Bill Text: MS HB1060 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: State Board of Education; revise authority to administer oaths and take depositions in investigative matters.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2015-02-03 - Died In Committee [HB1060 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2015-HB1060-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2015 Regular Session
To: Education
By: Representative Moore
House Bill 1060
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-1-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO ADMINISTER OATHS, TAKE DEPOSITIONS, SUBPOENA PERSONS OR COMPEL THE PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS AND RECORDS IN INVESTIGATIVE MATTERS; TO AUTHORIZE THE BOARD TO APPLY TO THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR ENFORCEMENT OF SUBPOENAS AND TO AFFORD THE COURT THE SANCTION OF CONTEMPT FOR FAILURES TO COMPLY; TO EXEMPT ALL INVESTIGATIVE DOCUMENTS AND RECORDS OF THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND CERTAIN DIVISIONS OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OR ITS INVESTIGATIVE UNITS FROM THE PUBLIC RECORDS REQUIREMENTS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-1-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-1-9. (1) The
members of the State Board of Education, * * * acting by and through its
chairman or executive secretary, shall have the power to administer
oaths * * * ,
to take or cause depositions to be taken, to subpoena persons and compel the
production of any books, papers, records and other documents. * * *The board shall have the
powers of a court to compel witnesses to attend and testify in all matters of
investigation by the board or subcommittee thereof. Failure to
comply with a subpoena issued may result in the board's application to the
circuit court for an order requiring the individual subpoenaed to appear before
the board and testify and produce books, papers, records and other documents if
so ordered. Failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by the
court as contempt.
(2) All investigative documents and reports in possession of the State Board of Education, the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and Development, the Commission on School Accreditation, any subcommittee thereof, or any investigative division of the State Department of Education shall be exempt from the provisions of the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983, and shall not be subject to discovery or subpoena. However, the State Board of Education, a subcommittee thereof, or any investigative division of the State Department of Education, in its discretion, may choose to make public all or any part of any investigative document or report.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.
