Major Medical Leave; expand authorized purposes for the use of by state employees.

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To: State Affairs;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative McLean

HOUSE BILL NO. 1555

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-3-91, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE LEAVE LAWS FOR STATE 2
EMPLOYEES; TO AMEND SECTION 25-3-95, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 3
EXPAND THE AUTHORIZED PURPOSES FOR THE USE OF MAJOR MEDICAL LEAVE 4
BY STATE EMPLOYEES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 25-3-93 AND 69-46-7, 5
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING PROVISIONS; 6
AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 8
SECTION 1. Section 25-3-91, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 9
amended as follows: 10
25-3-91. For purposes of Sections 25-3-91 through 25-3-99, 11
the following words and terms shall have the meaning described 12
herein, unless the context requires otherwise: 13
(a) "Appointing authority" * * * means such person, 14
agency or authority authorized by law to employ individuals in 15
state government, but shall not include the Board of Directors of 16
the Mississippi Industries for the Blind. 17
(b) "Catastrophic injury or illness" means a 18
life-threatening injury or illness of an employee or a member of 19
an employee's immediate family which totally incapacitates the 20
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employee from work, as verified by a licensed physician, and 21
forces the employee to exhaust all leave time earned by that 22
employee, resulting in the loss of compensation from the state for 23
the employee. Conditions that are short-term in nature, 24
including, but not limited to, common illnesses such as influenza 25
and the measles, and common injuries, are not catastrophic. 26
Chronic illnesses or injuries, such as cancer or major surgery, 27
which result in intermittent absences from work and which are 28
long-term in nature and require long recuperation periods may be 29
considered catastrophic. 30
(c) "Domestic violence" has the meaning as defined in 31
Section 97-3-7. 32
( * * *d) "Employee" means a person appointed to a 33
position in the state service or nonstate service as defined in 34
Section 25-9-107, for which he or she is compensated on a 35
full-time permanent or provisional basis, a temporary basis, or a 36
part-time basis. However, in order for an employee to be eligible 37
to receive donated leave, the employee must meet the requirements 38
provided in Section 25-3-95(8). 39
(e) "Family member" means: 40
(i) Regardless of age, a biological, adopted or 41
foster child, stepchild or legal ward, a child of a domestic 42
partner, a child to whom the employee stands in loco parentis, or 43
an individual to whom the employee stood in loco parentis when the 44
individual was a minor; 45
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(ii) A biological, foster, stepparent or adoptive 46
parent or legal guardian of an employee or an employee's spouse or 47
domestic partner or a person who stood in loco parentis when the 48
employee or employee's spouse or domestic partner was a minor 49
child; 50
(iii) A person to whom the employee is legally 51
married under the laws of any state, or a domestic partner of an 52
employee as registered under the laws of any state or political 53
subdivision; 54
(iv) A grandparent, grandchild or sibling (whether 55
of a biological, foster, adoptive or step relationship) of the 56
employee or the employee's spouse or domestic partner; or 57
(v) A person for whom the employee is responsible 58
for providing or arranging health or safety-related care, 59
including, but not limited to, helping that individual obtain 60
diagnostic, preventive, routine or therapeutic health treatment or 61
ensuring the person is safe following domestic violence, sexual 62
assault or stalking. 63
(f) "Health care professional" means any person 64
licensed under federal or state law to provide medical or nursing 65
services, including, but not limited to, doctors and nurses. 66
( * * *g) "Workday" * * * means a day as defined in 67
Section 25-1-98. 68
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( * * *h) "Temporary employment" means the employment 69
of a person in a temporary or time-limited position not to exceed 70
twelve (12) months. 71
( * * *i) "Part-time employment" means the employment 72
of a person in a part-time position. 73
(j) "Sexual assault" has the same meaning as "sexual 74
battery" as defined in Section 97-3-95. 75
(k) "Stalking" has the meaning as defined in Section 76
97-3-107. 77
SECTION 2. Section 25-3-95, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 78
amended as follows: 79
25-3-95. (1) All employees and appointed officers of the 80
State of Mississippi, except employees of the public universities 81
who do not contribute to the Mississippi Public Employees' 82
Retirement System or the State Institutions of Higher Learning 83
Optional Retirement Program, shall accrue credits for major 84
medical leave as follows: 85
Continuous Accrual Rate Accrual Rate 86
Service (Monthly) (Annually) 87
1 month to 3 years 8 hours per month 12 days per year 88
37 months to 8 years 7 hours per month 10.5 days per year 89
97 months to 15 years 6 hours per month 9 days per year 90
Over 15 years 5 hours per month 7.5 days per year 91
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Faculty members employed by the eight (8) public universities 92
on a nine-month contract shall accrue credit for major medical 93
leave as follows: 94
Continuous Accrual Rate Accrual Rate 95
Service (Per Month) (Per Academic Year) 96
1 month to 3 years 13-1/3 hours per month 15 days per 97
academic year 98
37 months to 8 years 14-1/5 hours per month 16 days per 99
academic year 100
97 months to 15 years 15-2/5 hours per month 17 days per 101
academic year 102
Over 15 years 16 hours per month 18 days per 103
academic year 104
Part-time employees shall accrue major medical leave on a pro 105
rata basis. There shall be no maximum limit to major medical 106
leave accumulation. All unused major medical leave shall be 107
counted as creditable service for the purposes of the retirement 108
system as provided in Sections 25-11-103 and 25-13-5. 109
(2) (a) Major medical leave may be used for * * * any of 110
the purposes authorized in paragraph (b) of this subsection, only 111
after the employee has used one (1) day of accrued personal or 112
compensatory leave for each absence due to * * * an authorized 113
purpose, or leave without pay if the employee has no accrued 114
personal or compensatory leave; provided that faculty members 115
employed by the eight (8) public universities on a nine-month 116
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basis may use major medical leave for the first day of absence due 117
to * * * an authorized purpose. However, major medical leave may 118
be used, without prior use of personal leave, to cover regularly 119
scheduled visits to a * * * health care professional's office or a 120
hospital for the continuing treatment of a chronic disease, as 121
certified in advance by a * * * health care professional. * * * 122
(b) The authorized purposes for the use of major 123
medical leave are the following: 124
(i) An employee's mental or physical illness, 125
injury or health condition; an employee's need for medical 126
diagnosis, care or treatment of a mental or physical illness, 127
injury or health condition; an employee's need for preventive 128
medical care; 129
(ii) Care of a family member with a mental or 130
physical illness, injury or health condition; care of a family 131
member who needs medical diagnosis, care or treatment of a mental 132
or physical illness, injury or health condition; care of a family 133
member who needs preventive medical care; or in the case of an 134
employee's child, to attend a school meeting or a meeting at a 135
place where the child is receiving care necessitated by the 136
child's health condition or disability, domestic violence, sexual 137
assault or stalking; 138
(iii) Absence necessary due to domestic violence, 139
sexual assault or stalking, provided the leave is to allow the 140
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employee to obtain for the employee or the employee's family 141
member: 142
1. Medical attention needed to recover from 143
physical or psychological injury or disability caused by domestic 144
violence, sexual assault or stalking; 145
2. Services from a victim services 146
organization; 147
3. Psychological or other counseling; 148
4. Relocation or taking steps to secure an 149
existing home due to the domestic violence, sexual assault or 150
stalking; or 151
5. Legal services, including preparing for or 152
participating in any civil or criminal legal proceeding related to 153
or resulting from the domestic violence, sexual assault or 154
stalking. 155
(c) For each absence due to an authorized purpose of 156
thirty-two (32) consecutive working hours (combined personal leave 157
and major medical leave), an employer may require reasonable 158
documentation that the major medical leave has been used for an 159
authorized purpose under paragraph (b) of this subsection. 160
(i) Documentation signed by a health care 161
professional indicating that major medical leave is or was 162
necessary must be considered reasonable documentation. However, 163
if the employee or employee's family member did not receive 164
services from a health care professional, or if documentation 165
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cannot be obtained from a health care professional in a reasonable 166
time or without added expense, the employee may provide a written 167
statement indicating that the employee is taking or took major 168
medical leave for an authorized purpose under paragraph (b). A 169
written statement under this subparagraph (i) may be written in 170
the employee's first language and need not be notarized or in a 171
particular format. 172
(ii) In cases of domestic violence, sexual 173
assault, or stalking, one (1) of the following types of 174
documentation selected by the employee must be considered 175
reasonable documentation: 176
1. A police report indicating that the 177
employee or the employee's family member was a victim of domestic 178
violence, sexual assault or stalking; 179
2. A written statement from a witness 180
advocate affirming that the employee or employee's family member 181
is or was receiving services from a victim services organization; 182
3. A court document indicating that the 183
employee or employee's family member is or was involved in legal 184
action related to domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking; 185
or 186
4. A written statement from the employee 187
affirming that the employee or employee's family member is taking 188
or took major medical leave for an authorized purpose under 189
paragraph (b). A written statement under this item 4 may be 190
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written in the employee's first language and need not be notarized 191
or in a particular format. 192
(iii) An employer may not require that the 193
documentation explain the nature of the illness, details of the 194
underlying health needs, or the details of the domestic violence, 195
sexual assault or stalking. 196
( * * *d) When an employee's absence is due to a 197
work-related injury for which the employee is receiving temporary 198
disability benefits under Section 71-3-17(b) or 71-3-21, the 199
injured employee shall not use accrued personal and/or medical 200
leave and receive workers' compensation benefits simultaneously if 201
the combined receipt of both benefits results in the employee 202
being paid, while absent due to the work-related injury, a total 203
amount that exceeds one hundred percent (100%) of his wages earned 204
in state employment at the time of injury. In such cases, the 205
injured employee may use only as much of his accrued personal 206
and/or medical leave as necessary, which may be fewer than eight 207
(8) hours of accrued personal and/or major medical leave in a day, 208
to constitute the difference between the amount of temporary 209
disability workers' compensation benefits received and one hundred 210
percent (100%) of his wages earned at the time of injury in state 211
employment. It is the intent of the Legislature that no state 212
employee who is absent and disabled from work due to a 213
work-related injury shall receive more than one hundred percent 214
(100%) of his wages earned in state employment at the time of 215
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injury through the use of accrued personal and/or medical leave 216
combined with temporary disability benefits under the Workers' 217
Compensation Law. The procedure for implementing this paragraph 218
( * * *d) shall be as directed by the applicable appointing 219
authority. The receipt or payment of benefits in compliance with 220
this paragraph ( * * *d) shall be considered the employee's 221
exclusive remedy against the employer in accordance with Section 222
71-3-9. 223
(3) An employee may use up to three (3) days of earned major 224
medical leave for each occurrence of death in the immediate family 225
requiring the employee's absence from work. No qualifying time or 226
use of personal leave will be required prior to use of major 227
medical leave for this purpose. For the purpose of this 228
subsection (3), the immediate family is defined as spouse, parent, 229
stepparent, sibling, child, stepchild, grandchild, grandparent, 230
son- or daughter-in-law, mother- or father-in-law or brother- or 231
sister-in-law. Child means a biological, adopted or foster child, 232
or a child for whom the individual stands or stood in loco 233
parentis. 234
* * * 235
( * * *4) Upon retirement from active employment, each 236
faculty member of the state-supported public universities who is 237
employed on a nine-month basis shall receive credit and be paid 238
for not more than thirty (30) days of unused major medical leave 239
for service as a state employee. Unused major medical leave in 240
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excess of thirty (30) days shall be counted as creditable service 241
for the purposes of the retirement system as provided in Sections 242
25-11-103 and 25-13-5. 243
( * * *5) Any state law enforcement officer who is injured 244
by wound or accident in the line of duty shall not be required to 245
use earned major medical leave during the period of recovery from 246
such injury. As used in this subsection, the term "state law 247
enforcement officer" means a person employed by a state agency 248
who, as a condition of his or her employment, is required by law 249
to complete a course of study at the Law Enforcement Officers 250
Training Academy. 251
( * * *6) For the purpose of Sections 25-3-91 through 252
25-3-99, the earned major medical leave of each employee shall be 253
credited monthly after the completion of each calendar month, and 254
the appointing authority shall not increase the amount of major 255
medical leave to an employee's credit. It shall be unlawful for 256
an appointing authority to grant major medical leave in an amount 257
greater than was earned and accumulated by the officer or 258
employee. 259
( * * *7) Any employee may donate a portion of his or her 260
earned personal leave or major medical leave to another employee 261
who is suffering from a catastrophic injury or illness, as defined 262
in Section 25-3-91, or to another employee who has a member of his 263
or her immediate family who is suffering from a catastrophic 264
injury or illness, in accordance with the following: 265
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(a) The employee donating the leave (the "donor 266
employee") shall designate the employee who is to receive the 267
leave (the "recipient employee") and the amount of earned personal 268
leave and major medical leave that is to be donated, and shall 269
notify the donor employee's appointing authority or supervisor of 270
his or her designation. The donor employee's appointing authority 271
or supervisor then shall notify the recipient employee's 272
appointing authority or supervisor of the amount of leave that has 273
been donated by the donor employee to the recipient employee. 274
(b) The maximum amount of earned personal leave that an 275
employee may donate to any other employee may not exceed a number 276
of days that would leave the donor employee with fewer than seven 277
(7) days of personal leave left, and the maximum amount of earned 278
major medical leave that an employee may donate to any other 279
employee may not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the earned major 280
medical leave of the donor employee. All donated leave shall be 281
in increments of not less than twenty-four (24) hours. 282
(c) An employee must have exhausted all of his or her 283
earned personal leave and major medical leave before he or she 284
will be eligible to receive any leave donated by another employee. 285
(d) Before an employee may receive donated leave, he or 286
she must provide his or her appointing authority or supervisor 287
with a physician's statement that states the beginning date of the 288
catastrophic injury or illness, a description of the injury or 289
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illness, and a prognosis for recovery and the anticipated date 290
that the recipient employee will be able to return to work. 291
(e) If an employee is aggrieved by the decision of his 292
or her appointing authority that the employee is not eligible to 293
receive donated leave because the injury or illness of the 294
employee or member of the employee's immediate family is not, in 295
the appointing authority's determination, a catastrophic injury or 296
illness, the employee may appeal the decision to the employee 297
appeals board. 298
(f) * * * The maximum period of time that an employee 299
may use donated leave without resuming work at his or her place of 300
employment is ninety (90) days, which commences on the first day 301
that the recipient employee uses donated leave. Donated leave 302
that is not used because a recipient employee has used the maximum 303
amount of donated leave authorized under this paragraph shall be 304
returned to the donor employees in the manner provided under 305
paragraph (g) of this subsection. 306
(g) If the total amount of leave that is donated to any 307
employee is not used by the recipient employee, the donated leave 308
shall be returned to the donor employees on a pro rata basis, 309
based on the ratio of the number of days of leave donated by each 310
donor employee to the total number of days of leave donated by all 311
donor employees. 312
(h) The failure of any appointing authority or 313
supervisor of any employee to properly deduct an employee's 314
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donation of leave to another employee from the donor employee's 315
earned personal leave or major medical leave shall constitute just 316
cause for the dismissal of the appointing authority or supervisor. 317
(i) No person through the use of coercion, threats or 318
intimidation shall require or attempt to require any employee to 319
donate his or her leave to another employee. Any person who 320
alleges a violation of this paragraph shall report the violation 321
to the executive head of the agency by whom he or she is employed 322
or, if the alleged violator is the executive head of the agency, 323
then the employee shall report the violation to the State 324
Personnel Board. Any person found to have violated this paragraph 325
shall be subject to removal from office or termination of 326
employment. 327
(j) No employee can donate leave after tendering notice 328
of separation for any reason or after termination. 329
(k) Recipient employees of agencies with more than five 330
hundred (500) employees as of March 25, 2003, may receive donated 331
leave only from donor employees within the same agency. A 332
recipient employee in an agency with five hundred (500) or fewer 333
employees as of March 25, 2003, may receive donated leave from any 334
donor employee. 335
(l) In order for an employee to be eligible to receive 336
donated leave, the employee must: 337
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(i) Have been employed for a total of at least 338
twelve (12) months by the employer on the date on which the leave 339
is donated; and 340
(ii) Have been employed for at least one thousand 341
two hundred fifty (1,250) hours of service with such employer 342
during the previous twelve-month period from the date on which the 343
leave is donated. 344
(m) Donated leave shall not be used in lieu of 345
disability retirement. 346
(n) For the purposes of this subsection, "immediate 347
family" means spouse, parent, stepparent, sibling, child or 348
stepchild. 349
( * * *8) An employee may use up to six (6) weeks of earned 350
major medical leave for the birth of the employee's biological 351
child or for the placement with the employee of a child for 352
adoption or foster care and to care for the newly placed child 353
within one (1) year of placement, after using the paid parental 354
leave authorized under Section 25-3-105 for the birth or adoption 355
of the child. 356
(10) The provisions of this section shall be subject to the 357
provisions of Section 25-3-105. If there is any conflict between 358
any of the provisions of this section and any of the provisions of 359
Section 25-3-105, the provisions of Section 25-3-105 shall 360
control. 361
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SECTION 3. Section 25-3-93, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 362
amended as follows: 363
25-3-93. (1) (a) Except as provided in subsection (1)(b), 364
all employees and appointed officers of the State of Mississippi, 365
who are employees as defined in Section 25-3-91, shall be allowed 366
credit for personal leave computed as follows: 367
Continuous Accrual Rate Accrual Rate 368
Service (Monthly) (Annually) 369
1 month to 3 years 12 hours per month 18 days per year 370
37 months to 8 years 14 hours per month 21 days per year 371
97 months to 15 years 16 hours per month 24 days per year 372
Over 15 years 18 hours per month 27 days per year 373
However, employees who were hired prior to July 1, 1984, who 374
have continuous service of more than five (5) years but not more 375
than eight (8) years shall accrue fifteen (15) hours of personal 376
leave each month. 377
(b) Temporary employees who work less than a full 378
workweek and part-time employees shall be allowed credit for 379
personal leave computed on a pro rata basis. Faculty members 380
employed by the eight (8) public universities on a nine-month 381
contract, and employees of the public universities who do not 382
contribute to the Mississippi Public Employees' Retirement System 383
or the State Institutions of Higher Learning Optional Retirement 384
Program, shall not be eligible for personal leave. 385
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(2) For the purpose of computing credit for personal leave, 386
each appointed officer or employee shall be considered to work not 387
more than five (5) days each week. Leaves of absence granted by 388
the appointing authority for one (1) year or less shall be 389
permitted without forfeiting previously accumulated continuous 390
service. The provisions of this section shall not apply to 391
military leaves of absence. The time for taking personal leave, 392
except when such leave is taken due to an illness, shall be 393
determined by the appointing authority of which such employees are 394
employed. 395
(3) For the purpose of Sections 25-3-91 through 25-3-99, the 396
earned personal leave of each employee shall be credited monthly 397
after the completion of each calendar month of service, and the 398
appointing authority shall not increase the amount of personal 399
leave to an employee's credit. It shall be unlawful for an 400
appointing authority to grant personal leave in an amount greater 401
than was earned and accumulated by the officer or employee. 402
(4) Employees are encouraged to use earned personal leave. 403
Personal leave may be used for vacations and personal business as 404
scheduled by the appointing authority and shall be used * * * by 405
the employee for an authorized purpose under Section 25-3-95(2)(b) 406
requiring absences of one (1) day or less. Accrued personal or 407
compensatory leave shall be used for the first day of an 408
employee's * * * authorized purpose under Section 25-3-95(2)(b) 409
requiring his absence of more than one (1) day. Accrued personal 410
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or compensatory leave may also be used for an * * * authorized 411
purpose under Section 25-3-95(2)(b) involving the employee's * * * 412
family * * * member. There shall be no limit to the accumulation 413
of personal leave. Upon termination of employment each employee 414
shall be paid for not more than thirty (30) days of accumulated 415
personal leave. Unused personal leave in excess of thirty (30) 416
days shall be counted as creditable service for the purposes of 417
the retirement system as provided in Sections 25-11-103 and 418
25-13-5. 419
(5) Any state law enforcement officer who is injured by 420
wound or accident in the line of duty shall not be required to use 421
earned personal leave during the period of recovery from such 422
injury. As used in this subsection, the term "state law 423
enforcement officer" means a person employed by a state agency 424
who, as a condition of his or her employment, is required by law 425
to complete a course of study at the Law Enforcement Officers 426
Training Academy. 427
(6) Any employee may donate a portion of his or her earned 428
personal leave to another employee who is suffering from a 429
catastrophic injury or illness, or to another employee who has a 430
member of his or her immediate family who is suffering from a 431
catastrophic injury or illness, in accordance with subsection (8) 432
of Section 25-3-95. 433
(7) The provisions of this section shall be subject to the 434
provisions of Section 25-3-105. If there is any conflict between 435
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any of the provisions of this section and any of the provisions of 436
Section 25-3-105, the provisions of Section 25-3-105 shall 437
control. 438
SECTION 4. Section 69-46-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 439
amended as follows: 440
69-46-7. (1) (a) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber 441
Resources Board may accept and expend funds appropriated or 442
otherwise made available by the Legislature and funds from any 443
other source in order to carry out the provisions of the 444
Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Act. Such funds 445
shall be deposited into a special fund hereby established in the 446
State Treasury to be known as the "Mississippi Land, Water and 447
Timber Resources Fund." Unexpended amounts derived from bond 448
proceeds or private funds, or both, remaining in the fund at the 449
end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, 450
and any investment earnings or interest earned on such amounts in 451
the fund shall be deposited to the credit of the fund. All other 452
unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal 453
year shall lapse into the State General Fund. The board may 454
provide to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce 455
not more than Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), in 456
the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are derived from 457
proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 458
538, Laws of 2001, and/or Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 542, 459
Laws of 2002, for the purpose of providing additional funds to 460
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defray costs incurred by the department in assisting the board in 461
carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and 462
Timber Resources Act. However, the Mississippi Department of 463
Agriculture and Commerce may not use any portion of such funds for 464
the purpose of hiring any person as an employee as defined in 465
Section 25-3-91 * * *. The Mississippi Department of Agriculture 466
may escalate its budget and expend such funds, when provided by 467
the board, in accordance with rules and regulations of the 468
Department of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent 469
with the escalation of federal funds. The board may provide to 470
the Mississippi Development Authority not more than Two Hundred 471
Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies 472
in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under 473
Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 538, Laws of 2001, and/or 474
Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 542, Laws of 2002, for the 475
purpose of providing additional funds to defray costs incurred by 476
the Mississippi Development Authority in assisting the board in 477
carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and 478
Timber Resources Act. However, the Mississippi Development 479
Authority may not use any portion of such funds for the purpose of 480
hiring any person as an employee as defined in Section 481
25-3-91 * * *. The Mississippi Development Authority may escalate 482
its budget and expend such funds, when provided by the board, in 483
accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of Finance 484
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and Administration in a manner consistent with the escalation of 485
federal funds. 486
(b) (i) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber 487
Resources Board may provide to the Mississippi Department of 488
Agriculture and Commerce not more than One Hundred Twenty-five 489
Thousand Dollars ($125,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the 490
fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 491
1 through 16 of Chapter 505, Laws of 2003, and One Hundred 492
Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($125,000.00), in the aggregate, of 493
monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued 494
under Sections 72 through 87 of Chapter 1, Laws of 2004 Third 495
Extraordinary Session, for the purpose of providing additional 496
funds to defray costs incurred by the department in assisting the 497
board in carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, 498
Water and Timber Resources Act. However, the Mississippi 499
Department of Agriculture and Commerce may not use any portion of 500
such funds for the purpose of hiring any person as an employee as 501
defined in Section 25-3-91 * * *. The Mississippi Department of 502
Agriculture and Commerce may escalate its budget and expend such 503
funds, when provided by the board, in accordance with rules and 504
regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a 505
manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds. 506
(ii) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber 507
Resources Board may provide to the Mississippi Development 508
Authority not more than One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand Dollars 509
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($125,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund that are 510
derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 511
of Chapter 505, Laws of 2003, and One Hundred Twenty-five Thousand 512
Dollars ($125,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies in the fund 513
that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 72 514
through 87 of Chapter 1, Laws of 2004 Third Extraordinary Session, 515
for the purpose of providing additional funds to defray costs 516
incurred by the Mississippi Development Authority in assisting the 517
board in carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, 518
Water and Timber Resources Act. However, the Mississippi 519
Development Authority may not use any portion of such funds for 520
the purpose of hiring any person as an employee as defined in 521
Section 25-3-91 * * *. The Mississippi Development Authority may 522
escalate its budget and expend such funds, when provided by the 523
board, in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department 524
of Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the 525
escalation of federal funds. 526
(iii) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber 527
Resources Board may provide to the Department of Audit not more 528
than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), in the aggregate, of 529
monies in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued 530
under Sections 1 through 16 of Chapter 505, Laws of 2003, and 531
Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), in the aggregate, of monies 532
in the fund that are derived from proceeds of bonds issued under 533
Sections 72 through 87 of Chapter 1, Laws of 2004 Third 534
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Extraordinary Session, for the purpose of providing additional 535
funds to defray costs incurred by the department in assisting the 536
board in carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, 537
Water and Timber Resources Act. However, the Department of Audit 538
may not use any portion of such funds for the purpose of hiring 539
any person as an employee as defined in Section 25-3-91 * * *. 540
The Department of Audit may escalate its budget and expend such 541
funds, when provided by the board, in accordance with rules and 542
regulations of the Department of Finance and Administration in a 543
manner consistent with the escalation of federal funds. 544
(2) The Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Board 545
shall set aside One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) of the monies 546
in the Mississippi Land, Water and Timber Resources Fund that are 547
derived from proceeds of bonds issued under Sections 1 through 16 548
of Chapter 505, Laws of 2003, for the purpose of providing funds 549
to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce for use 550
in making payments to ethanol producers under Section 69-51-5 551
during the state fiscal year beginning July 1, 2003, and ending 552
June 30, 2004. Any monies set aside which are not used for such 553
purposes during the fiscal year shall no longer be set aside for 554
such purposes after the end of the fiscal year. In addition, if 555
the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce determines during 556
such fiscal year that no ethanol producer will be eligible for 557
such payments during the fiscal year, the commissioner shall 558
inform the board of his determination and the monies set aside 559
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shall no longer be set aside for such purposes. The Mississippi 560
Department of Agriculture and Commerce may escalate its budget and 561
expend funds, when provided by the board under this subsection 562
(2), in accordance with rules and regulations of the Department of 563
Finance and Administration in a manner consistent with the 564
escalation of federal funds. 565
(3) In anticipation of the issuance of bonds authorized for 566
the purpose of providing funds for the Mississippi Land, Water and 567
Timber Resources Fund, the State Bond Commission is authorized to 568
negotiate and enter into any purchase, loan, credit or other 569
agreement with any bank, trust company or other lending 570
institution or to issue and sell interim notes for the purpose of 571
carrying out the provisions of the Mississippi Land, Water and 572
Timber Resources Act. All borrowings made under this subsection 573
(3) shall be evidenced by notes of the State of Mississippi, which 574
shall be issued from time to time, for such amounts, in such form 575
and in such denomination and subject to such terms and conditions 576
of sale and issuance, prepayment or redemption and maturity, rate 577
or rates of interest not to exceed the maximum rate authorized for 578
bonds in Section 75-17-101, and time of payment of interest as the 579
State Bond Commission shall agree to in such agreement. Such 580
notes shall constitute general obligations of the State of 581
Mississippi, and shall be backed by the full faith and credit of 582
the state. Such notes may also be issued for the purpose of 583
refunding previously issued notes. No note shall mature more than 584
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ST: Major Medical Leave; expand authorized
purposes for the use of by state employees.
three (3) years following the date of its issuance. The State 585
Bond Commission is authorized to provide for the compensation of 586
any purchaser of the notes by payment of a fixed fee or commission 587
and for all other costs and expenses of issuance and service, 588
including paying agent costs. Such costs and expenses may be paid 589
from the proceeds of the notes. Borrowings made under the 590
provisions of this subsection (3) shall not exceed the aggregate 591
sum of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000.00) outstanding at any one 592
time. 593
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from 594
and after July 1, 2026. 595