Bill Text: MS HB1475 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Sheriffs who house state offenders; authorize to establish work program with Dept. of Transportation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-20 - Referred To Corrections;Appropriations C [HB1475 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2025-HB1475-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2025 Regular Session
To: Corrections; Appropriations C
By: Representative Currie
House Bill 1475
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE SHERIFFS OF COUNTY REGIONAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES AND COUNTY JAILS THAT HOUSE STATE INMATES, TO ESTABLISH A WORK PROGRAM WITH THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION WHERE INMATES WORK FOR THE DEPARTMENT; TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS TO PAY A DAILY PER DIEM OF $34.00 TO THE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES THAT HAVE INMATES THAT WORK FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-933, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO INCREASE FROM $32.71 TO $34.00 THE CONTRACT RATE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS MAY PAY REGIONALS FOR THE HOUSING OF STATE INMATES; TO PROVIDE THAT ALL REGIONAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES AND ALL COUNTY JAILS THAT HOUSE STATE OFFENDERS SHALL RECEIVE A DAILY PER DIEM OF $34.00 PER DAY FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 47-5-901 AND 47-5-909, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 65-1-8, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO ENTER INTO A CERTAIN AGREEMENT WITH SHERIFFS FOR A CERTAIN WORK PROGRAM THAT UTILIZES STATE INMATES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) The sheriffs of all county regional correctional facilities and county jails, where state inmates are housed, and the Mississippi Department of Transportation are authorized to establish a work program where up to two (2) state inmates who are housed in such facilities and jails may be assigned to work for the Department of Transportation. No person sentenced for any sex crime or multiple violent felonies in the past ten (10) years shall be eligible for participation in the program established under this section. An inmate shall be eligible for participation in the program beginning three (3) years before his or her initial parole or earned time release date. The Department of Transportation shall be responsible for transporting inmates to the work site and the sheriff's department shall be responsible for security and the safety of the inmates.
(2) Admission to the program shall be in the discretion of the sheriff, and the sheriff shall adopt and publish rules and regulations prior to accepting inmates. These rules and regulations shall at a minimum include all requirements for work release programs established pursuant to Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-471.
(3) Any state offender assigned to such a program by the sheriff 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 found guilty under this section shall be ineligible for further participation in a work release program during his or her current term of confinement.
(4) All correctional facilities and county jails described under subsection (1) of this section that house state inmates who participate in the work program established under this section shall receive a daily per diem of Thirty-four Dollars ($34.00) from the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
(5) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2029.
SECTION 2. Section 47-5-933, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-933. The Department of
Corrections may contract for the purposes set out in Section 47-5-931 for a
period of not more than twenty (20) years. The contract may provide that the
Department of Corrections pay a fee of no more than * * * Thirty-four Dollars ($34.00) per day for each
offender that is housed in the facility. * * * The state shall retain responsibility for medical care for
state offenders to the extent that is required by law; provided, however, the
department may reimburse each facility for contract medical services as
provided by law in an amount not to exceed Six Dollars and Twenty-five Cents
($6.25) per day per offender.
SECTION 3. (1) All regional correctional facilities and all county jails that house state offenders shall receive a daily per diem of Thirty-four Dollars ($34.00) for each inmate in the custody of such regional correctional facilities and county jails.
(2) This section shall stand repealed from and after July 1, 2029.
SECTION 4. Section 47-5-901, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-901. (1) (a) Any person committed, sentenced or otherwise placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections, on order of the sentencing court and subject to the other conditions of this subsection, may serve all or any part of his sentence in the county jail of the county wherein such person was convicted if the Commissioner of Corrections determines that physical space is not available for confinement of such person in the state correctional institutions. Such determination shall be promptly made by the Department of Corrections upon receipt of notice of the conviction of such person. The commissioner shall certify in writing that space is not available to the sheriff or other officer having custody of the person. Any person serving his sentence in a county jail shall be classified in accordance with Section 47-5-905.
(b) Any person committed, sentenced or otherwise placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections, on order of the sentencing court and subject to the other conditions of this subsection, may serve all or any part of his or her sentence in the county jail of the county wherein such person was convicted if the sheriff or president of the board of supervisors, requests such inmate or inmates. Upon such request, the department may allow such inmate or inmates to serve all or any part of such inmate's or inmates' sentence(s), as the case may be, in the county of conviction of the inmate or inmates or the county of request of a sheriff or board of supervisors outside the county of conviction. Such determination shall be promptly made by the Department of Corrections upon receipt of notice of the conviction of such person. Whenever a request is denied for an inmate or inmates, then the commissioner shall certify in writing to the sentencing court, sheriff, or president of the board of supervisors of a county, as the case may be, that such inmate or inmates does not qualify to serve the sentence or sentences in the county jail. Any person serving his sentence in a county jail shall be classified in accordance with Section 47-5-905.
(2) If state prisoners are
housed in county jails due to a lack of capacity at state correctional
institutions, the Department of Corrections shall determine the cost for food
and medical attention for such prisoners. The cost of feeding and housing
offenders confined in such county jails shall be based on actual costs or
contract price per prisoner. In order to maximize the potential use of county
jail space, the Department of Corrections is encouraged to negotiate a
reasonable per day cost per prisoner, which in no event may exceed * * * Thirty-four
($34.00) per day per offender, except as authorized in Section 47-5-909(2).
(3) (a) Upon vouchers
submitted by the board of supervisors of any county housing persons due to lack
of space at state institutions, the Department of Corrections shall pay to such
county, out of any available funds, the actual cost of food, or contract price
per prisoner, not to exceed * * * Thirty-four
Dollars ($34.00) per day per offender, except as authorized in Section 47-5-909(2),
as determined under subsection (2) of this section for each day an offender is
so confined beginning the day that the Department of Corrections receives a
certified copy of the sentencing order or five (5) days after the sentencing
order is sent, in writing, by such county to the department, whichever is
earlier, and will terminate on the date on which the offender is released or
otherwise removed from the custody of the county jail. The department, or its
contracted medical provider, will pay to a provider of a medical service for
any and all incarcerated persons from a correctional or detention facility an
amount based upon negotiated fees as agreed to by the medical care service
providers and the department and/or its contracted medical provider. In the
absence of negotiated discounted fee schedule, medical care service providers
will be paid by the department, or its contracted medical service provider, an
amount no greater than the reimbursement rate applicable based on the
Mississippi Medicaid reimbursement rate. The board of supervisors of any
county shall not be liable for any cost associated with medical attention for
prisoners who are pretrial detainees or for prisoners who have been convicted
that exceeds the Mississippi Medicaid reimbursement rate or the reimbursement
provided by the Department of Corrections, whichever is greater. This limitation
applies to all medical care services, durable and nondurable goods,
prescription drugs and medications. Such payment shall be placed in the county
general fund and shall be expended only for food and medical attention for such
persons.
(b) Upon vouchers submitted by the board of supervisors of any county housing offenders in county jails pending a probation or parole revocation hearing, the department shall pay the reimbursement costs provided in paragraph (a).
(c) If the probation or parole of an offender is revoked, the additional cost of housing the offender pending the revocation hearing shall be assessed as part of the offender's court cost and shall be remitted to the department.
(4) A person, on order of the sentencing court, may serve not more than twenty-four (24) months of his sentence in a county jail if the person is classified in accordance with Section 47-5-905 and the county jail is an approved county jail for housing state inmates under federal court order. The sheriff of the county shall have the right to petition the Commissioner of Corrections to remove the inmate from the county jail. The county shall be reimbursed in accordance with subsection (2) of this section.
(5) The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall defend the employees of the Department of Corrections and officials and employees of political subdivisions against any action brought by any person who was committed to a county jail under the provisions of this section.
(6) This section does not create in the Department of Corrections, or its employees or agents, any new liability, express or implied, nor shall it create in the Department of Corrections any administrative authority or responsibility for the construction, funding, administration or operation of county or other local jails or other places of confinement which are not staffed and operated on a full-time basis by the Department of Corrections. The correctional system under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections shall include only those facilities fully staffed by the Department of Corrections and operated by it on a full-time basis.
(7) An offender returned to a county for post-conviction proceedings shall be subject to the provisions of Section 99-19-42 and the county shall not receive the per-day allotment for such offender after the time prescribed for returning the offender to the Department of Corrections as provided in Section 99-19-42.
SECTION 5. Section 47-5-909, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-909. (1) It is the policy of the Legislature that all inmates be removed from county jails as early as practicable. Sections 47-5-901 through 47-5-907 are temporary measures to help alleviate the immediate operating capacity limitations at correctional facilities and are not permanent measures to be included in the long-term operating capacity of the correctional system.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to expedite the removal of inmates from county jails as early as practicable, absent a contract negotiated between the Department of Corrections and the county jail, the Department of Corrections shall pay county jails for housing state offenders out of any available funds as follows:
(a) Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) per day per offender for days one (1) through thirty (30);
(b) * * * Thirty-four Dollars ($34.00) per day per offender
for days thirty-one (31) or greater when:
(i) An offender remains in the county jail after the Department of Corrections receives a certified copy of the sentencing order or five (5) days after the sentencing order is sent, in writing, by such county to the Department of Corrections, whichever is earlier; or
(ii) An offender remains in the county jail after being revoked from parole or probation or is sentenced to a technical violation center.
(3) The Department of Corrections is additionally responsible for all medical costs related to offenders housed at county jails under subsection (2) of this section.
SECTION 6. Section 65-1-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
65-1-8. (1) The Mississippi Transportation Commission shall have the following general powers, duties and responsibilities:
(a) To coordinate and develop a comprehensive, balanced transportation policy for the State of Mississippi;
(b) To promote the coordinated and efficient use of all available and future modes of transportation;
(c) To make recommendations to the Legislature regarding alterations or modifications in any existing transportation policies;
(d) To study means of encouraging travel and transportation of goods by the combination of motor vehicle and other modes of transportation;
(e) To take such actions as are necessary and proper to discharge its duties pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 496, Laws of 1992, and any other provision of law;
(f) To receive and provide for the expenditure of any funds made available to it by the Legislature, the federal government or any other source.
(2) In addition to the general powers, duties and responsibilities listed in subsection (1) of this section, the Mississippi Transportation Commission shall have the following specific powers:
(a) To make rules and regulations whereby the Transportation Department shall change or relocate any and all highways herein or hereafter fixed as constituting a part of the state highway system, as may be deemed necessary or economical in the construction or maintenance thereof; to acquire by gift, purchase, condemnation or otherwise, land or other property whatsoever that may be necessary for a state highway system as herein provided, with full consideration to be given to the stimulation of local public and private investment when acquiring such property in the vicinity of Mississippi towns, cities and population centers;
(b) To enforce by mandamus, or other proper legal remedies, all legal rights or rights of action of the Mississippi Transportation Commission with other public bodies, corporations or persons;
(c) To make and publish rules, regulations and ordinances for the control of and the policing of the traffic on the state highways, and to prevent their abuse by any or all persons, natural or artificial, by trucks, tractors, trailers or any other heavy or destructive vehicles or machines, or by any other means whatsoever, by establishing weights of loads or of vehicles, types of tires, width of tire surfaces, length and width of vehicles, with reasonable variations to meet approximate weather conditions, and all other proper police and protective regulations, and to provide ample means for the enforcement of same. The violation of any of the rules, regulations or ordinances so prescribed by the commission shall constitute a misdemeanor. No rule, regulation or ordinance shall be made that conflicts with any statute now in force or which may hereafter be enacted, or with any ordinance of municipalities. A monthly publication giving general information to the boards of supervisors, employees and the public may be issued under such rules and regulations as the commission may determine;
(d) To give suitable numbers to highways and to change the number of any highway that shall become a part of the state highway system. However, nothing herein shall authorize the number of any highway to be changed so as to conflict with any designation thereof as a U.S. numbered highway. Where, by a specific act of the Legislature, the commission has been directed to give a certain number to a highway, the commission shall not have the authority to change such number;
(e) (i) To make proper and reasonable rules, regulations, and ordinances for the placing, erection, removal or relocation of telephone, telegraph or other poles, signboards, fences, gas, water, sewerage, oil or other pipelines, and other obstructions that may, in the opinion of the commission, contribute to the hazards upon any of the state highways, or in any way interfere with the ordinary travel upon such highways, or the construction, reconstruction or maintenance thereof, and to make reasonable rules and regulations for the proper control thereof. Any violation of such rules or regulations or noncompliance with such ordinances shall constitute a misdemeanor;
(ii) Except as
otherwise provided for in this paragraph, whenever the order of the commission
shall require the removal of, or other changes in the location of,
telephone, telegraph or other poles, signboards, gas, water, sewerage, oil or
other pipelines * * *,
or other similar obstructions on the right-of-way or such other places where
removal is required by law, the owners thereof shall at their own expense move
or change the same to conform to the order of the commission. Any violation of
such rules or regulations or noncompliance with such orders shall constitute a
misdemeanor;
(iii) Rural water districts, rural water systems, nonprofit water associations and municipal public water systems in municipalities with a population of ten thousand (10,000) or less, according to the latest federal decennial census, shall not be required to bear the cost and expense of removal and relocation of water and sewer lines and facilities constructed or in place in the rights-of-way of state highways. The cost and expense of such removal and relocation, including any unpaid prior to July 1, 2002, shall be paid by the Department of Transportation;
(iv) Municipal public sewer systems and municipal gas systems owned by municipalities with a population of ten thousand (10,000) or less, according to the latest federal decennial census, shall not be required to bear the cost and expense of removal and relocation of lines and facilities constructed or in place in the rights-of-way of state highways. The cost and expense of such removal and relocation, including any unpaid prior to July 1, 2003, shall be paid by the Department of Transportation;
(f) To regulate and abandon grade crossings on any road fixed as a part of the state highway system, and whenever the commission, in order to avoid a grade crossing with the railroad, locates or constructs said road on one side of the railroad, the commission shall have the power to abandon and close such grade crossing, and whenever an underpass or overhead bridge is substituted for a grade crossing, the commission shall have power to abandon such grade crossing and any other crossing adjacent thereto. Included in the powers herein granted shall be the power to require the railroad at grade crossings, where any road of the state highway system crosses the same, to place signal posts with lights or other warning devices at such crossings at the expense of the railroad, and to regulate and abandon underpasses or overhead bridges and, where abandoned because of the construction of a new underpass or overhead bridge, to close such old underpass or overhead bridge, or, in its discretion, to return the same to the jurisdiction of the county board of supervisors;
(g) To make proper and reasonable rules and regulations to control the cutting or opening of the road surfaces for subsurface installations;
(h) To make proper and reasonable rules and regulations for the removal from the public rights-of-way of any form of obstruction, to cooperate in improving their appearance, and to prescribe minimum clearance heights for seed conveyors, pipes, passageways or other structure of private or other ownership above the highways;
(i) To establish, and have the Transportation Department maintain and operate, and to cooperate with the state educational institutions in establishing, enlarging, maintaining and operating a laboratory or laboratories for testing materials and for other proper highway purposes;
(j) To provide, under the direction and with the approval of the Department of Finance and Administration, suitable offices, shops and barns in the City of Jackson;
(k) To establish and have enforced set-back regulations;
(l) To cooperate with proper state authorities in producing limerock for highway purposes and to purchase same at cost;
(m) To provide for the purchase of necessary equipment and vehicles and to provide for the repair and housing of same, to acquire by gift, purchase, condemnation or otherwise, land or lands and buildings in fee simple, and to authorize the Transportation Department to construct, lease or otherwise provide necessary and proper permanent district offices for the construction and maintenance divisions of the department, and for the repair and housing of the equipment and vehicles of the department; however, in each Supreme Court district only two (2) permanent district offices shall be set up, but a permanent status shall not be given to any such offices until so provided by act of the Legislature and in the meantime, all shops of the department shall be retained at their present location. As many local or subdistrict offices, shops or barns may be provided as is essential and proper to economical maintenance of the state highway system;
(n) To cooperate with the Department of Archives and History in having placed and maintained suitable historical markers, including those which have been approved and purchased by the State Historical Commission, along state highways, and to have constructed and maintained roadside driveways for convenience and safety in viewing them when necessary;
(o) To cooperate, in its discretion, with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks in planning and constructing roadside parks upon the right-of-way of state highways, whether constructed, under construction, or planned; said parks to utilize where practical barrow pits used in construction of state highways for use as fishing ponds. Said parks shall be named for abundant flora and fauna existing in the area or for the first flora or fauna found on the site;
(p) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, to make such contracts and execute such instruments containing such reasonable and necessary appropriate terms, provisions and conditions as in its absolute discretion it may deem necessary, proper or advisable, for the purpose of obtaining or securing financial assistance, grants or loans from the United States of America or any department or agency thereof, including contracts with several counties of the state pertaining to the expenditure of such funds;
(q) To cooperate with the Federal Highway Administration in the matter of location, construction and maintenance of the Great River Road, to expend such funds paid to the commission by the Federal Highway Administration or other federal agency, and to authorize the Transportation Department to erect suitable signs marking this highway, the cost of such signs to be paid from state highway funds other than earmarked construction funds;
(r) To cooperate, in its discretion, with the Mississippi Forestry Commission and the School of Forestry, Mississippi State University, in a forestry management program, including planting, thinning, cutting and selling, upon the right-of-way of any highway, constructed, acquired or maintained by the Transportation Department, and to sell and dispose of any and all growing timber standing, lying or being on any right-of-way acquired by the commission for highway purposes in the future; such sale or sales to be made in accordance with the sale of personal property which has become unnecessary for public use as provided for in Section 65-1-123, Mississippi Code of 1972;
(s) To expend funds in cooperation with the Division of Plant Industry, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, the United States government or any department or agency thereof, or with any department or agency of this state, to control, suppress or eradicate serious insect pests, rodents, plant parasites and plant diseases on the state highway rights-of-way;
(t) To provide for the placement, erection and maintenance of motorist services business signs and supports within state highway rights-of-way in accordance with current state and federal laws and regulations governing the placement of traffic control devices on state highways, and to establish and collect reasonable fees from the businesses having information on such signs;
(u) To request and to accept the use of persons convicted of an offense, whether a felony or a misdemeanor, for work on any road construction, repair or other project of the Transportation Department. The commission is also authorized to request and to accept the use of persons who have not been convicted of an offense but who are required to fulfill certain court-imposed conditions pursuant to Section 41-29-150(d)(1) or 99-15-26, Mississippi Code of 1972, or the Pretrial Intervention Act, being Sections 99-15-101 through 99-15-127, Mississippi Code of 1972. The commission is authorized to enter into any agreements with the Department of Corrections, the State Parole Board, any criminal court of this state, and any other proper official regarding the working, guarding, safekeeping, clothing and subsistence of such persons performing work for the Transportation Department. Such persons shall not be deemed agents, employees or involuntary servants of the Transportation Department while performing such work or while going to and from work or other specified areas;
(v) To provide for the administration of the railroad revitalization program pursuant to Section 57-43-1 et seq.;
(w) The Mississippi Transportation Commission is further authorized, in its discretion, to expend funds for the purchase of service pins for employees of the Mississippi Transportation Department;
(x) To cooperate with the State Tax Commission by providing for weight enforcement field personnel to collect and assess taxes, fees and penalties and to perform all duties as required pursuant to Section 27-55-501 et seq., Sections 27-19-1 et seq., 27-55-1 et seq., 27-59-1 et seq. and 27-61-1 et seq., Mississippi Code of 1972, with regard to vehicles subject to the jurisdiction of the Office of Weight Enforcement. All collections and assessments shall be transferred daily to the State Tax Commission;
(y) The Mississippi Transportation Commission may delegate the authority to enter into a supplemental agreement to a contract previously approved by the commission if the supplemental agreement involves an additional expenditure not to exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00);
(z) (i) The Mississippi Transportation Commission, in its discretion, may enter into agreements with any county, municipality, county transportation commission, business, corporation, partnership, association, individual or other legal entity, for the purpose of accelerating the completion date of scheduled highway construction projects.
(ii) Such an agreement may permit the cost of a highway construction project to be advanced to the commission by a county, municipality, county transportation commission, business, corporation, partnership, association, individual or other legal entity, and repaid to such entity by the commission when highway construction funds become available; provided, however, that repayment of funds advanced to the Mississippi Transportation Commission shall be made no sooner than the commission's identified projected revenue schedule for funding of that particular construction project, and no other scheduled highway construction project established by statute or by the commission may be delayed by an advanced funding project authorized under this paragraph (z). Repayments to a public or private entity that advances funds to the Mississippi Transportation Commission under this paragraph (z) may not include interest or other fees or charges, and the total amount repaid shall not exceed the total amount of funds advanced to the commission by the entity; however, the inclusion of public entities in this provision does not invalidate any existing agreements authorized under this paragraph (z) before April 19, 2022. The commission shall retain the ability to service, refinance or restructure any indebtedness incurred through any such existing agreements.
(iii) In considering whether to enter into such an agreement, the commission shall consider the availability of financial resources, the effect of such agreement on other ongoing highway construction, the urgency of the public's need for swift completion of the project and any other relevant factors.
(iv) Such an agreement shall be executed only upon a finding by the commission, spread upon its minutes, that the acceleration of the scheduled project is both feasible and beneficial. The commission shall also spread upon its minutes its findings with regard to the factors required to be considered pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph (z);
(aa) The Mississippi Transportation Commission, in its discretion, may purchase employment practices liability insurance, and may purchase an excess policy to cover catastrophic losses incurred under the commission's self-insured workers' compensation program authorized under Section 71-3-5. Such policies shall be written by the agent or agents of a company or companies authorized to do business in the State of Mississippi. The deductibles shall be in an amount deemed reasonable and prudent by the commission, and the premiums thereon shall be paid from the State Highway Fund. Purchase of insurance under this paragraph shall not serve as an actual or implied waiver of sovereign immunity or of any protection afforded the commission under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act;
(bb) The Mississippi Transportation Commission is further authorized, in its discretion, to expend funds for the purchase of promotional materials for safety purposes, highway beautification purposes and recruitment purposes;
(cc) To lease antenna space on communication towers which it owns;
(dd) To receive funds from the Southeastern Association of Transportation Officials and from other nonstate sources and expend those funds for educational scholarships in transportation related fields of study. The commission may adopt rules or regulations as necessary for the implementation of the program. A strict accounting shall be made of all funds deposited with the commission and all funds dispersed;
(ee) To contract with any county, if the county chooses to enter such contract, to perform any maintenance on the state highways and interstate highways in that county and any rights-of-way to such highways.
(ff) To cooperate with the sheriffs of any counties who house state inmates to carry out the provisions of Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025.
