Senate Concurrent Resolution 568

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890 TO PROVIDE THAT NO BILL IMPOSING AN UNFUNDED STATE MANDATE ON MUNICIPALITIES, COUNTIES, SCHOOL DISTRICTS OR OTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS SHALL BE ENACTED; TO PROVIDE THAT NO BILL IMPOSING SUCH A STATE MANDATE SHALL BE ENACTED WITHOUT STATEMENTS OF THE ESTIMATED COST OF SUCH MANDATE AND THE SOURCE OF STATE REVENUE IDENTIFIED TO DEFRAY THE COST; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That the following amendment to the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 be submitted to the qualified electors of the state:

Amend by inserting the following Section 66.1 in the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read as follows:

Section 66.1. (1) No law imposing an unfunded state mandate on municipalities, counties, school districts or other political subdivisions of the state shall be enacted.

(2) No law imposing a state mandate on municipalities, counties, school districts or other political subdivisions shall be enacted without the statements of estimated cost of such mandate and the sources of state assistance identified to allow the local governmental entities in defraying the direct costs of the state mandate, as required herein.

(3) For each bill reported by any standing or conference committee which includes a state mandate which imposes a direct cost on any municipality, county, school district or other political subdivision, there shall be prepared a report which explains the amount and basis of the estimate. The report shall contain (a) a statement of the amount of any decrease in appropriations under an existing state financial assistance program provided by the bill and usable for activities of any municipality, county, school district or other political subdivision in the state; (b) a statement of whether the committee finds that the state mandate is partly or entirely unfunded; (c) a statement of whether and how the committee has created a method to identify the state source funding for such mandate in a manner that is reasonably consistent with the expected direct costs among the respective levels of local government; and (d) any existing sources of state assistance in addition to those identified that may assist the local governmental entities in meeting the direct costs of the state mandate.

(4) For purposes of this section:

(a) The term "state mandate" means any provision in legislation or statute that (i) would impose an enforceable duty upon counties, municipalities, school districts or other political subdivisions, which results in a direct cost to such local governmental entity, except a duty arising from participation in a voluntary state program, or (ii) would reduce or eliminate the amount of authorization of appropriations for state financial assistance that would be provided to such local governmental entity for the purpose of complying with any such previously imposed duty unless such duty is reduced or eliminated by a corresponding amount.

(b) The term "direct cost" means the aggregate estimated amount that all municipalities, counties, school districts, or other political subdivisions would be required to spend or would be prohibited from raising in revenues in order to comply with the state mandate, or the amount of state financial assistance available to said local governmental entities which would be eliminated or reduced.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the amendment in this resolution shall be submitted to the qualified electors at an election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2010, as provided by Section 273 of the Constitution and by law.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the explanation of the amendment for the ballot shall read as follows: "This proposed amendment prohibits the authority of the Legislature to impose unfunded state mandates on municipalities, counties, school districts or other political subdivisions of the state without adequate funding therefor. It allows the passage of a state mandate to local governments only if a detailed report of the estimated direct cost of the proposed mandate and the state source of the funding therefor is prepared by the committee proposing such state mandate. The purpose of this amendment is to ensure that the state government pays the costs incurred by local governments in complying with new requirements under state statutes."