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 MISSISSIPPI CORRECTIONAL FACILITY PILOT WORK RELEASE PROGRAM AND INCLUDE HINDS COUNTY; TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-577, 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, 2027, AND TO TRANSFER THE REPEALER IN SECTION 47-5-579 TO SECTION 47-5-577; TO AMEND SECTIONS 47-5-579 AND 47-5-539, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE ADMINISTRATIVE PERCENTAGES AND THE INMATE SAVINGS PERCENTAGES UNDER THE MDOC WORK RELEASE PROGRAM AND TO EXPAND THE PILOT WORK INITIATIVE TO ANY STATE, REGIONAL OR PRIVATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY, UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 47-5-531, 47-5-533, 47-5-535, 47-5-537, 47-5-543, 47-5-545, 47-5-547, 47-5-549, 47-5-551, 47-5-553, 47-5-555, 47-5-557, 47-5-561, 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; TO AMEND SECTIONS 47-5-541, 47-5-559 AND 47-5-1251, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM; 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 * * *, Lee County and Hinds 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) (a) The offender shall maintain an account through a local financial institution and shall provide a copy of a check stub to the sheriff.
(b) The offender * * * shall be required:
(i) To pay * * * twenty-five percent (25%) of his or her 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 offender's wages to the sheriff's department for administrative expenses to include transportation costs.
(iii) To save fifty percent (50%) of the offender's wages in the account required under paragraph (a) of this subsection. Monies under this subparagraph shall be made available to the offender upon parole or release.
( * * *c) The * * * offender shall have access to the
remaining ten percent (10%) of the monies in his or her account to purchase
incidental expenses.
(d) Any monies remaining under paragraph (a) of this subsection after all mandatory deductions are paid, shall be deposited in the inmate's account established under this subsection. Any monies remaining upon release in paragraph (c) of this subsection shall be released to the inmate.
( * * *7) 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 beginning in 2024 produce * * * an annual report due December 1 each
year to the Legislature on * * * the effectiveness * * * of the program. 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.
( * * *8) This section shall stand repealed on
July 1, * * *
2027.
SECTION 2. Section 47-5-577, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-577. Sections 47-5-531
through 47-5-575, which create the Mississippi Prison Industries Act of 1990, shall
stand repealed from and after July 1, * * * 2027.
SECTION 3. Section 47-5-579, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-579. (1) (a) The corporation * * * shall operate a * * * work initiative at the Central Mississippi
Correctional Facility, South Mississippi Correctional Institution, Mississippi
State Penitentiary and the Mississippi Correctional Institute for Women, and is
authorized, in its discretion, to create a work initiative at any other correctional
facility listed in Section 47-5-539(d). * * * In lieu of a work initiative created by
the corporation, the warden or superintendent or sheriff at any regional and private
facility listed in Section 47-5-539 is authorized to create a work initiative at
their respective facility consistent with the provisions and requirements of this
section. Each initiative shall be limited to no more than twenty-five (25)
inmates in the * * *
state, regional or private facility at any given time.
(b) The department, with regard to a work initiative in an MDOC facility, 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.
(c) The sheriff, with regard to a work initiative at a regional facility, shall:
(i) Have the ultimate authority for oversight of the administration of the initiative;
(ii) Oversee the selection of inmates for admission to the initiative; and
(iii) Work with the department and the corporation to establish guidelines for the initiative and develop a report thereon.
(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 * * * who meets the eligibility requirements
of paragraph (a) may request assignment to * * * a work initiative established under
this section.
(3) (a) The commissioner, in the case of MDOC facilities, or the warden, superintendent, sheriff or similar leader in the case of regional and private facilities, shall select inmates for admission to the program.
(b) An inmate currently
participating in vocational training or a soft skills training program * * * at a facility authorized
to operate a work initiative shall have priority in admission to the program.
(4) (a) The chief executive officer, in the case of MDOC facilities, or the warden, superintendent, sheriff or similar leader in the case of regional and private facilities, 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.
(5) 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.
( * * *6) 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.
( * * *7) (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, the warden, the superintendent or the sheriff at
a regional facility, as the case may be.
(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 is housed. In the case of state facilities, the administrative
expense reimbursement shall be paid to the corporation; in the case of regional
facilities, the administrative expense reimbursement shall be paid to the sheriff's
department; in the case of private facilities the administrative expense reimbursement
shall be paid to the contractor overseeing the facility.
(iii) To save fifty
percent (50%) of the inmate's wages in the account required under paragraph (a)
of this subsection. Monies under this * * * subparagraph 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.
(d) Any monies remaining under paragraph (a) of this subsection after all mandatory deductions are paid, shall be deposited in the inmate's account established under this subsection. Any monies remaining upon release in paragraph (c) of this subsection shall be released to the inmate.
( * * *8) 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
end of each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;
( * * *b) Total number of participants who began
the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;
( * * *c) Total number of participants who successfully
completed the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;
( * * *d) Total number of participants who left
the program in each month and reason for leaving by race, gender, and offenses charged;
( * * *e) 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;
( * * *f) Total number of participants who were
convicted of a new crime while in the program in each month by race, gender and
offenses charged;
( * * *g) Total number of participants who completed
the program and were convicted of a new crime within three (3) years of completing
the program;
( * * *h) Total amount earned by participants
and how the earnings were distributed in each month;
( * * *i) Results of any initial risk and needs
assessments conducted on each participant by race, gender, and offenses charged;
( * * *j) * * * List of participating employers;
( * * *k) * * * List of jobs acquired by participants;
( * * *l) * * * List of the hourly wage paid to
each participant;
( * * *m) * * * Accounting of the manner and use of the
ten percent (10%) of the wages paid to the corporation by the inmate for administrative
expenses;
( * * *n) Total costs associated with program
operations;
( * * *o) * * * List of participating financial institutions;
( * * *p) The number of accounts opened by participants
at financial institutions;
( * * *q) The average hourly wage earned in the
program; and
( * * *r) Any other data or information as requested
by the task force.
( * * *9) The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance
Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) shall conduct a review of the initiative * * *, including any expansion of the
initiative authorized under this section, and produce * * * an annual report to the Legislature on
their effectiveness by January 1 * * * of each
year. 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 State 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 amended 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 under the jurisdiction of the Mississippi Department of
Corrections who is incarcerated within any of the following state,
regional or private correctional * * * facilities:
(i) Central Mississippi Correctional Facility;
(ii) Marshall County Correctional Facility;
(iii) Mississippi State Penitentiary;
(iv) Delta Correctional Facility;
(v) Mississippi Correctional Institute for Women;
(vi) South Mississippi Correctional Institution;
(vii) Walnut Grove Correctional Facility;
(viii) Alcorn County Regional Correctional Facility;
(ix) Carroll/Montgomery County Regional Correctional Facility;
(x) George/Greene County Correctional Facility;
(xi) Bolivar County Correctional Facility;
(xii) Chickasaw County Regional Correctional Facility;
(xiii) Holmes/Humphreys County Correctional Facility;
(xiv) Issaquena County Correctional Facility;
(xv) Kemper/Neshoba County Regional Correctional Facility;
(xvi) Jefferson/Franklin County Correctional Facility;
(xvii) Leake County Correctional Facility;
(xviii) Marion/Walthall County Correctional Facility;
(xix) Washington County Regional Correctional Facility;
(xx) Yazoo Regional Correctional Facility;
(xxi) Stone County Correctional Facility;
(xxii) Winston/Choctaw County Correctional Facility;
(xxiii) East Mississippi Correctional Facility; and
(xxiv) Wilkinson County 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 amended 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 * * *
State Office of Workforce Development 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 * * * State Office of Workforce Development
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 State 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 amended 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 47-5-1251, 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, * * *
2027.
SECTION 28. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.