MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Corrections
By: Senator(s) Barnett
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-473, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXTEND THE DATE OF REPEAL ON THE PILOT WORK RELEASE PROGRAM FOR THE CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI CORRECTIONAL FACILITY; TO AMEND SECTIONS 47-5-577 AND 47-5-579, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXTEND THE DATE OF REPEAL ON THE MISSISSIPPI PRISON INDUSTRIES ACT OF 1990 FROM JULY 1, 2024, TO JULY 1, 2028, AND TO TRANSFER THE REPEALER IN SECTION 47-5-579 TO SECTION 47-5-577; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 47-5-531, 47-5-533, 47-5-535, 47-5-537, 47-5-539, 47-5-541, 47-5-543, 47-5-545, 47-5-547, 47-5-549, 47-5-551, 47-5-553, 47-5-555, 47-5-557, 47-5-559, 47-5-561, 47-5-563, 47-5-565, 47-5-567, 47-5-569, 47-5-571, 47-5-573 AND 47-5-575, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-911, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXTEND THE DATE OF REPEAL ON THE PROVISIONS OF LAW AUTHORIZING CERTAIN STATE OFFENDERS TO SERVE ALL OR PART OF THEIR SENTENCE IN CERTAIN COUNTY JAILS; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 47-5-901, 47-5-903, 47-5-905, 47-5-907 AND 47-5-909, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-1251, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXTEND THE DATE OF REPEAL ON THE PRISON INDUSTRY ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM FROM JULY 1, 2024, TO JULY 1, 2028; TO DELETE THE AUTOMATIC REPEALER ON THE MISSISSIPPI EARNED PAROLE ELIGIBILITY ACT OF 2021; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 1 OF CHAPTER 479, LAWS OF 2021, TO AMEND SECTIONS 47-7-3 AND 47-7-5 AND BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 47-7-3.1, 47-7-3.2, 47-7-15, 47-7-17 AND 47-7-18, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 47-5-473, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-473. (1) The Sheriffs of Rankin County, Harrison County and Lee County are authorized to establish a Pilot Work Release Program. No person sentenced for a crime listed in Section 97-3-2 shall be eligible for participation in the program established under this section. During the pilot phase of the program, there shall be a limit of twenty-five (25) people in the program at a time.
(2) The sheriff shall collect and maintain data which shall be shared semiannually with the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) and the Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force in sortable electronic format. The first report shall be made before January 15, 2022, and in six-month intervals thereafter. The data shall include:
(a) Total number of participants at the beginning of each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;
(b) Total number of participants at the end of each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;
(c) Total number of participants who began the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;
(d) Total number of participants who successfully completed the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;
(e) Total number of participants who left the program in each month and reason for leaving by race, gender, and offenses charged;
(f) Total number of participants who were arrested for a new criminal offense while in the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;
(g) Total number of participants who were convicted of a new crime while in the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;
(h) Total number of participants who completed the program and were convicted of a new crime within three (3) years of completing the program;
(i) Total amount earned by participants and how the earnings were distributed in each month;
(j) Results of any initial risk and needs assessments conducted on each participant by race, gender, and offenses charged; and
(k) Any other data or information as requested by the task force.
(3) Any person who has been sentenced to confinement in jail or who has been sentenced for a felony conviction but is confined in a jail may request assignment to the work release program established under this section. Admission to the program shall be in the discretion of the sheriff. The sheriff may further authorize the offender to participate in educational or other rehabilitative programs designed to supplement his work release employment or to prepare the person for successful reentry. No offender shall be eligible for this program if he or she has more than one (1) year remaining on his or her sentence.
(4) The sheriff shall adopt and publish rules and regulations prior to accepting inmates. These rules and regulations shall at a minimum include all requirements for work release programs established pursuant to Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-471. Participating employers shall pay no less than the prevailing wage for the position and shall under no circumstance pay less than the federal minimum wage.
(5) Any offender assigned to such a program by the sheriff who, without proper authority or just cause, leaves the area to which he has been assigned to work or attend educational or other rehabilitative programs, or leaves the vehicle or route of travel involved in his or her going to or returning from such place, will be guilty of escape as provided in Section 97-9-49. An offender who is found guilty under this section shall be ineligible for further participation in a work release program during his or her current term of confinement.
(6) The offender shall maintain an account through a local financial institution and shall provide a copy of a check stub to the sheriff. The offender may be required to pay up to twenty-five percent (25%) of his or her wages after mandatory deductions for the following purposes:
(a) To pay support of dependents or to the Mississippi Department of Human Services on behalf of dependents as may be ordered by a judge of competent jurisdiction; and
(b) To pay any fines, restitution, or costs as ordered by the court to include any fines and fees associated with obtaining a valid driver's license upon release.
(7) The inmate shall have access to his or her account to purchase incidental expenses.
(8) The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) shall conduct a review of the work release program established under this section and produce a report to the Legislature on their effectiveness by December 1, 2022. The PEER Committee shall seek the assistance of the Corrections and Criminal Justice Task Force and may seek assistance from any other criminal justice experts it deems necessary during its review.
(9) This section shall stand
repealed on July 1, * * *
2028.
SECTION 2. Section 47-5-577, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-577. Sections 47-5-531
through * * *
47-5-579, which create the Mississippi Prison Industries Act of 1990, shall
stand repealed from and after July 1, * * * 2028.
SECTION 3. Section 47-5-579, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-579. (1) (a) The corporation is authorized to create a Pilot Work Initiative at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. The initiative shall be limited to no more than twenty-five (25) inmates in the program at any given time.
(b) The department shall:
(i) Have the ultimate authority for oversight of the administration of the initiative;
(ii) Delegate the administration of the initiative to the corporation; and
(iii) Oversee the selection of inmates for admission to the initiative.
(2) (a) An inmate is eligible for participation in the initiative if the inmate has:
(i) No more than two (2) years remaining on the inmate's sentence;
(ii) Not been convicted under Section 97-9-49 within the last five (5) years; and
(iii) Not been sentenced for a sex offense as defined in Section 45-33-23(h).
(b) Any inmate that meets the eligibility requirements of paragraph (a) may request assignment to the work initiative established under this section.
(3) (a) The commissioner shall select inmates for admission to the program.
(b) An inmate currently participating in vocational training or a soft skills training program with the department shall have priority in admission to the program.
(4) (a) The chief executive officer may authorize the inmate to participate in educational or other rehabilitative programs designed to supplement his work initiative employment or to prepare the person for successful reentry.
(b) Before accepting any participants to the program, the corporation, in consultation with the department, shall adopt and publish rules and regulations to effectuate this section no later than six (6) months after the effective date of this section. These rules and regulations shall include all protection requirements for work release programs established pursuant to Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-471. Participating employers shall pay no less than the prevailing wage for the position and shall under no circumstance pay less than the federal minimum wage.
(5) Any inmate assigned to the initiative who, without proper authority or just cause, leaves the area to which he has been assigned to work or attend educational or other rehabilitative programs, or leaves the vehicle or route of travel involved in his or her going to or returning from such place, will be guilty of escape as provided in Section 97-9-49. An offender who is convicted under Section 97-9-49 shall be ineligible for further participation in the work initiative during his or her current term of confinement.
(6) (a) The inmate shall maintain an account through a local financial institution and shall provide a copy of a check stub to the chief executive officer.
(b) The inmate shall be required:
(i) To pay twenty-five percent (25%) of the inmate's wages after mandatory deductions for the following purposes:
1. To pay support of dependents or to the Mississippi Department of Human Services on behalf of dependents as may be ordered by a judge of competent jurisdiction; and
2. To pay any fines, restitution, or costs as ordered by the court to include any fines and fees associated with obtaining a valid driver's license upon release.
(ii) To pay * * * fifteen percent (15%)
of the inmate's wages to the corporation for administrative expenses to include
transportation costs to be remitted to the state, regional or private facility
where the inmate provided the work.
(iii) To save fifty percent (50%) of the inmate's wages in the account required under paragraph (a) of this subsection. Monies under this sub-item shall be made available to the inmate upon parole or release.
(c) The inmate shall have
access to the remaining * * * fifteen percent (15%) ten percent (10%) of the monies in
the inmate's account to purchase incidental expenses.
(7) The chief executive officer of the corporation shall collect and maintain data which shall be shared semiannually with the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) and the Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force in sortable electronic format. The first report shall be made on January 15, 2023, and in six-month intervals thereafter unless PEER establishes a different schedule. The data shall include:
(a) Total number of participants at the beginning of each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;
(b) Total number of participants at the end of each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;
(c) Total number of participants who began the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;
(d) Total number of participants who successfully completed the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;
(e) Total number of participants who left the program in each month and reason for leaving by race, gender, and offenses charged;
(f) Total number of participants who were arrested for a new criminal offense while in the program in each month by race, gender and offenses charged;
(g) Total number of participants who were convicted of a new crime while in the program in each month by race, gender and offenses charged;
(h) Total number of participants who completed the program and were convicted of a new crime within three (3) years of completing the program;
(i) Total amount earned by participants and how the earnings were distributed in each month;
(j) Results of any initial risk and needs assessments conducted on each participant by race, gender, and offenses charged;
(k) Total list of participating employers;
(l) Total list of jobs acquired by participants;
(m) Total list the hourly wage paid to each participant;
(n) Total accounting of the manner and use of the ten percent (10%) of the wages paid to the corporation by the inmate for administrative expenses;
(o) Total costs associated with program operations;
(p) Total list of participating financial institutions;
(q) The number of accounts opened by participants at financial institutions;
(r) The average hourly wage earned in the program; and
(s) Any other data or information as requested by the task force.
(8) The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) shall conduct a review of the initiative established under this section and produce a report to the Legislature on their effectiveness by January 1, 2024. The PEER Committee shall seek the assistance of the Corrections and Criminal Justice Task Force and may seek assistance from any other criminal justice experts it deems necessary during its review.
* * *
SECTION 4. Section 47-5-531, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-531. Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575 shall be known as the "Mississippi Prison Industries Act of 1990."
SECTION 5. Section 47-5-533, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-533. (1) It is the finding of the Legislature that prison industry programs of the State Department of Corrections are uniquely different from other programs operated or conducted by other departments in that it is essential to the state that the prison industry programs provide inmates with useful activities that can lead to meaningful employment after release in order to assist in reducing the return of inmates to the system.
(2) It is further the finding of the Legislature that the mission of a prison industry program is:
(a) To reduce the cost of state government by operating prison industries primarily with inmate labor, which industries do not seek to unreasonably compete with private enterprise;
(b) To serve the rehabilitative goals of the state by duplicating as nearly as possible, the operating activities of a free-enterprise type of profit-making enterprise; and
(c) To serve the security goals of the state by reducing the idleness of inmates and by providing an incentive for good behavior while in prison.
SECTION 6. Section 47-5-535, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-535. (1) Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, it is the intent of the Legislature that a nonprofit corporation be organized and formed, within sixty (60) days from April 4, 1990, to lease and manage the prison industry programs of the Mississippi Correctional Industries. The corporation created and established shall be a body politic and corporate, may acquire and hold real and personal property, may receive, hold and dispense monies appropriated to it by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi received from the federal government, received from the sale of products, goods, and services which it produces, and received from any other sources whatsoever.
(2) Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, it is the further intent of the Legislature that the nonprofit corporation shall create any additional prison industry program as it deems fit, and any such program shall be created in compliance with the provisions of Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575.
(3) Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, it is the further intent of the Legislature that such nonprofit corporation shall have exclusive rights to operate any prison industry program and when such corporation is lawfully formed, no other public or private entity shall be allowed to carry out the provisions of Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575.
(4) It is the further intent of the Legislature, that the nonprofit corporation which is required to be organized and formed under Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575 shall locate and operate prison industries at any state correctional facility with the approval of the Commissioner of Corrections. It is the intent of the Legislature that the nonprofit corporation locate and operate such industries in an orderly and expeditious manner. Such corporation may locate and operate prison industries at other prison satellites, at community work centers in the state, at any private correctional facility which houses state inmates and at any regional correctional facility as authorized under Section 47-5-931. No industrial prison program shall be located at a site other than state prison facilities approved by the commissioner.
SECTION 7. Section 47-5-537, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-537. The Secretary of
State, or his designee, shall assist the Department of Corrections and the
Department of Finance and Administration in the formation of the nonprofit
corporation, and within sixty (60) days after the formation of the corporation,
the corporation shall apply for exemption from federal tax under the provisions
of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Any
program of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the * * * Mississippi Department of Human
Services shall not be classified as prison industries under the provisions
Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575.
SECTION 8. Section 47-5-539, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-539. For the purposes of Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575, the following terms shall have the following meaning unless the context shall provide otherwise:
(a) "Chief executive officer" means the chief executive officer of the corporation established under this chapter.
(b) "Corporation" means the private nonprofit corporation which is required to be organized and formed to carry out the provisions of Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575 regarding prison industries.
(c) "Department" means the State Department of Corrections.
(d) "Inmate" means any person incarcerated within any state correctional facility.
(e) "Prison industry program" means any program which is considered to be a part of any prison industry in this state.
(f) "Prison agricultural enterprises" means all agricultural endeavors as defined in Section 47-5-353.
(g) "Work initiative" or "initiative" means the program authorized in Section 47-5-579.
SECTION 9. Section 47-5-541, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-541. (1) The corporation shall be governed by a board of directors. The terms of the board of directors in place before July 1, 2022, shall expire June 30, 2022. From and after July 1, 2022, the board of directors of the nonprofit corporation shall be composed of the following five (5) members:
(a) The Commissioner of the Department of Corrections or his or her designee;
(b) One (1) representative of the faith-based community, appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections with the advice and consent of the Senate;
(c) One (1) representative of the business community, appointed by the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections with the advice and consent of the Senate;
(d) The Executive Director of AccelerateMS or his or her designee; and
(e) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board or his or her designee.
For the initial appointments, the representative of the faith-based community shall serve for a term of one (1) year; the representative of the business community shall serve for a term of two (2) years; the Executive Director of the AccelerateMS or his or her designee shall serve for a term of three (3) years and the Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board shall serve for a term of four (4) years. All succeeding terms shall be for four (4) years from the expiration date of the previous term. The term of the Commissioner of Corrections shall run concurrent with his or her term or terms as commissioner. Initial appointments shall be made within thirty (30) days after July 1, 2022. Any vacancy on the board prior to the expiration of a term for any reason, including resignation, removal, disqualification, death or disability shall be filled in the manner prescribed in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this subsection for the balance of the unexpired term. The officers of the corporation shall consist of a chairman, vice chairman and a secretary-treasurer. The officers shall be selected by the members of the board. However, the Commissioner of Corrections shall not be eligible to serve as an officer of the corporation.
(2) The board of directors shall select and employ a chief executive officer of the corporation who shall serve at the pleasure of the board. The board shall set the compensation of the chief executive officer. The chief executive officer shall be responsible for the general business and entire operations of the corporation, and shall be responsible for operating the corporation in compliance with the bylaws of the corporation and in compliance with any provision of law. The board shall be authorized and empowered to do only those acts provided by law and by the bylaws of the corporation. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, such board shall have the authority to establish prison industries, to cease the operation of any industry which it deems unsuitable or unprofitable, to enter into any lease or contract for the corporation and it shall have the full authority to establish prices for any industry good.
(3) No member of the board of directors shall vote on any matter that comes before the board that could result in pecuniary benefit for himself or for any entity in which such member has an interest.
(4) In addition to the board of directors, an advisory board may be set up for the benefit of each industry which is established pursuant to the provisions of Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575. Such boards shall be advisory only, and may be set up in the discretion of the board of directors of the corporation.
(5) Each member of the board of directors of the corporation shall receive per diem as provided in Section 25-3-69 for each day or fraction thereof spent in actual discharge of his official duties and shall be reimbursed for mileage and actual expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties in accordance with the requirements of Section 25-3-41, Mississippi Code of 1972.
(6) The board of directors shall make and publish policies, rules and regulations governing all business functions, including but not limited to accounting, marketing, purchasing and personnel, not inconsistent with the terms of Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575, as may be necessary for the efficient administration and operation of the corporation.
(7) The chief executive officer of the corporation shall:
(a) Employ all necessary employees of the corporation and dismiss them as is necessary;
(b) Administer the daily operations of the corporation, including establishing education, training and workforce development programs in collaboration with the Office of Workforce Development and other relevant state and federal agencies;
(c) Upon approval of the board of directors, execute any contracts on behalf of the corporation; and
(d) Take any further actions which are necessary and proper toward the achievement of the corporation purposes.
(8) A member of the board of directors of the corporation shall not be liable for any civil damages for any personal injury or property damage caused to a person as a result of any acts or omissions committed in good faith in the exercise of their duties as members of the board of directors of the corporation, except where a member of the board engages in acts or omissions which are intentional, willful, wanton, reckless or grossly negligent.
SECTION 10. Section 47-5-543, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-543. (1) Within sixty (60) days after the formation of the corporation pursuant to the provisions of Section 47-5-535, the State Department of Corrections shall lease to the corporation all existing prison industries including the buildings, land, furnishings, equipment and other chattel used in the operation of such industries. Such lease shall be agreed upon by the State Department of Corrections, State Department of Finance and Administration and the corporation. The initial term of such lease shall not exceed six (6) years, provided that such lease may be renewed for additional successive terms of years not to exceed six (6) years in any one (1) renewal. No sublease to the corporation shall be in excess of that amount for which the department is obligated to pay under any lease agreement with any other state agency. Any receivable and remaining funds shall be transferred to the corporation after the payment of any existing liabilities. No operating loss of any type shall be transferred to the corporation. The State Department of Corrections shall continue to manage and operate the prison industries until such industries are leased to the corporation. When leasing any prison industry program to the corporation, the corporation shall exercise a reasonable effort to employ any personnel of the State Department of Corrections who are currently involved in any prison industry program being leased to the corporation. Before the leasing of the prison industries, buildings, lands and other items mentioned herein to the corporation, the State Auditor of Public Accounts shall perform a comprehensive audit of all the items and things mentioned herein which are to be leased by the department to the corporation. The corporation may expand, eliminate, suspend or alter any of its industries as it sees fit.
(2) Any lands, buildings, equipment, furnishings, livestock, supplies and vehicles used in the department's farming operations which were leased or transferred to the nonprofit corporation under subsection (1) shall be transferred to the department. Any personnel in the department's farming operations employed by the nonprofit corporation who desire to be reassigned to the department and who are under state service may be reassigned to the department.
(3) The department is not required to lease land, buildings, equipment, furnishings or other chattel used in its prison agricultural enterprises.
SECTION 11. Section 47-5-545, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-545. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, after the commissioning and implementation of a marketing feasibility study for any proposed new prison industry, the corporation may establish such prison industry. Before any new industry is established, the corporation shall hold a hearing to determine the impact such industry may have on the private sector market. The corporation shall provide adequate and advance notice regarding the nature, time, date and place of such hearing. After the hearing which is required under this section, the corporation may commence negotiations with the State Department of Corrections, with the Secretary of State, or his designee, serving as a mediator, regarding the leasing of land and other chattels for the purpose of establishing any new industry.
SECTION 12. Section 47-5-547, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-547. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, any training program or auxiliary program associated with any existing prison industry shall be transferred to the corporation. The corporation is empowered and authorized to establish in participation with any community or junior college or state institution of higher learning, any training or auxiliary program for existing prison industries or for any industries which the corporation might create. Such community or junior college or state institution of higher learning shall provide assistance in business planning, marketing and analysis of existing or projected industries. These industrial services shall be contracted with any appropriate community or junior college or state institution of higher learning when these industries are developed at other correction sites.
SECTION 13. Section 47-5-549, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-549. Any service or item manufactured, processed, grown or produced by the corporation from its prison industries may be furnished or sold to any legislative, executive or judicial branch of the state, any political subdivision or any governing authority of the state, any other state, any school, college or university of the state, any foreign government, any agency of the federal government or to any private entity. The corporation shall make reasonable efforts to purchase raw materials from in-state vendors. The prices for industry-made products shall be established by the board of directors of the corporation or its designee.
SECTION 14. Section 47-5-551, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-551. In the event the corporation is dissolved or its lease of any prison industry program expires or is otherwise terminated, all property relating to such prison industry program which ceases to function because of such termination or dissolution, including all funds, buildings, land, furnishings, equipment and other chattels subsequently purchased or otherwise acquired by the corporation in connection with its continued operation of that program, automatically reverts to full ownership by the department.
SECTION 15. Section 47-5-553, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-553. Before any prison industry may commence operations, the chief executive officer of the corporation must communicate with the Commissioner of Corrections regarding the proper security for the facility. If at anytime the Commissioner of Corrections recognizes a need for improvement in the security at any facility, then he or she shall communicate to the corporation regarding what improvements are needed for the facility to be properly secured. The corporation shall furnish its own security within the parameters of any prison industry work area.
SECTION 16. Section 47-5-555, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-555. The department shall, subject to the necessary security requirements and the needs of the corporation, provide to the corporation sufficient inmate labor for the various prison industry programs. The department may adopt rules and regulations as may be necessary to govern the use of inmates by the corporation. The corporation shall establish policies and procedures, subject to the approval of the department, relating to the use of inmates in the prison industry programs.
SECTION 17. Section 47-5-557, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-557. Any inmate who performs work for the corporation, except those inmates employed by the corporation in the Prison Industry Enhancement Program under Section 47-5-1251, shall not be deemed an agent, employee or involuntary servant of the corporation while performing such work or while going to and from work or other specified areas.
SECTION 18. Section 47-5-559, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-559. The corporation
shall submit to the Governor and the Legislature, on or before January 1 of
each year, a report on the status of the correctional work programs, including,
but not limited to, the programs and funds which have been transferred to
the corporation, the programs and funds to be taken over within the next year
and the proposed use of the profits from such programs, a breakdown of the
amount of noninmate labor used, work subcontracted to other vendors, use of
consultants, finished goods purchased for resale, and the number of inmates
working in the correctional work programs at the time of the report. In
addition, the corporation shall submit to the department, the Governor and the
Legislature an annual independently audited financial statement and such other
information as may be requested by the Legislature together with
recommendations from the corporation relating to provisions for reasonable tax
incentives to private enterprises that employ inmates, parolees or former inmates
who have participated in correctional work programs. The department shall
include, as a portion of its annual report, a report on post-release job
placement and the rate of subsequent contact with the correctional system for
those inmates who have participated in the correctional work programs operated
by the corporation and by the department. Beginning January 1, 1991, the State
Auditor shall conduct an annual financial audit of the corporation in conjunction
with an independent audit conducted by the corporation's auditors. The State
Auditor and the legislative PEER committee shall also conduct a biennial
performance audit of the corporation for the period beginning January 1, 1991,
through January 1, 1993, and thereafter upon the joint request of the Senate
Corrections Committee, House * * *
Corrections Committee, Senate Finance Committee, and House Ways and
Means Committee.
SECTION 19. Section 47-5-561, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-561. (1) In addition to its other powers, the corporation shall have the power to request, through the department, an appropriation of general revenue funds for the purposes of operation of, addition to or renovation of facilities or correctional work programs at the various correctional institutions; however, upon receipt of such appropriation, the rental paid by the corporation for the operation of or such new remodeled or renovated facilities or the operation of a correctional work program shall be sufficient to amortize its cost over a period of five (5) years.
(2) The corporation shall maintain those prison industries funds in excess of that amount necessary for sustaining quarterly or monthly operations of the corporation in an interest-bearing account best serving the proper management of corporation funds and earning the maximum amount of interest allowed by law. The corporation shall cause monies from the interest-bearing account to be deposited quarterly or monthly into the corporation's checking account in order to pay the legal debts of the corporation, approved for payment by the corporation.
SECTION 20. Section 47-5-563, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-563. (1) The department may adopt such rules as may be necessary to govern the use of inmates by the corporation; however, such rules shall be related only to the need for security, inmate projections, and efficient operation of each institution.
(2) The corporation, with the input of the department, shall establish policies and procedures subject to the approval of the department's legal counsel relating to the use of inmates in the correctional work programs.
(3) All such policies and procedures adopted by the department and the corporation shall be placed on file in the Office of the Secretary of State.
SECTION 21. Section 47-5-565, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-565. To carry out the provisions of Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575, the provisions of Sections 47-5-301 et seq., and 47-5-501 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, the corporation shall authorize the transfer and expending of monies from the Prison Industries Fund.
SECTION 22. Section 47-5-567, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-567. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, no inmate shall be eligible for unemployment compensation or workmen's compensation whether employed by the corporation or by any other private enterprise operating on the grounds of a correctional institution or elsewhere where such employment shall be a part of a correctional work program or work release program of either the corporation or the department.
SECTION 23. Section 47-5-569, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-569. (1) Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, if the department leases a single correctional work program at any correctional institution to the corporation, the corporation shall lease all such correctional work programs at that institution. Any rent paid by the corporation to the department shall be deposited in a correctional programs trust fund for enhancement of education and training, post-release job placement, and other correctional purposes related to the purposes of Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575.
(2) All leases of department-owned land for the funding or operations of the corporation shall be subject to the approval of the corporation, the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the Public Procurement Review Board.
(3) This section shall not apply to any program within the prison agricultural enterprises operated by the department.
SECTION 24. Section 47-5-571, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-571. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, no goods, wares, services or merchandise manufactured, mined or offered in whole or in part by prisoners shall be sold or offered by any person or other authority except by the corporation, as authorized by Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575.
SECTION 25. Section 47-5-573, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-573. (1) In adopting or modifying master plans for correctional work programs, and in the administration of the Department of Corrections, it shall be the objective of the department to develop a logical sequence of vocational training, employment by correctional work programs, and post-release job placement for inmates participating in correctional work programs.
(2) The Department of Corrections shall establish guidelines for the development of correctional work programs.
(3) The needs of the corporation shall be considered by the department when assigning and transferring prisoners to correctional institutions. The following criteria shall be used when assigning and transferring inmates:
(a) Skills of the inmate relevant to the corporation's industries;
(b) Security classification of the inmate relevant to the type of corporation's industry;
(c) Duration of availability of the inmate for employment by the corporation;
(d) Establishment of a concept of potentially rehabilitative inmate.
SECTION 26. Section 47-5-575, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-575. Any records or reports which relate to the financial aspect or operations of the corporation, with the exception of any trade secrets, shall be considered as public records and shall be subject to the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.
SECTION 27. Section 47-5-911, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-911. Sections 47-5-901
through 47-5-911 shall stand repealed on July 1, * * * 2028.
SECTION 28. Section 47-5-901, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-901. (1) (a) Any person committed, sentenced or otherwise placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections, on order of the sentencing court and subject to the other conditions of this subsection, may serve all or any part of his sentence in the county jail of the county wherein such person was convicted if the Commissioner of Corrections determines that physical space is not available for confinement of such person in the state correctional institutions. Such determination shall be promptly made by the Department of Corrections upon receipt of notice of the conviction of such person. The commissioner shall certify in writing that space is not available to the sheriff or other officer having custody of the person. Any person serving his sentence in a county jail shall be classified in accordance with Section 47-5-905.
(b) Any person committed, sentenced or otherwise placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections, on order of the sentencing court and subject to the other conditions of this subsection, may serve all or any part of his or her sentence in the county jail of the county wherein such person was convicted if the sheriff or president of the board of supervisors, requests such inmate or inmates. Upon such request, the department may allow such inmate or inmates to serve all or any part of such inmate's or inmates' sentence(s), as the case may be, in the county of conviction of the inmate or inmates or the county of request of a sheriff or board of supervisors outside the county of conviction. Such determination shall be promptly made by the Department of Corrections upon receipt of notice of the conviction of such person. Whenever a request is denied for an inmate or inmates, then the commissioner shall certify in writing to the sentencing court, sheriff, or president of the board of supervisors of a county, as the case may be, that such inmate or inmates does not qualify to serve the sentence or sentences in the county jail. Any person serving his sentence in a county jail shall be classified in accordance with Section 47-5-905.
(2) If state prisoners are housed in county jails due to a lack of capacity at state correctional institutions, the Department of Corrections shall determine the cost for food and medical attention for such prisoners. The cost of feeding and housing offenders confined in such county jails shall be based on actual costs or contract price per prisoner. In order to maximize the potential use of county jail space, the Department of Corrections is encouraged to negotiate a reasonable per day cost per prisoner, which in no event may exceed Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per day per offender, except as authorized in Section 47-5-909(2).
(3) (a) Upon vouchers submitted by the board of supervisors of any county housing persons due to lack of space at state institutions, the Department of Corrections shall pay to such county, out of any available funds, the actual cost of food, or contract price per prisoner, not to exceed Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per day per offender, except as authorized in Section 47-5-909(2), as determined under subsection (2) of this section for each day an offender is so confined beginning the day that the Department of Corrections receives a certified copy of the sentencing order or five (5) days after the sentencing order is sent, in writing, by such county to the department, whichever is earlier, and will terminate on the date on which the offender is released or otherwise removed from the custody of the county jail. The department, or its contracted medical provider, will pay to a provider of a medical service for any and all incarcerated persons from a correctional or detention facility an amount based upon negotiated fees as agreed to by the medical care service providers and the department and/or its contracted medical provider. In the absence of negotiated discounted fee schedule, medical care service providers will be paid by the department, or its contracted medical service provider, an amount no greater than the reimbursement rate applicable based on the Mississippi Medicaid reimbursement rate. The board of supervisors of any county shall not be liable for any cost associated with medical attention for prisoners who are pretrial detainees or for prisoners who have been convicted that exceeds the Mississippi Medicaid reimbursement rate or the reimbursement provided by the Department of Corrections, whichever is greater. This limitation applies to all medical care services, durable and nondurable goods, prescription drugs and medications. Such payment shall be placed in the county general fund and shall be expended only for food and medical attention for such persons.
(b) Upon vouchers submitted by the board of supervisors of any county housing offenders in county jails pending a probation or parole revocation hearing, the department shall pay the reimbursement costs provided in paragraph (a).
(c) If the probation or parole of an offender is revoked, the additional cost of housing the offender pending the revocation hearing shall be assessed as part of the offender's court cost and shall be remitted to the department.
(4) A person, on order of the sentencing court, may serve not more than twenty-four (24) months of his sentence in a county jail if the person is classified in accordance with Section 47-5-905 and the county jail is an approved county jail for housing state inmates under federal court order. The sheriff of the county shall have the right to petition the Commissioner of Corrections to remove the inmate from the county jail. The county shall be reimbursed in accordance with subsection (2) of this section.
(5) The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall defend the employees of the Department of Corrections and officials and employees of political subdivisions against any action brought by any person who was committed to a county jail under the provisions of this section.
(6) This section does not create in the Department of Corrections, or its employees or agents, any new liability, express or implied, nor shall it create in the Department of Corrections any administrative authority or responsibility for the construction, funding, administration or operation of county or other local jails or other places of confinement which are not staffed and operated on a full-time basis by the Department of Corrections. The correctional system under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections shall include only those facilities fully staffed by the Department of Corrections and operated by it on a full-time basis.
(7) An offender returned to a county for post-conviction proceedings shall be subject to the provisions of Section 99-19-42 and the county shall not receive the per-day allotment for such offender after the time prescribed for returning the offender to the Department of Corrections as provided in Section 99-19-42.
SECTION 29. Section 47-5-903, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-903. (1) A person committed, sentenced or otherwise placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections, on order of the sentencing court, may serve his or her sentence in any county jail if all of the following conditions are complied with:
(a) The person must be classified in accordance with Section 47-5-905;
(b) The person must not be classified as in need of close supervision;
(c) The sheriff of the county where the person will serve his or her sentence must request in writing that the person be allowed to serve his or her sentence in that county jail;
(d) After the person is classified and returned to the county, the county shall assume the full and complete responsibility for the care and expenses of housing such person; and
(e) The county jail must be an approved county jail for housing state inmates under federal court order.
(2) This section does not apply to inmates housed in county jails due to lack of space at state correctional facilities. The department may reimburse the county for the expense of housing an inmate under this section.
(3) The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall defend the employees of the Department of Corrections and officials and employees of political subdivisions against any action brought by any person who was committed to a county jail under the provisions of this section.
(4) The state, the Department of Corrections, and its employees or agents, shall not be liable to any person or entity for an inmate held in a county jail under this section.
SECTION 30. Section 47-5-905, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-905. (1) All persons placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections shall be processed at a reception and diagnostic center of the Department of Corrections and then be assigned to an appropriate correctional facility for a complete and thorough classification, not to exceed ninety (90) days, unless the department determines that a person can be properly processed and classified at the county jail in accordance with the department's classification plan.
(2) The Department of Corrections shall develop a plan for the processing and classification of inmates in county jails and shall implement the plan by January 1, 1993.
SECTION 31. Section 47-5-907, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-907. The sheriff of any county in this state shall have the right to petition the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections to remove a state inmate from the county jail in such county to the State Penitentiary. The commissioner shall remove such inmate from such county jail if the sheriff of such county sets forth just cause in his petition indicating why an inmate should be removed from such county jail to the State Penitentiary.
Just cause is established if such sheriff can sufficiently prove that such inmate has a dangerous behavior or sufficiently prove that there is no available or suitable medical facility where such inmate can be provided suitable medical services. The commissioner shall respond in writing to the petition no later than thirty (30) days after the receipt of such petition. If the petition to remove such inmate is denied by the commissioner, such sheriff and his agents shall have from the date of denial absolute immunity from liability for any injury resulting from subsequent behavior or from medical consequences regarding such inmate, provided that such injury resulted from conditions which were set forth in such petition.
SECTION 32. Section 47-5-909, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-5-909. (1) It is the policy of the Legislature that all inmates be removed from county jails as early as practicable. Sections 47-5-901 through 47-5-907 are temporary measures to help alleviate the immediate operating capacity limitations at correctional facilities and are not permanent measures to be included in the long-term operating capacity of the correctional system.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to expedite the removal of inmates from county jails as early as practicable, absent a contract negotiated between the Department of Corrections and the county jail, the Department of Corrections shall pay county jails for housing state offenders out of any available funds as follows:
(a) Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per day per offender for days one (1) through thirty (30);
(b) Thirty-two Dollars and Seventy-one Cents ($32.71) per day per offender for days thirty-one (31) or greater when:
(i) An offender remains in the county jail after the Department of Corrections receives a certified copy of the sentencing order or five (5) days after the sentencing order is sent, in writing, by such county to the Department of Corrections, whichever is earlier; or
(ii) An offender remains in the county jail after being revoked from parole or probation or is sentenced to a technical violation center.
(3) The Department of Corrections is additionally responsible for all medical costs related to offenders housed at county jails under subsection (2) of this section.
SECTION 33. Section 47-5-1251, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-1251. (1) There is created the "Prison Industry Enhancement Program," through which the Department of Corrections may contract with the nonprofit corporation organized and formed under the "Mississippi Prison Industries Act of 1990" to employ offenders within the custody of the department or prison industries.
(2) Except as provided in Section 47-5-579, which is the provision authorizing a work initiative, the offenders must be under the supervision of the department at all times while working. The offenders shall be paid, by the entity or entities, wages at a rate which is not less than that paid for similar work in the locality in which the work is performed. The wages may be subject to deductions which shall not, in the aggregate, exceed eighty percent (80%) of gross wages. The deductions shall be limited to the following:
(a) To pay federal, state and local taxes;
(b) To pay reasonable charges for room and board as determined by regulations issued by the Commissioner of Corrections;
(c) To support the offender's family pursuant to state statute, court order or agreement by the offender; and
(d) To pay contributions equaling not less than five percent (5%) but not more than twenty percent (20%) of the offender's gross wages into the Crime Victims' Compensation Fund as created in Section 99-41-29.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, the offenders shall not be qualified to receive any payments for unemployment compensation while incarcerated. However, the offenders shall not solely by their status as offenders be deprived of the right to participate in benefits made available by the federal or state government to other individuals on the basis of their employment, such as workers' compensation.
(4) Offenders who participate in the employment must do so voluntarily and must agree in advance to the specific deductions made from gross wages pursuant to this section and to all other financial arrangements or benefits resulting from participation in the employment.
(5) The Department of Corrections shall develop rules and regulations to meet the criteria established by the Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program.
(6) This section shall stand
repealed on July 1, * * *
2028.
SECTION 34. Section 1 of Chapter 479, Laws of 2021, is brought forward as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Mississippi Earned Parole Eligibility Act."
SECTION 35. Section 47-7-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-3. (1) Every prisoner who has been convicted of any offense against the State of Mississippi, and is confined in the execution of a judgment of such conviction in the Mississippi Department of Corrections for a definite term or terms of one (1) year or over, or for the term of his or her natural life, whose record of conduct shows that such prisoner has observed the rules of the department, and who has served the minimum required time for parole eligibility, may be released on parole as set forth herein:
(a) Habitual offenders. Except as provided by Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87, no person sentenced as a confirmed and habitual criminal shall be eligible for parole;
(b) Sex offenders. Any person who has been sentenced for a sex offense as defined in Section 45-33-23(h) shall not be released on parole except for a person under the age of nineteen (19) who has been convicted under Section 97-3-67;
(c) Capital offenders. No person sentenced for the following offenses shall be eligible for parole:
(i) Capital murder committed on or after July 1, 1994, as defined in Section 97-3-19(2);
(ii) Any offense to which an offender is sentenced to life imprisonment under the provisions of Section 99-19-101; or
(iii) Any offense to which an offender is sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole under the provisions of Section 99-19-101, whose crime was committed on or after July 1, 1994;
(d) Murder. No person sentenced for murder in the first degree, whose crime was committed on or after June 30, 1995, or murder in the second degree, as defined in Section 97-3-19, shall be eligible for parole;
(e) Human trafficking. No person sentenced for human trafficking, as defined in Section 97-3-54.1, whose crime was committed on or after July 1, 2014, shall be eligible for parole;
(f) Drug trafficking. No person sentenced for trafficking and aggravated trafficking, as defined in Section 41-29-139(f) through (g), shall be eligible for parole;
(g) Offenses specifically prohibiting parole release. No person shall be eligible for parole who is convicted of any offense that specifically prohibits parole release;
(h) (i) Offenders eligible for parole consideration for offenses committed after June 30, 1995. Except as provided in paragraphs (a) through (g) of this subsection, offenders may be considered eligible for parole release as follows:
1. Nonviolent crimes. All persons sentenced for a nonviolent offense shall be eligible for parole only after they have served twenty-five percent (25%) or ten (10) years, whichever is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court. For purposes of this paragraph, "nonviolent crime" means a felony not designated as a crime of violence in Section 97-3-2.
2. Violent crimes. A person who is sentenced for a violent offense as defined in Section 97-3-2, except robbery with a deadly weapon as defined in Section 97-3-79, drive-by shooting as defined in Section 97-3-109, and carjacking as defined in Section 97-3-117, shall be eligible for parole only after having served fifty percent (50%) or twenty (20) years, whichever is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court. Those persons sentenced for robbery with a deadly weapon as defined in Section 97-3-79, drive-by shooting as defined in Section 97-3-109, and carjacking as defined in Section 97-3-117, shall be eligible for parole only after having served sixty percent (60%) or twenty-five (25) years, whichever is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court.
3. Nonviolent and nonhabitual drug offenses. A person who has been sentenced to a drug offense pursuant to Section 41-29-139(a) through (d), whose crime was committed after June 30, 1995, shall be eligible for parole only after he has served twenty-five percent (25%) or ten (10) years, whichever is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed.
(ii) Parole hearing required. All persons eligible for parole under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (h) who are serving a sentence or sentences for a crime of violence, as defined in Section 97-3-2, shall be required to have a parole hearing before the Parole Board pursuant to Section 47-7-17, prior to parole release.
(iii) Geriatric parole. Notwithstanding the provisions in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (h), a person serving a sentence who has reached the age of sixty (60) or older and who has served no less than ten (10) years of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court shall be eligible for parole. Any person eligible for parole under this subparagraph (iii) shall be required to have a parole hearing before the board prior to parole release. No inmate shall be eligible for parole under this subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph (h) if:
1. The inmate is sentenced as a habitual offender under Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87;
2. The inmate is sentenced for a crime of violence under Section 97-3-2;
3. The inmate is sentenced for an offense that specifically prohibits parole release;
4. The inmate is sentenced for trafficking in controlled substances under Section 41-29-139(f);
5. The inmate is sentenced for a sex crime; or
6. The inmate has not served one-fourth (1/4) of the sentence imposed by the court.
(iv) Parole consideration as authorized by the trial court. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection, any offender who has not committed a crime of violence under Section 97-3-2 and has served twenty-five percent (25%) or more of his sentence may be paroled by the State Parole Board if, after the sentencing judge or if the sentencing judge is retired, disabled or incapacitated, the senior circuit judge authorizes the offender to be eligible for parole consideration; or if the senior circuit judge must be recused, another circuit judge of the same district or a senior status judge may hear and decide the matter. A petition for parole eligibility consideration pursuant to this subparagraph (iv) shall be filed in the original criminal cause or causes, and the offender shall serve an executed copy of the petition on the District Attorney. The court may, in its discretion, require the District Attorney to respond to the petition.
(2) The State Parole Board shall, by rules and regulations, establish a method of determining a tentative parole hearing date for each eligible offender taken into the custody of the Department of Corrections. The tentative parole hearing date shall be determined within ninety (90) days after the department has assumed custody of the offender. Except as provided in Section 47-7-18, the parole hearing date shall occur when the offender is within thirty (30) days of the month of his parole eligibility date. Any parole eligibility date shall not be earlier than as required in this section.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an inmate shall not be eligible to receive earned time, good time or any other administrative reduction of time which shall reduce the time necessary to be served for parole eligibility as provided in subsection (1) of this section.
(4) Any inmate within forty-eight (48) months of his parole eligibility date and who meets the criteria established by the classification board shall receive priority for placement in any educational development and job-training programs that are part of his or her parole case plan. Any inmate refusing to participate in an educational development or job-training program, including, but not limited to, programs required as part of the case plan, shall be in jeopardy of noncompliance with the case plan and may be denied parole.
(5) In addition to other requirements, if an offender is convicted of a drug or driving under the influence felony, the offender must complete a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program prior to parole, or the offender shall be required to complete a postrelease drug and alcohol program as a condition of parole.
(6) Except as provided in subsection (1)(a) through (h) of this section, all other persons shall be eligible for parole after serving twenty-five percent (25%) of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court, or, if sentenced to thirty (30) years or more, after serving ten (10) years of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court.
(7) The Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force established in Section 47-5-6 shall develop and submit recommendations to the Governor and to the Legislature annually on or before December 1st concerning issues relating to juvenile and habitual offender parole reform and to review and monitor the implementation of Chapter 479, Laws of 2021.
(8) The amendments contained in Chapter 479, Laws of 2021, shall apply retroactively from and after July 1, 1995.
(9) Notwithstanding provisions to the contrary in this section, a person who was sentenced before July 1, 2021, may be considered for parole if the person's sentence would have been parole eligible before July 1, 2021.
* * *
SECTION 36. Section 47-7-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-5. (1) The State Parole Board, created under former Section 47-7-5, is hereby created, continued and reconstituted and shall be composed of five (5) members. The Governor shall appoint the members with the advice and consent of the Senate. All terms shall be at the will and pleasure of the Governor. Any vacancy shall be filled by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint a chairman of the board.
(2) Any person who is appointed to serve on the board shall possess at least a bachelor's degree or a high school diploma and four (4) years' work experience. Each member shall devote his full time to the duties of his office and shall not engage in any other business or profession or hold any other public office. A member shall receive compensation or per diem in addition to his or her salary. Each member shall keep such hours and workdays as required of full-time state employees under Section 25-1-98. Individuals shall be appointed to serve on the board without reference to their political affiliations. Each board member, including the chairman, may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses as authorized by Section 25-3-41. Each member of the board shall complete annual training developed based on guidance from the National Institute of Corrections, the Association of Paroling Authorities International, or the American Probation and Parole Association. Each first-time appointee of the board shall, within sixty (60) days of appointment, or as soon as practical, complete training for first-time Parole Board members developed in consideration of information from the National Institute of Corrections, the Association of Paroling Authorities International, or the American Probation and Parole Association.
(3) The board shall have exclusive responsibility for the granting of parole as provided by Sections 47-7-3 and 47-7-17 and shall have exclusive authority for revocation of the same. The board shall have exclusive responsibility for investigating clemency recommendations upon request of the Governor.
(4) The board, its members and staff, shall be immune from civil liability for any official acts taken in good faith and in exercise of the board's legitimate governmental authority.
(5) The budget of the board shall be funded through a separate line item within the general appropriation bill for the support and maintenance of the department. Employees of the department which are employed by or assigned to the board shall work under the guidance and supervision of the board. There shall be an executive secretary to the board who shall be responsible for all administrative and general accounting duties related to the board. The executive secretary shall keep and preserve all records and papers pertaining to the board.
(6) The board shall have no authority or responsibility for supervision of offenders granted a release for any reason, including, but not limited to, probation, parole or executive clemency or other offenders requiring the same through interstate compact agreements. The supervision shall be provided exclusively by the staff of the Division of Community Corrections of the department.
(7) (a) The Parole Board is authorized to select and place offenders in an electronic monitoring program under the conditions and criteria imposed by the Parole Board. The conditions, restrictions and requirements of Section 47-7-17 and Sections 47-5-1001 through 47-5-1015 shall apply to the Parole Board and any offender placed in an electronic monitoring program by the Parole Board.
(b) Any offender placed in an electronic monitoring program under this subsection shall pay the program fee provided in Section 47-5-1013. The program fees shall be deposited in the special fund created in Section 47-5-1007.
(c) The department shall have absolute immunity from liability for any injury resulting from a determination by the Parole Board that an offender be placed in an electronic monitoring program.
(8) (a) The Parole Board shall maintain a central registry of paroled inmates. The Parole Board shall place the following information on the registry: name, address, photograph, crime for which paroled, the date of the end of parole or flat-time date and other information deemed necessary. The Parole Board shall immediately remove information on a parolee at the end of his parole or flat-time date.
(b) When a person is placed on parole, the Parole Board shall inform the parolee of the duty to report to the parole officer any change in address ten (10) days before changing address.
(c) The Parole Board shall utilize an Internet website or other electronic means to release or publish the information.
(d) Records maintained on the registry shall be open to law enforcement agencies and the public and shall be available no later than July 1, 2003.
(9) An affirmative vote of at least four (4) members of the Parole Board shall be required to grant parole to an inmate convicted of capital murder or a sex crime.
* * *
SECTION 37. Section 47-7-3.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-7-3.1. (1) In consultation with the Parole Board, the department shall develop a case plan for all parole-eligible inmates to guide an inmate's rehabilitation while in the department's custody and to reduce the likelihood of recidivism after release.
(2) The case plan shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) Programming and treatment requirements based on the results of a risk and needs assessment;
(b) Any programming or treatment requirements contained in the sentencing order; and
(c) General behavior requirements in accordance with the rules and policies of the department.
(3) With respect to parole-eligible inmates admitted to the department's custody on or after July 1, 2021, the department shall complete the case plan within ninety (90) days of admission. With respect to parole-eligible inmates admitted to the department's custody before July 1, 2021, the department shall complete the case plan by January 1, 2022.
(4) The department shall provide the inmate with a written copy of the case plan and the inmate's caseworker shall explain the conditions set forth in the case plan.
(a) Within ninety (90) days of admission, the caseworker shall notify the inmate of their parole eligibility date as calculated in accordance with Section 47-7-3(3);
(b) At the time a parole-eligible inmate receives the case plan, the department shall send the case plan to the Parole Board for approval.
(5) With respect to parole-eligible inmates admitted to the department's custody after July 1, 2021, the department shall ensure that the case plan is achievable prior to the inmate's parole eligibility date. With respect to parole-eligible inmates admitted to the department's custody before July 1, 2021, the department shall, to the extent possible, ensure that the case plan is achievable prior to the inmate's parole eligibility date or next parole hearing date, or date of release, whichever is sooner.
(6) The caseworker shall meet with the inmate every eight (8) weeks from the date the offender received the case plan to review the inmate's case plan progress.
(7) Every four (4) months the department shall electronically submit a progress report on each parole-eligible inmate's case plan to the Parole Board. The board may meet to review an inmate's case plan and may provide written input to the caseworker on the inmate's progress toward completion of the case plan.
(8) The Parole Board shall provide semiannually to the Oversight Task Force the number of parole hearings held, the number of prisoners released to parole without a hearing and the number of parolees released after a hearing.
(9) If the Department of Corrections fails to adequately provide opportunity and access for the completion of such case plans, the Department of Corrections shall, to the extent possible, contract with regional jail facilities that offer educational development and job-training programs to facilitate the fulfillment of the case plans of parole-eligible inmates.
SECTION 38. Section 47-7-3.2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-7-3.2. (1) Notwithstanding Section 47-5-138, 47-5-139, 47-5-138.1 or 47-5-142, no person convicted of a criminal offense on or after July 1, 2014, shall be released by the department until he or she has served no less than the percentage of the sentence or sentences imposed by the court as set forth below:
(a) Twenty-five percent (25%) or ten (10) years, whichever is less, for a nonviolent crime;
(b) Fifty percent (50%) or twenty (20) years, whichever is less, for a crime of violence pursuant to Section 97-3-2, except for robbery with a deadly weapon as defined in Section 97-3-79, drive-by shooting as defined in Section 97-3-109, or carjacking as defined in Section 97-3-117;
(c) Sixty percent (60%) or twenty-five (25) years, whichever is less, for robbery with a deadly weapon as defined in Section 97-3-79, drive-by shooting as defined in Section 97-3-109, or carjacking as defined in Section 97-3-117.
(2) This section shall not apply to:
(a) Offenders sentenced to life imprisonment;
(b) Offenders convicted as habitual offenders pursuant to Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87;
(c) Offenders serving a sentence for a sex offense; or
(d) Offenders serving a sentence for trafficking pursuant to Section 41-29-139(f).
SECTION 39. Section 47-7-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-7-15. The board shall adopt an official seal of which the courts shall take judicial notice. Decisions of the board shall be made by majority vote, except as provided in Section 47-7-5(9).
The board shall keep a record of its acts and shall notify each institution of its decisions relating to the persons who are or have been confined therein. At the close of each fiscal year the board shall submit to the Governor and to the Legislature a report with statistical and other data of its work.
SECTION 40. Section 47-7-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-7-17. (1) Within one (1) year after his admission and at such intervals thereafter as it may determine, the board shall secure and consider all pertinent information regarding each offender, except any under sentence of death or otherwise ineligible for parole, including the circumstances of his offense, his previous social history, his previous criminal record, including any records of law enforcement agencies or of a youth court regarding that offender's juvenile criminal history, his conduct, employment and attitude while in the custody of the department, the case plan created to prepare the offender for parole, and the reports of such physical and mental examinations as have been made. The board shall furnish at least three (3) months' written notice to each such offender of the date on which he is eligible for parole.
(2) Except as provided in Section 47-7-18, the board shall require a parole-eligible offender to have a hearing as required in this chapter before the board and to be interviewed. The hearing shall be held no later than thirty (30) days prior to the month of eligibility. No application for parole of a person convicted of a capital offense shall be considered by the board unless and until notice of the filing of such application shall have been published at least once a week for two (2) weeks in a newspaper published in or having general circulation in the county in which the crime was committed. The board shall, within thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled hearing, also give notice of the filing of the application for parole to the victim of the offense for which the prisoner is incarcerated and being considered for parole or, in case the offense be homicide, a designee of the immediate family of the victim, provided the victim or designated family member has furnished in writing a current address to the board for such purpose. The victim or designated family member shall be provided an opportunity to be heard by the board before the board makes a decision regarding release on parole. The board shall consider whether any restitution ordered has been paid in full. Parole release shall, at the hearing, be ordered only for the best interest of society, not as an award of clemency; it shall not be considered to be a reduction of sentence or pardon. An offender shall be placed on parole only when arrangements have been made for his proper employment or for his maintenance and care, and when the board believes that he is able and willing to fulfill the obligations of a law-abiding citizen. When the board determines that the offender will need transitional housing upon release in order to improve the likelihood of the offender becoming a law-abiding citizen, the board may parole the offender with the condition that the inmate spends no more than six (6) months in a transitional reentry center. At least fifteen (15) days prior to the release of an offender on parole, the director of records of the department shall give the written notice which is required pursuant to Section 47-5-177. Every offender while on parole shall remain in the legal custody of the department from which he was released and shall be amenable to the orders of the board. Upon determination by the board that an offender is eligible for release by parole, notice shall also be given within at least fifteen (15) days before release, by the board to the victim of the offense or the victim's family member, as indicated above, regarding the date when the offender's release shall occur, provided a current address of the victim or the victim's family member has been furnished in writing to the board for such purpose.
(3) Failure to provide notice to the victim or the victim's family member of the filing of the application for parole or of any decision made by the board regarding parole shall not
constitute grounds for vacating an otherwise lawful parole determination nor shall it create any right or liability, civilly or criminally, against the board or any member thereof.
(4) A letter of protest against granting an offender parole shall not be treated as the conclusive and only reason for not granting parole.
(5) The board may adopt such other rules not inconsistent with law as it may deem proper or necessary with respect to the eligibility of offenders for parole, the conduct of parole hearings, or conditions to be imposed upon parolees, including a condition that the parolee submit, as provided in Section 47-5-601 to any type of breath, saliva or urine chemical analysis test, the purpose of which is to detect the possible presence of alcohol or a substance prohibited or controlled by any law of the State of Mississippi or the United States. The board shall have the authority to adopt rules related to the placement of certain offenders on unsupervised parole and for the operation of transitional reentry centers. However, in no case shall an offender be placed on unsupervised parole before he has served a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the period of supervised parole.
SECTION 41. Section 47-7-18, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
47-7-18 (1) No inmate convicted of a sex offense as defined by Section 45-33-23(h), a crime of violence as defined by Section 97-3-2, or both, nor an inmate who is eligible for geriatric parole shall be released on parole without a hearing before the Parole Board as required by Section 47-7-17. All other inmates eligible for parole pursuant to Section 47-7-3 shall be released from incarceration to parole supervision on the inmate's parole eligibility date, without a hearing before the board, if:
(a) The inmate has met the requirements of the parole case plan established pursuant to Section 47-7-3.1;
(b) A victim of the offense has not requested the board conduct a hearing;
(c) The inmate has not received a serious or major violation report within the past six (6) months;
(d) The inmate has agreed to the conditions of supervision; and
(e) The inmate has a discharge plan approved by the board.
(2) At least thirty (30) days prior to an inmate's parole eligibility date, the department shall notify the board in writing of the inmate's compliance or noncompliance with the case plan. If an inmate fails to meet a requirement of the case plan, prior to the parole eligibility date, he or she shall have a hearing before the board to determine if completion of the case plan can occur while in the community.
(3) Any inmate for whom there is insufficient information for the department to determine compliance with the case plan shall have a hearing with the board.
(4) A hearing shall be held with the board if requested by the victim following notification of the inmate's parole release date pursuant to Section 47-7-17.
(5) A hearing shall be held by the board if a law enforcement official from the community to which the inmate will return contacts the board or the department and requests a hearing to consider information relevant to public safety risks posed by the inmate if paroled at the initial parole eligibility date. The law enforcement official shall submit an explanation documenting these concerns for the board to consider.
(6) If a parole hearing is held, the board may determine the inmate has sufficiently complied with the case plan or that the incomplete case plan is not the fault of the inmate and that granting parole is not incompatible with public safety, the board may then parole the inmate with appropriate conditions. If the board determines that the inmate has sufficiently complied with the case plan but the discharge plan indicates that the inmate does not have appropriate housing immediately upon release, the board may parole the inmate to a transitional reentry center with the condition that the inmate spends no more than six (6) months in the center. If the board determines that the inmate has not substantively complied with the requirement(s) of the case plan it may deny parole. If the board denies parole, the board may schedule a subsequent parole hearing and, if a new date is scheduled, the board shall identify the corrective action the inmate will need to take in order to be granted parole. Any inmate not released at the time of the inmate's initial parole date shall have a parole hearing at least every year.
SECTION 42. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.