Bill Text: MS HB317 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Disabilities, persons with; modernize terminology used to refer to.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2017-01-31 - Died In Committee [HB317 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2017-HB317-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2017 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Clark
House Bill 317
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 43-6-171, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING OFFICES AND STATE AGENCIES TO USE CERTAIN RESPECTFUL REFERENCES TO INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES IN PREPARING LEGISLATION AND RULES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 13-1-305, 19-5-45, 21-37-6, 25-9-149, 25-15-13, 27-19-56, 27-19-56.134, 29-5-65, 37-13-91, 37-16-9, 37-16-11, 37-23-63, 37-31-31, 37-31-33, 37-31-35, 37-31-39, 37-41-3, 37-151-5, 37-151-7, 37-151-81, 41-3-15, 41-4-18, 41-7-173, 41-7-191, 41-11-102, 41-11-105, 41-11-109, 41-11-111, 41-11-113, 41-13-35, 41-19-33, 41-19-205, 41-19-237, 41-19-257, 41-19-261, 41-19-291, 41-21-67, 41-21-131, 41-21-139, 41-31-15, 41-79-5, 43-6-1, 43-6-3, 43-6-5, 43-6-13, 43-6-15, 43-6-113, 43-6-125, 43-7-61, 43-13-117, 43-18-1, 43-27-25, 43-33-703, 43-33-717, 43-33-723, 45-1-2, 45-35-53, 47-5-1351, 49-7-39, 49-7-40, 71-3-3, 71-3-7, 71-3-105, 71-7-13, 75-74-9, 83-9-32, 93-7-3, 93-17-55, 93-17-67 AND 97-3-4, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO MODERNIZE THE TERMINOLOGY THAT IS USED TO REFER TO PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS, PERSONS WITH AN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY, HANDICAPPED PERSONS AND CRIPPLED PERSONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 43-6-171, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-6-171. (1) The
Legislature recognizes that language used in reference to individuals with
disabilities shapes and reflects society's attitudes towards people with
disabilities. Many of the terms currently used diminish the humanity and
natural condition of having a disability. Certain terms are demeaning and
create an invisible barrier to inclusion as equal community members. The
Legislature finds it necessary to clarify preferred language for * * * all laws and rules by
requiring the use of terminology that puts the person before the disability.
(2) The legislative
drafting offices of the House and Senate are directed to avoid all references
to the terms "disabled," "developmentally disabled,"
"mentally disabled," "mentally ill," "mentally
retarded," "handicapped," "cripple" and
"crippled," in any new statute, memorial or resolution, and to change
those references in any existing statute, memorial or resolution * * *. The drafting offices are directed to replace the
terms referenced above as appropriate with the following revised terminology:
"persons with disabilities," "persons with developmental
disabilities," "persons with mental illness" and "persons
with intellectual or cognitive disabilities."
(3) No statute, memorial or resolution is invalid because it does not comply with this section.
(4) All state agency orders * * *
shall be formulated in accordance with the requirements of subsection
(1) of this section regarding the use of respectful language.
(5) No agency rule is invalid because it does not comply with this section.
SECTION 2. Section 13-1-305, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
13-1-305. If the judge, or
any other person charged under the provisions of Sections 13-1-301 through 13-1-315
with providing an interpreter, believes that a person claiming to be entitled
to an interpreter may not actually be deaf or hearing impaired, unable to
communicate verbally because of his hearing disability, or otherwise not
entitled to such services, the judge may, on good cause shown, hold a hearing
to determine the extent of the person's * * * disability and the bona fide need
for interpreting services. If it is determined that the person is not entitled
to such services, an interpreter shall not be provided. Except in a
preliminary hearing in a criminal case, every deaf person whose appearance before
a proceeding entitles him to an interpreter shall notify the appointing
authority of his disability not less than five (5) days prior to any appearance
and shall request at such time the services of an interpreter. When a deaf
person reasonably expects to need an interpreter for more than a single day, he
shall so notify the appointing authority, and such notification shall be
sufficient for the duration of his participation in the proceedings. When a
deaf person receives notification of an appearance less than five (5) days
before such appearance, he shall provide his notification and request for an
interpreter as soon thereafter as practicable.
SECTION 3. Section 19-5-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
19-5-45. Any county within
the State of Mississippi wherein the railroads known as the Illinois Central
and the Mississippi Central intersect, and any county with a population of not
less than twenty-one thousand (21,000) nor more than twenty-one thousand
five hundred (21,500) and with an assessed valuation in excess of
Sixteen Million Dollars ($16,000,000.00), and in which State Highway 35 and
State Highway 12 intersect, is * * * authorized and empowered to issue the
negotiable bonds or certificates of indebtedness of * * * the county for the purpose of
constructing an industrial building to be used as a sheltered workshop for the
employment of * * * persons with disabilities, and * * * the county is * * * authorized to retain two (2)
mills of the state ad valorem tax levy for a period not in excess of five (5)
years for the purpose of assisting in the retirement of * * * the bonds and interest thereon.
The board of supervisors of any county coming within the provisions of this section shall be authorized to levy, at the time and in the prescribed manner other county tax levies are made, an ad valorem tax of one-fourth (¼) mill for each mill retained levied against all of the taxable property of such county, and such levy shall be made a condition precedent to the operation of this section.
The amount of bonds or
certificates of indebtedness issued for this purpose shall not exceed the sum
of One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000.00) and the two (2) mill
state ad valorem tax levy herein authorized to be retained for the retirement
of * * * the
bonds may be pledged, together with the full faith and credit of the county,
for the payment of * * * the bonds at maturity and the interest thereon.
In issuing the bonds herein
authorized, it shall only be necessary for the board of supervisors of * * * the county to adopt a resolution
providing for the sale and issuance of * * * the bonds as now provided by law.
SECTION 4. Section 21-37-6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
21-37-6. Every municipality
shall install ramps at crosswalks, in both business and residential areas, when
making new installations of sidewalks, curbs or gutters, or improving or
replacing existing sidewalks, curbs or gutters, so as to make the transition
from street to sidewalk easily negotiable for * * * persons with
physical disabilities in wheelchairs and for other persons who may have
difficulty in making the required step up or down from curb level to street
level.
The term "ramps" as used herein means a sloping asphalt or concrete surface, from the level of the sidewalk or curb to the level of the street at curbside, extending outward and downward from the curb to the street for such a distance, at such an angle, and at such a width as will facilitate the movement up and down such ramps of persons in wheelchairs or persons who have difficulty in stepping up or down between curb level and street level.
SECTION 5. Section 25-9-149, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-9-149. It is the intent
of the Legislature that no person seeking employment in state service, as
defined in Section 25-9-107, * * * or employed in state
service, as defined in Section 25-9-107, * * * shall be
discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national
origin, age or * * *
disability.
SECTION 6. Section 25-15-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-15-13. Each eligible
employee may participate in the plan by signing up for the plan at the time of
employment. Each eligible employee who declines coverage under the plan must
sign a waiver of coverage. After acceptance in the plan, the employee may
cease his or her participation by filing a specific disclaimer with the board.
Forms for this purpose shall be prescribed and issued by the board. All
eligible employees will be eligible to participate in the plan on the effective
date of the plan or on the date on which they are employed by the state,
whichever is later, provided they make the necessary contributions as provided
in this article. Spouses of employees, unmarried dependent children from birth
to age nineteen (19) years, unmarried dependent children who are full-time
students up to age twenty-five (25) years, and * * * children with
physical or mental disabilities, regardless of age, are eligible under the
plan as of the date the employee becomes eligible. If both spouses are
eligible employees who participate in the plan, the benefits shall apply
individually to each spouse by virtue of his or her participation in the plan.
If those spouses also have one or more eligible dependents participating in the
plan, the cost of their dependents shall be calculated at a special family plan
rate. The cost for participation by the dependents shall be paid by the spouse
who elects to carry such dependents under his or her coverage.
SECTION 7. Section 27-19-56, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-19-56. (1) (a) Upon application by any legal resident of the State of Mississippi with a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk, or by the owner of a motor vehicle who has a child, parent or spouse with a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk and the child, parent or spouse is living with the applicant, the Department of Revenue shall prepare and issue through the county tax collectors a special license plate bearing the International Symbol of Access adopted by Rehabilitation International in 1969 at its Eleventh World Congress on Rehabilitation of the Disabled for not more than two (2) vehicles that are registered in the applicant's name. The initial application shall be accompanied by the certification of a licensed physician that (i) the applicant or the applicant's child, parent or spouse meets the definition of persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk; and (ii) that the physician has determined that the applicant or the applicant's child, parent or spouse will have the disability for at least five (5) years. The Department of Revenue shall prepare and issue to the tax collectors of the various counties, decals for placement on the special license plates. The decals shall bear thereon the month in which the license plate was issued and the year in which the special license plate will expire. The special license plate issued under this section is valid for the period of time that the license tag attached upon a motor vehicle is issued pursuant to Section 27-19-31(1). A person to whom the special license plate is issued may retain the special license plate and may renew it by submitting to the county tax collector, on or before its expiration, the certification of a licensed physician that the physician has determined (i) that the applicant or the applicant's child, parent or spouse meets the definition of a person with a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk; and (ii) that the applicant or the applicant's child, parent or spouse will have the disability for at least five (5) years. If an applicant fails to renew the special license plate before its date of expiration, then he or she shall surrender the special license plate to the county tax collector and the tax collector shall issue to such person a regular license plate to replace the special license plate.
(b) Upon application by any legal resident of the State of Mississippi who has a disabled American veteran plate or tag issued under Section 27-19-53 properly displayed on his vehicle and a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk, the Department of Revenue shall prepare and issue through the county tax collectors a special decal bearing the International Symbol of Access adopted by Rehabilitation International in 1969 at its Eleventh World Congress on Rehabilitation of the Disabled for not more than two (2) vehicles that are registered in the applicant's name and properly display the plate or tag issued under Section 27-19-53. The decal shall be affixed to the plate or tag issued under Section 27-19-53. The initial application shall be accompanied by the certification of a licensed physician that (i) the applicant meets the definition of persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk; and (ii) that the physician has determined that the applicant will have the disability for at least five (5) years. The Department of Revenue shall prepare and issue to the tax collectors of the various counties, decals for placement on the plate or tag issued under Section 27-19-53. The decals shall bear thereon the month in which the license plate or tag was issued and the year in which the plate or tag will expire. The special decal is valid for the period of time that the license tag attached upon a motor vehicle is issued pursuant to Section 27-19-53. A person to whom the special decal is issued may retain the decal and may renew it by submitting to the county tax collector, on or before its expiration, the certification of a licensed physician that the physician has determined (i) that the applicant meets the definition of a person with a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk; and (ii) that the applicant will have the disability for at least five (5) years. If an applicant fails to renew the special license plate decal before its date of expiration, then he shall surrender the decal to the county tax collector.
(c) (i) The terms "vehicle" and "motor vehicle," as used in this section, include motorcycles.
(ii) The term "persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk" when used in this section means those persons who, as determined by a licensed physician:
1. Cannot walk two hundred (200) feet without stopping to rest; or
2. Cannot walk without the use of, or assistance from, a brace, cane, crutch, another person, prosthetic device, wheelchair, or other assistive device; or
3. Are restricted by lung disease to such an extent that the person's forced (respiratory) expiratory volume for one (1) second, when measured by spirometry, is less than one (1) liter, or the arterial oxygen tension is less than sixty (60) mm/hg on room air at rest; or
4. Use portable oxygen; or
5. Have a cardiac condition to the extent that the person's functional limitations are classified in severity as Class III or Class IV according to standards set by the American Heart Association; or
6. Are severely limited in their ability to walk due to an arthritic, neurological or orthopedic condition.
(d) An applicant for a special license plate or decal bearing the International Symbol of Access shall not be required to pay any fee or charge for the issuance of such license plate or decal separate from or in addition to the road and bridge privilege taxes, ad valorem taxes and registration fees otherwise required by law to be paid for the issuance of a regular license plate for such vehicle.
(2) The Department of Revenue shall prepare removable windshield placards and such placards shall be issued and periodically renewed upon the applications of persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk, or upon the applications of owners of motor vehicles who have a child, parent or spouse with a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk and the child, parent or spouse is living with the owner of the motor vehicle. The placards shall be issued, free of charge, to applicants through the offices of the tax collectors of the counties. The initial application shall be accompanied by the certification of a licensed physician that the applicant or the applicant's child, parent or spouse meets the definition of persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk. These placards shall be valid for the period of time that the license tag attached upon a motor vehicle is issued pursuant to Section 27-19-31(1) and may be renewed in the same manner as provided for the renewal of the special license plates or decals under subsection (1) of this section. The removable windshield placard must be displayed on the left side of the vehicle dashboard or by hanging it on the rearview mirror of the vehicle. The Department of Revenue shall prescribe the placement for motorcycles.
(3) The Department of Revenue shall provide for the issuance of a temporary removable windshield placard, upon the application of a person with a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk, or upon the application of the owner of a motor vehicle who has a child, parent or spouse with a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk and the child, parent or spouse is living with the owner of the motor vehicle. Temporary removable windshield placards authorized by this subsection shall be prepared by the Department of Revenue and shall be issued, free of charge, to applicants through the offices of the tax collectors of the counties. Application for a temporary removable windshield placard must be accompanied by the certification of a licensed physician that the applicant or the applicant's child, parent or spouse meets the definition of persons with disabilities which limit or impair the ability to walk. The certification shall also include the period of time that the physician determines the applicant or the applicant's child, parent or spouse will have the disability, not to exceed six (6) months. The temporary removable windshield placard must be displayed on the left side of the vehicle dashboard or by hanging it on the rearview mirror of the vehicle. The temporary removable windshield placard shall be valid for a period of time for which the physician has determined that the applicant will have the disability, not to exceed six (6) months from the date of issuance. The Department of Revenue shall prescribe the placement for motorcycles.
(4) The removable windshield placard and the temporary removable windshield placard shall be two-sided and shall include:
(a) The International Symbol of Access, which is at least three (3) inches in height, centered on the placard (the color of the removable windshield placard shall be white on a blue shield; and the temporary removable windshield placard shall be white on a red shield);
(b) An identification number and, on the reverse side, the name of the individual to whom the placard is issued;
(c) A date of expiration; and
(d) The seal of the State of Mississippi.
(5) (a) It shall be unlawful to park a motor vehicle in an area set aside for persons who are disabled if the motor vehicle does not (i) have displayed the removable windshield placard authorized in this section with the date of expiration visible, (ii) have the special license plate issued under this section properly displayed upon the motor vehicle, (iii) have the disabled American veteran tag or plate issued under Section 27-19-53 properly displayed upon the motor vehicle, or (iv) have the disabled Purple Heart Medal recipient tag or plate issued under Section 27-19-56.5 properly displayed upon the motor vehicle. Any person who unlawfully parks a motor vehicle in such areas, or who blocks such spaces or access thereto, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) for each such violation. For the third and subsequent offenses under this section, the offender's driver's license shall be suspended for ninety (90) days by the Commissioner of Public Safety in accordance with Section 63-1-53 in addition to any fine imposed. The court shall not suspend or reduce any fine required to be imposed under this subsection.
(b) A person who is charged with a violation of this section by parking a motor vehicle in an area set aside for persons who are disabled and failing properly to display (i) a removable windshield placard on the dash of the vehicle or by hanging it on the rearview mirror of the vehicle, (ii) a special license plate issued under this section upon the vehicle, (iii) a disabled American veteran tag or plate issued under Section 27-19-53, or (iv) have the disabled Purple Heart Medal recipient tag or plate issued under Section 27-19-56.5 properly displayed upon the motor vehicle shall not be convicted and shall have the charge dismissed upon presentation to the court of proof by means of sworn oral testimony or sworn affidavit that at the time of the charged violation such person or a passenger in the vehicle possessed a valid removable windshield placard issued under this section.
(6) Any person who, for the purpose of obtaining a special license plate or windshield placard under this section, files with the county tax collector a physician's certification, knowing the certification to be false or to have been fraudulently obtained, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00).
(7) All law enforcement
officers are authorized to enforce this section on public and private
property. Provision of spaces restricted to * * * disabled parking and proper
marking of such spaces shall be considered as intent and permission to enforce
such designated parking on private property. Any owner of private property may
tow away a vehicle that is parked on the owner's private property in violation
of the disabled parking restrictions set forth in this section at the vehicle
owner's expense. In addition, the vehicle owner may be subject to any fines or
other penalties provided in this section. Only areas marked in accordance with
the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines or equivalent
standards shall be enforced. Spaces shall bear the International Symbol of
Access.
(8) Motor vehicles displaying a special license plate, license plate decal, placard or parking certificate or permit bearing the International Symbol of Access issued to a person with a disability by any other state or district subject to the laws of the United States shall be allowed the special parking privileges under this section provided the license plate, decal, placard, permit or certificate bears the International Symbol of Access and is displayed in a prominent place on the vehicle.
(9) Parking in any area set aside for persons who are disabled is limited to vehicles which, immediately before or after the utilization of such an area, are used to transport a person with a disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk. The identification required to park in such an area, except as provided in subsection (8) of this section, is as follows:
(a) For a vehicle used to transport a person with a permanent disability, that person's permanent windshield placard must be displayed or the vehicle must have a special license tag issued under this section or Section 27-19-53 properly displayed.
(b) For a vehicle being used by a person who has a temporary disability which limits or impairs the ability to walk, or which is being used to transport such a person, a temporary windshield placard must be displayed.
Any person who parks in an area set aside for persons who are disabled in violation of this subsection shall be punished as provided for in subsection (5) of this section.
(10) Upon application by a nursing home, retirement home or other institution that transports disabled persons, the Department of Revenue may issue the special license plate authorized pursuant to this section for not more than one (1) vehicle that is registered in the applicant's name that is used to transport disabled residents of the institution. Such institution shall comply with all other laws regarding the registration of such vehicle.
SECTION 8. Section 27-19-56.134, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-19-56.134. (1) Any
owner of a motor vehicle who is a resident of this state, upon payment of the
road and bridge privilege taxes, ad valorem taxes and registration fees as
prescribed by law for private carriers of passengers, pickup trucks and other
noncommercial motor vehicles, and upon payment of an additional fee in the
amount provided in subsection (3) of this section, shall be issued a
distinctive license tag for any motor vehicle registered in his name
identifying such person as a supporter of children with medical * * * disabilities. The distinctive
license tags so issued shall be of such color and design as the * * * Department of Revenue,
with the advice of the Executive Director of the Children's Defense Fund, may
prescribe and shall consist of such letters or numbers, or both, as may be
necessary to distinguish each license tag.
(2) Application for the
distinctive license tags authorized by this section shall be made to the county
tax collector on forms prescribed by the * * * Department of Revenue.
The application and the additional fee imposed under subsection (3) of this
section, less Two Dollars ($2.00) thereof to be retained by the tax collector,
shall be remitted to the * * *State Tax Commission Department of Revenue on a monthly
basis as prescribed by the commission. The portion of the additional fee
retained by the tax collector shall be deposited into the county general fund.
(3) Beginning with any registration year commencing on or after July 1, 2006, any person applying for a distinctive license tag under this section shall pay an additional fee in the amount of Thirty Dollars ($30.00) for each distinctive license tag applied for under this section, which shall be in addition to all other taxes and fees. The additional fee paid shall be for a period of time to run concurrently with the vehicle's established license tag year. The additional fee is due and payable at the time the original application is made for a distinctive license tag under this section and thereafter annually at the time of renewal registration as long as the owner retains the distinctive license tag. If the owner does not wish to retain the distinctive license tag, he must surrender it to the local county tax collector.
(4) The * * * Department of Revenue
shall deposit all fees into the State Treasury on the day collected. At the
end of each month, the * * * Department
of Revenue shall certify to the State Treasurer the total fees collected
under this section from the issuance of the distinctive license tags issued
under this section. The State Treasurer shall distribute such collections as
follows:
(a) Twenty-four Dollars ($24.00) of each additional fee collected on distinctive license tags issued pursuant to this section shall be distributed to the Children's Defense Fund.
(b) One Dollar ($1.00) of each additional fee collected on distinctive license tags issued pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Mississippi Burn Care Fund created pursuant to Section 7-9-70.
(c) Two Dollars ($2.00) of each additional fee collected on distinctive license tags issued pursuant to this section shall be deposited to the credit of the State Highway Fund to be expended solely for the repair, maintenance, construction or reconstruction of highways.
(d) One Dollar ($1.00) of each additional fee collected on distinctive license tags issued pursuant to this section shall be deposited to the credit of the special fund created in Section 27-19-44.2.
(5) A regular license tag must be properly displayed as required by law until replaced by a distinctive license tag under this section. The regular license tag must be surrendered to the tax collector upon issuance of the distinctive license tag under this section. The tax collector shall issue up to two (2) license decals for each distinctive license tag issued under this section, which will expire the same month and year as the regular license tag.
(6) In the case of loss or theft of a distinctive license tag issued under this section, the owner may make application and affidavit for a replacement distinctive license tag as provided by Section 27-19-37. The fee for a replacement distinctive license tag shall be Ten Dollars ($10.00). The tax collector receiving such application and affidavit shall be entitled to retain and deposit into the county general fund five percent (5%) of the fee for such replacement license tag and the remainder shall be distributed in the same manner as funds from the sale of regular distinctive license tags issued under this section.
SECTION 9. Section 29-5-65, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
29-5-65. At any time when
the Legislature is in session, the * * * Department of
Finance and Administration shall designate and reserve sufficient parking
spaces around the New Capitol Building to accommodate the members of the
Legislature, and, when such spaces have been so designated and reserved, they
shall be identified and marked by means of numbers, one (1) of which shall be
assigned to each member of the Legislature, and that space for which he or she
holds that number shall be reserved for the exclusive use of the * * * legislator. The * * * department is
authorized and directed to reserve and allocate, among those spaces, an
individual parking space for use of any member of the Legislature who * * * has a physical
disability, so as to make his or her entrance to and exit from the New
Capitol Building as convenient as is reasonably possible.
SECTION 10. Section 37-13-91, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-13-91. (1) This section shall be referred to as the "Mississippi Compulsory School Attendance Law."
(2) The following terms as used in this section are defined as follows:
(a) "Parent" means the father or mother to whom a child has been born, or the father or mother by whom a child has been legally adopted.
(b) "Guardian" means a guardian of the person of a child, other than a parent, who is legally appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(c) "Custodian" means any person having the present care or custody of a child, other than a parent or guardian of the child.
(d) "School day" means not less than five and one-half (5-1/2) and not more than eight (8) hours of actual teaching in which both teachers and pupils are in regular attendance for scheduled schoolwork.
(e) "School" means any public school, including a charter school, in this state or any nonpublic school in this state which is in session each school year for at least one hundred eighty (180) school days, except that the "nonpublic" school term shall be the number of days that each school shall require for promotion from grade to grade.
(f) "Compulsory-school-age child" means a child who has attained or will attain the age of six (6) years on or before September 1 of the calendar year and who has not attained the age of seventeen (17) years on or before September 1 of the calendar year; and shall include any child who has attained or will attain the age of five (5) years on or before September 1 and has enrolled in a full-day public school kindergarten program.
(g) "School attendance officer" means a person employed by the State Department of Education pursuant to Section 37-13-89.
(h) "Appropriate school official" means the superintendent of the school district, or his designee, or, in the case of a nonpublic school, the principal or the headmaster.
(i) "Nonpublic school" means an institution for the teaching of children, consisting of a physical plant, whether owned or leased, including a home, instructional staff members and students, and which is in session each school year. This definition shall include, but not be limited to, private, church, parochial and home instruction programs.
(3) A parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child in this state shall cause the child to enroll in and attend a public school or legitimate nonpublic school for the period of time that the child is of compulsory school age, except under the following circumstances:
(a) When a compulsory-school-age child is physically, mentally or emotionally incapable of attending school as determined by the appropriate school official based upon sufficient medical documentation.
(b) When a compulsory-school-age
child is enrolled in and pursuing a course of special education, remedial
education or education for * * * children who are
physically or mentally disadvantaged * * * or disabled.
(c) When a compulsory-school-age child is being educated in a legitimate home instruction program.
The parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child described in this subsection, or the parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child attending any charter school or nonpublic school, or the appropriate school official for any or all children attending a charter school or nonpublic school shall complete a "certificate of enrollment" in order to facilitate the administration of this section.
The form of the certificate of enrollment shall be prepared by the Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement of the State Department of Education and shall be designed to obtain the following information only:
(i) The name, address, telephone number and date of birth of the compulsory-school-age child;
(ii) The name, address and telephone number of the parent, guardian or custodian of the compulsory-school-age child;
(iii) A simple description of the type of education the compulsory-school-age child is receiving and, if the child is enrolled in a nonpublic school, the name and address of the school; and
(iv) The signature of the parent, guardian or custodian of the compulsory-school-age child or, for any or all compulsory-school-age child or children attending a charter school or nonpublic school, the signature of the appropriate school official and the date signed.
The certificate of enrollment shall be returned to the school attendance officer where the child resides on or before September 15 of each year. Any parent, guardian or custodian found by the school attendance officer to be in noncompliance with this section shall comply, after written notice of the noncompliance by the school attendance officer, with this subsection within ten (10) days after the notice or be in violation of this section. However, in the event the child has been enrolled in a public school within fifteen (15) calendar days after the first day of the school year as required in subsection (6), the parent or custodian may, at a later date, enroll the child in a legitimate nonpublic school or legitimate home instruction program and send the certificate of enrollment to the school attendance officer and be in compliance with this subsection.
For the purposes of this subsection, a legitimate nonpublic school or legitimate home instruction program shall be those not operated or instituted for the purpose of avoiding or circumventing the compulsory attendance law.
(4) An "unlawful absence" is an absence for an entire school day or during part of a school day by a compulsory-school-age child, which absence is not due to a valid excuse for temporary nonattendance. For purposes of reporting absenteeism under subsection (6) of this section, if a compulsory-school-age child has an absence that is more than thirty-seven percent (37%) of the instructional day, as fixed by the school board for the school at which the compulsory-school-age child is enrolled, the child must be considered absent the entire school day. Days missed from school due to disciplinary suspension shall not be considered an "excused" absence under this section. This subsection shall not apply to children enrolled in a nonpublic school.
Each of the following shall constitute a valid excuse for temporary nonattendance of a compulsory-school-age child enrolled in a noncharter public school, provided satisfactory evidence of the excuse is provided to the superintendent of the school district, or his designee:
(a) An absence is excused when the absence results from the compulsory-school-age child's attendance at an authorized school activity with the prior approval of the superintendent of the school district, or his designee. These activities may include field trips, athletic contests, student conventions, musical festivals and any similar activity.
(b) An absence is excused when the absence results from illness or injury which prevents the compulsory-school-age child from being physically able to attend school.
(c) An absence is excused when isolation of a compulsory-school-age child is ordered by the county health officer, by the State Board of Health or appropriate school official.
(d) An absence is excused when it results from the death or serious illness of a member of the immediate family of a compulsory-school-age child. The immediate family members of a compulsory-school-age child shall include children, spouse, grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters, including stepbrothers and stepsisters.
(e) An absence is excused when it results from a medical or dental appointment of a compulsory-school-age child.
(f) An absence is excused when it results from the attendance of a compulsory-school-age child at the proceedings of a court or an administrative tribunal if the child is a party to the action or under subpoena as a witness.
(g) An absence may be excused if the religion to which the compulsory-school-age child or the child's parents adheres, requires or suggests the observance of a religious event. The approval of the absence is within the discretion of the superintendent of the school district, or his designee, but approval should be granted unless the religion's observance is of such duration as to interfere with the education of the child.
(h) An absence may be excused when it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the superintendent of the school district, or his designee, that the purpose of the absence is to take advantage of a valid educational opportunity such as travel, including vacations or other family travel. Approval of the absence must be gained from the superintendent of the school district, or his designee, before the absence, but the approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(i) An absence may be excused when it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the superintendent of the school district, or his designee, that conditions are sufficient to warrant the compulsory-school-age child's nonattendance. However, no absences shall be excused by the school district superintendent, or his designee, when any student suspensions or expulsions circumvent the intent and spirit of the compulsory attendance law.
(j) An absence is excused when it results from the attendance of a compulsory-school-age child participating in official organized events sponsored by the 4-H or Future Farmers of America (FFA). The excuse for the 4-H or FFA event must be provided in writing to the appropriate school superintendent by the Extension Agent or High School Agricultural Instructor/FFA Advisor.
(k) An absence is excused when it results from the compulsory-school-age child officially being employed to serve as a page at the State Capitol for the Mississippi House of Representatives or Senate.
(5) Any parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child subject to this section who refuses or willfully fails to perform any of the duties imposed upon him or her under this section or who intentionally falsifies any information required to be contained in a certificate of enrollment, shall be guilty of contributing to the neglect of a child and, upon conviction, shall be punished in accordance with Section 97-5-39.
Upon prosecution of a parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child for violation of this section, the presentation of evidence by the prosecutor that shows that the child has not been enrolled in school within eighteen (18) calendar days after the first day of the school year of the public school which the child is eligible to attend, or that the child has accumulated twelve (12) unlawful absences during the school year at the public school in which the child has been enrolled, shall establish a prima facie case that the child's parent, guardian or custodian is responsible for the absences and has refused or willfully failed to perform the duties imposed upon him or her under this section. However, no proceedings under this section shall be brought against a parent, guardian or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child unless the school attendance officer has contacted promptly the home of the child and has provided written notice to the parent, guardian or custodian of the requirement for the child's enrollment or attendance.
(6) If a compulsory-school-age child has not been enrolled in a school within fifteen (15) calendar days after the first day of the school year of the school which the child is eligible to attend or the child has accumulated five (5) unlawful absences during the school year of the public school in which the child is enrolled, the school district superintendent, or his designee, shall report, within two (2) school days or within five (5) calendar days, whichever is less, the absences to the school attendance officer. The State Department of Education shall prescribe a uniform method for schools to utilize in reporting the unlawful absences to the school attendance officer. The superintendent, or his designee, also shall report any student suspensions or student expulsions to the school attendance officer when they occur.
(7) When a school attendance officer has made all attempts to secure enrollment and/or attendance of a compulsory-school-age child and is unable to effect the enrollment and/or attendance, the attendance officer shall file a petition with the youth court under Section 43-21-451 or shall file a petition in a court of competent jurisdiction as it pertains to parent or child. Sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and municipal law enforcement officers shall be fully authorized to investigate all cases of nonattendance and unlawful absences by compulsory-school-age children, and shall be authorized to file a petition with the youth court under Section 43-21-451 or file a petition or information in the court of competent jurisdiction as it pertains to parent or child for violation of this section. The youth court shall expedite a hearing to make an appropriate adjudication and a disposition to ensure compliance with the Compulsory School Attendance Law, and may order the child to enroll or re-enroll in school. The superintendent of the school district to which the child is ordered may assign, in his discretion, the child to the alternative school program of the school established pursuant to Section 37-13-92.
(8) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules and regulations for the purpose of reprimanding any school superintendents who fail to timely report unexcused absences under the provisions of this section.
(9) Notwithstanding any provision or implication herein to the contrary, it is not the intention of this section to impair the primary right and the obligation of the parent or parents, or person or persons in loco parentis to a child, to choose the proper education and training for such child, and nothing in this section shall ever be construed to grant, by implication or otherwise, to the State of Mississippi, any of its officers, agencies or subdivisions any right or authority to control, manage, supervise or make any suggestion as to the control, management or supervision of any private or parochial school or institution for the education or training of children, of any kind whatsoever that is not a public school according to the laws of this state; and this section shall never be construed so as to grant, by implication or otherwise, any right or authority to any state agency or other entity to control, manage, supervise, provide for or affect the operation, management, program, curriculum, admissions policy or discipline of any such school or home instruction program.
SECTION 11. Section 37-16-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-16-9. (1) The state
board shall, after a public hearing and consideration, make provision for
appropriate accommodations for testing instruments and procedures for students
with identified * * * disabilities in order to ensure that the results of the testing
represent the student's achievement, rather than reflecting the student's
impaired sensory, manual, speaking or psychological process skills, except when
such skills are the factors the test purports to measure.
(2) The public hearing and consideration required hereunder shall not be construed to amend or nullify the requirements of security relating to the contents of examinations or assessment instruments and related materials or data.
(3) Children with disabilities shall be included in general statewide and district-wide assessments programs, with appropriate accommodations, where necessary. As appropriate, the State
Department of Education and the local educational agency shall:
(a) Develop policies and procedures for the participation of children with disabilities in alternate assessments for those children who cannot participate in statewide and district-wide assessment programs; and
(b) Develop and, beginning not later than July 1, 2000, conduct those alternate assessments.
(4) The State Department of Education shall make available to the public, and report to the public with the same frequency and in the same detail as it reports on the assessment of nondisabled children, the following:
(a) The number of children with disabilities participating in regular assessments;
(b) The number of children participating in alternate assessments;
(c) The performance of those children on regular assessments, beginning not later than July 1, 1998, and on alternate assessments, not later than July 1, 2000, if doing so would be statistically sound and would not result in the disclosure of performance results identifiable to individual children; and
(d) Data relating to the performance of children with disabilities shall be disaggregated for assessments conducted after July 1, 1998.
SECTION 12. Section 37-16-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-16-11. (1) A student
who has been properly classified, in accordance with rules established by the
state board as "educable person with an intellectual disability,"
"trainable person with an intellectual disability," "deaf,"
"specific learning disabled," "physically * * * disabled whose ability to
communicate orally or in writing is seriously impaired" or
"emotionally * * *
disabled" shall not be required to meet all requirements of Section
37-16-7, and shall, upon meeting all applicable requirements prescribed by the
district school board, be awarded a special diploma in a form prescribed by the
state board; however, such special graduation requirements prescribed by the
district school board shall include minimum graduation requirements as
prescribed by the state board. Any such student who meets all special
requirements of the district school board for his exceptionality, but is unable
to meet the appropriate special state minimum requirements, shall be awarded a
special certificate of completion in a form prescribed by the state board.
Nothing provided in this section, however, shall be construed to limit or
restrict the right of an exceptional student solely to a special diploma. Any
such student shall, upon proper request, be afforded the opportunity to fully
meet all requirements of Section 37-16-7 through the standard procedures
established therein and thereby qualify for a standard diploma upon graduation.
(2) The State Board of Education shall develop and issue criteria for a Mississippi Occupational Diploma for students having a disability as defined by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Beginning with the 2002-2003 school year, any such student, upon proper request, shall be afforded the opportunity to fully meet such requirements and qualify for an occupational diploma upon graduation.
SECTION 13. Section 37-23-63, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-23-63. Every child who
is a resident citizen of the State of Mississippi under twenty-one (21) years
of age, who cannot pursue all regular class work due to reasons of defective
hearing, vision, speech, intellectual disability or other mental or physical
conditions as determined by competent medical authorities and psychologists,
who has not finished or graduated from high school, and who is in attendance in
a private school, parochial school or speech, hearing and/or language clinic
that is accredited by a state or regional accrediting agency or
approved/licensed by the State Department of Education, shall be eligible and
entitled to receive state financial assistance in the amount set forth in
Section 37-23-69. Exceptional children as defined in Section 37-23-3(1) and
who are certified by the designated state authority as requiring inpatient care
in a private intermediate care facility for * * * individuals with
intellectual disabilities or psychiatric residential treatment facility,
with Medicaid reimbursement, shall be eligible and entitled to receive state
and federal financial assistance under the provisions of Section 37-23-69, as
allowable and available, if an approved private school is operated as an
integral part of the facility that provides twenty-four (24) hours a day
monitoring, treatment and education.
SECTION 14. Section 37-31-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-31-31. The intention of
Sections 37-31-31 through 37-31-41 is to enable the State of Mississippi, by
and through the State Board of Education to secure the benefits of the federal
Social Security Act pertaining to services for * * * children with physical disabilities,
and * * * those
sections shall be liberally construed in order to effectuate such intention.
SECTION 15. Section 37-31-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-31-33. For the purpose
of enabling the State Board of Education to comply with the provisions of the
federal Social Security Act and to continue to extend and improve as far as
practicable the services now maintained by * * * the state board for locating * * * children with physical disabilities
and for providing medical, surgical, corrective, and other services, care and
treatment, and facilities for diagnosis, hospitalization, and after-care for
children * * * with physical disabilities or who are suffering from
conditions * * *
that lead to * * *
physical disabilities, any and all funds appropriated for physical restoration
of * * *
children with physical disabilities for the above purposes may be used
for the purposes set forth in this section.
SECTION 16. Section 37-31-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-31-35. Sections 37-31-31
through 37-31-41, together with funds made available through that section of
those sections of the federal Social Security Act * * * that relates to * * * children with physical disabilities,
together with any and all available state and federal appropriations, shall be
administered by the State Board of Education, and shall be used in the further
development of the state's program of physical restoration of * * * children with physical disabilities.
The State Board of Education is * * * authorized to accept donations, gifts
and bequests and to expend same on approval of the executive officer of the
board, for purposes approved under regulations of the State Board of Education.
SECTION 17. Section 37-31-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-31-39. The State Board
of Education shall cooperate with medical, health, nursing and * * * human services groups and
organizations and with any other agencies in the state charged with
administering state laws providing for vocational rehabilitation of * * * children with
physical disabilities. * * * The state board * * *
shall cooperate with the federal government in such manner as to obtain
the benefits of the provisions of the federal Social Security Act pertaining to * * * children with physical disabilities.
SECTION 18. Section 37-41-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-41-3. Pupils of legal
school age, which shall include kindergarten pupils, and in actual attendance
in the public schools who live a distance of one (1) mile or more by the
nearest traveled road from the school to which they are assigned by the school
district in which they are enrolled shall be entitled to transportation within
the meaning of this chapter. Nothing contained in this section shall be
construed to bar any child from such transportation where he or she lives less
than one (1) mile and is on the regular route of travel of a school bus and
space is available in such bus for such transportation. No state funds shall
be paid for the transportation of children living within one (1) mile of the
school, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, and such children shall
not be included in transportation reports. In the development of route plans,
economy shall be a prime consideration. There shall be no duplication of
routes except in circumstances where it is totally unavoidable. The State
Department of Education shall have authority to investigate school bus routing
when there is reason to believe the provisions of this statute are being
violated. The State Board of Education shall have authority to withhold
transportation funds when school districts fail to correct unnecessary route
duplication. Provided further, that all school districts are * * * authorized to lease or contract with any
public or private individual, partnership, corporation, association, agency or
other organization for the implementation of transportation of pupils as
provided for in this section.
The school boards may
provide transportation to such * * * children with
physical disabilities as may be designated by such boards, when the failure
to do so would result in undue hardship, even though the children are not
otherwise entitled to transportation under the provisions of this chapter. The
State Department of Education shall require all school districts during the
1993-1994 school year to equip school buses with properly designed seat belts
to protect such * * * children with physical disabilities, and school
districts are authorized to expend funds therefor from nonminimum program or
other sources.
Where space is available, students attending junior colleges shall be allowed transportation on established routes in district-owned buses. However, no additional funds shall be allocated or expended for such purposes, and such persons shall not be included in transportation reports.
Children enrolled in special or alternative programs approved by school boards may be provided transportation even though such children are not otherwise entitled to transportation under the provisions of this chapter. No additional funds shall be allocated or expended for such purpose, and such children shall not be included in transportation reports.
SECTION 19. Section 37-151-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-151-5. As used in Sections 37-151-5 and 37-151-7:
(a) "Adequate program" or "adequate education program" or "Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP)" shall mean the program to establish adequate current operation funding levels necessary for the programs of such school district to meet at least a successful Level III rating of the accreditation system as established by the State Board of Education using current statistically relevant state assessment data.
(b) "Educational programs or elements of programs not included in the adequate education program calculations, but which may be included in appropriations and transfers to school districts" shall mean:
(i) "Capital outlay" shall mean those funds used for the constructing, improving, equipping, renovating or major repairing of school buildings or other school facilities, or the cost of acquisition of land whereon to construct or establish such school facilities.
(ii) "Pilot programs" shall mean programs of a pilot or experimental nature usually designed for special purposes and for a specified period of time other than those included in the adequate education program.
(iii) "Adult education" shall mean public education dealing primarily with students above eighteen (18) years of age not enrolled as full-time public school students and not classified as students of technical schools, colleges or universities of the state.
(iv) "Food service programs" shall mean those programs dealing directly with the nutritional welfare of the student, such as the school lunch and school breakfast programs.
(c) "Base student" shall mean that student classification that represents the most economically educated pupil in a school system meeting the definition of successful, as determined by the State Board of Education.
(d) "Base student cost" shall mean the funding level necessary for providing an adequate education program for one (1) base student, subject to any minimum amounts prescribed in Section 37-151-7(1).
(e) "Add-on program costs" shall mean those items which are included in the adequate education program appropriations and are outside of the program calculations:
(i) "Transportation" shall mean transportation to and from public schools for the students of Mississippi's public schools provided for under law and funded from state funds.
(ii) "Vocational or technical education program" shall mean a secondary vocational or technical program approved by the State Department of Education and provided for from state funds.
(iii) "Special education program" shall mean a program for exceptional children as defined and authorized by Sections 37-23-1 through 37-23-9, and approved by the State Department of Education and provided from state funds.
(iv) "Gifted education program" shall mean those programs for the instruction of intellectually or academically gifted children as defined and provided for in Section 37-23-175 et seq.
(v) "Alternative school program" shall mean those programs for certain compulsory-school-age students as defined and provided for in Sections 37-13-92 and 37-19-22.
(vi) "Extended school year programs" shall mean those programs authorized by law which extend beyond the normal school year.
(vii)
"University-based programs" shall mean those university-based
programs for * * *
exceptional children as defined and provided for in Section 37-23- * * *31 et seq.
(viii) "Bus driver training" programs shall mean those driver training programs as provided for in Section 37-41-1.
(f) "Teacher" shall include any employee of a local school who is required by law to obtain a teacher's license from the State Board of Education and who is assigned to an instructional area of work as defined by the State Department of Education.
(g) "Principal" shall mean the head of an attendance center or division thereof.
(h) "Superintendent" shall mean the head of a school district.
(i) "School district" shall mean any type of school district in the State of Mississippi, and shall include agricultural high schools.
(j) "Minimum school term" shall mean a term of at least one hundred eighty (180) days of school in which both teachers and pupils are in regular attendance for scheduled classroom instruction for not less than sixty-three percent (63%) of the instructional day, as fixed by the local school board for each school in the school district. It is the intent of the Legislature that any tax levies generated to produce additional local funds required by any school district to operate school terms in excess of one hundred seventy-five (175) days shall not be construed to constitute a new program for the purposes of exemption from the limitation on tax revenues as allowed under Sections 27-39-321 and 37-57-107 for new programs mandated by the Legislature.
(k) The term "transportation density" shall mean the number of transported children in average daily attendance per square mile of area served in a school district, as determined by the State Department of Education.
(l) The term "transported children" shall mean children being transported to school who live within legal limits for transportation and who are otherwise qualified for being transported to school at public expense as fixed by Mississippi state law.
(m) The term
"year of teaching experience" shall mean nine (9) months of actual
teaching in the public or private schools. In no case shall more than one (1)
year of teaching experience be given for all services in one (1) calendar or
school year. In determining a teacher's experience, no deduction shall be made
because of the temporary absence of the teacher because of illness or other
good cause, and the teacher shall be given credit therefor. Beginning with the
2003-2004 school year, the State Board of Education shall fix a number of days,
not to exceed forty-five (45) consecutive school days, during which a teacher
may not be under contract of employment during any school year and still be
considered to have been in full-time employment for a regular scholastic term.
If a teacher exceeds the number of days established by the State Board of
Education that a teacher may not be under contract but may still be employed,
that teacher shall not be credited with a year of teaching experience. In
determining the experience of school librarians, each complete year of
continuous, full-time employment as a professional librarian in a public
library in this or some other state shall be considered a year of teaching
experience. If a full-time school administrator returns to actual teaching in
the public schools, the term "year of teaching experience" shall
include the period of time he or she served as a school administrator. In
determining the salaries of teachers who have experience in any branch of the
military, the term "year of teaching experience" shall include each
complete year of actual classroom instruction while serving in the military.
In determining the experience of speech-language pathologists and audiologists,
each complete year of continuous full-time post master's degree employment in
an educational setting in this or some other state shall be considered a year
of teaching experience. * * *Provided, However, * * * school districts are authorized, in their
discretion, to negotiate the salary levels applicable to certificated employees
employed after July 1, 2009, who are receiving retirement benefits from the
retirement system of another state, and the annual experience increment
provided in Section 37-19-7 shall not be applicable to any such retired
certificated employee.
(n) (i) The term "average daily attendance" shall be the figure which results when the total aggregate full-day attendance during the period or months counted is divided by the number of days during the period or months counted upon which both teachers and pupils are in regular attendance for scheduled classroom instruction, unless a pupil's absence is excused due to participation in an activity authorized by the State Board of Education under subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, less the average daily attendance for self-contained special education classes. For purposes of determining and reporting attendance, a pupil must be present for at least sixty-three percent (63%) of the instructional day, as fixed by the local school board for each school in the school district, in order to be considered in full-day attendance. Prior to full implementation of the adequate education program the department shall deduct the average daily attendance for the alternative school program provided for in Section 37-19-22.
(ii) The State Board of Education shall define those activities necessitating a pupil's absence that, for purposes of determining and reporting attendance for average daily attendance purposes, must be considered an excused absence. Such activities include, but are not limited to: official organized events sponsored by the 4-H or Future Farmers of America (FFA); official organized junior livestock shows and rodeo events; official employment as a page at the State Capitol for the Mississippi House of Representatives or Senate; subject-matter field trips; athletic contests; student conventions; music festivals or contests; and any similar school-related activity designated by the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education shall prescribe the means by which a pupil's absence due to participation in an activity authorized by the board pursuant to this subparagraph must be verified. This subparagraph (ii) shall stand repealed on July 1, 2016.
(o) The term "local supplement" shall mean the amount paid to an individual teacher over and above the adequate education program salary schedule for regular teaching duties.
(p) The term "aggregate amount of support from ad valorem taxation" shall mean the amounts produced by the district's total tax levies for operations.
(q) The term "adequate education program funds" shall mean all funds, both state and local, constituting the requirements for meeting the cost of the adequate program as provided for in Section 37-151-7.
(r) "Department" shall mean the State Department of Education.
(s) "Commission" shall mean the Mississippi Commission on School Accreditation created under Section 37-17-3.
(t) The term "successful school district" shall mean a Level III school district as designated by the State Board of Education using current statistically relevant state assessment data.
(u) "Dual enrollment-dual credit programs" shall mean programs for potential or recent high school student dropouts to dually enroll in their home high school and a local community college in a dual credit program consisting of high school completion coursework and a credential, certificate or degree program at the community college, as provided in Section 37-15-38(19).
(v) "Charter school" means a public school that is established and operating under the terms of a charter contract between the school's governing board and the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board.
SECTION 20. Section 37-151-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-151-7. The annual allocation to each school district for the operation of the adequate education program shall be determined as follows:
(1) Computation of the basic amount to be included for current operation in the adequate education program. The following procedure shall be followed in determining the annual allocation to each school district:
(a) Determination of average daily attendance. Effective with fiscal year 2011, the State Department of Education shall determine the percentage change from the prior year of each year of each school district's average of months two (2) and three (3) average daily attendance (ADA) for the three (3) immediately preceding school years of the year for which funds are being appropriated. For any school district that experiences a positive growth in the average of months two (2) and three (3) ADA each year of the three (3) years, the average percentage growth over the three-year period shall be multiplied times the school district's average of months two (2) and three (3) ADA for the year immediately preceding the year for which MAEP funds are being appropriated. The resulting amount shall be added to the school district's average of months two (2) and three (3) ADA for the year immediately preceding the year for which MAEP funds are being appropriated to arrive at the ADA to be used in determining a school district's MAEP allocation. Otherwise, months two (2) and three (3) ADA for the year immediately preceding the year for which MAEP funds are being appropriated will be used in determining a school district's MAEP allocation. In any fiscal year prior to 2010 in which the MAEP formula is not fully funded, for those districts that do not demonstrate a three-year positive growth in months two (2) and three (3) ADA, months one (1) through nine (9) ADA of the second preceding year for which funds are being appropriated or months two (2) and three (3) ADA of the preceding year for which funds are being appropriated, whichever is greater, shall be used to calculate the district's MAEP allocation. The district's average daily attendance shall be computed and currently maintained in accordance with regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education. The district's average daily attendance shall include any student enrolled in a Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Program as defined and provided in Section 37-15-38(19). The State Department of Education shall make payments for Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Programs to the home school in which the student is enrolled, in accordance with regulations promulgated by the State Board of Education. The community college providing services to students in a Dual Enrollment-Dual Credit Program shall require payment from the home school district for services provided to such students at a rate of one hundred percent (100%) of ADA. All MAEP/state funding shall cease upon completion of high school graduation requirements.
(b) Determination of base student cost. Effective with fiscal year 2011 and every fourth fiscal year thereafter, the State Board of Education, on or before August 1, with adjusted estimate no later than January 2, shall submit to the Legislative Budget Office and the Governor a proposed base student cost adequate to provide the following cost components of educating a pupil in a successful school district: (i) instructional cost; (ii) administrative cost; (iii) operation and maintenance of plant; and (iv) ancillary support cost. For purposes of these calculations, the Department of Education shall utilize financial data from the second preceding year of the year for which funds are being appropriated.
For the instructional cost component, the Department of Education shall select districts that have been identified as instructionally successful and have a ratio of a number of teachers per one thousand (1,000) students that is between one (1) standard deviation above the mean and two (2) standard deviations below the mean of the statewide average of teachers per one thousand (1,000) students. The instructional cost component shall be calculated by dividing the latest available months one (1) through nine (9) ADA into the instructional expenditures of these selected districts. For the purpose of this calculation, the Department of Education shall use the following funds, functions and objects:
Fund 1120 Functions 1110-1199 Objects 100-999, Functions
1210, 1220, 2150-2159 Objects 210 and 215;
Fund 1130 All Functions, Object Code 210 and 215;
Fund 2001 Functions 1110-1199 Objects 100-999;
Fund 2070 Functions 1110-1199 Objects 100-999;
Fund 2420 Functions 1110-1199 Objects 100-999;
Fund 2711 All Functions, Object Code 210 and 215.
Prior to the calculation of the instructional cost component, there shall be subtracted from the above expenditures any revenue received for Chickasaw Cession payments, Master Teacher Certification payments and the district's portion of state revenue received from the MAEP at-risk allocation.
For the administrative cost component, the Department of Education shall select districts that have been identified as instructionally successful and have a ratio of an administrative staff to nonadministrative staff between one (1) standard deviation above the mean and two (2) standard deviations below the mean of the statewide average administrative staff to nonadministrative staff. The administrative cost component shall be calculated by dividing the latest available months one (1) through nine (9) ADA of the selected districts into the administrative expenditures of these selected districts. For the purpose of this calculation, the Department of Education shall use the following funds, functions and objects:
Fund 1120 Functions 2300-2599, Functions 2800-2899,
Objects 100-999;
Fund 2711 Functions 2300-2599, Functions 2800-2899,
Objects 100-999.
For the plant and maintenance cost component, the Department of Education shall select districts that have been identified as instructionally successful and have a ratio of plant and maintenance expenditures per one hundred thousand (100,000) square feet of building space and a ratio of maintenance workers per one hundred thousand (100,000) square feet of building space that are both between one (1) standard deviation above the mean and two (2) standard deviations below the mean of the statewide average. The plant and maintenance cost component shall be calculated by dividing the latest available months one (1) through nine (9) ADA of the selected districts into the plant and maintenance expenditures of these selected districts. For the purpose of this calculation, the Department of Education shall use the following funds, functions and objects:
Fund 1120 Functions 2600-2699, Objects 100-699
and Objects 800-999;
Fund 2711 Functions 2600-2699, Objects 100-699
and Objects 800-999;
Fund 2430 Functions 2600-2699, Objects 100-699
and Objects 800-999.
For the ancillary support cost component, the Department of Education shall select districts that have been identified as instructionally successful and have a ratio of a number of librarians, media specialists, guidance counselors and psychologists per one thousand (1,000) students that is between one (1) standard deviation above the mean and two (2) standard deviations below the mean of the statewide average of librarians, media specialists, guidance counselors and psychologists per one thousand (1,000) students. The ancillary cost component shall be calculated by dividing the latest available months one (1) through nine (9) ADA into the ancillary expenditures instructional expenditures of these selected districts. For the purpose of this calculation, the Department of Education shall use the following funds, functions and objects:
Fund 1120 Functions 2110-2129, Objects 100-999;
Fund 1120 Functions 2140-2149, Objects 100-999;
Fund 1120 Functions 2220-2229, Objects 100-999;
Fund 2001 Functions 2100-2129, Objects 100-999;
Fund 2001 Functions 2140-2149, Objects 100-999;
Fund 2001 Functions 2220-2229, Objects 100-999.
The total base cost for each
year shall be the sum of the instructional cost component, administrative cost
component, plant and maintenance cost component and ancillary support cost
component, and any estimated adjustments for additional state requirements as
determined by the State Board of Education. * * * However, * * * the base student cost in fiscal year 1998
shall be Two Thousand Six Hundred Sixty-four Dollars ($2,664.00).
For each of the fiscal years between the recalculation of the base student cost under the provisions of this paragraph (b), the base student cost shall be increased by an amount equal to forty percent (40%) of the base student cost for the previous fiscal year, multiplied by the latest annual rate of inflation for the State of Mississippi as determined by the State Economist, plus any adjustments for additional state requirements such as, but not limited to, teacher pay raises and health insurance premium increases.
(c) Determination of the basic adequate education program cost. The basic amount for current operation to be included in the Mississippi Adequate Education Program for each school district shall be computed as follows:
Multiply the average daily attendance of the district by the base student cost as established by the Legislature, which yields the total base program cost for each school district.
(d) Adjustment to the base student cost for at-risk pupils. The amount to be included for at-risk pupil programs for each school district shall be computed as follows: Multiply the base student cost for the appropriate fiscal year as determined under paragraph (b) by five percent (5%), and multiply that product by the number of pupils participating in the federal free school lunch program in such school district, which yields the total adjustment for at-risk pupil programs for such school district.
(e) Add-on program cost. The amount to be allocated to school districts in addition to the adequate education program cost for add-on programs for each school district shall be computed as follows:
(i) Transportation cost shall be the amount allocated to such school district for the operational support of the district transportation system from state funds.
(ii) Vocational or technical education program cost shall be the amount allocated to such school district from state funds for the operational support of such programs.
(iii) Special education program cost shall be the amount allocated to such school district from state funds for the operational support of such programs.
(iv) Gifted education program cost shall be the amount allocated to such school district from state funds for the operational support of such programs.
(v) Alternative school program cost shall be the amount allocated to such school district from state funds for the operational support of such programs.
(vi) Extended school year programs shall be the amount allocated to school districts for those programs authorized by law which extend beyond the normal school year.
(vii) University-based
programs shall be the amount allocated to school districts for those university-based
programs for * * *
exceptional children as defined and provided for in Section 37-23- * * *31 et seq. * * *
(viii) Bus driver
training programs shall be the amount provided for those driver training
programs as provided for in Section 37-41-1 * * *.
The sum of the items listed above (i) transportation, (ii) vocational or technical education, (iii) special education, (iv) gifted education, (v) alternative school, (vi) extended school year, (vii) university-based, and (viii) bus driver training shall yield the add-on cost for each school district.
(f) Total projected adequate education program cost. The total Mississippi Adequate Education Program cost shall be the sum of the total basic adequate education program cost (paragraph (c)), and the adjustment to the base student cost for at-risk pupils (paragraph (d)) for each school district. In any year in which the MAEP is not fully funded, the Legislature shall direct the Department of Education in the K-12 appropriation bill as to how to allocate MAEP funds to school districts for that year.
(g) The State Auditor shall annually verify the State Board of Education's estimated calculations for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program that are submitted each year to the Legislative Budget Office on August 1 and the final calculation that is submitted on January 2.
(2) Computation of the required local revenue in support of the adequate education program. The amount that each district shall provide toward the cost of the adequate education program shall be calculated as follows:
(a) The State Department of Education shall certify to each school district that twenty-eight (28) mills, less the estimated amount of the yield of the School Ad Valorem Tax Reduction Fund grants as determined by the State Department of Education, is the millage rate required to provide the district required local effort for that year, or twenty-seven percent (27%) of the basic adequate education program cost for such school district as determined under paragraph (c), whichever is a lesser amount. In the case of an agricultural high school, the millage requirement shall be set at a level which generates an equitable amount per pupil to be determined by the State Board of Education. The local contribution amount for school districts in which there is located one or more charter schools will be calculated using the following methodology: using the adequate education program twenty-eight (28) mill value, or the twenty-seven percent (27%) cap amount (whichever is less) for each school district in which a charter school is located, an average per pupil amount will be calculated. This average per pupil amount will be multiplied times the number of students attending the charter school in that school district. The sum becomes the charter school's local contribution to the adequate education program.
(b) The State
Department of Education shall determine the following from the annual
assessment information submitted to the department by the tax assessors of the
various counties: (i) the total assessed valuation of nonexempt property for
school purposes in each school district; (ii) assessed value of exempt property
owned by homeowners aged sixty-five (65) or older or disabled as defined in
Section 27-33-67(2) * * *; (iii) the school district's tax loss from
exemptions provided to applicants under the age of sixty-five (65) and not
disabled as defined in Section 27-33-67(1) * * *; and (iv) the school
district's homestead reimbursement revenues.
(c) The amount of the total adequate education program funding which shall be contributed by each school district shall be the sum of the ad valorem receipts generated by the millage required under this subsection plus the following local revenue sources for the appropriate fiscal year which are or may be available for current expenditure by the school district:
One hundred percent (100%) of Grand Gulf income as prescribed in Section 27-35-309.
One hundred percent (100%) of any fees in lieu of taxes as prescribed in Section 27-31-104.
(3) Computation of the required state effort in support of the adequate education program.
(a) The required state effort in support of the adequate education program shall be determined by subtracting the sum of the required local tax effort as set forth in subsection (2)(a) of this section and the other local revenue sources as set forth in subsection (2)(c) of this section in an amount not to exceed twenty-seven percent (27%) of the total projected adequate education program cost as set forth in subsection (1)(f) of this section from the total projected adequate education program cost as set forth in subsection (1)(f) of this section.
(b) * * * However, * * * in fiscal year 2015, any increase in the * * * state contribution to any district
calculated under this section shall be not less than six percent (6%) in excess
of the amount received by * * *said the district from state funds for fiscal year
2002; in fiscal year 2016, any increase in the * * * state contribution to any district
calculated under this section shall be not less than four percent (4%) in
excess of the amount received by * * * the district from state funds for
fiscal year 2002; in fiscal year 2017, any increase in the * * * state contribution to any district
calculated under this section shall be not less than two percent (2%) in excess
of the amount received by * * *said the district from state funds for fiscal year
2002; and in fiscal year 2018 and thereafter, any increase in the * * * state contribution to any district
calculated under this section shall be zero percent (0%). For purposes of this
paragraph (b), state funds shall include minimum program funds less the add-on
programs, State Uniform Millage Assistance Grant Funds, Education Enhancement
Funds appropriated for Uniform Millage Assistance Grants and state textbook
allocations, and State General Funds allocated for textbooks.
(c) If the school
board of any school district shall determine that it is not economically
feasible or practicable to operate any school within the district for the full
one hundred eighty (180) days required for a school term of a scholastic year
as required in Section 37-13-63 * * * due to an enemy
attack, a man-made, technological or natural disaster in which the Governor has
declared a disaster emergency under the laws of this state or the President of
the United States has declared an emergency or major disaster to exist in this
state, * * *
the school board may notify the State Department of Education of such
disaster and submit a plan for altering the school term. If the State Board of
Education finds such disaster to be the cause of the school not operating for
the contemplated school term and that such school was in a school district
covered by the Governor's or President's disaster declaration, it may permit * * * the school board to operate the
schools in its district for less than one hundred eighty (180) days and, in
such case, the State Department of Education shall not reduce the state
contributions to the adequate education program allotment for such district,
because of the failure to operate * * * the schools for one hundred eighty
(180) days.
(4) The Interim School
District Capital Expenditure Fund is * * * established in the State Treasury which
shall be used to distribute any funds specifically appropriated by the
Legislature to such fund to school districts entitled to increased allocations
of state funds under the adequate education program funding formula prescribed
in Sections 37-151-3 through 37-151-7 * * * until such time as
the * * * the
adequate education program is fully funded by the Legislature. The following
percentages of the total state cost of increased allocations of funds under the
adequate education program funding formula shall be appropriated by the
Legislature into the Interim School District Capital Expenditure Fund to be
distributed to all school districts under the formula: Nine and two-tenths
percent (9.2%) shall be appropriated in fiscal year 1998, twenty percent (20%)
shall be appropriated in fiscal year 1999, forty percent (40%) shall be
appropriated in fiscal year 2000, sixty percent (60%) shall be appropriated in
fiscal year 2001, eighty percent (80%) shall be appropriated in fiscal year
2002, and one hundred percent (100%) shall be appropriated in fiscal year 2003
into the State Adequate Education Program Fund. Until July 1, 2002, such money
shall be used by school districts for the following purposes:
(a) Purchasing, erecting, repairing, equipping, remodeling and enlarging school buildings and related facilities, including gymnasiums, auditoriums, lunchrooms, vocational training buildings, libraries, school barns and garages for transportation vehicles, school athletic fields and necessary facilities connected therewith, and purchasing land therefor. Any such capital improvement project by a school district shall be approved by the State Board of Education, and based on an approved long-range plan. The State Board of Education shall promulgate minimum requirements for the approval of school district capital expenditure plans.
(b) Providing necessary water, light, heating, air-conditioning, and sewerage facilities for school buildings, and purchasing land therefor.
(c) Paying debt service on existing capital improvement debt of the district or refinancing outstanding debt of a district if such refinancing will result in an interest cost savings to the district.
(d) From and after
October 1, 1997, through June 30, 1998, pursuant to a school district capital
expenditure plan approved by the State Department of Education, a school
district may pledge such funds until July 1, 2002, plus funds provided for in
paragraph (e) of this subsection (4) that are not otherwise permanently pledged
under such paragraph (e) to pay all or a portion of the debt service on debt
issued by the school district under Sections 37-59-1 through 37-59-45, 37-59-101
through 37-59-115, 37-7-351 through 37-7-359, 37-41-89 through 37-41-99, 37-7-301,
37-7-302 and 37-41-81, * * * or debt issued by boards of supervisors for
agricultural high schools pursuant to Section 37-27-65, * * * or lease-purchase
contracts entered into pursuant to Section 31-7-13, * * * or to retire or
refinance outstanding debt of a district, if such pledge is accomplished
pursuant to a written contract or resolution approved and spread upon the
minutes of an official meeting of the district's school board or board of
supervisors. It is the intent of this provision to allow school districts to
irrevocably pledge their Interim School District Capital Expenditure Fund allotments
as a constant stream of revenue to secure a debt issued under the foregoing
code sections. To allow school districts to make such an irrevocable pledge,
the state shall take all action necessary to ensure that the amount of a
district's Interim School District Capital Expenditure Fund allotments shall
not be reduced below the amount certified by the department or the district's
total allotment under the Interim Capital Expenditure Fund if fully funded, so
long as such debt remains outstanding.
(e) [Repealed]
(f) [Repealed]
(g) The State Board of
Education may authorize the school district to expend not more than twenty
percent (20%) of its annual allotment of such funds or Twenty Thousand Dollars
($20,000.00), whichever is greater, for technology needs of the school
district, including computers, software, telecommunications, cable television,
interactive video, film, low-power television, satellite communications,
microwave communications, technology-based equipment installation and maintenance,
and the training of staff in the use of such technology-based instruction. Any
such technology expenditure shall be reflected in the local district technology
plan approved by the State Board of Education under Section 37-151-17 * * *.
(h) To the extent a
school district has not utilized twenty percent (20%) of its annual allotment
for technology purposes under paragraph (g), a school district may expend not
more than twenty percent (20%) of its annual allotment or Twenty Thousand
Dollars ($20,000.00), whichever is greater, for instructional purposes. The
State Board of Education may authorize a school district to expend more than * * * twenty percent (20%) of its annual
allotment for instructional purposes if it determines that such expenditures
are needed for accreditation purposes.
(i) The State Department of Education or the State Board of Education may require that any project commenced under this section with an estimated project cost of not less than Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) shall be done only pursuant to program management of the process with respect to design and construction. Any individuals, partnerships, companies or other entities acting as a program manager on behalf of a local school district and performing program management services for projects covered under this subsection shall be approved by the State Department of Education.
Any interest accruing on any unexpended balance in the Interim School District Capital Expenditure Fund shall be invested by the State Treasurer and placed to the credit of each school district participating in such fund in its proportionate share.
The provisions of this subsection (4) shall be cumulative and supplemental to any existing funding programs or other authority conferred upon school districts or school boards.
(5) The State Department of Education shall make payments to charter schools for each student in average daily attendance at the charter school equal to the state share of the adequate education program payments for each student in average daily attendance at the school district in which the public charter school is located. In calculating the local contribution for purposes of determining the state share of the adequate education program payments, the department shall deduct the pro rata local contribution of the school district in which the student resides as determined in subsection (2)(a) of this section.
SECTION 21. Section 37-151-81, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-151-81. (1) In addition
to other funds provided for in this chapter, there shall be added to the
allotment for each school district for each teacher employed in a State
Department of Education approved program for exceptional children as defined in
Section 37-23-3 * * * the value of one hundred percent (100%) of
the adequate education program salary schedule prescribed in Section 37-19-7, * * * based on the type of
certificate and number of years' teaching experience held by each approved
special education teacher plus one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable
employer's rate for social security and state retirement, except that only
seventy percent (70%) of the value will be added for the program for three- and
four-year old exceptional children.
(2) In addition to the
allowances provided above, for each * * * exceptional child who is
being educated by a public school district or is placed in accord with Section
37-23-77, * * * and whose individualized educational program (IEP)
requires an extended school year in accord with the State Department of
Education criteria, a sufficient amount of funds shall be allocated for the
purpose of providing the educational services the student requires. The State
Board of Education shall promulgate such regulations as are required to insure
the equitable distribution of these funds. All costs for the extended school
year for a particular summer shall be reimbursed from funds appropriated for
the fiscal year beginning July 1 of that summer. If sufficient funds are not
made available to finance all of the required educational services, the State
Department of Education shall expend available funds in such a manner that it
does not limit the availability of appropriate education to * * *
exceptional
students more severely than it does to * * * other students.
(3) The State Department of
Education is * * *
authorized to match adequate education program and other funds allocated for
provision of services to * * *handicapped exceptional children with Division of
Medicaid funds to provide language-speech services, physical therapy and
occupational therapy to * * *handicapped exceptional students who meet State
Department of Education or Division of Medicaid standards and who are Medicaid
eligible. Provided further, that the State Department of Education is
authorized to pay such funds as may be required as a match directly to the
Division of Medicaid pursuant to an agreement to be developed between the State
Department of Education and the Division of Medicaid.
(4) In addition to other
funds provided for in this chapter, there shall be added to the allotment for
each school district for each teacher employed in a State Department of
Education approved program for gifted education as defined in Sections 37-23-173
through 37-23-181 * * * the value of one hundred percent (100%) of
the adequate education program salary schedule prescribed in Section 37-19-7, * * * based on the type of
certificate and number of years' teaching experience held by each approved
gifted education teacher plus one hundred percent (100%) of the applicable
employer's rate for social security and state retirement.
(5) When any children who
are residents of the State of Mississippi and qualify under the provisions of
Section 37-23-31 * * * shall be provided a program of education,
instruction and training within a school under the provisions of * * * that section, the State Department
of Education shall allocate the value of one hundred percent (100%) of the
adequate education program salary schedule prescribed in Section 37-19-7 * * * for each approved
program based on the type of certificate and number of years' teaching
experience held by each approved teacher plus one hundred percent (100%) of the
applicable employer's rate for social security and state retirement. The university
or college shall be eligible for state and federal funds for such programs on
the same basis as local school districts. The university or college shall be
responsible for providing for the additional costs of the program.
(6) In addition to the allotments provided above, a school district may provide a program of education and instruction to children ages five (5) years through twenty-one (21) years, who are resident citizens of the State of Mississippi, who cannot have their educational needs met in a regular public school program and who have not finished or graduated from high school, if those children are determined by competent medical authorities and psychologists to need placement in a state licensed facility for inpatient treatment, day treatment or residential treatment or a therapeutic group home. Such program shall operate under rules, regulations, policies and standards of school districts as determined by the State Board of Education. If a private school approved by the State Board of Education is operated as an integral part of the state licensed facility that provides for the treatment of such children, the private school within the facility may provide a program of education, instruction and training to such children by requesting the State Department of Education to allocate one (1) teacher unit or a portion of a teacher unit for each approved class. The facility shall be responsible for providing any additional costs of the program.
Such funds will be allotted based on the type of certificate and number of years' teaching experience held by each approved teacher. Such children shall not be counted in average daily attendance when determining regular teacher unit allocation.
SECTION 22. Section 41-3-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-3-15. (1) (a) There shall be a State Department of Health.
(b) The State Board of Health shall have the following powers and duties:
(i) To formulate the policy of the State Department of Health regarding public health matters within the jurisdiction of the department;
(ii) To adopt, modify, repeal and promulgate, after due notice and hearing, and enforce rules and regulations implementing or effectuating the powers and duties of the department under any and all statutes within the department's jurisdiction, and as the board may deem necessary;
(iii) To apply for, receive, accept and expend any federal or state funds or contributions, gifts, trusts, devises, bequests, grants, endowments or funds from any other source or transfers of property of any kind;
(iv) To enter into, and to authorize the executive officer to execute contracts, grants and cooperative agreements with any federal or state agency or subdivision thereof, or any public or private institution located inside or outside the State of Mississippi, or any person, corporation or association in connection with carrying out the provisions of this chapter, if it finds those actions to be in the public interest and the contracts or agreements do not have a financial cost that exceeds the amounts appropriated for those purposes by the Legislature;
(v) To appoint, upon recommendation of the Executive Officer of the State Department of Health, a Director of Internal Audit who shall be either a Certified Public Accountant or Certified Internal Auditor, and whose employment shall be continued at the discretion of the board, and who shall report directly to the board, or its designee; and
(vi) To discharge such other duties, responsibilities and powers as are necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter.
(c) The Executive Officer of the State Department of Health shall have the following powers and duties:
(i) To administer the policies of the State Board of Health within the authority granted by the board;
(ii) To supervise and direct all administrative and technical activities of the department, except that the department's internal auditor shall be subject to the sole supervision and direction of the board;
(iii) To organize the administrative units of the department in accordance with the plan adopted by the board and, with board approval, alter the organizational plan and reassign responsibilities as he or she may deem necessary to carry out the policies of the board;
(iv) To coordinate the activities of the various offices of the department;
(v) To employ, subject to regulations of the State Personnel Board, qualified professional personnel in the subject matter or fields of each office, and such other technical and clerical staff as may be required for the operation of the department. The executive officer shall be the appointing authority for the department, and shall have the power to delegate the authority to appoint or dismiss employees to appropriate subordinates, subject to the rules and regulations of the State Personnel Board;
(vi) To recommend to the board such studies and investigations as he or she may deem appropriate, and to carry out the approved recommendations in conjunction with the various offices;
(vii) To prepare and deliver to the Legislature and the Governor on or before January 1 of each year, and at such other times as may be required by the Legislature or Governor, a full report of the work of the department and the offices thereof, including a detailed statement of expenditures of the department and any recommendations the board may have;
(viii) To prepare and deliver to the Chairmen of the Public Health and Welfare/Human Services Committees of the Senate and House on or before January 1 of each year, a plan for monitoring infant mortality in Mississippi and a full report of the work of the department on reducing Mississippi's infant mortality and morbidity rates and improving the status of maternal and infant health; and
(ix) To enter into contracts, grants and cooperative agreements with any federal or state agency or subdivision thereof, or any public or private institution located inside or outside the State of Mississippi, or any person, corporation or association in connection with carrying out the provisions of this chapter, if he or she finds those actions to be in the public interest and the contracts or agreements do not have a financial cost that exceeds the amounts appropriated for those purposes by the Legislature. Each contract or agreement entered into by the executive officer shall be submitted to the board before its next meeting.
(2) The State Board of Health shall have the authority to establish an Office of Rural Health within the department. The duties and responsibilities of this office shall include the following:
(a) To collect and evaluate data on rural health conditions and needs;
(b) To engage in policy analysis, policy development and economic impact studies with regard to rural health issues;
(c) To develop and implement plans and provide technical assistance to enable community health systems to respond to various changes in their circumstances;
(d) To plan and assist in professional recruitment and retention of medical professionals and assistants; and
(e) To establish information clearinghouses to improve access to and sharing of rural health care information.
(3) The State Board of Health shall have general supervision of the health interests of the people of the state and to exercise the rights, powers and duties of those acts which it is authorized by law to enforce.
(4) The State Board of Health shall have authority:
(a) To make investigations and inquiries with respect to the causes of disease and death, and to investigate the effect of environment, including conditions of employment and other conditions that may affect health, and to make such other investigations as it may deem necessary for the preservation and improvement of health.
(b) To make such sanitary investigations as it may, from time to time, deem necessary for the protection and improvement of health and to investigate nuisance questions that affect the security of life and health within the state.
(c) To direct and control sanitary and quarantine measures for dealing with all diseases within the state possible to suppress same and prevent their spread.
(d) To obtain, collect and preserve such information relative to mortality, morbidity, disease and health as may be useful in the discharge of its duties or may contribute to the prevention of disease or the promotion of health in this state.
(e) To charge and collect reasonable fees for health services, including immunizations, inspections and related activities, and the board shall charge fees for those services; however, if it is determined that a person receiving services is unable to pay the total fee, the board shall collect any amount that the person is able to pay. Any increase in the fees charged by the board under this paragraph shall be in accordance with the provisions of Section 41-3-65.
(f) (i) To establish standards for, issue permits and exercise control over, any cafes, restaurants, food or drink stands, sandwich manufacturing establishments, and all other establishments, other than churches, church-related and private schools, and other nonprofit or charitable organizations, where food or drink is regularly prepared, handled and served for pay; and
(ii) To require that a permit be obtained from the Department of Health before those persons begin operation. If any such person fails to obtain the permit required in this subparagraph (ii), the State Board of Health, after due notice and opportunity for a hearing, may impose a monetary penalty not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for each violation. However, the department is not authorized to impose a monetary penalty against any person whose gross annual prepared food sales are less than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00). Money collected by the board under this subparagraph (ii) shall be deposited to the credit of the State General Fund of the State Treasury.
(g) To promulgate rules and regulations and exercise control over the production and sale of milk pursuant to the provisions of Sections 75-31-41 through 75-31-49.
(h) On presentation of proper authority, to enter into and inspect any public place or building where the State Health Officer or his representative deems it necessary and proper to enter for the discovery and suppression of disease and for the enforcement of any health or sanitary laws and regulations in the state.
(i) To conduct investigations, inquiries and hearings, and to issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and records at any hearing when authorized and required by statute to be conducted by the State Health Officer or the State Board of Health.
(j) To promulgate rules and regulations, and to collect data and information, on (i) the delivery of services through the practice of telemedicine; and (ii) the use of electronic records for the delivery of telemedicine services.
(k) To enforce and regulate domestic and imported fish as authorized under Section 69-7-601 et seq.
(5) (a) The State Board of Health shall have the authority, in its discretion, to establish programs to promote the public health, to be administered by the State Department of Health. Specifically, those programs may include, but shall not be limited to, programs in the following areas:
(i) Maternal and child health;
(ii) Family planning;
(iii) Pediatric services;
(iv) Services to * * *
children with
disabilities;
(v) Control of communicable and noncommunicable disease;
(vi) Chronic disease;
(vii) Accidental deaths and injuries;
(viii) Child care licensure;
(ix) Radiological health;
(x) Dental health;
(xi) Milk sanitation;
(xii) Occupational safety and health;
(xiii) Food, vector control and general sanitation;
(xiv) Protection of drinking water;
(xv) Sanitation in food handling establishments open to the public;
(xvi) Registration of births and deaths and other vital events;
(xvii) Such public health programs and services as may be assigned to the State Board of Health by the Legislature or by executive order; and
(xviii) Regulation of domestic and imported fish for human consumption.
(b) The State Board of Health and State Department of Health shall not be authorized to sell, transfer, alienate or otherwise dispose of any of the home health agencies owned and operated by the department on January 1, 1995, and shall not be authorized to sell, transfer, assign, alienate or otherwise dispose of the license of any of those home health agencies, except upon the specific authorization of the Legislature by an amendment to this section. However, this paragraph (b) shall not prevent the board or the department from closing or terminating the operation of any home health agency owned and operated by the department, or closing or terminating any office, branch office or clinic of any such home health agency, or otherwise discontinuing the providing of home health services through any such home health agency, office, branch office or clinic, if the board first demonstrates that there are other providers of home health services in the area being served by the department's home health agency, office, branch office or clinic that will be able to provide adequate home health services to the residents of the area if the department's home health agency, office, branch office or clinic is closed or otherwise discontinues the providing of home health services. This demonstration by the board that there are other providers of adequate home health services in the area shall be spread at length upon the minutes of the board at a regular or special meeting of the board at least thirty (30) days before a home health agency, office, branch office or clinic is proposed to be closed or otherwise discontinue the providing of home health services.
(c) The State Department of Health may undertake such technical programs and activities as may be required for the support and operation of those programs, including maintaining physical, chemical, bacteriological and radiological laboratories, and may make such diagnostic tests for diseases and tests for the evaluation of health hazards as may be deemed necessary for the protection of the people of the state.
(6) (a) The State Board of Health shall administer the local governments and rural water systems improvements loan program in accordance with the provisions of Section 41-3-16.
(b) The State Board of Health shall have authority:
(i) To enter into capitalization grant agreements with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, or any successor agency thereto;
(ii) To accept capitalization grant awards made under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended;
(iii) To provide annual reports and audits to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, as may be required by federal capitalization grant agreements; and
(iv) To establish and collect fees to defray the reasonable costs of administering the revolving fund or emergency fund if the State Board of Health determines that those costs will exceed the limitations established in the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, as amended. The administration fees may be included in loan amounts to loan recipients for the purpose of facilitating payment to the board; however, those fees may not exceed five percent (5%) of the loan amount.
(7) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the State Department of Health shall have the following specific powers: The department shall issue a license to Alexander Milne Home for Women, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, for the construction, conversion, expansion and operation of not more than forty-five (45) beds for developmentally disabled adults who have been displaced from New Orleans, Louisiana, with the beds to be located in a certified ICF-MR facility in the City of Laurel, Mississippi. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program for the person receiving the license under this subsection (7). The license described in this subsection shall expire five (5) years from the date of its issue. The license authorized by this subsection shall be issued upon the initial payment by the licensee of an application fee of Sixty-seven Thousand Dollars ($67,000.00) and a monthly fee of Sixty-seven Thousand Dollars ($67,000.00) after the issuance of the license, to be paid as long as the licensee continues to operate. The initial and monthly licensing fees shall be deposited by the State Department of Health into the special fund created under Section 41-7-188.
(8) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the State Department of Health shall have the following specific powers: The State Department of Health is authorized to issue a license to an existing home health agency for the transfer of a county from that agency to another existing home health agency, and to charge a fee for reviewing and making a determination on the application for such transfer not to exceed one-half (1/2) of the authorized fee assessed for the original application for the home health agency, with the revenue to be deposited by the State Department of Health into the special fund created under Section 41-7-188.
(9) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the State Department of Health shall have the following specific powers: For the period beginning July 1, 2010, through July 1, 2017, the State Department of Health is authorized and empowered to assess a fee in addition to the fee prescribed in Section 41-7-188 for reviewing applications for certificates of need in an amount not to exceed twenty-five one-hundredths of one percent (.25 of 1%) of the amount of a proposed capital expenditure, but shall be not less than Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250.00) regardless of the amount of the proposed capital expenditure, and the maximum additional fee permitted shall not exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00). Provided that the total assessments of fees for certificate of need applications under Section 41-7-188 and this section shall not exceed the actual cost of operating the certificate of need program.
(10) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the State Department of Health shall have the following specific powers: The State Department of Health is authorized to extend and renew any certificate of need that has expired, and to charge a fee for reviewing and making a determination on the application for such action not to exceed one-half (1/2) of the authorized fee assessed for the original application for the certificate of need, with the revenue to be deposited by the State Department of Health into the special fund created under Section 41-7-188.
(11) Notwithstanding any
other provision to the contrary, the State Department of Health shall have the
following specific powers: The State Department of Health is authorized and
empowered, to revoke, immediately, the license and require closure of any
institution for the aged or infirm, including any other remedy less than
closure to protect the health and safety of the residents of * * * the institution or the health and
safety of the general public.
(12) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, the State Department of Health shall have the following specific powers: The State Department of Health is authorized and empowered, to require the temporary detainment of individuals for disease control purposes based upon violation of any order of the State Health Officer, as provided in Section 41-23-5. For the purpose of enforcing such orders of the State Health Officer, persons employed by the department as investigators shall have general arrest powers. All law enforcement officers are authorized and directed to assist in the enforcement of such orders of the State Health Officer.
SECTION 23. Section 41-4-18, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-4-18. (1) Notwithstanding
Section 41-7-191(11) and Section 41-7-171 et seq. * * * or any other
section of law, the Department of Mental Health shall have the authority to
contract with private and/or public entities to transfer beds within intermediate
care facilities for * * * individuals with intellectual disabilities
owned and operated by the Department of Mental Health to locations owned and
operated by private and/or public entities for the purpose of serving individuals
with intellectual disabilities in the settings most appropriate to meet their
needs.
(2) Any license granted to
the Department of Mental Health by the Department of Health for the operation
of transferred intermediate care facility for * * * individuals with
intellectual disabilities beds shall remain in the name of the Department
of Mental Health and shall not be transferred into the name of the contractor
unless the contractor has received the appropriate certificates of need.
SECTION 24. Section 41-7-173, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-7-173. For the purposes of Section 41-7-171 et seq., the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Affected person" means (i) the applicant; (ii) a person residing within the geographic area to be served by the applicant's proposal; (iii) a person who regularly uses health care facilities or HMOs located in the geographic area of the proposal which provide similar service to that which is proposed; (iv) health care facilities and HMOs which have, prior to receipt of the application under review, formally indicated an intention to provide service similar to that of the proposal being considered at a future date; (v) third-party payers who reimburse health care facilities located in the geographical area of the proposal; or (vi) any agency that establishes rates for health care services or HMOs located in the geographic area of the proposal.
(b) "Certificate of need" means a written order of the State Department of Health setting forth the affirmative finding that a proposal in prescribed application form, sufficiently satisfies the plans, standards and criteria prescribed for such service or other project by Section 41-7-171 et seq., and by rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the State Department of Health.
(c) (i) "Capital expenditure," when pertaining to defined major medical equipment, shall mean an expenditure which, under generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied, is not properly chargeable as an expense of operation and maintenance and which exceeds One Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,500,000.00).
(ii) "Capital
expenditure," when pertaining to other than major medical equipment, shall
mean any expenditure which under generally accepted accounting principles
consistently applied is not properly chargeable as an expense of operation and
maintenance and which exceeds, for clinical health services, as defined in * * * paragraph (k) below, Five
Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00), adjusted for inflation as published by the
State Department of Health or which exceeds, for nonclinical health services,
as defined in * * * paragraph (k) below, Ten Million Dollars
($10,000,000.00), adjusted for inflation as published by the State Department
of Health.
(iii) A "capital expenditure" shall include the acquisition, whether by lease, sufferance, gift, devise, legacy, settlement of a trust or other means, of any facility or part thereof, or equipment for a facility, the expenditure for which would have been considered a capital expenditure if acquired by purchase. Transactions which are separated in time but are planned to be undertaken within twelve (12) months of each other and are components of an overall plan for meeting patient care objectives shall, for purposes of this definition, be viewed in their entirety without regard to their timing.
(iv) In those instances where a health care facility or other provider of health services proposes to provide a service in which the capital expenditure for major medical equipment or other than major medical equipment or a combination of the two (2) may have been split between separate parties, the total capital expenditure required to provide the proposed service shall be considered in determining the necessity of certificate of need review and in determining the appropriate certificate of need review fee to be paid. The capital expenditure associated with facilities and equipment to provide services in Mississippi shall be considered regardless of where the capital expenditure was made, in state or out of state, and regardless of the domicile of the party making the capital expenditure, in state or out of state.
(d) "Change of ownership" includes, but is not limited to, inter vivos gifts, purchases, transfers, lease arrangements, cash and/or stock transactions or other comparable arrangements whenever any person or entity acquires or controls a majority interest of an existing health care facility, and/or the change of ownership of major medical equipment, a health service, or an institutional health service. Changes of ownership from partnerships, single proprietorships or corporations to another form of ownership are specifically included. However, "change of ownership" shall not include any inherited interest acquired as a result of a testamentary instrument or under the laws of descent and distribution of the State of Mississippi.
(e) "Commencement of construction" means that all of the following have been completed with respect to a proposal or project proposing construction, renovating, remodeling or alteration:
(i) A legally binding written contract has been consummated by the proponent and a lawfully licensed contractor to construct and/or complete the intent of the proposal within a specified period of time in accordance with final architectural plans which have been approved by the licensing authority of the State Department of Health;
(ii) Any and all permits and/or approvals deemed lawfully necessary by all authorities with responsibility for such have been secured; and
(iii) Actual bona fide undertaking of the subject proposal has commenced, and a progress payment of at least one percent (1%) of the total cost price of the contract has been paid to the contractor by the proponent, and the requirements of this paragraph (e) have been certified to in writing by the State Department of Health.
Force account expenditures, such as deposits, securities, bonds, et cetera, may, in the discretion of the State Department of Health, be excluded from any or all of the provisions of defined commencement of construction.
(f) "Consumer" means an individual who is not a provider of health care as defined in paragraph (q) of this section.
(g) "Develop," when used in connection with health services, means to undertake those activities which, on their completion, will result in the offering of a new institutional health service or the incurring of a financial obligation as defined under applicable state law in relation to the offering of such services.
(h) "Health care
facility" includes hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, chemical dependency
hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, end-stage renal disease (ESRD)
facilities, including freestanding hemodialysis units, intermediate care
facilities, ambulatory surgical facilities, intermediate care facilities for * * * individuals with
intellectual disabilities, home health agencies, psychiatric residential
treatment facilities, pediatric skilled nursing facilities, long-term care
hospitals, comprehensive medical rehabilitation facilities, including
facilities owned or operated by the state or a political subdivision or
instrumentality of the state, but does not include Christian Science
sanatoriums operated or listed and certified by the First Church of Christ,
Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts. This definition shall not apply to
facilities for the private practice, either independently or by incorporated
medical groups, of physicians, dentists or health care professionals except
where such facilities are an integral part of an institutional health service.
The various health care facilities listed in this paragraph shall be defined as
follows:
(i) "Hospital" means an institution which is primarily engaged in providing to inpatients, by or under the supervision of physicians, diagnostic services and therapeutic services for medical diagnosis, treatment and care of injured, disabled or sick persons, or rehabilitation services for the rehabilitation of injured, disabled or sick persons. Such term does not include psychiatric hospitals.
(ii) "Psychiatric hospital" means an institution which is primarily engaged in providing to inpatients, by or under the supervision of a physician, psychiatric services for the diagnosis and treatment of persons with mental illness.
(iii) "Chemical dependency hospital" means an institution which is primarily engaged in providing to inpatients, by or under the supervision of a physician, medical and related services for the diagnosis and treatment of chemical dependency such as alcohol and drug abuse.
(iv) "Skilled nursing facility" means an institution or a distinct part of an institution which is primarily engaged in providing to inpatients skilled nursing care and related services for patients who require medical or nursing care or rehabilitation services for the rehabilitation of injured, disabled or sick persons.
(v) "End-stage renal disease (ESRD) facilities" means kidney disease treatment centers, which includes freestanding hemodialysis units and limited care facilities. The term "limited care facility" generally refers to an off-hospital-premises facility, regardless of whether it is provider or nonprovider operated, which is engaged primarily in furnishing maintenance hemodialysis services to stabilized patients.
(vi) "Intermediate care facility" means an institution which provides, on a regular basis, health-related care and services to individuals who do not require the degree of care and treatment which a hospital or skilled nursing facility is designed to provide, but who, because of their mental or physical condition, require health-related care and services (above the level of room and board).
(vii) "Ambulatory surgical facility" means a facility primarily organized or established for the purpose of performing surgery for outpatients and is a separate identifiable legal entity from any other health care facility. Such term does not include the offices of private physicians or dentists, whether for individual or group practice, and does not include any abortion facility as defined in Section 41-75-1(f).
(viii)
"Intermediate care facility for * * * individuals with intellectual disabilities"
means an intermediate care facility that provides health or rehabilitative
services in a planned program of activities to persons
with an intellectual disability, also including, but not limited to,
cerebral palsy and other conditions covered by the Federal Developmentally
Disabled Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, Public Law 94-103.
(ix) "Home health agency" means a public or privately owned agency or organization, or a subdivision of such an agency or organization, properly authorized to conduct business in Mississippi, which is primarily engaged in providing to individuals at the written direction of a licensed physician, in the individual's place of residence, skilled nursing services provided by or under the supervision of a registered nurse licensed to practice in Mississippi, and one or more of the following services or items:
1. Physical, occupational or speech therapy;
2. Medical social services;
3. Part-time or intermittent services of a home health aide;
4. Other services as approved by the licensing agency for home health agencies;
5. Medical supplies, other than drugs and biologicals, and the use of medical appliances; or
6. Medical services provided by an intern or resident-in-training at a hospital under a teaching program of such hospital.
Further, all skilled nursing services and those services listed in items 1 through 4 of this subparagraph (ix) must be provided directly by the licensed home health agency. For purposes of this subparagraph, "directly" means either through an agency employee or by an arrangement with another individual not defined as a health care facility.
This subparagraph (ix) shall not apply to health care facilities which had contracts for the above services with a home health agency on January 1, 1990.
(x) "Psychiatric residential treatment facility" means any nonhospital establishment with permanent licensed facilities which provides a twenty-four-hour program of care by qualified therapists, including, but not limited to, duly licensed mental health professionals, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists and licensed certified social workers, for emotionally disturbed children and adolescents referred to such facility by a court, local school district or by the Department of Human Services, who are not in an acute phase of illness requiring the services of a psychiatric hospital, and are in need of such restorative treatment services. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term "emotionally disturbed" means a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree, which adversely affects educational performance:
1. An inability to learn which cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory or health factors;
2. An inability to build or maintain satisfactory relationships with peers and teachers;
3. Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances;
4. A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression; or
5. A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems. An establishment furnishing primarily domiciliary care is not within this definition.
(xi) "Pediatric skilled nursing facility" means an institution or a distinct part of an institution that is primarily engaged in providing to inpatients skilled nursing care and related services for persons under twenty-one (21) years of age who require medical or nursing care or rehabilitation services for the rehabilitation of injured, disabled or sick persons.
(xii) "Long-term care hospital" means a freestanding, Medicare-certified hospital that has an average length of inpatient stay greater than twenty-five (25) days, which is primarily engaged in providing chronic or long-term medical care to patients who do not require more than three (3) hours of rehabilitation or comprehensive rehabilitation per day, and has a transfer agreement with an acute care medical center and a comprehensive medical rehabilitation facility. Long-term care hospitals shall not use rehabilitation, comprehensive medical rehabilitation, medical rehabilitation, sub-acute rehabilitation, nursing home, skilled nursing facility or sub-acute care facility in association with its name.
(xiii) "Comprehensive medical rehabilitation facility" means a hospital or hospital unit that is licensed and/or certified as a comprehensive medical rehabilitation facility which provides specialized programs that are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and supervised by a physician board certified or board eligible in physiatry or other doctor of medicine or osteopathy with at least two (2) years of training in the medical direction of a comprehensive rehabilitation program that:
1. Includes evaluation and treatment of individuals with physical disabilities;
2. Emphasizes education and training of individuals with disabilities;
3. Incorporates at least the following core disciplines:
* * *a. Physical Therapy;
* * *b. Occupational Therapy;
* * *c. Speech and Language Therapy;
* * *d. Rehabilitation Nursing; and
4. Incorporates at least three (3) of the following disciplines:
* * *a. Psychology;
* * *b. Audiology;
* * *c. Respiratory Therapy;
* * *d. Therapeutic Recreation;
* * *e. Orthotics;
* * *f. Prosthetics;
* * *g. Special Education;
* * *h. Vocational Rehabilitation;
* * *i. Psychotherapy;
* * *j. Social Work;
* * *k. Rehabilitation Engineering.
These specialized programs include, but are not limited to: spinal cord injury programs, head injury programs and infant and early childhood development programs.
(i) "Health maintenance organization" or "HMO" means a public or private organization organized under the laws of this state or the federal government which:
(i) Provides or otherwise makes available to enrolled participants health care services, including substantially the following basic health care services: usual physician services, hospitalization, laboratory, x-ray, emergency and preventive services, and out-of-area coverage;
(ii) Is compensated (except for copayments) for the provision of the basic health care services listed in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph to enrolled participants on a predetermined basis; and
(iii) Provides physician services primarily:
1. Directly through physicians who are either employees or partners of such organization; or
2. Through arrangements with individual physicians or one or more groups of physicians (organized on a group practice or individual practice basis).
(j) "Health service area" means a geographic area of the state designated in the State Health Plan as the area to be used in planning for specified health facilities and services and to be used when considering certificate of need applications to provide health facilities and services.
(k) "Health services" means clinically related (i.e., diagnostic, treatment or rehabilitative) services and includes alcohol, drug abuse, mental health and home health care services. "Clinical health services" shall only include those activities which contemplate any change in the existing bed complement of any health care facility through the addition or conversion of any beds, under Section 41-7-191(1)(c) or propose to offer any health services if those services have not been provided on a regular basis by the proposed provider of such services within the period of twelve (12) months prior to the time such services would be offered, under Section 41-7-191(1)(d). "Nonclinical health services" shall be all other services which do not involve any change in the existing bed complement or offering health services as described above.
(l) "Institutional health services" shall mean health services provided in or through health care facilities and shall include the entities in or through which such services are provided.
(m) "Major medical equipment" means medical equipment designed for providing medical or any health-related service which costs in excess of One Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,500,000.00). However, this definition shall not be applicable to clinical laboratories if they are determined by the State Department of Health to be independent of any physician's office, hospital or other health care facility or otherwise not so defined by federal or state law, or rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
(n) "State Department of Health" or "department" shall mean the state agency created under Section 41-3-15, which shall be considered to be the State Health Planning and Development Agency, as defined in paragraph (u) of this section.
(o) "Offer," when used in connection with health services, means that it has been determined by the State Department of Health that the health care facility is capable of providing specified health services.
(p) "Person" means an individual, a trust or estate, partnership, corporation (including associations, joint-stock companies and insurance companies), the state or a political subdivision or instrumentality of the state.
(q) "Provider" shall mean any person who is a provider or representative of a provider of health care services requiring a certificate of need under Section 41-7-171 et seq., or who has any financial or indirect interest in any provider of services.
(r) "Radiation therapy services" means the treatment of cancer and other diseases using ionizing radiation of either high energy photons (x-rays or gamma rays) or charged particles (electrons, protons or heavy nuclei). However, for purposes of a certificate of need, radiation therapy services shall not include low energy, superficial, external beam x-ray treatment of superficial skin lesions.
(s) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and any officer or employee of the Department of Health and Human Services to whom the authority involved has been delegated.
(t) "State Health Plan" means the sole and official statewide health plan for Mississippi which identifies priority state health needs and establishes standards and criteria for health-related activities which require certificate of need review in compliance with Section 41-7-191.
(u) "State Health Planning and Development Agency" means the agency of state government designated to perform health planning and resource development programs for the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 25. Section 41-7-191, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-7-191. (1) No person shall engage in any of the following activities without obtaining the required certificate of need:
(a) The construction, development or other establishment of a new health care facility, which establishment shall include the reopening of a health care facility that has ceased to operate for a period of sixty (60) months or more;
(b) The relocation of a health care facility or portion thereof, or major medical equipment, unless such relocation of a health care facility or portion thereof, or major medical equipment, which does not involve a capital expenditure by or on behalf of a health care facility, is within five thousand two hundred eighty (5,280) feet from the main entrance of the health care facility;
(c) Any change in the existing bed complement of any health care facility through the addition or conversion of any beds or the alteration, modernizing or refurbishing of any unit or department in which the beds may be located; however, if a health care facility has voluntarily delicensed some of its existing bed complement, it may later relicense some or all of its delicensed beds without the necessity of having to acquire a certificate of need. The State Department of Health shall maintain a record of the delicensing health care facility and its voluntarily delicensed beds and continue counting those beds as part of the state's total bed count for health care planning purposes. If a health care facility that has voluntarily delicensed some of its beds later desires to relicense some or all of its voluntarily delicensed beds, it shall notify the State Department of Health of its intent to increase the number of its licensed beds. The State Department of Health shall survey the health care facility within thirty (30) days of that notice and, if appropriate, issue the health care facility a new license reflecting the new contingent of beds. However, in no event may a health care facility that has voluntarily delicensed some of its beds be reissued a license to operate beds in excess of its bed count before the voluntary delicensure of some of its beds without seeking certificate of need approval;
(d) Offering of the following health services if those services have not been provided on a regular basis by the proposed provider of such services within the period of twelve (12) months prior to the time such services would be offered:
(i) Open-heart surgery services;
(ii) Cardiac catheterization services;
(iii) Comprehensive inpatient rehabilitation services;
(iv) Licensed psychiatric services;
(v) Licensed chemical dependency services;
(vi) Radiation therapy services;
(vii) Diagnostic imaging services of an invasive nature, i.e. invasive digital angiography;
(viii) Nursing home care as defined in subparagraphs (iv), (vi) and (viii) of Section 41-7-173(h);
(ix) Home health services;
(x) Swing-bed services;
(xi) Ambulatory surgical services;
(xii) Magnetic resonance imaging services;
(xiii) [Deleted]
(xiv) Long-term care hospital services;
(xv) Positron emission tomography (PET) services;
(e) The relocation of one or more health services from one physical facility or site to another physical facility or site, unless such relocation, which does not involve a capital expenditure by or on behalf of a health care facility, (i) is to a physical facility or site within five thousand two hundred eighty (5,280) feet from the main entrance of the health care facility where the health care service is located, or (ii) is the result of an order of a court of appropriate jurisdiction or a result of pending litigation in such court, or by order of the State Department of Health, or by order of any other agency or legal entity of the state, the federal government, or any political subdivision of either, whose order is also approved by the State Department of Health;
(f) The acquisition or otherwise control of any major medical equipment for the provision of medical services; however, (i) the acquisition of any major medical equipment used only for research purposes, and (ii) the acquisition of major medical equipment to replace medical equipment for which a facility is already providing medical services and for which the State Department of Health has been notified before the date of such acquisition shall be exempt from this paragraph; an acquisition for less than fair market value must be reviewed, if the acquisition at fair market value would be subject to review;
(g) Changes of ownership of existing health care facilities in which a notice of intent is not filed with the State Department of Health at least thirty (30) days prior to the date such change of ownership occurs, or a change in services or bed capacity as prescribed in paragraph (c) or (d) of this subsection as a result of the change of ownership; an acquisition for less than fair market value must be reviewed, if the acquisition at fair market value would be subject to review;
(h) The change of ownership of any health care facility defined in subparagraphs (iv), (vi) and (viii) of Section 41-7-173(h), in which a notice of intent as described in paragraph (g) has not been filed and if the Executive Director, Division of Medicaid, Office of the Governor, has not certified in writing that there will be no increase in allowable costs to Medicaid from revaluation of the assets or from increased interest and depreciation as a result of the proposed change of ownership;
(i) Any activity described in paragraphs (a) through (h) if undertaken by any person if that same activity would require certificate of need approval if undertaken by a health care facility;
(j) Any capital expenditure or deferred capital expenditure by or on behalf of a health care facility not covered by paragraphs (a) through (h);
(k) The contracting of a health care facility as defined in subparagraphs (i) through (viii) of Section 41-7-173(h) to establish a home office, subunit, or branch office in the space operated as a health care facility through a formal arrangement with an existing health care facility as defined in subparagraph (ix) of Section 41-7-173(h);
(l) The replacement or relocation of a health care facility designated as a critical access hospital shall be exempt from subsection (1) of this section so long as the critical access hospital complies with all applicable federal law and regulations regarding such replacement or relocation;
(m) Reopening a health care facility that has ceased to operate for a period of sixty (60) months or more, which reopening requires a certificate of need for the establishment of a new health care facility.
(2) The State Department of Health shall not grant approval for or issue a certificate of need to any person proposing the new construction of, addition to, or expansion of any health care facility defined in subparagraphs (iv) (skilled nursing facility) and (vi) (intermediate care facility) of Section 41-7-173(h) or the conversion of vacant hospital beds to provide skilled or intermediate nursing home care, except as hereinafter authorized:
(a) The department may issue a certificate of need to any person proposing the new construction of any health care facility defined in subparagraphs (iv) and (vi) of Section 41-7-173(h) as part of a life care retirement facility, in any county bordering on the Gulf of Mexico in which is located a National Aeronautics and Space Administration facility, not to exceed forty (40) beds. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the health care facility that were authorized under this paragraph (a).
(b) The department may issue certificates of need in Harrison County to provide skilled nursing home care for Alzheimer's disease patients and other patients, not to exceed one hundred fifty (150) beds. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facilities that were authorized under this paragraph (b).
(c) The department may issue a certificate of need for the addition to or expansion of any skilled nursing facility that is part of an existing continuing care retirement community located in Madison County, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (c), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need. The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this paragraph (c) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds.
(d) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need to any hospital located in DeSoto County for the new construction of a skilled nursing facility, not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) beds, in DeSoto County. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facility that were authorized under this paragraph (d).
(e) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need for the construction of a nursing facility or the conversion of beds to nursing facility beds at a personal care facility for the elderly in Lowndes County that is owned and operated by a Mississippi nonprofit corporation, not to exceed sixty (60) beds. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facility that were authorized under this paragraph (e).
(f) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need for conversion of a county hospital facility in Itawamba County to a nursing facility, not to exceed sixty (60) beds, including any necessary construction, renovation or expansion. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facility that were authorized under this paragraph (f).
(g) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need for the construction or expansion of nursing facility beds or the conversion of other beds to nursing facility beds in either Hinds, Madison or Rankin County, not to exceed sixty (60) beds. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the nursing facility that were authorized under this paragraph (g).
(h) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need for the construction or expansion of nursing facility beds or the conversion of other beds to nursing facility beds in either Hancock, Harrison or Jackson County, not to exceed sixty (60) beds. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the facility that were authorized under this paragraph (h).
(i) The department may issue a certificate of need for the new construction of a skilled nursing facility in Leake County, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (i), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need. The provision of Section 41-7-193(1) regarding substantial compliance of the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan is waived for the purposes of this paragraph. The total number of nursing facility beds that may be authorized by any certificate of need issued under this paragraph (i) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds. If the skilled nursing facility authorized by the certificate of need issued under this paragraph is not constructed and fully operational within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 1994, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall not issue a license for the skilled nursing facility at any time after the expiration of the eighteen-month period.
(j) The department may issue certificates of need to allow any existing freestanding long-term care facility in Tishomingo County and Hancock County that on July 1, 1995, is licensed with fewer than sixty (60) beds. For the purposes of this paragraph (j), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived. From and after July 1, 1999, there shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the beds in the long-term care facilities that were authorized under this paragraph (j).
(k) The department may issue a certificate of need for the construction of a nursing facility at a continuing care retirement community in Lowndes County. The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this paragraph (k) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds. From and after July 1, 2001, the prohibition on the facility participating in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) that was a condition of issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph (k) shall be revised as follows: The nursing facility may participate in the Medicaid program from and after July 1, 2001, if the owner of the facility on July 1, 2001, agrees in writing that no more than thirty (30) of the beds at the facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program, and that no claim will be submitted for Medicaid reimbursement for more than thirty (30) patients in the facility in any month or for any patient in the facility who is in a bed that is not Medicaid-certified. This written agreement by the owner of the facility shall be a condition of licensure of the facility, and the agreement shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the facility if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after July 1, 2001. After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify more than thirty (30) of the beds in the facility for participation in the Medicaid program. If the facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than thirty (30) patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has violated the written agreement.
(l) Provided that funds are specifically appropriated therefor by the Legislature, the department may issue a certificate of need to a rehabilitation hospital in Hinds County for the construction of a sixty-bed long-term care nursing facility dedicated to the care and treatment of persons with severe disabilities including persons with spinal cord and closed-head injuries and ventilator dependent patients. The provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) regarding substantial compliance with projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived for the purpose of this paragraph.
(m) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need to a county-owned hospital in the Second Judicial District of Panola County for the conversion of not more than seventy-two (72) hospital beds to nursing facility beds, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that none of the beds at the nursing facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.), and that no claim will be submitted for Medicaid reimbursement in the nursing facility in any day or for any patient in the nursing facility. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be a condition of the issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph, and the agreement shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the nursing facility if the ownership of the nursing facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify any of the beds in the nursing facility for participation in the Medicaid program. If the nursing facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the nursing facility on a regular or continuing basis any patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the nursing facility has violated the condition upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement. If the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph is not issued within twelve (12) months after July 1, 2001, the department shall deny the application for the certificate of need and shall not issue the certificate of need at any time after the twelve-month period, unless the issuance is contested. If the certificate of need is issued and substantial construction of the nursing facility beds has not commenced within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 2001, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need if it is still outstanding, and the department shall not issue a license for the nursing facility at any time after the eighteen-month period. However, if the issuance of the certificate of need is contested, the department shall require substantial construction of the nursing facility beds within six (6) months after final adjudication on the issuance of the certificate of need.
(n) The department may issue a certificate of need for the new construction, addition or conversion of skilled nursing facility beds in Madison County, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (n), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need. The total number of nursing facility beds that may be authorized by any certificate of need issued under this paragraph (n) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds. If the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph is not issued within twelve (12) months after July 1, 1998, the department shall deny the application for the certificate of need and shall not issue the certificate of need at any time after the twelve-month period, unless the issuance is contested. If the certificate of need is issued and substantial construction of the nursing facility beds has not commenced within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 1998, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need if it is still outstanding, and the department shall not issue a license for the nursing facility at any time after the eighteen-month period. However, if the issuance of the certificate of need is contested, the department shall require substantial construction of the nursing facility beds within six (6) months after final adjudication on the issuance of the certificate of need.
(o) The department may issue a certificate of need for the new construction, addition or conversion of skilled nursing facility beds in Leake County, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (o), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need. The total number of nursing facility beds that may be authorized by any certificate of need issued under this paragraph (o) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds. If the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph is not issued within twelve (12) months after July 1, 2001, the department shall deny the application for the certificate of need and shall not issue the certificate of need at any time after the twelve-month period, unless the issuance is contested. If the certificate of need is issued and substantial construction of the nursing facility beds has not commenced within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 2001, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need if it is still outstanding, and the department shall not issue a license for the nursing facility at any time after the eighteen-month period. However, if the issuance of the certificate of need is contested, the department shall require substantial construction of the nursing facility beds within six (6) months after final adjudication on the issuance of the certificate of need.
(p) The department may issue a certificate of need for the construction of a municipally owned nursing facility within the Town of Belmont in Tishomingo County, not to exceed sixty (60) beds, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the skilled nursing facility will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the skilled nursing facility who are participating in the Medicaid program. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the skilled nursing facility, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the skilled nursing facility will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this paragraph (p), and if such skilled nursing facility at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the skilled nursing facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need. The provision of Section 41-7-193(1) regarding substantial compliance of the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan is waived for the purposes of this paragraph. If the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph is not issued within twelve (12) months after July 1, 1998, the department shall deny the application for the certificate of need and shall not issue the certificate of need at any time after the twelve-month period, unless the issuance is contested. If the certificate of need is issued and substantial construction of the nursing facility beds has not commenced within eighteen (18) months after July 1, 1998, the State Department of Health, after a hearing complying with due process, shall revoke the certificate of need if it is still outstanding, and the department shall not issue a license for the nursing facility at any time after the eighteen-month period. However, if the issuance of the certificate of need is contested, the department shall require substantial construction of the nursing facility beds within six (6) months after final adjudication on the issuance of the certificate of need.
(q) (i) Beginning on July 1, 1999, the State Department of Health shall issue certificates of need during each of the next four (4) fiscal years for the construction or expansion of nursing facility beds or the conversion of other beds to nursing facility beds in each county in the state having a need for fifty (50) or more additional nursing facility beds, as shown in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan, in the manner provided in this paragraph (q). The total number of nursing facility beds that may be authorized by any certificate of need authorized under this paragraph (q) shall not exceed sixty (60) beds.
(ii) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (v), during each of the next four (4) fiscal years, the department shall issue six (6) certificates of need for new nursing facility beds, as follows: During fiscal years 2000, 2001 and 2002, one (1) certificate of need shall be issued for new nursing facility beds in the county in each of the four (4) Long-Term Care Planning Districts designated in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan that has the highest need in the district for those beds; and two (2) certificates of need shall be issued for new nursing facility beds in the two (2) counties from the state at large that have the highest need in the state for those beds, when considering the need on a statewide basis and without regard to the Long-Term Care Planning Districts in which the counties are located. During fiscal year 2003, one (1) certificate of need shall be issued for new nursing facility beds in any county having a need for fifty (50) or more additional nursing facility beds, as shown in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan, that has not received a certificate of need under this paragraph (q) during the three (3) previous fiscal years. During fiscal year 2000, in addition to the six (6) certificates of need authorized in this subparagraph, the department also shall issue a certificate of need for new nursing facility beds in Amite County and a certificate of need for new nursing facility beds in Carroll County.
(iii) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (v), the certificate of need issued under subparagraph (ii) for nursing facility beds in each Long-Term Care Planning District during each fiscal year shall first be available for nursing facility beds in the county in the district having the highest need for those beds, as shown in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan. If there are no applications for a certificate of need for nursing facility beds in the county having the highest need for those beds by the date specified by the department, then the certificate of need shall be available for nursing facility beds in other counties in the district in descending order of the need for those beds, from the county with the second highest need to the county with the lowest need, until an application is received for nursing facility beds in an eligible county in the district.
(iv) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (v), the certificate of need issued under subparagraph (ii) for nursing facility beds in the two (2) counties from the state at large during each fiscal year shall first be available for nursing facility beds in the two (2) counties that have the highest need in the state for those beds, as shown in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan, when considering the need on a statewide basis and without regard to the Long-Term Care Planning Districts in which the counties are located. If there are no applications for a certificate of need for nursing facility beds in either of the two (2) counties having the highest need for those beds on a statewide basis by the date specified by the department, then the certificate of need shall be available for nursing facility beds in other counties from the state at large in descending order of the need for those beds on a statewide basis, from the county with the second highest need to the county with the lowest need, until an application is received for nursing facility beds in an eligible county from the state at large.
(v) If a certificate of need is authorized to be issued under this paragraph (q) for nursing facility beds in a county on the basis of the need in the Long-Term Care Planning District during any fiscal year of the four-year period, a certificate of need shall not also be available under this paragraph (q) for additional nursing facility beds in that county on the basis of the need in the state at large, and that county shall be excluded in determining which counties have the highest need for nursing facility beds in the state at large for that fiscal year. After a certificate of need has been issued under this paragraph (q) for nursing facility beds in a county during any fiscal year of the four-year period, a certificate of need shall not be available again under this paragraph (q) for additional nursing facility beds in that county during the four-year period, and that county shall be excluded in determining which counties have the highest need for nursing facility beds in succeeding fiscal years.
(vi) If more than one (1) application is made for a certificate of need for nursing home facility beds available under this paragraph (q), in Yalobusha, Newton or Tallahatchie County, and one (1) of the applicants is a county-owned hospital located in the county where the nursing facility beds are available, the department shall give priority to the county-owned hospital in granting the certificate of need if the following conditions are met:
1. The county-owned hospital fully meets all applicable criteria and standards required to obtain a certificate of need for the nursing facility beds; and
2. The county-owned hospital's qualifications for the certificate of need, as shown in its application and as determined by the department, are at least equal to the qualifications of the other applicants for the certificate of need.
(r) (i) Beginning on July 1, 1999, the State Department of Health shall issue certificates of need during each of the next two (2) fiscal years for the construction or expansion of nursing facility beds or the conversion of other beds to nursing facility beds in each of the four (4) Long-Term Care Planning Districts designated in the fiscal year 1999 State Health Plan, to provide care exclusively to patients with Alzheimer's disease.
(ii) Not more than twenty (20) beds may be authorized by any certificate of need issued under this paragraph (r), and not more than a total of sixty (60) beds may be authorized in any Long-Term Care Planning District by all certificates of need issued under this paragraph (r). However, the total number of beds that may be authorized by all certificates of need issued under this paragraph (r) during any fiscal year shall not exceed one hundred twenty (120) beds, and the total number of beds that may be authorized in any Long-Term Care Planning District during any fiscal year shall not exceed forty (40) beds. Of the certificates of need that are issued for each Long-Term Care Planning District during the next two (2) fiscal years, at least one (1) shall be issued for beds in the northern part of the district, at least one (1) shall be issued for beds in the central part of the district, and at least one (1) shall be issued for beds in the southern part of the district.
(iii) The State Department of Health, in consultation with the Department of Mental Health and the Division of Medicaid, shall develop and prescribe the staffing levels, space requirements and other standards and requirements that must be met with regard to the nursing facility beds authorized under this paragraph (r) to provide care exclusively to patients with Alzheimer's disease.
(s) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need to a nonprofit skilled nursing facility using the Green House model of skilled nursing care and located in Yazoo City, Yazoo County, Mississippi, for the construction, expansion or conversion of not more than nineteen (19) nursing facility beds. For purposes of this paragraph (s), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan and the provisions of Section 41-7-197 requiring a formal certificate of need hearing process are waived. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph (s).
(t) The State Department of Health shall issue certificates of need to the owner of a nursing facility in operation at the time of Hurricane Katrina in Hancock County that was not operational on December 31, 2005, because of damage sustained from Hurricane Katrina to authorize the following: (i) the construction of a new nursing facility in Harrison County; (ii) the relocation of forty-nine (49) nursing facility beds from the Hancock County facility to the new Harrison County facility; (iii) the establishment of not more than twenty (20) non-Medicaid nursing facility beds at the Hancock County facility; and (iv) the establishment of not more than twenty (20) non-Medicaid beds at the new Harrison County facility. The certificates of need that authorize the non-Medicaid nursing facility beds under subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) of this paragraph (t) shall be subject to the following conditions: The owner of the Hancock County facility and the new Harrison County facility must agree in writing that no more than fifty (50) of the beds at the Hancock County facility and no more than forty-nine (49) of the beds at the Harrison County facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program, and that no claim will be submitted for Medicaid reimbursement for more than fifty (50) patients in the Hancock County facility in any month, or for more than forty-nine (49) patients in the Harrison County facility in any month, or for any patient in either facility who is in a bed that is not Medicaid-certified. This written agreement by the owner of the nursing facilities shall be a condition of the issuance of the certificates of need under this paragraph (t), and the agreement shall be fully binding on any later owner or owners of either facility if the ownership of either facility is transferred at any time after the certificates of need are issued. After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify more than fifty (50) of the beds at the Hancock County facility or more than forty-nine (49) of the beds at the Harrison County facility for participation in the Medicaid program. If the Hancock County facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than fifty (50) patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, or if the Harrison County facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than forty-nine (49) patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the facility that is in violation of the agreement, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has violated the agreement.
(u) The State Department of Health shall issue a certificate of need to a nonprofit venture for the establishment, construction and operation of a skilled nursing facility of not more than sixty (60) beds to provide skilled nursing care for ventilator dependent or otherwise medically dependent pediatric patients who require medical and nursing care or rehabilitation services to be located in a county in which an academic medical center and a children's hospital are located, and for any construction and for the acquisition of equipment related to those beds. The facility shall be authorized to keep such ventilator dependent or otherwise medically dependent pediatric patients beyond age twenty-one (21) in accordance with regulations of the State Board of Health. For purposes of this paragraph (u), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived, and the provisions of Section 41-7-197 requiring a formal certificate of need hearing process are waived. The beds authorized by this paragraph shall be counted as pediatric skilled nursing facility beds for health planning purposes under Section 41-7-171 et seq. There shall be no prohibition of or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized by this paragraph.
(3) The State Department of Health may grant approval for and issue certificates of need to any person proposing the new construction of, addition to, conversion of beds of or expansion of any health care facility defined in subparagraph (x) (psychiatric residential treatment facility) of Section 41-7-173(h). The total number of beds which may be authorized by such certificates of need shall not exceed three hundred thirty-four (334) beds for the entire state.
(a) Of the total
number of beds authorized under this subsection, the department shall issue a
certificate of need to a privately owned psychiatric residential treatment
facility in Simpson County for the conversion of sixteen (16) intermediate care
facility for * * * individuals with intellectual disabilities
(ICF- * * *IID)
beds to psychiatric residential treatment facility beds, provided that facility
agrees in writing that the facility shall give priority for the use of those
sixteen (16) beds to Mississippi residents who are presently being treated in
out-of-state facilities.
(b) Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection, the department may issue a certificate or certificates of need for the construction or expansion of psychiatric residential treatment facility beds or the conversion of other beds to psychiatric residential treatment facility beds in Warren County, not to exceed sixty (60) psychiatric residential treatment facility beds, provided that the facility agrees in writing that no more than thirty (30) of the beds at the psychiatric residential treatment facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the use of any patients other than those who are participating only in the Medicaid program of another state, and that no claim will be submitted to the Division of Medicaid for Medicaid reimbursement for more than thirty (30) patients in the psychiatric residential treatment facility in any day or for any patient in the psychiatric residential treatment facility who is in a bed that is not Medicaid-certified. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be a condition of the issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph, and the agreement shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the psychiatric residential treatment facility if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify more than thirty (30) of the beds in the psychiatric residential treatment facility for participation in the Medicaid program for the use of any patients other than those who are participating only in the Medicaid program of another state. If the psychiatric residential treatment facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than thirty (30) patients who are participating in the Mississippi Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has violated the condition upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement.
The State Department of Health, on or before July 1, 2002, shall transfer the certificate of need authorized under the authority of this paragraph (b), or reissue the certificate of need if it has expired, to River Region Health System.
(c) Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection, the department shall issue a certificate of need to a hospital currently operating Medicaid-certified acute psychiatric beds for adolescents in DeSoto County, for the establishment of a forty-bed psychiatric residential treatment facility in DeSoto County, provided that the hospital agrees in writing (i) that the hospital shall give priority for the use of those forty (40) beds to Mississippi residents who are presently being treated in out-of-state facilities, and (ii) that no more than fifteen (15) of the beds at the psychiatric residential treatment facility will be certified for participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.), and that no claim will be submitted for Medicaid reimbursement for more than fifteen (15) patients in the psychiatric residential treatment facility in any day or for any patient in the psychiatric residential treatment facility who is in a bed that is not Medicaid-certified. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be a condition of the issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph, and the agreement shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the psychiatric residential treatment facility if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. After this written agreement is executed, the Division of Medicaid and the State Department of Health shall not certify more than fifteen (15) of the beds in the psychiatric residential treatment facility for participation in the Medicaid program. If the psychiatric residential treatment facility violates the terms of the written agreement by admitting or keeping in the facility on a regular or continuing basis more than fifteen (15) patients who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the license of the facility, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has violated the condition upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this paragraph and in the written agreement.
(d) Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection, the department may issue a certificate or certificates of need for the construction or expansion of psychiatric residential treatment facility beds or the conversion of other beds to psychiatric treatment facility beds, not to exceed thirty (30) psychiatric residential treatment facility beds, in either Alcorn, Tishomingo, Prentiss, Lee, Itawamba, Monroe, Chickasaw, Pontotoc, Calhoun, Lafayette, Union, Benton or Tippah County.
(e) Of the total number of beds authorized under this subsection (3) the department shall issue a certificate of need to a privately owned, nonprofit psychiatric residential treatment facility in Hinds County for an eight-bed expansion of the facility, provided that the facility agrees in writing that the facility shall give priority for the use of those eight (8) beds to Mississippi residents who are presently being treated in out-of-state facilities.
(f) The department shall issue a certificate of need to a one-hundred-thirty-four-bed specialty hospital located on twenty-nine and forty-four one-hundredths (29.44) commercial acres at 5900 Highway 39 North in Meridian (Lauderdale County), Mississippi, for the addition, construction or expansion of child/adolescent psychiatric residential treatment facility beds in Lauderdale County. As a condition of issuance of the certificate of need under this paragraph, the facility shall give priority in admissions to the child/adolescent psychiatric residential treatment facility beds authorized under this paragraph to patients who otherwise would require out-of-state placement. The Division of Medicaid, in conjunction with the Department of Human Services, shall furnish the facility a list of all out-of-state patients on a quarterly basis. Furthermore, notice shall also be provided to the parent, custodial parent or guardian of each out-of-state patient notifying them of the priority status granted by this paragraph. For purposes of this paragraph, the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived. The total number of child/adolescent psychiatric residential treatment facility beds that may be authorized under the authority of this paragraph shall be sixty (60) beds. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this paragraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.
(4) (a) From and after July 1, 1993, the department shall not issue a certificate of need to any person for the new construction of any hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital that will contain any child/adolescent psychiatric or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds, or for the conversion of any other health care facility to a hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital that will contain any child/adolescent psychiatric or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds, or for the addition of any child/adolescent psychiatric or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds in any hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital, or for the conversion of any beds of another category in any hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital to child/adolescent psychiatric or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds, except as hereinafter authorized:
(i) The department may issue certificates of need to any person for any purpose described in this subsection, provided that the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital does not participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) at the time of the application for the certificate of need and the owner of the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital agrees in writing that the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program or admit or keep any patients who are participating in the Medicaid program in the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this subparagraph (i), and if such hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this subparagraph (i) and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need.
(ii) The department may issue a certificate of need for the conversion of existing beds in a county hospital in Choctaw County from acute care beds to child/adolescent chemical dependency beds. For purposes of this subparagraph (ii), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived. The total number of beds that may be authorized under authority of this subparagraph shall not exceed twenty (20) beds. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the hospital receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subparagraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.
(iii) The department may issue a certificate or certificates of need for the construction or expansion of child/adolescent psychiatric beds or the conversion of other beds to child/adolescent psychiatric beds in Warren County. For purposes of this subparagraph (iii), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived. The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this subparagraph shall not exceed twenty (20) beds. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subparagraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.
If by January 1, 2002, there has been no significant commencement of construction of the beds authorized under this subparagraph (iii), or no significant action taken to convert existing beds to the beds authorized under this subparagraph, then the certificate of need that was previously issued under this subparagraph shall expire. If the previously issued certificate of need expires, the department may accept applications for issuance of another certificate of need for the beds authorized under this subparagraph, and may issue a certificate of need to authorize the construction, expansion or conversion of the beds authorized under this subparagraph.
(iv) The department shall issue a certificate of need to the Region 7 Mental Health/Retardation Commission for the construction or expansion of child/adolescent psychiatric beds or the conversion of other beds to child/adolescent psychiatric beds in any of the counties served by the commission. For purposes of this subparagraph (iv), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived. The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this subparagraph shall not exceed twenty (20) beds. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subparagraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.
(v) The department may issue a certificate of need to any county hospital located in Leflore County for the construction or expansion of adult psychiatric beds or the conversion of other beds to adult psychiatric beds, not to exceed twenty (20) beds, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the adult psychiatric beds will not at any time be certified for participation in the Medicaid program and that the hospital will not admit or keep any patients who are participating in the Medicaid program in any of such adult psychiatric beds. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the hospital if the ownership of the hospital is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the adult psychiatric beds will not be certified for participation in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this subparagraph (v), and if such hospital at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the hospital, has any of such adult psychiatric beds certified for participation in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any Medicaid patients in such adult psychiatric beds, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the hospital at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the hospital has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this subparagraph and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need.
(vi) The department may issue a certificate or certificates of need for the expansion of child psychiatric beds or the conversion of other beds to child psychiatric beds at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. For purposes of this subparagraph (vi), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived. The total number of beds that may be authorized under the authority of this subparagraph shall not exceed fifteen (15) beds. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the hospital receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subparagraph or for the beds converted pursuant to the authority of that certificate of need.
(b) From and after July 1, 1990, no hospital, psychiatric hospital or chemical dependency hospital shall be authorized to add any child/adolescent psychiatric or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds or convert any beds of another category to child/adolescent psychiatric or child/adolescent chemical dependency beds without a certificate of need under the authority of subsection (1)(c) of this section.
(5) The department may issue a certificate of need to a county hospital in Winston County for the conversion of fifteen (15) acute care beds to geriatric psychiatric care beds.
(6) The State Department of Health shall issue a certificate of need to a Mississippi corporation qualified to manage a long-term care hospital as defined in Section 41-7-173(h)(xii) in Harrison County, not to exceed eighty (80) beds, including any necessary renovation or construction required for licensure and certification, provided that the recipient of the certificate of need agrees in writing that the long-term care hospital will not at any time participate in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) or admit or keep any patients in the long-term care hospital who are participating in the Medicaid program. This written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need shall be fully binding on any subsequent owner of the long-term care hospital, if the ownership of the facility is transferred at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need. Agreement that the long-term care hospital will not participate in the Medicaid program shall be a condition of the issuance of a certificate of need to any person under this subsection (6), and if such long-term care hospital at any time after the issuance of the certificate of need, regardless of the ownership of the facility, participates in the Medicaid program or admits or keeps any patients in the facility who are participating in the Medicaid program, the State Department of Health shall revoke the certificate of need, if it is still outstanding, and shall deny or revoke the license of the long-term care hospital, at the time that the department determines, after a hearing complying with due process, that the facility has failed to comply with any of the conditions upon which the certificate of need was issued, as provided in this subsection and in the written agreement by the recipient of the certificate of need. For purposes of this subsection, the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived.
(7) The State Department of Health may issue a certificate of need to any hospital in the state to utilize a portion of its beds for the "swing-bed" concept. Any such hospital must be in conformance with the federal regulations regarding such swing-bed concept at the time it submits its application for a certificate of need to the State Department of Health, except that such hospital may have more licensed beds or a higher average daily census (ADC) than the maximum number specified in federal regulations for participation in the swing-bed program. Any hospital meeting all federal requirements for participation in the swing-bed program which receives such certificate of need shall render services provided under the swing-bed concept to any patient eligible for Medicare (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act) who is certified by a physician to be in need of such services, and no such hospital shall permit any patient who is eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare or eligible only for Medicaid to stay in the swing beds of the hospital for more than thirty (30) days per admission unless the hospital receives prior approval for such patient from the Division of Medicaid, Office of the Governor. Any hospital having more licensed beds or a higher average daily census (ADC) than the maximum number specified in federal regulations for participation in the swing-bed program which receives such certificate of need shall develop a procedure to insure that before a patient is allowed to stay in the swing beds of the hospital, there are no vacant nursing home beds available for that patient located within a fifty-mile radius of the hospital. When any such hospital has a patient staying in the swing beds of the hospital and the hospital receives notice from a nursing home located within such radius that there is a vacant bed available for that patient, the hospital shall transfer the patient to the nursing home within a reasonable time after receipt of the notice. Any hospital which is subject to the requirements of the two (2) preceding sentences of this subsection may be suspended from participation in the swing-bed program for a reasonable period of time by the State Department of Health if the department, after a hearing complying with due process, determines that the hospital has failed to comply with any of those requirements.
(8) The Department of Health shall not grant approval for or issue a certificate of need to any person proposing the new construction of, addition to or expansion of a health care facility as defined in subparagraph (viii) of Section 41-7-173(h), except as hereinafter provided: The department may issue a certificate of need to a nonprofit corporation located in Madison County, Mississippi, for the construction, expansion or conversion of not more than twenty (20) beds in a community living program for developmentally disabled adults in a facility as defined in subparagraph (viii) of Section 41-7-173(h). For purposes of this subsection (8), the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan and the provisions of Section 41-7-197 requiring a formal certificate of need hearing process are waived. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program for the person receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subsection (8).
(9) The Department of Health shall not grant approval for or issue a certificate of need to any person proposing the establishment of, or expansion of the currently approved territory of, or the contracting to establish a home office, subunit or branch office within the space operated as a health care facility as defined in Section 41-7-173(h)(i) through (viii) by a health care facility as defined in subparagraph (ix) of Section 41-7-173(h).
(10) Health care facilities owned and/or operated by the state or its agencies are exempt from the restraints in this section against issuance of a certificate of need if such addition or expansion consists of repairing or renovation necessary to comply with the state licensure law. This exception shall not apply to the new construction of any building by such state facility. This exception shall not apply to any health care facilities owned and/or operated by counties, municipalities, districts, unincorporated areas, other defined persons, or any combination thereof.
(11) The new construction,
renovation or expansion of or addition to any health care facility defined in
subparagraph (ii) (psychiatric hospital), subparagraph (iv) (skilled nursing
facility), subparagraph (vi) (intermediate care facility), subparagraph (viii)
(intermediate care facility for * * * individuals with
intellectual disabilities) and subparagraph (x) (psychiatric residential
treatment facility) of Section 41-7-173(h) which is owned by the State of
Mississippi and under the direction and control of the State Department of
Mental Health, and the addition of new beds or the conversion of beds from one
category to another in any such defined health care facility which is owned by
the State of Mississippi and under the direction and control of the State Department
of Mental Health, shall not require the issuance of a certificate of need under
Section 41-7-171 et seq., notwithstanding any provision in Section 41-7-171 et
seq. to the contrary.
(12) The new construction, renovation or expansion of or addition to any veterans homes or domiciliaries for eligible veterans of the State of Mississippi as authorized under Section 35-1-19 shall not require the issuance of a certificate of need, notwithstanding any provision in Section 41-7-171 et seq. to the contrary.
(13) The repair or the rebuilding of an existing, operating health care facility that sustained significant damage from a natural disaster that occurred after April 15, 2014, in an area that is proclaimed a disaster area or subject to a state of emergency by the Governor or by the President of the United States shall be exempt from all of the requirements of the Mississippi Certificate of Need Law (Section 41-7-171 et seq.) and any and all rules and regulations promulgated under that law, subject to the following conditions:
(a) The repair or the rebuilding of any such damaged health care facility must be within one (1) mile of the pre-disaster location of the campus of the damaged health care facility, except that any temporary post-disaster health care facility operating location may be within five (5) miles of the pre-disaster location of the damaged health care facility;
(b) The repair or the rebuilding of the damaged health care facility (i) does not increase or change the complement of its bed capacity that it had before the Governor's or the President's proclamation, (ii) does not increase or change its levels and types of health care services that it provided before the Governor's or the President's proclamation, and (iii) does not rebuild in a different county; however, this paragraph does not restrict or prevent a health care facility from decreasing its bed capacity that it had before the Governor's or the President's proclamation, or from decreasing the levels of or decreasing or eliminating the types of health care services that it provided before the Governor's or the President's proclamation, when the damaged health care facility is repaired or rebuilt;
(c) The exemption from Certificate of Need Law provided under this subsection (13) is valid for only five (5) years from the date of the Governor's or the President's proclamation. If actual construction has not begun within that five-year period, the exemption provided under this subsection is inapplicable; and
(d) The Division of Health Facilities Licensure and Certification of the State Department of Health shall provide the same oversight for the repair or the rebuilding of the damaged health care facility that it provides to all health care facility construction projects in the state.
For the purposes of this subsection (13), "significant damage" to a health care facility means damage to the health care facility requiring an expenditure of at least One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00).
(14) The State Department of Health shall issue a certificate of need to any hospital which is currently licensed for two hundred fifty (250) or more acute care beds and is located in any general hospital service area not having a comprehensive cancer center, for the establishment and equipping of such a center which provides facilities and services for outpatient radiation oncology therapy, outpatient medical oncology therapy, and appropriate support services including the provision of radiation therapy services. The provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) regarding substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived for the purpose of this subsection.
(15) The State Department of Health may authorize the transfer of hospital beds, not to exceed sixty (60) beds, from the North Panola Community Hospital to the South Panola Community Hospital. The authorization for the transfer of those beds shall be exempt from the certificate of need review process.
(16) The State Department of Health shall issue any certificates of need necessary for Mississippi State University and a public or private health care provider to jointly acquire and operate a linear accelerator and a magnetic resonance imaging unit. Those certificates of need shall cover all capital expenditures related to the project between Mississippi State University and the health care provider, including, but not limited to, the acquisition of the linear accelerator, the magnetic resonance imaging unit and other radiological modalities; the offering of linear accelerator and magnetic resonance imaging services; and the cost of construction of facilities in which to locate these services. The linear accelerator and the magnetic resonance imaging unit shall be (a) located in the City of Starkville, Oktibbeha County, Mississippi; (b) operated jointly by Mississippi State University and the public or private health care provider selected by Mississippi State University through a request for proposals (RFP) process in which Mississippi State University selects, and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning approves, the health care provider that makes the best overall proposal; (c) available to Mississippi State University for research purposes two-thirds (2/3) of the time that the linear accelerator and magnetic resonance imaging unit are operational; and (d) available to the public or private health care provider selected by Mississippi State University and approved by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning one-third (1/3) of the time for clinical, diagnostic and treatment purposes. For purposes of this subsection, the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan are waived.
(17) The State Department of Health shall issue a certificate of need for the construction of an acute care hospital in Kemper County, not to exceed twenty-five (25) beds, which shall be named the "John C. Stennis Memorial Hospital." In issuing the certificate of need under this subsection, the department shall give priority to a hospital located in Lauderdale County that has two hundred fifteen (215) beds. For purposes of this subsection, the provisions of Section 41-7-193(1) requiring substantial compliance with the projection of need as reported in the current State Health Plan and the provisions of Section 41-7-197 requiring a formal certificate of need hearing process are waived. There shall be no prohibition or restrictions on participation in the Medicaid program (Section 43-13-101 et seq.) for the person or entity receiving the certificate of need authorized under this subsection or for the beds constructed under the authority of that certificate of need.
(18) The planning, design, construction, renovation, addition, furnishing and equipping of a clinical research unit at any health care facility defined in Section 41-7-173(h) that is under the direction and control of the University of Mississippi Medical Center and located in Jackson, Mississippi, and the addition of new beds or the conversion of beds from one (1) category to another in any such clinical research unit, shall not require the issuance of a certificate of need under Section 41-7-171 et seq., notwithstanding any provision in Section 41-7-171 et seq. to the contrary.
(19) [Repealed]
(20) Nothing in this section or in any other provision of Section 41-7-171 et seq. shall prevent any nursing facility from designating an appropriate number of existing beds in the facility as beds for providing care exclusively to patients with Alzheimer's disease.
SECTION 26. Section 41-11-102, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-11-102. The administration, supervision, duties and all aspects of the Children's Rehabilitation Center shall be transferred to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in a division to be called Division of Children's Rehabilitation. It is the intent that there shall be cooperation between the center, the Blake Center and the Department of Health, Children's Services.
The University of
Mississippi Medical Center is authorized and empowered to minister to the
educational, medical and total needs of those affected by cerebral palsy and
other * * *
disabling conditions which are amenable to such treatment. The center
shall be used to the greatest extent possible for such treatment.
SECTION 27. Section 41-11-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-11-105. The State
Building Commission is * * * hereby authorized and empowered to erect, construct, and equip
the Mississippi Children's Rehabilitation Center, which shall have as its
purpose the treatment and education of persons afflicted with cerebral palsy
and other * * *
disabling conditions which are amenable to such treatment. The cost of
constructing, erecting, and equipping such hospital may be paid from such funds
as may be appropriated, or may heretofore have been appropriated, for such
purpose by the Legislature; and funds which are available to the State Building
Commission or which have been set aside and earmarked for the construction,
erection, and equipping of the "Crippled Children's Hospital" under
the provisions of Chapter 291, Laws of 1954, or the "Mississippi Hospital
School for Cerebral Palsy," under the provisions of Chapter 308, Laws of
1956, are * * *
designated and shall be applied to the constructing, erecting and equipping of
the Mississippi Children's Rehabilitation Center.
SECTION 28. Section 41-11-109, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-11-109. When the Mississippi Children's Rehabilitation Center has been completed and made ready for occupancy, the buildings and land on which they are located, together with any and all equipment therefor, shall be conveyed and transferred by the State Building Commission to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for the use and benefit of the State of Mississippi in accordance with the provisions of Sections 41-11-101 through 41-11-113. Title to all land, buildings and equipment held by the board of trustees of the Mississippi Hospital School for Cerebral Palsy shall be conveyed to the University of Mississippi Medical Center for the use and benefit of the state in accordance with the provisions of such sections.
The University of
Mississippi Medical Center may contract for and obtain the services of the
board of education for the purpose of conducting educational programs for
children in the Mississippi Children's Rehabilitation Center and all
institutions and agencies of the state government are requested and directed to
participate and cooperate to the fullest extent authorized by law in rendering
assistance towards the rehabilitation and restoration of such cerebral palsy
patients and patients with other * * * disabling conditions which
are amenable to such treatment.
No member of the family of
any member of the board of trustees shall be eligible for treatment in the
center. * * *
Children with physical disabilities shall be admitted to the center
insofar as practicable in proportion to the number of such children in the
counties of the State of Mississippi, so that all such * * * children with physical disabilities
shall have equal opportunity for admission to the center.
SECTION 29. Section 41-11-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-11-111. The University
of Mississippi Medical Center is authorized to accept any and all grants,
donations or matching funds from private, public or federal sources in order to
add to, improve and enlarge the physical facilities and equipment of the
Mississippi Children's Rehabilitation Center. The State Department of Health
and the * * *
Disabled Children's Service are * * * specifically authorized and empowered to
provide crutches, braces and any and all other mechanical devices available and
designed for the assistance of those persons afflicted with cerebral palsy and
other * * *
disabling conditions which are amenable to such treatment.
SECTION 30. Section 41-11-113, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-11-113. It is the intent
of Sections 41-11-101 through 41-11-113 to change the name of the
"Mississippi Crippled Children's Treatment and Training Center" to
the Mississippi Children's Rehabilitation Center and to place it under the
supervision and control of the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Sections 41-11-100 through 41-11-113 should be construed liberally in order to
accomplish the broad objectives in aiding persons afflicted with cerebral palsy
and other * * *
disabling conditions which are amenable to such treatment, in any and
every manner possible by the use of new techniques as they are developed and
become known, and by use of the combination of education and medical services
for the rehabilitation of such persons.
SECTION 31. Section 41-13-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-13-35. (1) The board of trustees of any community hospital shall have full authority to appoint an administrator, who shall not be a member of the board of trustees, and to delegate reasonable authority to such administrator for the operation and maintenance of such hospital and all property and facilities otherwise appertaining thereto.
(2) The board of trustees
shall have full authority to select from its members, officers and committees
and, by resolution or through the board bylaws, to delegate to such officers
and committees reasonable authority to carry out and enforce the powers and
duties of the board of trustees during the interim periods between regular
meetings of the board of trustees; * * * however, * * * any such action taken by an officer or
committee shall be subject to review by the board, and actions may be withdrawn
or nullified at the next subsequent meeting of the board of trustees if the
action is in excess of delegated authority.
(3) The board of trustees shall be responsible for governing the community hospital under its control and shall make and enforce staff and hospital bylaws and/or rules and regulations necessary for the administration, government, maintenance and/or expansion of such hospitals. The board of trustees shall keep minutes of its official business and shall comply with Section 41-9-68.
(4) The decisions of * * * the board of trustees of the
community hospital shall be valid and binding unless expressly prohibited by
applicable statutory or constitutional provisions.
(5) The power of the board of trustees shall specifically include, but not be limited to, the following authority:
(a) To deposit and invest funds of the community hospital in accordance with Section 27-105-365;
(b) To establish such equitable wage and salary programs and other employment benefits as may be deemed expedient or proper, and in so doing, to expend reasonable funds for such employee salary and benefits. Allowable employee programs shall specifically include, but not be limited to, medical benefit, life, accidental death and dismemberment, disability, retirement and other employee coverage plans. The hospital may offer and fund such programs directly or by contract with any third party and shall be authorized to take all actions necessary to implement, administer and operate such plans, including payroll deductions for such plans;
(c) To authorize employees to attend and to pay actual expenses incurred by employees while engaged in hospital business or in attending recognized educational or professional meetings;
(d) To enter into loan or scholarship agreements with employees or students to provide educational assistance where such student or employee agrees to work for a stipulated period of time for the hospital;
(e) To devise and implement employee incentive programs;
(f) To recruit and financially assist physicians and other health care practitioners in establishing, or relocating practices within the service area of the community hospital including, without limitation, direct and indirect financial assistance, loan agreements, agreements guaranteeing minimum incomes for a stipulated period from opening of the practice and providing free office space or reduced rental rates for office space where such recruitment would directly benefit the community hospital and/or the health and welfare of the citizens of the service area;
(g) To contract by way
of lease, lease-purchase or otherwise, with any agency, department or other
office of government or any individual, partnership, corporation, owner, other
board of trustees, or other health care facility, for the providing of
property, equipment or services by or to the community hospital or other entity
or regarding any facet of the construction, management, funding or operation of
the community hospital or any division or department thereof, or any related activity,
including, without limitation, shared management expertise or employee
insurance and retirement programs, and to terminate * * * the contracts when deemed in the
best interests of the community hospital;
(h) To file suit on behalf of the community hospital to enforce any right or claims accruing to the hospital and to defend and/or settle claims against the community hospital and/or its board of trustees;
(i) To sell or otherwise dispose of any chattel property of the community hospital by any method deemed appropriate by the board where such disposition is consistent with the hospital purposes or where such property is deemed by the board to be surplus or otherwise unneeded;
(j) To let contracts for the construction, remodeling, expansion or acquisition, by lease or purchase, of hospital or health care facilities, including real property, within the service area for community hospital purposes where such may be done with operational funds without encumbrancing the general funds of the county or municipality, provided that any contract for the purchase of real property must be ratified by the owner;
(k) To borrow money and enter other financing arrangements for community hospital and related purposes and to grant security interests in hospital equipment and other hospital assets and to pledge a percentage of hospital revenues as security for such financings where needed; provided that the owner shall specify by resolution the maximum borrowing authority and maximum percent of revenue which may be pledged by the board of trustees during any given fiscal year;
(l) To expend hospital funds for public relations or advertising programs;
(m) To offer the
following inpatient and outpatient services, after complying with applicable
health planning, licensure statutes and regulations, whether or not heretofore
offered by such hospital or other similar hospitals in this state and whether
or not heretofore authorized to be offered, long-term care, extended care, home
care, after-hours clinic services, ambulatory surgical clinic services,
preventative health care services including wellness services, health
education, rehabilitation and diagnostic and treatment services; to promote,
develop, operate and maintain a center providing care or residential facilities
for * * * persons
who are aged, convalescent or * * * disabled; and to promote,
develop and institute any other services having an appropriate place in the
operation of a hospital offering complete community health care;
(n) To promote, develop, acquire, operate and maintain on a nonprofit basis, or on a profit basis if the community hospital's share of profits is used solely for community hospital and related purposes in accordance with this chapter, either separately or jointly with one or more other hospitals or health-related organizations, facilities and equipment for providing goods, services and programs for hospitals, other health care providers, and other persons or entities in need of such goods, services and programs and, in doing so, to provide for contracts of employment or contracts for services and ownership of property on terms that will protect the public interest;
(o) To establish and operate medical offices, child care centers, wellness or fitness centers and other facilities and programs which the board determines are appropriate in the operation of a community hospital for the benefit of its employees, personnel and/or medical staff which shall be operated as an integral part of the hospital and which may, in the direction of the board of trustees, be offered to the general public. If such programs are not established in existing facilities or constructed on real estate previously acquired by the owners, the board of trustees shall also have authority to acquire, by lease or purchase, such facilities and real property within the service area, whether or not adjacent to existing facilities, provided that any contract for the purchase of real property shall be ratified by the owner. The trustees shall lease any such medical offices to members of the medical staff at rates deemed appropriate and may, in its discretion, establish rates to be paid for the use of other facilities or programs by its employees or personnel or members of the public whom the trustees may determine may properly use such other facilities or programs;
(p) Provide, at its discretion, ambulance service and/or to contract with any third party, public or private, for the providing of such service;
(q) Establish a fair and equitable system for the billing of patients for care or users of services received through the community hospital, which in the exercise of the board of trustees' prudent fiscal discretion, may allow for rates to be classified according to the potential usage by an identified group or groups of patients of the community hospital's services and may allow for standard discounts where the discount is designed to reduce the operating costs or increase the revenues of the community hospital. Such billing system may also allow for the payment of charges by means of a credit card or similar device and allow for payment of administrative fees as may be regularly imposed by a banking institution or other credit service organization for the use of such cards;
(r) To establish as an organizational part of the hospital or to aid in establishing as a separate entity from the hospital, hospital auxiliaries designed to aid the hospital, its patients, and/or families and visitors of patients, and when the auxiliary is established as a separate entity from the hospital, the board of trustees may cooperate with the auxiliary in its operations as the board of trustees deems appropriate; and
(s) To make any agreements or contracts with the federal government or any agency thereof, the State of Mississippi or any agency thereof, and any county, city, town, supervisors district or election district within this state, jointly or separately, for the maintenance of charity facilities.
(6) No board of trustees of any community hospital may accept any grant of money or other thing of value from any not-for-profit or for-profit organization established for the purpose of supporting health care in the area served by the facility unless two-thirds (2/3) of the trustees vote to accept the grant.
(7) No board of trustees, individual trustee or any other person who is an agent or servant of the trustees of any community hospital shall have any personal financial interest in any not-for-profit or for-profit organization which, regardless of its stated purpose of incorporation, provides assistance in the form of grants of money or property to community hospitals or provides services to community hospitals in the form of performance of functions normally associated with the operations of a hospital.
SECTION 32. Section 41-19-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-19-33. (1) Each region so designated or established under Section 41-19-31 shall establish a regional commission to be composed of members appointed by the boards of supervisors of the various counties in the region. It shall be the duty of such regional commission to administer mental health/intellectual disability programs certified and required by the State Board of Mental Health and as specified in Section 41-4-1(2). In addition, once designated and established as provided hereinabove, a regional commission shall have the following authority and shall pursue and promote the following general purposes:
(a) To establish, own, lease, acquire, construct, build, operate and maintain mental illness, mental health, intellectual disability, alcoholism and general rehabilitative facilities and services designed to serve the needs of the people of the region so designated, provided that the services supplied by the regional commissions shall include those services determined by the Department of Mental Health to be necessary and may include, in addition to the above, services for persons with developmental and learning disabilities; for persons suffering from narcotic addiction and problems of drug abuse and drug dependence; and for the aging as designated and certified by the Department of Mental Health. Such regional mental health and intellectual disability commissions and other community service providers shall, on or before July 1 of each year, submit an annual operational plan to the Department of Mental Health for approval or disapproval based on the minimum standards and minimum required services established by the department for certification and itemize the services as specified in Section 41-4-1(2). As part of the annual operation plan required by Section 41-4-7(h) submitted by any regional community mental health center or by any other reasonable certification deemed acceptable by the department, the community mental health center shall state those services specified in Section 41-4-1(2) that it will provide and also those services that it will not provide. If the department finds deficiencies in the plan of any regional commission or community service provider based on the minimum standards and minimum required services established for certification, the department shall give the regional commission or community service provider a six-month probationary period to bring its standards and services up to the established minimum standards and minimum required services. After the six-month probationary period, if the department determines that the regional commission or community service provider still does not meet the minimum standards and minimum required services established for certification, the department may remove the certification of the commission or provider, and from and after July 1, 2011, the commission or provider shall be ineligible for state funds from Medicaid reimbursement or other funding sources for those services. After the six-month probationary period, the Department of Mental Health may identify an appropriate community service provider to provide any core services in that county that are not provided by a community mental health center. However, the department shall not offer reimbursement or other accommodations to a community service provider of core services that were not offered to the decertified community mental health center for the same or similar services.
(b) To provide
facilities and services for the prevention of mental illness, mental disorders,
developmental and learning disabilities, alcoholism, narcotic addiction, drug
abuse, drug dependence and other related * * * disabilities or problems
(including the problems of the aging) among the people of the region so
designated, and for the rehabilitation of persons suffering from such
illnesses, disorders, * * *
disabilities or problems as designated and certified by the Department
of Mental Health.
(c) To promote
increased understanding of the problems of mental illness, intellectual
disabilities, alcoholism, developmental and learning disabilities, narcotic
addiction, drug abuse and drug dependence and other related problems (including
the problems of the aging) by the people of the region, and also to promote
increased understanding of the purposes and methods of the rehabilitation of
persons suffering from such illnesses, disorders, * * * disabilities or problems as
designated and certified by the Department of Mental Health.
(d) To enter into
contracts and to make such other arrangements as may be necessary, from time to
time, with the United States government, the government of the State of
Mississippi and such other agencies or governmental bodies as may be approved
by and acceptable to the regional commission for the purpose of establishing,
funding, constructing, operating and maintaining facilities and services for
the care, treatment and rehabilitation of persons suffering from mental illness,
an intellectual disability, alcoholism, developmental and learning
disabilities, narcotic addiction, drug abuse, drug dependence and other
illnesses, disorders, * * *
disabilities and problems (including the problems of the aging) as
designated and certified by the Department of Mental Health.
(e) To enter into
contracts and make such other arrangements as may be necessary with any and all
private businesses, corporations, partnerships, proprietorships or other
private agencies, whether organized for profit or otherwise, as may be approved
by and acceptable to the regional commission for the purpose of establishing,
funding, constructing, operating and maintaining facilities and services for
the care, treatment and rehabilitation of persons suffering from mental
illness, an intellectual disability, alcoholism, developmental and learning
disabilities, narcotic addiction, drug abuse, drug dependence and other
illnesses, disorders, * * *
disabilities and problems (including the problems of the aging) relating
to minimum services established by the Department of Mental Health.
(f) To promote the general mental health of the people of the region.
(g) To pay the administrative costs of the operation of the regional commissions, including per diem for the members of the commission and its employees, attorney's fees, if and when such are required in the opinion of the commission, and such other expenses of the commission as may be necessary. The Department of Mental Health standards and audit rules shall determine what administrative cost figures shall consist of for the purposes of this paragraph. Each regional commission shall submit a cost report annually to the Department of Mental Health in accordance with guidelines promulgated by the department.
(h) To employ and compensate any personnel that may be necessary to effectively carry out the programs and services established under the provisions of the aforesaid act, provided such person meets the standards established by the Department of Mental Health.
(i) To acquire whatever hazard, casualty or workers' compensation insurance that may be necessary for any property, real or personal, owned, leased or rented by the commissions, or any employees or personnel hired by the commissions.
(j) To acquire professional liability insurance on all employees as may be deemed necessary and proper by the commission, and to pay, out of the funds of the commission, all premiums due and payable on account thereof.
(k) To provide and finance within their own facilities, or through agreements or contracts with other local, state or federal agencies or institutions, nonprofit corporations, or political subdivisions or representatives thereof, programs and services for persons with mental illness, including treatment for alcoholics, and promulgating and administering of programs to combat drug abuse and programs for services for persons with an intellectual disability.
(l) To borrow money from private lending institutions in order to promote any of the foregoing purposes. A commission may pledge collateral, including real estate, to secure the repayment of money borrowed under the authority of this paragraph. Any such borrowing undertaken by a commission shall be on terms and conditions that are prudent in the sound judgment of the members of the commission, and the interest on any such loan shall not exceed the amount specified in Section 75-17-105. Any money borrowed, debts incurred or other obligations undertaken by a commission, regardless of whether borrowed, incurred or undertaken before or after March 15, 1995, shall be valid, binding and enforceable if it or they are borrowed, incurred or undertaken for any purpose specified in this section and otherwise conform to the requirements of this paragraph.
(m) To acquire, own and dispose of real and personal property. Any real and personal property paid for with state and/or county appropriated funds must have the written approval of the Department of Mental Health and/or the county board of supervisors, depending on the original source of funding, before being disposed of under this paragraph.
(n) To enter into managed care contracts and make such other arrangements as may be deemed necessary or appropriate by the regional commission in order to participate in any managed care program. Any such contract or arrangement affecting more than one (1) region must have prior written approval of the Department of Mental Health before being initiated and annually thereafter.
(o) To provide facilities and services on a discounted or capitated basis. Any such action when affecting more than one (1) region must have prior written approval of the Department of Mental Health before being initiated and annually thereafter.
(p) To enter into contracts, agreements or other arrangements with any person, payor, provider or other entity, under which the regional commission assumes financial risk for the provision or delivery of any services, when deemed to be necessary or appropriate by the regional commission. Any action under this paragraph affecting more than one (1) region must have prior written approval of the Department of Mental Health before being initiated and annually thereafter.
(q) To provide direct or indirect funding, grants, financial support and assistance for any health maintenance organization, preferred provider organization or other managed care entity or contractor, where such organization, entity or contractor is operated on a nonprofit basis. Any action under this paragraph affecting more than one (1) region must have prior written approval of the Department of Mental Health before being initiated and annually thereafter.
(r) To form, establish, operate, and/or be a member of or participant in, either individually or with one or more other regional commissions, any managed care entity as defined in Section 83-41-403(c). Any action under this paragraph affecting more than one (1) region must have prior written approval of the Department of Mental Health before being initiated and annually thereafter.
(s) To meet at least annually with the board of supervisors of each county in its region for the purpose of presenting its total annual budget and total mental health/intellectual disability services system. The commission shall submit an annual report on the adult mental health services, children mental health services and intellectual disability services required by the State Board of Mental Health.
(t) To provide alternative living arrangements for persons with serious mental illness, including, but not limited to, group homes for persons with chronic mental illness.
(u) To make purchases and enter into contracts for purchasing in compliance with the public purchasing law, Sections 31-7-12 and 31-7-13, with compliance with the public purchasing law subject to audit by the State Department of Audit.
(v) To insure that all available funds are used for the benefit of persons with mental illness, persons with an intellectual disability, substance abusers and persons with developmental disabilities with maximum efficiency and minimum administrative cost. At any time a regional commission, and/or other related organization whatever it may be, accumulates surplus funds in excess of one-half (1/2) of its annual operating budget, the entity must submit a plan to the Department of Mental Health stating the capital improvements or other projects that require such surplus accumulation. If the required plan is not submitted within forty-five (45) days of the end of the applicable fiscal year, the Department of Mental Health shall withhold all state appropriated funds from such regional commission until such time as the capital improvement plan is submitted. If the submitted capital improvement plan is not accepted by the department, the surplus funds shall be expended by the regional commission in the local mental health region on group homes for persons with mental illness, persons with an intellectual disability, substance abusers, children or other mental health/intellectual disability services approved by the Department of Mental Health.
(w) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to fingerprint and perform a criminal history record check on every employee or volunteer. Every employee or volunteer shall provide a valid current social security number and/or driver's license number that will be furnished to conduct the criminal history record check. If no disqualifying record is identified at the state level, fingerprints shall be forwarded to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history record check.
(x) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, each regional commission shall have the authority to create and operate a primary care health clinic to treat (i) its patients; and (ii) its patients' family members related within the third degree; and (iii) its patients' household members or caregivers, subject to the following requirements:
(i) The regional commission may employ and compensate any personnel necessary and must satisfy applicable state and federal laws and regulations regarding the administration and operation of a primary care health clinic.
(ii) A Mississippi licensed physician must be employed or under agreement with the regional commission to provide medical direction and/or to carry out the physician responsibilities as described under applicable state and/or federal law and regulations.
(iii) The physician providing medical direction for the primary care clinic shall not be certified solely in psychiatry.
(iv) A sliding fee scale may be used by the regional commission when no other payer source is identified.
(v) The regional commission must ensure services will be available and accessible promptly and in a manner that preserves human dignity and assures continuity of care.
(vi) The regional commission must provide a semiannual report to the Chairmen of the Public Health Committees in both the House of Representatives and Senate. At a minimum, for each reporting period, these reports shall describe the number of patients provided primary care services, the types of services provided, and the payer source for the patients. Except for patient information and any other information that may be exempt from disclosure under the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Mississippi Public Records Act, the reports shall be considered public records.
(vii) The regional commission must employ or contract with a core clinical staff that is multidisciplinary and culturally and linguistically competent.
(viii) The regional commission must ensure that its physician as described in subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph (x) has admitting privileges at one or more local hospitals or has an agreement with a physician who has admitting privileges at one or more local hospitals to ensure continuity of care.
(ix) The regional commission must provide an independent financial audit report to the State Department of Mental Health and, except for patient information and any other information that may be exempt from disclosure under HIPAA and the Mississippi Public Records Act, the audit report shall be considered a public record.
For the purposes of this paragraph (x), the term "caregiver" means an individual who has the principal and primary responsibility for caring for a child or dependent adult, especially in the home setting.
(y) In general to take any action which will promote, either directly or indirectly, any and all of the foregoing purposes.
(2) The types of services established by the State Department of Mental Health that must be provided by the regional mental health/intellectual disability centers for certification by the department, and the minimum levels and standards for those services established by the department, shall be provided by the regional mental health/intellectual disability centers to children when such services are appropriate for children, in the determination of the department.
SECTION 33. Section 41-19-205, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-19-205. A person may be deemed eligible for admission to the center if:
(a) His parents or guardian or person in loco parentis has resided in the state not less than one (1) year prior to the date of admission; and
(b) He is at least five (5) years of age and has such an intellectual disability that he is incapable of managing himself or his affairs, or he has an intellectual disability to the extent that special care, training and education provided at the center will enable him to better function in society; or
(c) He is committed to the center by the chancery court in the manner hereinafter provided; or
(d) He is under five
(5) years of age and is approved for admission by the board of mental health,
upon the recommendation of the director, because of having an exceptional * * * disability.
SECTION 34. Section 41-19-237, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-19-237. A person may be deemed eligible for admission to the center if:
(a) His parents or guardian or person in loco parentis has resided in the state not less than one (1) year before the date of admission; and
(b) He is at least five (5) years of age and has such an intellectual disability that he is incapable of managing himself or his affairs, or he has an intellectual disability to the extent that special care, training and education provided at the center will enable him to better function in society; or
(c) He is committed to the center by the chancery court in the manner hereinafter provided; or
(d) He is under five
(5) years of age and is approved for admission by the Board of Mental Health,
upon the recommendation of the director, because of having an exceptional * * * disability.
SECTION 35. Section 41-19-257, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-19-257. Persons who have
attained the age of eighteen (18) years, who have been determined to be a * * * person with mental illness
as defined in Section 41-21-61 and who have been committed for treatment by the
chancery court pursuant to Section 41-21-61 et seq. shall be eligible for acute
treatment at the facilities.
SECTION 36. Section 41-19-261, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-19-261. Any person who
(a) under the provisions of Section 41-19-251 et seq. knowingly and unlawfully
or improperly causes a person to be adjudged * * * to have a mental illness,
(b) procures the escape of a legally committed patient or knowingly conceals an
escaped legally committed resident of the facility, or (c) unlawfully brings
any firearm, deadly weapon or explosive into the facility or its grounds, or
passes any thereof to patient, employee or officer of the facility, is guilty
of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less
than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) nor more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00),
imprisonment for not less than six (6) months nor more than one (1) year, or
both.
SECTION 37. Section 41-19-291, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-19-291. (1) The Specialized Treatment Facility for the Emotionally Disturbed, located in Harrison County, Mississippi, is recognized as now existing and shall be for the care and treatment of persons with mental illness. The facility shall have the power to receive and hold property, real, personal, and mixed, as a body corporate. The facility shall be under the direction and control of the State Board of Mental Health.
(2) Admissions shall be limited to mentally or emotionally disturbed adolescents who have been committed to the facility by a youth court judge or chancellor as provided in Section 41-21-109, or who are voluntarily admitted to the facility.
(3) With funds provided by the Legislature, by direct appropriation or authorized bond issue, with federal matching funds, or with any other available funds, the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management may construct and equip the necessary residential and service buildings and other facilities to care for the residents of the Specialized Treatment Facility for the Emotionally Disturbed. The general design of the facility and all construction plans shall be approved and recommended by the State Department of Mental Health.
(4) The Specialized Treatment Facility for the Emotionally Disturbed shall be administered by the State Board of Mental Health. Provisions relating to the admission and care of residents at the facility shall be promulgated by the board.
(5) The Specialized Treatment Facility for the Emotionally Disturbed is authorized to establish and operate a school to meet the educational needs of its patients.
(6) Persons admitted to the Specialized Treatment Facility for the Emotionally Disturbed shall be assessed support and maintenance costs in accordance with the provisions of the state reimbursement laws as they apply to other state institutions.
(7) Any person who (a)
knowingly and unlawfully or improperly causes a person to be adjudged * * * to have a mental illness,
(b) procures the escape of a legally committed patient or knowingly conceals an
escaped legally committed patient of the facility or (c) unlawfully brings any
firearm, deadly weapon or explosive into the facility or its grounds, or passes
any thereof to a resident, employee or officer of the school, is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not less than
Fifty Dollars ($50.00), or more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00),
imprisonment for not less than six (6) months, or both.
(8) The Specialized Treatment Facility for the Emotionally Disturbed is designated as a state agency for carrying out the purposes of any act of the Congress of the United States, now existing or at any time hereafter enacted, pertaining to mental illness.
(9) If no funding for the Specialized Treatment Facility for the Emotionally Disturbed is provided by state appropriation, the Department of Mental Health may lease the facility to carry out the purposes of the facility as provided in this section and Section 41-21-109. Before the facility may be leased, the department, in conjunction with the Bureau of Building, Grounds and Real Property Management of the Department of Finance and Administration, shall publicly issue requests for proposals, advertised in the same manner as provided in Section 31-7-13 for seeking competitive sealed bids. The requests for proposals shall contain terms and conditions relating to submission of proposals, evaluation and selection of proposals, financial terms, legal responsibilities, and any other matters as the department and bureau determine to be appropriate for inclusion. Upon receiving responses to the request for proposals, the department and bureau shall select the most qualified proposal or proposals on the basis of experience and qualifications of the proposers, the technical approach, the financial arrangements, the best value and overall benefits to the state, and any other relevant factors determined to be appropriate, and from those proposals, shall negotiate and enter a contract or contracts for the lease of the facility with one or more of the persons or firms submitting proposals. However, if the department and bureau deem none of the proposals to be qualified or otherwise acceptable, the request for proposals process may be reinitiated.
(10) If the Specialized Treatment Facility for the Emotionally Disturbed is leased under subsection (9) of this section, the lessee of the facility must give first priority in hiring employees for the facility to the current employees at the facility. This condition must be included as one (1) of the specifications in the request for proposals for leasing the facility.
SECTION 38. Section 41-21-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-21-67. (1) Whenever the affidavit provided for in Section 41-21-65 is filed with the chancery clerk, the clerk, upon direction of the chancellor of the court, shall issue a writ directed to the sheriff of the proper county to take into custody the person alleged to be in need of treatment and to bring the person before the clerk or chancellor, who shall order pre-evaluation screening and treatment by the appropriate community mental health center established under Section 41-19-31. The community mental health center will be designated as the first point of entry for screening and treatment. If the community mental health center is unavailable, any reputable licensed physician, psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant, as allowed in the discretion of the court, may conduct the pre-evaluation screening and examination as set forth in Section 41-21-69. The order may provide where the person shall be held before the appearance before the clerk or chancellor. However, when the affidavit fails to set forth factual allegations and witnesses sufficient to support the need for treatment, the chancellor shall refuse to direct issuance of the writ. Reapplication may be made to the chancellor. If a pauper's affidavit is filed by a guardian for commitment of the ward of the guardian, the court shall determine if the ward is a pauper and if the ward is determined to be a pauper, the county of the residence of the respondent shall bear the costs of commitment, unless funds for those purposes are made available by the state.
In any county in which a Crisis Intervention Team has been established under the provisions of Sections 41-21-131 through 41-21-143, the clerk, upon the direction of the chancellor, may require that the person be referred to the Crisis Intervention Team for appropriate psychiatric or other medical services before the issuance of the writ.
(2) Upon issuance of the writ, the chancellor shall immediately appoint and summon two (2) reputable, licensed physicians or one (1) reputable, licensed physician and either one (1) psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant to conduct a physical and mental examination of the person at a place to be designated by the clerk or chancellor and to report their findings to the clerk or chancellor. However, any nurse practitioner or physician assistant conducting the examination shall be independent from, and not under the supervision of, the other physician conducting the examination. In all counties in which there is a county health officer, the county health officer, if available, may be one (1) of the physicians so appointed. Neither of the physicians nor the psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant selected shall be related to that person in any way, nor have any direct or indirect interest in the estate of that person nor shall any full-time staff of residential treatment facilities operated directly by the State Department of Mental Health serve as examiner.
(3) The clerk shall ascertain whether the respondent is represented by an attorney, and if it is determined that the respondent does not have an attorney, the clerk shall immediately notify the chancellor of that fact. If the chancellor determines that the respondent for any reason does not have the services of an attorney, the chancellor shall immediately appoint an attorney for the respondent at the time the examiners are appointed.
(4) If the chancellor
determines that there is probable cause to believe that the respondent * * * has a mental illness and
that there is no reasonable alternative to detention, the chancellor may order
that the respondent be retained as an emergency patient at any licensed medical
facility for evaluation by a physician, nurse practitioner or physician
assistant and that a peace officer transport the respondent to the specified
facility. If the community mental health center serving the county has
partnered with Crisis Intervention Teams under the provisions of Sections 41-21-131
through 41-21-143, the order may specify that the licensed medical facility be
a designated single point of entry within the county or within an adjacent
county served by the community mental health center. If the person evaluating
the respondent finds that the respondent * * * has a mental illness and
is in need of treatment, the chancellor may order that the respondent be
retained at the licensed medical facility or any other available suitable
location as the court may so designate pending an admission hearing. If
necessary, the chancellor may order a peace officer or other person to
transport the respondent to that facility or suitable location. Any respondent
so retained may be given such treatment as is indicated by standard medical
practice. However, the respondent shall not be held in a hospital operated
directly by the State Department of Mental Health, and shall not be held in
jail unless the court finds that there is no reasonable alternative.
(5) (a) Whenever a licensed psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant who is certified to complete examinations for the purpose of commitment or a licensed physician has reason to believe that a person poses an immediate substantial likelihood of physical harm to himself or others or is gravely disabled and unable to care for himself by virtue of mental illness, as defined in Section 41-21-61(e), then the physician, psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant may hold the person or may admit the person to and treat the person in a licensed medical facility, without a civil order or warrant for a period not to exceed seventy-two (72) hours. However, if the seventy-two-hour period begins or ends when the chancery clerk's office is closed, or within three (3) hours of closing, and the chancery clerk's office will be continuously closed for a time that exceeds seventy-two (72) hours, then the seventy-two-hour period is extended until the end of the next business day that the chancery clerk's office is open. The person may be held and treated as an emergency patient at any licensed medical facility, available regional mental health facility, or crisis intervention center. The physician or psychologist, nurse practitioner or physician assistant who holds the person shall certify in writing the reasons for the need for holding.
If a person is being held
and treated in a licensed medical facility, and that person decides to continue
treatment by voluntarily signing consent for admission and treatment, the
seventy-two-hour hold may be discontinued without filing an affidavit for
commitment. Any respondent so held may be given such treatment as indicated by
standard medical practice. Persons acting in good faith in connection with the
detention and reporting of a person believed to * * * have a mental illness
shall incur no liability, civil or criminal, for those acts.
(b) Whenever an individual is held for purposes of receiving treatment as prescribed under paragraph (a) of this subsection, and it is communicated to the mental health professional holding the individual that the individual resides or has visitation rights with a minor child, and if the individual is considered to be a danger to the minor child, the mental health professional shall notify the Department of Human Services prior to discharge if the threat of harm continues to exist, as is required under Section 43-21-353.
This paragraph shall be known and may be cited as the "Andrew Lloyd Law."
SECTION 39. Section 41-21-131, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-21-131. As used in Sections 41-21-131 through 41-21-143, the following terms shall have the meanings as defined in this section:
(a) "Crisis Intervention Team" means a community partnership among a law enforcement agency, a community mental health center, a hospital, other mental health providers, consumers and family members of consumers.
(b) "Participating partner" means a law enforcement agency, a community mental health center or a hospital that has each entered into collaborative agreements needed to implement a Crisis Intervention Team.
(c) "Catchment area" means a geographical area in which a Crisis Intervention Team operates and is defined by the jurisdictional boundaries of the law enforcement agency that is the participating partner.
(d) "Crisis Intervention Team officer" or "CIT officer" means a law enforcement officer who is authorized to make arrests under Section 99-3-1 and who is trained and certified in crisis intervention and who is working for a law enforcement agency that is a participating partner in a Crisis Intervention Team.
(e) "Substantial likelihood of bodily harm" means that:
(i) The person has threatened or attempted suicide or to inflict serious bodily harm to himself; or
(ii) The person has threatened or attempted homicide or other violent behavior; or
(iii) The person has placed others in reasonable fear of violent behavior and serious physical harm to them; or
(iv) The person is unable to avoid severe impairment or injury from specific risks; and
(v) There is substantial likelihood that serious harm will occur unless the person is placed under emergency treatment.
(f) "Single point of entry" means a specific hospital that is the participating partner in a Crisis Intervention Team and that has agreed to provide psychiatric emergency services and triage and referral services.
(g) "Psychiatric
emergency services" means services designed to reduce the acute
psychiatric symptoms of a person who * * * has a mental illness or
a person who has an impairment caused by drugs or alcohol and, when possible,
to stabilize that person so that continuing treatment can be provided in the
local community.
(h) "Triage and referral services" means services designed to provide evaluation of a person with mental illness or a person who has an impairment caused by drugs or alcohol in order to direct that person to a mental health facility or other mental health provider that can provide appropriate treatment.
(i) "Comprehensive psychiatric emergency service" means a specialized psychiatric service operated by the single point of entry and located in or near the hospital emergency department that can provide psychiatric emergency services for a period of time greater than can be provided in the hospital emergency department.
(j) "Extended observation bed" means a hospital bed that is used by a comprehensive psychiatric emergency service and is licensed by the State Department of Health for that purpose.
(k) "Psychiatric nurse practitioner" means a registered nurse who has completed the educational requirements specified by the State Board of Nursing, has successfully passed either the adult or family psychiatric nurse practitioner examination and is licensed by the State Board of Nursing to work under the supervision of a physician at a single point of entry following protocols approved by the State Board of Nursing.
(l) "Psychiatric physician assistant" means a physician assistant who has completed the educational requirements and passed the certification examination as specified in Section 73-26-3, is licensed by the State Board of Medical Licensure, has had at least one (1) year of practice as a physician assistant employed by a community mental health center, and is working under the supervision of a physician at a single point of entry.
SECTION 40. Section 41-21-139, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-21-139. (1) If a CIT officer determines that a person is with substantial likelihood of bodily harm, that officer may take the person into custody for the purpose of transporting the person to the designated single point of entry serving the catchment area in which the officer works. The CIT officer shall certify in writing the reasons for taking the person into custody.
(2) A CIT officer shall have no further legal responsibility or other obligations once a person taken into custody has been transported and received at the single point of entry.
(3) A CIT officer acting in good faith in connection with the detention of a person believed to be with substantial likelihood of bodily harm shall incur no liability, civil or criminal, for those acts.
(4) Only CIT officers authorized to operate within a catchment area may bring persons in custody to the single point of entry for that catchment area. Law enforcement officers working outside the designated catchment area are not authorized to transport any person into the catchment area for the purpose of bringing that person to the single point of entry.
(5) Any person transported
by a CIT officer to the single point of entry or any person referred by the
community mental health center following guidelines of the collaborative
agreements shall be examined by a physician, psychiatric nurse practitioner or
psychiatric physician assistant. If the person does not consent to voluntary
evaluation and treatment, and the examiner determines that the person is a * * * person with mental illness,
as defined in Section 41-21-61(e), the examiner shall then determine if that
person can be held under the provisions of Section 41-21-67(5). All other
provisions of Section 41-21-67(5) shall apply and be extended to include
licensed psychiatric nurse practitioners and psychiatric physician assistants
employed by the single point of entry, including protection from liability, as
provided in this section, when acting in good faith. If the examiner
determines that the person is with substantial likelihood of bodily harm
because of impairment caused by drugs or alcohol and determines that there is
no reasonable, less-restrictive alternative, the person may be held at the
single point of entry until the impairment has resolved and the person is no
longer with substantial likelihood of bodily harm. Persons acting in good
faith in connection with the detention of a person with impairment caused by
drugs or alcohol shall incur no liability, civil or criminal, for those acts.
SECTION 41. Section 41-31-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-31-15. The provisions of
the law with respect to the costs of commitment and the cost of support,
including the prohibition in Section 41-21-65 regarding the charging of extra
fees and expenses to persons initiating commitment proceedings, methods of
determination of persons liable therefor, and methods of determination of financial
ability, and all provisions of law enabling the state to secure reimbursement
of any such items of cost, applicable to the commitment to and support of * * *
persons with
mental illness in state hospitals, shall apply with equal force in respect
to each item of expense incurred by the state in connection with the
commitment, care, custody, treatment, and rehabilitation of any person
committed to the state hospitals and maintained in any institution or hospital
operated by the State of Mississippi under the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 42. Section 41-79-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-79-5. (1) There is * * * established within the State Department
of Health a school nurse intervention program, available to all public school
districts in the state.
(2) By the school year 1998-1999, each public school district shall have employed a school nurse, to be known as a Health Service Coordinator, pursuant to the school nurse intervention program prescribed under this section. The school nurse intervention program shall offer any of the following specific preventive services, and other additional services appropriate to each grade level and the age and maturity of the pupils:
(a) Reproductive health education and referral to prevent teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, which education shall include abstinence;
(b) Child abuse and neglect identification;
(c) Hearing and vision screening to detect problems which can lead to serious sensory losses and behavioral and academic problems;
(d) Alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse education to reduce abuse of these substances;
(e) Scoliosis screening to detect this condition so that costly and painful surgery and lifelong disability can be prevented;
(f) Coordination of
services for * * *
children with physical disabilities to ensure that these children
receive appropriate medical assistance and are able to remain in public school;
(g) Nutrition education and counseling to prevent obesity and/or other eating disorders which may lead to life-threatening conditions, for example, hypertension;
(h) Early detection and treatment of head lice to prevent the spread of the parasite and to reduce absenteeism;
(i) Emergency treatment of injury and illness to include controlling bleeding, managing fractures, bruises or contusions and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR);
(j) Applying appropriate theory as the basis for decision making in nursing practice;
(k) Establishing and maintaining a comprehensive school health program;
(l) Developing individualized health plans;
(m) Assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating programs and other school health activities, in collaboration with other professionals;
(n) Providing health education to assist students, families and groups to achieve optimal levels of wellness;
(o) Participating in peer review and other means of evaluation to assure quality of nursing care provided for students and assuming responsibility for continuing education and professional development for self while contributing to the professional growth of others;
(p) Participating with other key members of the community responsible for assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating school health services and community services that include the broad continuum or promotion of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention; and
(q) Contributing to nursing and school health through innovations in theory and practice and participation in research.
(3) Public school nurses shall be specifically prohibited from providing abortion counseling to any student or referring any student to abortion counseling or abortion clinics. Any violation of this subsection shall disqualify the school district employing such public school nurse from receiving any state administered funds under this section.
(4) [Repealed]
(5) Beginning with the 1997-1998 school year, to the extent that federal or state funds are available therefor and pursuant to appropriation therefor by the Legislature, in addition to the school nurse intervention program funds administered under subsection (4), the State Department of Health shall establish and implement a Prevention of Teen Pregnancy Pilot Program to be located in the public school districts with the highest numbers of teen pregnancies. The Teen Pregnancy Pilot Program shall provide the following education services directly through public school nurses in the pilot school districts: health education sessions in local schools, where contracted for or invited to provide, which target issues including reproductive health, teen pregnancy prevention and sexually transmitted diseases, including syphilis, HIV and AIDS. When these services are provided by a school nurse, training and counseling on abstinence shall be included.
(6) In addition to the school nurse intervention program funds administered under subsection (4) and the Teen Pregnancy Pilot Program funds administered under subsection (5), to the extent that federal or state funds are available therefor and pursuant to appropriation therefor by the Legislature, the State Department of Health shall establish and implement an Abstinence Education Pilot Program to provide abstinence education, mentoring, counseling and adult supervision to promote abstinence from sexual activity, with a focus on those groups which are most likely to bear children out of wedlock. Such abstinence education services shall be provided by the State Department of Health through its clinics, public health nurses, school nurses and through contracts with rural and community health centers in order to reach a larger number of targeted clients. For purposes of this subsection, the term "abstinence education" means an educational or motivational program which:
(a) Has as its exclusive purpose, teaching the social, psychological and health gains to be realized by abstaining from sexual activity;
(b) Teaches abstinence from sexual activity outside marriage as the expected standard for all school-age children;
(c) Teaches that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and other associated health problems;
(d) Teaches that a mutually faithful monogamous relationship in context of marriage is the expected standard of human sexual activity;
(e) Teaches that sexual activity outside of the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects;
(f) Teaches that bearing children out of wedlock is likely to have harmful consequences for the child, the child's parents and society;
(g) Teaches young people how to reject sexual advances and how alcohol and drug use increase vulnerability to sexual advances; and
(h) Teaches the importance of attaining self-sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity.
(7) Beginning with the 1998-1999 school year and pursuant to appropriation therefor by the Legislature, in addition to other funds allotted under the minimum education program, each school district shall be allotted an additional teacher unit per every one hundred (100) teacher units, for the purpose of employing qualified public school nurses in such school district, which in no event shall be less than one (1) teacher unit per school district, for such purpose. In the event the Legislature provides less funds than the total state funds needed for the public school nurse allotment, those school districts with fewer teacher units shall be the first funded for such purpose, to the extent of funds available.
(8) Prior to the 1998-1999 school year, nursing staff assigned to the program shall be employed through the local county health department and shall be subject to the supervision of the State Department of Health with input from local school officials. Local county health departments may contract with any comprehensive private primary health care facilities within their county to employ and utilize additional nursing staff. Beginning with the 1998-1999 school year, nursing staff assigned to the program shall be employed by the local school district and shall be designated as "health service coordinators," and shall be required to possess a bachelor's degree in nursing as a minimum qualification.
(9) Upon each student's enrollment, the parent or guardian shall be provided with information regarding the scope of the school nurse intervention program. The parent or guardian may provide the school administration with a written statement refusing all or any part of the nursing service. No child shall be required to undergo hearing and vision or scoliosis screening or any other physical examination or tests whose parent objects thereto on the grounds such screening, physical examination or tests are contrary to his sincerely held religious beliefs.
(10) A consent form for reproductive health education shall be sent to the parent or guardian of each student upon his enrollment. If a response from the parent or guardian is not received within seven (7) days after the consent form is sent, the school shall send a letter to the student's home notifying the parent or guardian of the consent form. If the parent or guardian fails to respond to the letter within ten (10) days after it is sent, then the school principal shall be authorized to allow the student to receive reproductive health education. Reproductive health education shall include the teaching of total abstinence from premarital sex and, wherever practicable, reproductive health education should be taught in classes divided according to gender. All materials used in the reproductive health education program shall be placed in a convenient and easily accessible location for parental inspection. School nurses shall not dispense birth control pills or contraceptive devices in the school. Dispensing of such shall be the responsibility of the State Department of Health on a referral basis only.
(11) No provision of this section shall be construed as prohibiting local school districts from accepting financial assistance of any type from the State of Mississippi or any other governmental entity, or any contribution, donation, gift, decree or bequest from any source which may be utilized for the maintenance or implementation of a school nurse intervention program in a public school system of this state.
SECTION 43. Section 43-6-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-6-1. As used in this
article, "blind," "totally blind," "visually * * * impaired," and
"partially blind" mean having central visual acuity not to exceed
20/200 in the better eye, with corrected lenses as measured by the Snellen
test, or having visual acuity greater than 20/200, but with a limitation in the
field of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an
angle not greater than twenty (20) degrees.
As used in this article, "deaf person" means a person who cannot readily understand spoken language through hearing alone with or without a hearing aid, and who may also have a speech defect which renders his speech unintelligible to most people with normal hearing.
SECTION 44. Section 43-6-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-6-3. Blind persons,
visually * * *
impaired persons, deaf persons and other physically disabled persons
shall have the same right as the able-bodied to the full and free use of the
streets, highways, sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, public facilities,
and other public places.
SECTION 45. Section 43-6-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-6-5. Blind persons,
visually * * *
impaired persons, deaf persons and other physically disabled persons
shall be entitled to full and equal access, as are other members of the general
public, to accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of all common
carriers, airplanes, motor vehicles, railroad trains, motorbuses, streetcars,
boats or any other public conveyances or modes of transportation, hotels,
lodging places, places of public accommodation, amusement or resort, and other
places to which the general public is invited, subject only to the conditions
and limitations established by law, or state or federal regulation, and
applicable alike to all persons.
SECTION 46. Section 43-6-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-6-13. Each year the Governor shall publicly proclaim October 15 as White Cane Safety Day. He shall issue a proclamation in which:
(a) Comments shall be made upon the significance of this article.
(b) Citizens of the state are called upon to observe the provisions of this article and to take precautions necessary to the safety of disabled persons.
(c) Citizens of the state are reminded of the policies with respect to disabled persons declared in this article and be urged to cooperate in giving effect to them.
(d) Emphasis shall be made on the need of the citizenry to be aware of the presence of disabled persons in the community and to keep safe and functional for the disabled the streets, highways, sidewalks, walkways, public buildings, public facilities, other public places, places of public accommodation, amusement and resort, and other places to which the public is invited, and to offer assistance to disabled persons upon appropriate occasions.
(e) It is the policy
of this state to encourage and enable blind persons, visually * * * impaired persons, and other
physically disabled persons to participate fully in the social and economic
life of the state and to engage in remunerative employment.
SECTION 47. Section 43-6-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-6-15. No person shall be
refused employment in state services, the service of political subdivisions of
the state, in public schools, or any other employment supported, in
whole or in part, by public funds, by reason of his being blind,
visually * * *
impaired, deaf, or otherwise physically * * * disabled, unless such
disability * * *
materially affects the performance of the work required by the job for
which such person applies.
SECTION 48. Section 43-6-113, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-6-113. (1) An
appropriate number of toilet rooms shall be accessible to, and usable by, * * * persons with
physical disabilities and shall have space to allow traffic of individuals
in wheelchairs.
(2) Toilet rooms for each sex shall have at least one (1) toilet stall that: (a) is three (3ꞌ) feet wide; (b) is at least four (4ꞌ) feet eight (8") inches, preferably five (5') feet deep; (c) has a door (where doors are used) that is thirty-two (32") inches wide and swings out; (d) has handrails on each side, thirty-three (33") inches high and parallel to the floor, one and one-half (1½") inches in outside diameter, with one and one-half (1½) inches clearance between rail and wall, and fastened securely at ends and center; and (e) has a water closet with the seat twenty (20") inches from the floor.
(3) Such toilet rooms shall have at least one (1) lavatory with a narrow apron, which when mounted at standard height is usable by individuals in wheelchairs, or shall have lavatories mounted higher, when particular designs demand, so that they are usable by individuals in wheelchairs.
(4) Mirrors and shelves shall be provided above such lavatory at a height as low as practicable and no higher than forty (40") inches above the floor, measured from the top of the shelf and the bottom of the mirror.
(5) Toilet rooms for men which have wall-mounted urinals shall have an appropriate number of such urinals with the opening of the basin nineteen (19") inches from the floor, or shall have floor-mounted urinals that are on level with the main floor of the toilet room.
(6) Toilet rooms shall have an appropriate number of towel racks, towel dispensers, and other dispensers and disposal units mounted with openings of dispensers or receptacles no higher than forty (40") inches from the floor.
SECTION 49. Section 43-6-125, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-6-125. All public
buildings constructed or remodeled in accordance with the standards and
requirements of Sections 43-6-101 through 43-6-123, or containing facilities
that are in compliance therewith, shall display a symbol which is white on a
blue background. The specifications for this symbol shall be furnished by the
State Board of Health indicating the location of such facilities designed for * * * persons with
physical disabilities. When a building contains an entrance other than the
main entrance which is ramped or level for use by * * * persons with
physical disabilities, a sign showing its location shall be posted at or
near the main entrance which shall be visible from the adjacent public sidewalk
or way.
SECTION 50. Section 43-7-61, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-7-61. (1) The Office of the State Long-Term Care Facilities Ombudsman shall establish a training and certification program. The council shall specify by rule the content of the training program. Each long-term care facilities ombudsman program shall bear the cost of training its own employees.
(2) The State Ombudsman shall arrange for the training of all prospective community ombudsmen selected by area agencies on aging. Such training shall include instruction in at least the following subjects as they relate to long-term care:
(a) The responsibilities and duties of community ombudsmen;
(b) The laws and regulations governing the receipt, investigation and resolution of issues of the well-being of a resident;
(c) The role of local, state and federal agencies that regulate long-term care facilities;
(d) The different kinds of long-term care facilities in Mississippi and the services provided in each kind;
(e) The special needs
of the elderly and of * * * persons with physical and
mental disabilities;
(f) The role of the family, the sponsor, the legal representative, the physician, the church, and other public and private agencies, and the community;
(g) How to work with long-term care facility staff;
(h) The aging process and characteristics of the long-term care facility resident or institutionalized elderly;
(i) Familiarity with and access to information concerning the laws and regulations governing Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, the Veterans Administration and Workers' Compensation; and
(j) The training program shall include an appropriate internship to be performed in a long-term care facility.
(3) Persons selected by area agencies on aging who have satisfactorily completed the training arranged by the State Ombudsman shall be certified as community ombudsmen by the council.
(4) Each area agency on aging may appoint an advisory committee to advise it in the operation of its community ombudsman program. The number and qualifications of members of the advisory committee shall be determined by the area agency on aging.
(5) Ombudsmen who have successfully completed the training and certification program under this section shall be given identification cards which shall be presented to employees of a long-term care facility upon request.
SECTION 51. Section 43-13-117, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-13-117. (A) Medicaid as authorized by this article shall include payment of part or all of the costs, at the discretion of the division, with approval of the Governor, of the following types of care and services rendered to eligible applicants who have been determined to be eligible for that care and services, within the limits of state appropriations and federal matching funds:
(1) Inpatient hospital services.
(a) The division shall allow thirty (30) days of inpatient hospital care annually for all Medicaid recipients. Medicaid recipients requiring transplants shall not have those days included in the transplant hospital stay count against the thirty-day limit for inpatient hospital care. Precertification of inpatient days must be obtained as required by the division.
(b) From and after July 1, 1994, the Executive Director of the Division of Medicaid shall amend the Mississippi Title XIX Inpatient Hospital Reimbursement Plan to remove the occupancy rate penalty from the calculation of the Medicaid Capital Cost Component utilized to determine total hospital costs allocated to the Medicaid program.
(c) Hospitals will receive an additional payment for the implantable programmable baclofen drug pump used to treat spasticity that is implanted on an inpatient basis. The payment pursuant to written invoice will be in addition to the facility's per diem reimbursement and will represent a reduction of costs on the facility's annual cost report, and shall not exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) per year per recipient.
(d) The division is authorized to implement an All-Patient Refined-Diagnosis Related Groups (APR-DRG) reimbursement methodology for inpatient hospital services.
(e) No service benefits or reimbursement limitations in this section shall apply to payments under an APR-DRG or Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) model or a managed care program or similar model described in subsection (H) of this section.
(2) Outpatient hospital services.
(a) Emergency services.
(b) Other outpatient hospital services. The division shall allow benefits for other medically necessary outpatient hospital services (such as chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and therapy), including outpatient services in a clinic or other facility that is not located inside the hospital, but that has been designated as an outpatient facility by the hospital, and that was in operation or under construction on July 1, 2009, provided that the costs and charges associated with the operation of the hospital clinic are included in the hospital's cost report. In addition, the Medicare thirty-five-mile rule will apply to those hospital clinics not located inside the hospital that are constructed after July 1, 2009. Where the same services are reimbursed as clinic services, the division may revise the rate or methodology of outpatient reimbursement to maintain consistency, efficiency, economy and quality of care.
(c) The division is authorized to implement an Ambulatory Payment Classification (APC) methodology for outpatient hospital services.
(d) No service benefits or reimbursement limitations in this section shall apply to payments under an APR-DRG or APC model or a managed care program or similar model described in subsection (H) of this section.
(3) Laboratory and x-ray services.
(4) Nursing facility services.
(a) The division shall make full payment to nursing facilities for each day, not exceeding fifty-two (52) days per year, that a patient is absent from the facility on home leave. Payment may be made for the following home leave days in addition to the fifty-two-day limitation: Christmas, the day before Christmas, the day after Christmas, Thanksgiving, the day before Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving.
(b) From and after July 1, 1997, the division shall implement the integrated case-mix payment and quality monitoring system, which includes the fair rental system for property costs and in which recapture of depreciation is eliminated. The division may reduce the payment for hospital leave and therapeutic home leave days to the lower of the case-mix category as computed for the resident on leave using the assessment being utilized for payment at that point in time, or a case-mix score of 1.000 for nursing facilities, and shall compute case-mix scores of residents so that only services provided at the nursing facility are considered in calculating a facility's per diem.
(c) From and after July 1, 1997, all state-owned nursing facilities shall be reimbursed on a full reasonable cost basis.
(d) On or after January 1, 2015, the division shall update the case-mix payment system resource utilization grouper and classifications and fair rental reimbursement system. The division shall develop and implement a payment add-on to reimburse nursing facilities for ventilator dependent resident services.
(e) The division shall develop and implement, not later than January 1, 2001, a case-mix payment add-on determined by time studies and other valid statistical data that will reimburse a nursing facility for the additional cost of caring for a resident who has a diagnosis of Alzheimer's or other related dementia and exhibits symptoms that require special care. Any such case-mix add-on payment shall be supported by a determination of additional cost. The division shall also develop and implement as part of the fair rental reimbursement system for nursing facility beds, an Alzheimer's resident bed depreciation enhanced reimbursement system that will provide an incentive to encourage nursing facilities to convert or construct beds for residents with Alzheimer's or other related dementia.
(f) The division shall develop and implement an assessment process for long-term care services. The division may provide the assessment and related functions directly or through contract with the area agencies on aging.
The division shall apply for necessary federal waivers to assure that additional services providing alternatives to nursing facility care are made available to applicants for nursing facility care.
(5) Periodic screening
and diagnostic services for individuals under age twenty-one (21) years as are
needed to identify physical and mental defects and to provide health care
treatment and other measures designed to correct or ameliorate defects and
physical and mental illness and conditions discovered by the screening
services, regardless of whether these services are included in the state plan.
The division may include in its periodic screening and diagnostic program those
discretionary services authorized under the federal regulations adopted to
implement Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act, as amended. The
division, in obtaining physical therapy services, occupational therapy
services, and services for individuals with speech, hearing and language
disorders, may enter into a cooperative agreement with the State Department of
Education for the provision of those services to * * * students with disabilities
by public school districts using state funds that are provided from the
appropriation to the Department of Education to obtain federal matching funds
through the division. The division, in obtaining medical and mental health
assessments, treatment, care and services for children who are in, or at risk
of being put in, the custody of the Mississippi Department of Human Services
may enter into a cooperative agreement with the Mississippi Department of Human
Services for the provision of those services using state funds that are
provided from the appropriation to the Department of Human Services to obtain
federal matching funds through the division.
(6) Physician's services. The division shall allow twelve (12) physician visits annually. The division may develop and implement a different reimbursement model or schedule for physician's services provided by physicians based at an academic health care center and by physicians at rural health centers that are associated with an academic health care center. From and after January 1, 2010, all fees for physician's services that are covered only by Medicaid shall be increased to ninety percent (90%) of the rate established on January 1, 2010, and as may be adjusted each July thereafter, under Medicare. The division may provide for a reimbursement rate for physician's services of up to one hundred percent (100%) of the rate established under Medicare for physician's services that are provided after the normal working hours of the physician, as determined in accordance with regulations of the division. The division may reimburse eligible providers as determined by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act for certain primary care services as defined by the act at one hundred percent (100%) of the rate established under Medicare.
(7) (a) Home health services for eligible persons, not to exceed in cost the prevailing cost of nursing facility services, not to exceed twenty-five (25) visits per year. All home health visits must be precertified as required by the division.
(b) [Repealed]
(8) Emergency medical transportation services. On January 1, 1994, emergency medical transportation services shall be reimbursed at seventy percent (70%) of the rate established under Medicare (Title XVIII of the federal Social Security Act, as amended). "Emergency medical transportation services" shall mean, but shall not be limited to, the following services by a properly permitted ambulance operated by a properly licensed provider in accordance with the Emergency Medical Services Act of 1974 (Section 41-59-1 et seq.): (i) basic life support, (ii) advanced life support, (iii) mileage, (iv) oxygen, (v) intravenous fluids, (vi) disposable supplies, (vii) similar services.
(9) (a) Legend and other drugs as may be determined by the division.
The division shall establish a mandatory preferred drug list. Drugs not on the mandatory preferred drug list shall be made available by utilizing prior authorization procedures established by the division.
The division may seek to establish relationships with other states in order to lower acquisition costs of prescription drugs to include single source and innovator multiple source drugs or generic drugs. In addition, if allowed by federal law or regulation, the division may seek to establish relationships with and negotiate with other countries to facilitate the acquisition of prescription drugs to include single source and innovator multiple source drugs or generic drugs, if that will lower the acquisition costs of those prescription drugs.
The division shall allow for a combination of prescriptions for single source and innovator multiple source drugs and generic drugs to meet the needs of the beneficiaries, not to exceed five (5) prescriptions per month for each noninstitutionalized Medicaid beneficiary, with not more than two (2) of those prescriptions being for single source or innovator multiple source drugs unless the single source or innovator multiple source drug is less expensive than the generic equivalent.
The executive director may approve specific maintenance drugs for beneficiaries with certain medical conditions, which may be prescribed and dispensed in three-month supply increments.
Drugs prescribed for a resident of a psychiatric residential treatment facility must be provided in true unit doses when available. The division may require that drugs not covered by Medicare Part D for a resident of a long-term care facility be provided in true unit doses when available. Those drugs that were originally billed to the division but are not used by a resident in any of those facilities shall be returned to the billing pharmacy for credit to the division, in accordance with the guidelines of the State Board of Pharmacy and any requirements of federal law and regulation. Drugs shall be dispensed to a recipient and only one (1) dispensing fee per month may be charged. The division shall develop a methodology for reimbursing for restocked drugs, which shall include a restock fee as determined by the division not exceeding Seven Dollars and Eighty-two Cents ($7.82).
The voluntary preferred drug list shall be expanded to function in the interim in order to have a manageable prior authorization system, thereby minimizing disruption of service to beneficiaries.
Except for those specific maintenance drugs approved by the executive director, the division shall not reimburse for any portion of a prescription that exceeds a thirty-one-day supply of the drug based on the daily dosage.
The division shall develop and implement a program of payment for additional pharmacist services, with payment to be based on demonstrated savings, but in no case shall the total payment exceed twice the amount of the dispensing fee.
All claims for drugs for dually eligible Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries that are paid for by Medicare must be submitted to Medicare for payment before they may be processed by the division's online payment system.
The division shall develop a pharmacy policy in which drugs in tamper-resistant packaging that are prescribed for a resident of a nursing facility but are not dispensed to the resident shall be returned to the pharmacy and not billed to Medicaid, in accordance with guidelines of the State Board of Pharmacy.
The division shall develop and implement a method or methods by which the division will provide on a regular basis to Medicaid providers who are authorized to prescribe drugs, information about the costs to the Medicaid program of single source drugs and innovator multiple source drugs, and information about other drugs that may be prescribed as alternatives to those single source drugs and innovator multiple source drugs and the costs to the Medicaid program of those alternative drugs.
Notwithstanding any law or regulation, information obtained or maintained by the division regarding the prescription drug program, including trade secrets and manufacturer or labeler pricing, is confidential and not subject to disclosure except to other state agencies.
(b) Payment by the division for covered multisource drugs shall be limited to the lower of the upper limits established and published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) plus a dispensing fee, or the estimated acquisition cost (EAC) as determined by the division, plus a dispensing fee, or the providers' usual and customary charge to the general public.
Payment for other covered drugs, other than multisource drugs with CMS upper limits, shall not exceed the lower of the estimated acquisition cost as determined by the division, plus a dispensing fee or the providers' usual and customary charge to the general public.
Payment for nonlegend or over-the-counter drugs covered by the division shall be reimbursed at the lower of the division's estimated shelf price or the providers' usual and customary charge to the general public.
The dispensing fee for each new or refill prescription, including nonlegend or over-the-counter drugs covered by the division, shall be not less than Three Dollars and Ninety-one Cents ($3.91), as determined by the division.
The division shall not reimburse for single source or innovator multiple source drugs if there are equally effective generic equivalents available and if the generic equivalents are the least expensive.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the pharmacists providers be reimbursed for the reasonable costs of filling and dispensing prescriptions for Medicaid beneficiaries.
(10) (a) Dental care that is an adjunct to treatment of an acute medical or surgical condition; services of oral surgeons and dentists in connection with surgery related to the jaw or any structure contiguous to the jaw or the reduction of any fracture of the jaw or any facial bone; and emergency dental extractions and treatment related thereto. On July 1, 2007, fees for dental care and surgery under authority of this paragraph (10) shall be reimbursed as provided in subparagraph (b). It is the intent of the Legislature that this rate revision for dental services will be an incentive designed to increase the number of dentists who actively provide Medicaid services. This dental services rate revision shall be known as the "James Russell Dumas Medicaid Dental Incentive Program."
The division shall annually determine the effect of this incentive by evaluating the number of dentists who are Medicaid providers, the number who and the degree to which they are actively billing Medicaid, the geographic trends of where dentists are offering what types of Medicaid services and other statistics pertinent to the goals of this legislative intent. This data shall be presented to the Chair of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee and the Chair of the House Medicaid Committee.
(b) The Division of Medicaid shall establish a fee schedule, to be effective from and after July 1, 2007, for dental services. The schedule shall provide for a fee for each dental service that is equal to a percentile of normal and customary private provider fees, as defined by the Ingenix Customized Fee Analyzer Report, which percentile shall be determined by the division. The schedule shall be reviewed annually by the division and dental fees shall be adjusted to reflect the percentile determined by the division.
(c) For fiscal year 2008, the amount of state funds appropriated for reimbursement for dental care and surgery shall be increased by ten percent (10%) of the amount of state fund expenditures for that purpose for fiscal year 2007. For each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010, the amount of state funds appropriated for reimbursement for dental care and surgery shall be increased by ten percent (10%) of the amount of state fund expenditures for that purpose for the preceding fiscal year.
(d) The division shall establish an annual benefit limit of Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) in dental expenditures per Medicaid-eligible recipient; however, a recipient may exceed the annual limit on dental expenditures provided in this paragraph with prior approval of the division.
(e) The division shall include dental services as a necessary component of overall health services provided to children who are eligible for services.
(f) This paragraph (10) shall stand repealed on July 1, 2016.
(11) Eyeglasses for all Medicaid beneficiaries who have (a) had surgery on the eyeball or ocular muscle that results in a vision change for which eyeglasses or a change in eyeglasses is medically indicated within six (6) months of the surgery and is in accordance with policies established by the division, or (b) one (1) pair every five (5) years and in accordance with policies established by the division. In either instance, the eyeglasses must be prescribed by a physician skilled in diseases of the eye or an optometrist, whichever the beneficiary may select.
(12) Intermediate care facility services.
(a) The division shall make full payment to all intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities for each day, not exceeding eighty-four (84) days per year, that a patient is absent from the facility on home leave. Payment may be made for the following home leave days in addition to the eighty-four-day limitation: Christmas, the day before Christmas, the day after Christmas, Thanksgiving, the day before Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving.
(b) All state-owned intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities shall be reimbursed on a full reasonable cost basis.
(c) Effective January 1, 2015, the division shall update the fair rental reimbursement system for intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
(13) Family planning services, including drugs, supplies and devices, when those services are under the supervision of a physician or nurse practitioner.
(14) Clinic services. Such diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, rehabilitative or palliative services furnished to an outpatient by or under the supervision of a physician or dentist in a facility that is not a part of a hospital but that is organized and operated to provide medical care to outpatients. Clinic services shall include any services reimbursed as outpatient hospital services that may be rendered in such a facility, including those that become so after July 1, 1991. On July 1, 1999, all fees for physicians' services reimbursed under authority of this paragraph (14) shall be reimbursed at ninety percent (90%) of the rate established on January 1, 1999, and as may be adjusted each July thereafter, under Medicare (Title XVIII of the federal Social Security Act, as amended). The division may develop and implement a different reimbursement model or schedule for physician's services provided by physicians based at an academic health care center and by physicians at rural health centers that are associated with an academic health care center. The division may provide for a reimbursement rate for physician's clinic services of up to one hundred percent (100%) of the rate established under Medicare for physician's services that are provided after the normal working hours of the physician, as determined in accordance with regulations of the division.
(15) Home- and community-based services for the elderly and disabled, as provided under Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act, as amended, under waivers, subject to the availability of funds specifically appropriated for that purpose by the Legislature.
The Division of Medicaid is directed to apply for a waiver amendment to increase payments for all adult day care facilities based on acuity of individual patients, with a maximum of Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00) per day for the most acute patients.
(16) Mental health
services. Approved therapeutic and case management services (a) provided by an
approved regional mental health/intellectual disability center established
under Sections 41-19-31 through 41-19-39, or by another community mental health
service provider meeting the requirements of the Department of Mental Health to
be an approved mental health/intellectual disability center if determined
necessary by the Department of Mental Health, using state funds that are
provided in the appropriation to the division to match federal funds, or (b)
provided by a facility that is certified by the State Department of Mental
Health to provide therapeutic and case management services, to be reimbursed on
a fee for service basis, or (c) provided in the community by a facility or
program operated by the Department of Mental Health. Any such services
provided by a facility described in subparagraph (b) must have the prior
approval of the division to be reimbursable under this section. * * *
(17) Durable medical equipment services and medical supplies. Precertification of durable medical equipment and medical supplies must be obtained as required by the division. The Division of Medicaid may require durable medical equipment providers to obtain a surety bond in the amount and to the specifications as established by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
(18) (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, as provided in the Medicaid state plan amendment or amendments as defined in Section 43-13-145(10), the division shall make additional reimbursement to hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of low-income patients and that meet the federal requirements for those payments as provided in Section 1923 of the federal Social Security Act and any applicable regulations. It is the intent of the Legislature that the division shall draw down all available federal funds allotted to the state for disproportionate share hospitals. However, from and after January 1, 1999, public hospitals participating in the Medicaid disproportionate share program may be required to participate in an intergovernmental transfer program as provided in Section 1903 of the federal Social Security Act and any applicable regulations.
(b) The division shall establish a Medicare Upper Payment Limits Program, as defined in Section 1902(a)(30) of the federal Social Security Act and any applicable federal regulations, for hospitals, and may establish a Medicare Upper Payment Limits Program for nursing facilities, and may establish a Medicare Upper Payment Limits Program for physicians employed or contracted by public hospitals. Upon successful implementation of a Medicare Upper Payment Limits Program for physicians employed by public hospitals, the division may develop a plan for implementing an Upper Payment Limits Program for physicians employed by other classes of hospitals. The division shall assess each hospital and, if the program is established for nursing facilities, shall assess each nursing facility, for the sole purpose of financing the state portion of the Medicare Upper Payment Limits Program. The hospital assessment shall be as provided in Section 43-13-145(4)(a) and the nursing facility assessment, if established, shall be based on Medicaid utilization or other appropriate method consistent with federal regulations. The assessment will remain in effect as long as the state participates in the Medicare Upper Payment Limits Program. Public hospitals with physicians participating in the Medicare Upper Payment Limits Program shall be required to participate in an intergovernmental transfer program. As provided in the Medicaid state plan amendment or amendments as defined in Section 43-13-145(10), the division shall make additional reimbursement to hospitals and, if the program is established for nursing facilities, shall make additional reimbursement to nursing facilities, for the Medicare Upper Payment Limits, and, if the program is established for physicians, shall make additional reimbursement for physicians, as defined in Section 1902(a)(30) of the federal Social Security Act and any applicable federal regulations. Effective upon implementation of the Mississippi Hospital Access Program (MHAP) provided in subparagraph (c)(i) below, the hospital portion of the inpatient Upper Payment Limits Program shall transition into and be replaced by the MHAP program.
(c) (i) Not later than December l, 2015, the division shall, subject to approval by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), establish, implement and operate a Mississippi Hospital Access Program (MHAP) for the purpose of protecting patient access to hospital care through hospital inpatient reimbursement programs provided in this section designed to maintain total hospital reimbursement for inpatient services rendered by in-state hospitals and the out-of-state hospital that is authorized by federal law to submit intergovernmental transfers (IGTs) to the State of Mississippi and is classified as Level I trauma center located in a county contiguous to the state line at the maximum levels permissible under applicable federal statutes and regulations, at which time the current inpatient Medicare Upper Payment Limits (UPL) Program for hospital inpatient services shall transition to the MHAP.
(ii) Subject only to approval by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) where required, the MHAP shall provide increased inpatient capitation (PMPM) payments to managed care entities contracting with the division pursuant to subsection (H) of this section to support availability of hospital services or such other payments permissible under federal law necessary to accomplish the intent of this subsection. For inpatient services rendered after July 1, 2015, but prior to the effective date of CMS approval and full implementation of this program, the division may pay lump-sum enhanced, transition payments, prorated inpatient UPL payments based upon fiscal year 2015 June distribution levels, enhanced hospital access (PMPM) payments or such other methodologies as are approved by CMS such that the level of additional reimbursement required by this section is paid for all Medicaid hospital inpatient services delivered in fiscal year 2016.
(iii) The intent of this subparagraph (c) is that effective for all inpatient hospital Medicaid services during state fiscal year 2016, and so long as this provision shall remain in effect hereafter, the division shall to the fullest extent feasible replace the additional reimbursement for hospital inpatient services under the inpatient Medicare Upper Payment Limits (UPL) Program with additional reimbursement under the MHAP.
(iv) The division shall assess each hospital as provided in Section 43-13-145(4)(a) for the purpose of financing the state portion of the MHAP and such other purposes as specified in Section 43-13-145. The assessment will remain in effect as long as the MHAP is in effect.
(v) In the event that the MHAP program under this subparagraph (c) is not approved by CMS, the inpatient UPL program under subparagraph (b) shall immediately become restored in the manner required to provide the maximum permissible level of UPL payments to hospital providers for all inpatient services rendered from and after July 1, 2015.
(19) (a) Perinatal risk management services. The division shall promulgate regulations to be effective from and after October 1, 1988, to establish a comprehensive perinatal system for risk assessment of all pregnant and infant Medicaid recipients and for management, education and follow-up for those who are determined to be at risk. Services to be performed include case management, nutrition assessment/counseling, psychosocial assessment/counseling and health education. The division shall contract with the State Department of Health to provide the services within this paragraph (Perinatal High Risk Management/Infant Services System (PHRM/ISS)). The State Department of Health as the agency for PHRM/ISS for the Division of Medicaid shall be reimbursed on a full reasonable cost basis.
(b) Early intervention system services. The division shall cooperate with the State Department of Health, acting as lead agency, in the development and implementation of a statewide system of delivery of early intervention services, under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The State Department of Health shall certify annually in writing to the executive director of the division the dollar amount of state early intervention funds available that will be utilized as a certified match for Medicaid matching funds. Those funds then shall be used to provide expanded targeted case management services for Medicaid eligible children with special needs who are eligible for the state's early intervention system. Qualifications for persons providing service coordination shall be determined by the State Department of Health and the Division of Medicaid.
(20) Home- and community-based services for physically disabled approved services as allowed by a waiver from the United States Department of Health and Human Services for home- and community-based services for physically disabled people using state funds that are provided from the appropriation to the State Department of Rehabilitation Services and used to match federal funds under a cooperative agreement between the division and the department, provided that funds for these services are specifically appropriated to the Department of Rehabilitation Services.
(21) Nurse practitioner services. Services furnished by a registered nurse who is licensed and certified by the Mississippi Board of Nursing as a nurse practitioner, including, but not limited to, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, family nurse practitioners, family planning nurse practitioners, pediatric nurse practitioners, obstetrics-gynecology nurse practitioners and neonatal nurse practitioners, under regulations adopted by the division. Reimbursement for those services shall not exceed ninety percent (90%) of the reimbursement rate for comparable services rendered by a physician. The division may provide for a reimbursement rate for nurse practitioner services of up to one hundred percent (100%) of the reimbursement rate for comparable services rendered by a physician for nurse practitioner services that are provided after the normal working hours of the nurse practitioner, as determined in accordance with regulations of the division.
(22) Ambulatory services delivered in federally qualified health centers, rural health centers and clinics of the local health departments of the State Department of Health for individuals eligible for Medicaid under this article based on reasonable costs as determined by the division.
(23) Inpatient psychiatric services. Inpatient psychiatric services to be determined by the division for recipients under age twenty-one (21) that are provided under the direction of a physician in an inpatient program in a licensed acute care psychiatric facility or in a licensed psychiatric residential treatment facility, before the recipient reaches age twenty-one (21) or, if the recipient was receiving the services immediately before he or she reached age twenty-one (21), before the earlier of the date he or she no longer requires the services or the date he or she reaches age twenty-two (22), as provided by federal regulations. From and after January 1, 2015, the division shall update the fair rental reimbursement system for psychiatric residential treatment facilities. Precertification of inpatient days and residential treatment days must be obtained as required by the division. From and after July 1, 2009, all state-owned and state-operated facilities that provide inpatient psychiatric services to persons under age twenty-one (21) who are eligible for Medicaid reimbursement shall be reimbursed for those services on a full reasonable cost basis.
(24) [Deleted]
(25) [Deleted]
(26) Hospice care. As used in this paragraph, the term "hospice care" means a coordinated program of active professional medical attention within the home and outpatient and inpatient care that treats the terminally ill patient and family as a unit, employing a medically directed interdisciplinary team. The program provides relief of severe pain or other physical symptoms and supportive care to meet the special needs arising out of physical, psychological, spiritual, social and economic stresses that are experienced during the final stages of illness and during dying and bereavement and meets the Medicare requirements for participation as a hospice as provided in federal regulations.
(27) Group health plan premiums and cost-sharing if it is cost-effective as defined by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(28) Other health insurance premiums that are cost-effective as defined by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. Medicare eligible must have Medicare Part B before other insurance premiums can be paid.
(29) The Division of Medicaid may apply for a waiver from the United States Department of Health and Human Services for home- and community-based services for developmentally disabled people using state funds that are provided from the appropriation to the State Department of Mental Health and/or funds transferred to the department by a political subdivision or instrumentality of the state and used to match federal funds under a cooperative agreement between the division and the department, provided that funds for these services are specifically appropriated to the Department of Mental Health and/or transferred to the department by a political subdivision or instrumentality of the state.
(30) Pediatric skilled nursing services for eligible persons under twenty-one (21) years of age.
(31) Targeted case management services for children with special needs, under waivers from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, using state funds that are provided from the appropriation to the Mississippi Department of Human Services and used to match federal funds under a cooperative agreement between the division and the department.
(32) Care and services provided in Christian Science Sanatoria listed and certified by the Commission for Accreditation of Christian Science Nursing Organizations/Facilities, Inc., rendered in connection with treatment by prayer or spiritual means to the extent that those services are subject to reimbursement under Section 1903 of the federal Social Security Act.
(33) Podiatrist services.
(34) Assisted living services as provided through home- and community-based services under Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act, as amended, subject to the availability of funds specifically appropriated for that purpose by the Legislature.
(35) Services and activities authorized in Sections 43-27-101 and 43-27-103, using state funds that are provided from the appropriation to the Mississippi Department of Human Services and used to match federal funds under a cooperative agreement between the division and the department.
(36) Nonemergency transportation services for Medicaid-eligible persons, to be provided by the Division of Medicaid. The division may contract with additional entities to administer nonemergency transportation services as it deems necessary. All providers shall have a valid driver's license, vehicle inspection sticker, valid vehicle license tags and a standard liability insurance policy covering the vehicle. The division may pay providers a flat fee based on mileage tiers, or in the alternative, may reimburse on actual miles traveled. The division may apply to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a waiver to draw federal matching funds for nonemergency transportation services as a covered service instead of an administrative cost. The PEER Committee shall conduct a performance evaluation of the nonemergency transportation program to evaluate the administration of the program and the providers of transportation services to determine the most cost-effective ways of providing nonemergency transportation services to the patients served under the program. The performance evaluation shall be completed and provided to the members of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee and the House Medicaid Committee not later than January 15, 2008.
(37) [Deleted]
(38) Chiropractic services. A chiropractor's manual manipulation of the spine to correct a subluxation, if x-ray demonstrates that a subluxation exists and if the subluxation has resulted in a neuromusculoskeletal condition for which manipulation is appropriate treatment, and related spinal x-rays performed to document these conditions. Reimbursement for chiropractic services shall not exceed Seven Hundred Dollars ($700.00) per year per beneficiary.
(39) Dually eligible Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries. The division shall pay the Medicare deductible and coinsurance amounts for services available under Medicare, as determined by the division. From and after July 1, 2009, the division shall reimburse crossover claims for inpatient hospital services and crossover claims covered under Medicare Part B in the same manner that was in effect on January 1, 2008, unless specifically authorized by the Legislature to change this method.
(40) [Deleted]
(41) Services provided by the State Department of Rehabilitation Services for the care and rehabilitation of persons with spinal cord injuries or traumatic brain injuries, as allowed under waivers from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, using up to seventy-five percent (75%) of the funds that are appropriated to the Department of Rehabilitation Services from the Spinal Cord and Head Injury Trust Fund established under Section 37-33-261 and used to match federal funds under a cooperative agreement between the division and the department.
(42) Notwithstanding any other provision in this article to the contrary, the division may develop a population health management program for women and children health services through the age of one (1) year. This program is primarily for obstetrical care associated with low birth weight and preterm babies. The division may apply to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a Section 1115 waiver or any other waivers that may enhance the program. In order to effect cost savings, the division may develop a revised payment methodology that may include at-risk capitated payments, and may require member participation in accordance with the terms and conditions of an approved federal waiver.
(43) The division shall provide reimbursement, according to a payment schedule developed by the division, for smoking cessation medications for pregnant women during their pregnancy and other Medicaid-eligible women who are of child-bearing age.
(44) Nursing facility services for the severely disabled.
(a) Severe disabilities include, but are not limited to, spinal cord injuries, closed-head injuries and ventilator dependent patients.
(b) Those services must be provided in a long-term care nursing facility dedicated to the care and treatment of persons with severe disabilities.
(45) Physician assistant services. Services furnished by a physician assistant who is licensed by the State Board of Medical Licensure and is practicing with physician supervision under regulations adopted by the board, under regulations adopted by the division. Reimbursement for those services shall not exceed ninety percent (90%) of the reimbursement rate for comparable services rendered by a physician. The division may provide for a reimbursement rate for physician assistant services of up to one hundred percent (100%) or the reimbursement rate for comparable services rendered by a physician for physician assistant services that are provided after the normal working hours of the physician assistant, as determined in accordance with regulations of the division.
(46) The division shall make application to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for a waiver to develop and provide services for children with serious emotional disturbances as defined in Section 43-14-1(1), which may include home- and community-based services, case management services or managed care services through mental health providers certified by the Department of Mental Health. The division may implement and provide services under this waivered program only if funds for these services are specifically appropriated for this purpose by the Legislature, or if funds are voluntarily provided by affected agencies.
(47) (a) Notwithstanding any other provision in this article to the contrary, the division may develop and implement disease management programs for individuals with high-cost chronic diseases and conditions, including the use of grants, waivers, demonstrations or other projects as necessary.
(b) Participation in any disease management program implemented under this paragraph (47) is optional with the individual. An individual must affirmatively elect to participate in the disease management program in order to participate, and may elect to discontinue participation in the program at any time.
(48) Pediatric long-term acute care hospital services.
(a) Pediatric long-term acute care hospital services means services provided to eligible persons under twenty-one (21) years of age by a freestanding Medicare-certified hospital that has an average length of inpatient stay greater than twenty-five (25) days and that is primarily engaged in providing chronic or long-term medical care to persons under twenty-one (21) years of age.
(b) The services under this paragraph (48) shall be reimbursed as a separate category of hospital services.
(49) The division shall establish copayments and/or coinsurance for all Medicaid services for which copayments and/or coinsurance are allowable under federal law or regulation, and shall set the amount of the copayment and/or coinsurance for each of those services at the maximum amount allowable under federal law or regulation.
(50) Services provided by the State Department of Rehabilitation Services for the care and rehabilitation of persons who are deaf and blind, as allowed under waivers from the United States Department of Health and Human Services to provide home- and community-based services using state funds that are provided from the appropriation to the State Department of Rehabilitation Services or if funds are voluntarily provided by another agency.
(51) Upon determination of Medicaid eligibility and in association with annual redetermination of Medicaid eligibility, beneficiaries shall be encouraged to undertake a physical examination that will establish a base-line level of health and identification of a usual and customary source of care (a medical home) to aid utilization of disease management tools. This physical examination and utilization of these disease management tools shall be consistent with current United States Preventive Services Task Force or other recognized authority recommendations.
For persons who are determined ineligible for Medicaid, the division will provide information and direction for accessing medical care and services in the area of their residence.
(52) Notwithstanding any provisions of this article, the division may pay enhanced reimbursement fees related to trauma care, as determined by the division in conjunction with the State Department of Health, using funds appropriated to the State Department of Health for trauma care and services and used to match federal funds under a cooperative agreement between the division and the State Department of Health. The division, in conjunction with the State Department of Health, may use grants, waivers, demonstrations, or other projects as necessary in the development and implementation of this reimbursement program.
(53) Targeted case management services for high-cost beneficiaries shall be developed by the division for all services under this section.
(54) Adult foster care services pilot program. Social and protective services on a pilot program basis in an approved foster care facility for vulnerable adults who would otherwise need care in a long-term care facility, to be implemented in an area of the state with the greatest need for such program, under the Medicaid Waivers for the Elderly and Disabled program or an assisted living waiver. The division may use grants, waivers, demonstrations or other projects as necessary in the development and implementation of this adult foster care services pilot program.
(55) Therapy services. The plan of care for therapy services may be developed to cover a period of treatment for up to six (6) months, but in no event shall the plan of care exceed a six-month period of treatment. The projected period of treatment must be indicated on the initial plan of care and must be updated with each subsequent revised plan of care. Based on medical necessity, the division shall approve certification periods for less than or up to six (6) months, but in no event shall the certification period exceed the period of treatment indicated on the plan of care. The appeal process for any reduction in therapy services shall be consistent with the appeal process in federal regulations.
(56) Prescribed pediatric extended care centers services for medically dependent or technologically dependent children with complex medical conditions that require continual care as prescribed by the child's attending physician, as determined by the division.
(57) No Medicaid benefit shall restrict coverage for medically appropriate treatment prescribed by a physician and agreed to by a fully informed individual, or if the individual lacks legal capacity to consent by a person who has legal authority to consent on his or her behalf, based on an individual's diagnosis with a terminal condition. As used in this paragraph (57), "terminal condition" means any aggressive malignancy, chronic end-stage cardiovascular or cerebral vascular disease, or any other disease, illness or condition which a physician diagnoses as terminal.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, the division shall reduce the rate of reimbursement to providers for any service provided under this section by five percent (5%) of the allowed amount for that service. However, the reduction in the reimbursement rates required by this subsection (B) shall not apply to inpatient hospital services, nursing facility services, intermediate care facility services, psychiatric residential treatment facility services, pharmacy services provided under subsection (A)(9) of this section, or any service provided by the University of Mississippi Medical Center or a state agency, a state facility or a public agency that either provides its own state match through intergovernmental transfer or certification of funds to the division, or a service for which the federal government sets the reimbursement methodology and rate. From and after January 1, 2010, the reduction in the reimbursement rates required by this subsection (B) shall not apply to physicians' services. In addition, the reduction in the reimbursement rates required by this subsection (B) shall not apply to case management services and home-delivered meals provided under the home- and community-based services program for the elderly and disabled by a planning and development district (PDD). Planning and development districts participating in the home- and community-based services program for the elderly and disabled as case management providers shall be reimbursed for case management services at the maximum rate approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
(C) The division may pay to those providers who participate in and accept patient referrals from the division's emergency room redirection program a percentage, as determined by the division, of savings achieved according to the performance measures and reduction of costs required of that program. Federally qualified health centers may participate in the emergency room redirection program, and the division may pay those centers a percentage of any savings to the Medicaid program achieved by the centers' accepting patient referrals through the program, as provided in this subsection (C).
(D) Notwithstanding any
provision of this article, except as authorized in the following subsection and
in Section 43-13-139, neither * * * (1) the limitations on quantity or
frequency of use of or the fees or charges for any of the care or services
available to recipients under this section, nor * * * (2) the payments, payment
methodology as provided below in this subsection (D), or rates of reimbursement
to providers rendering care or services authorized under this section to
recipients, may be increased, decreased or otherwise changed from the levels in
effect on July 1, 1999, unless they are authorized by an amendment to this
section by the Legislature. However, the restriction in this subsection shall
not prevent the division from changing the payments, payment methodology as
provided below in this subsection (D), or rates of reimbursement to providers
without an amendment to this section whenever those changes are required by
federal law or regulation, or whenever those changes are necessary to correct
administrative errors or omissions in calculating those payments or rates of
reimbursement. The prohibition on any changes in payment methodology provided
in this subsection (D) shall apply only to payment methodologies used for
determining the rates of reimbursement for inpatient hospital services,
outpatient hospital services, nursing facility services, and/or pharmacy
services, except as required by federal law, and the federally mandated
rebasing of rates as required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS) shall not be considered payment methodology for purposes of this
subsection (D). No service benefits or reimbursement limitations in this
section shall apply to payments under an APR-DRG or APC model or a managed care
program or similar model described in subsection (H) of this section.
(E) Notwithstanding any provision of this article, no new groups or categories of recipients and new types of care and services may be added without enabling legislation from the Mississippi Legislature, except that the division may authorize those changes without enabling legislation when the addition of recipients or services is ordered by a court of proper authority.
(F) The executive director shall keep the Governor advised on a timely basis of the funds available for expenditure and the projected expenditures. If current or projected expenditures of the division are reasonably anticipated to exceed the amount of funds appropriated to the division for any fiscal year, the Governor, after consultation with the executive director, shall discontinue any or all of the payment of the types of care and services as provided in this section that are deemed to be optional services under Title XIX of the federal Social Security Act, as amended, and when necessary, shall institute any other cost containment measures on any program or programs authorized under the article to the extent allowed under the federal law governing that program or programs. However, the Governor shall not be authorized to discontinue or eliminate any service under this section that is mandatory under federal law, or to discontinue or eliminate, or adjust income limits or resource limits for, any eligibility category or group under Section 43-13-115. Beginning in fiscal year 2010 and in fiscal years thereafter, when Medicaid expenditures are projected to exceed funds available for any quarter in the fiscal year, the division shall submit the expected shortfall information to the PEER Committee, which shall review the computations of the division and report its findings to the Legislative Budget Office within thirty (30) days of such notification by the division, and not later than January 7 in any year. If expenditure reductions or cost containments are implemented, the Governor may implement a maximum amount of state share expenditure reductions to providers, of which hospitals will be responsible for twenty-five percent (25%) of provider reductions as follows: in fiscal year 2010, the maximum amount shall be Twenty-four Million Dollars ($24,000,000.00); in fiscal year 2011, the maximum amount shall be Thirty-two Million Dollars ($32,000,000.00); and in fiscal year 2012 and thereafter, the maximum amount shall be Forty Million Dollars ($40,000,000.00). However, instead of implementing cuts, the hospital share shall be in the form of an additional assessment not to exceed Ten Million Dollars ($10,000,000.00) as provided in Section 43-13-145(4)(a)(ii). If Medicaid expenditures are projected to exceed the amount of funds appropriated to the division in any fiscal year in excess of the expenditure reductions to providers, then funds shall be transferred by the State Fiscal Officer from the Health Care Trust Fund into the Health Care Expendable Fund and to the Governor's Office, Division of Medicaid, from the Health Care Expendable Fund, in the amount and at such time as requested by the Governor to reconcile the deficit. If the cost containment measures described above have been implemented and there are insufficient funds in the Health Care Trust Fund to reconcile any remaining deficit in any fiscal year, the Governor shall institute any other additional cost containment measures on any program or programs authorized under this article to the extent allowed under federal law. Hospitals shall be responsible for twenty-five percent (25%) of any additional imposed provider cuts. However, instead of implementing hospital expenditure reductions, the hospital reductions shall be in the form of an additional assessment not to exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of provider expenditure reductions as provided in Section 43-13-145(4)(a)(ii). It is the intent of the Legislature that the expenditures of the division during any fiscal year shall not exceed the amounts appropriated to the division for that fiscal year.
(G) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, it shall be the duty of each nursing facility, intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities, psychiatric residential treatment facility, and nursing facility for the severely disabled that is participating in the Medicaid program to keep and maintain books, documents and other records as prescribed by the Division of Medicaid in substantiation of its cost reports for a period of three (3) years after the date of submission to the Division of Medicaid of an original cost report, or three (3) years after the date of submission to the Division of Medicaid of an amended cost report.
(H) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the division is authorized to implement (a) a managed care program, (b) a coordinated care program, (c) a coordinated care organization program, (d) a health maintenance organization program, (e) a patient-centered medical home program, (f) an accountable care organization program, (g) provider-sponsored health plan, or (h) any combination of the above programs. Managed care programs, coordinated care programs, coordinated care organization programs, health maintenance organization programs, patient-centered medical home programs, accountable care organization programs, provider-sponsored health plans, or any combination of the above programs or other similar programs implemented by the division under this section shall be limited to the greater of (i) forty-five percent (45%) of the total enrollment of Medicaid beneficiaries, or (ii) the categories of beneficiaries participating in the program as of January 1, 2014, plus the categories of beneficiaries composed primarily of persons younger than nineteen (19) years of age, and the division is authorized to enroll categories of beneficiaries in such program(s) as long as the appropriate limitations are not exceeded in the aggregate. As a condition for the approval of any program under this subsection (H)(1), the division shall require that no program may:
(a) Pay providers at a rate that is less than the Medicaid All-Patient Refined-Diagnosis Related Groups (APR-DRG) reimbursement rate;
(b) Override the medical decisions of hospital physicians or staff regarding patients admitted to a hospital for an emergency medical condition as defined by 42 US Code Section 1395dd. This restriction (b) does not prohibit the retrospective review of the appropriateness of the determination that an emergency medical condition exists by chart review or coding algorithm, nor does it prohibit prior authorization for nonemergency hospital admissions;
(c) Pay providers at a rate that is less than the normal Medicaid reimbursement rate; however, the division may approve use of innovative payment models that recognize alternative payment models, including quality and value-based payments, provided both parties mutually agree and the Division of Medicaid approves of said models. Participation in the provider network of any managed care, coordinated care, provider-sponsored health plan, or similar contractor shall not be conditioned on the provider's agreement to accept such alternative payment models;
(d) Implement a prior authorization program for prescription drugs that is more stringent than the prior authorization processes used by the division in its administration of the Medicaid program;
(e) Implement a policy that does not comply with the prescription drugs payment requirements established in subsection (A)(9) of this section;
(f) Implement a preferred drug list that is more stringent than the mandatory preferred drug list established by the division under subsection (A)(9) of this section;
(g) Implement a policy which denies beneficiaries with hemophilia access to the federally funded hemophilia treatment centers as part of the Medicaid Managed Care network of providers. All Medicaid beneficiaries with hemophilia shall receive unrestricted access to anti-hemophilia factor products through noncapitated reimbursement programs.
(2) Any contractors providing direct patient care under a managed care program established in this section shall provide to the Legislature and the division statistical data to be shared with provider groups in order to improve patient access, appropriate utilization, cost savings and health outcomes.
(3) All health maintenance organizations, coordinated care organizations, provider-sponsored health plans, or other organizations paid for services on a capitated basis by the division under any managed care program or coordinated care program implemented by the division under this section shall reimburse all providers in those organizations at rates no lower than those provided under this section for beneficiaries who are not participating in those programs.
(4) No health maintenance organization, coordinated care organization, provider-sponsored health plan, or other organization paid for services on a capitated basis by the division under any managed care program or coordinated care program implemented by the division under this section shall require its providers or beneficiaries to use any pharmacy that ships, mails or delivers prescription drugs or legend drugs or devices.
(I) [Deleted]
(J) There shall be no cuts in inpatient and outpatient hospital payments, or allowable days or volumes, as long as the hospital assessment provided in Section 43-13-145 is in effect. This subsection (J) shall not apply to decreases in payments that are a result of: reduced hospital admissions, audits or payments under the APR-DRG or APC models, or a managed care program or similar model described in subsection (H) of this section.
(K) This section shall stand repealed on June 30, 2018.
SECTION 52. Section 43-18-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-18-1. The Governor, on
behalf of this state, is * * * hereby authorized to execute a compact in substantially the
following form with all other jurisidictions legally joining therein; and the
Legislature * * *
signifies in advance its approval and ratification of such compact, which
compact is as follows:
INTERSTATE COMPACT ON THE PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN
ARTICLE I.
It is the purpose and policy of the party states to cooperate with each other in the interstate placement of children to the end that:
(a) Each child requiring placement shall receive the maximum opportunity to be placed in a suitable environment and with persons or institutions having appropriate qualifications and facilities to provide a necessary and desirable degree and type of care.
(b) The appropriate authorities in a state where a child is to be placed may have full opportunity to ascertain the circumstances of the proposed placement, thereby promoting full compliance with applicable requirements for the protection of the child.
(c) The proper authorities of the state from which the placement is made may obtain the most complete information on the basis on which to evaluate a projected placement before it is made.
(d) Appropriate jurisdictional arrangements for the care of children will be promoted.
ARTICLE II.
As used in this compact:
(a) "Child" means a person who, by reason of minority, is legally subject to parental, guardianship or similar control.
(b) "Sending agency" means a party state, officer or employee thereof; a subdivision of a party state, or officer or employee thereof; a court of a party state; a person, corporation, association, charitable agency or other entity which sends, brings or causes to be sent or brought any child to another party state.
(c) "Receiving state" means the state to which a child is sent, brought, or caused to be sent or brought, whether by public authorities or private persons or agencies and whether for placement with state or local public authorities or for placement with private agencies or persons.
(d)
"Placement" means the arrangement for the care of a child in a family
free or boarding home or in a child-caring agency or institution, but
does not include any institution caring for * * * persons
with mental illness or persons with an intellectual disability or any
institution primarily educational in character, and any hospital or other
medical facility.
ARTICLE III.
(a) No sending agency shall send, bring or cause to be sent or brought into any other party state any child for placement in foster care or as a preliminary to a possible adoption unless the sending agency shall comply with each and every requirement set forth in this article and with the applicable laws of the receiving state governing the placement of children therein.
(b) Prior to sending, bringing or causing any child to be sent or brought into a receiving state for placement in foster care or as a preliminary to a possible adoption, the sending agency shall furnish the appropriate public authorities in the receiving state written notice of the intention to send, bring or place the child in the receiving state. The notice shall contain:
(1) The name, date and place of birth of the child.
(2) The identity and address or addresses of the parents or legal guardian.
(3) The name and address of the person, agency or institution to or with which the sending agency proposes to send, bring or place the child.
(4) A full statement of the reasons for such proposed action and evidence of the authority pursuant to which the placement is proposed to be made.
(c) Any public officer or agency in a receiving state which is in receipt of a notice pursuant to paragraph (b) of this article may request of the sending agency, or any other appropriate officer or agency of or in the sending agency's state, and shall be entitled to receive therefrom, such supporting or additional information as it may deem necessary under the circumstances to carry out the purpose and policy of this compact.
(d) The child shall not be sent, brought or caused to be sent or brought into the receiving state until the appropriate public authorities in the receiving state shall notify the sending agency, in writing, to the effect that the proposed placement does not appear to be contrary to the interests of the child.
ARTICLE IV.
The sending, bringing or causing to be sent or brought into any receiving state of a child in violation of the terms of this compact shall constitute a violation of the laws respecting the placement of children of both the state in which the sending agency is located or from which it sends or brings the child and of the receiving state. Such violation may be punished or subjected to penalty in either jurisdiction in accordance with its laws. In addition to liability for any such punishment or penalty, any such violation shall constitute full and sufficient grounds for the suspension or revocation of any license, permit or other legal authorization held by the sending agency which empowers or allows it to place or care for children.
ARTICLE V.
(a) The sending agency shall retain jurisdiction over the child sufficient to determine all matters in relation to the custody, supervision, care, treatment and disposition of the child which it would have had if the child had remained in the sending agency's state, until the child is adopted, reaches majority, becomes self-supporting or is discharged with the concurrence of the appropriate authority in the receiving state. Such jurisdiction shall also include the power to effect or cause the return of the child or its transfer to another location and custody pursuant to law. The sending agency shall continue to have financial responsibility for support and maintenance of the child during the period of the placement. Nothing contained herein shall defeat a claim of jurisdiction by a receiving state sufficient to deal with an act of delinquency or crime committed therein.
(b) When the sending agency is a public agency, it may enter into an agreement with an authorized public or private agency in the receiving state providing for the performance of one or more services in respect of such case by the latter as agent for the sending agency.
(c) Nothing in this compact shall be construed to prevent a private charitable agency authorized to place children in the receiving state from performing services or acting as agent in that state for a private charitable agency of the sending state; nor to prevent the agency in the receiving state from discharging financial responsibility for the support and maintenance of a child who has been placed on behalf of the sending agency without relieving the responsibility set forth in paragraph (a) hereof.
ARTICLE VI.
A child adjudicated delinquent may be placed in an institution in another party jurisdiction pursuant to this compact but no such placement shall be made unless the child is given a court hearing on notice to the parent or guardian with opportunity to be heard, prior to his being sent to such other party jurisdiction for institutional care and the court finds that:
(1) Equivalent facilities for the child are not available in the sending agency's jurisdiction; and
(2) Institutional care in the other jurisdiction is in the best interest of the child and will not produce undue hardship.
ARTICLE VII.
The executive head of each jurisdiction party to this compact shall designate an officer who shall be general coordinator of activities under this compact in his jurisdiction and who, acting jointly with like officers of other party jurisdictions, shall have power to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out more effectively the terms and provisions of this compact.
ARTICLE VIII.
This compact shall not apply to:
(a) The sending or bringing of a child into a receiving state by his parent, stepparent, grandparent, adult brother or sister, adult uncle or aunt, or his guardian and leaving the child with any such relative or nonagency guardian in the receiving state.
(b) Any placement,
sending or bringing of a child into a receiving state pursuant to any other
interstate compact to which both the state from which the child is sent or
brought and the receiving state are party, or to any other agreement between * * * those states which has the force of
law.
ARTICLE IX.
This compact shall be open to joinder by any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and, with the consent of Congress, the government of Canada or any province thereof. It shall become effective with respect to any such jurisdiction when such jurisdiction has enacted the same into law. Withdrawal from this compact shall be by the enactment of a statute repealing the same, but shall not take effect until written notice of the withdrawal has been given by the withdrawing state to the Governor of each other party jurisdiction. Withdrawal of a party state shall not affect the rights, duties and obligations under this compact of any sending agency therein with respect to a placement made prior to the effective date of withdrawal.
ARTICLE X.
The provisions of this compact shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purposes thereof. The provisions of this compact shall be severable and if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any party state or of the United States or the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this compact and the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. If this compact shall be held contrary to the constitution of any state party thereto, the compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining states and in full force and effect as to the state affected as to all severable matters.
SECTION 53. Section 43-27-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-27-25. No person shall
be committed to an institution under the control of the Department of Youth
Services who is seriously * * *handicapped disabled by having mental illness or an
intellectual disability. If after a person is referred to the training schools
it is determined that he has mental illness or an intellectual disability to an
extent that he could not be properly cared for in its custody, the director may
institute necessary legal action to accomplish the transfer of such person to
such other state institution as, in his judgment, is best qualified to care for
him in accordance with the laws of this state. The department shall establish
standards with regard to the physical and mental health of persons which it can
accept for commitment.
SECTION 54. Section 43-33-703, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-33-703. For the purposes of this article, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Bonds" or "notes" means the bonds or notes, respectively, issued by the corporation pursuant to this article;
(b) "Corporation" means the Mississippi Home Corporation;
(c) "Energy conservation loan" means a mortgage loan made to a person of low or moderate income to finance improvements made or to be made to the residential housing owned and occupied by such person for the purposes of conserving energy and reducing the energy costs attributable to such residential housing, and containing such terms and conditions as the corporation may require;
(d) "Housing development mortgage loan" means a mortgage loan made to finance or refinance the acquisition, construction or substantial rehabilitation of a housing development, including both construction loans and permanent loans;
(e) "Housing development" means any specific work located within the state and made available to persons of low or moderate income for rental or residential housing purposes, including any building, land, equipment, facility or other real or personal property which may be necessary, convenient or desirable in connection therewith including streets, sewers, water and utility services;
(f) "Mortgage" means a mortgage, mortgage deed or deed of trust on a fee interest in residential housing or a rental housing development or, on real property in which the fee interest is owned without limitation by a unit of government or other entity created by statute, a leasehold on such a fee interest of a duration satisfactory to the corporation, which shall in all events exceed the term of the security interest created by the mortgagee;
(g) "Mortgage lender" means any bank, bank or trust company, trust company, mortgage company, mortgage banker, national banking association, savings bank, savings and loan association, building and loan association, and any other lending institution; provided that such lender is domiciled or qualified to do business in this state;
(h) "Mortgage loan" means a financial obligation secured by a mortgage, including any portion thereof or participation therein in any new or existing mortgage loan;
(i) "Municipality" means any county, city, town or village of the state;
(j) "Persons of
low or moderate income" means persons or families, irrespective of race,
color, national origin, sex, religion, age or * * * disability, within the state,
who are determined by the corporation to require such assistance as is made
available pursuant to this article on account of insufficient personal or
family income to reasonably afford decent, safe and sanitary residential or
rental housing, taking into consideration, without limitation, such factors as
the following: (i) the amount of the total income of such persons and families
available for housing needs; (ii) the size of the family; (iii) the cost and
condition of residential or rental housing facilities in their locality or in
an area reasonably accessible to such locality; (iv) the ability of such
persons and families to compete successfully in the normal, private residential
or rental housing market and to pay the amounts for which private enterprise is
providing sanitary, decent and safe residential or rental housing in their
locality or in an area reasonably accessible to such locality; (v) the
standards established by various programs of the federal government for
determining eligibility based on income of such persons and families and, in
the case of projects with respect to which income limits have been established
by any agency of the federal government having jurisdiction thereover for the
purpose of defining eligibility of low and moderate income families, the
corporation may determine that the limits so established shall govern; in all
other cases income limits for the purpose of defining low or moderate income
persons shall be established by the corporation in its rules and regulations;
(k) "Qualified sponsors" means any person, corporation, partnership or association, profit or nonprofit, public or private, which provides or develops residential or rental housing for low and moderate income families;
(l) "Residential housing" means a specific work or improvement undertaken to provide an owner-occupied residence within the state, which shall become the principal residence of the owner within a reasonable time after the financing is provided;
(m) "State" means the State of Mississippi;
(n) "State agency" means any board, authority, agency, department, commission, public corporation, body politic or instrumentality of the state;
(o) "Local
housing authority" or "regional housing authority" means a
public body corporate and politic organized and operating pursuant to Chapter
33, Title 43, * * * Mississippi Code of 1972, as amended, or a nonprofit corporation
organized under the laws of the State of Mississippi and designated by the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development as a public housing
agency within the meaning of Section 3(6) of the United States Housing Act of
1937, as amended.
SECTION 55. Section 43-33-717, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-33-717. (1) The corporation shall have all the powers necessary or convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and provisions of this article, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the power:
(a) To make and alter bylaws for its organization and internal management;
(b) To sue and be sued, have a seal and alter the same at pleasure, and maintain an office at such place or places in the state as it may determine;
(c) To appoint officers, agents and employees, prescribe their duties and qualifications, and fix their compensation;
(d) To acquire real or personal property, or any interest therein, by purchase, exchange, gift, assignment, transfer, foreclosure, lease, condemnation or otherwise, including rights or easements; to hold, manage, operate or improve real or personal property; to sell, assign, exchange, lease, encumber, mortgage or otherwise dispose of any real or personal property, or any interest therein, or deed of trust or mortgage lien interest owned by it or under its control, custody or in its possession and release or relinquish any right, title, claim, lien, interest, easement or demand however acquired, including any equity or right of redemption in property foreclosed by it and to do any of the foregoing by public sale;
(e) To make and execute agreements, contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of the powers and functions of the corporation under this article;
(f) To employ or contract with architects, engineers, attorneys, accountants, financial experts and other advisors as may be necessary in its judgment and to fix and pay their compensation;
(g) To make and execute contracts for the administration, servicing or collection of any mortgage loan and pay the reasonable value of services rendered to the corporation pursuant to such contracts;
(h) To contract for the employment of a financial advisor, underwriting attorneys, trustees, paying agents, depositories or any consultants retained in connection with the issuance of any bonds or notes including refunding bonds or notes or dealing with the disposition of any proceeds thereof;
(i) To issue negotiable bonds and notes and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof;
(j) Subject to any agreement with bondholders or noteholders, to sell any mortgage loans at public or private sale at the fair market value for such a mortgage; and
(k) Subject to any agreement with bondholders and noteholders, to make, alter or repeal such rules and regulations with respect to the operations, properties and facilities of the corporation as are necessary to carry out its functions and duties in the administration of this article.
(2) The corporation shall also have the power:
(a) To make loans to mortgage lenders for the purpose of:
(i) Making housing development mortgage loans to qualified sponsors for low and moderate income rental or residential housing;
(ii) Making loans to low and moderate income purchasers of residential housing with preference to those who are displaced from adequate housing as a result of a major disaster, whether it be a man-made, technological or natural disaster, upon a declaration by the Governor that a major disaster exists in the state;
(b) To purchase from mortgage lenders any of the loans enumerated in subparagraphs (i) and (ii);
(c) To insure, reinsure or guarantee any of the types of loans enumerated in subparagraphs (i) and (ii);
(d) To make, in such amounts and upon such terms and conditions as the corporation shall approve, temporary loans, preconstruction loans, interim financing loans to any qualified sponsor and permanent financing to any qualified sponsor of multifamily housing.
(3) The corporation shall also have the power to make loans from funds not otherwise encumbered by pledge or indenture to low and moderate income persons for the following purposes:
(a) Purchasing, improving or rehabilitating existing residential housing and occupied by the owners;
(b) Making loans to qualified nonprofit sponsors, to local housing authorities and to owners of residential housing for the development, construction, purchase, rehabilitation, weatherization or maintenance of residential housing.
(4) Using funds not otherwise encumbered by pledge or indenture, the corporation may:
(a) Establish a rental assistance program;
(b) Provide such advisory consultation, training and educational services as will assist in the planning, construction, rehabilitation and operation of housing, including but not limited to, assistance in community development and organization, home management and advisory services for residents, and in promotion of community organizations and local governments to assist in developing housing;
(c) Encourage research and demonstration projects to develop new and better methods for increasing the supply, types and financing of housing and to receive and accept contributions, grants or aid from any source, public or private, including but not limited to the United States and this state, for carrying out this purpose;
(d) Encourage and stimulate cooperatives and other forms of housing with tenant participation;
(e) Promote innovative programs for home ownership, including but not limited to lease-purchase programs, employer-sponsored housing programs, tenant cooperatives and nonprofit associations;
(f) Design and support
programs to address special needs groups including, but not limited to, * * * disabled, elderly, homeless,
HIV/AIDS carriers and families with children;
(g) Develop a comprehensive plan for, and engage in a yearly planning process for, addressing the housing needs of low and moderate income persons in Mississippi.
(5) The corporation also has the power:
(a) To procure, or require the procurement of, insurance against any loss in connection with its operations, including without limitation the repayment of any mortgage loan or loans, in such amounts and from such insurers, including the federal government, as it may deem necessary or desirable, and to pay any premiums therefor;
(b) Subject to any agreement with bondholders or noteholders: (i) to renegotiate any loan in default; (ii) to waive any default or consent to the modification of the terms of any loan or agreement; (iii) to commence, prosecute and enforce a judgment in any action or proceeding, including without limitation a foreclosure proceeding, to protect or enforce any right conferred upon it by law, mortgage loan agreement, contract or other agreement; and (iv) in connection with any such proceeding, to bid for and purchase the property or acquire or take possession thereof and, in such event, complete, administer and pay the principal of and interest on any obligations incurred in connection with such property and dispose of and otherwise deal with such property in such manner as the corporation may deem advisable to protect its interest therein;
(c) To fix, revise, charge and collect fees and other charges in connection with the making of loans, the purchasing of mortgage loans, and any other services rendered by the corporation;
(d) To arrange for guarantees of its bonds, notes or other obligations by the federal government or by any private insurer and to pay any premiums therefor;
(e) Notwithstanding
any law to the contrary, but subject to any agreement with bondholders or
noteholders, to invest money of the corporation not required for immediate use,
including proceeds from the sale of any bonds or notes * * *:
(i) In obligations of any municipality or the state or the United States of America;
(ii) In obligations the principal and interest of which are guaranteed by the state or the United States of America;
(iii) In obligations of any corporation wholly owned by the United States of America;
(iv) In obligations of any corporation sponsored by the United States of America which are, or may become, eligible as collateral for advances to member banks as determined by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;
(v) In obligations of insurance firms or other corporations whose investments are rated "A" or better by recognized rating companies;
(vi) In certificates of deposit or time deposits of qualified depositories of the state as approved by the State Depository Commission, secured in such manner, if any, as the corporation shall determine;
(vii) In contracts
for the purchase and sale of obligations of the type specified in * * * subparagraphs (i) through (v)
above;
(viii) In
repurchase agreements secured by obligations specified in * * * subparagraphs (i) through (v) above;
(ix) In money
market funds, the assets of which are required to be invested in obligations
specified in * * *
subparagraphs (i) through (vi) above;
(f) Subject to any agreement with bondholders or noteholders, to purchase, and to agree to purchase, bonds or notes of the corporation at a price not exceeding: (i) if the bonds or notes are then redeemable, the redemption price then applicable plus accrued interest to the date of purchase; or (ii) if the bonds or notes are not then redeemable, the redemption price applicable on the first date after such purchase upon which the notes or bonds become subject to redemption at the option of the corporation plus accrued interest to the date of purchase;
(g) Subject to the provisions of this article, to contract for and to accept any gifts, grants or loans of funds or property or financial or other aid in any form from federal, state or local governments, private or public entities, or individuals;
(h) To enter into agreements or other transactions with the federal or state government, any agency thereof or any municipality in furtherance of the purposes of this article; to operate and administer loan programs of the federal government, the State of Mississippi, or any governmental agency thereof; and to operate and administer any program of housing assistance for persons and families of low or moderate income, however funded;
(i) To establish a benevolent loan fund, housing development fund, or such additional and further funds as may be necessary and desirable to accomplish any corporate purpose or to comply with the provisions of any agreement made by the corporation or any resolution approved by the corporation. The resolution establishing such a fund shall specify the source of monies from which it shall be funded and the purposes for which monies held in the fund shall be disbursed;
(j) In carrying out
the provisions of this article, the corporation shall cooperate with the
housing authorities created under Sections 43-33-1 through 43-33-69 and
Sections 43-33-101 through 43-33-137 * * *;
(k) To accept letters of credit and other credit facilities necessary to make loans authorized herein to repay bonds or notes issued by the corporation;
(l) To do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes and exercise the powers given and granted in this article.
SECTION 56. Section 43-33-723, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
43-33-723. No person shall
be discriminated against because of race, religious principles, color, sex,
national origin, ancestry or * * * disability by the corporation,
any qualified sponsor, any lender, or any agent or employee thereof in
connection with any housing development or eligible loan. No person shall be
discriminated against because of age, nor shall any family be discriminated
against because of children, in admission to, or continuance of occupancy in,
any housing project receiving assistance under this act except for any housing
project constructed under a program restricting occupancy to persons sixty-two
(62) years of age or older and any directors of their immediate households or
their occupant surviving spouses.
SECTION 57. Section 45-1-2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-1-2. (1) The Executive Director of the Department of Public Safety shall be the Commissioner of Public Safety.
(2) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall establish the organizational structure of the Department of Public Safety, which shall include the creation of any units necessary to implement the duties assigned to the department and consistent with specific requirements of law including, but not limited to:
(a) Office of Public Safety Planning;
(b) Office of Medical Examiner;
(c) Office of Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol;
(d) Office of Forensics Laboratories;
(e) Office of Law Enforcement Officers' Training Academy;
(f) Office of Support Services;
(g) Office of Narcotics, which shall be known as the Bureau of Narcotics; and
(h) Office of Homeland Security.
(3) The department shall be headed by a commissioner, who shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The appointment of the commissioner shall be made with the advice and consent of the Senate. The commissioner may assign to the appropriate offices such powers and duties as deemed appropriate to carry out the department's lawful functions.
(4) The commissioner of the department shall appoint heads of offices, who shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner. The commissioner shall have the authority to organize the offices established by subsection (2) of this section as deemed appropriate to carry out the responsibilities of the department. The organization charts of the department shall be presented annually with the budget request of the Governor for review by the Legislature.
(5) The commissioner of the
department shall appoint, from within the Department of Public Safety, a
statewide safety training officer who shall serve at the pleasure of the
commissioner and whose duty it shall be to perform public training for both law
enforcement and private persons throughout the state concerning proper
emergency response to * * * persons with mental illness, terroristic
threats or acts, domestic conflict, other conflict resolution, and such other
matters as the commissioner may direct.
SECTION 58. Section 45-35-53, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-35-53. (1) The
Department of Public Safety shall issue personal identification cards to
persons with disabilities who make application to the department in accordance
with rules and regulations prescribed by the commissioner by filing with the
Secretary of State under the Administrative Procedures Act. The identification
card for persons with disabilities shall prominently display the international * * * disabled symbol and, in
addition to any other information required by this article, may contain a
recent color photograph of the applicant and the following information:
(a) Full legal name;
(b) Address of residence;
(c) Birth date;
(d) Date identification card was issued;
(e) Date identification card expires;
(f) Sex;
(g) Height;
(h) Weight;
(i) Eye color;
(j) Location where the identification card was issued;
(k) Signature of person identified or facsimile thereof; and
(l) Such other information as required by the department.
(2) The identification card for persons with disabilities shall bear an identification card number which shall not be the same as the applicant's social security number. The commissioner shall prescribe the form of identification cards issued pursuant to this article to persons who are not United States citizens. The identification cards of such persons shall include a number and any other identifying information prescribed by the commissioner.
SECTION 59. Section 47-5-1351, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-1351. The Governor, on behalf of this state may execute the Interstate Corrections Compact, with any and all states legally joining therein, in substantially the following form and the Legislature signifies in advance its approval and ratification of such compact:
INTERSTATE CORRECTIONS COMPACT
Article I
Purpose and Policy
The party states, desiring by common action to fully utilize and improve their institutional facilities and provide adequate programs for the confinement, treatment and rehabilitation of various types of offenders, declare that it is the policy of each of the party states to provide such facilities and programs on a basis of cooperation with one another, thereby serving the best interests of such offenders and of society and effecting economies in capital expenditures and operational costs. The purpose of this compact is to provide for the mutual development and execution of such programs of cooperation for the confinement, treatment and rehabilitation of offenders with the most economical use of human and material resources.
Article II
Definitions
As used in this compact, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "State" means a state of the United States, the United States of America, a territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
(b) "Sending state" means a state party to this compact in which conviction or court commitment was had;
(c) "Receiving state" means a state party to this compact to which an inmate is sent for confinement other than a state in which conviction or court commitment was had;
(d) "Inmate" means a male or female offender who is committed, under sentence to or confined in, a penal or correctional institution; and
(e)
"Institution" means any penal or correctional facility, including,
but not limited to, a facility for * * * persons
with mental illness or persons with an intellectual disability, in which
inmates defined in (d) above may lawfully be confined.
Article III
Contracts
(1) Each party state may make one or more contracts with any one or more of the other party states for the confinement of inmates on behalf of a sending state in institutions situated within receiving states. Any such contract shall provide for:
(a) Its duration;
(b) Payments to be
made to the receiving state by the sending state for inmate maintenance,
extraordinary medical and dental expenses, and any participation in or receipt
by inmates of rehabilitative or correctional services, facilities, programs or
treatment not reasonably included as part of normal maintenance * * *;
(c) Participation in programs of inmate employment, if any; the disposition or crediting of any payments received by inmates on account thereof; and the crediting of proceeds from or disposal of any products resulting therefrom;
(d) Delivery and retaking of inmates; and
(e) Such other matters as may be necessary and appropriate to fix the obligations, responsibilities and rights of the sending and receiving states.
(2) The terms and provisions of this compact entered into by the authority of or pursuant thereto, and nothing in any such contract shall be inconsistent therewith.
Article IV
Procedures and Rights
(1) Whenever the duly
constituted authorities in a state party to this compact, and which has entered
into a contract pursuant to Article III, shall decide that confinement in, or
transfer of an inmate to, an institution within the territory of another party
state is necessary or desirable in order to provide adequate quarters and care
or an appropriate program of rehabilitation or treatment, * * * those officials may direct that the
confinement be within an institution within the territory of * * * the other party state, the
receiving state to act in that regard solely as agent for the sending state.
(2) The appropriate officials of any state party to this compact shall have access, at all reasonable times, to any institution in which it has a contractual right to confine inmates for the purpose of inspecting the facilities thereof and visiting such of its inmates as may be confined in the institution.
(3) Inmates confined in an institution pursuant to the terms of this compact shall at all times be subject to the jurisdiction of the sending state and may at any time be removed therefrom for transfer to a prison or other institution within the sending state, for transfer to another institution in which the sending state may have a contractual or other right to confine inmates, for release on probation or parole, for discharge or for any other purpose permitted by the laws of the sending state, provided, that the sending state shall continue to be obligated to such payments as may be pursuant to the terms of any contract entered into under the terms of Article III.
(4) Each receiving state
shall provide regular reports to each sending state on the inmates of that
sending state in institutions pursuant to this compact including a conduct
record of each inmate and certify * * * the record to the official designated
by the sending state, in order that each inmate may have official review of his
or her record in determining and altering the disposition of * * * the inmate in accordance with the
law which may obtain in the sending state and in order that the same may be a
source of information for the sending state.
(5) All inmates who may be
confined in an institution pursuant to the provisions of this compact shall be
treated in a reasonable and humane manner and shall be treated equally with
such similar inmates of the receiving state as may be confined in the same
institution. The fact of confinement in a receiving state shall not deprive
any inmate so confined of any legal rights which * * * the inmate would have had if in an
appropriate institution of the sending state.
(6) Any hearing or hearings
to which an inmate confined pursuant to this compact may be entitled by the
laws of the sending state may be had before the appropriate authorities of the
sending state, or of the receiving state if authorized by the sending state.
The receiving state shall provide adequate facilities for such hearings as may
be conducted by the appropriate officials of a sending state. In the event
such hearing or hearings are had before officials of the receiving state, the
governing law shall be that of the sending state and a record of the hearing or
hearings as prescribed by the sending state shall be made. * * * The record together with any
recommendations of the hearing officials shall be transmitted forthwith to the
official or officials before whom the hearing would have been had if it had
taken place in the sending state. In any and all proceedings had pursuant to
the provisions of this subdivision, the officials of the receiving state shall
act solely as agents of the sending state and no final determination shall be
made in any matter except by the appropriate officials of the sending state.
(7) Any inmate confined pursuant to this compact shall be released within the territory of the sending state unless the inmate, and the sending and receiving states, shall agree upon release in some other place. The sending state shall bear the cost of such return to its territory.
(8) Any inmate confined pursuant to the terms of this compact shall have any and all rights to participate in and derive any benefits or incur or be relieved of any obligations, or have such obligations modified or his status changed on account of any action or proceedings in which he could have participated if confined in any appropriate institution of the sending state located within such state.
(9) The parent, guardian, trustee or other person or persons entitled under the laws of the sending state to act for, advise or otherwise function with respect to any inmate shall not be deprived of or restricted in his exercise of any power in respect of any inmate confined pursuant to the terms of this compact.
Article V
Acts Not Reviewable in Receiving State: Extradition
(1) Any decisions of the sending state in respect of any matter over which it retains jurisdiction pursuant to this compact shall be conclusive upon and not reviewable within the receiving state, but if at the time the sending state seeks to remove an inmate from an institution in the receiving state there is pending against the inmate within such state any criminal charge or if the inmate is formally accused of having committed within such state a criminal offense, the inmate shall not be returned without the consent of the receiving state until discharged from prosecution or other form of proceeding, imprisonment or detention for such offense. The duly accredited officers of the sending state shall be permitted to transport inmates pursuant to this compact through any and all states party to this compact without interference.
(2) An inmate who escapes from an institution in which he is confined pursuant to this compact shall be deemed a fugitive from the sending state and from the state in which the institution is situated. In the case of an escape to a jurisdiction other than the sending or receiving state, the responsibility for institution of extradition or rendition proceedings shall be that of the sending state, but nothing contained herein shall be construed to prevent or affect the activities of officers and agencies of any jurisdiction directed toward the apprehension and return of an escapee.
Article VI
Federal Aid
Any state party to this compact may accept federal aid for use in connection with any institution or program, the use of which is or may be affected by this compact or any contract pursuant hereto and any inmate in a receiving state pursuant to this compact may participate in any such federally aided program or activity for which the sending or the receiving state have made contractual provision; provided, that if such program or activity is not part of the customary correctional regimen the express consent of the appropriate official of the sending state shall be required therefrom.
Article VII
Entry into Force
This compact shall enter
into force and become effective and binding upon the states so acting when it
has been enacted into law by any two (2) states. Thereafter, this compact
shall enter into force and become effective and binding as to any other of * * * those states upon similar action by
such state.
Article VIII
Withdrawal and Termination
This compact shall continue
in force and remain binding upon a party state until it shall have enacted a
statute repealing the same and providing for the sending of formal written
notice of withdrawal from the compact to the appropriate officials of all other
party states. An actual withdrawal shall not take effect until one (1) year
after the notices provided in * * * that statute have been sent. Such
withdrawal shall not relieve the withdrawing state from its obligations assumed
hereunder prior to the effective date of withdrawal. Before the effective date
of withdrawal, a withdrawing state shall remove to its territory, at its own
expense, such inmates as it may have confined pursuant to the provisions of
this compact.
Article IX
Other Arrangement Unaffected
Nothing contained in this compact shall be construed to abrogate or impair any agreement or other arrangement which a party state may have with a nonparty state for the confinement, rehabilitation or treatment of inmates nor to repeal any other laws of a party state authorizing the making of cooperative institutional arrangements.
Article X
Construction and Severability
The provisions of this compact shall be liberally construed and shall be severable. If any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this compact is declared to be contrary to the constitution of any participating state or of the United States or the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or circumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this compact and the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. If this compact shall be held contrary to the constitution of any state participating therein, the compact shall remain in full force and effect as to the remaining states and in full force and effect as to the state affected as to all severable matters.
SECTION 60. Section 49-7-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-7-39. (1) The
commission shall establish a special hunting season for youth under the age of
sixteen (16) and for * * *
persons with disabilities in the Natchez State Park. The commission
shall also establish a primitive weapon season in the Natchez State Park. The
selection of participants in the primitive weapon season shall be by public
drawing from all qualified applications. The commission shall set the number
of permits to be issued and the length of the special seasons.
(2) The commission may also
establish a special hunting season for youth and * * * persons with disabilities
or a primitive weapon season as provided in this section in any other state
park under the jurisdiction of the department but shall only do so upon the
recommendation of the staff of the department as approved by the commission.
The commission shall select participants and set the number of permits to be
issued and the length of the special seasons.
(3) The commission may establish and regulate special youth hunts for all nonmigratory game birds and animals outside of the open season on wildlife management areas and on private lands.
(4) The commission shall establish and regulate a special hunting season for youth under the age of sixteen (16) to run concurrently with the primitive weapons season on deer.
SECTION 61. Section 49-7-40, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
49-7-40. The commission may
adopt regulations to provide for a special hunt by * * * persons with disabilities in
the natural area at Arkabutla Lake designated by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
The hunt and any such regulations must be approved by the U.S. Corps of
Engineers. The following restrictions apply to any such hunt:
(a) The hunt shall be open to wheelchair-bound physically disabled persons;
(b) Selection of participants shall be by public drawing from all qualified applications received;
(c) No more than thirty (30) permits shall be issued;
(d) The hunt shall not exceed a total of six (6) days;
(e) A hunting license shall not be required of resident or nonresident applicants;
(f) Any other actions the commission and the U.S. Corps of Engineers deem necessary for a safe and productive hunt.
SECTION 62. Section 71-3-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
71-3-3. Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions which follow govern the construction and meaning of the terms used in this chapter:
(a) "Person" includes an individual, firm, voluntary association or a corporation.
(b) "Injury" means accidental injury or accidental death arising out of and in the course of employment without regard to fault which results from an untoward event or events, if contributed to or aggravated or accelerated by the employment in a significant manner. Untoward event includes events causing unexpected results. An untoward event or events shall not be presumed to have arisen out of and in the course of employment, except in the case of an employee found dead in the course of employment. This definition includes injuries to artificial members, and also includes an injury caused by the willful act of a third person directed against an employee because of his employment while so employed and working on the job, and disability or death due to exposure to ionizing radiation from any process in employment involving the use of or direct contact with radium or radioactive substances with the use of or direct exposure to roentgen (X-rays) or ionizing radiation. In radiation cases only, the date of disablement shall be treated as the date of the accident. Occupational diseases, or the aggravation thereof, are excluded from the term "injury," provided that, except as otherwise specified, all provisions of this chapter apply equally to occupational diseases as well as injury.
(c) "Death," when mentioned as a basis for the right to compensation, means only death resulting from such an injury.
(d) "Employee" means any person, including a minor whether lawfully or unlawfully employed, in the service of an employer under any contract of hire or apprenticeship, written or oral, express or implied, provided that there shall be excluded therefrom all independent contractors and especially any individual performing service in, and at the time of, the sale of newspapers or magazines to ultimate consumers under an arrangement under which the newspapers or magazines are to be sold by the individual at a fixed price, the individual's compensation being based on the retention of the excess of such price over the amount at which the newspapers or magazines are charged to the individual, whether or not the individual is guaranteed a minimum amount of compensation for such service or is entitled to be credited with the unsold newspapers or magazines returned. A student of an educational institution who, as a part of such educational institution's curriculum, is receiving practical training at any facility, who is under the active and direct supervision of the personnel of the facility and/or an instructor of the educational institution, and who is not receiving wages as a consequence of participation in such practical training shall not be considered an employee of such facility on account of participation in such practical training.
(e) "Employer," except when otherwise expressly stated, includes a person, partnership, association, corporation and the legal representatives of a deceased employer, or the receiver or trustee of a person, partnership, association or corporation.
(f) "Carrier" means any person authorized in accordance with the provisions of this chapter to insure under this chapter and includes self-insurers.
(g) "Self-insurer" is an employer who has been authorized under the provisions of this chapter to carry his own liability on his covered employees without insuring in a stock or mutual carrier.
(h) "Commission" means the Workers' Compensation Commission.
(i) "Disability" means incapacity because of injury to earn the wages which the employee was receiving at the time of injury in the same or other employment, which incapacity and the extent thereof must be supported by medical findings.
(j) "Compensation" means the money allowance payable to an injured worker or his dependents as provided in this chapter, and includes funeral benefits provided therein.
(k) "Wages" includes the money rate at which the service rendered is recompensed under the contract of hiring in force at the time of injury, and also the reasonable value of board, rent, housing, lodging or similar advantage received from the employer and gratuities received in the course of employment from others than the employer. The term "wages" shall not include practical training received by students of an educational institution as a part of such educational institution's curriculum.
(l) "Child" shall include a posthumous child, a child legally adopted prior to the injury of the employee, a child in relation to whom the deceased employee stood in the place of a parent for at least one (1) year prior to the time of injury and a stepchild or acknowledged illegitimate child dependent upon the deceased, but does not include married children unless wholly dependent on him. "Grandchild" means a child as above defined of a child as above defined. "Brother" and "sister" include stepbrothers and stepsisters, half brothers and half sisters, and brothers and sisters by adoption, but does not include married brothers nor married sisters unless wholly dependent on the employee. "Child," "grandchild," "brother" and "sister" include only persons who are under eighteen (l8) years of age, and also persons who, though eighteen (l8) years of age or over, are wholly dependent upon the deceased employee and incapable of self-support by reason of mental or physical disability, and also a child eighteen (18) years of age or older, until his twenty-third birthday, who is dependent upon the deceased and is pursuing a full-time education.
(m) "Parent" includes stepparents and parents by adoption, parents-in-law or any person who for more than three (3) years prior to the death of the deceased employee stood in the place of a parent to him, or her, if dependent on the injured employee.
(n) The term
"surviving spouse" includes the decedent's legal wife or husband,
living with him or her or dependent for support upon him or her at the time of
death or living apart for justifiable cause or by reason of desertion at such
time, provided * * * that such separation had not existed for more than
three (3) years without an award for separate maintenance or alimony or the
filing of a suit for separate maintenance or alimony in the proper court in
this state. The term "surviving spouse" shall likewise include one
not a legal wife or husband but who had entered into a ceremonial marriage with
the decedent at least one (1) year prior to death and who, on the date of the
decedent's death, stood in the relationship of a wife or husband, provided
there was no living legal spouse who had protected her or his rights for
support by affirmative action as hereinabove required. The term
"surviving spouse" as contemplated in this chapter shall not apply to
any person who has, since his or her separation from decedent, entered into a
ceremonial marriage or lived in open adultery with another.
(o) The term "adoption" or "adopted" means legal adoption prior to the time of the injury.
(p) The singular includes the plural and the masculine includes the feminine and neuter.
(q) It is expressly
provided, agreed and understood in determining beneficiaries under this section
that a surviving spouse suffering a mental or physical * * * disability and children under
the age of eighteen (18) years are presumed to be dependent.
(r) "Independent contractor" means any individual, firm or corporation who contracts to do a piece of work according to his own methods without being subject to the control of his employer except as to the results of the work, and who has the right to employ and direct the outcome of the workers independent of the employer and free from any superior authority in the employer to say how the specified work shall be done or what the laborers shall do as the work progresses, one who undertakes to produce a given result without being in any way controlled as to the methods by which he attains the result.
(s) "Average weekly wage for the state" means an amount determined by the commission as of October 1 of each year based upon wage and employment statistics reported to the commission by the Mississippi Employment Security Commission. Such amount shall be based upon data for the preceding twelve-month period and shall be effective from and after January 1 of the following year.
SECTION 63. Section 71-3-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
71-3-7. (1) Compensation shall be payable for disability or death of an employee from injury or occupational disease arising out of and in the course of employment, without regard to fault as to the cause of the injury or occupational disease. An occupational disease shall be deemed to arise out of and in the course of employment when there is evidence that there is a direct causal connection between the work performed and the occupational disease. In all claims in which no benefits, including disability, death and medical benefits, have been paid, the claimant shall file medical records in support of his claim for benefits when filing a petition to controvert. If the claimant is unable to file the medical records in support of his claim for benefits at the time of filing the petition to controvert because of a limitation of time established by Section 71-3-35 or Section 71-3-53, the claimant shall file medical records in support of his claim within sixty (60) days after filing the petition to controvert.
(2) Where a preexisting
physical * * *
disability, disease, or lesion is shown by medical findings to be a
material contributing factor in the results following injury, the compensation
which, but for this subsection, would be payable shall be reduced by that
proportion which such preexisting physical * * * disability, disease, or lesion
contributed to the production of the results following the injury. The
preexisting condition does not have to be occupationally disabling for this
apportionment to apply.
(3) The following provisions shall apply to subsections (1) and (2) of this section:
(a) Apportionment shall not be applied until the claimant has reached maximum medical recovery.
(b) The employer or carrier does not have the power to determine the date of maximum medical recovery or percentage of apportionment. This must be done by the attorney-referee, subject to review by the commission as the ultimate finder of fact.
(c) After the date the
claimant reaches maximum medical recovery, weekly compensation benefits and
maximum recovery shall be reduced by that proportion which the preexisting
physical * * *
disability, disease, or lesion contributes to the results following
injury.
(d) If maximum medical recovery has occurred before the hearing and order of the attorney-referee, credit for excess payments shall be allowed in future payments. Such allowances and method of accomplishment of the same shall be determined by the attorney-referee, subject to review by the commission. However, no actual repayment of such excess shall be made to the employer or carrier.
(4) No compensation shall be payable if the use of drugs illegally, or the use of a valid prescription medication(s) taken contrary to the prescriber's instructions and/or contrary to label warnings, or intoxication due to the use of alcohol of the employee was the proximate cause of the injury, or if it was the willful intention of the employee to injure or kill himself or another.
(5) Every employer to whom this chapter applies shall be liable for and shall secure the payment to his employees of the compensation payable under its provisions.
(6) In the case of an employer who is a subcontractor, the contractor shall be liable for and shall secure the payment of such compensation to employees of the subcontractor, unless the subcontractor has secured such payment.
SECTION 64. Section 71-3-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
71-3-105. The commission
shall cooperate with federal, state, and local agencies in the rehabilitation
of * * *
workers with disabilities, and shall promptly report to the proper
authority industrial injury cases in which retraining or job placement may be
needed.
SECTION 65. Section 71-7-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
71-7-13. (1) An employee
or job applicant whose drug and alcohol test result is confirmed as positive in
accordance with the provisions of this chapter shall not, by virtue of the
result alone, be defined as a person with a " * * * disability."
(2) An employer who discharges or disciplines an employee on the basis of a positive confirmed drug and alcohol test in accordance with this chapter shall be considered to have discharged or disciplined the employee for cause.
(3) An employee discharged on the basis of a confirmed positive drug and alcohol test in accordance with this chapter shall be considered to have been discharged for willful misconduct.
(4) A physician-patient relationship is not created between an employee or job applicant, and an employer or any person performing or evaluating the drug and alcohol test, solely by the establishment or implementation of a drug and alcohol testing program.
(5) This chapter does not prevent an employer from establishing reasonable work rules related to employee possession, use, sale or solicitation of drugs, including convictions for drug-related offenses, and taking action based upon a violation of any of those rules.
(6) This chapter shall not be retroactive and shall not abrogate any right an employer may have to conduct drug and alcohol tests prior to July 1, 1991. A drug and alcohol test conducted by an employer before July 1, 1991, shall not be subject to this chapter.
(7) If an employee refuses to submit to drug and alcohol testing administered in accordance with this chapter, the employer shall not be barred from discharging, or disciplining, or referring the employee to a drug abuse assessment, treatment and rehabilitation program at a site certified by the Department of Mental Health.
(8) An employer, in addition to any appropriate personnel actions, may refer any employee found to have violated the employer's policy on drug use to an employee assistance program for assessment, counseling and referral for treatment or rehabilitation as appropriate. Such treatment or rehabilitation shall be at a site certified by the Department of Mental Health.
(9) This chapter does not prohibit an employer from conducting medical screening or other tests required by any statute, rule or regulation for the purpose of monitoring exposure of employees to toxic or other unhealthy substances in the workplace or in the performance of job responsibilities. Such screenings or tests shall be limited to the specific substances expressly identified in the applicable statute, rule or regulation, unless prior written consent of the employee is obtained for other tests.
(10) An employer may temporarily suspend or transfer an employee to another position after obtaining the results of a positive on-site initial test. An employer may discharge an employee after obtaining the results of a positive confirmed test.
(11) Nothing in this chapter shall affect any right of an employer to terminate the employment of any person for reasons not related to a drug and alcohol testing program implemented pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 66. Section 75-74-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
75-74-9. (1) The State Board of Health shall have the authority and the duty to make and promulgate rules and regulations consistent with the policy and purpose of this chapter, and to amend any rule or regulation it makes. In developing such rules and regulations, the board shall consult with appropriate public and private officials and organizations and parents and camp operators. It shall be the duty of the board to advise all existing youth camps in this state of this chapter and any rules and regulations promulgated under this chapter.
(2) There is created within
the State Board of Health the advisory council on youth camp safety to advise
and consult on policy matters relating to youth camp safety. The council
consists of the health officer or his representative and a minimum of eight (8)
members appointed by the State Health Officer, including the following groups:
one (1) member representative each from a private nonsectarian camp, a church-related
or sponsored camp, the Girl Scouts of America, the Boy Scouts of America, the
Mississippi Camping Association, camps for * * * persons with disabilities
and civic organization camps; and a consumer, a parent or an older youth with
prior camping experience. A member is entitled to hold office for two (2)
years or until his successor is appointed and qualifies. The State Health
Officer or his representative shall fill vacancies for unexpired terms.
Council members serve without compensation, but are entitled to be reimbursed
for actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The State
Health Officer may appoint special advisory or technical experts and
consultants as are necessary to assist the council in carrying out its
functions.
(3) No rule or regulation promulgated or amended by the board under this chapter shall be effective until a public hearing is held thereon. Notice of a public hearing, including the time, date and location of the hearing and the substance of the proposed rule, regulation or amendment, shall be given by the board to each licensee of a youth camp and the general public not less than ten (10) days nor more than thirty (30) days before the hearing. Any interested person may appear at the hearing to present evidence or testimony concerning the proposed rule, regulation or amendment.
SECTION 67. Section 83-9-32, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
83-9-32. Every hospital,
health or medical expenses insurance policy, hospital or medical service
contract, health maintenance organization and preferred provider organization
that is delivered or issued for delivery in this state and otherwise provides
anesthesia benefits shall offer benefits for anesthesia and for associated
facility charges when the mental or physical condition of the child or mentally * * * disabled adult requires dental
treatment to be rendered under physician-supervised general anesthesia in a
hospital setting, surgical center or dental office. This coverage shall be
offered on an optional basis, and each primary insured must accept or reject
such coverage in writing and accept responsibility for premium payment.
An insurer may require prior authorization for the anesthesia and associated facility charges for dental care procedures in the same manner that prior authorization is required for treatment of other medical conditions under general anesthesia. An insurer may require review for medical necessity and may limit payment of facility charges to certified facilities in the same manner that medical review is required and payment of facility charges is limited for other services. The benefit provided by this coverage shall be subject to the same annual deductibles or coinsurance established for all other covered benefits within a given policy, plan or contract. Private third-party payers may not reduce or eliminate coverage due to these requirements.
A dentist shall consider the Indications for General Anesthesia as published in the reference manual of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry as utilization standards for determining whether performing dental procedures necessary to treat the particular condition or conditions of the patient under general anesthesia constitutes appropriate treatment.
The provisions of this section shall apply to anesthesia services provided by oral and maxillofacial surgeons as permitted by the Mississippi State Board of Dental Examiners.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to treatment rendered for temporal mandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.
SECTION 68. Section 93-7-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-7-3. A marriage may be annulled for any one (1) of the following causes existing at the time of the marriage ceremony:
(a) Incurable impotency.
(b) Adjudicated to
have a mental illness or adjudicated incompetence of either or both
parties. Action of a spouse who has been adjudicated * * * to have a mental illness or
adjudicated incompetent may be brought by guardian, or in the absence of
a guardian, by next friend, provided that the suit is brought within six (6)
months after marriage.
(c) Failure to comply with the provisions of Sections 93-1-5 through 93-1-9 when any marriage affected by that failure has not been followed by cohabitation.
Or, in the absence of ratification:
(d) When either of the parties to a marriage is incapable, from want of age or understanding, of consenting to any marriage, or is incapable from physical causes of entering into the marriage state, or where the consent of either party has been obtained by force or fraud, the marriage shall be void from the time its nullity is declared by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(e) Pregnancy of the wife by another person, if the husband did not know of the pregnancy.
Suits for annulment under paragraphs (d) and (e) shall be brought within six (6) months after the ground for annulment is or should be discovered, and not thereafter.
The causes for annulment of marriage set forth in this section are intended to be new remedies and shall in no way affect the causes for divorce declared elsewhere to be the law of the State of Mississippi as they presently exist or as they may from time to time be amended.
SECTION 69. Section 93-17-55, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-17-55. As used in Sections 93-17-51 through 93-17-67, the word "child" shall mean a minor as defined by Mississippi law who is:
(a) A dependent of a public or voluntary licensed child-placing agency, eligible for Supplemental Security Income prior to the finalization of the adoption, one (1) for whom supplemental benefits were paid pursuant to the aforementioned sections in a previous adoption that was dissolved or wherein the adoptive parents died, or is the child of a minor parent in foster care for whom the board payment was increased on account of the birth;
(b) Legally free for adoption; and
(c) In special circumstances whether:
(i) Because he has established significant emotional ties with prospective adoptive parents while in their care as a foster child and it is deemed in the best interest of the child by the agency to be adopted by the foster parents, or
(ii) Because he is
not likely to be adopted because of one or more of the following * * * disabilities: 1. severe
physical or mental disability, 2. severe emotional disturbance, 3. recognized
high risk of physical or mental disease, or 4. any combination of these * * * disabilities.
SECTION 70. Section 93-17-67, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
93-17-67. (1) If the adoptive parents of a child eligible for adoption supplemental benefits sign an adoption assistance agreement with the Department of Human Services, then, whether or not they accept such benefits, Medicaid coverage shall be provided for the child under the agency's medical payment program from and after the commencement date established pursuant to Section 93-17-61 until the child's eighteenth birthday, provided that federal matching funds are available for such payment.
(2) Any child who is
adopted in this state through a state-supported adoption agency and who
immediately prior to such adoption was receiving Medicaid benefits because of a
severe physical or mental * * *handicap disability shall continue to receive such
coverage benefits after adoption age eighteen (18), and such benefits shall be
payable as provided under the agency's medical payment program for so long as
the State Department of Human Services determines that the treatment or
rehabilitation for which payment is being made is in the best interest of the
child concerned, but not past the age of twenty-one (21) years, provided that
federal matching funds are available for such payment and that any state funds
used for such payment shall have been appropriated specifically for such
purpose.
(3) If permitted by federal
law without any loss to the state of federal matching funds, the financial
resources of the adopting parents shall not be a factor in such determination
except that payments on behalf of a child of any age may be adjusted when
insurance benefits available to the adopting parents would pay all or part of
such payments being made by the state, or if medical or rehabilitation services
are otherwise available without cost to the adopting parents. The amount of
financial assistance given shall not exceed the amount that the Division of
Medicaid * * *
would be required to pay for the same medical treatment or rehabilitation.
(4) The receipt of Medicaid
benefits by an adopted child under Sections 93-17-51 through 93-17-67 shall not
qualify the adopting parents for Medicaid eligibility, unless either parent is
otherwise eligible under Section 43-13-115 * * *.
SECTION 71. Section 97-3-4, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-3-4. (1) It shall be unlawful for any physician performing an abortion that results in the delivery of a living child to intentionally allow or cause the child to die.
(2) If the child is viable,
such child shall be immediately provided appropriate medical care and comfort
care necessary to sustain life. If the child is not viable, such child shall
be provided comfort care. The provision of this section shall include, but not
be limited to, a child born with physical or mental * * * disabling conditions which,
in the opinion of the parent, the physician or other persons, diminishes the
quality of the child's life, a child born alive during the course of an
attempted abortion and a child not wanted by the parent.
(3) As used in this section, the term "child" includes every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development.
(4) Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, be imprisoned for not less than one (1) year nor more than ten (10) years in the State Penitentiary and fined not more than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) but not less than Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00).
SECTION 72. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2017.
