Bill Text: MS HB855 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: State agency budget requests, appropriation bills and operating budget; require to include specific line items for proposed expenditures.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2020-03-03 - Died In Committee [HB855 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2020-HB855-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2020 Regular Session
To: Appropriations
By: Representative Arnold
House Bill 855
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 27-103-129, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT BEGINNING WITH BUDGET REQUESTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022, EACH STATE AGENCY SHALL INCLUDE IN ITS BUDGET REQUEST A SPECIFIC LINE ITEM FOR EACH PROPOSED EXPENDITURE OF THE AGENCY OF FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE DURING THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR; TO AMEND SECTION 27-103-123, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT BEGINNING WITH THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022, THE RECOMMENDED BUDGET FOR EACH GENERAL FUND AGENCY SHALL HAVE A SPECIFIC LINE ITEM FOR EACH PROPOSED EXPENDITURE OF THE AGENCY OF FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE DURING THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR; TO AMEND SECTION 27-103-127, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT BEGINNING WITH THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022, THE RECOMMENDED BUDGET FOR EACH SPECIAL FUND AGENCY SHALL HAVE A SPECIFIC LINE ITEM FOR EACH PROPOSED EXPENDITURE OF THE AGENCY OF FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE DURING THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR; TO CREATE NEW SECTION 27-103-215, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT BEGINNING WITH THE APPROPRIATION BILLS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022, EACH APPROPRIATION BILL FOR EACH AGENCY SHALL HAVE A SPECIFIC LINE ITEM FOR EACH PROPOSED EXPENDITURE OF THE AGENCY OF FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE DURING THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR; TO AMEND SECTION 27-104-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT BEGINNING WITH THE OPERATING BUDGETS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022, EACH AGENCY SHALL INCLUDE IN ITS OPERATING BUDGET A SPECIFIC LINE ITEM FOR EACH PROPOSED EXPENDITURE OF THE AGENCY OF FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE DURING THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, WHICH LINE ITEMS SHALL CORRESPOND TO THE LINE ITEMS IN THE AGENCY'S APPROPRIATION BILL OR BILLS; TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 27-103-125, 27-103-139, 27-104-11 AND 27-104-17, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH RELATE TO THE PROPOSED BUDGETS PREPARED BY THE LEGISLATURE AND THE GOVERNOR AND EXPENDITURES BY AGENCIES UNDER THEIR BUDGETS, FOR THE PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 27-103-129, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-103-129. (1) To enable the Legislative Budget Office to prepare such budget, it shall have full and plenary power and authority to require all general-fund and special-fund agencies and the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Division of State Aid Road Construction of the Mississippi Department of Transportation to file a budget request with such information and in such form and in such detail as it may deem necessary and advisable, and it shall have the further power and authority to reduce or eliminate any item or items of requested appropriation by any state agency in the Legislative Budget Office's recommended budget to the Legislature. However, where any item of requested appropriation shall be so reduced or eliminated, the head of the agency involved shall have the right to appear before the appropriate legislative committee to urge a revision of the budget to restore the item reduced or eliminated.
The budget requests shall include a definition of the mission of the agency, a description of the duties and responsibilities of the agency, financial data relative to the various programs operated by the agency and performance measures associated with each program of the agency. The performance measures to be contained within the agency budget request shall be developed by cooperative efforts of the Legislative Budget Office, the Department of Finance and Administration and the agency itself and shall be approved jointly by the Legislative Budget Office and the Department of Finance and Administration prior to inclusion within the agency budget request.
The budget requests shall also include in an addendum format a five-year strategic plan for the agency which shall include, but not be limited to, the following items of information:
(a) A comprehensive mission statement,
(b) Performance effectiveness objectives for each program of the agency for each of the five (5) years covered by the plan,
(c) A description of significant external factors which may affect the projected levels of performance,
(d) A description of the agency's internal management system utilized to evaluate its performance achievements in relationship to the targeted performance levels,
(e) An evaluation by the agency of the agency's performance achievements in relationship to the targeted performance levels for the two (2) preceding fiscal years for which accounting records have been finalized.
(2) Beginning with budget requests for fiscal year 2022, each state agency, special-fund agency and general-fund agency making a budget request under the authority of this section shall include in its budget request a specific line item for each proposed expenditure of the agency of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more during the next fiscal year.
The line items of the budget request shall be grouped into the following major objects of expenditure: (a) personal services, which includes (i) salaries, wages and fringe benefits, and (ii) travel and subsistence; (b) contractual services; (c) commodities; (d) capital outlay, which includes (i) equipment, and (ii) other than equipment; (e) vehicles; (f) wireless communication devices; and (g) subsidies, loans and grants. In addition to these major objects of expenditure, the Legislative Budget Office may specify additional major objects that agencies must include in the budget requests. Within each major object of expenditure, the agency shall include each proposed expenditure of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more by each administrative unit of the agency and each proposed expenditure of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more for each program administered by the agency, with a detailed description of the purpose of each expenditure.
The Legislative Budget Office shall review the information provided in the budget request submitted by the agency for compliance with this subsection. If the budget request is determined to be not sufficiently specific or detailed, the Legislative Budget Office shall require the agency to revise the budget request as necessary to be in compliance with this subsection.
(3) All agencies enumerated in subsection (1) of this section shall include in their budget requests the following information regarding contract workers for the most recently completed fiscal year:
(a) The name of each worker;
(b) The specific type of services provided;
(c) Hourly rate of compensation, or the basis for compensation if a rate other than the hourly rate is used;
(d) Total gross salary or wages paid; and
(e) Whether the worker is a retired member of the Public Employees' Retirement System.
( * * *4) (a) In addition to any other
information required by law, each state agency, general-fund agency and special-fund
agency, as defined in Section 27-103-103, desiring to purchase any vehicle as
defined by this section shall submit as part of its budget request to the
Legislative Budget Office and the Department of Finance and Administration a
detailed justification for the proposed purchase. The Legislative Budget
Office and the Department of Finance and Administration shall jointly prescribe
the forms and formats to be used by agencies making the requests. Such forms
shall require, at minimum, the following information:
(i) The kind of vehicle to be purchased;
(ii) The person to whom the vehicle will be assigned and the employment responsibilities of that person which necessitate a state-owned vehicle;
(iii) Whether the vehicle is a work vehicle or passenger vehicle; and
(iv) If the vehicle is assigned to a pool and not an individual, the purposes for which the pool vehicle is assigned and the names of the anticipated users of the pool vehicle.
(b) The Legislative Budget Office and the Department of Finance and Administration shall offer a recommendation to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee on all agency requests for vehicles. In making the recommendation, the Legislative Budget Office and the Department of Finance and Administration may consider break-even analyses for the kind of vehicle requested, the travel patterns of the person for whom the vehicle shall be acquired, and shall determine if there exists surplus vehicles in the possession of other agencies that could be used as a substitute for a new vehicle and why such vehicle should not be used. The purchase of vehicles by an agency shall be a specific line item in the agency's appropriation bill.
(c) If an agency determines that an urgent need exists for a vehicle when it is not feasible to obtain prior legislative approval, the agency may make an emergency request to the Bureau of Fleet Management. Any emergency determination shall be made only upon the existence of extraordinary circumstances. The Bureau of Fleet Management shall make a recommendation to the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration and shall give notification of such recommendation to the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House and the Chairmen of the Senate and House of Representatives Appropriations Committees. The Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration shall have the final authority to approve or disapprove the emergency request. The executive director must set forth specific reasons for approval which shall be a public record. If approved and if adequate funding is available, the agency may purchase a specific vehicle to meet its specific emergency needs. The Bureau of Fleet Management shall report any emergency purchase to the Legislative Budget Office. Any such vehicle shall be subject to the same rules and regulations as provided for nonemergency vehicles.
(d) For purposes of
subsections * * *
(4) and * * *
(5) of this section, the term "passenger vehicle" shall mean a
vehicle used primarily in transporting agency personnel and the agency's
equipment from one location to another. This term shall include only those
vehicles for which a license plate or tag is required under Chapter 19, Title
27, Mississippi Code of 1972.
(e) For purposes of
subsections * * *
(4) and * * *
(5) of this section, the term "work vehicle" shall mean a
vehicle used primarily to perform a work assignment or task while incidentally
transporting agency personnel and agency equipment from one location to
another. This term shall include only those vehicles for which a license plate
or tag is required under Chapter 19, Title 27, Mississippi Code of 1972.
( * * *5) All state agencies, special-fund
agencies and general-fund agencies making budget requests under the authority
of this section shall include with their budget requests a report of all
passenger and work vehicles in their possession. Such report shall detail the
persons to whom the vehicles are assigned and the purposes for the vehicles.
( * * *6) Subsections * * * (4) and * * * (5) of this section shall not apply
to any vehicle assigned to a sworn officer of the Department of Public Safety
and used in undercover operations.
( * * *7) The provisions of subsections * * * (4) and * * * (5) of this section shall not apply
to any state institution of higher learning.
( * * *8) The purchase of wireless
communication devices as defined in Section 25-53-191 by any state agency,
special-fund agency or general-fund agency making budget requests under the
authority of this section shall be a specific line item in the agency's
appropriation bill.
( * * *9) (a) Beginning with the fiscal year
2017 budget submission, the Legislative Budget Office shall annually publish on
its website all budget requests submitted under the authority of this section
by state agencies, special-fund agencies and general-fund agencies and shall
include all budget units for which budget requests are submitted.
(b) Beginning with the fiscal year 2017 budget submission, any state agency, special-fund agency and general-fund agency making a budget request under the authority of this section shall annually publish on its agency website a copy of the budget request that it submitted.
SECTION 2. Section 27-103-123, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-103-123. Part 1 of the overall budget shall include
therein the requested budget and the recommended budget for each
general fund agency and the proposed revenue by means of which the
recommended appropriations can be met.
The overall budget shall show, for each general fund agency,
in addition to such other information as may be prescribed by the
Legislative Budget Office, the following:
(a) The amount appropriated from the General Fund for
the current fiscal year, all special funds receipts already
collected and available in the current fiscal year, and an
estimate of all special funds which will be collected, or
otherwise will become available, by the end of the then current
fiscal year;
(b) The estimated amount of all expenditures to be made
or obligations to be incurred payable from general or special
funds during the then current fiscal year;
(c) The estimated aggregate amount of funds which will
be needed by the agency for the succeeding fiscal year; beginning with the 1995 fiscal year and in the event that any services proposed to be provided by the agency in the succeeding fiscal year are Medicaid reimbursable, any state general matching funds necessary for such reimbursements shall be included in the agency's proposed budget, and the appropriation to the Division of Medicaid in the 1995 fiscal year shall be adjusted accordingly; (d) The estimated aggregate amount of special funds, if
any, which will be available during the succeeding fiscal year,
including any balances which will be on hand at the close of the
then current fiscal year;
(e) The estimated amount which will be needed and which
will require change in existing law or laws;
(f) If any new item of expense is included in the proposed budget of any general fund agency, the reason therefor shall be given; and in any case where the Legislative Budget Office shall eliminate or reduce any item or items in the budget request of any general fund agency, it shall note briefly the reasons therefor, together with the reasons advanced by the agency in support of the item or items eliminated or reduced.
Beginning with the budget for fiscal year 2022, the recommended budget for each general fund agency shall have a specific line item for each proposed expenditure of the agency of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more during the next fiscal year.
SECTION 3. Section 27-103-127, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-103-127. To the end that the overall budget shall present in comparable terms a complete summary of all financial operations of all state agencies, Part 2 of the overall budget shall include therein the requested budget and the recommended budget for each special fund agency. The overall budget shall show for each special fund agency, in addition to such other information as may be prescribed by the Legislative Budget Office, the following:
(a) The amount by source of all special fund receipts collected or otherwise available in the current fiscal year, and an estimate by source of all special funds which will be collected or become available by the end of the then current fiscal year;
(b) The estimated amount of all expenditures to be made or obligations to be incurred payable from such special funds during the then current fiscal year;
(c) The estimated aggregate amount of special funds which will be needed by the agency for the succeeding fiscal year; beginning with the 1995 fiscal year and in the event that any services proposed to be provided by the agency in the succeeding fiscal year are Medicaid reimbursable, any state general matching funds necessary for such reimbursement shall be included in the agency's proposed budget, and the appropriation to the Division of Medicaid in the 1995 fiscal year shall be adjusted accordingly;
(d) The estimated amount by source of special funds which will be available under existing laws during the succeeding fiscal year, including any balances which will be on hand at the close of the then current fiscal year;
(e) The estimated amount which will be needed and which will require change in existing law or laws;
(f) If any new item of expense is included in the proposed budget of any special fund agency, the reason therefor shall be given; and in any case where the Legislative Budget Office shall eliminate or reduce any item or items in the proposed budget of any special fund agency, it shall note briefly the reasons therefor, together with the reasons advanced by the agency in support of the item or items eliminated or reduced;
(g) The proposed budget of each special fund agency shall show the amounts required for operating expenses separately from the amounts required for permanent improvements.
Proposed expenditures for any agency in Part 2 of the overall budget shall not exceed the amount of estimated revenues which will be available to it. Provided, that the Legislative Budget Office may recommend changes in existing law so as to decrease or increase the revenues available to any agency if in its judgment such changes are necessary or desirable.
Provided further, that expenditures approved or authorized by the Legislature for any special fund agency or special funds approved for general fund agency shall constitute a maximum to be expended or encumbered by such agency, and shall not constitute authority to expend or encumber more than the amount of revenue actually collected or otherwise received.
Beginning with the budget for fiscal year 2022, the recommended budget for each special fund agency shall have a specific line item for each proposed expenditure of the agency of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more during the next fiscal year.
No special fund agency or general fund agency shall make expenditures from special funds available to such agency unless such expenditures are set forth in a budget approved by the Legislature. Such legislative approval shall be set forth in an appropriation act. Provided, however, that special funds derived from the collection of taxes for any political subdivision of the state shall be excepted from the foregoing provisions. The executive head of the state agency shall be liable on his official bond for expenditures or encumbrances which exceed the total amount of the budget or the amount received if receipts are less than the approved budget.
Provided, however, that each university and college shall submit through the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning an annual budget to the Legislative Budget Office prior to the beginning of each fiscal year with such information and in such form, and in such detail, as may be required by the Legislative Budget Office. If the Legislative Budget Office determines that sufficient funds will be available during the fiscal year to fund the proposed budget as submitted, then and in that event the proposed budget shall be approved. However, if the Legislative Budget Office determines that, in its judgment, sufficient funds will not be available to fund the proposed budget, the affected institution or institutions and the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall be promptly notified and given an opportunity to either justify the proposed budget or proposed amendments which can be mutually agreed upon. The Legislative Budget Office shall then approve the proposed budget or budgets of the several universities and colleges. The total amount approved for each institution shall constitute the maximum funds which may be expended during the fiscal year.
The municipal, county or combined municipal and county port and harbor commissions, authorities or other port or harbor agencies not owned or operated by the state, shall submit annual or amended budgets of their estimated receipts and expenditures to the governing bodies of such municipality, county or municipality and county, for their approval, and a copy of such budget as approved by such governing body or bodies shall be filed with the Legislative Budget Office. Such budget shall itemize all estimated receipts and expenditures, and the Legislative Budget Office may require particularization, explanation or audit thereof, and shall report such information to the Legislature.
To the end that the overall budget shall present in comparable terms a complete summary of all financial operations of all state agencies, Part 3 of such overall budget shall consist of an estimated preliminary annual budget of the Department of Transportation and the Division of State Aid Road Construction of the Department of Transportation and such information for the current fiscal year as is necessary to make presentation comparable to that specified for Part 2 special fund agencies.
The annual budget request of the Department of Transportation
shall be divided into the following program budgets: (a) administration and other expenses, (b) construction, (c) maintenance, and (d) debt service. In making its annual appropriation to the Department of Transportation from the State Highway Fund, the Legislature shall separate the appropriation bill into the four (4) program budget areas herein specified. For the purposes of this paragraph, "administration and other expenses" shall be construed to mean those expenses incurred due to departmental support activities which cannot be assigned to a specific construction or maintenance project, and shall be construed to include expenses incurred for office machines, furniture, fixtures, automobiles, station wagons, truck and other vehicles, road machinery, farm equipment and other working equipment, data processing and computer equipment, all other equipment, and replacements for equipment. "Construction" shall be construed to mean those expenses associated with the creation and development of the state highway system and its related facilities; "maintenance" shall be construed to mean those expenses incurred due to activities associated with preservation of safe and aesthetically acceptable highways in an attempt to maintain them in as close to the original condition as possible; and "debt service" shall be construed to mean amounts needed to pay bonds and interest coming due, bank service charges, and bond debt service.
Beginning with the budget for fiscal year 2022, the recommended budget for the Department of Transportation and the Division of State Aid Road Construction of the Department of Transportation shall have a specific line item for each proposed expenditure of the department and the division of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more during the next fiscal year.
SECTION 4. The following shall be codified as Section 27-103-215, Mississippi Code of 1972:
27-103-215. Beginning with the appropriation bills for fiscal year 2022, each appropriation bill for each general-fund and special-fund agency and the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Division of State Aid Road Construction of the Mississippi Department of Transportation shall have a specific line item for each proposed expenditure of the agency of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more during the next fiscal year.
SECTION 5. Section 27-104-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
27-104-9. (1) After appropriations have been passed into law, but prior to the start of the fiscal year, agencies shall submit to the State Fiscal Officer an operating budget in a format specified by him. The State Fiscal Officer, acting through the Bureau of Budget and Fiscal Management, shall review the operating budgets to insure they are in compliance with the appropriation and return them to the agencies. A copy of the approved operating budget shall be used for authorizing the expenditure of funds appropriated through the allotment process.
(2) Beginning with the operating budgets for fiscal year 2022, each agency shall include in its operating budget a specific line item for each proposed expenditure of the agency of Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or more during the next fiscal year, which line items shall correspond to the line items in the agency's appropriation bill or bills.
SECTION 6. Section 27-103-125, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-103-125. The proposed budget of each state agency shall show the amounts required for operating expenses separately from the amounts required for permanent improvements. The overall budget shall show, separately by each source, the estimated amount of general fund revenue and of special fund revenues of general fund agencies. The total proposed expenditures in Part 1 of the overall budget shall not exceed the amount of estimated revenues that will be available in the general and special funds for appropriation or use during the succeeding fiscal year, including any balances other than unencumbered balances in general funds that will be on hand in the general and special funds at the close of the then current fiscal year. The total proposed expenditures from the State General Fund in Part 1 of the overall budget shall not exceed ninety-eight percent (98%) of the amount of general fund revenue estimate for the succeeding fiscal year. However, for fiscal years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017 only, the total proposed expenditures from the State General Fund in Part 1 of the overall budget shall not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the amount of the general fund revenue estimate for the succeeding fiscal year, and for fiscal year 2018, the total proposed expenditures from the State General Fund in Part 1 of the overall budget shall not exceed ninety-nine percent (99%) of the amount of general fund revenue estimate for the succeeding fiscal year. The general fund revenue estimate shall be the estimate jointly adopted by the Governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. The Legislative Budget Office may recommend additional taxes or sources of revenue if in its judgment those additional funds are necessary to adequately support the functions of the state government.
SECTION 7. Section 27-103-139, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-103-139. On or before November 15 preceding each regular session of the Legislature, except the first regular session of a new term of office, the Governor shall submit to the members of the Legislature, the Legislative Budget Office or the members-elect, as the case may be, and to the executive head of each state agency a balanced budget for the succeeding fiscal year. The budget submitted shall be prepared in a format that will include performance measurement data associated with the various programs operated by each agency. The total proposed expenditures in the balanced budget shall not exceed the amount of estimated revenues that will be available for appropriation or use during the succeeding fiscal year, including any balances other than unencumbered balances in general funds that will be on hand at the close of the then current fiscal year, as determined by the revenue estimate jointly adopted by the Governor and the Legislative Budget Committee. The total proposed expenditures from the State General Fund in the balanced budget shall not exceed ninety-eight percent (98%) of the amount of general fund revenue estimate for the succeeding fiscal year. However, for fiscal years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017 only, the total proposed expenditures from the State General Fund in the balanced budget shall not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the amount of the general fund revenue estimate for the succeeding fiscal year, and for fiscal year 2018, the total proposed expenditures from the State General Fund in the balanced budget shall not exceed ninety-nine percent (99%) of the amount of general fund revenue estimate for the succeeding fiscal year. The general fund revenue estimate shall be the estimate jointly adopted by the Governor and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
The revenues used in preparing the balanced budget shall be only those revenues that will be available under the general laws of the state as they exist when the balanced budget is prepared, and shall not include any proposed revenues that would become available only after the enactment of new legislation. If the Governor has any recommendations for additional proposed expenditures or proposed revenues that are not included in his balanced budget, he shall submit those recommendations in a supplement that is separate from his balanced budget, and whenever the Governor recommends any such additional proposed expenditures, he also shall recommend proposed revenues that are sufficient to fund the additional proposed expenditures, providing specific details regarding the sources and the total amount of those proposed revenues.
The Governor may employ a budget officer for the purpose of receiving information from the State Fiscal Officer and preparing his recommendations on the budget. If the Governor determines that information received from the State Fiscal Officer is not sufficient to enable him to prepare his budget recommendations, he may request an appropriation from the Legislature to provide additional staff within the Governor's office for that purpose. At the first regular session after his election for Governor, the Governor shall submit any budget recommendations plus the required revenue source recommendations no later than January 31 of that year.
SECTION 8. Section 27-104-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-104-11. No general or special funds received under state law, except those for the Legislature, or those made available for a special or particular purpose with the intention that they shall or may be expended immediately, shall be available for expenditure by the agency entitled thereto until estimates of the amount required for the agency shall have been submitted to and approved by the State Fiscal Officer, with copies of such estimates to be furnished to the Legislative Budget Office.
SECTION 9. Section 27-104-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-104-17. (1) An allotment period shall be one-half (1/2) of twelve (12) months, and expenditure one-half (1/2) of the appropriated amount, unless otherwise specified in the appropriation bill or justified by the agency to the Department of Finance and Administration, and the first allotment period shall commence on July 1. Estimates shall be filed with the Department of Finance and Administration not later than the first day of the month preceding the beginning period.
The Department of Finance and Administration may, in its discretion, restrict an agency to a monthly allotment period when it becomes evident that an agency's rate of expenditure to date indicates this restriction will be necessary to prevent depletion of its appropriation prior to the close of the fiscal year or when the condition of the State General Fund requires monthly monitoring and control of the rate of General Fund expenditures.
(2) Unless otherwise specified in the agency appropriation bill, in the event any emergency or unforeseen circumstances shall arise, the agency head may authorize increases in major objects of expenditure within each specific budget within each appropriation bill in total amounts not to exceed ten percent (10%) of the appropriated amount of each object, provided that other major objects of expenditure are decreased by a corresponding dollar amount. Except as otherwise authorized in Section 7-5-39, no transfers shall be authorized which increase or decrease the major object of expenditure "Salaries, Wages and Fringe Benefits," or which increase the major object of expenditure "Capital Outlay - Equipment." The agency head shall submit written justification for the transfer to the Legislative Budget Office, the Department of Finance and Administration, and the State Auditor, on or before the fifteenth of the month prior to the effective date of the transfer. The transfer shall be effective the first working day of the month following timely submissions required herein. In cases of extreme hardship, certified in writing by the agency head and submitted with timely submissions required herein, the Executive Director of the Department of Finance and Administration, in his discretion, may authorize an earlier effective date for the transfer.
(3) No former employee who is receiving State of Mississippi retirement benefits shall be hired under contract for an amount exceeding Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) a year without prior approval by an agency's proper governing board or authority. Upon approval of such contracts a written report shall be submitted detailing the cost and need of such contract services to the Chairmen and members of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees.
SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2020.
