Not Germane

AMENDMENT NO 2 PROPOSED TO

Cmte Sub for Senate Bill No. 2221

BY: Senator(s) Norwood

     AMEND after line 119 by inserting the following as a new SECTION 2 and renumbering the following section(s) accordingly:

SECTION 2.  (1)  There is created a study committee for the purpose of studying the impact and societal effect of homelessness in Mississippi, the overall homeless population in Mississippi, state policies and law concerning homelessness, and, when possible, the following factors: the precipitating events that led to homelessness, education levels across the homeless population, criminal record and age of entry into the criminal justice system, and history of drug abuse and participation in rehabilitation programs across the homeless population.

     (2)  The committee shall be comprised of the following members:

          (a)  The Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, or his or her designee;

          (b)  The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, or his or her designee;

          (c)  The Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, or his or her designee;

          (d)  The Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, or his or her designee;

          (e)  The President of the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi State Institutions of Higher Learning, or his or her designee; and

          (f)  The Chair of Central Mississippi Continuum of Care, or his or her designee.

     (3)  Appointments to the study committee shall be made within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this act.  At the first meeting, the committee shall elect from among its membership a chairman, a vice chairman and any other officers determined to be necessary, and shall adopt rules for transacting business and keeping records.

     (4)  A majority of the members of the study committee shall constitute a quorum.  The study committee shall develop and report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature on or before December 1, 2025.  In the adoption of rules, resolutions and reports, and in the election of a chairman, vice chairman and any other officers determined to be necessary, an affirmative vote of a majority of the members present shall be required.

     (5)  The PEER Committee shall provide the staff and other support necessary for the study committee to perform its duties.

     (6)  To effectuate the purposes of this act, any department, division, board, bureau, committee, institution or agency of the state, or any political subdivision thereof, shall, at the request of the chairman of the study committee, provide the facilities, assistance, information and data needed to enable the study committee to carry out its duties.

     (7)  Upon the presentation of its report, the study committee shall be dissolved.