MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2020 Regular Session
To: Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency; Appropriations
By: Senator(s) Polk
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-9-127, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE PERSONNEL ACTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, AND THE COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE STATE PERSONNEL BOARD SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM THE STATE PERSONNEL BOARD RULES, REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES THROUGH JULY 1, 2021, AND ALL EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT SHALL BE CLASSIFIED AS NONSTATE SERVICE DURING THAT PERIOD IN ORDER TO GIVE THE COMMISSIONER FLEXIBILITY IN MAKING AN ORDERLY, EFFECTIVE AND TIMELY REALIGNMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT; TO PROVIDE THAT ANY EMPLOYEE HIRED AFTER JULY 1, 2020, BY THE DEPARTMENT SHALL MEET THE CRITERIA OF THE STATE PERSONNEL BOARD AS IT PRESENTLY EXISTS FOR EMPLOYMENT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 47-5-8, 47-5-10, 47-5-20, 47-5-23, 47-5-24, 47-5-26, 47-5-28, 47-5-30, 47-5-47, 47-5-49, 47-5-54, 47-5-99, 47-5-103 AND 47-5-355, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 25-9-127, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-9-127. (1) No employee of any department, agency or institution who is included under this chapter or hereafter included under its authority, and who is subject to the rules and regulations prescribed by the state personnel system, may be dismissed or otherwise adversely affected as to compensation or employment status except for inefficiency or other good cause, and after written notice and hearing within the department, agency or institution as shall be specified in the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board complying with due process of law; and any employee who has by written notice of dismissal or action adversely affecting his compensation or employment status shall, on hearing and on any appeal of any decision made in such action, be required to furnish evidence that the reasons stated in the notice of dismissal or action adversely affecting his compensation or employment status are not true or are not sufficient grounds for the action taken; provided, however, that this provision shall not apply (a) to persons separated from any department, agency or institution due to curtailment of funds or reduction in staff when such separation is in accordance with rules and regulations of the state personnel system; (b) during the probationary period of state service of twelve (12) months; and (c) to an executive officer of any state agency who serves at the will and pleasure of the Governor, board, commission or other appointing authority.
(2) The operation of a state-owned motor vehicle without a valid Mississippi driver's license by an employee of any department, agency or institution that is included under this chapter and that is subject to the rules and regulations of the state personnel system shall constitute good cause for dismissal of such person from employment.
(3) Beginning July 1, 1999, every male between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty-six (26) who is required to register under the federal Military Selective Service Act, 50 USCS App. 453, and who is an employee of the state shall not be promoted to any higher position of employment with the state until he submits to the person, commission, board or agency by which he is employed satisfactory documentation of his compliance with the draft registration requirements of the Military Selective Service Act. The documentation shall include a signed affirmation under penalty of perjury that the male employee has complied with the requirements of the Military Selective Service Act.
(4) For a period of two (2) years beginning July 1, 2014, the provisions of subsection (1) shall not apply to the personnel actions of the State Department of Education that are subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, and all employees of the department shall be classified as nonstate service during that period. However, any employee hired after July 1, 2014, by the department shall meet the criteria of the State Personnel Board as it presently exists for employment. The State Superintendent of Public Education and the State Board of Education shall consult with the Office of the Attorney General before taking personnel actions authorized by this section to review those actions for compliance with applicable state and federal law.
It is not the intention or effect of this section to include any school attendance officer in any exemption from coverage under the State Personnel Board policy or regulations, including, but not limited to, termination and conditions of employment.
(5) * * * Through
July 1, 2021, the personnel actions of the Department of Corrections and
the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections that are subject to the rules
and regulations of the State Personnel Board shall be exempt from the
provisions of subsection (1) of this section and from the State Personnel Board
rules, regulations and procedures during that period, and all employees of
the department shall be classified as nonstate service during that period.
However, any employee hired after July 1, * * * 2020, by the department shall meet
the criteria of the State Personnel Board as it presently exists for
employment. The Commissioner of Corrections shall consult with the Office
of the Attorney General before taking personnel actions authorized by this
section to review those actions for compliance with applicable state and federal
law.
* * *
(6) Through July 1, 2020, the provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to the personnel actions of the Department of Human Services that are subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, and all employees of the department shall be classified as nonstate service during that period. Any employee hired on or after July 1, 2020, by the department shall meet the criteria of the State Personnel Board as it presently exists for employment. The Executive Director of Human Services shall consult with the Office of the Attorney General before taking personnel actions authorized by this section to review those actions for compliance with applicable state and federal law.
(7) Through July 1, 2020, the provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to the personnel actions of the Department of Child Protection Services that are subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board, and all employees of the department shall be classified as nonstate service during that period. Any employee hired on or after July 1, 2020, by the division shall meet the criteria of the State Personnel Board as it presently exists for employment. The Commissioner of Child Protection Services shall consult with the Office of the Attorney General before taking personnel actions authorized by this section to review those actions for compliance with applicable state and federal law.
(8) Any state agency whose personnel actions are exempted in this section from the rules, regulations and procedures of the State Personnel Board shall file with the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the members of the Senate and House Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committees an annual report no later than July 1, 2016, and each year thereafter while under the exemption. Such annual report shall contain the following information:
(a) The number of current employees who received an increase in salary during the past fiscal year and the amount of the increase;
(b) The number of employees who were dismissed from the agency or otherwise adversely affected as to compensation or employment status during the past fiscal year, including a description of such adverse effects; and
(c) The number of new employees hired during the past fiscal year and the starting salaries of each new employee.
SECTION 2. Section 47-5-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-8. (1) There is created the Mississippi Department of Corrections, which shall be under the policy direction of the Governor. The chief administrative officer of the department shall be the Commissioner of Corrections.
(2) (a) There shall be a Division of Administration and Finance within the department, which shall have as its chief administrative officer a Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Finance who shall be appointed by the commissioner, and shall be directly responsible to the commissioner.
(b) There shall be a Division of Community Corrections within the department, which shall have as its chief administrative officer a Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections, who shall be appointed by the commissioner, and shall be directly responsible to the commissioner. The Probation and Parole Board shall continue to exercise the authority as provided by law, but after July 1, 1976, the Division of Community Corrections shall serve as the administrative agency for the Probation and Parole Board.
(3) The department shall succeed to the exclusive control of all records, books, papers, equipment and supplies, and all lands, buildings and other real and personal property now or hereafter belonging to or assigned to the use and benefit or under the control of the Mississippi State Penitentiary and the Mississippi Probation and Parole Board, except the records of parole process and revocation and legal matters related thereto, and shall have the exercise and control of the use, distribution and disbursement of all funds, appropriations and taxes now or hereafter in possession, levied, collected or received or appropriated for the use, benefit, support and maintenance of these two (2) agencies except as otherwise provided by law, and the department shall have general supervision of all the affairs of the two (2) agencies herein named except as otherwise provided by law, and the care and conduct of all buildings and grounds, business methods and arrangements of accounts and records, the organization of the administrative plans of each institution, and all other matters incident to the proper functioning of the two (2) agencies.
(4) The commissioner may lease the lands for oil, gas, mineral exploration and other purposes, and contract with other state agencies for the proper management of lands under such leases or for the provision of other services, and the proceeds thereof shall be paid into the General Fund of the state.
SECTION 3. Section 47-5-10, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-10. The department shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) To accept adult offenders committed to it by the courts of this state for incarceration, care, custody, treatment and rehabilitation;
(b) To provide for the care, custody, study, training, supervision and treatment of adult offenders committed to the department;
(c) To maintain, administer and exercise executive and administrative supervision over all state correctional institutions and facilities used for the custody, training, care, treatment and after-care supervision of adult offenders committed to the department; provided, however, that such supervision shall not extend to any institution or facility for which executive and administrative supervision has been provided by law through another agency;
(d) To plan, develop and coordinate a statewide, comprehensive correctional program designed to train and rehabilitate offenders in order to prevent, control and retard recidivism;
(e) To maintain records of persons committed to it, and to establish programs of research, statistics and planning:
(i) An offender's records shall include a single cover sheet that contains the following information about the offender: name, including any aliases; department inmate number; social security number; photograph; court of conviction; cause number; date of conviction; date of sentence; total number of days in the department's custody or number of days creditable toward time served on each charge; date of actual custody; and date of any revocation of a suspended sentence;
(ii) The department shall maintain an offender's cover sheet in the course of its regularly conducted business activities and shall include an offender's cover sheet in each request from a court, prosecutor or law enforcement agency for a summary of an offender's records with the department, also known as a "pen-pack." The cover sheet shall conform to Rules 803(6) and 803(8) of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence for admission as an exception to the hearsay rule and may be admissible when properly authenticated according to evidentiary rules and when offered for the purpose of enhanced sentencing under Section 41-29-147, 99-19-81 or 99-19-83 or other similar purposes; and
(iii) This subsection is not intended to conflict with an offender's right of confrontation in criminal proceedings under the state or federal constitution;
(f) To investigate the grievances of any person committed to the department, and to inquire into any alleged misconduct by employees; and for this purpose it may issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of writings and papers, and may examine under oath any witnesses who may appear before it;
(g) To administer programs of training and development of personnel of the department;
(h) To develop and implement diversified programs and facilities to promote, enhance, provide and assure the opportunities for the successful custody, training and treatment of adult offenders properly committed to the department or confined in any facility under its control. Such programs and facilities may include, but not be limited to, institutions, group homes, halfway houses, diagnostic centers, work and educational release centers, technical violation centers, restitution centers, counseling and supervision of probation, parole, suspension and compact cases, presentence investigating and other state and local community-based programs and facilities;
(i) To receive, hold and use, as a corporate body, any real, personal and mixed property donated to the department, and any other corporate authority as shall be necessary for the operation of any facility at present or hereafter;
(j) To provide those personnel, facilities, programs and services the department shall find necessary in the operation of a modern correctional system for the custody, care, study and treatment of adult offenders placed under its jurisdiction by the courts and other agencies in accordance with law;
(k) To develop the capacity and administrative network necessary to deliver advisory consultation and technical assistance to units of local government for the purpose of assisting them in developing model local correctional programs for adult offenders;
(l) To cooperate with other departments and agencies and with local communities for the development of standards and programs for better correctional services in this state;
(m) To administer all monies and properties of the department;
(n) To report annually to the Legislature and the Governor on the committed persons, institutions and programs of the department;
(o) To cooperate with the courts and with public and private agencies and officials to assist in attaining the purposes of this chapter and Chapter 7 of this title. The department may enter into agreements and contracts with other departments of federal, state or local government and with private agencies concerning the discharge of its responsibilities or theirs. The department shall have the authority to accept and expend or use gifts, grants and subsidies from public and private sources;
(p) To make all rules and regulations and exercise all powers and duties vested by law in the department;
(q) The department may require a search of all persons entering the grounds and facilities at the correctional system;
(r) To submit, in a timely manner, to the Oversight Task Force established in Section 47-5-6 any reports required by law or regulation or requested by the task force.
(s) To discharge any other power or duty imposed or established by law.
SECTION 4. Section 47-5-20, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-20. The commissioner shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) To establish the general policy of the department;
(b) To approve proposals for the location of new facilities, for major renovation activities, and for the creation of new programs and divisions within the department as well as for the abolition of the same; provided, however, that the commissioner shall approve the location of no new facility unless the board of supervisors of the county or the governing authorities of the municipality in which the new facility is to be located shall have had the opportunity with at least sixty (60) days' prior notice to disapprove the location of the proposed facility. If either the board of supervisors or the governing authorities shall disapprove the facility, it shall not be located in that county or municipality. Said notice shall be made by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the members of the board or governing authorities and to the clerk thereof;
(c) Except as otherwise provided or required by law, to open bids and approve the sale of any products or manufactured goods by the department according to applicable provisions of law regarding bidding and sale of state property, and according to rules and regulations established by the State Fiscal Management Board; and
(d) To adopt administrative rules and regulations including, but not limited to, offender transfer procedures, award of administrative earned time, personnel procedures, employment practices.
(e) To make personnel actions for a period of one (1) year beginning July 1, 2016, that are exempt from State Personnel Board rules, regulations and procedures in order to give the commissioner flexibility in making an orderly, effective and timely reorganization and realignment of the department.
SECTION 5. Section 47-5-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-23. The department shall be vested with the exclusive responsibility for management and control of the correctional system, and all properties belonging thereto, subject only to the limitations of this chapter, and shall be responsible for the management of affairs of the correctional system and for the proper care, treatment, feeding, clothing and management of the offenders confined therein. The commissioner shall have final authority to employ and discharge all employees of the correctional system, except as otherwise provided by law.
SECTION 6. Section 47-5-24, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-24. (1) The Governor shall appoint a Commissioner of Corrections, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Such commissioner may be removed by the Governor. The commissioner shall be the chief executive, administrative and fiscal officer of the department.
(2) The commissioner shall receive an annual salary fixed by the Governor, not to exceed the maximum authorized by law, in addition to all actual, necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of official duties, including mileage as authorized by law.
(3) The commissioner shall possess the following minimum qualifications:
(a) A master's degree in corrections, criminal justice, guidance, social work, or some related field, and at least six (6) years full-time experience in corrections, including at least three (3) years of correctional management experience; or
(b) A bachelor's degree in a field described in subparagraph (a) of this subsection and at least ten (10) years full-time work in corrections, five (5) years of which shall have been in correctional management; or
(c) Shall possess at least a bachelor's degree and relevant experience in fiscal management in the private or public sector.
(4) The commissioner shall be required, upon assuming the duties of his office, to execute a good and sufficient bond payable to the State of Mississippi in the sum of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), conditioned upon an accurate accounting for all monies and property coming into his hands. The commissioner, upon approval by the Governor, may require of other officers, employees and agents of the department a good and sufficient bond in such sum as he may determine, subject to the minimum requirements set forth herein, payable to the State of Mississippi upon like condition. The bonds shall be approved by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State, and shall be executed by a surety company authorized to do business under the laws of this state. The premium on any such bond shall be paid by the state out of the support and maintenance fund of the department.
SECTION 7. Section 47-5-26, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-26. (1) The commissioner shall employ the following personnel:
(a) A Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Finance, who shall supervise and implement all fiscal policies and programs within the department, supervise and implement all hiring and personnel matters within the department, supervise the department's personnel director, supervise and implement all purchasing within the department and supervise and implement all data processing activities within the department, and who shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Division of Administration and Finance. He shall possess either:
(i) A master's degree from an accredited four-year college or university in public or business administration, accounting, economics or a directly related field, and four (4) years of experience in work related to the above-described duties, one (1) year of which must have included line or functional supervision; or
(ii) A bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university in public or business administration, accounting, economics or a directly related field, and six (6) years of experience in work related to the above-described duties, one (1) year of which must have included line or functional supervision. Certification by the State of Mississippi as a certified public accountant may be substituted for one (1) year of the required experience.
(b) A Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections, who shall initiate and administer programs, including, but not limited to, supervision of probationers, parolees and suspensioners, counseling, community-based treatment, interstate compact administration and enforcement, prevention programs, halfway houses and group homes, technical violation centers, restitution centers, presentence investigations, and work and educational releases, and shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Division of Community Services. The Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections is charged with full and complete cooperation with the State Parole Board and shall make monthly reports to the Chairman of the Parole Board in the form and type required by the chairman, in his discretion, for the proper performance of the probation and parole functions. After a plea or verdict of guilty to a felony is entered against a person and before he is sentenced, the Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections shall procure from any available source and shall file in the presentence records any information regarding any criminal history of the person such as fingerprints, dates of arrests, complaints, civil and criminal charges, investigative reports of arresting and prosecuting agencies, reports of the National Crime Information Center, the nature and character of each offense, noting all particular circumstances thereof and any similar data about the person. The Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections shall keep an accurate and complete duplicate record of this file and shall furnish the duplicate to the department. This file shall be placed in and shall constitute a part of the inmate's master file. The Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections shall furnish this file to the State Parole Board when the file is needed in the course of its official duties. He shall possess either: (i) a master's degree in counseling, corrections psychology, guidance, social work, criminal justice or some related field and at least four (4) years' full-time experience in such field, including at least one (1) year of supervisory experience; or (ii) a bachelor's degree in a field described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph and at least six (6) years' full-time work in corrections, one (1) year of which shall have been at the supervisory level.
(c) A Deputy Commissioner for Institutions, who shall administer institutions, reception and diagnostic centers, prerelease centers and other facilities and programs provided therein, and shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Division of Institutions. He shall possess either: (i) a master's degree in counseling, criminal justice, psychology, guidance, social work, business or some related field, and at least four (4) years' full-time experience in corrections, including at least one (1) year of correctional management experience; or (ii) a bachelor's degree in a field described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph and at least six (6) years' full-time work in corrections, four (4) years of which shall have been at the correctional management level.
(2) The commissioner shall employ an administrative assistant for parole matters, who shall be an employee of the department assigned to the State Parole Board and who shall work under the guidance and supervision of the board.
(3) The administrative assistant for parole matters shall receive an annual salary to be established by the Legislature. The salaries of department employees not established by the Legislature shall receive an annual salary established by the State Personnel Board.
(4) The commissioner shall employ a superintendent for the Parchman facility, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility and South Mississippi Correctional Institution of the Department of Corrections. The Superintendent of the Mississippi State Penitentiary shall reside on the grounds of the Parchman facility. Each superintendent shall appoint an officer in charge when he is absent.
Each superintendent shall develop and implement a plan for the prevention and control of an inmate riot and shall file a report with the Chairman of the Senate Corrections Committee and the Chairman of the House Penitentiary Committee on the first day of each regular session of the Legislature regarding the status of the plan.
In order that the grievances and complaints of inmates, employees and visitors at each facility may be heard in a timely and orderly manner, each superintendent shall appoint or designate an employee at the facility to hear grievances and complaints and to report grievances and complaints to the superintendent. Each superintendent shall institute procedures as are necessary to provide confidentiality to those who file grievances and complaints.
(5) For a one-year period beginning July 1, 2016, any person authorized for employment under this section shall not be subject to the rules, regulations and procedures of the State Personnel Board, except as otherwise provided under Section 25-9-127(5).
SECTION 8. Section 47-5-28, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-28. The commissioner shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) To implement and administer laws and policy relating to corrections and coordinate the efforts of the department with those of the federal government and other state departments and agencies, county governments, municipal governments, and private agencies concerned with providing offender services;
(b) To establish standards, in cooperation with other state agencies having responsibility as provided by law, provide technical assistance, and exercise the requisite supervision as it relates to correctional programs over all state-supported adult correctional facilities and community-based programs;
(c) To promulgate and publish such rules, regulations and policies of the department as are needed for the efficient government and maintenance of all facilities and programs in accord insofar as possible with currently accepted standards of adult offender care and treatment;
(d) To provide the Parole Board with suitable and sufficient office space and support resources and staff necessary to conducting Parole Board business under the guidance of the Chairman of the Parole Board;
(e) To contract for transitional reentry center beds that will be used as noncorrections housing for offenders released from the department on parole, probation or post-release supervision but do not have appropriate housing available upon release. At least one hundred (100) transitional reentry center beds contracted by the department and chosen by the Parole Board shall be available for the Parole Board to place parolees without appropriate housing;
(f) To make an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature reflecting the activities of the department and make recommendations for improvement of the services to be performed by the department;
(g) To cooperate fully with periodic independent internal investigations of the department and to file the report with the Governor and the Legislature;
(h) To make personnel actions for a period of one (1) year beginning July 1, 2016, that are exempt from State Personnel Board rules, regulations and procedures in order to give the commissioner flexibility in making an orderly, effective and timely reorganization and realignment of the department; and
(i) To perform such other duties necessary to effectively and efficiently carry out the purposes of the department as may be directed by the Governor.
SECTION 9. Section 47-5-30, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-30. (1) The Commissioner of Corrections shall develop a strategic plan for its operation of the state correctional system. The strategic plan shall cover a five-year period. The plan shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(a) A clearly defined comprehensive statement of the mission, goals and objectives of the agency;
(b) Performance effectiveness objectives for each facility under the jurisdiction of the department;
(c) A description of the department's internal management system used to evaluate its performance in relation to projected levels;
(d) Detailed plans and strategies for meeting current and future needs and achieving goals and objectives established for the state correctional system;
(e) A detailed analysis of the use of current agency resources in meeting current needs and expected future needs, and additional resources that may be necessary to meet future needs;
(f) An analysis of factors affecting projected prison populations including impact of juveniles on prison populations and how populations are expected to change within the period of the plan;
(g) A plan to remove inmates from county jails.
(2) The department shall revise the plan annually.
(3) Upon completion of the initial plan and each revision, the department shall provide copies to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chairman of the Senate Corrections Committee, the Chairman of the House Penitentiary Committee, the Legislative Budget Office, the Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee, the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration and the Legislative Reference Bureau.
(4) The commissioner shall develop the strategic plan before September 23, 1994.
SECTION 10. Section 47-5-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-47. It shall be unlawful for any person related by affinity or consanguinity within the third degree computed according to the rules of the civil law to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor or commissioner to accept any employment in the state correctional system, neither shall the commissioner or other officer or employee of the state correctional system be directly or indirectly interested in any contract, purchase or sale for or in behalf of or on account of the state correctional system.
SECTION 11. Section 47-5-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-49. Neither the commissioner nor any other employee, save physicians and chaplains not employed for all their time, shall have or engage in any other business during his normal hours of employment that may require his personal attention or time. The Governor, in the case of the commissioner, and the commissioner in the case of any other employee shall receive prior notification and approve outside employment and the respective parties named herein shall punish a violation of this provision by the dismissal of the employee if the offense justifies such dismissal.
SECTION 12. Section 47-5-54, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-54. Employees assigned to the canine unit of the department may, upon request, assist law enforcement agencies by using specially trained dogs in any matter relating to the tracking, discovery or capture of any person in the enforcement of criminal statutes pertaining to the possession, sale or use of narcotics or other dangerous drugs, or in the pursuit of suspected felons and, while so doing, shall have the status of peace officers anywhere in the state and shall have the status of law enforcement officers and peace officers as contemplated by Sections 45-6-3, 97-3-7 and 97-3-19.
Employees of the department, while performing their officially assigned duties relating to the custody, control, transportation, recapture or arrest of any offender within the jurisdiction of the department or any offender of any jail, penitentiary, public workhouse or overnight lockup of the state or any political subdivision thereof not within the jurisdiction of the department, shall have the status of peace officers anywhere in the state in any matter relating to the custody, control, transportation or recapture of such offender, and shall have the status of law enforcement officers and peace officers as contemplated by Sections 45-6-3, 97-3-7 and 97-3-19.
The commissioner may appoint investigators with the Corrections Investigation Division who have been certified by the Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training and who shall be empowered to investigate and enforce all applicable regulations of the department, which are related to the functions and missions of the department, and all laws of the State of Mississippi and who shall be empowered to investigate and enforce all laws of the State of Mississippi in private correctional facilities and regional county correctional facilities. These employees shall have the status of law enforcement officers and peace officers as contemplated by Sections 45-6-3, 97-3-7 and 97-3-19.
These officers shall be under the supervision of the commissioner. These officers may perform any service of process required to be performed at any facility owned by the Department of Corrections, at any private correctional facility or at any regional county correctional facility.
The commissioner may promulgate rules regulating the speed of motor vehicles on roads within the grounds of any correctional facility, and such restrictions may be enforced by employees of the department by citation or as otherwise prescribed by law.
SECTION 13. Section 47-5-99, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-99. There are hereby created classification hearing officers and disciplinary hearing officers of the correctional system to be appointed by the commissioner.
SECTION 14. Section 47-5-103, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-103. (1) The classification hearing officer shall be responsible for assigning a classification to each offender within forty (40) days after the offender's commitment to the custody of the department. The classification shall determine the offender's work duties, living quarters, educational, vocational or other rehabilitation programs, and privileges to be accorded the offender while in custody of the department. The classification hearing officer, in assigning classifications, shall consider the offender's age, offense and surrounding circumstances, the complete record of the offender's criminal history, including records of law enforcement agencies or of a youth court regarding that offender's juvenile criminal history, family background, education, practical or employment experience, interests and abilities as evidenced by mental and psychological examination and knowledge obtained by the classification hearing officer in personal interview with the offender. The classification hearing officer shall use the above criteria to assign each offender a classification which will serve and enhance the best interests and general welfare of the offender. The designee or designees of the commissioner shall approve or disapprove each classification. The classification hearing officer shall provide the State Parole Board with a copy of the classification assigned to each offender in the custody of the department who is eligible for parole.
(2) The classification board, consisting of the commissioner, or his designee, deputy commissioner of institutions and the director of offender services may change an action of the classification or disciplinary hearing officer if the board makes a determination that the action of the hearing officer was not supported by sufficient factual information. The commissioner, in emergency situations, may suspend the classification of an offender or offenders for a period of not exceeding fifteen (15) days to relieve the emergency situation. The classification of each offender may be reviewed by a classification hearing officer at least once each year. In no case shall an offender serve as a servant in the home of any employee other than authorized by the commissioner.
(3) The classification board shall establish substantive and procedural rules and regulations governing the assignment and alteration of inmate classifications, and shall make such rules and regulations available to any offender upon request.
SECTION 15. Section 47-5-355, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-355. (1) The Commissioner of Corrections shall employ a director of the prison agricultural enterprises, who shall be directly responsible to the commissioner. The director shall have the following duties and powers:
(a) To implement and manage the prison agricultural enterprises;
(b) To determine, with the advice of the Director of Planning, the type of agricultural, animal husbandry and aquaculture products needed to feed inmates and which may be grown profitably on department lands;
(c) To use inmate labor to meet the labor needs of the programs, subject to the requirements of subsection (2);
(d) To recommend rules and regulations and employ personnel necessary for the operation of the programs;
(e) To determine the proper methods of canning, freezing or preserving that may be used to the best advantage of the programs;
(f) With approval of the commissioner, to do those things necessary and proper to accomplish the purposes of the programs;
(g) To determine and establish priorities on the most appropriate and profitable products to be grown and which department lands should be farmed, taking into consideration the available prison labor, existing equipment and funds available therefor, markets for the products, and other matters consistent with prudent agricultural practices;
(h) To manage the food services of the department at the discretion of the commissioner.
(2) The director shall have the right to use inmate labor to the exclusion of prison industries. The superintendents shall provide the prison agricultural enterprises with sufficient inmate labor. If a superintendent refuses to provide inmate labor because of security concerns, the commissioner shall decide if security requirements preclude use of inmate labor. Upon the request of the director, the superintendents shall provide security for prison agricultural enterprises.
(3) The director shall maintain accurate and complete financial records of all receipts and expenditures of the prison agricultural enterprise programs.
(4) The director shall file a full and complete report with the Legislature before January 1 of each year detailing the costs, inventory and receipts of each program. The report shall also provide the cost or cost savings of such programs.
(5) The department may enter into joint ventures with private businesses related to prison agricultural enterprises.
SECTION 16. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1,2020.