Bill Text: MS HB1694 | 2026 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Inmate Welfare Fund; revise committee for and increase inmate phone call commissions percentage deposited to.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Failed) 2026-03-03 - Died In Committee [HB1694 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2026-HB1694-Engrossed.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Corrections; Appropriations A
By: Representative Currie
House Bill 1694
(As Passed the House)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-158, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE COMPOSITION OF THE INMATE WELFARE FUND COMMITTEE TO INCLUDE THE CHAIRPERSONS OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE CORRECTIONS COMMITTEES AND THE CHAIRPERSONS OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE ACCOUNTABILITY, EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENCY COMMITTEES AS NONVOTING MEMBERS; TO REQUIRE THE COMMITTEE TO MEET AT LEAST ONCE QUARTERLY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 47-5-158, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-158. (1) The department is authorized to maintain a bank account which shall be designated as the Inmate Welfare Fund. All monies now held in a similar fund or in a bank account or accounts for the benefit and welfare of inmates shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund. This fund shall be used for the benefit and welfare of inmates in the custody of the department and shall be expended in accordance with any provisions or restrictions in the regulations promulgated under subsection (7) of this section.
(2) There shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund interest previously earned on inmate deposits, all net profits from the operation of inmate canteens, performances of the Penitentiary band, interest earned on the Inmate Welfare Fund and other revenues designated by the commissioner. All monies shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund as provided in Section 7-9-21.
(3) All inmate telephone call commissions shall be paid to the department. Monies in the fund may be expended by the department, upon requisition by the commissioner or his designee, only for the purposes established in this subsection.
(a) Twenty-five percent (25%) of the inmate telephone call commissions shall be used to purchase and maintain telecommunication equipment to be used by the department.
(b) Until July 1, 2008, twenty-five percent (25%) of the inmate telephone call commissions shall be deposited into the Prison Agricultural Enterprise Fund. Beginning on July 1, 2008, thirty-five percent (35%) of the inmate telephone call commissions shall be deposited into the Prison Agricultural Enterprise Fund. The department may use these funds to supplement the Prison Agricultural Enterprise Fund created in Section 47-5-66.
(c) Forty percent (40%) of the inmate telephone call commissions shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund.
(4) The commissioner may invest in the manner authorized by law any money in the Inmate Welfare Fund that is not necessary for immediate use, and the interest earned shall be deposited in the Inmate Welfare Fund.
(5) The Deputy Commissioner
for Administration and Finance shall establish and implement internal
accounting controls for the Inmate Welfare Fund that comply with generally accepted
accounting principles and regulations of the Department of Finance and
Administration. The Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Finance shall
prepare and issue quarterly consolidated and individual facility financial
statements to the prison auditor of the Joint Legislative Committee on
Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review. The deputy commissioner shall
prepare an annual report which shall include a summary of expenditures from the
fund by major categories and by individual facility. This annual report shall
be sent to the prison auditor, the Legislative Budget Office, the * * * Chairperson of the Corrections
Committee of the Senate, and the * * * Chairperson of the Corrections
Committee of the House of Representatives.
(6) (a) A portion of the Inmate Welfare Fund shall be deposited in the Discharged Offenders Revolving Fund, as created under Section 47-5-155, in amounts necessary to provide a balance not to exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) in the Discharged Offenders Revolving Fund, and shall be used to supplement those amounts paid to discharged, paroled or pardoned offenders from the department. The superintendent of the Parchman facility shall establish equitable criteria for the making of supplemental payments which shall not exceed Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) for any offender. The supplemental payments shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner. The State Treasurer shall not be required to replenish the Discharged Offenders Revolving Fund for the supplemental payments made to discharged, paroled or pardoned offenders.
(b) A portion of the Inmate Welfare Fund shall be deposited into the Inmate Incentive to Work Program Fund, as created under Section 47-5-371, in amounts necessary to provide a balance not to exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) in the fund. Such fund shall be utilized to pay inmates who are participants in the Inmate Incentive to Work Program as created under Section 47-5-371.
(7) (a) The Inmate Welfare
Fund Committee is hereby created and shall be composed of * * * thirteen (13) members: The
Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections, the Deputy Commissioner of
Institutions, the Superintendent of the Parchman facility, the Superintendent
of the Rankin County facility, the Superintendent of the Greene County
facility, the State Treasurer, the State Auditor, * * * two (2) members to be appointed by the
Commissioner of Corrections, one (1) of whom must have a relative incarcerated
by the department at the time of appointment and shall be a representative of
inmate families, the Chairpersons of the House and Senate Corrections
Committees, or their designees, as nonvoting members, and the Chairpersons of
the House and Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committees, or
their designees, as nonvoting members. The commissioner shall appoint the * * * chairperson of the committee.
The committee shall administer and supervise the operations and expenditures
from the Inmate Welfare Fund and shall maintain an official minute book upon
which shall be spread its authorization and approval for all such
expenditures. The committee shall promulgate regulations governing the use and
expenditures of the fund. The committee shall meet at least once quarterly.
A quorum of the committee shall be a majority of the voting members.
(b) Regulations adopted shall set out what types of items shall be allowable purchases, and in all cases, the minutes of the committee shall explain which regulation permits any purchase it approves. Additionally, regulations of the committee shall prescribe the number of members necessary to constitute a quorum, minimum attendance requirements for a member to retain a seat on the committee, and a mission statement for the committee.
(c) The committee shall conduct an annual needs assessment to determine what types of items should be purchased for the benefit of inmates. The needs assessments shall be conducted with the assistance of the department personnel, inmates and the families of inmates.
(d) The committee shall evaluate the proposals of interested third parties for the administration of inmate canteen services as provided in Section 47-5-109.1.
(e) The committee shall expend necessary funds to assist parole eligible inmates who have been diagnosed with a mental illness while housed within a state correctional facility so that such inmates may receive outpatient services and community-based services to treat the mental illness of such inmates.
(8) The Department of Audit
shall conduct an annual comprehensive special audit of the committee's use of
the Inmate Welfare Fund. The department shall incorporate in its special audit
report any recommendations it has concerning the financial and management
control practices of the committee. The department shall report its findings
and recommendations to the * * * Chairpersons of the Senate and
House Corrections Committees.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.
