House Bill 1025

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-8, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ELIMINATE THE POSITION OF EXECUTIVE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-26, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 47-5-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended 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) * * *

~~(b)~~ 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.

( * * *cb) 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.

( * * *dc) There shall be a Division of Workforce Development within the department, which shall have as its chief administrative officer a Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development, who shall be appointed by the commissioner, and shall be directly responsible to the commissioner.

(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 2. Section 47-5-26, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended 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.

(d) A Deputy Commissioner for Programs, Education and Reentry, who shall initiate and administer programs, including but not limited to, education services, religious services, moral rehabilitation, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, and court reentry. The Deputy Commissioner for Programs, Education and Reentry may coordinate with any educational institution to develop a program for moral rehabilitation with an emphasis on promoting effective programs for release. The Deputy Commissioner for Programs, Education and Reentry shall focus on reentry programs aimed at reducing recidivism. The programs shall incorporate a moral component focused on providing offenders with an opportunity to make positive changes while incarcerated that will enable them to be productive members of society upon their release. Such deputy commissioner 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.

(e) A Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development who shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of Prison Industries and Director of Prison Agricultural Enterprises. The Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development shall work in collaboration with the Executive Director of the Office of Workforce Development to implement workforce development programs within the corrections system which align with the strategic plan for an integrated workforce development system for the state, as described in Section 37-153-7. Such deputy commissioner shall be a person with extensive experience in development of economic, human and physical resources, with an emphasis in the corrections or reentry environments preferred. The Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development shall have at least a bachelor's degree from a state-accredited institution and no less than eight (8) years of professional experience related to workforce development. The Deputy Commissioner for Workforce Development, with the assistance from the Office of Workforce Development, shall:

(i) Inventory and measure the effectiveness of current workforce development programs in the state corrections system, with the goal of eliminating any programs which do not result in desired outcomes, including, but not limited to, an increase in employment in reentering offenders, a better environment within correctional facilities in the state, or a reduction in recidivism;

(ii) Partner with educational institutions to provide additional opportunities in workforce development programs for offenders leading to high-wage, high-skill jobs upon reentry;

(iii) Provide information, as appropriate, to offenders on workforce development programs available within the corrections system;

(iv) Work with industry to identify barriers which inhibit offender reentry and employment and evaluate the responsiveness of the corrections system and other support entities to the needs of industry;

(v) Develop short- and long-term goals for the state related to workforce development and reentry offender employment within the corrections system, and

(vi) Perform a comprehensive review of workforce development in the corrections system, including the amount expended on programs supported by state or federal money and their outcomes.

* * *

(2) The commissioner shall employ an administrative assistant for parole matters who shall be selected by the State Parole Board who shall be an employee of the department assigned to the State Parole Board and who shall be located at the office of the State Parole Board, and who shall work under the guidance, supervision and direction 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 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.