres located in the East Three Quarter of the South Half of Section 15, Township 19 North, Range 15 East, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi.
The proceeds from the sale
of said property shall be used by the board * * *
to purchase other real property adjacent or in close proximity to the
Mississippi State University * * *, or its
subdivisions, suitable for use in the university's programs of operation.
Consideration for the sale and purchase of said property shall be for the fair
market price thereof as determined by a professional property appraiser
selected and approved by the State Building Commission. Said appraisals shall
be filed with the State Building Commission at least thirty (30) days prior to
the proposed sale or purchase of said property. Appraisal fees shall be shared
equally by the university and the purchaser in the case of the sale herein
authorized, and by the university and the seller(s) in the case of the purchase
herein authorized.
(4) The Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized and empowered to sell the following described property owned
by Mississippi State University * * * in George
County, Mississippi, to wit:
The South West Quarter of the North West Quarter of Section Twenty, in Township One South of Range Six West, of the St. Stephens Meridian, Mississippi, containing Forty and Thirty One Hundredths of an acre.
The proceeds from the sale
of said property shall be used by the board * * *
to purchase other real property adjacent or in close proximity to the
Mississippi State University * * *, or its
subdivisions, suitable for use in the university's programs of operation.
Consideration for the sale and purchase of said property shall be for the fair
market price thereof as determined by a professional property appraiser
selected and approved by the State Building Commission. Said appraisals shall
be filed with the State Building Commission at least thirty (30) days prior to
the proposed sale or purchase of said property. Appraisal fees shall be shared
equally by the university and the purchaser in the case of the sale herein
authorized, and by the university and the seller(s) in the case of the purchase
herein authorized.
(5) The Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning
is hereby authorized and empowered to sell the following described property
owned by Mississippi State University * * * in
Lauderdale County, Mississippi, to wit:
The Northeast Quarter of the Northeast Quarter of Section 2, in Township 6, Range 16 East, plus applicable easements and mineral rights thereto.
The proceeds from the sale of
said property shall be used by the board * * *
to purchase other real property adjacent or in close proximity to the
Mississippi State University * * *, or its
subdivisions, suitable for use in the university's programs of operation.
Consideration for the sale and purchase of said property shall be for the fair
market price thereof as determined by a professional property appraiser
selected and approved by the State Building Commission. Said appraisals shall
be filed with the State Building Commission at least thirty (30) days prior to
the proposed sale or purchase of said property. Appraisal fees shall be shared
equally by the university and the purchaser in the case of the sale herein
authorized, and by the university and the seller(s) in the case of the purchase
herein authorized.
(6) When any property is
sold by * * * a state institutions of higher learning pursuant to
this section, the university board of trustees of the selling
institution shall retain for the State of Mississippi any mineral rights
which the board or the university has in such land.
SECTION 112. Section 37-113-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-17.
The * * * monies
received by this state, under Act of Congress, entitled "An act to
establish agricultural experimental stations, etc.," approved March 2,
1887, and the provisions of which were accepted by this state, by act approved
January 31, 1888, and assigned to the Mississippi State University * * *, shall be
expended under its direction. The agricultural and forestry experimental
station for this state is established at and with said university, and the Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees * * * shall
have full control thereof.
SECTION 113. Section 37-113-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-19. The State of
Mississippi by its Legislature assents to and accepts the provisions and
requirements of an act entitled "An act to provide for the further
development of agricultural extension work between the agricultural colleges in
the several states receiving the benefits of the act entitled * * * 'An act donating public lands of the
several counties and territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of
agriculture and the mechanical arts,' approved July 2, 1862, and all acts
supplementary thereto, and the United States Department of Agriculture,"
approved by the President on the 22nd day of May 1928. The Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees * * *, on
behalf of the Mississippi State University * * *, is
authorized and empowered to receive the grants of money appropriated under said
act and to organize and conduct agricultural extension work, which shall be
carried on in connection with the said university in accordance with the terms
and conditions expressed in the said act of Congress.
SECTION 114. Section 37-113-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-21. (1) Agriculture is the primary industry of Mississippi and it is to the interest of said state agriculture that research in the fields of livestock products, pastures and forage crops, poultry, herd and flock management, horticulture, farm mechanization, soil conservation, forestry, disease and insect and parasite control, the testing of plants and livestock under different conditions, farm enterprises for different sized farms under different soil and climatic conditions and market locations, and other important phases of Mississippi's agricultural economy, be expanded in the manner provided for in this section.
(2) There is hereby
authorized a branch experiment station to be known as the Brown Loam Branch
Experiment Station, which is to be located on a part of that tract of land
owned by the State of Mississippi and formerly operated as the Oakley
Penitentiary and known as the Oakley Youth Development Center, same to be
selected in accordance with Laws, 1954, Chapter 159, Section 3, and used as an
agricultural experiment station. This property is to be supplied with
necessary buildings, equipment, and other facilities; and title to such Oakley
Penitentiary Farm, now known as the Oakley Youth Development Center, is to be
transferred to the Mississippi State University Board of Trustees * * * for
the use of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experimental Station as
the site of, and to be used for said Brown Loam Branch Experiment Station in
accordance with Laws, 1954, Chapter 159, Section 3.
There is hereby authorized a branch experiment station to be known as the Coastal Plain Branch Experiment Station to be located on a suitable tract of approximately nine hundred (900) acres to be purchased in the upper coastal plain or short leaf pine area of east central Mississippi and to be supplied with necessary buildings, equipment, and other facilities.
The enlargement of the Holly Springs Branch Experiment Station, hereafter to be known as the North Mississippi Branch Experiment Station, is hereby authorized, by the purchase of approximately five hundred (500) acres of additional land adjacent to or in the vicinity of either of the two (2) farms now operated by said branch stations, and by the provision of the necessary buildings, equipment, and other facilities, and the sale as, hereinafter provided, of that farm of said branch station which is not adjacent to the additional land to be purchased.
There is hereby authorized the reactivation of the former McNeil Branch Experiment Station to be operated as a part of the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station at Poplarville, and to be supplied with necessary buildings, equipment, and other facilities.
There is hereby authorized a branch experiment station to be known as the Black Belt Branch Experiment Station to be located on a suitable tract of approximately six hundred forty (640) acres of land to be purchased in Noxubee County, Mississippi, and to be supplied with the necessary buildings, equipment, and other facilities.
There is hereby authorized a branch experiment station to be known as the Northeast Mississippi Branch Experiment Station to be located on a suitable tract of approximately two hundred (200) acres of land to be purchased in Lee County, Mississippi. Said station shall be primarily devoted to the development of the dairy industry and shall be supplied with necessary buildings, equipment, and other facilities.
There is hereby authorized the expansion of the office and laboratory building at the Delta Branch Experiment Station at Stoneville and of the office and laboratory and dwellings for station workers at the Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station at Crystal Springs.
(3) The governing
authorities of any municipality, town, or county in the state may, in their
discretion, donate land, money or other property to * * * a university board of trustees * * * in
furtherance of the purposes of this section.
For the purpose of securing funds to carry out this subsection, the governing authorities of such municipality, town, or county are hereby authorized and empowered, in their discretion, to issue bonds or negotiate notes for the purpose of acquiring by purchase, gift, or lease real estate for the purpose herein authorized. Such issuance of bonds or notes shall be issued in an amount not to exceed the limitation now or hereafter imposed by law on counties, municipalities and towns, and shall be issued in all respects including interest rate, maturities and other details as is now or may hereafter be provided by general law regulating the issuance of bonds or notes by the governing authorities of such municipality, town, or county.
(4) Any person, firm or
corporation may contribute or donate real or other property to * * * a university board of trustees * * * in
furtherance of the purpose of this section.
(5) The Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized, upon recommendation of the Director of the Agricultural and
Forestry Experimental Station at * * * Mississippi State University * * *, which
recommendation is approved by and transmitted to said board by the president of
said university, to carry out the provisions of this section with particular
reference to the establishment, reactivation, expansion, and the discontinuance
of branch stations as herein provided, to receive and accept title to any land
or property or money herein authorized, to buy or sell and dispose of any real
or personal property herein authorized, to make available for carrying into
effect the provisions of this section all money received from such sale or
sales, and to do any and all things necessary to effectuate the purposes of
this section. One-half (1/2) interest in and to all oil, gas and other
minerals shall be retained under any lands sold hereunder.
(6) A gift of One Hundred
Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00), authorized by the general education board of
the Rockefeller Foundation for the development of agricultural research, with
particular reference to expanding the branch experiment stations and
conditioned upon a general program of expansion substantially, as herein
provided, is hereby accepted. The Director of the Agricultural and Forestry
Experimental Station at the Mississippi State University * * * is
authorized and instructed to control and expend such fund in the same manner as
other funds appropriated to carry out the provisions of this section.
(7) The experiment station in Clay County, Mississippi, shall not be affected by this section.
SECTION 115. Section 37-113-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-23.
(1) There is hereby authorized a branch experiment station, to be known as the
"Pontotoc Ridge-Flatwoods Soil Experiment Station," to be located on
a suitable tract of approximately six hundred (600) acres of land in
Pontotoc County, Mississippi, the site of which is to be selected by the
director of the agricultural and forestry experimental station at the
Mississippi State University * * *. Said
acreage shall be divided equally, as nearly as practicable, between the
Pontotoc Ridge and Flatwoods soil types, for the purpose of experimentation
with said two (2) types of soil in forestry, pasture-improvement,
horticulture, soil conservation, truck crops, forage crops, poultry, disease
and insect control and general farm products. The said experiment station
shall be supplied with the necessary buildings, equipment, and other
facilities.
(2) The purpose of this section is to provide for increased efficiency in agriculture research for the farmers in the Pontotoc Ridge and Flatwoods soil types, who have been denied this service for all these years. Said branch experiment station shall serve the following named counties, to-wit: The Pontotoc Ridge soil begins at the Tennessee line and traverses the counties of Alcorn, Prentiss, Union, Pontotoc, Chickasaw and Clay. The Flatwoods soil which joins the Pontotoc Ridge soil on the west, begins at the Tennessee line and traverses the counties of Tippah, Benton, Union, Pontotoc, Calhoun, Chickasaw, Webster, Clay, Choctaw, Oktibbeha, Winston, Neshoba, Kemper and Lauderdale County or other counties applicable to these conditions.
(3) The governing authorities of any municipality,
town, or county in the state, or any person, firm or corporation may contribute
or donate land, money or other property to the Mississippi State University
Board of Trustees * * * in furtherance of the purpose
of this section.
(4)
The Mississippi State University Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized, upon the recommendation of the director of the agricultural
and forestry experimental station at Mississippi State University * * *, which
recommendation is approved by and transmitted to said board by the president of
said university, to establish said Pontotoc Ridge-Flatwoods soil experiment
station, to receive and accept title to any land or money or property herein
authorized or to be authorized, made available or to be made available by the
State Legislature, to purchase land, let contracts for the construction of
necessary buildings, to equip same, and to further equip said experiment
station with farm equipment and any and all other equipment, and to do all
things necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section.
SECTION 116. Section 37-113-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-25.
The Mississippi State University Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized to establish and maintain a system of retirement for the
employees of the agricultural and forestry experimental station and extension
service, out of any federal funds available under the provisions of the act of
Congress, approved March 4, 1940, and out of contributions made by the
employees of such experimental station and extension service.
In
the establishment of such special retirement system, the board * * *
shall have full authority to make all needful rules and regulations, to carry
into effect the provisions of this section.
SECTION 117. Section 37-113-28, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-28. Neither the Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees * * *, nor
any person acting on behalf thereof, shall lease or rent hunting rights on any
land located in Washington County, Mississippi, under the jurisdiction,
ownership or trusteeship of the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment
Station, Delta Branch at Stoneville, but shall allow the public to hunt on such
lands in accordance with the rules, regulations and permits as shall be adopted
by the Delta Branch Experiment Station. The Department of Wildlife, Fisheries
and Parks shall assist in the enforcement of such rules, regulations and
permits as adopted by the Delta Branch Experiment Station, as well as enforcing
the general hunting statutes of the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 118. Section 37-113-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-29. The agricultural extension service of the
Mississippi State University * * *, by and with
the approval and consent of the president of said university and the university
board of trustees * * *, is hereby authorized and
empowered to create, establish, equip and maintain a 4-H Club demonstration
camp on a designated area on Sardis Lake in Panola County, Mississippi, on
lands belonging to the federal government and leased to the agricultural
extension service for such purpose.
It
shall be the duty and responsibility of the agricultural extension service of
said university to direct and supervise the utilization of this facility in
carrying out the purposes of this section. When not in use by the agricultural
extension service for the purpose herein provided, this facility may be rented
to other organizations for educational and recreational use only. Any * * * monies derived from such rental
shall be used by the agricultural extension service by and with the approval of
the president of said university and the university board of trustees * * *, for
maintaining and further improving such facilities for use of the 4-H Clubs in
Mississippi.
The
purpose of this section is to authorize the agricultural extension service of
said university, by and with the approval and consent of the president of said
university and the university board of trustees * * *, to
establish, equip and maintain this 4-H Club demonstration camp for the purpose
of teaching these Mississippi boys and girls standards of better farm and home
making, the importance of and the methods of conservation of our natural
resources, and the development of character and leadership and training for
citizenship. To accomplish such purposes, the agricultural extension service,
by and with the approval and consent of the president of said university and
the university board of trustees * * *, is
authorized and empowered to do such things as may be necessary, and to
prescribe such rules and regulations as it may deem proper to carry out and put
into effect the intent and purpose of this section.
SECTION 119. Section 37-113-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-31. The agricultural extension service of the
Mississippi State University * * *, by and with
the approval and consent of the president of said university and the university
board of trustees * * *, is hereby authorized and
empowered to create, establish, equip and maintain a 4-H Club demonstration
camp for * * *
African-American 4-H Club members, located on a designated area in
Madison County, Mississippi, on lands belonging to the State of Mississippi.
It
shall be the duty and responsibility of the agricultural extension service of
said university to direct and supervise the utilization of this facility in
carrying out the purposes of this section. When not in use by the agricultural
extension service for the purpose herein provided, this facility may be rented
to other * * *
African-American organizations for educational and recreational use
only. Any * * *
monies derived from such rental shall be used by the agricultural
extension service by and with the approval of the president of said university
and the university board of trustees * * *, for
maintaining and further improving such facilities for use of the 4-H Clubs of
Mississippi.
The
purpose of this section is to authorize the agricultural extension service of
Mississippi by and with the approval and consent of the president of said
university and the university board of trustees * * *, to
establish, equip and maintain this 4-H Club demonstration camp for the purpose
of teaching the * * *
African-American boys and girls of Mississippi standards of better farm
and home making, the importance of and the methods of conservation of our
natural resources, and the development of character and leadership and training
for citizenship. To accomplish such purposes, the agricultural extension
service, by, and with the approval and consent of the president of said university
and the university board of trustees * * *, is
authorized and empowered to do such things as may be necessary, and to
prescribe such rules and regulations as it may deem proper, to carry out and
put into effect the intent and purpose of this section.
SECTION 120. Section 37-113-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-33. The Mississippi State University
Board of Trustees * * * is hereby authorized and
empowered to purchase, breed, maintain, manage, show and sell foundation herds
of beef cattle, sheep and hogs at the Mississippi State University * * *. The said
board is further authorized to establish necessary facilities, to employ and
maintain necessary personnel, and to take any other action necessary to carry
out this program.
The purpose of this program is to provide a means for the broadening, balancing, and rounding-out of courses in animal husbandry for the training of animal husbandry students in livestock breeding, feeding, fitting, showing, judging, buying and selling, and to establish and maintain a source of foundation seed stock.
Selected animals purchased, or produced, under
this program may be sold only at public auctions sponsored by breed
associations, after approval of the board * * *.
The proceeds accruing from the sales of such animals, from show premium money,
or from any other source, shall revert to, and be used for the maintenance of
the revolving fund, when established by law, to carry out this program.
This is a remedial statute and shall be liberally construed to accomplish its purpose.
SECTION 121. Section 37-113-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-33. The Mississippi State University
Board of Trustees * * * is hereby authorized and
empowered to purchase, breed, maintain, manage, show and sell foundation herds
of beef cattle, sheep and hogs at the Mississippi State University * * *. The said
board is further authorized to establish necessary facilities, to employ and
maintain necessary personnel, and to take any other action necessary to carry
out this program.
The purpose of this program is to provide a means for the broadening, balancing, and rounding-out of courses in animal husbandry for the training of animal husbandry students in livestock breeding, feeding, fitting, showing, judging, buying and selling, and to establish and maintain a source of foundation seed stock.
Selected animals purchased, or produced, under
this program may be sold only at public auctions sponsored by breed
associations, after approval of the board * * *.
The proceeds accruing from the sales of such animals, from show premium money,
or from any other source, shall revert to, and be used for the maintenance of
the revolving fund, when established by law, to carry out this program.
This is a remedial statute and shall be liberally construed to accomplish its purpose.
SECTION 122. Section 37-113-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-41. The Mississippi State University
Board of Trustees * * * is hereby authorized to
establish a fund to be known as the J. C. Hardy Memorial Fund.
The fund herein authorized shall be raised and
supplemented by donations, gifts, legacies, and otherwise. Under the supervision
of said board of trustees, said fund or the proceeds therefrom shall be used to
assist sons of low-income Mississippi citizens to meet their educational
expenses at the Mississippi State University * * *.
SECTION 123. Section 37-113-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-43. Any county of this state now or
hereafter having a population of more than one hundred thousand (100,000)
according to the latest available census, and in which there is located a
municipality of one hundred thousand (100,000) or more, acting by and
through its board of supervisors, is hereby authorized and empowered to
contribute the sum of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) toward the
construction, erection and equipping of educational facilities to be utilized
by Mississippi State University * * * within such
county, by the Mississippi State University Board of Trustees * * *.
SECTION 124. Section 37-113-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-45. Any such county as is provided for in Section 37-113-43 is hereby authorized and empowered to issue and sell its bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness for the purpose of providing funds with which to make the contribution or donation authorized under the provisions of said section. Such bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness shall not be issued in an amount which will exceed the limit of indebtedness of said county as such limit is prescribed by Sections 19-9-1 through 19-9-31, Mississippi Code of 1972. Before issuing any such bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness, the board of supervisors acting for such county shall adopt a resolution declaring its intention to issue the same, stating the amount and purpose thereof and fixing the date upon which an election will be held on the proposition. Notice of such election shall be given by publication of such resolution once a week for at least three (3)
consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in said county. The first publication of such notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date fixed in such resolution for the holding of said election as aforesaid and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. At such election all qualified electors of said county may vote and the ballots used shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the amount and purpose of the bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness proposed to be issued and the voter shall vote by placing a cross (x) or check (✓) opposite his choice on the proposition. The bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness authorized herein shall not be issued unless authorized by the affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified voters of said county who vote on the proposition at such election. Such election shall be conducted and the returns thereof made, canvassed, and declared as nearly as may be in like manner as is now or may hereafter be provided by law in the case of general elections in counties. In the event that the question of the issuance of such bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness be not authorized at such election, such question shall not again be submitted to a vote until the expiration of a period of six (6) months, from and after the date of such election.
Such bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness shall bear such date or dates, shall be of such denomination or denominations, shall be payable at such place or places, shall bear such rate or rates of interest and shall mature in such amounts and at such times as may be provided and directed by the board of supervisors of said county. Such bonds shall bear interest at a rate or rates not exceeding six percent (6%) per annum and shall mature in not more than twenty-five (25) years from the date thereof and shall be sold for not less than par and accrued interest.
Any bonds authorized to be issued at an election
as provided for in this section shall be issued by such county, acting by and
through its board of supervisors, at such times and in such amounts as shall be
provided for by resolution of the Mississippi State University Board of
Trustees * * *.
All bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued hereunder shall be secured by a pledge of the full faith, credit and resources of such county. There shall annually be levied upon all taxable property within said county an ad valorem tax in addition to all other taxes, sufficient to provide for the payment of the principal of and the interest on said bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness as the same respectively mature and accrue.
SECTION 125. Section 37-113-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-47. The proceeds of any contribution made
by any county under the provisions of Section 37-113-43, including the proceeds
from the sale of any bonds issued for such purposes, shall be paid by the board
of supervisors of such county into the State Treasury into a special fund to
the credit of the Mississippi State University Board of Trustees * * *, and
shall thereafter be utilized and expended by said board * * *, erection and equipping of educational facilities
in such county to be utilized by the Mississippi State University * * *.
SECTION 126. Section 37-113-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-113-51. The Mississippi State University
Board of Trustees * * * is hereby authorized and
directed to establish a college of veterinary medicine at Mississippi State
University at Starkville, Mississippi.
SECTION 127. Section 37-115-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-115-33. The State Building Commission in the
development of the architectural facilities of the medical center and hospital
facilities is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to erect and equip
adequate facilities for the training of nurses under such rules and regulations
as may be promulgated by the Mississippi State University Board of
Trustees * * *.
SECTION 128. Section 37-115-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-115-35. The University of Mississippi
Board of Trustees * * * is hereby authorized and
empowered to establish a fund to be known as "The Fielding L. Wright
Memorial Health Fund," which fund shall be administered by said board.
The corpus of "The Fielding L. Wright
Memorial Health Fund" shall consist of any * * * monies appropriated to it by the
State Legislature and any funds received by donation, gift, legacy, or
otherwise, the said board of trustees being hereby specifically authorized and
empowered to accept such funds. All funds received by said board of trustees
shall be invested in the following classes of securities, preference being in
the order listed:
(a) Bonds, notes, certificates, and other valid obligations of the State of Mississippi, or any county or city of the State of Mississippi, or of any school district bonds of the State of Mississippi;
(b) Bonds, notes, certificates, and other valid obligations of the United States;
(c) Bonds, notes, debentures and other securities issued by any federal instrumentality and fully guaranteed by the United States; or
(d) Interest-bearing bonds or notes which are general obligations of any other state in the United States or of any city or county therein, provided that any such city or county had a population as shown by the latest federal decennial census next preceding such investment of not less than twenty-five thousand (25,000) inhabitants, and provided that any such state, city or county has not defaulted for a period longer than thirty (30) days in the payment of principal or interest on any of its general obligation indebtedness during a period of ten (10) calendar years immediately preceding such investment.
All interest derived from investments and any gains from the sale or exchange of investments shall be expended by the staff of the University Medical Center, under the supervision of the director of the University Medical Center, for medical research in behalf of The Fielding L. Wright Memorial Health Fund.
SECTION 129. Section 37-115-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-115-45. (1) The
University of Mississippi Medical Center shall establish a separate unit at the
medical center for the treatment of burn victims, which shall be known as the
Mississippi Burn Center. The opening and operation of the Mississippi Burn
Center shall be conditioned upon the University of Mississippi Board of
Trustees * * * making a written determination,
spread upon their minutes, that adequate funds are available from public and/or
private sources for the annual operating cost of the facility.
(2) The Legislature may appropriate funds for the construction of the Mississippi Burn Center, and may appropriate sufficient funds annually to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for the operation of the Mississippi Burn Center.
SECTION 130. Section 37-115-50.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-115-50.1. Subject to the
approval of the University of Mississippi Board of Trustees * * *, the
University of Mississippi Medical Center (hereafter known as the "academic
medical center") is authorized to directly or indirectly enter into joint-purchasing
arrangements, however structured, on terms customary in the market or required
by the organization and to enter into joint ventures, joint-operating
agreements, or similar arrangements with community hospitals or other public or
private health-related organizations, or with for-profit or nonprofit
corporations or other organizations, to establish arrangements for the academic
medical center to participate in financial integration and/or clinical
integration or clinically integrated networks with a joint venture, with
community hospitals or other public or private health-related organizations, or
with other for-profit or nonprofit corporations or other organizations, or
through a joint-operating agreement, and to provide for contracts of employment
or contracts for services and ownership of property on terms that will protect
the public interest.
SECTION 131. Section 37-115-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-115-51. The Legislature hereby finds that there is great need of additional and better trained nurses in Mississippi and the purpose of this section is to meet that need to the extent herein provided.
The University of
Mississippi Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized and directed to establish a school of nursing at the
University of Mississippi under the jurisdiction of the dean of the school of
medicine or such other authority as said board of trustees may determine, and
other regularly constituted administrative authorities of the university.
Said board of trustees shall provide for such school, such buildings and equipment, and such teaching staff and other personnel as may be deemed appropriate for the establishment and operation of such school of nursing and for the performance of the other functions herein provided for, all of which shall, however, be done within the appropriations made for such purposes.
Such school of nursing shall, under the direction and supervision of the dean of the school of medicine and the other regularly constituted administrative authorities of the university and of said board of trustees and under curricula to be prescribed by said board, and beginning each of its functions at such time as may be determined by said board, carry on a teaching course, looking to the conferring of bachelor's or master's degrees in nursing.
Such school of nursing shall under the same direction, supervision, control and conditions as set forth in the fourth paragraph hereof, have authority, in its discretion, to arrange and contract with hospitals, hospital schools of nursing or other similar institutions, for students in the school of nursing to take clinical training and practice in such institutions. It shall have the further authority to contract with hospitals, hospital schools of nursing or other similar institutions with respect to providing to any such institution instructors or instruction services from the university school of nursing upon full or part time basis and upon such basis of compensation or reimbursement of costs as may be deemed reasonable and proper in view of the public interests involved.
Under the same supervision, direction, control and conditions as are set forth in the fourth paragraph hereof, said school of nursing shall also administer such scholarship programs in nursing education and such activities with respect to recruitment of nursing students and counseling work with such students and prospective students as may be provided for by the Legislature, from time to time.
SECTION 132. Section 37-115-69, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-115-69. Any county of this state now or
hereafter having a population of more than one hundred thousand (100,000)
according to the latest available census, and in which there is located a
municipality of one hundred thousand (100,000) or more, acting by and
through its board of supervisors, is hereby authorized and empowered to
contribute the sum of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) toward the
construction, erection and equipping of educational facilities to be utilized
by the University of Mississippi within such county, by the University of
Mississippi Board of Trustees * * *.
SECTION 133. Section 37-115-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-115-71. Any such county as is provided for in Section 37-115-69 is hereby authorized and empowered to issue and sell its bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness for the purpose of providing funds with which to make the contribution or donation authorized under the provisions of said section. Such bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness shall not be issued in an amount which will exceed the limit of indebtedness of said county as such limit is prescribed by Sections 19-9-1 through 19-9-31, Mississippi Code of 1972. Before issuing any such bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness, the board of supervisors acting for such county shall adopt a resolution declaring its intention to issue the same, stating the amount and purpose thereof and fixing the date upon which an election will be held on the proposition. Notice of such election shall be given by publication of such resolution once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in said county. The first publication of such notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date fixed in such resolution for the holding of said election as aforesaid and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. At such election all qualified electors of said county may vote and the ballots used shall have printed thereon a brief statement of the amount and purpose of the bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness proposed to be issued and the voter shall vote by placing a cross (X) or check (✓) opposite his choice on the proposition. The bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness authorized herein shall not be issued unless authorized by the affirmative vote of a majority of the qualified voters of said county who vote on the proposition at such election.
Such election shall be conducted and the returns thereof made, canvassed, and declared as nearly as may be in like manner as is now or may hereafter be provided by law in the case of general elections in counties. In the event that the question of the issuance of such bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness be not authorized at such election, such question shall not again be submitted to a vote until the expiration of a period of six (6) months, from and after the date of such election.
Such bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness shall bear such date or dates, shall be of such denomination or denominations, shall be payable at such place or places, shall bear such rate or rates of interest and shall mature in such amounts and at such times as may be provided and directed by the board of supervisors of said county. Such bonds shall bear interest at a rate or rates not exceeding six percent (6%) per annum and shall mature in not more than twenty-five (25) years from the date thereof and shall be sold for not less than par and accrued interest.
Any bonds authorized to be issued at an election
as provided for in this section shall be issued by such county, acting by and
through its board of supervisors, at such times and in such amounts as shall be
provided for by resolution of the University of Mississippi Board of
Trustees * * *.
All bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued hereunder shall be secured by a pledge of the full faith, credit and resources of such county. There shall annually be levied upon all taxable property within said county an ad valorem tax in addition to all other taxes, sufficient to provide for the payment of the principal of and the interest on said bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness as the same respectively mature and accrue.
SECTION 134. Section 37-115-73, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-115-73. The proceeds of any contribution made
by any county under the provisions of Section 37-115-69, including the proceeds
from the sale of any bonds issued for such purposes, shall be paid by the board
of supervisors of such county into the State Treasury into a special fund to
the credit of the University of Mississippi Board of Trustees * * *, and
shall thereafter be utilized and expended by said board of trustees * * * in
the construction, erection and equipping of educational facilities in such
county to be utilized by the University of Mississippi.
SECTION 135. Section 37-115-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-115-101. The Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby directed and authorized to establish a school of dentistry at the
University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
SECTION 136. Section 37-115-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-115-105. The school of dentistry created and
authorized by Sections 37-115-101 through 37-115-111 shall be in operation
within three (3) years from the date the Legislature makes funds available for
the construction of a building to house said school; provided, however, that no
staff may be employed and no construction may begin until One Million Two
Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($1,250,000.00) from the City of Jackson and One
Million Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($1,250,000.00) from Hinds County
has been deposited in the State Treasury for use by the building commission in
construction and furnishing of the dental school. The University of
Mississippi Board of Trustees * * * is
authorized and directed to take any and all necessary and proper actions for
the implementation of this section.
SECTION 137. Section 37-115-107, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-115-107. It shall be the duty of the University
of Mississippi Board of Trustees * * * to
elect or appoint a dean of this school; to determine and provide for an
adequate faculty, staff and other employees; to fix and provide for the
compensation of said faculty, staff and employees; to provide an adequate
physical plant for this school; to prescribe the courses of study and research
compatible with the objects and purposes hereinabove set forth; and to do and
accomplish all other related functions consistent with the implementation of
Sections 37-115-101 through 37-115-111.
SECTION 138. Section 37-115-109, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-115-109. The University of Mississippi
Board of Trustees * * * is directed, empowered and
authorized to take necessary and proper actions to assure that the school of
dentistry of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, as hereby
established, acquires and maintains recognition and accreditation in local,
regional and national accreditation associations at least at the level of its
counterparts in the southeastern region of the United States and on a level
with the other professional schools of this state.
SECTION 139. Section 37-119-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-119-3. The principal object of the University
of Southern Mississippi shall be to qualify teachers for the public schools of
this state, by imparting instruction in the art and practice of teaching in all
branches of study which pertain to a common school education, and such other
studies as the University of Southern Mississippi Board of Trustees * * * may,
from time to time, prescribe.
SECTION 140. Section 37-119-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-119-7. The University of Southern Mississippi
(herein sometimes referred to as the "university") is authorized and
empowered to require the State Building Commission to issue bonds in an amount
not exceeding the sum of Seven Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($750,000.00),
bearing interest at a rate not exceeding six percent (6%) per annum, for
the purpose of and to be expended in extending, adding to and improving the
athletic stadium on its campus; to impose student athletic fees; to impose
charges, in addition to and distinguished from the established price of
admission, upon persons, other than students, for the privilege of attending
events held in such stadium, which such charges shall be exempt from any
amusement tax now levied and collected in the State of Mississippi, and to
immediately commence, prior to the issuance and sale of the bonds herein
authorized and to continue, the collection of such charges; and to apply to the
satisfaction and retirement, as and when due, of the principal of and interest
on such bonds, said athletic fees and said charges, and also, rental income
from the dormitory facilities now in the stadium, and income, not otherwise
appropriated or allocated, from any other sources. Such bonds shall be authorized
by the University of Southern Mississippi Board of Trustees * * * in
the manner now provided by Sections 37-101-91 through 37-101-103, and all of
the provisions of said sections (except as herein otherwise provided and as are
not in conflict with the provisions hereof) shall be applicable to the
authorization and issuance of such bonds. Reference in Sections 37-101-95, 37-101-101,
to "dormitories, dwellings or apartments" shall be understood to
apply also to all other projects authorized to be financed under the provisions
of Section 37-101-99.
Upon request of the university, acting through
its president and financial secretary, authorization having been first obtained
from * * * said
board of trustees * * *, the State Building Commission
shall issue and sell bonds of the university at not less than par and accrued
interest in the manner provided by Section 21-27-45, Mississippi Code of 1972,
for the sale of bonds of municipalities issued thereunder and upon terms and at
interest rates, not to exceed the maximum therein authorized, to be fixed by
the State Building Commission. The State Building Commission is hereby
authorized to supervise the contracting for, and the erection of, all buildings
erected, extended, added to, or improved under the provisions of this section.
The board of trustees * * * is hereby authorized and
empowered to specify the nature of such extensions, additions, improvements or
new construction, and shall approve the plans and specifications therefor prior
to the letting of any new contract for any such work. All contracts let under
the supervision of the State Building Commission shall be let as provided by
law for other contracts let by said commission.
The University of Southern Mississippi
Board of Trustees * * *, in the resolution authorizing
such bonds, may provide for the imposition of such student athletic fees, such
charges for the privilege of attending events held in such stadium (as
hereinabove distinguished from the price of admission), such rental charges for
use of the dormitories facilities now in the stadium and for application to the
retirement of such bonds of such other sources of income, not otherwise
appropriated or allocated, as it may consider desirable. Said board may
provide for the collection and the allocation of such fees and charges. Such
fees and charges or other income shall always be in such amounts as will assure
the prompt payment of principal of and interest on such bonds and the carrying
out of all of the covenants and agreements contained in such resolution
authorizing such bonds.
All bonds so issued shall constitute negotiable instruments within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code of Mississippi.
Any bonds authorized under authority of this section may be validated in the Chancery Court of First Judicial District, Hinds County in the manner and with the force and effect now or hereafter provided by general law for the validation of municipal bonds.
This section, without reference to any other statute or law of Mississippi other than the portions of Sections 37-101-91 through 37-101-103, not in conflict herewith, and Section 31-19-25, shall constitute full authority for the extension, adding to and improvement of the aforesaid stadium and the authorization and issuance of bonds hereunder and no other provisions of the statutes pertinent thereto, except as herein expressly provided, shall be construed as applying to any proceedings had hereunder or any acts done pursuant hereto.
SECTION 141. Section 37-119-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-119-9. The University of
Southern Mississippi Board of Trustees * * * is hereby granted the legal
authority to borrow funds for the purpose of establishing and operating a
certified registered nurse anesthetist educational and training program within
the university's existing School of Nursing on its Hattiesburg campus. The
purposes for which the funds from the loan may be utilized shall include, but
not be limited to, any and all start-up costs, operation costs, personnel costs,
equipment and educational materials.
SECTION 142. Section 37-119-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-119-11. There is created
in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the DuBard School for
Language Disorders Fund, which shall be administered by the University of
Southern Mississippi Board of Trustees * * *. The
purpose of the fund shall be to support the DuBard School for Language
Disorders at the University of Southern Mississippi. Monies in the fund shall
be expended by * * *
said board of trustees, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The fund
shall be a continuing fund, not subject to fiscal-year limitations, and shall
consist of:
(a) Monies appropriated by the Legislature for the purposes of funding the DuBard School for Language Disorders;
(b) The interest accruing to the fund;
(c) Monies received under the provisions of Section 99-19-73;
(d) Monies received from the federal government;
(e) Donations; and
(f) Monies received from such other sources as may be provided by law.
SECTION 143. Section 37-123-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-123-3. The principal object of the Delta
State * * *
University shall be to qualify teachers for the public schools of this
state, by imparting instruction in the art and practice of teaching in all
branches of study which pertain to a common school education, and such other
studies as the Delta State University Board of Trustees * * * may,
from time to time, prescribe.
SECTION 144. Section 37-125-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-125-3. The object of the Jackson State * * * University shall be to qualify
teachers for the public schools of this state by giving instruction in the art
and practice of teaching in all branches of study which pertain to industrial
training, health, and rural and elementary education, and such other studies as
the Jackson State University Board of Trustees * * *, in
cooperation with the state department of education, may, from time to time,
prescribe.
SECTION 145. Section 37-125-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-125-7. The * * * president of * * * Jackson State * * * University shall be held as the
professional adviser of the Jackson State University Board of Trustees * * * on
all matters pertaining to the inside arrangements of buildings, selection of
faculty, and course of study. He shall have the immediate supervision and
management of * * * the university in all its departments, subject
however, to the general supervision, management, and direction of the board of
trustees * * *.
SECTION 146. Section 37-127-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-127-3. The object of * * * Mississippi Valley State * * * University shall be to train
teachers for teaching in the public schools of this state by giving instruction
in the art and practice of teaching in the elementary and high school grades
and in all branches of study which pertain to industrial training, health, and
rural and elementary education, and to provide instruction and training in such
other subjects as the Mississippi Valley State University Board of
Trustees * * *, in cooperation with the state
department of education, may, from time to time, prescribe. It shall also be
the object of said college to establish and conduct schools, classes or
courses, for preparing, equipping and training citizens of the State of
Mississippi for employment in gainful occupations, in trade, industrial and
distributive pursuits whether such students are qualified by educational
requirements or not.
SECTION 147. Section 37-127-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-127-5. The Mississippi Valley State * * * University shall be located at
some appropriate place in the delta section of the state, to be determined by
the university board of trustees * * *.
SECTION 148. Section 37-129-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-129-1. In addition to
all other powers and duties now vested by law in * * * each university board of trustees * * *, said boards * * * are hereby empowered and required to:
(a) Establish by rules and regulations and promulgate uniform standards for accreditation of schools of nursing in the State of Mississippi (i) insofar as concerns the eligibility of graduates of such schools to take the examination prescribed by law to become registered nurses authorized to practice the profession of nursing as registered nurses in Mississippi, and (ii) insofar as concerns student nurses attending such schools being eligible to participate in any student nurse scholarship program or other program of assistance now existing or hereafter established by legislative enactment;
(b) Issue to such schools of nursing upon an annual basis certificates of accreditation as may be proper under such standards;
(c) Administer any scholarship program or other program of assistance heretofore or hereafter established by legislative enactment for the benefit of students attending accredited schools of nursing in this state;
(d) Administer any other funds available or which may be made available for the promotion of nursing education in the state, with the exception of nursing faculty supplement funds to the public junior colleges, which funds shall be appropriated to and administered by the Division of Junior Colleges of the State Department of Education;
(e) Adopt rules and regulations to provide that a nurse in training may, during the two-year period in an approved hospital, be allowed to transfer at any time with full credit after six (6) months in training, to any other hospital of her choice at which there is a vacancy; suitable provision shall be made to protect her against coercion or intimidation concerning such a contemplated transfer.
In addition to other powers
now vested by law in * * *
each university board of trustees * * *, said
boards * * *
are hereby empowered to establish and maintain a nurse-midwifery
education program that meets the accreditation standards of the American
College of Nurse-Midwives at * * * state institutions of higher learning * * *.
In order to implement
paragraph (d) above, * * *
each university board of trustees * * * is
hereby authorized and directed to arrange and contract with hospitals, senior
colleges and hospital schools of nursing for the financial support of programs
of nursing education. The * * * boards * * * are further authorized to adopt such
terms for contracts, and such rules and regulations for reimbursing contracting
agencies for costs of instruction in schools of nursing as may be feasible in
accordance with appropriations made by the Legislature for this purpose.
However, no reimbursement may be made to contracting agencies in excess of the
actual cost of instruction in the schools of nursing.
In addition to the powers
now vested by law in * * *
each university board of trustees * * * and
subject to the availability of funds specifically appropriated therefor, said
boards * * *
are hereby empowered and directed to conduct a one-year feasibility
study and comprehensive plan for nursing schools in Mississippi which addresses
the concept of shared utilization of clinical simulation laboratories for all Mississippi
schools of nursing in order to provide computerized interactive learning
capabilities for all schools, utilizing the pooled resources or mobile
capability models from other states. The completed plan shall be developed and
a report made to the 2009 Regular Session on or before December 1, 2008.
No provision of this section shall be construed to authorize any department, agency, officer or employee of the State of Mississippi to exercise any controls over the admissions policy of any private educational institution offering a baccalaureate degree in nursing.
SECTION 149. Section 37-131-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-131-1.
The president or executive head of any state-supported institution of higher
learning of the State of Mississippi, subject to the approval of the respective
university board of trustees * * *, is
hereby authorized and empowered to establish, operate, maintain, and conduct
teachers demonstration and practice schools in connection with the operation of
such institution of higher learning. The president or executive head of any
such institution, subject to the approval of the respective university
board of trustees * * *, shall have full power and
authority to regulate and conduct the affairs of such schools and to establish
rules and regulations for their government.
SECTION 150. Section 37-131-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-131-3.
The president or executive head of any institution of higher learning which has
established a demonstration or practice school, subject to the approval of the respective
university board of trustees * * *,
shall have the power and authority to enter into contracts and agreements with
the board of trustees of any school district providing for the attendance of
pupils, or one or more, or parts of, grades, from the educable children of such
school district at such demonstration or practice school. The board of
trustees of any school district is hereby authorized and empowered to enter
into contracts and agreements with the president or executive head of an
institution of higher learning for such purpose. All such contracts shall be
upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon by and between the
president or executive head of the institution of higher learning and the board
of trustees of the school district involved.
SECTION 151. Section 37-131-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-131-9. In addition to the amounts paid to the demonstration or practice school from minimum education program funds, as provided in Section 37-131-7, the board of trustees of the school district involved may contract with the said demonstration or practice school for the payment of additional amounts thereto to defray expenses over and above those defrayed by minimum education program funds, which additional amounts shall be paid from any funds available to the school district other than minimum education program funds, whether produced by a supplemental district tax levy or otherwise.
If the total funds paid to
the demonstration or practice school by the school district are inadequate to
defray the cost and expense of maintaining and operating such demonstration or
practice school then the president or executive head of the institution may,
subject to the approval of the respective university board of trustees * * *,
require the payment of additional fees or tuition in an amount to be fixed by
the president or executive head of the institution, subject to the approval of
the respective university board of trustees * * *, which
amount shall be paid by and collected from the student or his parents.
Boards of trustees of school districts involved may designate an area within the jurisdiction of the board as an attendance center as provided by law, and may require students in such area to attend demonstration or practice schools, subject to a satisfactory contract between the school board and the president or executive head of the institution operating the demonstration or practice school. In such event, all fees and tuition must be borne by the school district and in no case shall the child or the parents of the child assigned to such demonstration or practice school be required to pay any fees or tuition.
The president or executive
head of the institution, subject to the approval of the respective
university board of trustees * * *, may
also fix the amount of fees and tuition to be paid by students desiring to
attend such demonstration or practice school in cases where there is no
contract with the board of trustees of the school district in which the
students reside therefor.
All funds received by an institution, under the provisions of this section, shall be deposited in a special fund and shall be used and expended solely for the purpose of defraying and paying the cost and expense of operating, maintaining and conducting such teachers demonstration and practice school. Such funds may be supplemented by and used in connection with any other funds available to the institutions for such purpose whether made available by legislative appropriation or otherwise.
SECTION 152. Section 37-131-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-131-13.
In order to carry into effect the right and authority granted in Sections 37-131-1
through 37-131-11, authorizing demonstration and practice schools in connection
with major state institutions of higher learning, the Mississippi State
University Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized to accept by donations, grants, cooperative agreements or
otherwise, such sums of money as may be deemed necessary for the construction
and maintenance of such demonstration and practice schools from whatever
sources available, including agencies of the federal, state and county governments,
the city of Starkville, Mississippi, private individuals, benevolent
institutions or organizations, or any other available and legal source or
sources.
SECTION 153. Section 37-131-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-131-15.
Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, the Starkville municipal separate school
district, and any one or more of the consolidated or separate school districts
in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, are hereby authorized to cooperate with the Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees * * * by
establishing, constructing, maintaining and operating a teachers demonstration
or practice school.
The
said board of trustees * * * is
hereby authorized to act as sponsor with respect to any funds that may be
secured for the construction, maintenance, and operation of such teachers
demonstration or practice school from any agency or subdivision of the federal,
state, Oktibbeha County, City of Starkville, or school district, or from
private individuals, benevolent institutions or organizations, or any other
available and legal source or sources.
SECTION 154. Section 37-133-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-133-5.
In addition to all other powers and duties now vested by law in * * * each university board of trustees * * *, said boards * * * are hereby empowered and required to
permit the establishment of technical institutes, as branches within the
framework of the existing state institutions of higher learning, that have an
ongoing program in the areas concerned, adequately staffed and equipped to
offer a curriculum designed and intended to immediately initiate training
(extending beyond the junior college level) in the field of vocational,
scientific, engineering, technical, and aero-space education and the necessary
supporting studies, so that the demands of heavy and aero-space industry and
installations for skilled engineering technicians may be satisfied and
maintained. * * *
Each board shall require the curriculum of any technical institute
established under the provisions of the Mississippi Technical Institute Law of
1964 to be complementary and supplementary to public junior college curriculums
so that the full advantage of the educational resources of the State of
Mississippi may be realized. * * * Each board shall permit the
establishment of such technical institutes anywhere within the State of
Mississippi, in the areas of most urgent need, on any land or facility
presently, or hereafter, under the jurisdiction and control of * * * each board and on such terms and
conditions as shall seem appropriate. The State Building Commission shall, at
its discretion, provide new buildings, facilities, and necessary repairs,
renovations and remodeling of any facility designated by the board as a
technical institute from funds made available for such purposes.
SECTION 155. Section 37-133-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-133-7.
There is hereby created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the
"Technical Institute Fund." All sums of money received by * * * a university board of trustees * * * to
carry out the provisions of the Mississippi Technical Institute Law of 1964
shall be maintained in said special fund. All expenditures therefrom shall be
for the purposes of carrying out the intents and purposes of said law, including
the payment of salaries for qualified instructors as well as the equipping and
staffing of the institute. Such expenditures shall be paid therefrom by the
State Treasurer on warrant of the Auditor of public accounts. Said Auditor
shall issue his warrant upon requisition signed by the proper person, officer
or officers, as authorized by law. The board is authorized to accept gifts,
bequests of money, or other property, real or personal, to be used for the
purpose of establishing or maintaining any technical institute which may be
authorized under the provisions of said law and in accordance with the law of
the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 156. Section 37-133-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-133-9. It shall be the
duty of * * *
each university board of trustees * * * to
make periodic fiscal reports to the State Fiscal Management Board and the
Legislative Budget Office, and to otherwise comply with the budget and
accounting laws of the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 157. Section 37-138-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-138-7. The commission is
authorized and directed to adopt regulations for certification of contractors,
inspectors, management planners, project designers, air monitors, supervisors
and workers. The regulations shall include an accreditation plan which shall
be equivalent to paragraphs 1 through 3 of the Model Plan. The accreditation
plan shall be no more stringent than the Model Plan, except as provided
herein. The regulations and accreditation plan shall include the requirements
for all training courses for accreditation of contractors, inspectors,
management planners, project designers, air monitors, supervisors and workers.
All regulations promulgated by the commission pursuant to this chapter shall
not be effective until November 1, 1990. * * * The commission shall not approve any training courses
offered in Mississippi other than those courses offered at the designated
university and those certified abatement worker courses that have received
Environmental Protection Agency approval pursuant to Section III of Appendix C
to Title 40, Part 763, Subpart E, of the Code of Federal Regulations.
SECTION 158. Section 37-139-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-139-7. The board shall
be authorized to solicit and utilize the staff of the State Department of
Education, staff of the * * *Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning Mississippi
University for Women and other state agencies as required for the
implementation of this chapter. In addition, the board shall be authorized to
contract or enter into agreements with other agencies and/or private research
centers that it may deem necessary to carry out its duties and functions.
SECTION 159. Section 37-140-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-140-5. (1) The school shall be governed by the State Board of Education. The board shall develop a plan relating to the opening, operation and funding of the school to be presented to the Legislature during the 2000 Regular Session. The plan shall include an equitable and reasonable plan for student recruitment without regard to race, creed or color.
(2) The State Superintendent of Public Education shall appoint an advisory panel to assist the board in developing the plan relating to the school. The advisory panel shall consist of the following twelve (12) appointed or designated members:
(a) Three (3) licensed school teachers or administrators, one (1) to be appointed from each of the three (3) Mississippi Supreme Court Districts;
(b) Three (3) citizens or professionals representing the areas of dance, creative writing, literature, music, theater arts or visual arts, one (1) to be appointed from each of the three (3) Mississippi Supreme Court Districts;
(c) Three (3) citizens knowledgeable in business, personnel management or public administration, with at least three (3) years' actual experience therein, one (1) to be appointed from each of the three (3) Mississippi Supreme Court Districts.
(d) One (1) member
shall be a representative of the Mississippi Arts Commission to be designated
by the commission, one (1) member shall be a representative of the Mississippi
Humanities Council to be designated by the council, and one (1) member shall be
a representative of the state institutions of higher learning in Mississippi
which offer degrees in visual, fine and performing arts, to be designated by
the * * * Commissioner of Higher * * * Education.
Appointments to the advisory panel shall be made within ninety (90) days of April 23, 1999. The advisory panel shall meet upon the call of the State Superintendent of Public Education and shall organize for business by selecting a chairman and vice chairman/secretary for keeping records of the panel. Members of the advisory panel shall receive no compensation but may be reimbursed for necessary expenses and mileage for attending meetings and necessary business of the panel, in the amount authorized for state employees under Section 25-3-41.
(3) The board may utilize the staff of the State Department of Education and other state agencies as may be required for the implementation of this chapter. The department may employ any personnel deemed necessary by the board for assisting in the development and implementation of the plan relating to the opening, operation and funding of the school. The board also may contract or enter into agreements with other agencies or private entities which it deems necessary to carry out its duties and functions relating to the opening and operation of the school.
(4) To the extent possible, the board shall enter into agreements with the Board of Trustees of the Brookhaven Municipal Separate School District for the dual enrollment of students for the purpose of teaching academic courses to students attending the school, and the local school board shall be fully authorized to offer any such courses to students attending the school. The State Board of Education may develop and issue necessary regulations for the coordination of such courses for these students, the preparation and transfer of transcripts, and the reimbursement of any costs incurred by the school district for providing such services.
(5) The board may enter into agreements with public school districts to authorize students enrolled in such school districts to participate in the fine arts programs at the school to the extent that adequate space is available. The parent or guardian of any student participating in fine arts programs at the school under this subsection shall be responsible for transporting the student to and from the school.
(6) From and after January 1, 2020, all administrative, instructional and noninstructional employees of the Mississippi School of the Arts shall be transferred from state service and the authority of the State Personnel Board to employment status as employees of the Mississippi School of the Arts. All administrative and instructional employees at the said school shall enter into written contracts of employment to indicate and cover the period for which they are respectively employed. All such contracts for administrative and instructional employees shall be exempt from the requirements of the Public Procurement Review Board for state agency employment contracts. The State Board of Education may set and determine qualifications necessary for such employees and may appoint a subcommittee of the board for the purpose of authorizing the execution of such employment contracts on a timely basis. Such administrators and employees shall be offered contracts by the Superintendent/Executive Director of the MSA and shall have the employment rights prescribed for administrative and certificated school district employees under Sections 37-9-17, 37-9-59, 37-9-103 and 37-7-307, Mississippi Code of 1972. The MSA may renew employment or nonrenew employment with such administrative and instructional employees in accordance with the provisions of said sections relating to school district employment. Noninstructional employees of the MSA shall be full-time employees of the MSA and shall serve at the will and pleasure of the Superintendent of the MSA. All salaries and contracts shall be subject to the approval of the State Board of Education, and the MSA may continue to use the teacher salary scale for its instructional employees which is in effect on January 1, 2019. Any unused leave accumulated at the Mississippi School of the Arts shall be transferred in accordance with the provisions of Section 37-7-307. There shall be no interruption of service with the Public Employees' Retirement System and the State and School Employees' Health Insurance Plan for administrative, instructional and noninstructional employees due to an employee's employment status under this subsection. The MSA shall not be considered a local educational agency for the same purposes and to the same extent that all other school districts in the state are deemed local educational agencies under applicable federal law. The MSA may receive donations or grants from any public or private source, including any federal funding that may be available to the schools within the MSA.
SECTION 160. Section 37-141-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-141-3. (1) There is hereby created the University Research Center, as an agency of the State of Mississippi, hereinafter referred to as the "center," which shall have full authority to contract and to be contracted with. The Commissioner of Higher Education shall serve as the director for the center.
(2) The center shall be
under the direction and management of the * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education * * *, who
shall, in * * *
his or her discretion, obtain fidelity bonds and determine who and what
should be covered thereby and the amount of such bonds.
(3) The Commissioner of
Higher Education * * * shall appoint and employ such staff and employees as he
deems necessary to carry out the objectives and purposes of this chapter and
Section 57-63-17 and may establish the organizational structure of the center,
which shall include the creation of any divisions necessary to implement the
duties assigned to the center. It is specifically provided that the
commissioner establish such units within the center as he deems necessary to
include but not limited to areas of economic analysis, economic forecasting,
long range economic development planning, research, grants, services and
university and agency coordination and reporting.
(4) The Commissioner of
Higher Education may consolidate the following functions of the central office * * * state institutions
of higher learning and the University Research Center:
(a) Administrative services;
(b) Libraries;
(c) Computer services.
Consolidation of such services shall not affect the duty otherwise imposed by statute upon the University Research Center to assist state agencies with support services including, but not limited to, printing, data processing and libraries. The commissioner shall establish and maintain a branch library at the Department of Economic Development suitable for the economic development research needs of the department. The branch library shall be available for use by the public and by private development organizations.
(5) The Commissioner of Higher Education shall use savings realized through personnel attrition and other economies created by the reorganization effected in Senate Bill No. 2925, 1988 Regular Session [Laws, 1988, Chapter 518], to establish a special account in the University Research Center out of which funds may be expended to conduct priority research projects by contracting with universities, agencies and individuals.
SECTION 161. Section 37-141-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-141-5. The main office
building of the University Research Center and the Department of Economic
Development in the City of Jackson shall be known and designated as the Paul B.
Johnson, Jr. Building. The * * * Governor's Office of General Services shall coordinate and
cooperate to effect the relocation of the Department of Economic Development to
the Paul B. Johnson, Jr. Building and any other related agency relocations
necessary to accomplish the requirement of this section if such relocation is
feasible. If such relocation of the Department of Economic Development to the
Paul B. Johnson, Jr. Building is not feasible because of space limitations, the
Governor's Office of General Services shall coordinate the relocation of such
department to some other location and shall, if possible, secure the amount of
space necessary to also place the University Research Center in the same
location with the department.
The Office of General Services shall provide proper signs to be placed on the building in accordance with this section.
SECTION 162. Section 37-141-6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-141-6. The * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education shall be authorized to charge state agencies and other
entities that occupy portions of the Paul B. Johnson, Jr. Building, the Edsel
E. Thrash Universities Center and the ETV Building for utilities, maintenance
and security. Entities shall be charged at a rate of One Dollar and Fifty
Cents ($1.50) per square foot for services provided by the board.
SECTION 163. Section 37-141-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-141-13. (1) The * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education shall have responsibility for the administration of the
center. By so designating the * * * commissioner as
administrator for the center, the Legislature hereby expresses its intent that
the center shall have a relationship of close cooperation and coordination with
the several universities but that the center shall not be under the control or
influence of any single institution. With the approval of the * * * commissioner,
academically eligible center staff may hold appointment to faculties of state
universities and university faculty members may be assigned to the center.
(2) The Mississippi Department of Economic Development, being the economic development agency for the state, shall advise on the programs and projects of the center focused upon economic development.
(3) The center may advise the various agencies and departments of state government regarding internal research needs and programs and shall assist in the establishment of such programs where needed. These programs shall be coordinated by the center in order to minimize duplication of effort, to maximize utilization of data and equipment and to standardize procedures for the more efficient pursuit of research.
(4) Communities, counties, special-purpose districts, multicounty area development groupings and other such organizations may call upon the center for informational services. Specific research projects may be undertaken by the center for such organizations on a contract basis.
(5) The center may provide advice and counsel, consistent with its duties and responsibilities, to the private business community. Consultation and information may also be made available to other segments of the private business community. Advice and assistance for the establishment of research programs within business organizations may be provided by the center. Specific research projects may be undertaken by the center for private business on a contract basis. The center may solicit and accept grants and other financial aid or support from private sources.
SECTION 164. Section 37-141-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-141-15. With the
approval of the * * * Commissioner of Higher * * * Education, the center may
establish and staff branch operations at various universities within the state.
SECTION 165. Section 37-141-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-141-17. The center * * * shall prepare an annual report of economic
development activities of those agencies and institutions subject to the Board
of Trustees. The report shall describe:
(a) Economic development efforts and accomplishments of the University Research Center, each university, and each institute.
(b) Efforts and accomplishments of the center in coordinating economic development activities among the universities.
(c) Recommendations of the center for coordination and utilization of university resources in economic development, for university-based initiatives in economic development, and for funding related to economic development and plans of the universities.
(d) Assistance rendered to the Department of Economic Development by the center and each university.
(e) Activities and accomplishments of staff assigned to planning and development districts pursuant to Section 37-141-19.
(f) Any other information which the center wishes to present.
The annual report shall be submitted to the Governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee not later than July 1 of each year.
SECTION 166. Section 37-141-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-141-19. The * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education shall require that the president or executive head of
each university under its jurisdiction designate, at the level of vice
president, a person responsible for economic development activities at the
university. The person so designated shall be the primary contact at each
university for the center in carrying out its responsibilities related to
coordinating, assisting, monitoring and reporting on economic development
activities at the universities.
SECTION 167. Section 37-141-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-141-21. (1) The
director of the center, subject to the approval of the * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education, shall fix the salaries and wages of employees of the center,
shall reimburse employees for actual expenses incurred in the performance of
their duties, and may approve receipt by employees of additional income
payments from grants, fellowships and other sources.
(2) The director of the
center, upon approval of the * * * commissioner, may
contract with universities and colleges, with individuals and with public or private
research organizations for their services and, under the same approval, may
contract for performance by the center of services to governmental subdivisions
of the state, to United States government departments and agencies, to area
development organizations, to trade associations and other similar groups of
public or private nature, and to private business enterprises, and may set fees
for such services. Upon approval of the * * * commissioner, the
center may establish intern programs to provide experience that supplements the
education of students enrolled in state institutions of higher learning.
(3) Expenditures by and for the center and its branches shall be paid by the State Treasurer out of the funds appropriated to carry out the provisions of this chapter, upon warrant issued by the State Fiscal Management Board; and such board shall issue its warrant upon requisition signed by the director of the center, in the manner provided by law. Full and complete accounting shall be kept and made by the center for all funds received and expended by it. Representatives of the office of the State Auditor annually shall audit the expenditures of funds received by the center from all sources, and the auditor shall make a complete and detailed report of such audit to the Legislature.
SECTION 168. Section 37-144-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-144-3. (1) The Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program shall be administered by a commission to be known as the "Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Commission." The commission shall be directed by a board composed of the following members:
(a) Two (2) generalist physicians appointed by and from the membership of the Mississippi State Medical Association, the term of which shall be three (3) years and may be reappointed for one (1) additional term;
(b) One (1) generalist physician appointed by and from the membership of each of the following organizations, the term of which shall be three (3) years and may be reappointed for one (1) additional term:
(i) Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians;
(ii) Mississippi Chapter, American College of Physicians;
(iii) Mississippi Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics;
(iv) Mississippi Chapter, American College of OB-GYN;
(v) Mississippi Medical and Surgical Association;
(vi) Mississippi Osteopathic Association;
(c) Two (2) designees of the Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine whose terms are at the discretion of the dean, at least one (1) of whom is a member of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine Admissions Committee;
(d) Two (2) medical students, one (1) of whom shall be selected yearly through a process developed by the Dean of the School of Medicine in consultation with the Chairs of the Departments of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, OB-GYN and Pediatrics, and one (1) of whom shall be nominated for a one-year term by the Mississippi Chapter of the Student National Medical Association and approved by the Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Medicine;
(e) * * *
The Commissioner of Higher * * * Education, or his or her designee;
(f) The Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine; and
(g) A licensed psychiatrist appointed by the Mississippi Chapter of the American Psychiatric Association.
(2) The premedical advisors from the accredited four-year colleges and universities in the state and the directors or designees of the primary care generalist training programs in the State of Mississippi shall comprise an advisory committee to the commission to assist the commission in its administration of the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program.
(3) Vacancies on the commission must be filled in a manner consistent with the original appointments.
(4) All appointments to the commission must be made no later than September 1, 2019. After the members are appointed, the Chair of the Department of Family Medicine shall set a date for the organizational meeting that is mutually acceptable to the majority of the commission members. The organizational meeting shall be for the purposes of organizing the commission and establishing rules for transacting its business. A majority of the members of the commission shall constitute a quorum at all commission meetings. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members present and voting shall be required in the adoption of rules, reports and in any other actions taken by the commission. At the organizational meeting, the commission shall elect a chair and vice chair from the members appointed according to paragraphs (a) through (d) of subsection (1). The chair shall serve for a term of two (2) years, upon the expiration of which the vice chair shall assume the office of chair.
(5) After the organizational meeting, the commission shall hold no less than two (2) meetings annually.
(6) The commission may form an executive committee for the purpose of transacting business that must be conducted before the next regularly scheduled meeting of the commission. All actions taken by the executive committee must be ratified by the commission at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
(7) Members of the commission shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed, subject to the availability of funding, for mileage and actual and necessary expenses incurred in attending meetings of the commission.
(8) Funding for the establishment and continued operation of the program and commission shall be appropriated out of any money in the General Fund not already appropriated to the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
SECTION 169. Section 37-145-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-145-3. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Company" means the Mississippi Business Finance Corporation established pursuant to Section 57-10-167.
(b) "Board of trustees" means * * * a university board of trustees * * *.
(c) "Guaranty Agency" means the Mississippi
Guarantee Student Loan Agency * * *.
SECTION 170. Section 37-147-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-147-5. The following words shall have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Act" means the Mississippi University Research Authority Act;
(b) "Authority" means the entity created pursuant to this act;
(c) "Board"
means * * * a
university board of trustees * * *;
(d)
"Technological innovations" means research, development, prototype
assembly, manufacture, patenting, licensing, marketing and sale of inventions,
ideas, practices, applications, processes, machines, technology and related
property rights of all kinds; * * *
(e)
"University" means a Mississippi educational institution established
pursuant to the provisions of Section 213A of the 1890 Constitution of the
State of Mississippi * * *;
and
(f) "Intellectual property" means any formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique or process created primarily as a result of the research effort of an employee or employees of an institution of higher learning of the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 171. Section 37-147-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-147-15. (1) With the
approval of * * *
its university board of trustees * * *, any
university may form, pursuant to the provisions of the Mississippi Nonprofit
Corporation Act or the Mississippi Business Corporation Act, one or more
research corporations, separate and apart from the state and the university, to
promote, develop and administer enterprises arising from research or
technological innovations in order to take advantage of opportunities of
scientific, educational and economic development.
(2) Each such corporation shall be governed by, and all of the functions, powers and duties of it shall be exercised by, a board of directors appointed by the president of the university. Members of the board of directors may include the president of the university, officers and employees of the university, and other persons selected by the president of the university. Officers and employees of the university may have ownership or financial interests in such corporations.
(3) The board of directors of each such corporation shall adopt bylaws, in accordance with the provisions of the Mississippi Nonprofit Corporation Act or the Mississippi Business Corporation Act, as appropriate, governing the conduct of the corporation in the performance of its duties under its charter and this act.
SECTION 172. Section 37-148-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-148-3. As used in this act, the following words and phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "College" means the state institutions of higher learning in Mississippi which are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
(b) "Investor" means a natural person, partnership, limited liability company, association, corporation, business trust or other business entity, not formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the rebate offered, which is subject to Mississippi income tax or franchise tax.
(c) "Qualified research" means the systematic investigative process that is undertaken for the purpose of discovering information. The term "qualified research" does not include research conducted outside the State of Mississippi or research to the extent funded by any grant, contract or otherwise by another person or governmental entity.
(d) "Research agreement" means a written contract, grant or cooperative agreement entered into between a person and a college or research corporation for the performance of qualified research; however, all qualified research costs generating a rebate must be spent by the college or research corporation on qualified research undertaken according to a research agreement.
(e) "Research corporation" means any research corporation formed under Section 37-147-15 if the corporation is wholly owned by a college and all income and profits of the corporation inure to the benefit of the college.
(f) "Qualified research costs" means costs paid or incurred by an investor to a college or research corporation for qualified research undertaken according to a research agreement.
(g) "State" means the State of Mississippi or a governmental entity of the State of Mississippi.
(h) "IHL"
means a public state institution of higher learning under the control and
supervision of an independent university * * * board of trustees * * *.
(i) "SMART Business" means Strengthening Mississippi Academic Research Through Business.
SECTION 173. Section 37-149-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-149-1. (1) There is established within the State Department of Education, the Mississippi Teacher Center for the purpose of insuring that the children of our state are taught by quality professionals. The center shall serve as an interagency center focused on teacher recruitment, enhanced training and initial instructional support.
(2) The center shall have a
staff which shall consist of one (1) director, one (1) administrative assistant
and professional teacher recruiters. A steering committee shall be established
which shall consist of one (1) member from each of the following: the * * * each state
institutions of higher learning, the Mississippi Community College
Board, the State Board of Education, the Board of the Mississippi Association
of Independent Colleges, the Board of the Mississippi Association of Colleges
of Teacher Education, trustees of the local school boards, teachers and the
private sector. The members of the steering committee shall be appointed by
the state superintendent with the approval of the board. The steering
committee shall direct the work and establish policies for the purpose of
operating the center.
(3) The center shall provide leadership for the following initiatives:
(a) The initiation and monitoring of high school programs for teacher recruitment;
(b) The initiation and monitoring of college level programs for teacher recruitment;
(c) The establishment of a Beginning Teacher/Mentoring program, as authorized in Sections 37-9-201 through 37-9-213;
(d) The sponsorship of a teacher renewal institute;
(e) The continuation of the Teacher Corps program;
(f) The enhancement of the William Winter Scholarship program;
(g) Research for the development of professional teaching standards;
(h) Provide additional scholarships for any targeted populations needing potential teachers; and
(i) Provide assistance to local school districts in identifying and locating specific teacher needs.
(4) (a) The Legislature recognizes that a highly qualified teacher in every public classroom in this state is fundamental to a quality education. The Legislature also recognizes that Mississippi has a serious shortage of qualified teachers to serve in the public schools of this state and that it has a responsibility to enact public policy in an effort to remedy that shortage of qualified teachers.
(b) There is hereby established a Mississippi "Troops to Teachers" pilot program in the State Department of Education to assist in the recruitment, licensure, referral, placement and compensation of military personnel interested in beginning a second career in public education as a teacher. The Teacher Center in the State Department of Education shall collaborate with the national "Troops to Teachers" program to establish the criteria and procedures for allocation of funds provided by the federal government to administer the pilot program to ensure the most effective placement of such teachers around the state taking into consideration the degree of teacher shortage in each school district.
(c) The Legislature shall appropriate funds necessary for the support of this pilot program which will not supplant federal funds provided for that purpose. The Office of the Governor shall transfer any federal funds provided for the Mississippi "Troops to Teachers" program to the State Department of Education for the administration of this program.
(d) The Department of Education shall report to the Legislature no later than January 1, 2009, on the status of the implementation of the Mississippi "Troops to Teachers" program and the need for its continuation.
SECTION 174. Section 37-154-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-154-1. (1) To improve quality of life, education and employment opportunities for all citizens, the appropriate agencies of the State of Mississippi listed in subsection (2) of this section shall develop and maintain a State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS). The system will allow stakeholders and policymakers access data on state residents from birth to the workforce to drive accountability and investment decisions. The system will include data from multiple state agencies and entities. The system will provide decision makers a tool to develop policies to support objectives, including, but not limited to:
(a) Enabling Mississippians to secure and retain employment and receive better pay after completing training or postsecondary degrees;
(b) Enabling Mississippi to meet the education and job skill demands of business and industry;
(c) Developing an early warning system, which allows the state to intervene early, improving the graduation rates in high school and college;
(d) Identifying teachers, teaching methods and programs that lead to positive student outcomes; and
(e) Encouraging the sharing of electronic data across educational and other entities.
(2) Individual state agencies and state entities will send data from their internal system to the Statewide Longitudinal Data System. These initial agencies and entities shall provide data to the SLDS under the provisions developed by the SLDS Governing Board established in Section 37-154-3:
(a) Mississippi Department of Education (MDE);
(b) Mississippi Community College Board;
(c) * * * State Institutions of
Higher Learning (IHL);
(d) State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB);
(e) Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES);
(f) Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS); and
(g) State Early Childhood Advisory Council (SECAC).
Any agencies or entities added to SLDS shall provide a representative to the SLDS Governing Board and be governed in the same manner as the initial agencies and entities.
(3) The system will be based on an existing system currently housed, developed and maintained by the National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center (nSPARC) at Mississippi State University. The initial agencies participating in the SLDS Governing Board and nSPARC have worked collaboratively to secure funding through the United States Department of Education to expand and enhance the capacity of the state's existing technology infrastructure for the purposes of developing the SLDS. The State Data Center, operated by the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (ITS), will provide application hosting services for the SLDS until such time the SLDS Governing Board approves that another entity should perform these services.
SECTION 175. Section 37-155-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-155-9. In addition to the powers granted by any other provision of this article, the board of directors shall have the powers necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes and provisions of this article, the purposes and objectives of the trust fund and the powers delegated by any other law of the state or any executive order thereof, including, but not limited to, the following express powers:
(a) To adopt and amend bylaws;
(b) To adopt such rules and regulations as are necessary to implement the provisions of this article;
(c) To invest any funds of the trust fund in any instrument, obligation, security or property that constitutes legal investments for public funds in the state and to name and use depositories for its investments and holdings;
(d) To execute contracts and other necessary instruments;
(e) To impose reasonable requirements for residency for beneficiaries at the time of purchase of the contract and to establish rules to govern purchase of contracts for beneficiaries who are nonresidents at the time the purchaser enters into the prepaid tuition contract;
(f) To impose reasonable limits on the number of contract participants in the trust fund at any given period of time;
(g) To contract for necessary goods and services, to employ necessary personnel, and to engage the services of consultants for administrative and technical assistance in carrying out the responsibilities of the trust fund;
(h) To solicit and accept gifts, including bequeathments or other testamentary gifts made by will, trust or other disposition, grants, loans and other aids from any personal source or to participate in any other way in any federal, state or local governmental programs in carrying out the purposes of this article. Any gifts made to the board under this subsection shall be deductible from taxable income of the state in the tax year;
(i) To define the terms and conditions under which payments may be withdrawn or refunded from the trust fund, including, but not limited to, the amount paid in and an additional amount in the nature of interest at a rate that corresponds, at a minimum, to the prevailing interest rates for savings accounts provided by banks and savings and loan associations and impose reasonable charges for such withdrawal or refund;
(j) To ensure applicability to private and out-of-state tuitions:
(i) Under the program, a state purchaser may enter into a prepaid tuition contract with the board under which the purchaser agrees to attend a public institution of higher education in Mississippi;
(ii) If the beneficiary of a plan described by Section 37-155-11 enrolls in any in-state or out-of-state regionally accredited private four- or two-year college or an out-of-state regionally accredited, state-supported, nonprofit four- or two-year college or university, or any in-state or out-of-state regionally accredited graduate institution, the board shall pay to the institution an amount up to, but not greater than, the undergraduate tuition and required fees that the board would have paid had the beneficiary enrolled in an institution of higher education covered by the plan selected in the prepaid tuition contract. The beneficiary is responsible for paying a private undergraduate or graduate institution or an out-of-state public undergraduate or graduate institution the amount by which the tuition and required fees of the institution exceed the tuition and required fees paid by the board;
(k) To impose reasonable time limits on the use of the tuition benefits provided by the program;
(l) To provide for the receipt of contributions to the trust fund in lump sums or installment payments;
(m) To adopt an official seal and rules;
(n) To sue and be sued;
(o) To establish agreements or other transactions with federal, state and local agencies, including state universities and community colleges;
(p) To appear in its own behalf before boards, commissions or other governmental agencies;
(q) To segregate contributions and payments to the fund into various accounts and funds;
(r) To require and collect administrative fees and charges in connection with any transaction and impose reasonable penalties, including default, for delinquent payments or for entering into an advance payment contract on a fraudulent basis;
(s) To procure insurance against any loss in connection with the property, assets and activities of the fund or the board;
(t) To require that purchasers of advance payment contracts verify, under oath, any requests for contract conversions, substitutions, transfers, cancellations, refund requests or contract changes of any nature;
(u) To administer the fund in a manner that is sufficiently actuarially sound to meet the obligations of the program. The board shall annually evaluate or cause to be evaluated the actuarial soundness of the fund. If the board perceives a need for additional assets in order to preserve actuarial soundness, the board may adjust the terms of subsequent advance payment contracts to ensure such soundness;
(v) To establish a comprehensive investment plan for the purposes of this section. The comprehensive investment plan shall specify the investment policies to be utilized by the board in its administration of the fund. The board may authorize investments in:
(i) Bonds, notes, certificates and other valid general obligations of the State of Mississippi, or of any county, or of any city, or of any supervisors district of any county of the State of Mississippi, or of any school district bonds of the State of Mississippi; notes or certificates of indebtedness issued by the Veterans' Home Purchase Board of Mississippi, provided such notes or certificates of indebtedness are secured by the pledge of collateral equal to two hundred percent (200%) of the amount of the loan, which collateral is also guaranteed at least for fifty percent (50%) of the face value by the United States government, and provided that not more than five percent (5%) of the total investment holdings of the system shall be in Veterans' Home Purchase Board notes or certificates at any time; real estate mortgage loans one hundred percent (100%) insured by the Federal Housing Administration on single family homes located in the State of Mississippi, where monthly collections and all servicing matters are handled by Federal Housing Administration approved mortgagees authorized to make such loans in the State of Mississippi;
(ii) State of Mississippi highway bonds;
(iii) Funds may be deposited in federally insured institutions domiciled in the State of Mississippi or a custodial bank which appears on the State of Mississippi Treasury Department's approved depository list and/or safekeeper list;
(iv) Corporate bonds of investment grade as rated by Standard & Poor's or by Moody's Investment Service, with bonds rated BAA/BBB not to exceed five percent (5%) of the book value of the total fixed income investments; or corporate short-term obligations of corporations or of wholly owned subsidiaries of corporations, whose short-term obligations are rated A-3 or better by Standard and Poor's or rated P-3 or better by Moody's Investment Service;
(v) Bonds of the Tennessee Valley Authority;
(vi) Bonds, notes, certificates and other valid obligations of the United States, and other valid obligations of any federal instrumentality that issues securities under authority of an act of Congress and are exempt from registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission;
(vii) Bonds, notes, debentures and other securities issued by any federal instrumentality and fully guaranteed by the United States. Direct obligations issued by the United States of America shall be deemed to include securities of, or other interests in, any open-end or closed-end management type investment company or investment trust registered under the provisions of 15 USCS Section 80(a)-1 et seq., provided that the portfolio of such investment company or investment trust is limited to direct obligations issued by the United States of America, United States government agencies, United States government instrumentalities or United States government sponsored enterprises, and to repurchase agreements fully collateralized by direct obligations of the United States of America, United States government agencies, United States government instrumentalities or United States government sponsored enterprises, and the investment company or investment trust takes delivery of such collateral for the repurchase agreement, either directly or through an authorized custodian. The State Treasurer and the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration shall review and approve the investment companies and investment trusts in which funds may be invested;
(viii) Interest-bearing bonds or notes which are general obligations of any other state in the United States or of any city or county therein, provided such city or county had a population as shown by the federal census next preceding such investment of not less than twenty-five thousand (25,000) inhabitants and provided that such state, city or county has not defaulted for a period longer than thirty (30) days in the payment of principal or interest on any of its general obligation indebtedness during a period of ten (10) calendar years immediately preceding such investment;
(ix) Shares of stocks, common and/or preferred, of corporations created by or existing under the laws of the United States or any state, district or territory thereof; provided:
(A) The maximum investments in stocks shall not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the book value of the total investment fund of the system;
(B) The stock of such corporation shall:
1. Be listed on a national stock exchange; or
2. Be traded in the over-the-counter market, provided price quotations for such over-the-counter stocks are quoted by the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (NASDAQ);
(C) The outstanding shares of such corporation shall have a total market value of not less than Fifty Million Dollars ($50,000,000.00);
(D) The amount of investment in any one (1) corporation shall not exceed three percent (3%) of the book value of the assets of the system; and
(E) The shares of any one (1) corporation owned by the system shall not exceed five percent (5%) of that corporation's outstanding stock;
(x) Bonds rated Single A or better, stocks and convertible securities of established non-United States companies, which companies are listed on only primary national stock exchanges of foreign nations; and in foreign government securities rated Single A or better by a recognized rating agency; provided that the total book value of investments under this paragraph shall at no time exceed twenty percent (20%) of the total book value of all investments of the system. The board may take requisite action to effectuate or hedge such transactions through foreign banks, including the purchase and sale, transfer, exchange or otherwise disposal of, and generally deal in foreign exchange through the use of foreign currency, interbank forward contracts, futures contracts, options contracts, swaps and other related derivative instruments, notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to the contrary;
(xi) Covered call and put options on securities traded on one or more of the regulated exchanges;
(xii) Institutional investment trusts managed by a corporate trustee or by a Securities and Exchange Commission registered investment advisory firm retained as an investment manager by the board of directors, and institutional class shares of investment companies and unit investment trusts registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 where such funds or shares are comprised of common or preferred stocks, bonds, money market instruments or other investments authorized under this section. Any investment manager or managers approved by the board of directors shall invest such funds or shares as a fiduciary;
(xiii) Pooled or commingled real estate funds or real estate securities managed by a corporate trustee or by a Securities and Exchange Commission registered investment advisory firm retained as an investment manager by the board of directors. Such investment in commingled funds or shares shall be held in trust; provided that the total book value of investments under this paragraph shall at no time exceed five percent (5%) of the total book value of all investments of the system. Any investment manager approved by the board of directors shall invest such commingled funds or shares as a fiduciary;
(w) All investments shall be acquired by the board at prices not exceeding the prevailing market values for such securities;
(x) Any limitations herein set forth shall be applicable only at the time of purchase and shall not require the liquidation of any investment at any time. All investments shall be clearly marked to indicate ownership by the system and to the extent possible shall be registered in the name of the system;
(y) Subject to the above terms, conditions, limitations and restrictions, the board shall have power to sell, assign, transfer and dispose of any of the securities and investments of the system, provided that the sale, assignment or transfer has the majority approval of the entire board. The board may employ or contract with investment managers, evaluation services or other such services as determined by the board to be necessary for the effective and efficient operation of the system;
(z) Except as otherwise provided herein, no trustee and no employee of the board shall have any direct or indirect interest in the income, gains or profits of any investment made by the board, nor shall any such person receive any pay or emolument for his services in connection with any investment made by the board. No trustee or employee of the board shall become an endorser or surety, or in any manner an obligor for money loaned by or borrowed from the system;
(aa) All interest derived from investments and any gains from the sale or exchange of investments shall be credited by the board to the account of the system;
(bb) To delegate responsibility for administration of the comprehensive investment plan to a consultant the board determines to be qualified. Such consultant shall be compensated by the board. Directly or through such consultant, the board may contract to provide such services as may be a part of the comprehensive investment plan or as may be deemed necessary or proper by the board or such consultant, including, but not limited to, providing consolidated billing, individual and collective record keeping and accounting, and asset purchase, control and safekeeping;
(cc) To annually
prepare or cause to be prepared a report setting forth in appropriate detail an
accounting of the fund and a description of the financial condition of the
program at the close of each fiscal year. Such report shall be submitted to
the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker
of the House of Representatives, the Commissioner of Higher Education
and members of * * *
each university board of trustees * * *, the
Mississippi Community College Board and the State Board of Education on or
before March 31 each year. In addition, the board shall make the report
available to purchasers of advance payment contracts. The board shall provide
to the * * * Commissioner of Higher * * * Education and the Mississippi
Community College Board by March 31 each year complete advance payment contract
sales information including projected postsecondary enrollments of
beneficiaries. The accounts of the fund shall be subject to annual audits by
the State Auditor or his designee;
(dd) To solicit proposals for the marketing of the Mississippi Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program. The entity designated pursuant to this paragraph shall serve as a centralized marketing agent for the program and shall solely be responsible for the marketing of the program. Any materials produced for the purpose of marketing the programs shall be submitted to the board for review. No such materials shall be made available to the public before the materials are approved by the board. Any educational institution may distribute marketing materials produced for the program; however, all such materials shall have been approved by the board prior to distribution. Neither the state nor the board shall be liable for misrepresentation of the program by a marketing agent; and
(ee) To establish other policies, procedures and criteria necessary to implement and administer the provisions of this article.
For efficient and effective administration of the program and trust fund, the board may authorize the State of Mississippi Treasury Department and/or the State Treasurer to carry out any or all of the powers and duties enumerated above.
SECTION 176. Section 37-155-117, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-155-117. (1) The board shall furnish, without charge, to each account owner an annual statement of the following:
(a) The amount contributed by the account owner under the savings trust agreement;
(b) The annual earnings and accumulated earnings on the savings trust account; and
(c) Any other terms and conditions that the board deems by rule is necessary or appropriate, including those necessary to conform the savings trust account with the requirements of Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or other applicable federal law or regulations.
(2) The board shall furnish an additional statement complying with subsection (1) to an account owner or beneficiary on written request. The board may charge a reasonable fee for each statement furnished under this subsection.
(3) The board shall prepare
or cause to be prepared an annual report setting forth in appropriate detail an
accounting of the funds and a description of the financial condition of the
program at the close of each fiscal year. Such report shall be submitted to
the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the Commissioner of Higher Education and members of * * * each university board of trustees * * *, the
Mississippi Community College Board and the State Board of Education. In
addition, the board shall make the report available to account owners of
savings trust agreements. The accounts of the fund shall be subject to annual
audits by the State Auditor or his designee.
SECTION 177. Section 37-163-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-163-1. (1) There is created an Education Achievement Council whose purpose is to sustain attention to the state's goal of increasing the educational attainment and skill levels of the state's working-age population benchmark to the national average by 2025.
(2) The Education
Achievement Council shall consist of * * * twenty-three (23)
members:
(a) The Chairmen of the House and Senate Universities and Colleges Committees;
(b) The Chairmen of the House and Senate Education Committees;
(c) A representative of the Governor's office appointed by the Governor;
* * *
( * * *d) The Chairman of the State Board of
Education, or his designee;
( * * *e) The Chairman and one (1) member of
the Mississippi Community College Board, or his designee;
( * * *f) The State Superintendent of Public
Education, or his designee;
( * * *g) The Commissioner of Higher
Education, or his designee;
( * * *h) The Executive Director of the Mississippi
Community College Board, or his designee;
( * * *i) Three (3) presidents of state
institutions of higher learning appointed by the Board of Trustees of State
Institutions of Higher Learning, one (1) of which must be from a historically
black institution of higher learning;
( * * *j) Three (3) community and junior
college presidents appointed by the Mississippi Community College Board;
( * * *k) The Executive Director of the
Mississippi Department of Mental Health, or his designee;
( * * *l) The President and Chief Executive
Officer of the Mississippi Economic Council;
( * * *m) The Chairmen of the House and
Senate Appropriations Committees, or their designees;
( * * *n) The Executive Director of the
Mississippi Association of Independent Colleges and Universities; and
( * * *o) The President of the Mississippi
Association for Proprietary Schools.
(3) The Education
Achievement Council shall work collaboratively with the * * * state institutions of higher
learning and the Mississippi Community College Board to achieve the
state's goal, and shall not displace any governing or coordinating
responsibilities.
(4) The Education Achievement Council shall:
(a) Establish the education achievement goals for the state;
(b) Develop and prescribe appropriate planning processes;
(c) Establish appropriate benchmarks to measure progress, including degrees awarded per one hundred (100) full-time equivalent (FTE) students calculated using completed credit hours; conduct the necessary studies and analysis;
(d) Research and develop a new funding mechanism for public community colleges and state institutions of higher learning based upon productivity goals and accomplishments as well as enrollment, and submit a report thereon with necessary legislation to the Governor and the appropriate committees of the Legislature on or before November 1, 2012, for consideration at the 2013 Regular Session; and
(e) Contract for any professional services that it deems necessary to complete its work.
(5) The Education
Achievement Council shall monitor and report on the state's progress toward
these education achievement goals by preparing an annual state report card
compiled from the annual reports prepared and submitted by each state
institution of higher learning and community and junior college in the state.
The state's annual report shall be made available on the Education Achievement
Council website, as well as the websites of * * * state institutions of
higher learning and the Mississippi Community College Board.
(6) Each state institution of higher learning and community and junior college shall be required to develop and publish an annual report as prescribed by the Education Achievement Council. By November 1 of each year, as prescribed by the Education Achievement Council, each institution's annual report shall be published in a newspaper having general circulation in the county and posted on the institution's website in printable form. The public notice shall include information on the report's availability on the institution's website, with the website address, and the locations where a copy of the report may be obtained.
(7) Within sixty (60) days of March 24, 2010, the Education Achievement Council shall meet and organize by selecting from its membership a chairman, vice chairman and secretary each for a one-year term of office. A majority of the membership will constitute a quorum. In the selection of its officers and the adoption of rules, resolutions and reports, an affirmative majority vote shall be required. All members must be notified in writing of all meetings at least five (5) days before the date on which a meeting is scheduled.
(8) The Legislature may
appropriate funds to the * * *Board of Trustees of State Institutions Commissioner of
Higher * * *
Education for the administrative, contractual costs, travel and other
expenses of the Education Achievement Council.
(9) Members of the Education Achievement Council who are not legislators, state officials or state employees may be compensated at the per diem rate authorized by Section 25-3-41 for mileage and actual expense incurred in the performance of their duties. Legislative members of the Education Achievement Council may be paid from the contingent expense funds of their respective houses, but only with the specific approval of the Senate Rules Committee or House Management Committee; however, no per diem or expense is authorized for attending meetings of the Education Achievement Council when the Legislature is in session. Nonlegislative members may be paid from any funds made available for that purpose.
(10) The Commissioner of Higher Education, or his designee, shall serve as the principal staff to support the Education Achievement Council. The Commissioner of Higher Education and the Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board shall provide appropriate staff to support the work of the Education Achievement Council.
SECTION 178. Section 39-33-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
39-33-1. The Division of Tourism of the Mississippi Development Authority is authorized and directed to do the following:
(a) To make an inventory of country music "assets" that make up the country music culture that could be developed into a program for domestic and international tourism, and opportunities for investment.
(b) To establish a statewide Mississippi "Country Music Trail" infrastructure to offer to tourists and target groups a structured tour of Mississippi country music historical sites and performance venues.
(c) To designate specific sites for the erection of appropriate "Mississippi Country Music Trail" markers to offer to tourists and targeted groups a structured tour of Mississippi country music historical sites and performance venues. The division shall be authorized to purchase appropriate Mississippi Country Music Trail markers from any of its available funds. The texts for the Mississippi Country Music Trail markers shall be approved by the division. The Mississippi Department of Transportation shall cooperate with the division by erecting and maintaining the markers that have been approved by the division.
(d) To coordinate the
Mississippi Country Music Trail program with the Mississippi Department of
Archives and History, the Mississippi Department of Transportation, the
Mississippi Educational Television Authority, * * * state institutions of
higher learning, the Jimmie Rogers Museum, the Center for the Study of Southern
Culture at the University of Mississippi, the Delta Center for Culture and
Learning at Delta State University, the Mississippi Arts Commission and similar
organizations to share resources and information in order to ensure a
comprehensive approach to marketing the country music and country music culture
in Mississippi.
(e) To coordinate the Mississippi Country Music Trail marketing plan with any existing state historic preservation program, in order to identify and preserve country music historic properties, and determine the eligibility of such properties for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and prepare nominations of such sites.
SECTION 179. Section 39-37-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
39-37-1. The Division of Tourism Development of the Mississippi Development Authority is authorized and directed to do the following:
(a) To develop a marketing plan designed to attract tourists, conferences, music and theatrical performances, filmmakers and others for the purpose of the economic development of all geographic areas of the state through the promotion of projects related to Mississippi's heritage, history and culture.
(b) To make an inventory of assets related to Mississippi's heritage, history and culture.
(c) To establish a statewide infrastructure to offer tourists and targeted audiences a structured tour of sites and venues related to Mississippi's heritage, history and culture.
(d) To designate specific sites for the erection of trail markers for the sites and venues related to Mississippi's heritage, history and culture. The division is authorized to approve the texts for the markers and to purchase appropriate markers from any available funds. The Mississippi Department of Transportation shall cooperate with the division by erecting and maintaining the markers that have been approved by the division.
(e) To coordinate the
trail program described in paragraph (d) of this section with the Mississippi
Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Authority for Educational
Television, and * * * state institutions of higher learning, and
similar organizations to share resources and information in order to ensure a
comprehensive approach to marketing the story of Mississippi's heritage,
history and culture.
(f) To coordinate the trail program described in paragraph (d) of this section with any existing state historic preservation program, in order to identify and preserve historic properties, and determine the eligibility of those properties for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and prepare nominations of those sites.
SECTION 180. Section 41-7-191, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-7-191. (1) No person shall engage in any of the following activities without obtaining the required certificate of need:
(a) The construction, development or other establishment of a new health care facility, which establishment shall include the reopening of a health care facility that has ceased to operate for a period of sixty (60) months or more;
(b) The relocation of a health care facility or portion thereof, or major medical equipment, unless such relocation of a health care facility or portion thereof, or major medical equipment, which does not involve a capital expenditure by or on behalf of a health care facility, is within five thousand two hundred eighty (5,280) feet from the main entrance of the health care facility;
(c) Any change in the existing bed complement of any health care facility through the addition or conversion of any beds or the alteration, modernizing or refurbishing of any unit or department in which the beds may be located; however, if a health care facility has voluntarily delicensed some of its existing bed complement, it may later relicense some or all of its delicensed beds without the necessity of having to acquire a certificate of need. The State Department of Health shall maintain a record of the delicensing health care facility and its voluntarily delicensed beds and continue counting those beds as part of the state's total bed count for health care planning purposes. If a health care facility that has voluntarily delicensed some of its beds later desires to relicense some or all of its voluntarily delicensed beds, it shall notify the State Department of Health of its intent to increase the number of its licensed beds. The State Department of Health shall survey the health care facility within thirty (30) days of that notice and, if appropriate, issue the health care facility a new license reflecting the new contingent of beds. However, in no event may a health care facility that has voluntarily delicensed some of its beds be reissued a license to operate beds in excess of its bed count before the voluntary delicensure of some of its beds without seeking certificate of need approval;
(d) Offering of the following health services if those services have not been provided on a regular basis by the proposed provider of such services within the period of twelve (12) months prior to the time such services would be offered:
(i) Open-heart surgery services;
(ii) Cardiac catheterization services;
(iii) Comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation services;
(iv) Licensed psychiatric services;
(v) Licensed chemical dependency services;
(vi) Radiation therapy services;
(vii) Diagnostic imaging services of an invasive nature, i.e. invasive digital angiography;
(viii) Nursing home care as defined in subparagraphs (iv), (vi) and (viii) of Section 41-7-173(h);
(ix) Home health services;
(x) Swing-bed services;
(xi) Ambulatory surgical services;
(xii) Magnetic resonance imaging services;
(xiii) [Deleted]
(xiv) Long-term care hospital services;
(xv) Positron emission tomography (PET) services;
(e) The relocation of one or more health services from one physical facility or site to another physical facility or site, unless such relocation, which does not involve a capital expenditure by or on behalf of a health care facility, (i) is to a physical facility or site within five thousand two hundred eighty (5,280) feet from the main entrance of the health care facility where the health care service is located, or (ii) is the result of an order of a court of appropriate jurisdiction or a result of pending litigation in such court, or by order of the State Department of Health, or by order of any other agency or legal entity of the state, the federal government, or any political subdivision of either, whose order is also approved by the State Department of Health;
(f) The acquisition or otherwise control of any major medical equipment for the provision of medical services; however, (i) the acquisition of any major medical equipment used only for research purposes, and (ii) the acquisition of major medical equipment to replace medical equipment for which a facility is already providing medical services and for which the State Department of Health has been notified before the date of such acquisition shall be exempt from this paragraph; an acquisition for less than fair market value must be reviewed, if the acquisition at fair market value would be subject to review;
(g) Changes of ownership of existing health care facilities in which a notice of intent is not filed with the State Department of Health at least thirty (30) days prior to the date such change of ownership occurs, or a change in services or bed capacity as prescribed in paragraph (c) or (d) of this subsection as a result of the change of ownership; an acquisition for less than fair market value must be reviewed, if the acquisition at fair market value would be subject to review;
(h) The change of ownership of any health care facility defined in subparagraphs (iv), (vi) and (viii) of Section 41-7-173(h), in which a notice of intent as described in paragraph (g) has not been filed and if the Executive Director, Division of Medicaid, Office of the Governor, has not certified in writing that there will be no increase in allowable costs to Medicaid from revaluation of the assets or from increased interest and depreciation as a result of the proposed change of ownership;
(i) Any activity described in paragraphs (a) through (h) if undertaken by any person if that same activity would require certificate of need approval if undertaken by a health care facility;
(j) Any capital expenditure or deferred capital expenditure by or on behalf of a health care facility not covered by paragraphs (a) through (h);
(k) The contracting of a health care facility as defined in subparagraphs (i) through (viii) of Section 41-7-173(h) to establish a home office, subunit, or branch office in the space operated as a health care facility through a formal arrangement with an existing health care facility as defined in subparagraph (ix) of Section 41-7-173(h);
(l) The replacement or relocation of a health care facility designated as a critical access hospital shall be exempt from subsection (1) of this section so long as the critical access hospital complies with all applicable federal law and regulations regarding such replacement or relocation;
(m) Reopening a health care facility that has ceased to operate for a period of sixty (60) months or more, which reopening requires a certificate of need for the establishment of a new health care facility.
(2) The State Department of Health shall not grant approval for or issue a certificate of need to any person proposing the new construction of, addition to, or expansion of any health care facility defined in subparagraphs (iv) (skilled nursing facility) and (vi) (intermediate care facility) of Section 41-7-173(h) or the conversion of vacant hospital beds to provide skilled or intermediate nursing home care, except as hereinafter authorized:
(a) The department may issue a certificate of need to any person proposing the new construction of any health care facility defined in subparagraphs (iv) and (vi) of Section 41-7-173(h) as part of a life care retirement facility, in any county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico in which is located a National Aeronautics and Space Administration facility, not to exceed forty (40) beds. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the health care facility that were authorized under this paragraph (a).
(b) The department may issue certificates of need in Harrison County to provide skilled nursing home care for Alzheimer's disease patients and other patients, not to exceed one hundred fifty (150) beds. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facilities that were authorized under this paragraph (b).
(c) The department may issue a certificate of need for the addition to or expansion of any skilled nursing facility that is part of an existing continuing care retirement community located in Madison County, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (c), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need. The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this paragraph (c) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds.
(d) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need to any hospital located in DeSoto County for the new construction of a skilled nursing facility, not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) beds, in DeSoto County. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facility that were authorized under this paragraph (d).
(e) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need for the construction of a nursing facility or the conversion of beds to nursing facility beds at a personal care facility for the elderly in Lowndes County that is owned and operated by a Mississippi nonprofit corporation, not to exceed sixty (60) beds. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facility that were authorized under this paragraph (e).
(f) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need for conversion of a county hospital facility in Itawamba County to a nursing facility, not to exceed sixty (60) beds, including any necessary construction, renovation or expansion. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facility that were authorized under this paragraph (f).
(g) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need for the construction or expansion of nursing facility beds or the conversion of other beds to nursing facility beds in either Hinds, Madison or Rankin County, not to exceed sixty (60) beds. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facility that were authorized under this paragraph (g).
(h) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need for the construction or expansion of nursing facility beds or the conversion of other beds to nursing facility beds in either Hancock, Harrison or Jackson County, not to exceed sixty (60) beds. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the facility that were authorized under this paragraph (h).
(i) The department may issue a certificate of need for the new construction of a skilled nursing facility in Leake County, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (i), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need. The provision of Section 41-7-193(1) regarding substantial compliance of the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan is waived for the purposes of this paragraph. The total number of nursing facility beds that may be authorized by any certificate of need issued under this paragraph (i) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds. If the skilled nursing facility authorized by the certificate of need issued under this paragraph is not constructed and fully operational within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 1994, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall not issue a license for the skilled nursing facility at any time after the expiration of the eighteen-month period.
(j) The department may issue certificates of need to allow any existing freestanding long-term care facility in Tishomingo County and Hancock County that on July 1, 1995, is licensed with fewer than sixty (60) beds. For the purposes of this paragraph (j), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the long-term care facilities that were authorized under this paragraph (j).
(k) The department may issue a certificate of need for the construction of a nursing facility at a continuing care retirement community in Lowndes County. The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this paragraph (k) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds. From and after July 1, 2001, the prohibition on the facility participating in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) that was a condition of issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph (k) shall be revised as follows: The nursing facility may participate in the Medicaid program from and after July 1, 2001, if the owner of the facility on July 1, 2001, agrees in writing that no more than thirty (30) of the beds at the facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program, and that no claim will be submitted for Medicaid reimbursement for more than thirty (30) patients in the facility in any month or for any patient in the facility who is in a bed that is not Medicaid-certified. This written agreement by the owner of the facility shall be a condition of licensure of the facility, and the agreement shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the facility if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after July 1, 2001. After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify more than thirty (30) of the beds in the facility for participation in the Medicaid program. If the facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than thirty (30) patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has violated the written agreement.
(l) Provided that funds are specifically appropriated therefor by the Legislature, the department may issue a certificate of need to a rehabilitation hospital in Hinds County for the construction of a sixty-bed long-term care nursing facility dedicated to the care and treatment of persons with severe disabilities including persons with spinal cord and closed-head injuries and ventilator dependent patients. The provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) regarding substantial compliance with projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived for the purpose of this paragraph.
(m) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need to a county-owned hospital in the Second Judicial District of Panola County for the conversion of not more than seventy-two (72) hospital beds to nursing facility beds, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that none of the beds at the nursing facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.), and that no claim will be submitted for Medicaid reimbursement in the nursing facility in any day or for any patient in the nursing facility. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be a condition of the issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph, and the agreement shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the nursing facility if the ownership of the nursing facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify any of the beds in the nursing facility for participation in the Medicaid program. If the nursing facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the nursing facility on a regular or continuing basis any patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the nursing facility has violated the condition upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement. If the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph is not issued within twelve (12) months after July 1, 2001, the department shall deny the application for the certificate of need and shall not issue the certificate of need at any time after the twelve-month period, unless the issuance is contested. If the certificate of need is issued and substantial construction of the nursing facility beds has not commenced within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 2001, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need if it is still outstanding, and the department shall not issue a license for the nursing facility at any time after the eighteen-month period. However, if the issuance of the certificate of need is contested, the department shall require substantial construction of the nursing facility beds within six (6) months after final adjudication on the issuance of the certificate of need.
(n) The department may issue a certificate of need for the new construction, addition or conversion of skilled nursing facility beds in Madison County, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (n), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need. The total number of nursing facility beds that may be authorized by any certificate of need issued under this paragraph (n) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds. If the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph is not issued within twelve (12) months after July 1, 1998, the department shall deny the application for the certificate of need and shall not issue the certificate of need at any time after the twelve-month period, unless the issuance is contested. If the certificate of need is issued and substantial construction of the nursing facility beds has not commenced within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 1998, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need if it is still outstanding, and the department shall not issue a license for the nursing facility at any time after the eighteen-month period. However, if the issuance of the certificate of need is contested, the department shall require substantial construction of the nursing facility beds within six (6) months after final adjudication on the issuance of the certificate of need.
(o) The department may issue a certificate of need for the new construction, addition or conversion of skilled nursing facility beds in Leake County, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (o), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need. The total number of nursing facility beds that may be authorized by any certificate of need issued under this paragraph (o) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds. If the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph is not issued within twelve (12) months after July 1, 2001, the department shall deny the application for the certificate of need and shall not issue the certificate of need at any time after the twelve-month period, unless the issuance is contested. If the certificate of need is issued and substantial construction of the nursing facility beds has not commenced within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 2001, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need if it is still outstanding, and the department shall not issue a license for the nursing facility at any time after the eighteen-month period. However, if the issuance of the certificate of need is contested, the department shall require substantial construction of the nursing facility beds within six (6) months after final adjudication on the issuance of the certificate of need.
(p) The department may issue a certificate of need for the construction of a municipally owned nursing facility within the Town of Belmont in Tishomingo County, not to exceed sixty (60) beds, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (p), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need. The provision of Section 41-7-193(1) regarding substantial compliance of the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan is waived for the purposes of this paragraph. If the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph is not issued within twelve (12) months after July 1, 1998, the department shall deny the application for the certificate of need and shall not issue the certificate of need at any time after the twelve-month period, unless the issuance is contested. If the certificate of need is issued and substantial construction of the nursing facility beds has not commenced within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 1998, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need if it is still outstanding, and the department shall not issue a license for the nursing facility at any time after the eighteen-month period. However, if the issuance of the certificate of need is contested, the department shall require substantial construction of the nursing facility beds within six (6) months after final adjudication on the issuance of the certificate of need.
(q) (i) Beginning on July 1, 1999, the State Department of Health shall issue certificates of need during each of the next four (4) fiscal years for the construction or expansion of nursing facility beds or the conversion of other beds to nursing facility beds in each county in the state having a need for fifty (50) or more additional nursing facility beds, as shown in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan, in the manner provided in this paragraph (q). The total number of nursing facility beds that may be authorized by any certificate of need authorized under this paragraph (q) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds.
(ii) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (v), during each of the next four (4) fiscal years, the department shall issue six (6) certificates of need for new nursing facility beds, as follows: During fiscal years 2000, 2001 and 2002, one (1) certificate of need shall be issued for new nursing facility beds in the county in each of the four (4) Long-Term Care Planning Districts designated in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan that has the highest need in the district for those beds; and two (2) certificates of need shall be issued for new nursing facility beds in the two (2) counties from the state at large that have the highest need in the state for those beds, when considering the need on a statewide basis and without regard to the Long-Term Care Planning Districts in which the counties are located. During fiscal year 2003, one (1) certificate of need shall be issued for new nursing facility beds in any county having a need for fifty (50) or more additional nursing facility beds, as shown in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan, that has not received a certificate of need under this paragraph (q) during the three (3) previous fiscal years. During fiscal year 2000, in addition to the six (6) certificates of need authorized in this subparagraph, the department also shall issue a certificate of need for new nursing facility beds in Amite County and a certificate of need for new nursing facility beds in Carroll County.
(iii) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (v), the certificate of need issued under subparagraph (ii) for nursing facility beds in each Long-Term Care Planning District during each fiscal year shall first be available for nursing facility beds in the county in the district having the highest need for those beds, as shown in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan. If there are no applications for a certificate of need for nursing facility beds in the county having the highest need for those beds by the date specified by the department, then the certificate of need shall be available for nursing facility beds in other counties in the district in descending order of the need for those beds, from the county with the second highest need to the county with the lowest need, until an application is received for nursing facility beds in an eligible county in the district.
(iv) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (v), the certificate of need issued under subparagraph (ii) for nursing facility beds in the two (2) counties from the state at large during each fiscal year shall first be available for nursing facility beds in the two (2) counties that have the highest need in the state for those beds, as shown in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan, when considering the need on a statewide basis and without regard to the Long-Term Care Planning Districts in which the counties are located. If there are no applications for a certificate of need for nursing facility beds in either of the two (2) counties having the highest need for those beds on a statewide basis by the date specified by the department, then the certificate of need shall be available for nursing facility beds in other counties from the state at large in descending order of the need for those beds on a statewide basis, from the county with the second highest need to the county with the lowest need, until an application is received for nursing facility beds in an eligible county from the state at large.
(v) If a certificate of need is authorized to be issued under this paragraph (q) for nursing facility beds in a county on the basis of the need in the Long-Term Care Planning District during any fiscal year of the four-year period, a certificate of need shall not also be available under this paragraph (q) for additional nursing facility beds in that county on the basis of the need in the state at large, and that county shall be excluded in determining which counties have the highest need for nursing facility beds in the state at large for that fiscal year. After a certificate of need has been issued under this paragraph (q) for nursing facility beds in a county during any fiscal year of the four-year period, a certificate of need shall not be available again under this paragraph (q) for additional nursing facility beds in that county during the four-year period, and that county shall be excluded in determining which counties have the highest need for nursing facility beds in succeeding fiscal years.
(vi) If more than one (1) application is made for a certificate of need for nursing home facility beds available under this paragraph (q), in Yalobusha, Newton or Tallahatchie County, and one (1) of the applicants is a county-owned hospital located in the county where the nursing facility beds are available, the department shall give priority to the county-owned hospital in granting the certificate of need if the following conditions are met:
1. The county-owned hospital fully meets all applicable criteria and standards required to obtain a certificate of need for the nursing facility beds; and
2. The county-owned hospital's qualifications for the certificate of need, as shown in its application and as determined by the department, are at least equal to the qualifications of the other applicants for the certificate of need.
(r) (i) Beginning on July 1, 1999, the State Department of Health shall issue certificates of need during each of the next two (2) fiscal years for the construction or expansion of nursing facility beds or the conversion of other beds to nursing facility beds in each of the four (4) Long-Term Care Planning Districts designated in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan, to provide care exclusively to patients with Alzheimer's disease.
(ii) Not more than twenty (20) beds may be authorized by any certificate of need issued under this paragraph (r), and not more than a total of sixty (60) beds may be authorized in any Long-Term Care Planning District by all certificates of need issued under this paragraph (r). However, the total number of beds that may be authorized by all certificates of need issued under this paragraph (r) during any fiscal year shall not exceed one hundred twenty (120) beds, and the total number of beds that may be authorized in any Long-Term Care Planning District during any fiscal year shall not exceed forty (40) beds. Of the certificates of need that are issued for each Long-Term Care Planning District during the next two (2) fiscal years, at least one (1) shall be issued for beds in the northern part of the district, at least one (1) shall be issued for beds in the central part of the district, and at least one (1) shall be issued for beds in the southern part of the district.
(iii) The State Department of Health, in consultation with the Department of Mental Health and the Division of Medicaid, shall develop and prescribe the staffing levels, space requirements and other standards and requirements that must be met with regard to the nursing facility beds authorized under this paragraph (r) to provide care exclusively to patients with Alzheimer's disease.
(s) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need to a nonprofit skilled nursing facility using the Green House model of skilled nursing care and located in Yazoo City, Yazoo County, Mississippi, for the construction, expansion or conversion of not more than nineteen (19) nursing facility beds. For purposes of this paragraph (s), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan and the provisions of Section 41-7-197 requiring a formal certificate of need hearing process are waived. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph (s).
(t) The State Department of Health shall issue certificates of need to the owner of a nursing facility in operation at the time of Hurricane Katrina in Hancock County that was not operational on December 31, 2005, because of damage sustained from Hurricane Katrina to authorize the following: (i) the construction of a new nursing facility in Harrison County; (ii) the relocation of forty-nine (49) nursing facility beds from the Hancock County facility to the new Harrison County facility; (iii) the establishment of not more than twenty (20) non-Medicaid nursing facility beds at the Hancock County facility; and (iv) the establishment of not more than twenty (20) non-Medicaid beds at the new Harrison County facility. The certificates of need that authorize the non-Medicaid nursing facility beds under subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) of this paragraph (t) shall be subject to the following conditions: The owner of the Hancock County facility and the new Harrison County facility must agree in writing that no more than fifty (50) of the beds at the Hancock County facility and no more than forty-nine (49) of the beds at the Harrison County facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program, and that no claim will be submitted for Medicaid reimbursement for more than fifty (50) patients in the Hancock County facility in any month, or for more than forty-nine (49) patients in the Harrison County facility in any month, or for any patient in either facility who is in a bed that is not Medicaid-certified. This written agreement by the owner of the nursing facilities shall be a condition of the issuance of the certificates of need under this paragraph (t), and the agreement shall be fully binding on any later owner or owners of either facility if the ownership of either facility is transferred at any time after the certificates of need are issued. After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify more than fifty (50) of the beds at the Hancock County facility or more than forty-nine (49) of the beds at the Harrison County facility for participation in the Medicaid program. If the Hancock County facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than fifty (50) patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, or if the Harrison County facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than forty-nine (49) patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the facility that is in violation of the agreement, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has violated the agreement.
(u) The State Department of Health shall issue a certificate of need to a nonprofit venture for the establishment, construction and operation of a skilled nursing facility of not more than sixty (60) beds to provide skilled nursing care for ventilator dependent or otherwise medically dependent pediatric patients who require medical and nursing care or rehabilitation services to be located in a county in which an academic medical center and a children's hospital are located, and for any construction and for the acquisition of equipment related to those beds. The facility shall be authorized to keep such ventilator dependent or otherwise medically dependent pediatric patients beyond age twenty-one (21) in accordance with regulations of the State Board of Health. For purposes of this paragraph (u), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived, and the provisions of Section 41-7-197 requiring a formal certificate of need hearing process are waived. The beds authorized by this paragraph shall be counted as pediatric skilled nursing facility beds for health planning purposes under Section 41-7-171 et seq. There shall be no prohibition of or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized by this paragraph.
(3) The State Department of Health may grant approval for and issue certificates of need to any person proposing the new construction of, addition to, conversion of beds of or expansion of any health care facility defined in subparagraph (x) (psychiatric residential treatment facility) of Section 41-7-173(h). The total number of beds which may be authorized by such certificates of need shall not exceed three hundred thirty-four (334) beds for the entire state.
(a) Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection, the department shall issue a certificate of need to a privately owned psychiatric residential treatment facility in Simpson County for the conversion of sixteen (16) intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded (ICF-MR) beds to psychiatric residential treatment facility beds, provided that facility agrees in writing that the facility shall give priority for the use of those sixteen (16) beds to Mississippi residents who are presently being treated in out-of-state facilities.
(b) Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection, the department may issue a certificate or certificates of need for the construction or expansion of psychiatric residential treatment facility beds or the conversion of other beds to psychiatric residential treatment facility beds in Warren County, not to exceed sixty (60) psychiatric residential treatment facility beds, provided that the facility agrees in writing that no more than thirty (30) of the beds at the psychiatric residential treatment facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the use of any patients other than those who are participating only in the Medicaid program of another state, and that no claim will be submitted to the Division of Medicaid for Medicaid reimbursement for more than thirty (30) patients in the psychiatric residential treatment facility in any day or for any patient in the psychiatric residential treatment facility who is in a bed that is not Medicaid-certified. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be a condition of the issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph, and the agreement shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the psychiatric residential treatment facility if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify more than thirty (30) of the beds in the psychiatric residential treatment facility for participation in the Medicaid program for the use of any patients other than those who are participating only in the Medicaid program of another state. If the psychiatric residential treatment facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than thirty (30) patients who are participating in the Mississippi Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has violated the condition upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement.
The State Department of Health, on or before July 1, 2002, shall transfer the certificate of need authorized under the authority of this paragraph (b), or reissue the certificate of need if it has expired, to River Region Health System.
(c) Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection, the department shall issue a certificate of need to a hospital currently operating Medicaid-certified acute psychiatric beds for adolescents in DeSoto County, for the establishment of a forty-bed psychiatric residential treatment facility in DeSoto County, provided that the hospital agrees in writing (i) that the hospital shall give priority for the use of those forty (40) beds to Mississippi residents who are presently being treated in out-of-state facilities, and (ii) that no more than fifteen (15) of the beds at the psychiatric residential treatment facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.), and that no claim will be submitted for Medicaid reimbursement for more than fifteen (15) patients in the psychiatric residential treatment facility in any day or for any patient in the psychiatric residential treatment facility who is in a bed that is not Medicaid-certified. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be a condition of the issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph, and the agreement shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the psychiatric residential treatment facility if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify more than fifteen (15) of the beds in the psychiatric residential treatment facility for participation in the Medicaid program. If the psychiatric residential treatment facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than fifteen (15) patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has violated the condition upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement.
(d) Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection, the department may issue a certificate or certificates of need for the construction or expansion of psychiatric residential treatment facility beds or the conversion of other beds to psychiatric treatment facility beds, not to exceed thirty (30) psychiatric residential treatment facility beds, in either Alcorn, Tishomingo, Prentiss, Lee, Itawamba, Monroe, Chickasaw, Pontotoc, Calhoun, Lafayette, Union, Benton or Tippah County.
(e) Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection (3) the department shall issue a certificate of need to a privately owned, nonprofit psychiatric residential treatment facility in Hinds County for an eight-bed expansion of the facility, provided that the facility agrees in writing that the facility shall give priority for the use of those eight (8) beds to Mississippi residents who are presently being treated in out-of-state facilities.
(f) The department shall issue a certificate of need to a one-hundred-thirty-four-bed specialty hospital located on twenty-nine and forty-four one-hundredths (29.44) commercial acres at 5900 Highway 39 North in Meridian (Lauderdale County), Mississippi, for the addition, construction or expansion of child/adolescent psychiatric residential treatment facility beds in Lauderdale County. As a condition of issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph, the facility shall give priority in admissions to the child/adolescent psychiatric residential treatment facility beds authorized under this paragraph to patients who otherwise would require out-of-state placement. The Division of Medicaid, in conjunction with the Department of Human Services, shall furnish the facility a list of all out-of-state patients on a quarterly basis. Furthermore, notice shall also be provided to the parent, custodial parent or guardian of each out-of-state patient notifying them of the priority status granted by this paragraph. For purposes of this paragraph, the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived. The total number of child/adolescent psychiatric residential treatment facility beds that may be authorized under the authority of this paragraph shall be sixty (60) beds. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.
(4) (a) From and after July 1, 1993, the department shall not issue a certificate of need to any person for the new construction of any hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital that will contain any child/adolescent psychiatric or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds, or for the conversion of any other health care facility to a hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital that will contain any child/adolescent psychiatric or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds, or for the addition of any child/adolescent psychiatric or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds in any hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital, or for the conversion of any beds of another category in any hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital to child/adolescent psychiatric or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds, except as hereinafter authorized:
(i) The department may issue certificates of need to any person for any purpose described in this subsection, provided that the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital does not participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) at the time of the application for the certificate of need and the owner of the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital agrees in writing that the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program or admit or keep any patients who are participating in the Medicaid program in the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this subparagraph (i), and if such hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this subparagraph (i) and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need.
(ii) The department may issue a certificate of need for the conversion of existing beds in a county hospital in Choctaw County from acute care beds to child/adolescent chemical dependency beds. For purposes of this subparagraph (ii), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived. The total number of beds that may be authorized under authority of this subparagraph shall not exceed twenty (20) beds. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the hospital receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subparagraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.
(iii) The department may issue a certificate or certificates of need for the construction or expansion of child/adolescent psychiatric beds or the conversion of other beds to child/adolescent psychiatric beds in Warren County. For purposes of this subparagraph (iii), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived. The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this subparagraph shall not exceed twenty (20) beds. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subparagraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.
If by January 1, 2002, there has been no significant commencement of construction of the beds authorized under this subparagraph (iii), or no significant action taken to convert existing beds to the beds authorized under this subparagraph, then the certificate of need that was previously issued under this subparagraph shall expire. If the previously issued certificate of need expires, the department may accept applications for issuance of another certificate of need for the beds authorized under this subparagraph, and may issue a certificate of need to authorize the construction, expansion or conversion of the beds authorized under this subparagraph.
(iv) The department shall issue a certificate of need to the Region 7 Mental Health/Retardation Commission for the construction or expansion of child/adolescent psychiatric beds or the conversion of other beds to child/adolescent psychiatric beds in any of the counties served by the commission. For purposes of this subparagraph (iv), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived. The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this subparagraph shall not exceed twenty (20) beds. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subparagraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.
(v) The department may issue a certificate of need to any county hospital located in Leflore County for the construction or expansion of adult psychiatric beds or the conversion of other beds to adult psychiatric beds, not to exceed twenty (20) beds, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the adult psychiatric beds will not at any time be certified for participation in the Medicaid program and that the hospital will not admit or keep any patients who are participating in the Medicaid program in any of such adult psychiatric beds. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the hospital if the ownership of the hospital is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the adult psychiatric beds will not be certified for participation in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this subparagraph (v), and if such hospital at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the hospital, has any of such adult psychiatric beds certified for participation in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any Medicaid patients in such adult psychiatric beds, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the hospital at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the hospital has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this subparagraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need.
(vi) The department may issue a certificate or certificates of need for the expansion of child psychiatric beds or the conversion of other beds to child psychiatric beds at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. For purposes of this subparagraph (vi), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived. The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this subparagraph shall not exceed fifteen (15) beds. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the hospital receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subparagraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.
(b) From and after July 1, 1990, no hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital shall be authorized to add any child/adolescent psychiatric or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds or convert any beds of another category to child/adolescent psychiatric or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds without a certificate of need under the authority of subsection (1)(c) of this section.
(5) The department may issue a certificate of need to a county hospital in Winston County for the conversion of fifteen (15) acute care beds to geriatric psychiatric care beds.
(6) The State Department of Health shall issue a certificate of need to a Mississippi corporation qualified to manage a long-term care hospital as defined in Section 41-7-173(h)(xii) in Harrison County, not to exceed eighty (80) beds, including any necessary renovation or construction required for licensure and certification, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the long-term care hospital will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the long-term care hospital who are participating in the Medicaid program. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the long-term care hospital, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the long-term care hospital will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this subsection (6), and if such long-term care hospital at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the long-term care hospital, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this subsection and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need. For purposes of this subsection, the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived.
(7) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need to any hospital in the state to utilize a portion of its beds for the "swing-bed" concept. Any such hospital must be in conformance with the federal regulations regarding such swing-bed concept at the time it submits its application for a certificate of need to the State Department of Health, except that such hospital may have more licensed beds or a higher average daily census (ADC) than the maximum number specified in federal regulations for participation in the swing-bed program. Any hospital meeting all federal requirements for participation in the swing-bed program which receives such certificate of need shall render services provided under the swing-bed concept to any patient eligible for Medicare (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act) who is certified by a physician to be in need of such services, and no such hospital shall permit any patient who is eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare or eligible only for Medicaid to stay in the swing beds of the hospital for more than thirty (30) days per admission unless the hospital receives prior approval for such patient from the Division of Medicaid, Office of the Governor. Any hospital having more licensed beds or a higher average daily census (ADC) than the maximum number specified in federal regulations for participation in the swing-bed program which receives such certificate of need shall develop a procedure to insure that before a patient is allowed to stay in the swing beds of the hospital, there are no vacant nursing home beds available for that patient located within a fifty-mile radius of the hospital. When any such hospital has a patient staying in the swing beds of the hospital and the hospital receives notice from a nursing home located within such radius that there is a vacant bed available for that patient, the hospital shall transfer the patient to the nursing home within a reasonable time after receipt of the notice. Any hospital which is subject to the requirements of the two (2) preceding sentences of this subsection may be suspended from participation in the swing-bed program for a reasonable period of time by the State Department of Health if the department, after a hearing complying with due process, determines that the hospital has failed to comply with any of those requirements.
(8) The Department of Health shall not grant approval for or issue a certificate of need to any person proposing the new construction of, addition to or expansion of a health care facility as defined in subparagraph (viii) of Section 41-7-173(h), except as hereinafter provided: The department may issue a certificate of need to a nonprofit corporation located in Madison County, Mississippi, for the construction, expansion or conversion of not more than twenty (20) beds in a community living program for developmentally disabled adults in a facility as defined in subparagraph (viii) of Section 41-7-173(h). For purposes of this subsection (8), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan and the provisions of Section 41-7-197 requiring a formal certificate of need hearing process are waived. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subsection (8).
(9) The Department of Health shall not grant approval for or issue a certificate of need to any person proposing the establishment of, or expansion of the currently approved territory of, or the contracting to establish a home office, subunit or branch office within the space operated as a health care facility as defined in Section 41-7-173(h)(i) through (viii) by a health care facility as defined in subparagraph (ix) of Section 41-7-173(h).
(10) Health care facilities owned and/or operated by the state or its agencies are exempt from the restraints in this section against issuance of a certificate of need if such addition or expansion consists of repairing or renovation necessary to comply with the state licensure law. This exception shall not apply to the new construction of any building by such state facility. This exception shall not apply to any health care facilities owned and/or operated by counties, municipalities, districts, unincorporated areas, other defined persons, or any combination thereof.
(11) The new construction, renovation or expansion of or addition to any health care facility defined in subparagraph (ii) (psychiatric hospital), subparagraph (iv) (skilled nursing facility), subparagraph (vi) (intermediate care facility), subparagraph (viii) (intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded) and subparagraph (x) (psychiatric residential treatment facility) of Section 41-7-173(h) which is owned by the State of Mississippi and under the direction and control of the State Department of Mental Health, and the addition of new beds or the conversion of beds from one category to another in any such defined health care facility which is owned by the State of Mississippi and under the direction and control of the State Department of Mental Health, shall not require the issuance of a certificate of need under Section 41-7-171 et seq., notwithstanding any provision in Section 41-7-171 et seq. to the contrary.
(12) The new construction, renovation or expansion of or addition to any veterans homes or domiciliaries for eligible veterans of the State of Mississippi as authorized under Section 35-1-19 shall not require the issuance of a certificate of need, notwithstanding any provision in Section 41-7-171 et seq. to the contrary.
(13) The repair or the rebuilding of an existing, operating health care facility that sustained significant damage from a natural disaster that occurred after April 15, 2014, in an area that is proclaimed a disaster area or subject to a state of emergency by the Governor or by the President of the United States shall be exempt from all of the requirements of the Mississippi Certificate of Need Law (Section 41-7-171 et seq.) and any and all rules and regulations promulgated under that law, subject to the following conditions:
(a) The repair or the rebuilding of any such damaged health care facility must be within one (1) mile of the pre-disaster location of the campus of the damaged health care facility, except that any temporary post-disaster health care facility operating location may be within five (5) miles of the pre-disaster location of the damaged health care facility;
(b) The repair or the rebuilding of the damaged health care facility (i) does not increase or change the complement of its bed capacity that it had before the Governor's or the President's proclamation, (ii) does not increase or change its levels and types of health care services that it provided before the Governor's or the President's proclamation, and (iii) does not rebuild in a different county; however, this paragraph does not restrict or prevent a health care facility from decreasing its bed capacity that it had before the Governor's or the President's proclamation, or from decreasing the levels of or decreasing or eliminating the types of health care services that it provided before the Governor's or the President's proclamation, when the damaged health care facility is repaired or rebuilt;
(c) The exemption from Certificate of Need Law provided under this subsection (13) is valid for only five (5) years from the date of the Governor's or the President's proclamation. If actual construction has not begun within that five-year period, the exemption provided under this subsection is inapplicable; and
(d) The Division of Health Facilities Licensure and Certification of the State Department of Health shall provide the same oversight for the repair or the rebuilding of the damaged health care facility that it provides to all health care facility construction projects in the state.
For the purposes of this subsection (13), "significant damage" to a health care facility means damage to the health care facility requiring an expenditure of at least One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00).
(14) The State Department of Health shall issue a certificate of need to any hospital which is currently licensed for two hundred fifty (250) or more acute care beds and is located in any general hospital service area not having a comprehensive cancer center, for the establishment and equipping of such a center which provides facilities and services for outpatient radiation oncology therapy, outpatient medical oncology therapy, and appropriate support services including the provision of radiation therapy services. The provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) regarding substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived for the purpose of this subsection.
(15) The State Department of Health may authorize the transfer of hospital beds, not to exceed sixty (60) beds, from the North Panola Community Hospital to the South Panola Community Hospital. The authorization for the transfer of those beds shall be exempt from the certificate of need review process.
(16) The State Department
of Health shall issue any certificates of need necessary for Mississippi State
University and a public or private health care provider to jointly acquire and
operate a linear accelerator and a magnetic resonance imaging unit. Those
certificates of need shall cover all capital expenditures related to the
project between Mississippi State University and the health care provider,
including, but not limited to, the acquisition of the linear accelerator, the
magnetic resonance imaging unit and other radiological modalities; the offering
of linear accelerator and magnetic resonance imaging services; and the cost of
construction of facilities in which to locate these services. The linear
accelerator and the magnetic resonance imaging unit shall be (a) located in the
City of Starkville, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi; (b) operated jointly by
Mississippi State University and the public or private health care provider
selected by Mississippi State University through a request for proposals (RFP)
process in which Mississippi State University selects, and * * * its university board of trustees * * *
approves, the health care provider that makes the best overall proposal; (c)
available to Mississippi State University for research purposes two-thirds
(2/3) of the time that the linear accelerator and magnetic resonance imaging
unit are operational; and (d) available to the public or private health care
provider selected by Mississippi State University and approved by * * * its university board of trustees * * * one-third
(1/3) of the time for clinical, diagnostic and treatment purposes. For
purposes of this subsection, the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring
substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current
State Health Plan are waived.
(17) The State Department of Health shall issue a certificate of need for the construction of an acute care hospital in Kemper County, not to exceed twenty-five (25) beds, which shall be named the "John C. Stennis Memorial Hospital." In issuing the certificate of need under this subsection, the department shall give priority to a hospital located in Lauderdale County that has two hundred fifteen (215) beds. For purposes of this subsection, the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan and the provisions of Section 41-7-197 requiring a formal certificate of need hearing process are waived. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the person or entity receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subsection or for the beds constructed under the authority of that certificate of need.
(18) The planning, design, construction, renovation, addition, furnishing and equipping of a clinical research unit at any health care facility defined in Section 41-7-173(h) that is under the direction and control of the University of Mississippi Medical Center and located in Jackson, Mississippi, and the addition of new beds or the conversion of beds from one (1) category to another in any such clinical research unit, shall not require the issuance of a certificate of need under Section 41-7-171 et seq., notwithstanding any provision in Section 41-7-171 et seq. to the contrary.
(19) [Repealed]
(20) Nothing in this section or in any other provision of Section 41-7-171 et seq. shall prevent any nursing facility from designating an appropriate number of existing beds in the facility as beds for providing care exclusively to patients with Alzheimer's disease.
SECTION 181. Section 41-13-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-13-15. (1) Any county and/or any political or judicial subdivision of a county and/or any municipality of the State of Mississippi, acting individually or jointly, may acquire and hold real estate for a community hospital either recognized and/or licensed as such by either the State of Mississippi or the United States Government, and may, after complying with applicable health planning and licensure statutes, construct a community hospital thereon and/or appropriate funds according to the provisions of this chapter for the construction, remodeling, maintaining, equipping, furnishing and expansion of such facilities by the board of trustees upon such real estate.
(2) Where joint ownership of a community hospital is involved, the owners are hereby authorized to contract with each other for determining the pro rata ownership of such community hospital, the proportionate cost of maintenance and operation, and the proportionate financing that each will contribute to the community hospital.
(3) The owners may likewise contract with each other, or on behalf of any subordinate political or judicial subdivision, or with the board of trustees of a community hospital, and/or any agency of the State of Mississippi or the United States Government, for necessary purposes related to the establishment, operation or maintenance of community hospitals and related programs wherever located, and may either accept from, sell or contribute to the other entities, monies, personal property or existing health facilities. The owners or the board of trustees may also receive monies, property or any other valuables of any kind through gifts, donations, devises or other recognized means from any source for the purpose of hospital use.
(4) Owners and boards of trustees, acting jointly or severally, may acquire and hold real estate for offices for physicians and other health care practitioners and related health care or support facilities, provided that any contract for the purchase of real property must be ratified by the owner, and may thereon construct and equip, maintain and remodel or expand such offices and related facilities, and the board of trustees may lease same to members of the hospital staff or others at a rate deemed to be in the best interest of the community hospital.
(5) If any political or judicial subdivision of a county is obligated hereunder, the boundaries of such district shall not be altered in such a manner as to relieve any portion thereof of its obligation hereunder.
(6) Owners may convey to any other owner any or all property, real or personal, comprising any existing community hospital, including related facilities, wherever located, owned by such conveying owner. Such conveyance shall be upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon and may make such provisions for transfers of operating funds and/or for the assumption of liabilities of the community hospital as may be deemed appropriate by the respective owners.
(7) (a) Except as provided
for in subsection (11) of this section, owners may lease all or part of the
property, real or personal, comprising a community hospital, including any
related facilities, wherever located, and/or assets of such community hospital,
to any individual, partnership or corporation, whether operating on a nonprofit
basis or on a profit basis, or to the board of trustees of such community
hospital or any other owner or board of trustees, subject to the applicable
provisions of subsections (8), (9) and (10) of this section. The term of such
lease shall not exceed fifty (50) years. Such lease shall be conditioned upon
(i) the leased facility continuing to operate in a manner safeguarding
community health interests; (ii) the proceeds from the lease being first
applied against such bonds, notes or other evidence of indebtedness as are
issued pursuant to Section 41-13-19 as and when they are due, provided that the
terms of the lease shall cover any indebtedness pursuant to Section 41-13-19;
and (iii) any surplus proceeds from the lease being deposited in the general
fund of the owner, which proceeds may be used for any lawful purpose. Such
lease shall be subject to the express approval of the board of trustees of the
community hospital, except in the case where the board of trustees of the
community hospital will be the lessee. However, owners may not lease any
community hospital to the University of Mississippi Medical Center unless first
the University of Mississippi Medical Center has obtained authority to lease
such hospital under specific terms and conditions from the University of
Mississippi Board of Trustees * * *.
If the owner wishes to lease a community hospital without an option to sell it and the approval of the board of trustees of the community hospital is required but is not given within thirty (30) days of the request for its approval by the owner, then the owner may enter such lease as described herein on the following conditions: A resolution by the owner describing its intention to enter such lease shall be published once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in the county or city, as the case may be, or if none be so published, in a newspaper having a general circulation therein. The first publication of such notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the date fixed in such resolution for the lease of the community hospital and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days prior to such date. If, on or prior to the date fixed in such resolution for the lease of the community hospital, there shall be filed with the clerk of the owner a petition signed by twenty percent (20%) or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is less, of the qualified voters of such owner, requesting that an election be called and held on the question of the lease of the community hospital, then it shall be the duty of the owner to call and provide for the holding of an election as petitioned for. In such case, no such lease shall be entered into unless authorized by the affirmative vote of the majority of the qualified voters of such owner who vote on the proposition at such election. Notice of such election shall be given by publication in like manner as hereinabove provided for the publication of the initial resolution. Such election shall be conducted and the return thereof made, canvassed and declared as nearly as may be in like manner as is now or may hereafter be provided by law in the case of general elections in such owner. If, on or prior to the date fixed in the owner's resolution for the lease of the community hospital, no such petition as described above is filed with the clerk of the owner, then the owner may proceed with the lease subject to the other requirements of this section. Subject to the above conditions, the lease agreement shall be upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon and may make such provision for transfers of tangible and intangible personal property and operating funds and/or for the assumption of liabilities of the community hospital and for such lease payments, all as may be deemed appropriate by the owners.
(b) Owners may sell
and convey all or part of the property, real or personal, comprising a
community hospital, including any related facilities, wherever located, and/or
assets of such community hospital, to any individual, partnership or
corporation, whether operating on a nonprofit basis or on a profit basis, or to
the board of trustees of such community hospital or any other owner or board of
trustees, subject to the applicable provisions of subsections (8) and (10) of
this section. Such sale and conveyance shall be upon such terms and conditions
as may be agreed upon by the owner and the purchaser that are consistent with
the requirements of this section, and the parties may make such provisions for
the transfer of operating funds or for the assumption of liabilities of the
facility, or both, as they deem appropriate. However, such sale and conveyance
shall be conditioned upon (i) the facility continuing to operate in a manner
safeguarding community health interests; (ii) the proceeds from such sale being
first applied against such bonds, notes or other evidence of indebtedness as
are issued pursuant to Section 41-13-19 as and when they are due, provided that
the terms of the sale shall cover any indebtedness pursuant to Section 41-13-19;
and (iii) any surplus proceeds from the sale being deposited in the general
fund of the owner, which proceeds may be used for any lawful purpose. However,
owners may not sell or convey any community hospital to the University of
Mississippi Medical Center unless first the University of Mississippi Medical
Center has obtained authority to purchase such hospital under specific terms
and conditions from the University of Mississippi Board of Trustees * * *.
(8) Whenever any owner decides that it may be in its best interests to sell or lease a community hospital as provided for under subsection (7) of this section, the owner shall first contract with a certified public accounting firm, a law firm or competent professional health care or management consultants to review the current operating condition of the community hospital. The review shall consist of, at minimum, the following:
(a) A review of the community's inpatient facility needs based on current workload, historical trends and projections, based on demographic data, of future needs.
(b) A review of the competitive market for services, including other hospitals which serve the same area, the services provided and the market perception of the competitive hospitals.
(c) A review of the hospital's strengths relative to the competition and its capacity to compete in light of projected trends and competition.
(d) An analysis of the hospital's options, including service mix and pricing strategies. If the study concludes that a sale or lease should occur, the study shall include an analysis of which option would be best for the community and how much revenues should be derived from the lease or sale.
(9) After the review and analysis under subsection (8) of this section, an owner may choose to sell or lease the community hospital. If an owner chooses to sell such hospital or lease the hospital with an option to sell it, the owner shall follow the procedure specified in subsection (10) of this section. If an owner chooses to lease the hospital without an option to sell it, it shall first spread upon its minutes why such a lease is in the best interests of the persons living in the area served by the facility to be leased, and it shall make public any and all findings and recommendations made in the review required under proposals for the lease, which shall state clearly the minimum required terms of all respondents and the evaluation process that will be used when the owner reviews the proposals. The owner shall lease to the respondent submitting the highest and best proposal. In no case may the owner deviate from the process provided for in the request for proposals.
(10) If an owner wishes to sell such community hospital or lease the hospital with an option to sell it, the owner first shall conduct a public hearing on the issue of the proposed sale or lease with an option to sell the hospital. Notice of the date, time, location and purpose of the public hearing shall be published once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in the county or city, as the case may be, or if none be so published, in a newspaper having a general circulation therein. The first publication of the notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days before the date of the public hearing and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days before that date. If there is filed with the clerk of the owner not more than twenty-one (21) days after the date of the public hearing, a petition signed by twenty percent (20%) or fifteen hundred (1500), whichever is less, of the qualified voters of the owner, requesting that an election be called and held on the question of whether the owner should proceed with the process of seeking proposals for the sale or lease with an option to sell the hospital, then it shall be the duty of the owner to call and provide for the holding of an election as petitioned for. Notice of the election shall be given by publication in the same manner as provided for the publication of the notice of the public hearing. The election shall be conducted and the return thereof made, canvassed and declared in the same manner as provided by law in the case of general elections in the owner. If less than a majority of the qualified voters of the owner who vote on the proposition at such election vote in favor of the owner proceeding with the process of seeking proposals for the sale or lease with an option to sell the hospital, then the owner is not authorized to sell or lease the hospital. If a majority of the qualified voters of the owner who vote on the proposition at such election vote in favor of the owner proceeding with the process of seeking proposals for the sale or lease with an option to sell the hospital, then the owner may seek proposals for the sale or lease of the hospital. If no such petition is timely filed with the clerk of the owner, then the owner may proceed with the process of seeking proposals for the sale or lease with an option to sell the hospital. The owner shall adopt a resolution describing its intention to sell or lease with an option to sell the hospital, which shall include the owner's reasons why such a sale or lease is in the best interests of the persons living in the area served by the facility to be sold or leased. The owner then shall publish a copy of the resolution; the requirements for proposals for the sale or lease with an option to sell the hospital, which shall state clearly the minimum required terms of all respondents and the evaluation process that will be used when the owner reviews the proposals; and the date proposed by the owner for the sale or lease with an option to sell the hospital. Such publication shall be made once a week for at least three (3) consecutive weeks in at least one (1) newspaper published in the county or city, as the case may be, or if none be so published, in a newspaper having a general circulation therein. The first publication of the notice shall be made not less than twenty-one (21) days before the date proposed for the sale or lease with an option to sell the hospital and the last publication shall be made not more than seven (7) days before that date. After receiving proposals, such sale or lease shall be made to the respondent submitting the highest and best proposal. In no case may the owner deviate from the process provided for in the request for proposals.
(11) A lessee of a community hospital, under a lease entered into under the authority of Section 41-13-15, in effect prior to July 15, 1993, or an affiliate thereof, may extend or renew such lease whether or not an option to renew or extend the lease is contained in the lease, for a term not to exceed fifteen (15) years, conditioned upon (a) the leased facility continuing to operate in a manner safeguarding community health interest; (b) proceeds from the lease being first applied against such bonds, notes or other evidence of indebtedness as are issued pursuant to Section 41-13-19; (c) surplus proceeds from the lease being used for health related purposes; (d) subject to the express approval of the board of trustees of the community hospital; and (e) subject to the express approval of the owner. If no board of trustees is then existing, the owner shall have the right to enter into a lease upon such terms and conditions as agreed upon by the parties. Any lease entered into under this subsection (11) may contain an option to purchase the hospital, on such terms as the parties shall agree.
SECTION 182. Section 41-23-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-23-45. The State
Department of Health shall prepare written educational information on the risks
associated with meningitis and hepatitis A and B and the availability and
effectiveness of available vaccines for these diseases. The department shall
provide this written educational information to the * * * state institutions of
higher learning and the Mississippi Community College Board to be used
to inform students about meningitis and hepatitis A and B. This information
shall be sent to students with their letters of acceptance for admission or
included in the students' admission packets.
SECTION 183. Section 41-63-4, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-63-4. (1) In order to improve the quality and efficiency of medical care, the State Department of Health shall design and establish a registry program of the condition and treatment of persons seeking medical care that will provide the following:
(a) Information in a central data bank system of accurate, precise and current information regarding the diagnostic services and therapeutic services for medical diagnosis, treatment and care of injured, disabled or sick persons, or rehabilitation services for the rehabilitation of injured, disabled or sick persons provided by licensed health care providers designated by the State Board of Health;
(b) Collection of that data;
(c) Dissemination of that data; and
(d) Analysis of that data for the purposes of the evaluation and improvement of the quality and efficiency of medical care provided in a health care facility.
(2) The State Board of Health shall adopt rules, regulations and procedures to govern the operation of the registry program and to carry out the intent of this section.
(3) At a minimum, the board shall require that each hospital, free-standing ambulatory surgical facility and outpatient diagnostic imaging center shall submit patient data as defined by the board to the Mississippi Hospital Association or the department within sixty (60) days after the close of each calendar quarter for all patients that were discharged or died during that quarter.
(4) (a) There is created a State Health Data Advisory Committee to advise and make recommendations to the board regarding rules and regulations promulgated under this section. The committee shall consist of the following members:
(i) A representative of the Mississippi Hospital Association appointed by the association;
(ii) A representative of the Mississippi State Medical Association appointed by the association;
(iii) A representative of the Mississippi Nurses Association appointed by the association;
(iv) A representative of the Mississippi Health Care Association appointed by the association;
(v) A health
researcher appointed by the * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education;
(vi) A representative of the State Department of Health appointed by the State Health Officer;
(vii) A consumer representative who is not professionally involved in the purchase, provision, administration, or utilization review of health care or insurance appointed by the Governor;
(viii) A representative of a third-party payer appointed by the Governor;
(ix) A member who is not professionally involved in the purchase, provision, administration, or utilization review of health care or insurance and who has expertise in health planning, health economics, health policy, or health information systems appointed by the Governor; and
(x) A member of the business community appointed by the Governor.
(b) Committee members shall serve until a successor is appointed.
(c) Committee members shall elect a chairman and vice chairman and adopt bylaws.
(d) The department shall provide staff assistance as needed to the committee.
(5) (a) The department shall specify the types of information to be provided to the registry. The State Health Data Advisory Committee shall advise the department on the content, format, frequency and transmission of the data to be provided.
(b) Data elements required to be submitted must comply with current national standards recommended by the National Uniform Billing Committee, the National Committee on Vital Health Statistics, or similar national standards setting body.
(6) The department shall accept data submitted by the Mississippi Hospital Association on behalf of hospitals by entering into a binding agreement negotiated with the association to obtain data required under this section. A health care provider shall submit the required information to the department:
(a) If the provider does not submit the required data through the Mississippi Hospital Association;
(b) If no binding agreement has been reached within ninety (90) days from July 1, 2008, between the department and the Mississippi Hospital Association; or
(c) If a binding agreement has expired for more than ninety (90) days.
(7) The information, data and records shall not divulge the identity of any patient.
(8) Submission of information to and use of information by the department in accordance with this section shall be considered a permitted disclosure for uses and disclosures required by law and for public health activities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Privacy Rules promulgated thereunder at 45 CFR Sections 164.512(a) and (b).
(9) Notwithstanding any conflicting statute, court rule or other law, the data maintained in the registry shall be confidential and shall not be subject to discovery or introduction into evidence in any civil action. However, information and data otherwise discoverable or admissible from original sources are not to be construed as immune from discovery or use in any civil action merely because they were provided to the registry.
(10) The department shall assure that public use data are made available and accessible to interested persons in accordance with the rules and regulations promulgated by the board.
(11) Notwithstanding other actions or remedies afforded to persons about whom data is released, a person who knowingly or negligently releases data in violation of this section is liable for a civil penalty of not more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00).
(12) A person or organization who fails to supply data required under this section is liable for a civil penalty of Five Cents (5¢) for each record for each day the submission is delinquent. A submission is delinquent if the department does not receive it within thirty (30) days after the date the submission was due. If the department receives the submission in incomplete form, the department shall notify the provider and allow fifteen (15) additional days to correct the error. The notice shall provide the provider an additional fifteen (15) days to submit the data before the imposition of any civil penalty. The maximum civil penalty for a delinquent submission is Ten Dollars ($10.00) for each record. The department shall issue an assessment of the civil penalty to the provider. The provider has a right to an informal conference with the department, if the provider requests the conference within thirty (30) days of receipt of the assessment. After the informal conference or, if no conference is requested, after the time for requesting the informal conference has expired, the department may proceed to collect the penalty. In its request for an informal conference, the provider may request the department to waive the penalty. The department may waive the penalty in cases of an act of God or other acts beyond the control of the provider. Waiver of the penalty is in the sole discretion of the department.
(13) The board shall have the authority to set fees and charges with regard to the collection and compilation of data requested for special reports and for the dissemination of data. The revenue derived from the fees imposed in this section shall be deposited by the Department of Health in a special fund that is created in the State Treasury, which is earmarked for use by the department in conducting its activities under this section.
SECTION 184. Section 41-87-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-87-5. Unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter:
(a) "Eligible infants and toddlers" or "eligible children" means children from birth through thirty-six (36) months of age who need early intervention services because they:
(i) Are experiencing developmental delays as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures in one or more of the following areas:
(A) Cognitive development;
(B) Physical development, including vision or hearing;
(C) Communication development;
(D) Social or emotional development;
(E) Adaptive development;
(ii) Have a diagnosed physical or mental condition, as defined in state policy, that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay;
(iii) Are at risk of having substantial developmental delays if early intervention services are not provided due to conditions as defined in state policy. (This category may be served at the discretion of the lead agency contingent upon available resources.)
(b) "Early intervention services" are developmental services that:
(i) Are provided under public supervision;
(ii) Are provided at no cost except where federal or state law provides for a system of payments by families, including a schedule of sliding fees;
(iii) Are designed to meet the developmental needs of an infant or toddler with a disability in any one or more of the following areas:
(A) Physical development;
(B) Cognitive development;
(C) Communication development;
(D) Social or emotional development; or
(E) Adaptive development;
(iv) Meet the requirements of Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the early intervention standards of the State of Mississippi;
(v) Include, but are not limited to, the following services:
(A) Assistive technology devices and assistive technology services;
(B) Audiology;
(C) Family training, counseling and home visits;
(D) Health services necessary to enable a child to benefit from other early intervention services;
(E) Medical services only for diagnostic or evaluation purposes;
(F) Nutrition services;
(G) Occupational therapy;
(H) Physical therapy;
(I) Psychological services;
(J) Service coordination (case management);
(K) Social work services;
(L) Special instruction;
(M) Speech-language pathology;
(N) Transportation and related costs that are necessary to enable an infant or toddler and her/his family to receive early intervention services; and
(O) Vision services;
(vi) Are provided by qualified personnel as determined by the state's personnel standards, including:
(A) Audiologists;
(B) Family therapists;
(C) Nurses;
(D) Nutritionists;
(E) Occupational therapists;
(F) Orientation and mobility specialists;
(G) Pediatricians and other physicians;
(H) Physical therapists;
(I) Psychologists;
(J) Social workers;
(K) Special educators;
(L) Speech and language pathologists;
(vii) Are provided, to the maximum extent appropriate, in natural environments, including the home, and community settings in which children without disabilities would participate;
(viii) Are provided in conformity with an individualized family service plan.
(c) "Council" means the State Interagency Coordinating Council established under Section 41-87-7.
(d) "Lead agency" means the State Department of Health.
(e)
"Participating agencies" includes, but is not limited to, the State
Department of Education, the Department of Human Services, the State Department
of Health, the Division of Medicaid, the State Department of Mental Health, the
University Medical Center, * * * state institutions of
higher learning and the Mississippi Community College Board.
(f) "Local community" means a county either jointly, severally, or a portion thereof, participating in the provision of early intervention services.
(g) "Primary service agency" means the agency, whether a state agency, local agency, local interagency council or service provider which is designated by the lead agency to serve as the fiscal and contracting agent for a local community.
(h) "Multidisciplinary team" means a group comprised of the parent(s) or legal guardian and the service providers, as appropriate, described in paragraph (b) of this section, who are assembled for the purposes of:
(i) Assessing the developmental needs of an infant or toddler;
(ii) Developing the individualized family service plan; and
(iii) Providing the infant or toddler and his or her family with the appropriate early intervention services as detailed in the individualized family service plan.
(i) "Individualized family service plan" means a written plan designed to address the needs of the infant or toddler and his or her family as specified under Section 41-87-13.
(j) "Early intervention standards" means those standards established by any agency or agencies statutorily designated the responsibility to establish standards for infants and toddlers with disabilities, in coordination with the council and in accordance with Part C of IDEA.
(k) "Early intervention system" means the total collaborative effort in the state that is directed at meeting the needs of eligible children and their families.
(l) "Parent," for the purpose of early intervention services, means a parent, a guardian, a person acting as a parent of a child, foster parent, or an appointed surrogate parent. The term does not include the state if the child is a ward of the state where the child has not been placed with individuals to serve in a parenting capacity, such as foster parents, or when a surrogate parent has not been appointed. When a child is the ward of the state, a Department of Human Services representative will act as parent for purposes of service authorization.
(m) "Policies" means the state statutes, regulations, Governor's orders, directives by the lead agency, or other written documents that represent the state's position concerning any matter covered under this chapter.
(n) "Regulations" means the United States Department of Education's regulations concerning the governance and implementation of Part C of IDEA, the Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities.
SECTION 185. Section 41-123-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-123-1. There is established the Office of Mississippi Physician Workforce within the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) for the purpose of overseeing the physician workforce development and needs, both in numbers and distribution, of the State of Mississippi. The office shall have a director who must be a physician licensed in the State of Mississippi. In addition, the office shall have a researcher to assist the director in collecting and analyzing data concerning the physician workforce needs of Mississippi and other necessary staff to assist in its work. The office shall have the following duties, at a minimum:
(a) Assessing the current numbers, ages, types of practice, hospital affiliations, and geographic distribution of physicians in each medical specialty in Mississippi;
(b) Assessing the current and future physician workforce needs of the State of Mississippi;
(c) Assisting in the creation and/or support of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited GME training programs in the State of Mississippi based on needs analysis and criteria established by the office and the advisory board while maintaining a strong and continued priority focus on family medicine. This support may include the awarding of state financial assistance as available, for the creation or support of family medicine residencies and other GME programs approved by the advisory board;
(d) Encouraging the development of an adequate and geographically distributed physician workforce in all specialties for the State of Mississippi with an evolving strategic plan; and
(e) Providing an
annual report to the Governor, the Legislature, the State Board of Health, and
the * * * state institutions of higher learning on the current status of
the physician workforce and training programs in Mississippi.
SECTION 186. Section 43-14-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-14-1. (1) The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the development, implementation and oversight of a coordinated interagency system of necessary services and care for children and youth, called the Mississippi Statewide System of Care, up to age twenty-one (21) with serious emotional/behavioral disorders including, but not limited to, conduct disorders, or mental illness who require services from a multiple services and multiple programs system, and who can be successfully diverted from inappropriate institutional placement. The Mississippi Statewide System of Care is to be conducted in the most fiscally responsible (cost-efficient) manner possible, based on an individualized plan of care which takes into account other available interagency programs, including, but not limited to, Early Intervention Act of Infants and Toddlers, Section 41-87-1 et seq., Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment, Section 43-13-117(A)(5), waivered program for home- and community-based services for developmentally disabled people, Section 43-13-117(A)(29), and waivered program for targeted case management services for children with special needs, Section 43-13-117(A)(31), those children identified through the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997 as having a serious emotional disorder (EMD), the Mississippi Children's Health Insurance Program and waivered programs for children with serious emotional disturbances, Section 43-13-117(A)(46), and is tied to clinically and functionally appropriate outcomes. Some of the outcomes are to reduce the number of inappropriate out-of-home placements inclusive of those out-of-state and to reduce the number of inappropriate school suspensions and expulsions for this population of children. This coordinated interagency system of necessary services and care shall be named the Mississippi Statewide System of Care. Children to be served by this chapter who are eligible for Medicaid shall be screened through the Medicaid Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) and their needs for medically necessary services shall be certified through the EPSDT process. For purposes of this chapter, the Mississippi Statewide System of Care is defined as a coordinated network of agencies and providers working as a team to make a full range of mental health and other necessary services available as needed by children with mental health problems and their families. The Mississippi Statewide System of Care shall be:
(a) Child centered, family focused, family driven and youth guided;
(b) Community based;
(c) Culturally competent and responsive; and shall provide for:
(i) Service coordination or case management;
(ii) Prevention and early identification and intervention;
(iii) Smooth transitions among agencies and providers, and to the transition-age and adult service systems;
(iv) Human rights protection and advocacy;
(v) Nondiscrimination in access to services;
(vi) A comprehensive array of services composed of treatment and informal supports that are identified as best practices and/or evidence-based practices;
(vii) Individualized service planning that uses a strengths-based, wraparound process;
(viii) Services in the least restrictive environment;
(ix) Family participation in all aspects of planning, service delivery and evaluation; and
(x) Integrated services with coordinated planning across child-serving agencies.
Mississippi Statewide System of Care services shall be timely, intensive, coordinated and delivered in the community. Mississippi Statewide System of Care services shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) Comprehensive crisis and emergency response services;
(b) Intensive case management;
(c) Day treatment;
(d) Alcohol and drug abuse group services for youth;
(e) Individual, group and family therapy;
(f) Respite services;
(g) Supported employment services for youth;
(h) Family education and support and family partners;
(i) Youth development and support and youth partners;
(j) Positive behavioral supports (PBIS) in schools;
(k) Transition-age supported and independent living services; and
(l) Vocational/technical education services for youth.
(2) There is established the Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth (hereinafter referred to as the "ICCCY"). The ICCCY shall consist of the following membership: (a) The State Superintendent of Public Education;
(b) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health;
(c) The Executive Director of the State Department of Health;
(d) The Executive Director of the Department of Human Services;
(e) The Executive Director of the Division of Medicaid, Office of the Governor;
(f) The Executive Director of the State Department of Rehabilitation Services;
(g) The Executive Director of Mississippi Families as Allies for Children's Mental Health, Inc.;
(h) The Attorney General;
(i) A family member of a child or youth in the population named in this chapter designated by Mississippi Families as Allies;
(j) A youth or young adult in the population named in this chapter designated by Mississippi Families as Allies;
(k) A local MAP team coordinator designated by the Department of Mental Health;
(l) A child psychiatrist experienced in the public mental health system designated by the Mississippi Psychiatric Association;
(m) An individual with expertise and experience in early childhood education designated jointly by the Department of Mental Health and Mississippi Families as Allies;
(n) A representative of an organization that advocates on behalf of disabled citizens in Mississippi designated by the Department of Mental Health; and
(o) A faculty member
or dean from a Mississippi university specializing in training professionals
who work in the Mississippi Statewide System of Care designated by the * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education.
If a member of the council designates a representative to attend council meetings, the designee shall bring full decision-making authority of the member to the meeting. The council shall select a chairman, who shall serve for a one-year term and may not serve consecutive terms. The council shall adopt internal organizational procedures necessary for efficient operation of the council. Each member of the council shall designate necessary staff of their departments to assist the ICCCY in performing its duties and responsibilities. The ICCCY shall meet and conduct business at least twice annually. The chairman of the ICCCY shall notify all ICCCY members and all other persons who request such notice as to the date, time, place and draft agenda items for each meeting.
(3) The Interagency System of Care Council (ISCC) is created to serve as the state management team for the ICCCY, with the responsibility of collecting and analyzing data and funding strategies necessary to improve the operation of the Mississippi Statewide System of Care, and to make recommendations to the ICCCY and to the Legislature concerning such strategies on, at a minimum, an annual basis. The System of Care Council also has the responsibility of coordinating the local Multidisciplinary Assessment and Planning (MAP) teams and "A" teams and may apply for grants from public and private sources necessary to carry out its responsibilities. The Interagency System of Care Council shall be comprised of one (1) member from each of the appropriate child-serving divisions or sections of the State Department of Health, the Department of Human Services (Division of Family and Children Services and Division of Youth Services), the State Department of Mental Health (Division of Children and Youth, Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, and Bureau of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities), the State Department of Education (Office of Special Education and Office of Healthy Schools), the Division of Medicaid of the Governor's Office, the Department of Rehabilitation Services, and the Attorney General's office. Additional members shall include a family member of a child, youth or transition-age youth representing a family education and support 501(c)3 organization, working with the population named in this chapter designated by Mississippi Families as Allies, an individual with expertise and experience in early childhood education designated jointly by the Department of Mental Health and Mississippi Families as Allies, a local MAP team representative and a local "A" team representative designated by the Department of Mental Health, a probation officer designated by the Department of Corrections, a family member and youth or young adult designated by Mississippi Families as Allies for Children's Mental Health, Inc., (MSFAA), and a family member other than a MSFAA representative to be designated by the Department of Mental Health and the Director of the Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement of the State Department of Education. Appointments to the Interagency System of Care Council shall be made within sixty (60) days after June 30, 2010. The council shall organize by selecting a chairman from its membership to serve on an annual basis, and the chairman may not serve consecutive terms.
(4) (a) As part of the Mississippi Statewide System of Care, there is established a statewide system of local Multidisciplinary Assessment, Planning and Resource (MAP) teams. The MAP teams shall be comprised of one (1) representative each at the county level from the major child-serving public agencies for education, human services, health, mental health and rehabilitative services approved by respective state agencies of the Department of Education, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Health, the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Rehabilitation Services. These agencies shall, by policy, contract or regulation require participation on MAP teams and "A" teams at the county level by the appropriate staff. Three (3) additional members may be added to each team, one (1) of which may be a representative of a family education/support 501(c)3 organization with statewide recognition and specifically established for the population of children defined in Section 43-14-1. The remaining members will be representatives of significant community-level stakeholders with resources that can benefit the population of children defined in Section 43-14-1. The Department of Education shall assist in recruiting and identifying parents to participate on MAP teams and "A" teams.
(b) For each local existing MAP team that is established pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection, there
shall also be established an "A" (Adolescent) team which shall work with a MAP team. The "A" teams shall provide System of Care services for youthful offenders who have serious behavioral or emotional disorders. Each "A" team shall be comprised of, at a minimum, the following five (5) members:
(i) A school counselor, mental health therapist or social worker;
(ii) A community mental health professional;
(iii) A social services/child welfare professional;
(iv) A youth court counselor; and
(v) A parent who had a child in the juvenile justice system.
(c) The Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth and the Interagency System of Care Council shall work to develop MAP teams statewide that will serve to become the single point of entry for children and youth about to be placed in out-of-home care for reasons other than parental abuse/neglect.
(5) The Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth may provide input to one another and to the ISCC relative to how each agency utilizes its federal and state statutes, policy requirements and funding streams to identify and/or serve children and youth in the population defined in this section. The ICCCY shall support the implementation of the plans of the respective state agencies for comprehensive, community-based, multidisciplinary care, treatment and placement of these children.
(6) The ICCCY shall oversee a pool of state funds that may be contributed by each participating state agency and additional funds from the Mississippi Tobacco Health Care Expenditure Fund, subject to specific appropriation therefor by the Legislature. Part of this pool of funds shall be available for increasing the present funding levels by matching Medicaid funds in order to increase the existing resources available for necessary community-based services for Medicaid beneficiaries.
(7) The local interagency coordinating care MAP team or "A" team will facilitate the development of the individualized System of Care programs for the population targeted in this section.
(8) Each local MAP team and "A" team shall serve as the single point of entry and re-entry to ensure that comprehensive diagnosis and assessment occur and shall coordinate needed services through the local MAP team and "A" team members and local service providers for the children named in subsection (1). Local children in crisis shall have first priority for access to the MAP team and "A" team processes and local System of Care services.
(9) The Interagency Coordinating Council for Children and Youth shall facilitate monitoring of the performance of local MAP teams.
(10) Each ICCCY member named in subsection (2) of this section shall enter into a binding memorandum of understanding to participate in the further development and oversight of the Mississippi Statewide System of Care for the children and youth described in this section. The agreement shall outline the system responsibilities in all operational areas, including ensuring representation on MAP teams, funding, data collection, referral of children to MAP teams and "A" teams, and training. The agreement shall be signed and in effect by July 1 of each year.
SECTION 187. Section 43-55-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-55-5. (1) Members of the Commission for Volunteer Service shall be appointed by the Governor. The commission shall consist of no fewer than fifteen (15) and no more than twenty-five (25) members.
(2) The commission members shall include as voting members, except as otherwise indicated, at least one (1) of each of the following:
(a) An individual with expertise in the educational, training, and developmental needs of youth, particularly disadvantaged youth.
(b) An individual with experience in promoting service and volunteerism among older adults.
(c) A representative of a community-based agency.
(d) The superintendent of the State Department of Education, or his or her designee.
(e) A representative of local government.
(f) A representative of local labor organizations.
(g) A representative of business.
(h) An individual between the ages of sixteen (16) and twenty-five (25) who is a participant or supervisor in a program as defined in Section 101 of Title I, 42 USCS 12511.
(i) A representative of a national service program described in Section 122(a) of Title I, 42 USCS 12572.
(j) The employee of the corporation designated under Section 195 of Title I, 42 USCS 12651f, as the representative of the corporation in this state, as a nonvoting member.
(3) In addition to the members described in subsection (2), the commission may include as voting members any of the following:
(a) Local educators.
(b) Experts in the delivery of human, educational, environmental, or public safety services to communities and persons.
(c) Representative of Native American tribes.
(d) Out-of-school youth or other at-risk youth.
(e) Representatives of entities that receive assistance under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973, Public Law 93-113, 87 Stat. 394.
(f) A member * * * appointed by the * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education.
(4) Not more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the voting commission members shall be officers or employees of this state. The Governor may appoint additional officers or employees of state agencies operating community service, youth service, education, social service, senior service, and job training programs, as nonvoting, ex officio members of the commission.
(5) The Governor shall ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that the commission membership is diverse with respect to race, ethnicity, age, gender, and disability characteristics.
(6) Except as provided in this subsection, members of the commission shall serve for staggered three-year terms expiring on October 1. The members constituting the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service under Executive Order No. 1994-742 on March 28, 1996, shall serve on the commission for the remainder of the terms for which they were appointed. Of the additional members, the Governor shall appoint one-third (1/3) of the initial members for a term of one (1) year; one-third (1/3) for a term of two (2) years; and one-third (1/3) for a term of three (3) years. Following expiration of these initial terms, all appointments shall be for three-year renewable terms. Members of the commission may not serve more than two (2) consecutive terms.
(7) A vacancy on the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments, and any member so appointed shall serve during the remainder of the term for which the vacancy occurred. The vacancy shall not affect the power of the remaining commission members to execute the duties of the commission.
SECTION 188. Section 43-55-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-55-23. (1) The institutions of higher learning and the Office of the Governor shall provide necessary administrative and staff support services to the State Commission for Volunteer Service. Additional support services may be provided, including, but not limited to, the use of office space, furniture and equipment, motor vehicles, travel and other related services. The commission shall employ an executive director, who shall be initially designated by the Governor. The executive director shall employ such staff as is necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. Future executive directors shall be selected by the commission.
(2) The commission may procure information and assistance from the state or any subdivision, municipal corporation, public officer, or governmental department or agency thereof. All agencies, officers, and political subdivisions of the state or municipal corporations shall provide the office with all relevant information and reasonable assistance on any matters of research within their knowledge or control.
(3) The commission may apply for, receive, and expend funds, grants, and services from local, state, or federal government, or any of their agencies, or any other public or private sources and is authorized to use funds derived from these sources for purposes reasonable and necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. The commission also may expend monies, upon appropriation by the Legislature, from the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service Fund created in Section 43-55-29.
(4) The commission shall
submit its budget request through the * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education. Such request shall be submitted by the * * * Commission of Higher
Education as a separate and distinct request made on behalf of the
commission.
SECTION 189. Section 47-5-401, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-401. (1) There is hereby authorized, in each county of the state, a public service work program for state inmates in custody of the county. Such a program may be established at the option of the county in accordance with the provisions of Sections 47-5-401 through 47-5-421. The department shall also recommend rules and regulations concerning the participation of state inmates in the program.
(2) An inmate shall not be eligible to participate in a work program established in accordance with the provisions of Sections 47-5-401 through 47-5-421 if he has been convicted of any crime of violence, including but not limited to murder, aggravated assault, rape, robbery or armed robbery.
(3) The inmates
participating in the work program established in accordance with the provisions
of Sections 47-5-401 through 47-5-421 are restricted to the performance of
public service work for counties, municipalities, the state or nonprofit
charitable organizations, as defined by Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, except that the Department of Corrections must approve
all requests by nonprofit charitable organizations to use offenders to perform
any public service work. Upon request of * * * university boards of trustees * * *, or
the board of trustees of a county school district, municipal school district or
junior college district, the inmates may be permitted to perform work for such
boards.
SECTION 190. Section 47-5-451, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-451. (1) There is hereby authorized, in each county of the state, a public service work program for state inmates in custody of the county. Such a program may be established at the option of the county in accordance with the provisions of Sections 47-5-401 through 47-5-421. The department shall also recommend rules and regulations concerning the participation of state inmates in the program.
(2) An inmate shall not be eligible to participate in a work program established in accordance with the provisions of Sections 47-5-401 through 47-5-421, if he has been convicted of any crime of violence, including, but not limited to, murder, aggravated assault, rape, robbery or armed robbery.
(3) The inmates
participating in the work program established in accordance with the provisions
of Sections 47-5-401 through 47-5-421, are restricted to the performance of
public service work for counties, municipalities, the state, nonprofit
charitable organizations or churches, as defined by Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, except that the Department of Corrections must
approve all requests by nonprofit charitable organizations or churches to use
offenders to perform any public service work. Upon request of * * * university boards of trustees * * *, or
the board of trustees of a county school district, municipal school district or
junior college district, the inmates may be permitted to perform work for such
boards.
SECTION 191. Section 49-3-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-3-5.
The Mississippi State University Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized and directed to establish a fisheries and wildlife laboratory
at Mississippi State University under the direction of the president and such
other administrative authorities within the university as such board of
trustees may determine.
SECTION 192. Section 49-3-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-3-7.
The Mississippi State University Board of Trustees * * * shall
provide for such laboratory such buildings, equipment, personnel, supplies and
service as it shall determine to be necessary for the proper operation and
maintenance of such laboratory, having due regard for the contributory
facilities and programs already existing at Mississippi State University.
SECTION 193. Section 49-3-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-3-11. In addition to the appropriations made by the Mississippi Legislature for the operation and support of the laboratory, the Mississippi State University Board of Trustees of state institutions of higher learning is authorized and empowered to receive contributions, donations, gifts and grants of money and/or property, equipment, materials or manpower from persons, foundations, trust funds, corporations, organizations, the federal government or any subdivision thereof, the state government or any subdivision thereof, to be expended by the board in carrying out the purposes and objectives of this chapter.
SECTION 194. Section 55-23-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
55-23-5. There is hereby created a commission to be known as "The Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission," hereinafter sometimes referred to as the commission, which shall consist of six (6) members as follows:
(a) One (1) member shall be appointed by the Mayor of the City of Jackson, Mississippi;
(b) One (1) member
shall be selected by the * * *Board of Trustees of State Institutions Commissioner of
Higher * * *
Education from among the membership of * * * a university board of trustees * * *;
(c) Two (2) members shall be appointed by the Governor from the state at large outside of Hinds County, Mississippi, and one (1) member shall be appointed by the Governor from Hinds County, Mississippi. The appointee from Hinds County may be selected from a list of three (3) persons submitted by the Hinds County Board of Supervisors to the Governor;
(d) One (1) member shall be the President of Jackson State University, or his designee.
Terms of members shall begin
on May 1, 1987, as follows: Of the members appointed by the Governor, one (1)
shall serve for a term of one (1) year, one (1) for a term of two (2) years and
one (1) for a term of three (3) years; the member appointed by the Mayor of the
City of Jackson shall serve for a term of four (4) years; and the member * * *
appointed by the Commissioner of Higher * * * Education shall serve for a
term of five (5) years. Upon the expiration of the foregoing terms, members
shall serve for terms of five (5) years each. The appointing authority shall
fill any vacancy in the above terms by appointment of a member for the
unexpired term. Members shall be eligible for reappointment. An appointed
member serving on the commission on April 30, 1987, shall be eligible for
appointment to the commission for a term beginning May 1, 1987, of either one
(1), two (2), three (3), four (4) or five (5) years, if such member is
otherwise qualified. One (1) member of the commission appointed by the
Governor shall be a person knowledgeable in marketing with at least three (3)
years actual experience therein and one (1) member appointed by the Governor
shall be a person of recognized ability in a trade or business with at least
five (5) years actual experience therein. From and after May 1, 1987, the name
of the commission shall be the "Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Commission"
and any references in Sections 55-23-3 through 55-23-11 to the Mississippi
Memorial Stadium Commission or commission shall mean the Mississippi Veterans
Memorial Stadium Commission unless the context clearly indicates a different
meaning. From and after May 1, 1987, the stadium shall be known as the
"Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium." The commission is
authorized to accept donations of money, property or services from any public
or private source to accomplish any physical replacement or alterations of
stadium property necessary to accomplish the renaming of the stadium.
The members of the commission shall serve without compensation except that members shall be paid their actual and necessary expenses in connection with the performance of their duties as members of the commission, including mileage, as authorized in Section 25-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, plus a per diem as is authorized by Section 25-3-69, Mississippi Code of 1972, while engaged in the performance of their duties. The expenses, mileage and per diem allowance shall be paid out of the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Fund.
The commission shall elect from its membership a chairman who shall preside over meetings and a vice chairman who shall preside in the absence of the chairman. Three (3) members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any and all business of the commission.
The powers of the commission shall be exercised by a majority of the members thereof, but it may delegate to one or more of its members, or to its agents and employees, such powers and duties as it may deem proper, and may adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of its business and affairs. The commission shall contract with a certified public accounting firm to conduct audits of concession and novelty sales by vendors at the stadium. The commission shall, as far as is practicable, provide that the cost of such audits shall be paid by the vendor of such concessions or novelties, or both.
The commission shall appoint a director who shall have at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited university or college. The director shall have the responsibility for insuring the marketing of tickets to events conducted in the stadium, in addition to such other duties as the commission may designate. Before entering upon the duties of his office, the director shall give bond to the State of Mississippi in the sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), and said bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful discharge and performance of his official duty. The principal and surety on said bond shall be liable thereunder to the state for double the amount of value of any money or property which the state may lose, if any, by reason of any wrongful or criminal act of said director. Said bond, when approved by the commission, shall be filed with the Secretary of State, and the premium thereon shall be paid from the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Fund.
SECTION 195. Section 55-23-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
55-23-8. (1) Jackson State University and the University of Mississippi Medical Center shall comply fully with the terms of any lease agreement entered into by the Department of Finance and Administration with any public or private entity for that portion of the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Property transferred to and under its jurisdiction as provided in Section 55-23-6, including the existing lease agreement between the Department of Finance and Administration and the University of Mississippi Medical Center entered into on February 23, 2009, as amended from time to time, unless and except that public or private entity breaches the terms of the lease agreement or defaults on lease payments or upon an agreement of the parties to terminate.
(2) The University of Mississippi Medical Center may enter into agreements with any developer for the property conveyed to the University of Mississippi Medical Center under Section 55-23-6, or any lessee or lessees (or any designee of any such lessee or lessees), which agreements may extend over any period of time not exceeding the term of such lease (including renewals and extensions), pursuant to which the state shall be obligated to purchase contractual rights and/or improvements constructed on such property and/or any residual rights in connection with such improvements upon terms and for a purchase price, not to exceed Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00).
(3) The University of Mississippi Medical Center, in its discretion, is authorized to enter into all other agreements as may be necessary or appropriate in connection with any financing by any lessee or lessees (or any designee of any such lessee or lessees) of any improvements to be constructed on property leased from the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
(4) Any lease, renewal
thereof, or other agreement entered into by the University of Mississippi
Medical Center under this section shall not be valid unless approved by the University
of Mississippi Board of Trustees * * *.
(5) Any lessee or lessees (or any designee of any such lessee or lessees) of property leased from the University of Mississippi Medical Center under this section shall not be considered as being the state, any political subdivision of the state or any officer or servant of the state for the purposes of any liability that may be waived under Section 11-46-1 et seq.
(6) The University of Mississippi Medical Center, or the Department of Finance and Administration, acting on behalf of the state or any state agency, is authorized to perform any additional steps and necessary duties to fully implement the provisions of this section and Sections 55-23-6 and 55-23-9, as the exercise of such authority relates to the negotiation or renegotiation of certain leases or acquiring rights in any property under any existing lease with the Department of Finance and Administration.
(7) In addition to the requirement imposed upon the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Jackson State University to fully comply with the terms of all lease agreements entered into concerning the "Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Property," the process of eminent domain shall not be used to acquire possession of any property interest leased under the provision of any existing development lease entered into on the property at any time before the expiration of the term of the original lease or any amendment made thereto.
SECTION 196. Section 55-23-53, Mississippi Code of 1972, which required the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning to develop a football schedule proposal for the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, is repealed.
SECTION 197. Section 57-1-357, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-1-357. * * * Each university board of trustees * * * is
hereby authorized to support the project by creating institutes and developing
curricula of direct benefit to the enterprise. Upon notification to * * * MDA by the enterprise that the
state has been selected as the site of the project, * * * each university board of trustees * * * may
establish and create programs to enhance the project's success.
SECTION 198. Section 57-13-22, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-13-22. (1) The
Mississippi Research and Development Center is hereby abolished from and after
July 1, 1988. All of the functions of the center shall be transferred on that
date to the Mississippi * * *Department of Economic Development Authority or to the
University Research Center which is created in Section 37-141-3.
(2) (a) From and after July 1, 1988, the duties and responsibilities of the Research and Development Center which are depicted organizationally in the 1989 fiscal year budget request of the Research and Development Center and which are performed by the Forecast and Analysis Division, the Administration Division, the Government Services Division and the Data Services Division except as provided in subsection 3(b) shall be transferred to the University Research Center.
(b) From and after
July 1, 1988, the duties and responsibilities of the Research and Development
Center not included in the transfer described in paragraph (a) except as
provided in subsection (3)(c) of this section shall be transferred to the
Mississippi * * * Development Authority.
(3) (a) All personnel of
the Mississippi Research and Development Center shall be transferred to the * * * Mississippi
Development Authority or to the University Research Center according to the
transfer of their duties pursuant to this section.
(b) It is specifically
provided that the positions identified in items (i), (ii) and (iii) below be
transferred to the * * * Mississippi Development Authority
unless the Director of the Research and Development Center and the Executive
Director of the * * * Mississippi Development Authority
make mutually agreeable substitutions:
(i) Position identification numbers 60, 174, 244, 98 and 177 of the Administration Unit shall be transferred June 1, 1988.
(ii) Position identification numbers 156, 27, 194, 23, 307 and 308 of the Data Services Unit shall be transferred July 1, 1988.
(iii) Position identification numbers 71, 104 and 148 of the Government Services Division shall be transferred July 1, 1988.
(c) It is specifically provided that position identification numbers 30 and 76 of the Office of the Director of the Research and Development Center be transferred to the University Research Center on July 1, 1988.
(d) It is the
intention of the Legislature that there be a reduction in personnel where there
is a duplication of effort as a result of the transfers required by this
subsection. The * * * Mississippi Development Authority in
its reorganization pursuant to this act [Laws, 1988, Chapter 518] may utilize
savings realized from personnel attrition and other economies to reallocate and
reclassify positions within the department, subject to the approval of the
State Personnel Board.
(e) All personnel
transferred to the University Research Center shall become subject to all
personnel and compensation policies of the * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education; however, anyone so transferred shall retain all of the
protection and benefits to which they have been entitled under the state
personnel system.
(4) All records, property,
unexpended balances of appropriations or other funds, and all other resources
of the Mississippi Research and Development Center shall be transferred to the * * * Mississippi
Development Authority or to the University Research Center, as appropriate,
pursuant to the transfer of duties and responsibilities in subsection (2) of
this section.
(5) (a) Each officer or agency subject to the provisions of this act [Laws, 1988, Chapter 518] shall assist with the fullest degree of reasonable cooperation any other officer or agency in carrying out the intent and purpose of this act [Laws, 1988, Chapter 518].
(b) Each officer or agency subject to the provisions of this act [Laws, 1988, Chapter 518] is hereby authorized and empowered to promulgate all necessary rules and regulations not in conflict with this act [Laws, 1988, Chapter 518] necessary to accomplish an orderly transition pursuant to this act [Laws, 1988, Chapter 518].
SECTION 199. Section 57-15-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-15-3. (1) The
Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources, hereinafter referred to as the
"council," shall be the Mississippi Marine Resources Council, and
shall function insofar as practicable under the provisions of Chapter 15 of
Title 49, Mississippi Code of 1972, in cooperation with the Mississippi * * *
Development Authority and the University of Southern Mississippi
Board of Trustees * * *, with particular reference to
the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, the Universities Marine Center, and the
universities and colleges which are conducting oceanographic research. The
offices of the commission shall be located in Hancock, Harrison or Jackson
Counties.
(2) The words "Mississippi Marine Resources Council," wherever they may appear in the laws of the State of Mississippi, shall be construed to mean the Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources.
SECTION 200. Section 57-15-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-15-9. The council, exercising its duties and
responsibilities, shall also act in an advisory capacity to the Governor and
all related state agencies, including the University of Southern Mississippi
Board of Trustees * * *, the Gulf Coast Research
Laboratory and the Universities Marine Center which are conducting
oceanographic research. All state boards and agencies engaged in activities in
the field of marine resources and technology shall utilize this commission as a
clearinghouse on all present and future joint federal-state programs whether
presently administered by an existing agency or not; to advise on the best programs
available to the State of Mississippi for the development of its marine
resources, and how to apply for, receive or hold any and all such
authorizations, licenses and grants necessary and proper therefor; to advise on
the utilization of all facilities in the State of Mississippi for marine
research and development, such as the future maximum utilization of the NASA-Mississippi
Test Facility, but not limiting the provisions of this chapter exclusively
thereto; and to advise on all in-depth studies necessary to carry out the
provisions of this chapter. This chapter shall not, however, abrogate the
authority of the Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources, the University
of Southern Mississippi Board of Trustees * * * or
the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, the Universities Marine Center, or of the
individual institutions under the board's control to apply for grants, and to
carry out oceanographic research. Said council is hereby authorized to receive
services, gifts, contributions, property and equipment from public and private
sources to be utilized in the discharge of the council's functions, all to be
done within the purview of this chapter.
SECTION 201. Section 57-18-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-18-5. (1) The Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees * * * is
authorized and directed to establish a Forest and Wildlife Research Center at
Mississippi State University. The center will be an administrative unit within
the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine. The Dean of the
School of Forest Resources shall serve as the director of the center.
(2) The center shall
conduct a program of research relevant to the efficient management and
utilization of the forest, wildlife and fisheries resources of this state and
to the protection and enhancement of the natural environment associated with
those resources. The center shall disseminate results of such research programs
to the public and to individuals and organizations for whom such information
will be useful. The center shall conduct research that will encourage the
growth and development of the furniture manufacturing industry and allied
industries in this state and shall work closely with the Mississippi
Cooperative Extension Service, the University Research Center, the Mississippi * * *
Development Authority and other agencies, both public and private, in
the dissemination of its research findings.
(3) From and after the
creation of the Forest and Wildlife Research Center, the center shall assume
all research functions which are being exercised within the Division of
Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine by the Forest Products
Utilization Laboratory, by the Department of Forestry, by the Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries, by the Furniture Research Unit and, upon the
recommendation of the President of Mississippi State University to the university
board of trustees * * *, by other departments and
units of the university.
(4) All records, personnel, property and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations or other funds relating to those research functions which are being assumed by the center shall be transferred to the center. The transfer of segregated or special funds shall be made in such a manner that the relation between program and revenue source is retained.
SECTION 202. Section 57-18-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-18-7. The Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees * * * shall
provide for the Forest and Wildlife Research Center such buildings, equipment,
personnel, supplies and services as it shall determine to be necessary for the
proper operation and maintenance of the center, having due regard for the
contributory facilities and programs already existing at Mississippi State
University.
SECTION 203. Section 57-18-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-18-9. In addition to
appropriations made by the Legislature from the State General Fund, the Forest
and Wildlife Research Center is authorized and empowered, subject to the
approval of the Mississippi State University Board of Trustees * * * upon
recommendation by the President of Mississippi State University, to receive
contributions, donations, gifts and grants of money and/or property, equipment,
materials and manpower from persons, foundations, trust funds, corporations,
organizations, and state and federal agencies for use in carrying out the
purposes and objectives of this chapter.
SECTION 204. Section 57-19-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-19-5. The Mississippi State University
Board of Trustees * * * is hereby authorized and
directed to establish a food technology program at Mississippi State University * * * under the
direction of the president and such other administrative authorities within the
university as said board of trustees may determine.
SECTION 205. Section 57-19-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-19-7. The Mississippi State University
Board of Trustees * * * shall provide for such food
technology laboratory, such building, pilot processing facilities, personnel,
supplies, and services as it shall determine to be necessary for the proper
operation and maintenance of the food technology program, having due regard for
the contributory facilities and programs already existing at Mississippi State
University * * *.
SECTION 206. Section 57-19-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-19-11. In addition to appropriations made by
the Mississippi Legislature for the operation and support of the laboratory,
the Mississippi State University Board of Trustees * * * is
authorized and empowered to receive contributions, donations, gifts and grants
of money and/or property, equipment, materials or manpower from persons,
foundations, trust funds, corporations, organizations, the federal government
or any subdivision thereof, the state government or any subdivision thereof, to
be expended by said board in carrying out the purposes and objectives of this
chapter.
SECTION 207. Section 57-21-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-21-7. The chief executive officer of the laboratory shall be the State Chemist.
(a) Qualifications: The State Chemist shall be an individual who has earned the Doctor of Philosophy degree or its equivalent at a recognized university or college qualified to grant such degrees. The major field of his or her training should be preferably in traditional or applied fields of chemistry or biochemistry, but other disciplines may be acceptable if the individual has experience qualifying him or her otherwise. He or she should also have knowledge by training or experience of agricultural, industrial or health-related fields. The candidate for State Chemist must be acceptable as a faculty member in a department of the university appropriate to his or her earned doctorate degree.
(b) Appointment:
The State Chemist shall be appointed by the president of the university, with
the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of six (6) years; and the said
State Chemist shall serve for said six-year term and until his successor shall
have been appointed and qualified. However, it is provided that the said State
Chemist may be removed from office by the president with the approval of the
Mississippi State University Board of Trustees * * * upon
the demonstration of his inability to serve due to illness, incompetence,
malfeasance in office, dereliction of duty or moral turpitude. The university
board of trustees * * * shall fix the annual salary of
the State Chemist, who shall be paid from the budget of the Mississippi State
Chemical Laboratory or from the budget of the university, or from both,
whichever is deemed desirable by the university board of trustees * * *.
(c) Status: The State Chemist shall simultaneously hold an appointment as professor in a department of the university appropriate to the discipline of their doctorate degree. He or she may be granted tenure as a faculty member in accordance with the rules current at the university upon his or her appointment. As a state regulatory official, the duties of the State Chemist are service in nature. However, as time permits, the State Chemist may teach or direct research as part of his or her professional duties, and may serve in other administrative positions as deemed desirable with the consent and approval of the president of the university and the board of trustees. He or she shall receive appropriate reimbursement for such services.
(d) Responsibility: The State Chemist shall be responsible to and shall report to the president of the university or a designee of the president.
(e) Duties: The State Chemist shall:
1. Serve as the chief executive officer and director of the State Chemical Laboratory.
2. Recommend the appointment, discharge, annual salaries, duties, and titles of administrative, technical and support personnel and staff of the laboratory to assist him or her in carrying out its authorized functions.
3. Prepare and submit budget requests for the laboratory to the appropriate agency, subject to approval by the president of the university and the board of trustees. The State Chemist shall present such requests before the Legislative Budget Office and legislative committees. He or she shall prepare an annual budget for operation of the laboratory from appropriated or special funds or other income available, and shall make monthly, quarterly and other reports of such income and expenditures to the appropriate agencies as required by law.
4. Maintain an inventory of laboratory equipment and report it appropriately to the proper agencies as required by law.
5. Prepare annual
or biennial reports and special reports as needed of laboratory activities,
programs and recommendations. Such reports shall be submitted to governmental
heads and agencies as required by statutes, to the president of the university,
the university board of trustees * * *, and
to the chief executive officer of each agency with which it cooperates.
6. Serve on such state or national agencies, commissions, boards, organizations or committees as required by law.
7. Conduct other business necessary and desirable for proper discharge of his or her responsibilities to the state or as may be stipulated here or elsewhere in the laws of Mississippi.
SECTION 208. Section 57-23-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-23-5. The University of Mississippi
Board of Trustees * * * is hereby authorized and
directed to establish a research institute of pharmaceutical sciences at the
University of Mississippi under the direction of the chancellor and such other
administrative authorities within the university as said board of trustees may
determine.
SECTION 209. Section 57-23-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-23-7. The University of Mississippi
Board of Trustees * * * shall provide for such
equipment, personnel, supplies and services as it shall determine to be
necessary for the proper operation and maintenance of said institute, having
due regard for the contributory facilities and programs already existing at the
University of Mississippi.
SECTION 210. Section 57-23-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-23-11. In addition to appropriations made by
the Mississippi Legislature for the operation and support of the institute, the
University of Mississippi Board of Trustees * * * is
authorized and empowered to receive contributions, donations, gifts, and grants
of money and/or property, equipment, materials or manpower from persons,
foundations, trust funds, corporations, organizations, and other sources, to be
expended by said board in carrying out the objectives of this chapter.
SECTION 211. Section 57-39-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-39-19. (1) To ensure that state-owned facilities be operated in an energy-efficient manner to reduce operating costs to the General Fund and demonstrate successful energy consumption reduction strategies to other sectors of the state economy, the division shall coordinate the development and implementation of a general energy management plan for state-owned and operated facilities in conjunction with the Department of Finance and Administration, Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management. The general energy management plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following elements:
(a) Gathering of energy-related data from state agencies, state institutions of higher learning, and community and junior colleges in a form and manner as required by the division;
(b) Benchmarking of energy consumption and costs;
(c) Use of a central system to aggregate and track energy consumption data for all state-owned facilities;
(d) Model buildings and facilities energy audit procedures;
(e) Model energy consumption reduction techniques;
(f) Uniform data analysis procedures;
(g) Model employee energy education program procedures;
(h) Model training program for agency and institution personnel and energy coordinators;
(i) Model guidelines for buildings and facilities managers;
(j) Program monitoring and evaluation procedures.
(2) The State Energy
Management Plan shall also include a description of actions to reduce
consumption of electricity and nonrenewable energy sources used for heating,
cooling, ventilation, lighting and water heating. A designee of each of the
following entities - * * *
each university board of trustees * * *, the
Community College Board, the Department of Education, and the Department of
Finance and Administration shall assist in the preparation of the State Energy
Management Plan and serve together on an advisory board; the director of the
division shall serve as the head of this board and shall convene
representatives of these institutions no fewer than once each year in order to
review implementation of the State Energy Management Plan.
(3) The State Energy Management Plan shall be developed and implemented with input and assistance from the Department of Finance and Administration, Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management, and the two (2) state agencies shall work together and pledge to use pertinent resources and programs in conjunction with one another to accomplish the goals described in this section.
(4) The Department of Finance and Administration, Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management shall transmit to the division an updated state building inventory on an annual basis.
(5) All state agencies having buildings on the inventory of buildings submitted to the Department of Finance and Administration as well as all institutions of higher learning and community and junior colleges (hereafter referred to as "covered entities"), shall submit energy consumption in a form and manner prescribed by the division.
(6) Energy-related data may include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
(a) Electrical consumption data;
(b) Natural gas consumption; and
(c) Fuel oil consumption.
Any covered entity that does not enter its energy data in the form and manner prescribed by the division shall, at the discretion of the division, not be eligible to receive energy conservation funds from the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management or be eligible to receive any state, federal or other funds from the division. The Mississippi Development Authority, in coordination with the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management, shall promulgate rules pertaining to this section.
(7) By September 1 of each year, the division shall provide to the Legislature and the Governor a report on the energy consumption of covered entities. This report shall include, but shall not be limited to, total energy consumption for the state, total costs related to the energy metrics being tracked, increases or decreases from year-to-year by the state and by each covered entity, and forecast models for the coming fiscal year. The Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management shall provide assistance in the development of this report, as needed. The division will also provide a list of covered entities that have not reported data in accordance with this section.
(8) By November 1, 2014, and each subsequent five-year interval, each covered entity must submit a detailed energy management plan to the division. The detailed energy management plan shall describe specific measures to be taken to reduce the agency's energy consumption by energy unit measure over a five-year period. The plan shall also include a timetable to accomplish the agency's reduction goals. If the detailed energy management plan meets the criteria developed by the division, the division shall approve the plan. If the detailed energy management plan fails to meet the criteria, the division shall disapprove the detailed energy management plan and notify the submitting agency in writing, including the reasons for disapproval. Covered entities that do not submit an energy management plan by the deadline or fail to remedy changes subsequently required by the division shall, at the discretion of the division, not be eligible to receive energy conservation funds from the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management or be eligible to receive capital improvement funds from the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management or be eligible to receive any state, federal or other funds from the division until such time as the entity has an energy management plan approved by the division.
SECTION 212. Section 57-49-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-49-11. The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Committee hereby created and hereinafter referred to as the "committee" shall exercise the powers and duties and discharge the responsibilities enumerated herein.
The committee shall
originally consist of eight (8) members, one (1) of whom shall be the Executive
Director of the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, one (1) of whom
shall be Director of the Emergency Management Agency, one (1) of whom shall be
the State Health Officer, one (1) of whom shall be the Commissioner of Higher
Education, one (1) of whom shall be the * * *
Commissioner of Higher * * * Education, one (1) of whom
shall be the Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality, one
(1) of whom shall be the staff member responsible for the Nuclear Waste Program
within the Department of Environmental Quality who shall serve as secretary in
a nonvoting capacity, and one (1) of whom shall be the Executive Director of
the * * * Mississippi Development Authority. The
chairman shall be elected from among the membership of the committee.
Committee members shall be permitted to designate substitute or alternate members to act in their stead, should they be unable to assume the responsibility of serving on the committee. The committee, by a majority vote of its membership, may recommend to the chairman that additional appointments should be made to the committee from other state agencies and the chairman shall make such appointments.
The members of the committee shall receive reimbursement for mileage and actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties at the rate authorized by Section 25-3-41. Members of the committee who are state employees shall be reimbursed for those expenses incurred which are authorized by Section 25-3-41.
Provided that funding is available under Section 57-49-39, the members of the committee shall receive per diem compensation at the rate authorized by Section 25-3-69 for each day spent in the actual discharge of their duties when attending a meeting of the committee.
SECTION 213. Section 57-55-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-55-5. (1) In order to
promote the orderly modernization and simplification of the law of the state
and more complete utilization of the law resources of this state, the
Mississippi Law Research Institute, hereafter referred to as MLRI, is hereby
established as an official advisory law revision, research and reform agency of
the State of Mississippi under the management and control of the University
of Mississippi Board of Trustees * * * as an
academic department of the University of Mississippi Law Center.
(2) The general purpose of the MLRI shall be to promote and encourage the clarification and simplification of the law of Mississippi, to improve the administration of justice, and to carry on scholarly legal research in anticipation of legal requirements for the efficient utilization and conservation of the natural resources of the state and the promotion of social, agricultural, industrial and commercial development. To that end it shall be the duty of said institute (a) to consider needed improvements in both substantive and adjective law and to make recommendations concerning same to the Legislature; (b) to examine and study the law of Mississippi and Mississippi jurisprudence with the object of discovering defects and inequities and of recommending needed reforms; (c) to receive and consider suggestions from judges, justices, public officials, lawyers and the public generally as to defects and anachronisms in the law; (d) to recommend from time to time such changes in the law as it deems necessary to reform or eliminate antiquated and inequitable rules of law and to bring the law of the state, both civil and criminal, into harmony with modern conditions; (e) to perform research and prepare reports on matters of law in support of the Legislature; (f) to advise and assist local governments, state agencies and associations by performing law research and preparation of related material, such as statutes and ordinances, reports, manuals, handbooks, codes, and conducting courses of instruction for the more efficient application of law and utilization of governmental resources; and (g) to prepare and publish texts and other scholarly works on law and procedure to aid in the administration of government within the state. In addition, the MLRI in cooperation with the Legislature and its staff shall devise and carry out a plan for continuous and comprehensive improvement in the utility and quality of the Mississippi Code. The MLRI shall coordinate its efforts with the work of the American Law Institute, National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, the law and government institutes of the several states, and other such organizations in aid of the mission of said institute.
SECTION 214. Section 57-55-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-55-7. (1) The Mississippi
State University Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized and directed to establish a Mississippi Water Resources
Research Institute, hereinafter referred to as the WRRI, at Mississippi State
University under the direct supervision of the president of the university or a
vice president to be designated by the president.
(2) It shall be the function and duty of the WRRI to:
(a) Assist state agencies in the development and maintenance of a state water management plan;
(b) Consult with state
and local governmental agencies, water management districts, water user
associations, the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, and other potential
users in identifying and establishing research, planning, policy, and
management priorities regarding water problems * * *;
(c) Negotiate and administer contracts with local, regional, state and federal agencies and other universities of the state for mitigation of priority water and related problems;
(d) Report to the appropriate state agencies each year on the progress and findings of research projects;
(e) Disseminate new information and facilitate transfer and application of new technologies as they are developed;
(f) Provide for liaison between Mississippi and funding agencies as an advocate for Mississippi water research, planning, policy, and management needs; and
(g) Facilitate and stimulate planning and management that:
(i) Deals with water policy issues facing the State of Mississippi;
(ii) Supports state water agencies' missions with research on problems encountered and expected;
(iii) Provides water planning and management organizations with tools to increase efficiency and effectiveness of water planning and management.
(3) The principal
administrative officer of the WRRI shall be a director, who shall be appointed
by the President of Mississippi State University, with the approval of the university
board of trustees * * *. To meet the purposes of the
WRRI, the director shall develop appropriate policies and procedures (a) for
identification of priority research problems; (b) for collaborating with local
and state governmental agencies, water user associations, other universities,
federal government agencies, and the Legislature in the formulation of its
research program; (c) for selection of projects to be funded; and (d) for the
dissemination and transfer of information and technology produced by research.
SECTION 215. Section 57-55-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-55-9. (1) The
Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute, hereinafter referred to as MMRI, is
hereby established. The MMRI shall be under the management and control of the University
of Mississippi Board of Trustees * * *. The
principal offices of the MMRI shall be located at the University of
Mississippi. The MMRI shall be organized to coordinate mining and mineral
research, planning and development with the appropriate disciplines in other
institutions of higher learning and other state, federal and private agencies
concerned with the development and conservation of the mineral resources of the
state.
(2) It shall be the function and duties of the MMRI to:
(a) Conduct basic and applied research for the development and conservation of mineral resources, including, but not limited to, mining, land reclamation and disposal of waste material;
(b) Assist and support mining and mineral related research programs at the various institutions of higher learning;
(c) Assist and consult with state and local agencies in planning the development and conservation of mineral resources;
(d) Maintain liaison with private industry and appropriate state and local agencies to promote industrial development and conservation of mineral resources and plan, initiate and maintain a program of cooperative training between private industry and the academic and technical institutions of the state;
(e) Disseminate new information and facilitate transfer and application of new technologies as they are developed; and
(f) Negotiate and administer contracts with private, local, regional, state and federal agencies.
SECTION 216. Section 57-55-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-55-11. (1) The
Mississippi Small Business Development Center, hereinafter referred to as SBDC,
is hereby established. The University of Mississippi Board of Trustees * * * is
hereby authorized to establish the Mississippi Small Business Development
Center at the University of Mississippi under the direct supervision of the
chancellor of the university and the dean of the business school.
(2) It shall be the function and duty of the SBDC to:
(a) Develop a system to deliver management assistance to the small business community utilizing the resources of local, state and federal government programs, various segments of the private sector, and universities and colleges throughout the state;
(b) Make management and technical assistance available to small businesses in Mississippi by linking together the above resources;
(c) Develop small business opportunities for new start-ups and the expansion of existing businesses;
(d) Develop the economic area served by the SBDC by providing opportunities for increased productivity through utilization of modern technology as developed by government, the university and the private sector;
(e) Develop a clearinghouse for the collection and dissemination of economic and business data;
(f) Assist businesses in developing more efficient marketing and distribution channels, including foreign trade marketing;
(g) Increase opportunities for socially and/or economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs to enter the mainstream of our economy through an organized outreach program; and
(h) Increase small business viability so that the small business client "graduates" from the SBDC.
(3) The principal officer
of the SBDC shall be an executive director who shall be appointed by the
Chancellor of the University of Mississippi, with the approval of the university
board of trustees * * *.
SECTION 217. Section 57-55-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-55-13. (1) The
Mississippi Polymer Institute, hereinafter referred to as the MPI, is hereby
established under the management and control of the University of Southern
Mississippi Board of Trustees * * *. The
principal offices of the MPI shall be located at the University of Southern
Mississippi and shall be under the direction of the president and such other
administrative authorities within the university as the board of trustees may
determine.
(2) It shall be the function of the MPI to conduct and sponsor research of interest to the polymer industries of the state, and to disseminate research results and other information of interest to appropriate individuals and research agencies for whom such knowledge will be helpful, and to the Mississippi polymer industries by conducting and sponsoring short courses, seminars and symposia. Said research shall be designed to increase the utilization of Mississippi raw materials in polymers and to support the rapidly growing polymer industry. Data from applications research will be released to appropriate Mississippi research agencies and industries for appropriate utilization. The MPI shall be organized to coordinate polymer research, planning and development with the appropriate disciplines in other institutions of higher learning and other state, federal and private agencies concerned with the development of Mississippi's polymer industry.
SECTION 218. Section 57-55-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-55-15. (1) The
Mississippi Energy Research Center, hereinafter referred to as the MERC, is
hereby established under the management and control of the Mississippi State
University Board of Trustees * * *. The
MERC shall be a unit of Mississippi State University under the direct
supervision of the president thereof or a vice president to be designated by
the president.
(2) It shall be the purpose of the MERC to develop, implement and coordinate energy and energy-related research programs in Mississippi. It shall be the duty of the MERC to:
(a) Conduct basic and applied research related to energy needs within Mississippi;
(b) Consult with state and local government agencies, utilities, industry and Legislature and other potential users of research in identifying and prioritizing energy problems for research;
(c) Negotiate and administer contracts with other universities of the state for the conduct of research projects;
(d) Report to the Governor and to the Legislature each year on the progress and findings of research projects;
(e) Facilitate the transfer and application of new technologies as they are developed; and
(f) Facilitate and stimulate research that:
(i) Deals with policy issues facing the Legislature;
(ii) Supports state agencies' missions with research on problems encountered and expected; and
(iii) Provides energy planning and management organizations with tools to increase efficiency and effectiveness of energy planning and management.
(3) The principal administrative
officer of the MERC shall be a director, who shall be appointed by the
president with the approval of the university board of trustees * * *. To
meet the purposes of the center, the director shall develop appropriate
policies and procedures (a) for identification of priority research problems;
(b) for collaborating with local and state government agencies, utilities,
industry, other universities, federal government agencies and the Legislature
in the formulation of its research program; (c) for selection of projects to be
funded; and (d) for the transfer of technology which is produced by the
research.
SECTION 219. Section 57-55-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-55-17. (1) The Mississippi
Urban Research Center, hereinafter referred to as the MURC, is hereby
established under the management and control of the Jackson State University
Board of Trustees * * *. The principal officers of
the MURC shall be located at Jackson State University and shall be under the
direction of the president of the university subject to the governance of the
board of trustees. The president shall appoint a director of the MURC who
shall recommend to the president necessary professional and administrative
staff of the center, all subject to the approval of the board of trustees.
(2) It shall be the
function of the Urban Research Center to conduct basic and applied research
into urban problems and public policy and to make available the results of this
research to private groups, public bodies and public officials. They may offer
consultations and general advisory services concerning urban problems and their
solutions. According to the policies of the university board of
trustees * * * and with its approval, they may
conduct instructional and training programs for those who are working in or
expect to make careers in urban public service. Such training programs may be
conducted by Jackson State University either in its own name or by agreement
and cooperation with other public and private organizations. The MURC
personnel shall cooperate fully with the various departments of the state
government, with the colleges and universities of the state, with the
University Research Center, with the Mississippi * * * Development Authority,
and with other research and development agencies in an effort to fully
effectuate the purpose of this section. All state agencies and departments are
hereby authorized and directed to give the MURC and its personnel their full
cooperation in every possible manner.
SECTION 220. Section 57-64-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-64-7. For the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall be defined as herein provided unless the context requires otherwise:
(a) "Alliance" means a regional economic development alliance created under this chapter.
(b) "Bond" or "bonds" means bonds, notes or other evidence of indebtedness of the local government unit issued pursuant to this chapter.
(c) "Cost of project" means all costs of site preparation and other start-up costs; all costs of construction; all costs of fixtures and of real and personal property required for the purposes of the project and facilities related thereto, whether publicly or privately owned, including land and any rights or undivided interest therein, easements, franchises, fees, permits, approvals, licenses, and certificates and the securing of such permits, approvals, licenses, and certificates and all machinery and equipment, including motor vehicles which are used for project functions; and including any cost associated with the closure, post-closure maintenance or corrective action on environmental matters, financing charges and interest prior to and during construction and during such additional period as the alliance may reasonably determine to be necessary for the placing of the project in operation; costs of engineering, surveying, environmental geotechnical, architectural and legal services; costs of plans and specifications and all expenses necessary or incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of the project; administrative expenses; and such other expenses as may be necessary or incidental to the financing authorized in this chapter. The costs of any project may also include funds for the creation of a debt service reserve, a renewal and replacement reserve, bond insurance and credit enhancement, and such other reserves as may be reasonably required by the alliance for the operation of its projects and as may be authorized by any bond resolution or trust agreement or indenture pursuant to the provisions of which the issuance of any such bonds may be authorized. Any obligation or expense incurred for any of the foregoing purposes shall be regarded as a part of the costs of the project and may be paid or reimbursed as such out of the proceeds of user fees, of revenue bonds or notes issued under this chapter for such project, or from other revenues obtained by the alliance.
(d) "County" means any county of this state.
(e) "Foreign governmental unit" means any county, parish, city, town, village, utility district, school district, any community college, any institution of higher learning, any municipal airport authority, regional airport authority, port authority or any other political subdivision of another state.
(f) "Governing body" means the board of supervisors of any county or the governing board of any city, town or village, the governing body of any utility district, the governing body of any school district or community college, the university board of trustees of any state institutions of higher learning, the governing body of any municipal or regional airport authority, the governing body of any port authority, or the governing body of any other political subdivision of the state. As to the state, the term governing body means the State Bond Commission.
(g) "Holder of bonds" or "bondholder" or any similar term means any person who shall be the registered owner of any such bond or bonds which shall at the time be registered.
(h) "Law" means any act or statute, general, special or local, of this state.
(i) "Local government unit" means any county or incorporated city, town or village in the state, any school district, any utility district, any community college, any institution of higher learning, any municipal airport authority, any regional airport authority, any port authority or any other political subdivision of the state acting jointly or severally.
(j) "MDA" means the Mississippi Development Authority.
(k) "Municipality" means any incorporated municipality in the state.
(l) "Person" means a natural person, partnership, association, corporation, business trust or other business entity.
(m) "Project" means and includes any of the following which promotes economic development or which assists in the creation of jobs, whether publicly or privately owned:
(i) Acquisition, construction, repair, renovation, demolition or removal of:
1. Buildings and site improvements (including fixtures);
2. Potable and nonpotable water supply systems;
3. Sewage and waste disposal systems;
4. Storm water drainage and other drainage systems;
5. Airport facilities;
6. Rail lines and rail spurs;
7. Port facilities;
8. Highways, streets and other roadways;
9. Fire suppression and prevention systems;
10. Utility distribution systems, including, but not limited to, water, electricity, natural gas, telephone and other information and telecommunications facilities, whether by wire, fiber or wireless means; provided, however, that electrical, natural gas, telephone and telecommunication systems shall be constructed, repaired or renovated only for the purpose of completing the project and connecting to existing utility systems (this provision shall not be construed to prevent a city, county or natural gas district from supplying utility service that it is authorized to supply in the service area that it is authorized to serve);
11. Business, industrial and technology parks and the acquisition of land and acquisition or construction of improvements to land connected with any of the preceding purposes;
(ii) County purposes authorized by or defined in Sections 17-5-3 and 19-9-1, (except Section 19-9-1(f));
(iii) Municipal purposes authorized by or defined in Sections 17-5-3, 17-17-301 et seq., 21-27-23 and 21-33-301;
(iv) Refunding of bonds as authorized in Section 21-27-1 et seq.; and
(v) A project as defined in Section 57-75-5(f)(i) or a facility related to the project as defined in Section 57-75-5(d), or both.
(n) "Resolution" means a resolution, ordinance, act, record of minutes or other appropriate enactment of a governing body.
(o) "Revenues" mean any and all taxes, fees, rates, rentals, profits and receipts collected by, payable to, or otherwise derived by, the local government units and foreign governmental units, and all other monies and income of whatsoever kind or character collected by, payable to, or otherwise derived by, the local government unit and foreign governmental units in connection with the economic development projects provided through this chapter.
(p) "Security" means a bond, note or other evidence of indebtedness issued by a local government unit pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(q) "State" means the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 221. Section 57-67-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-67-5. Words and phrases used in this chapter shall have meanings as follows, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
(a) "Act" means the Mississippi Superconducting Super Collider Act as originally enacted or as hereafter amended.
(b) "Authority" means the Mississippi Superconducting Super Collider Authority created pursuant to the chapter.
(c) "Bonds" means bonds, interim notes and other certificates of indebtedness of the authority issued pursuant to the provisions of Sections 57-67-19 through 57-67-31.
(d) "Facility related to the project" means and includes any of the following, as the same may pertain to the project:
(i) Facilities to provide potable and industrial water supply systems (including cooling lakes) and sewage and waste disposal systems to the site of the project;
(ii) Airports, airfields and air terminals;
(iii) Rail lines;
(iv) Port facilities on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway;
(v) Highways, streets and other roadways;
(vi) Public school buildings, classrooms and instructional facilities, including any functionally related facilities;
(vii) Parks, outdoor recreation facilities and athletic facilities; and
(viii) Auditoriums, pavilions, campgrounds, art centers, cultural centers, folklore centers and other public facilities.
(e) "Person" means any natural person, corporation, association, partnership, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor, administrator, fiduciary, governmental unit, public agency, political subdivision, or any other group acting as a unit, and the plural as well as the singular.
(f) "Project" means the superconducting super colliding particle beam accelerator, known as the Superconducting Super Collider, proposed to be constructed by the United States Department of Energy, as described in the Invitation for Proposals issued by said department, as now or hereafter supplemented or amended, together with all real property required for construction, maintenance and operation of the Superconducting Super Collider, and all buildings, tunneling and other supporting land and facilities required or useful for construction, maintenance and operation of the Superconducting Super Collider.
(g) "Project area" means the project site, together with any area or territory within the state lying within fifty (50) air miles from any portion of the project site to be conveyed to the Department of Energy, whether or not such area or territory be contiguous. "Project site" means the real property to be conveyed to the United States Department of Energy as set forth in the application to be filed with the Department of Energy by the authority.
(h) "Public agency" means and includes:
(i) The state and
any department, board, commission, institution or other agency or
instrumentality of the state, including, but not limited to, the university
boards of trustees * * *of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the State Board
of Education;
(ii) Any city, town, county, political subdivision, school district or other district created or existing under the laws of the state or any public agency of any such city, town, county, political subdivision or district;
(iii) Any department, commission, agency or instrumentality of the United States of America; and
(iv) Any other state of the United States of America which may be cooperating with respect to location of the project within the state, or any agency thereof.
(i) "State" means State of Mississippi.
(j) "State bonds" means general obligation bonds, notes or other evidences of the State of Mississippi issued under Section 57-67-15.
SECTION 222. Section 57-67-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-67-13. (1) The * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education, in consultation with the state institutions of higher learning,
is hereby directed to develop plans for the creation of an Institute of High
Energy Physics. Upon notification to the authority by the Department of Energy
that the state has been selected as the site of the project, the * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education not later than one (1) year thereafter shall establish and
create the institute. Such institute shall include at least twenty (20) funded
faculty positions and shall include facilities to accommodate faculty and
graduate students.
(2) The * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education, in consultation with the state institutions of higher learning,
is hereby directed to develop plans for the creation of an Institute for
Mathematics and Computing Sciences. Upon notification to the authority by the
Department of Energy that the state has been selected as the site of the
project, the * * * Commissioner of Higher * * * Education not later than one
(1) year thereafter shall establish and create the institute.
(3) The authority is hereby directed to develop plans for technology transfer activities to ensure private sector conduits for exchange of information, technology and expertise related to the project to generate opportunities for commercial development within the state.
SECTION 223. Section 57-75-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
57-75-13. The * * * state institutions of
higher learning * * *
are hereby authorized to support the project by creating institutes and
developing curricula of direct benefit to the enterprise. Upon notification to
the authority by the enterprise that the state has been selected as the site of
the project, the * * * Commissioner of Higher * * * Education may establish and
create programs to enhance the project's success.
SECTION 224. Section 61-5-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
61-5-71. It shall be the public policy of this
state to encourage the construction, equipping, maintenance and operation of
adequate transportation facilities, including airports, if needed, for use of
the state university and the state supported four-year colleges now or
hereafter located in the state, as necessary in the operation and training
program of such university and colleges and desirable for the use of the
municipalities and areas in or near which such airports may be located as well
as being helpful in the economic, industrial and business development of said
counties. It is the intent of Sections 61-5-71 through 61-5-77 to provide
means whereby * * *
university boards of trustees * * *, the
State Building Commission and any and all other state agencies which have
either constructed such airport facilities, or contemplate so doing, may obtain
assistance and contributions of funds from any municipality in or near which
any such college may be located and from the county in which any such airport
facilities may be located. It is also the intent of said sections to authorize
such municipalities and counties to borrow money and issue bonds, under their
respective bond laws, to provide funds for the purpose of aiding and assisting
in the acquisition of sites for such airports, construction of buildings,
construction of runways and extension of runways and in constructing and equipping
all facilities needed or desirable for such airports.
SECTION 225. Section 61-5-73, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
61-5-73. The boards of supervisors of the several counties of the state are authorized, in their discretion, to acquire by condemnation, donation, lease or purchase land to be used as an airport or landing place for airplanes. They may erect such buildings thereon as they may deem necessary for such purpose, and equip and maintain such airport.
The boards of supervisors of the several counties
of the state, wherein the university or other state supported four-year
colleges now or hereafter in existence, are or shall be located, are
authorized, in their discretion, to assist the university boards
of trustees * * *, the State Building Commission or
any other state agency by contributing county funds to be used in the
acquisition of a site for an airport, erecting suitable buildings, building or
extending runways and equipping, maintaining and operating an airport, which
shall be available for the use of said university or colleges, as the case may
be, and for the general public.
SECTION 226. Section 61-5-75, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
61-5-75. The governing authorities of any municipality are authorized, in their discretion, to exercise all the powers conferred on boards of supervisors with reference to acquiring land to be used as an airport or landing place for airplanes, and erect suitable buildings thereon, and equip and maintain such airport. They may acquire airports or landing places already established. Such airport or landing place may be situated beyond the limits of such municipality. The governing authorities of a municipality may lease, or sublease, or contract the maintenance and operation of, any airport or landing place for airplanes to the United States of America, or any department or agency thereof, or to any person, firm, association, or corporation, for the purpose of training aviators and for other legal purposes. The county wherein such airport may be situated is hereby authorized to make such contribution to the cost of acquiring the necessary land for such airport, the placing of same in suitable condition, and the equipping and maintenance thereof, as the board of supervisors of such county and the governing body of such municipality may mutually agree upon.
The governing authorities of the several
municipalities of the state in or near which the state university or a state
supported four-year college, now or hereafter in existence, are or shall
be located, are authorized, in their discretion, to assist the university
boards of trustees * * *of state institutions of higher learning, the State Building
Commission or any other state agency by contributing municipal funds to be used
in the acquisition of a site for an airport, erecting suitable buildings and
building or extending runways, equipping, maintaining and operating an airport,
which shall be available for the use of said university or colleges, as the
case may be, and for the general public.
Any such municipality which offers assistance in the acquisition of a site for constructing suitable buildings, building or extending runways or maintaining and operating such airports for the university or other state supported colleges, as the case may be, may or may not be in the county in which the university or the state supported four-year college is located, provided the airport is not more than ten (10) miles from said municipality.
SECTION 227. Section 63-3-210, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-3-210. (1)
* * * Each
university board of trustees * * * may,
in accordance with Section 37-105-1, enact rules and regulations that prohibit
the operation of motor scooters, which are rented in accordance with Section 63-1-6.1,
on certain roads or highways located on property owned or under the control
and supervision of the university, if the board deems the prohibition to be
in the interest of public safety.
(2) The governing board of any municipality may enact rules and regulations that prohibit the operation of motor scooters, which are rented in accordance with Section 63-1-6.1, on certain roads or highways, if the board deems the prohibition to be in the interest of public safety.
SECTION 228. Section 63-11-32, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-11-32. (1) The State Department of Public Safety in conjunction with the Governor's Highway Safety Program, the State Board of Health, or any other state agency or institution shall develop and implement a driver improvement program for persons identified as first offenders convicted of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or another substance which had impaired such person's ability to operate a motor vehicle, including provision for referral to rehabilitation facilities.
(2) The program shall consist of a minimum of ten (10) hours of instruction. Each person who participates shall pay a nominal fee to defray a portion of the cost of the program.
(3) Such assessments as are
collected under subsection (2) of Section 99-19-73 shall be deposited in a
special fund hereby created in the State Treasury and designated the
"Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program Fund." Monies
deposited in such fund shall be expended by the * * * state institutions of
higher learning as authorized and appropriated by the Legislature to defray the
costs of the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program operated pursuant to
the provisions of this section. Any revenue in the fund which is not
encumbered at the end of the fiscal year shall lapse to the General Fund.
(4) Such assessments as are collected under subsection (2) of Section 99-19-73 shall be deposited in a special fund hereby created in the State Treasury and designated the "Federal-State Alcohol Program Fund." Monies deposited in such fund shall be expended by the Department of Public Safety as authorized and appropriated by the Legislature to defray the costs of alcohol and traffic safety programs. Any revenue in the fund which is not encumbered at the end of the fiscal year shall lapse to the General Fund.
(5) Such assessments as are collected under subsection (2) of Section 99-19-73 shall be deposited in a special fund hereby created in the State Treasury and designated the "Mississippi Forensics Laboratory Implied Consent Law Fund." Monies deposited in such fund shall be expended by the Department of Public Safety as authorized and appropriated by the Legislature to defray the costs of equipment replacement and operational support of the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory relating to enforcement of the Implied Consent Law. Any revenue in the fund which is not encumbered at the end of the fiscal year shall not lapse to the General Fund but shall remain in the fund.
SECTION 229. Section 69-2-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-2-5. (1) The Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service shall act as a clearinghouse for the dissemination of information regarding programs and services which may be available to help those persons and businesses which have been adversely affected by the present emergency in the agricultural community. The Cooperative Extension Service shall develop a plan of assistance which shall identify all programs and services available within the state which can be of assistance to those affected by the present emergency. The Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Department of Finance and Administration, Department of Human Services, Department of Mental Health, State Department of Health, the Mississippi State University Board of Trustees, Mississippi Community College Board, Research and Development Center, Mississippi Development Authority, Department of Employment Security, Office of the Governor, Board of Vocational and Technical Education, Mississippi Authority for Educational Television, and other agencies of the state which have programs and services that can be of assistance to those affected by the present emergency, shall provide information regarding their programs and services to the Cooperative Extension Service for use in the clearinghouse. The types of programs and services shall include, but not be limited to, financial counseling, farm and small business management, employment services, labor market information, job retraining, vocational and technical training, food stamp programs, personal counseling, health services, and free or low cost legal services. The clearinghouse shall provide a single contact point to provide program information and referral services to individuals interested or needing services from state-funded assistance programs affecting agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture and other agribusinesses or related industries. Such assistance information shall identify all monies available under the Small Business Financing Act, the Business Investment Act, the Emerging Crops Fund legislation and any other sources which may be used singularly or combined, to provide a comprehensive financing package. The provisions of this section in establishing a single contact point for information and referral services shall not be construed to authorize the hiring of additional personnel.
(2) The Cooperative Extension Service may accept monetary or in-kind contributions, gifts and grants for the establishment or operation of the clearinghouse.
(3) The Cooperative Extension Service shall establish a method for the dissemination of information to those who can be benefited by the existing programs and services of the state.
(4) The Cooperative Extension Service shall file an annual report with the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House of Representatives regarding the efforts which have been made in the clearinghouse operation. The report shall also recommend any additional measures, including legislation, which may be needed or desired in providing programs and benefits to those affected by the agricultural emergency.
SECTION 230. Section 73-15-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-15-19. (1) Registered nurse applicant qualifications. Any applicant for a license to practice as a registered nurse shall submit to the board:
(a) An attested written application on a Board of Nursing form;
(b) Written official
evidence of completion of a nursing program approved by the proper
university board of trustees * * *, or
one (1) approved by a legal accrediting agency of another state, territory
or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or a foreign
country which is satisfactory to this board;
(c) Evidence of competence in English related to nursing, provided the first language is not English;
(d) Any other official records required by the board.
In addition to the requirements specified in paragraphs (a) through (d) of this subsection, in order to qualify for a license to practice as a registered nurse, an applicant must have successfully been cleared for licensure through an investigation that shall consist of a determination as to good moral character and verification that the prospective licensee is not guilty of or in violation of any statutory ground for denial of licensure as set forth in Section 73-15-29 or guilty of any offense specified in Section 73-15-33. To assist the board in conducting its licensure investigation, all applicants shall undergo a fingerprint-based criminal history records check of the Mississippi central criminal database and the Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history database. Each applicant shall submit a full set of his or her fingerprints in a form and manner prescribed by the board, which shall be forwarded to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (department) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Identification Division for this purpose.
Any and all state or national criminal history records information obtained by the board that is not already a matter of public record shall be deemed nonpublic and confidential information restricted to the exclusive use of the board, its members, officers, investigators, agents and attorneys in evaluating the applicant's eligibility or disqualification for licensure, and shall be exempt from the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983. Except when introduced into evidence in a hearing before the board to determine licensure, no such information or records related thereto shall, except with the written consent of the applicant or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, be released or otherwise disclosed by the board to any other person or agency.
The board shall provide to the department the fingerprints of the applicant, any additional information that may be required by the department, and a form signed by the applicant consenting to the check of the criminal records and to the use of the fingerprints and other identifying information required by the state or national repositories.
The board shall charge and collect from the applicant, in addition to all other applicable fees and costs, such amount as may be incurred by the board in requesting and obtaining state and national criminal history records information on the applicant.
The board may, in its discretion, refuse to accept the application of any person who has been convicted of a criminal offense under any provision of Title 97 of the Mississippi Code of 1972, as now or hereafter amended, or any provision of this article.
(2) Licensure by
examination. (a) Upon the board being satisfied that an applicant for a
license as a registered nurse has met the qualifications set forth in
subsection (1) of this section, the board shall proceed to examine such
applicant in such subjects as the board shall, in its discretion, determine.
The subjects in which applicants shall be examined shall be in conformity with
curricula in schools of nursing approved by * * * each university board of trustees * * *, or
one (1) approved by a legal accrediting agency of another state,
territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or a
foreign country which is satisfactory to the board.
(b) The applicant shall be required to pass the written examination as selected by the board.
(c) Upon successful completion of such examination, the board shall issue to the applicant a license to practice as a registered nurse.
(d) The board may use any part or all of the state board test pool examination for registered nurse licensure, its successor examination, or any other nationally standardized examination identified by the board in its rules. The passing score shall be established by the board in its rules.
(3) Licensure by endorsement. The board may issue a license to practice nursing as a registered nurse without examination to an applicant who has been duly licensed as a registered nurse under the laws of another state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or a foreign country if, in the opinion of the board, the applicant meets the qualifications required of licensed registered nurses in this state and has previously achieved the passing score or scores on the licensing examination required by this state, at the time of his or her graduation. The issuance of a license by endorsement to a military-trained applicant or military spouse shall be subject to the provisions of Section 73-50-1.
(4) Requirements for rewriting the examination. The board shall establish in its rules the requirements for rewriting the examination for those persons failing the examination on the first writing or subsequent rewriting.
(5) Fee. The applicant applying for a license by examination or by endorsement to practice as a registered nurse shall pay a fee not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) to the board.
(6) Temporary permit. (a) The board may issue a temporary permit to practice nursing to a graduate of an approved school of nursing pending the results of the examination in Mississippi, and to a qualified applicant from another state, territory or possession of the United States, or District of Columbia, or pending licensure procedures as provided for elsewhere in this article. The fee shall not exceed Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00).
(b) The board may issue a temporary permit for a period of ninety (90) days to a registered nurse who is currently licensed in another state, territory or possession of the United States or the District of Columbia and who is an applicant for licensure by endorsement. Such permit is not renewable except by board action. The issuance of a temporary permit to a military-trained applicant or military spouse shall be subject to the provisions of Section 73-50-1.
(c) The board may issue a temporary permit to a graduate of an approved school of nursing pending the results of the first licensing examination scheduled after application. Such permit is not renewable except by board action.
(d) The board may issue a temporary permit for a period of thirty (30) days to any registered nurse during the time enrolled in a nursing reorientation program. This time period may be extended by board action. The fee shall not exceed Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00).
(e) The board may adopt such regulations as are necessary to limit the practice of persons to whom temporary permits are issued.
(7) Temporary license. The board may issue a temporary license to practice nursing at a youth camp licensed by the State Board of Health to nonresident registered nurses and retired resident registered nurses under the provisions of Section 75-74-8.
(8) Title and abbreviation. Any person who holds a license or holds the privilege to practice as a registered nurse in this state shall have the right to use the title "registered nurse" and the abbreviation "R.N." No other person shall assume such title or use such abbreviation, or any words, letters, signs or devices to indicate that the person using the same is a registered nurse.
(9) Registered nurses licensed under a previous law. Any person holding a license to practice nursing as a registered nurse issued by this board which is valid on July 1, 1981, shall thereafter be deemed to be licensed as a registered nurse under the provisions of this article upon payment of the fee provided in Section 73-15-27.
(10) Each application or filing made under this section shall include the social security number(s) of the applicant in accordance with Section 93-11-64.
SECTION 231. Section 73-15-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
73-15-33. It is unlawful for any person, including a corporation or association, to:
(a) Sell, fraudulently obtain or furnish any nursing diploma, license, renewal of license, or record, or to aid or abet therein;
(b) Practice nursing as defined by this article under cover of any diploma, license, renewal of license, or record illegally or fraudulently obtained or signed or issued unlawfully or under fraudulent representation;
(c) Practice or offer to practice nursing as defined by this article unless duly licensed or privileged to practice under the provisions of this article;
(d) Use any title, designation or abbreviation by which a person presents to the public that he or she is a registered nurse, a licensed practical nurse or any other type of nurse, unless the person is duly licensed or privileged to practice under the provisions of this article; however, this paragraph does not prohibit a certified nurse assistant or certified nursing assistant from using the word "nurse" or "nursing" as part of his or her job title;
(e) Practice as a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse during the time his or her license or privilege to practice issued under the provisions of this article is under suspension or revocation;
(f) Conduct a nursing
education program for the preparation of registered nurses, unless the program
has been accredited a state, regional or national accrediting agency
approved by the university board of trustees * * *, or
conduct a nursing education program for the preparation of licensed practical
nurses unless the program has been accredited by the Department of Education
through the Division of Vocational Education;
(g) Willfully employ unlicensed persons or persons not holding the privilege to practice, to practice as registered nurses or licensed practical nurses; or
(h) Willfully aid or abet any person who violates any provisions of this article.
Any person, firm or corporation who violates any provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than twelve (12) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. It shall be necessary to prove, in any prosecution under this article, only a single act prohibited by law, or a single holding out or an attempt without proving a general course of conduct in order to constitute a violation. Each violation may constitute a separate offense. Except as otherwise authorized in Section 7-5-39, it shall be the duty of the Attorney General to advise with the board in preparing charges, to assist in conducting board disciplinary hearings, to provide assistance with appropriate affidavits and other charges for filing in the appropriate court, and to assist the county or district attorney in prosecution, if any.
SECTION 232. Section 75-59-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-59-1. No person, firm or
corporation shall contract to furnish correspondence courses to persons within
the state unless such person, firm or corporation shall have obtained a permit
from the Office of the Secretary of State, either (a) the State Department of
Education, (b) the Mississippi Community College Board, or (c) the * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education, whichever is appropriate, and the Office of the Attorney
General. An application for a permit shall be made on forms furnished by the
Secretary of State, the State Department of Education, the Mississippi
Community College Board or the * * * Commissioner
of Higher * * *
Education, as the case may be, and the Attorney General and such
application shall designate an agent for the service of summons within the
state; shall contain the name and address of the applicant; the type of courses
offered with a brief summary of the course of studies offered; and one (1) copy
of all textbooks or other teaching aids and training materials which are
incorporated in the course of study shall be filed with said application. The
applicant shall pay the Secretary of State a fee of Two Hundred Fifty Dollars
($250.00). The applicant shall file a bond with his application in the sum of
Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) conditioned to satisfy any judgment
rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction, in favor of any person who has
sustained damages as a result of the breach of a contract of instruction by the
permittee. Such bond shall be executed by the permittee and a resident surety
company qualified to transact business within the state. Such permit shall be
valid for one (1) year from the date thereof. Suits against the permittee and
his surety may be brought in the county where the plaintiff resides, or the
county where the defendant has his principal place of business, or where his
resident agent resides. This chapter shall not apply to any business school or
business college holding a current certificate or license issued under the
applicable law of this state. In addition, this chapter shall not apply to
religious instructions offered by a recognized church denomination; provided,
however, that no fee or charge of any kind whatever may be levied or collected
directly or indirectly for such instructions or certificates issued in
connection therewith or incidental thereto. No person shall be granted a permit
unless he is an individual of good moral character.
SECTION 233. Section 75-60-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-60-5. The provisions of this chapter do not apply to the following categories of courses, schools or colleges:
(a) Tuition-free courses or schools conducted by employers exclusively for their own employees;
(b) Schools, colleges,
technical institutes, community colleges, junior colleges or universities under
the jurisdiction of * * *
a university board of trustees * * * or the
Mississippi Community College Board;
(c) Schools or courses of instruction under the jurisdiction of the State Board of Cosmetology, State Board of Barber Examiners, the State Board of Massage Therapy or the State Board of Nursing;
(d) Courses of instruction required by law to be approved or licensed, or given by institutions approved or licensed, by a state board or agency other than the Commission on Proprietary School and College Registration; however, a school so approved or licensed may apply to the Commission on Proprietary School and College Registration for a certificate of registration to be issued in accordance with the provisions of this chapter;
(e) Correspondence education;
(f) Nonprofit private schools offering academic credits at primary or secondary levels, or conducting classes for exceptional education as defined by regulations of the State Department of Education;
(g) Private nonprofit colleges and universities or any private school offering academic credits at primary, secondary or postsecondary levels;
(h) Courses of instruction conducted by a public school district or a combination of public school districts;
(i) Courses of instruction conducted outside the United States;
(j) A school that
offers only instruction in subjects that the Commission on Proprietary School
and College Registration determines are primarily for a vocational, personal
improvement or cultural * * * purposes purpose and that does not represent to the
public that its course of study or instruction will or may produce income for
those who take that study or instruction;
(k) Courses conducted primarily on an individual tutorial basis, where not more than one (1) student is involved at any one time, except in those instances where the Commission on Proprietary School and College Registration determines that the course is for the purpose of preparing for a vocational objective;
(l) Kindergartens or similar programs for preschool-age children.
SECTION 234. Section 75-76-34, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-76-34. (1) Except as
otherwise provided in this section, the Mississippi Gaming Commission is
authorized to regulate all schools or training institutions that teach or train
gaming employees. No such school shall be located on publicly owned property,
other than property under the jurisdiction of * * * a state
institutions of higher learning or a public community college. Except as
authorized under this section, no public school shall teach or train persons to
be gaming employees. The gaming educational activities of schools or training
institutions regulated by the commission and of state institutions of higher
learning and public community colleges shall be deemed to be legal under the
laws of the State of Mississippi. Any person desiring to operate a school or
training institution other than a state institution of higher learning or
public community college must file a license application with the executive
director to be licensed by the commission.
(2) The commission may adopt regulations it deems necessary to regulate schools and training institutions other than state institutions of higher learning and public community colleges. These regulations shall, without limiting the general powers of the commission, include the following:
(a) Prescribing the method and form of application which any applicant for a school or training institution must follow and complete before consideration of his application by the executive director or commission.
(b) Prescribing the information to be furnished by the applicant relating to his employees.
(c) Requiring fingerprinting of the applicant, employees and students of the school or institution or other methods of identification and the forwarding of all fingerprints taken pursuant to regulation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(d) Requiring any applicant to pay all or part of the fees and costs of investigation of the applicant as may be determined by the commission.
(e) Prescribing the manner and method of collection and payment of fees and costs and issuance of licenses to schools or training institutions.
(f) Prescribing under what conditions a licensee authorized by this section may be deemed subject to revocation or suspension of his license.
(g) Defining the curriculum of the school or training institution, the games and devices permitted, the use of tokens only for instruction purposes, and the method of operation of games and devices.
(h) Requiring the applicant to submit its location of the school or training institution, which shall be at least four hundred (400) feet from any church, school, kindergarten or funeral home. However, within an area zoned commercial or business, the minimum distance shall not be less than one hundred (100) feet.
(i) Requiring that all employees and students of the school or training institution be at least twenty-one (21) years of age.
(j) Requiring all employees and students of the school or training institution to wear identification cards issued by the commission while on the premises of the school or training institution.
(k) Requiring the commission to investigate each applicant, employee and student and determine that the individual does not fall within any one (1) of the following categories:
(i) Is under indictment for, or has been convicted in any court of, a felony;
(ii) Is a fugitive from justice;
(iii) Is an unlawful user of any controlled substance, is addicted to any controlled substance or alcoholic beverage, or is an habitual drunkard;
(iv) Is a mental defective, has been committed to a mental institution, or has been voluntarily committed to a mental institution on more than one (1) occasion;
(v) Has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions; or
(vi) Has been found at any time by the executive director or commission to have falsified any information.
(3) State institutions of higher learning and community colleges may offer credited courses specifically relating to gaming management, including, but not limited to, courses that provide instruction in accounting, hospitality, marketing, auditing, finance, procurement, security and regulatory requirements in fulfillment of a degree in general business management, hotel and motel management, food and beverage management, gaming management, accounting or criminal justice. State institutions of higher learning and community colleges are not subject to regulation by the commission for the purposes of this subsection. The courses authorized by this subsection may be offered only in those counties where gaming is legally being conducted and where the institution is located.
(4) State institutions of higher learning and public community colleges may offer courses related to casino hospitality services, cage and count operations, and slot machine maintenance. Slot machine maintenance training may be performed only on equipment approved by the commission for training purposes only. State institutions of higher learning and public community colleges are not subject to regulation by the commission for the purposes of this subsection. The courses authorized by this subsection may be offered only in those counties where gaming is legally being conducted and where the institution or community college is located.
SECTION 235. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2020.