Bill Text: MS HB691 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Mississippi Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training; revise composition of and provide with investigative authority.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Passed) 2024-05-08 - Approved by Governor [HB691 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2024-HB691-Enrolled.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representatives Shanks, Hulum, Clark, Summers
House Bill 691
(As Sent to Governor)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 45-6-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD ON LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER STANDARDS AND TRAINING FROM THIRTEEN TO NINE; TO AMEND SECTION 45-6-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE BOARD'S POWERS AND DUTIES TO INCLUDE INVESTIGATIVE AUTHORITY; TO AMEND SECTION 45-6-19, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE CONTINUING EDUCATION TRAINING FOR ALL STATE AGENCY, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AS WELL AS THE CHIEF OF POLICE AND POLICE OFFICERS EMPLOYED BY ANY PUBLIC TWO-YEAR OR FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY AND ANY EXTENSION THEREOF IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, AND THE PEARL RIVER VALLEY WATER SUPPLY DISTRICT; TO AMEND SECTION 45-1-101, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY REFERENCE TO RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 45-6-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-6-5. (1) There is hereby created the Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training, which shall consist of thirteen (13) members.
(2) (a) The Governor shall appoint six (6) members of the board from the following specified categories:
(i) Two (2)
members, each of whom is a chief of police of a municipality in this state,
with one (1) of the appointees being appointed from a municipality having a
population of less than five thousand (5,000) according to the latest federal
decennial census * * *;
(ii) * * *
Two (2) members, each of whom is a sheriff of a county in this state, with
one (1) of the appointees being appointed from a county having a population of
less than twenty thousand (20,000) according to the latest federal decennial
census;
(iii) One (1)
member who is a district attorney in this state * * *; and
(iv) One (1)
member who is a * * * current director of a Mississippi law enforcement
officers' training academy. This member shall not serve successive terms on the
board.
* * *
(b) The initial appointments to the board shall be made by the Governor no later than twenty (20) days after April 7, 1981, as follows: the chief of police and the representative of higher education each shall be appointed for a term of two (2) years; and the sheriff and the district attorney each shall be appointed for a term of three (3) years. Upon the expiration of the terms of the initial appointees to the board, each subsequent appointment shall be made for a term of three (3) years, beginning on the date of the expiration of the previous term. A vacancy in any appointed position on the board prior to the expiration of a term shall be filled by appointment of the Governor only for the balance of the unexpired term. Appointments shall be made within sixty (60) days of the occurrence of the vacancy.
(c) Any member appointed under this subsection who fails to attend three (3) consecutive meetings of the board shall be subject to removal by the Governor. The president of the board shall notify the Governor in writing when a member has failed to attend three (3) consecutive regular meetings.
(3) The remaining seven (7) members of the board shall be the following:
(a) The Attorney
General, or * * *
a deputy Attorney General as a designee * * *;
(b) The Director of
the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol, or his designee * * *;
(c) The President of
the Mississippi * * *
Association of Chiefs of Police, or his designee * * *;
(d) The * * * Commissioner of the
Mississippi * * *
Department of Public Safety or his designee;
(e) The
President of the Mississippi Constable Association, or his designee who is a
member of the association * * *.;
(f) The President of
the Mississippi Campus Law Enforcement Officers Association, or his designee
who is a member of the association * * *; and
(g) The President of the Mississippi Sheriffs' Association, or his designee who is a member of the association.
The Attorney General, the Director of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol and the respective presidents of the foregoing associations, or their designees, shall serve only for their respective terms of office.
(4) Members of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to receive reimbursement for any actual and reasonable expenses incurred as a necessary incident to such service, including mileage, as provided in Section 25-3-41.
(5) There shall be a chairman and a vice chairman of the board, elected by and from the membership of the board. The board shall adopt rules and regulations governing times and places for meetings and governing the manner of conducting its business, but the board shall meet at least every three (3) months.
* * *
( * * *6) If a person appointed to the board
no longer occupies the status qualifying that person's appointment, that
position on the board shall be immediately vacated and filled ex officio or by
appointment of the Governor as otherwise provided in this section.
( * * *7) The board shall report annually to
the Governor and the Legislature on its activities, and may make such other
reports as it deems desirable.
( * * *8) Except as otherwise provided in this
chapter, the training officers of all police academies in the state whose
curricula are approved by the board shall be advisors to the board. They shall
be entitled to all privileges of the board members, including travel expenses
and subsistence, but shall not be eligible to vote at board meetings.
SECTION 2. Section 45-6-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-6-7. In addition to the powers conferred upon the board elsewhere in this chapter, the board shall have power to:
(a) Promulgate rules and regulations for the administration of this chapter, including the authority to require the submission of reports and information by law enforcement agencies of the state and its political subdivisions.
(b) Establish minimum educational and training standards for admission to employment or appointment as a law enforcement officer or a part-time law enforcement officer: (i) in a permanent position; and (ii) in a probationary status. The minimum educational and training standards for any law enforcement officer assigned to field or investigative duties shall include at least two (2) hours of training related to handling complaints of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children as defined in Section 43-21-105, communicating with such victims, and requiring the officer to contact the Department of Child Protection Services when human trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation is suspected.
(c) Certify persons as being qualified under the provisions of this chapter to be law enforcement officers or part-time law enforcement officers.
(d) Revoke certification for cause and in the manner provided in this chapter. The board is authorized to conduct investigations and subpoena documents regarding revocations. The board shall maintain a current list of all persons certified under this chapter who have been placed on probation, suspended, subjected to revocation of certification, or any combination of these. The board may establish a hearing panel for the purpose of providing a hearing to any law enforcement officer for whom the board believes there is a basis for reprimand, suspension, cancellation of, or recalling the certification of a law enforcement officer. The hearing panel shall provide its written findings and recommendations to the board.
(e) Establish minimum curriculum requirements for basic and advanced courses and programs for schools operated by or for the state or any political subdivision thereof for the specific purpose of training police and other law enforcement officers, both full- and part-time, which shall include a minimum of two (2) hours of training in a course or courses related to the identification of and support for victims of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.
(f) Consult and cooperate with counties, municipalities, state agencies, other governmental agencies, and with universities, colleges, community and junior colleges and other institutions concerning the development of training schools, programs or courses of instruction for personnel defined in this chapter.
(g) Make recommendations concerning any matter within its purview pursuant to this chapter.
(h) Make such inspection and evaluation as may be necessary to determine if governmental units are complying with the provisions of this chapter.
(i) Approve law enforcement officer training schools for operation by or for the state or any political subdivision thereof for the specific purpose of training personnel defined in this chapter.
(j) Upon the request of agencies employing personnel defined in this chapter, conduct surveys or aid municipalities and counties to conduct surveys through qualified public or private agencies and assist in the implementation of any recommendations resulting from such surveys.
(k) Upon request of agencies within the purview of this chapter, conduct general and specific management surveys and studies of the operations of the requesting agencies at no cost to those agencies. The role of the board under this subsection shall be that of management consultant.
(l) Adopt and amend regulations consistent with law, for its internal management and control of board programs.
(m) Enter into contracts or do such things as may be necessary and incidental to the administration of this chapter.
(n) Establish jointly with the State Board of Education the minimum level of basic law enforcement training required of persons employed by school districts as school security guards, or school resource officers or in other positions that have the powers of a peace officer.
SECTION 3. Section 45-6-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-6-19. (1) The chief of
police of any state agency, county, municipality, public two-year or four-year college or university and any extension thereof
in the State of Mississippi, and the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District,
is required to annually complete twenty (20) hours of executive level
continuing education courses which are approved by the Mississippi Board on Law
Enforcement * * *
Officer Standards and Training. Any new chief of police having never
previously served in that capacity, is required to complete forty (40) hours of
executive level continuing education courses for his first year of service.
Such education courses may be provided by an accredited law enforcement academy
or by the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police.
(2) Any * * * law
enforcement officer of any state agency, county, municipality, public
two-year or four-year college or university and any extension thereof in
the State of Mississippi, and the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District,
is required to annually complete a specified number of hours, as stated in this
subsection, of continuing education courses which are approved by the
Mississippi Board on Law Enforcement * * * Officer Standards and
Training. The following number of hours of continuing education courses is
required for * * * law enforcement
officers specified in this subsection based upon the number of years
following July 1, 2004:
0-2 years after July 1, 2004 ........8 hours of annual training
3-4 years after July 1, 2004 .......16 hours of annual training
5 or more years after July 1, 2004..24 hours of annual training
Such education courses may be provided by an accredited law enforcement academy or by the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police.
(3) The Mississippi Board
on Law Enforcement * * * Officer Standards and Training shall reimburse each state
agency, county, municipality, public two-year or four-year college or university
and any extension thereof or the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District
for the expense incurred for chiefs of police and state agency, county, municipal * * *, public
two-year or four-year college or university and any extension thereof and the Pearl
River Valley Water Supply District law enforcement officers in attendance
at approved training programs as required by this section.
(4) Any chief of police or state
agency, county, municipal * * *, public
two-year or four-year college or university and any extension thereof and the Pearl
River Valley Water Supply District law enforcement officer who fails to
comply with the provisions of this section shall be subject to having his
certification as a chief of police or state agency, county, municipal * * *, public
two-year or four-year college or university and any extension thereof and the Pearl
River Valley Water Supply District law enforcement officer revoked by the
Mississippi Board on Law Enforcement * * * Officer Standards and
Training, in accordance with Section 45-6-11.
(5) The Mississippi Board
on Law Enforcement * * * Officer Standards and Training is authorized to
institute and promulgate all rules necessary for considering the revocation of
any municipal chief of police or state agency, county, municipal * * *, public
two-year or four-year college or university and any extension thereof and the Pearl
River Valley Water Supply District law enforcement officer who does not
comply with the provisions of this section, and may grant, for sufficient cause
shown, an extension of time in which compliance with the provisions of this section
may be made.
(6) Any chief of police or state
agency, county, municipal * * *, public
two-year or four-year college or university and any extension thereof and the Pearl
River Valley Water Supply District law enforcement officer who is aggrieved
by any order or ruling made under the provisions of this section has the same rights
and procedure of appeal as from any other order or ruling of the Mississippi Board
on Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Training.
SECTION 4. Section 45-1-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-1-101. (1) This section may be referred to as the "HR218 Qualification Law."
(2) Any retired law
enforcement officer who resides in this state and for whom the law enforcement
agency from which the officer retired does not participate in the necessary
certification for the retired officer to be certified according to the Law
Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004 * * * or who does not reside in convenient
proximity to the law enforcement agency from which the officer retired, may
obtain the necessary certification from the Mississippi Association of Chiefs
of Police.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.
