SB2360_H_Cmte_Amend

SECTION 1. Section 11-46-20, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

11-46-20. (1) The Tort Claims Board shall be charged with the responsibility to regulate all liability coverage of governmental entities required to have certificates of coverage under this chapter which elect to provide the same through a public entity group or individual self-insurance program. This regulation shall be accomplished through an initial approval as provided in Section 11-46-17 and by ongoing or annual review. Each self-insurance program shall annually submit to the Tort Claims Board the following items within ninety (90) days from the end of the group year:

(a) An audited financial statement;

(b) An actuarial valuation;

(d) Excess insurance policies;

(e) A list of members and premiums due from and collected from each member; and

(f) Other data as may be required by the Tort Claims Board.

(2) Areas of regulation under this section shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) Financial solvency;

(b) Rating plans, rates and rating basis;

(d) Coverages offered and excluded;

(e) Deductibles and deductible credits;

(f) Proper purchase of excess insurance or reinsurance; and

(g) Review of losses, reserves and expenses annually.

(3) Individual self-insurers and group public entity self-insurers must provide the data requested for the purposes of this section in order to receive continuing approval of the Tort Claims Board and issuance of annual certificates of coverage to the governmental entities involved.

(4) The Tort Claims Board is authorized to assess and charge appropriate fees for the costs of regulation, as determined by the board, to the individual self-insurers and group public entity self-insurers being regulated.

(5) The Tort Claims Board is empowered to:

(a) Issue cease and desist orders;

(b) Require rate increases or decreases;

(c) Require assessments of members of group public entity self-insurers in such amounts as are authorized and required by the board;

(d) Require changes in excess insurance or reinsurance; or

(e) Take such other actions as deemed necessary by the board to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

(6) (a) The Tort Claims Board shall create a publicly accessible online registry by July 1, 2026, that lists all governmental entities that are required to have certificates of coverage under this chapter with the name, email address and mailing address of the Chief Executive Office of the governmental entity. If the information listed on the registry required by this section is not correct at the time the notice of claim described in Section 11-46-11 is served, the one (1) year statute of limitations provided in Section 11-46-11 shall be tolled until the correct information is listed for the governmental entity as required by this section and the court shall not dismiss a complaint for listing such incorrect information when the complaint is otherwise properly filed.

(b) Each governmental entity that is required to have certificates of coverage under this chapter shall have a duty to provide the current name, email address and mailing address of the Chief Executive Office of the governmental entity to the Tort Claims Board. If the information provided to the registry is not correct at the time the notice of claim described in Section 11-46-11 is served, the one (1) year statute of limitations provided in Section 11-46-11 shall be tolled until the correct information is listed for the governmental entity as required by this section and the court shall not dismiss a complaint for listing such incorrect information when the complaint is otherwise properly filed.

SECTION 2. Section 11-46-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

11-46-11. (1) After all procedures within a governmental entity have been exhausted, any person having a claim under this chapter shall proceed as he might in any action at law or in equity, except that at least ninety (90) days before instituting suit, the person must file a notice of claim with the chief executive officer of the governmental entity.

(2) (a) Service of notice of claim shall be made as follows:

(i) For local governments:

1. If the governmental entity is a county, then upon the chancery clerk of the county sued;

2. If the governmental entity is a municipality, then upon the city clerk.

(ii) If the governmental entity to be sued is a state entity as defined in Section 11-46-1(j), or is a political subdivision other than a county or municipality, service of notice of claim shall be had only upon that entity's or political subdivision's chief executive officer. The chief executive officer of a governmental entity participating in a plan administered by the board pursuant to Section 11-46-7(3) shall notify the board of any claims filed within five (5) days after receipt thereof.

(b) Every notice of claim shall:

(i) Be in writing;

(ii) Be delivered in person or by registered or certified United States mail; and

(iii) Contain a short and plain statement of the facts upon which the claim is based, including the circumstances which brought about the injury, the extent of the injury, the time and place the injury occurred, the names of all persons known to be involved, the amount of money damages sought, and the residence of the person making the claim at the time of the injury and at the time of filing the notice.

(3) (a) * * *~~All~~ Except as otherwise provided in Section 11-46-20 when the public online registry provided by the Tort Claims Board is incorrect, all actions brought under this chapter shall be commenced within one (1) year next after the date of the tortious, wrongful or otherwise actionable conduct on which the liability phase of the action is based, and not after, except that filing a notice of claim within the required one-year period will toll the statute of limitations for ninety-five (95) days from the date the chief executive officer of the state entity or the chief executive officer or other statutorily designated official of a political subdivision receives the notice of claim.

(b) No action whatsoever may be maintained by the claimant until the claimant receives a notice of denial of claim or the tolling period expires, whichever comes first, after which the claimant has an additional ninety (90) days to file suit; failure to file within the time allowed is an absolute bar to any further proceedings under this chapter.

(c) All notices of denial of claim shall be served by governmental entities upon claimants by certified mail, return receipt requested, only.

(d) (i) To determine the running of limitations periods under this chapter, service of any notice of claim or notice of denial of claim is effective upon delivery by the methods statutorily designated in this chapter in accordance with Section 11-46-20 for the online registry.

(ii) The limitations period provided in this section controls and shall be exclusive in all actions subject to and brought under the provisions of this chapter, notwithstanding the nature of the claim, the label or other characterization the claimant may use to describe it, or the provisions of any other statute of limitations that would otherwise govern the type of claim or legal theory if it were not subject to or brought under the provisions of this chapter.

(4) From and after April 1, 1993, if any person entitled to bring any action under this chapter shall, at the time at which the cause of action accrued, be under the disability of infancy or unsoundness of mind, he may bring the action within the time allowed in this section after his disability shall be removed as provided by law. The savings in favor of persons under disability of unsoundness of mind shall never extend longer than twenty-one (21) years.

SECTION 3. Section 11-46-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

11-46-19. (1) The board shall have the following powers:

(a) To provide oversight over the Tort Claims Fund;

(b) To approve any award made from the Tort Claims Fund;

(d) To assign litigated claims against governmental entities other than political subdivisions to competent attorneys unless such governmental entity has a staff attorney who is competent to represent the governmental entity and is approved by the board; the board shall give primary consideration to attorneys practicing in the jurisdiction where the claim arose in assigning cases; attorneys hired to represent a governmental entity other than a political subdivision shall be paid according to the department fee schedule;

(e) To approve all claimants' attorney fees in claims against the state;

(f) To employ on a full-time basis a staff attorney who shall possess the minimum qualifications required to be a member of The Mississippi Bar, and such other staff as it may deem necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter; the employees in the positions approved by the board shall be hired by the director, shall be employees of the department, and shall be compensated from the Tort Claims Fund;

(g) To contract with one or more reputable insurance consulting firms as may be necessary;

(h) To purchase any policies of liability insurance and to administer any plan of self-insurance or policies of liability insurance required for the protection of the state against claims and suits brought under this chapter;

(i) To expend money from the Tort Claims Fund for the purchase of any policies of liability insurance and the payment of any award or settlement of a claim against the state under the provisions of this chapter or of a claim against any school district, junior college or community college district, or state agency, arising from the operation of school buses or other vehicles, under the provisions of Section 37-41-42;

(j) To cancel, modify or replace any policy or policies of liability insurance procured by the board;

(k) To issue certificates of coverage to governmental entities, including any political subdivision participating in any plan of liability protection approved by the board;

(l) To review and approve or reject any plan of liability insurance or self-insurance reserves proposed or provided by political subdivisions if such plan is intended to serve as security for risks of claims and suits against them for which immunity has been waived under this chapter;

(m) To administer disposition of claims against the Tort Claims Fund;

(n) To withhold issuance of any warrants payable from funds of a participating state entity should such entity fail to make required contributions to the Tort Claims Fund in the time and manner prescribed by the board;

(o) To develop a comprehensive statewide list of attorneys who are qualified to represent the state and any employee thereof named as a defendant in a claim brought under this chapter against the state or such employee;

(p) To develop a schedule of fees for paying attorneys defending claims against the state or an employee thereof;

(q) To adopt and promulgate such reasonable rules and regulations and to do and perform all such acts as are necessary to carry out its powers and duties under this chapter;

(r) To establish and assess premiums to be paid by governmental entities required to participate in the Tort Claims Fund;

(s) To contract with a third-party administrator to process claims against the state under this chapter;

(t) To annually submit its budget request to the Legislature as a state agency;

(u) To dispose of salvage obtained in settlement or payment of any claim at fair market value by such means and upon such terms as the board may think best; and

(v) To administer the Medical Malpractice Insurance Availability Plan under Section 83-48-5. The provisions of this paragraph (v) shall stand repealed from and after the transfer of the plan's assets and liabilities as provided in Section 83-48-6(i).

(2) Policies of liability insurance purchased for the protection of governmental entities against claims and suits brought under this chapter shall be purchased pursuant to the competitive bidding procedures set forth in Section 31-7-13.

(3) The department shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) To annually report to the Legislature concerning each comprehensive plan of liability protection established pursuant to Section 11-46-17(2). Such report shall include a comprehensive analysis of the cost of the plan, a breakdown of the cost to participating state entities, and such other information as the department may deem necessary.

(b) To provide the board with any staff and meeting facilities as may be necessary to carry out the duties of the board as provided in this chapter.

(c) To submit the board's budget request for the initial year of operation of the board in order to authorize expenditures for the 1993-1994 fiscal year and for the appropriation of such general funds as shall be required for the commencement of its activities.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.