EDUCATION-RELATED BILLS
2006 Legislative Session
(April 10, 2006)
Click on the bill number for more information about each bill.
HOUSE BILLS
HOUSE BILL 199 – creates the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Act of 2006 which requires that a detained child be represented by counsel at all critical proceedings and that youth court appointed attorneys receive juvenile justice training approved by the Mississippi Judicial College or Mississippi Bar Association. The bill prohibits the holding of a status offender in detention longer than 24 hours before an initial court appearance, except when a court order has been violated. In addition, the bill requires certain minimum detention standards for all juvenile detention facilities. The bill requires that school districts work collaboratively with juvenile detention center staff to provide special education services as required by state and federal law. The bill also directs that, if a disposition order requires a child to miss school due to other placement, the youth court shall notify a child's school. The bill creates the following 10-member study committee to determine what entity should be responsible for providing the educational services within detention centers and the costs for such services: Chairs of the House Juvenile Justice Committee and the Senate Judiciary B Committee, the Chairs or their representatives of the House and Senate Education Committees, three Representatives appointed by the Chair of the House Juvenile Justice Committee, and three Senators appointed by the Chair of the Senate Judiciary B Committee. The study committee shall make a report of its recommendations by October 31, 2006. The bill requires the Adolescent Offender Program operated with local mental health or nonprofit community organizations by the Division of Youth Services include two or more evidence-based practices and positive behavioral intervention elements such as academic, tutoring, mentoring, literacy, vocational training, etc. The bill establishes the Youth Court Incarceration Alternatives Fund administered by the Department of Public Safety for nonresidential, community-based programs offering evidence-based practices and positive behavioral interventions. The bill establishes the Tony Gobar Juvenile Justice Alternative Sanction Grant Program in the Department of Public Safety for providing grants to faith-based organizations and nonprofit organizations to operate non-duplicative programs or services such as academic tutoring/literacy, dropout prevention, vocational training, etc.
Effective Date: July 1, 2006
Sent to Governor
HOUSE BILL 409 – authorizes a fine of $25 to be imposed upon the operator of a motor vehicle who allows a front seat passenger or a child who is at least 4 years of age but under 8 years of age (regardless of the seat the child occupies) to ride in the operator's vehicle without wearing a seatbelt. This bill does not apply to school buses or any other type of bus.
Effective Date: May 27, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
HOUSE BILL 535 – exempts any school affiliated with Accelerated Christian Education, Inc., from the state child care licensing requirements.
Effective Date: July 1, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
HOUSE BILL 539 – adds the provision that the Local Government Records Committee shall review, approve, amend, or modify records control schedules submitted by the Local Government Records Office. The bill also deletes the provision that counties can exempt themselves from local government records requirements.
Effective Date: July 1, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
HOUSE BILL 565 – extends the time limit from 5 years to 10 years from the day of confinement on the homestead exemption for property of persons who are physically or mentally unable to care for themselves and are confined in an institution for treatment.
Effective Date: July 1, 2006
Sent to Governor
HOUSE BILL 679 – designates the third Thursday in January of each year as “Mississippi Health Awareness Day” to promote health and disease prevention efforts throughout the state.
Effective Upon Passage
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
HOUSE BILL 890 – clarifies that, in order to qualify for in-state tuition, students who attended and graduated from secondary school in Mississippi must reside within the State of Mississippi upon registering at a state college or university.
Effective Date: July 1, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
HOUSE BILL 991 – creates a legislative committee to study development possibilities and alternatives for state-owned property formerly occupied by the Mississippi School for the Blind and to consider the best interests of nearby neighborhoods, the Mississippi School for the Blind and preservation in making its report. The committee shall also study and consider the disposal of any state property determined by Department of Finance and Administration to be surplus property. The committee, which will be composed of five members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker and five members of the Senate appointed by the Lieutenant Governor, will report its findings to the legislature by January 5, 2007. No action shall be taken with respect to the sale, lease or development of the property without specific legislative act.
Effective Upon Passage
Sent to Governor
HOUSE BILL 1015 – defines the terms “emergency” and “critical need” for the purposes of exemption from the requirement of funding capital improvements projects involving state buildings in two phases (pre-planning phase and design development phase). The bill requires that construction projects funded with state bond funds or other state funds authorized for community and junior colleges be administered through the two-phase planning process. The bill authorizes the Department of Finance and Administration to allow state institutions of higher learning and other state agencies to manage construction projects with a value of $250,000 or less provided that each agency meets departmentally developed criteria and management requirements. The bill prohibits construction program managers and/or construction managers and building commissioning agents and their subsidiaries or parents from bidding on any public construction project for which they are providing construction program management services, construction management services or building commissioning services.
Effective Date: July 1, 2006
Sent to Governor
HOUSE BILL 1034 – creates the Mississippi Delta Region Revitalization Act of 2006 and establishes a 27-member Special Task Force for Revitalization of the Mississippi Delta Region to serve as an independent research and analytical group setting measurable goals to revitalize the Delta. The University Research Center Bureau of Comprehensive Long-Range Economic Development Planning shall provide staff support, including an employee to be the task force coordinator. The bill directs each state agency involved in economic, demographic, education, workforce training, community, housing, public health, crime, natural resources and infrastructure aspects relating to development of the Delta region to submit by October 1, 2006, a 5-year plan on work programs covering its activities in relevant aspects to the Mississippi Development Authority. The bill requires that a long-range plan be completed by December 1, 2006.
Effective Upon Passage
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
HOUSE BILL 1274 – allows the purchasing entity to designate the method by which bids will be received for public purchases in excess of $15,000, including but not limited to bids sealed in an envelope, bids received electronically in a secure system, bids received via a reverse auction, or bids received by any other method that promotes open competition and has been approved by the Office of Purchasing and Travel. This provision sets a repealer date of July 1, 2008.
Effective Date: July 1, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
HOUSE BILL 1306 – revises the dissemination of certain criminal history record information for non criminal justice purposes to allow any individual, nongovernmental entity or any employer authorized either by the subject of record in writing or by state or federal law to receive state conviction and arrest information.
Effective Date: July 1, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
HOUSE BILL 1324 – requires the John C. Stennis Institute for Government at Mississippi State University to conduct a comprehensive study of the performance of first responders to Hurricane Katrina and to prepare a final report to the legislature no later than December 31, 2006. The Institute shall prepare progress reports to the PEER Committee by July 1, 2006, and October 31, 2006.
Effective Upon Passage
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
HOUSE BILL 1406 – requires Jackson, Harrison, Hancock, Stone and Pearl River counties and municipalities in these counties to enforce wind and flood mitigation requirements of the 2003 International Residential Code and the 2003 International Building Code. The bill provides that the board of supervisors of any such county and/or the governing authorities of any municipality within these counties may, upon resolution duly adopted and entered upon its minutes, choose not to be subject to such code requirements. The bill creates the Mississippi Building Codes Council and provides that counties and municipalities may adopt as minimum codes any proposed codes established by the Mississippi Building Codes Council. Farm structures, industrial facilities engaged in certain specified activities, manufactured housing built to Federal Safety Standards Act, and certain other buildings are exempt from the provisions of this act.
Effective Upon Passage
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
HOUSE BILL 1440 – provides that the construction of any new public facility shall comply with certain building code standards (International Building code) as adopted by the Department of Finance and Administration, Bureau of Buildings, Grounds and Real Property Management. The bill authorizes the Department of Finance and Administration, Bureau of Buildings, Grounds and Real Property Management to regulate certain building features.
Effective Upon Passage
Sent to Governor
SENATE BILLS
SENATE BILL 2218 – authorizes the Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation to seek an injunction against a person or agent offering degrees without having first obtained approval by the commission.
Effective Date: July 1, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
SENATE BILL 2398 – creates a Bureau of Fleet Management within the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) to coordinate and promote efficiency in the purchase, lease, rental, acquisition, use, maintenance and disposal of vehicles by state agencies. The bureau shall encourage the use of fuel efficient or hybrid vehicles and, when feasible, the use of alternative fuels. The bureau shall reassign vehicles in the possession of any state agency if the bureau believes that another agency can make more efficient use of vehicle. The bill requires agencies to submit a vehicle acquisition/use/disposal plan to DFA annually, after which DFA will submit a recommendation to the Legislature prior to January 1 of each year. The bureau will only grant authority to purchase, rent, lease or acquire a motor vehicle that is the lowest cost. The bill requires all agencies include in their budget requests the following information regarding contract workers for the most recently completed fiscal year: each worker's name, specific type of services provided, hourly rate of compensation or the basis for compensation if a rate other than hourly rate is used; total gross salary, and whether the worker is a retired member of PERS. Additionally, each agency desiring to purchase any vehicle shall submit as part of its budget request to the Legislative Budget Office and DFA a detailed justification for the proposed purchase. All state agencies making budget requests under this section shall include with their requests a report of all passenger and work vehicles in their possession and shall detail the persons to whom the vehicles are assigned and the purposes of the vehicles. Effective July 1, 2007, the purchase of vehicles and wireless communication devices by a state agency shall be a specific line item in the agency's appropriation bill. The bill requires that, before a wireless communication device may be assigned, issued or made available to a state agency employee, the agency head or his designee shall sign a statement certifying the need or reason for issuing the device. No officer or employee of any state agency except MEMA shall be issued more than one such wireless communication device and cannot use such device for his/her personal use. The Mississippi Department of Information and Technology Services shall exercise the option of selecting one vendor from which to procure wireless communication devices and services and shall issue acceptable use policy. All state agencies shall purchase only the lowest cost cellular telephone, pager or personal digital assistance device.
Effective Date: July 1, 2006
Sent to Governor
SENATE BILL 2556 – reduces the number of days from 60 days to 45 days that partial, progress or interim payments are due on public construction contracts.
Effective Date: July 1, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
SENATE BILL 2581 – requires that state agencies include the following information on contract workers in their annual budget request: name of each worker, specific type of services provided, hourly rate of compensation or the basis for compensation if a rate other than the hourly rate is used; total gross salary or wages paid, and whether the worker is a retired member of the Public Employee's Retirement System.
Effective Date: July 1, 2006
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR
SENATE BILL 2849 – authorizes the workers' compensation commission to allow the pooling of liabilities under an employer's liability insurance policy. The bill also provides that state agencies qualified as self-insured status shall not be required to furnish any security to insure or guarantee payment of claims or expenses and shall not be required to establish and maintain reserves for claims incurred but not reported and associated expenses, as a condition for the granting or continuation of an exemption.
Effective Upon Passage
Sent to Governor
SENATE BILL 2915 – provides that the current president or his/her designee of the Student Body President's Council shall have a reserved seat at each meeting of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning. The bill also authorizes that a quorum of the members of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges may be at different locations for the purpose of conducting a meeting through teleconference or video, provided their participation is available to the general public. The bill also authorizes the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning to charge state agencies and other entities that occupy the research and development center for utilities, maintenance and security.
Effective Date: July 1, 2006
Conference Report Adopted
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 520 – designates the third Thursday in September of 2006 as “Mississippi Health Awareness Day” to promote health and disease prevention efforts throughout the state of Mississippi.
Sent to Governor
SENATE NOMINATION 3 – confirms the appointment of Dr. Hank Mitchell Bounds as the State Superintendent of Education effective August 1, 2005.
Appointment Confirmed
SENATE NOMINATION 23 – confirms the appointment of Dr. David Francis Sistrunk, Kosciusko, Mississippi, to the State Board of Education for a nine-year term ending June 30, 2014.
Appointment Confirmed
SENATE NOMINATION 93 – confirms the appointment of Mr. Charles McClelland, Jackson, Mississippi, to the State Board of Education for a five-year term beginning March 24, 2006 and ending March 23, 2011.
Appointment Confirmed