HB0758_S_Cmte_Amend

SECTION 1. 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.

(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 * * * ~~facility.~~ 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 2. 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 * * * each of the state, regional and private facilities listed in Section 47-5-539(d). * * * ~~The~~ Each initiative shall be limited to no more than twenty-five (25) inmates in the * * * ~~program~~ state, regional or private facility 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 * * * ~~ten percent (10%)~~ 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~~ 2025, 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;

(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 expanded initiative established under this section and produce a report to the Legislature on * * * ~~their~~ its effectiveness by January 1, * * * ~~2024~~ 2026. 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 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.