House Bill 1495

(COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)

AN ACT TO CREATE A LEGISLATIVE STUDY COMMITTEE FOR THE PURPOSE OF STUDYING AND DETERMINING WHETHER THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE PICAYUNE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE HANCOCK COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT SHOULD BE REVISED; TO PRESCRIBE THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE; TO REQUIRE THE COMMITTEE TO SUBMIT A REPORT TO THE HOUSE AND SENATE ON ITS FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS BEFORE DECEMBER 1, 2025; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: SECTION 1. (1) The Legislature finds that:

(a) The Picayune School District and the Hancock County School District are adjoining school districts situated in a region of the state traversed by Interstates 10 and 59 and in which is located the John C. Stennis Space Center;

(b) The boundaries of the Picayune School District, a municipal school district that is located primarily in Pearl River County, extend into the adjacent Hancock County and encompass an established buffer zone for the space center, which is located in Hancock County;

(c) The Picayune School District, including the area situated in Hancock County, is not subject to the jurisdiction of the governing authorities of Hancock County; and

(d) The governing authorities of Hancock County desire to pursue economic development of all or part of the property that comprises the buffer zone and which is currently part of the Picayune School District situated in Hancock County.

(2) There is created a legislative study committee for the purpose of determining whether the existing boundary line between the Picayune School District and the Hancock County School District should remain in place or be revised. The study committee shall consist of the following members:

(a) Each member of the House of Representatives whose district, in whole or in part, is situated it Hancock or Pearl River County, or both;

(b) Each member of the Senate whose district, in whole or in part, is situated it Hancock or Pearl River County, or both; and

(3) The study committee shall meet as soon as practicable upon the call of the Chairman of the House Committee on State Affairs, who shall serve as chair of the study committee. A majority of the membership shall be necessary for the establishment of a quorum of the committee, and a majority vote of the committee members present to establish a quorum shall be required for the adoption of any reports and recommendations.

(4) The committee shall investigate and undertake a study of all matters necessary for determining if the existing boundary line between the Picayune School District and the Hancock County School District should remain in place or be revised, including, but not limited to, analyses of the following:

(a) The number of students enrolled in the Picayune School District who reside in Hancock County and the distance those students must travel from home to school;

(b) The distance those students described in paragraph (a) would be required to travel to attend school in the Hancock County School District if the boundary line between the two (2) school districts is revised;

(c) For the preceding ten (10) fiscal years, the ad valorem tax receipts received by the Picayune School District from property situated in Hancock County which is part of the Picayune School District;

(d) The prospect for economic development of the property situated in Hancock County which is part of the Picayune School District and the potential increase in property values which may be realized from economic development projects;

(e) The benefit that may be realized by Hancock County, Pearl River County and the entire region by the development of the property situated in Hancock County which is part of the Picayune School District;

(f) Efforts to ensure that if the boundary line between the school districts is revised, each school district will benefit from the new boundary line; and

(g) Any other matters which, in the determination of the committee, are necessary in order for the committee to perform a thorough investigation and make recommendations for an equitable determination regarding the boundary between the Picayune School District and the Hancock County School District.

(5) The chairman shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee may conduct the meetings at any place and any time it deems necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this act. The committee may subpoena those persons or documents, or both, deemed necessary to further the work of the committee.

(6) For attending meetings of the committee, each member shall be paid, from the contingent expense fund of the member's respective house, per diem in the amount authorized by Section 25-3-69 and a mileage allowance and an expense allowance in the amount authorized by Section 5-1-47. However, no per diem, mileage allowance or expense allowance may be paid for attending meetings of the committee while the Legislature is in session, and no per diem, mileage allowance or expense allowance may be paid without prior approval of the proper committee in the member's respective house.

(7) The study committee shall prepare and submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any recommendations for legislation, to the House of Representatives and the Senate before December 1, 2025, at which time the study committee will be dissolved.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.