Office of Corrections Ombudsman; establish.

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To: Corrections;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Currie

HOUSE BILL NO. 1690

AN ACT TO CODIFY SECTION 47-5-36, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO ESTABLISH THE OFFICE OF CORRECTIONS OMBUDSMAN AND PRESCRIBE ITS 2
POWERS AND DUTIES; TO PROVIDE FOR A CORRECTIONS OVERSIGHT 3
COMMITTEE; TO PROVIDE INSPECTION AUTHORITY FOR THE OFFICE OF 4
OMBUDSMAN; TO PROVIDE COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION AUTHORITY; TO 5
PROVIDE FOR AN ANNUAL REPORT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 47-5-35, 6
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PERTAINS TO THE JOINT LEGISLATIVE 7
COMMITTEE ON PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND EXPENDITURE REVIEW (PEER) 8
CORRECTIONS AUDITOR, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; TO BRING 9
FORWARD SECTION 47-5-158, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PERTAINS 10
TO THE INMATE WELFARE FUND, FOR PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; 11
AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 12
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 13
SECTION 1. Office of Corrections Ombudsman. The following 14
shall be codified as Section 47-5-36, Mississippi Code of 1972: 15
47-5-36. (1) There is hereby created the Office of 16
Ombudsman which shall be housed with staff of the PEER Committee 17
which shall be funded by a portion of the Inmate Welfare Fund: 18
(a) Within two hundred seventy (270) days of the 19
enactment date of this act, there shall be established an Office 20
of Corrections Ombudsman (referred to in this section as the 21
"office"). 22
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(b) The office shall consist of two (2) sections: the 23
Inspections Section and the Complaints Investigation Section. 24
(c) The office shall: 25
(i) Provide information, as appropriate, to 26
inmates, family members, representatives of inmates, Department of 27
Corrections' employees and contractors, and others regarding the 28
rights of inmates; 29
(ii) Monitor conditions of confinement and assess 30
Department of Corrections' compliance with applicable federal, 31
state, and local rules, regulations, policies, and best practices 32
as related to the health, safety, welfare, and rehabilitation of 33
inmates; 34
(iii) Provide technical assistance to support 35
inmate participation in self-advocacy; 36
(iv) Provide technical assistance to local 37
governments in the creation of jail oversight bodies, as 38
requested; 39
(v) Establish a statewide uniform reporting system 40
to collect and analyze data related to complaints received by the 41
Department of Corrections, and data related to the following: 42
a. Deaths, suicides, and suicide attempts in 43
custody; 44
b. Physical and sexual assaults in custody; 45
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c. Number of people placed in administrative 46
segregation or solitary confinement, and duration of stay in such 47
confinement; 48
d. Number of facility lockdowns lasting 49
longer than twenty-four (24) hours; 50
e. Number of staff vacancies at each 51
facility; 52
f. Inmate to staff ratios at each facility; 53
g. Staff tenure and turnover; 54
h. Numbers of in-person visits to inmates 55
that were made and denied at each facility; 56
i. Establish procedures to gather stakeholder 57
input into the office's activities and priorities, which must 58
include, at a minimum, an annual thirty-day period for receipt of 59
and office response to public comment; 60
j. Inspect each Department of Corrections' 61
facility at least once each year; 62
k. Publicly issue periodic facility 63
inspection reports and an annual report with recommendations on 64
the state of Department of Corrections' facilities and a summary 65
of data and recommendations arising from any complaints 66
investigated and resolved pursuant to this section, and any other 67
thematic reports covering any topic the office finds relevant to 68
running a safe, secure and humane corrections department. 69
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(d) The office shall be directed by an ombudsman, who 70
shall be selected by the Department of Corrections Oversight 71
Committee established in subsection (2) of this section, and shall 72
serve a term of six (6) years, during which term the ombudsman may 73
be removed by the Legislature for good cause. The ombudsman shall 74
not be a current or former employee or contractor of the 75
Department of Corrections, and the ombudsman's spouse or domestic 76
partner, parents, grandparents, children or siblings shall not be 77
a current employees or contractors of the Department of 78
Corrections. 79
(2) Corrections Oversight Committee. Within one hundred 80
eighty (180) days of the enactment date of this act, there shall 81
be established a Corrections Oversight Committee that shall 82
consist of the following members: 83
(a) Two (2) members of the Senate who are appointed by 84
the President of the Senate and who are not members of the same 85
political party. The President shall select one (1) of these 86
members to serve as a co-chairperson. 87
(b) Two (2) members of the House of Representatives who 88
are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and 89
who are not members of the same political party. The Speaker 90
shall select one (1) of these members to serve as co-chairperson. 91
(c) The following members, who are appointed by the 92
Governor: 93
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(i) One (1) representative of a prisoner advocacy 94
organization. 95
(ii) One (1) representative of an organization 96
that provides training or rehabilitation programs for incarcerated 97
inmates. 98
(iii) One (1) man who was formerly incarcerated in 99
the Mississippi Department of Corrections. 100
(iv) One (1) woman who was formerly incarcerated 101
in the Mississippi Department of Corrections. 102
(v) One (1) physician who is licensed pursuant to 103
Title 73, Chapter 25, and who specializes in family medicine or 104
internal medicine. 105
(vi) One (1) mental or behavioral health 106
professional who is licensed pursuant to Title 73, Chapters 30 or 107
31, and who has a history of providing mental health services or 108
counseling to adults. 109
(vii) One (1) person who is a grandparent, parent, 110
child, sibling, or spouse or domestic partner of a person 111
currently incarcerated in a Department of Corrections' facility. 112
(d) Members appointed pursuant to this subsection shall 113
serve three-year terms and be reappointed once. 114
(e) Members appointed pursuant to this subsection shall 115
not be current employees or contractors of the Department of 116
Corrections, shall not have parents, children, or spouses or 117
domestic partners who are current employees or contractors of the 118
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Department of Corrections, and shall not have been an employee or 119
contractor of the Department of Corrections at any time during the 120
10 years prior to their appointment to the committee. 121
(f) The committee shall meet whenever there is a 122
vacancy in the ombudsman position, or as the co-chairpersons deem 123
necessary, or on the call of the majority of the members. 124
(g) Committee members are not eligible to receive 125
compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of expenses. 126
(h) The committee shall announce the ombudsman nominee 127
publicly and shall vote to appoint the nominee after holding a 128
public hearing, during which the committee shall hear and consider 129
oral or written testimony from the ombudsman nominee, any 130
witnesses the ombudsman nominee presents on his or her behalf, and 131
any members of the public. The ombudsman shall take office upon a 132
majority vote of the committee in his or her favor. 133
(i) Initial terms of committee members: 134
(i) Notwithstanding paragraph (d) of this 135
subsection, the initial terms of committee members who are 136
appointed pursuant to this subsection (2), as added by this act, 137
are: 138
a. One (1) term ending January 1, 2027. 139
b. Two (2) terms ending January 1, 2028. 140
c. Two (2) terms ending January 1, 2029. 141
(ii) The Speaker and Lieutenant Governor shall 142
make all subsequent appointments as prescribed by this section. 143
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(j) The committee shall hold at least one (1) public 144
hearing each year to present, review, and discuss the office's 145
inspections, findings, reports and recommendations set forth in 146
the office's annual report, as described in this section, and 147
shall hold quarterly public hearings to present, review and 148
discuss any other data, reports or findings of the office that the 149
committee feels are relevant. 150
(3) Access to facilities and records. 151
(a) The office shall have reasonable access, upon 152
demand in person or in writing and with or without prior notice, 153
to all Department of Corrections' facilities, including all areas 154
which are used by inmates, all areas which are accessible to 155
inmates, and to programs for inmates at reasonable times, which at 156
a minimum must include normal working hours and visiting hours. 157
This authority includes the opportunity to conduct an interview 158
with any inmate, Department of Corrections' employee or 159
contractor, or other person. This access is for the purposes of: 160
(i) Providing information about individual rights 161
and the services available from the office, including the name, 162
address and telephone number of the office facilities or staff; 163
(ii) Conducting official inspections as defined in 164
subsection (5) of this section; 165
(iii) Conducting an official investigation as 166
defined in subsection (6) of this section; 167
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(iv) Inspecting, viewing, photographing, and video 168
recording all areas of the facility that are used by inmates or 169
are accessible to inmates. 170
(b) Access to inmates includes the opportunity to meet 171
and communicate privately and confidentially with individuals 172
regularly, with or without prior notice, both formally and 173
informally, by telephone, mail, electronic communication, and in 174
person. In the case of communications with inmates, these 175
communications shall not be monitored by, recorded, or conducted 176
in the presence of Department of Corrections employees or 177
contractors. 178
(c) The office has the right to access, inspect and 179
copy all relevant information, records or documents in the 180
possession or control of the Department of Corrections that the 181
office considers necessary in an investigation of a complaint 182
filed under this section, and the department shall assist the 183
office in obtaining the necessary releases for those documents 184
which are specifically restricted or privileged for use by the 185
office. 186
(d) Following notification from the office with a 187
written demand for access to department records, the designated 188
department staff must provide the office with access to the 189
requested documentation not later than twenty (20) business days 190
after the office's written request for the records. Where the 191
records requested by the office pertain to an inmate death, 192
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threats of bodily harm, including, but not limited to, sexual or 193
physical assaults, or the denial of necessary medical treatment, 194
the records shall be provided within five (5) days unless the 195
office consents to an extension of that time frame. 196
(e) The office must work with the department to 197
minimize disruption to the operations of the department due to 198
office activities and must comply with the department's security 199
clearance processes, provided these processes do not impede the 200
activities outlined in this section. 201
(4) Confidential communications. 202
(a) Correspondence and communication with the office is 203
confidential and must be protected as privileged correspondence in 204
the same manner as legal correspondence or communication. 205
(b) The office shall establish confidentiality rules 206
and procedures for all information maintained by the office to 207
ensure that: 208
(i) Department of Corrections staff are not aware 209
of the identity of a complainant before, during, and after an 210
investigation to the greatest extent practicable. The office may 211
disclose identifying information for the sole purpose of carrying 212
out an investigation. 213
(ii) Other Department of Corrections' inmates are 214
not aware of the identity of a complainant before, during, and 215
after an investigation to the greatest extent practicable. The 216
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office may disclose identifying information for the sole purpose 217
of carrying out an investigation. 218
(5) Inspection authority. 219
(a) The office shall conduct periodic inspections of 220
each Department of Corrections' facility. 221
(b) Initial inspection. The office shall conduct an 222
inspection of each Department of Corrections' prison facility and 223
release a public report within three (3) years of the date of 224
enactment of this section. 225
(c) Subsequent inspection. Subsequent inspections of 226
each facility shall be conducted on a staggered schedule dependent 227
on the facility's safety and compliance classification. 228
(d) Inspection assessment. An inspection of a 229
Department of Corrections' facility shall include an assessment of 230
all of the following: 231
(i) All policies and procedures in place by the 232
facility related to care of inmates; 233
(ii) Conditions of confinement; 234
(iii) Availability of educational and 235
rehabilitative programming, drug and mental health treatment, and 236
inmate jobs and vocational training; 237
(iv) All policies and procedures related to 238
visitation; 239
(v) All medical facilities and medical procedures 240
and policies; 241
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(vi) Review of lockdowns at the facility in the 242
time since the last audit. In the instance of an initial 243
assessment the office shall review lockdowns from the last three 244
(3) years; 245
(vii) Review of staffing at the facility, 246
including the number and job assignments of correctional staff, 247
the ratio of staff to inmates at the facility, and the staff 248
position vacancy rate at the facility; 249
(viii) Review of physical and sexual assaults at 250
the facility in the time since the last inspection. In the 251
instance of an initial assessment, the office shall review 252
assaults from the last three (3) years; 253
(ix) Review of any inmate or staff deaths that 254
occurred at the facility in the time since the last inspection. 255
In the instance of an initial assessment the office shall review 256
inmate and staff deaths from the last three (3) years; 257
(x) Review of department staff recruitment, 258
training, supervision and discipline; 259
(xi) Any other aspect of the operation of the 260
facility that the office deems necessary over the course of an 261
inspection. 262
(e) Report. Upon completion of an inspection, the 263
office shall produce a report to be made available to the public 264
on the Internet, and to be delivered to the Governor, the Attorney 265
General, the House Corrections Committee, the Senate Corrections 266
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Committee, the Criminal Justice and Corrections Oversight Task 267
Force, and the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections. The 268
report shall include: 269
(i) A summary of the facility's policies and 270
procedures related to care of the inmates; 271
(ii) A characterization of the conditions of 272
confinement; 273
(iii) A catalogue of available educational and 274
rehabilitative programming, drug and mental health treatment, and 275
inmate jobs and vocational training; 276
(iv) A summary of visitation policies and 277
procedures; 278
(v) A summary of medical facilities and medical 279
procedures and policies; 280
(vi) A summary of the lockdowns reviewed by the 281
office; 282
(vii) A summary of the staffing at the facility, 283
including policies relating to staff recruitment, training, 284
supervision, and discipline; 285
(viii) A summary of physical and sexual assaults 286
reviewed by the office; 287
(ix) A summary of any inmate or staff deaths that 288
occurred at the facility; 289
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(x) Recommendations made to the facility to 290
improve conditions to improve safety and conditions within the 291
facility; 292
(xi) Safety and compliance classification with 293
recommended timeline for the next inspection. 294
(f) Safety and compliance classification. Upon 295
completion of an inspection, the office shall assign the facility 296
a safety and compliance classification. This classification 297
system will be divided into three (3) tiers and will be determined 298
based on the factors described in paragraph (d) of this 299
subsection. The tiers are as follows: 300
(i) Tier 1 requires subsequent inspection within 301
twelve (12) months. Used for maximum security facilities and 302
facilities that present clear violations of rights, risks to the 303
safety of prisoners, or severe lack of quality programming for the 304
successful rehabilitation of individuals; 305
(ii) Tier 2 requires subsequent inspection between 306
eighteen (18) months and thirty-six (36) months. Used for 307
facilities that may have violations of rights, substandard 308
conditions of confinement, or substandard programming options; 309
(iii) Tier 3 requires subsequent inspection within 310
thirty-six (36) months. Used for facilities with adequate 311
conditions of confinement and programming options. 312
(g) The Department of Corrections shall respond in 313
writing to each inspection report issued by the office within 314
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twenty (20) business days of the issuance of the report, and its 315
response shall include a corrective action plan. The office shall 316
monitor the department's compliance with the corrective action 317
plan and may conduct further inspections or investigations as 318
necessary to ensure such compliance. 319
(6) Complaint investigation authority. 320
(a) The office may initiate and attempt to resolve an 321
investigation upon its own initiative, or upon receipt of a 322
complaint from an inmate, a family member, a representative of an 323
inmate, a Department of Corrections' employee or contractor, or 324
others, regarding any of the following that may adversely affect 325
the health, safety, welfare and rights of inmates: 326
(i) Abuse or neglect; 327
(ii) Conditions of confinement; 328
(iii) Department of Corrections' decisions or 329
administrative actions; 330
(iv) Department of Corrections' inactions or 331
omissions; 332
(v) Department of Corrections' policies, rules, or 333
procedures; or 334
(vi) Alleged violations of law by the Department 335
of Corrections' staff that may adversely affect the health, 336
safety, welfare and rights of inmates. 337
(b) The office may decline to investigate any 338
complaint, and shall decline to investigate a complaint if the 339
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inmate has failed to first utilize the Department of Corrections' 340
policies and procedures regarding resolution of inmate grievances. 341
If the office does not investigate a complaint, the office shall 342
notify the complainant in writing of the decision not to 343
investigate and the reasons for the decision. 344
(c) Any action or lack of action on a complaint by the 345
office shall not be deemed an administrative procedure required 346
for exhaustion of remedies prior to bringing an action pursuant to 347
the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 USC Section 1997e et seq. 348
(d) The office may not investigate any complaints 349
relating to an inmate's underlying criminal conviction. 350
(e) The office may not investigate a complaint from a 351
Department of Corrections' employee or contractor that relates to 352
the employee or contractor's employment relationship with the 353
department unless the complaint is related to the health, safety, 354
welfare and rehabilitation of inmates. 355
(f) The office may refer the complainant and others to 356
appropriate resources or state, Tribal or federal agencies. 357
(g) The office may not levy any fees for the submission 358
or investigation of complaints. 359
(h) At the conclusion of an investigation of a 360
complaint, the office must render a public decision on the merits 361
of each complaint, except that the documents supporting the 362
decision are subject to the confidentiality provision of this 363
section. The office must communicate the decision to the inmate, 364
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if any, and to the Department of Corrections. The office must 365
state its recommendations and reasoning if, in the office's 366
opinion, the department or any employee or contractor thereof 367
should: 368
(i) Consider the matter further; 369
(ii) Modify or cancel any action; 370
(iii) Alter a rule, practice, or ruling; 371
(iv) Explain in detail the administrative action 372
in question; or 373
(v) Rectify an omission. 374
(i) If the office so requests, the department must, 375
within the time specified, inform the office in writing about any 376
action taken on the recommendations or the reasons for not 377
complying with the recommendations. 378
(j) If the office believes, based on the investigation, 379
that there has been or continues to be a significant inmate 380
health, safety, welfare, or rehabilitation issue, the office must 381
report the finding to the Governor, the Attorney General, the 382
Chairpersons of the House and Senate Corrections Committees, and 383
the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections. 384
(k) In the event that the department conducts an 385
internal disciplinary investigation and review of one or more of 386
its staff members as a result of an office investigation, the 387
department's disciplinary review may be subject to additional 388
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review and investigation by the office to ensure a fair and 389
objective process. 390
(l) Before announcing a conclusion or recommendation 391
that expressly, or by implication, criticizes a person or the 392
department, the office shall consult with that person or the 393
department. The office may request to be notified by the 394
department, within a specified time, of any action taken on any 395
recommendation presented. 396
(m) The department and its employees and contractors 397
shall not discharge, discipline, retaliate against, or in any 398
manner discriminate against or threaten any person because such 399
person has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be 400
instituted any proceeding under or related to this section. Any 401
alleged discharge, discipline, retaliation against, or 402
discrimination or threats against a complainant may be considered 403
by the office as an appropriate subject of an investigation. 404
(7) Annual report. 405
(a) By December 31 of each calendar year, the office 406
shall produce an annual report to be made available to the public 407
on the Internet, and to be delivered to the Governor, the Attorney 408
General, the Chairpersons of the House and Senate Corrections 409
Committees, and the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections. 410
The report shall include: 411
(i) A summary of the office's inspections and 412
complaint investigations conducted that calendar year, including 413
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the office's findings and recommendations and the Department of 414
Corrections' responses and corrective actions; 415
(ii) A characterization of the conditions of 416
confinement; 417
(iii) A summary of available educational and 418
rehabilitative programming, drug and mental health treatment, and 419
inmate jobs and vocational training; 420
(iv) A summary of visitation policies and 421
procedures; 422
(v) A summary of medical facilities and medical 423
procedures and policies; 424
(vi) A summary of the lockdowns reviewed by the 425
office; 426
(vii) A summary of the staffing at each facility 427
and in the department overall; 428
(viii) A summary of physical and sexual assaults 429
reviewed by the office; 430
(ix) A summary of any inmate or staff deaths that 431
occurred at a facility; 432
(x) A summary of the office's investigations, 433
findings, and resolutions of any complaints submitted to it; 434
(xi) Recommendations to the Legislature and the 435
department regarding, but not limited to, the following: 436
1. How the office and the department are 437
funded and staffed; 438
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2. Improving staff retention, training, 439
working conditions, compensation, benefits, morale and safety; 440
3. Improving inmate health, safety, 441
conditions of confinement, and medical care; 442
4. Improving visitation and limiting use of 443
lockdowns and administrative segregation or solitary confinement; 444
5. Improving complaint investigation and 445
resolution; 446
6. Improving access to and quality and 447
availability of educational and rehabilitative programming, drug 448
and mental health treatment, and inmate jobs and vocational 449
training; 450
7. Improving transparency about conditions in 451
the facilities and the department overall; 452
8. Improving the disciplinary process to hold 453
staff accountable for mistreatment of inmates; 454
9. Preventing future violations of inmate 455
rights as protected under state and federal law. 456
(b) If the office so requests, the department must, 457
within the time specified, inform the office in writing about any 458
action taken on the recommendations or the reasons for not 459
complying with the recommendations. 460
(8) Definition of "family member." As used in this section, 461
"family member" includes a grandparent, parent, sibling, spouse or 462
domestic partner, child, aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew, 463
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grandchild, or any other person related to an individual by blood, 464
adoption, marriage, or a fostering relationship. 465
SECTION 2. Section 47-5-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 466
brought forward as follows: 467
47-5-35. The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance 468
Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) shall appoint an auditor 469
to audit the correctional system, and provide sufficient office 470
facilities in the Jackson office, who shall be a certified public 471
accountant or an experienced accountant, whose duty shall be to 472
audit all accounts of the state correctional system for the 473
purpose of reporting to the Legislative Budget Office. He shall 474
report whether supplies and products bought and sold are handled 475
in accordance with law and when bought on samples and 476
specifications whether they measure up to such samples and 477
specifications when the goods are received. The auditor shall 478
report on the letting of bids and shall make a determination that 479
all bids are advertised and let in accordance with law and shall 480
render a report on same. The auditor shall be responsible to make 481
a periodic inventory on all goods, machinery, livestock, farm 482
produce or any other property of the correctional system and make 483
a report thereon to the Legislative Budget Office on such terms 484
and conditions and as often as required by the committee. The 485
salaries and expenses of such auditor or his employees shall be 486
paid from funds appropriated for support of the Legislature or its 487
committees. 488
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Such auditor shall make, at least, a monthly report to the 489
Legislative Budget Office and the Chairman of the Corrections 490
Committee of the Senate and the Chairman of the Penitentiary 491
Committee in the House of Representatives. 492
The auditor shall attend all the meetings of the board and 493
shall be notified by the board of all meetings or specially called 494
meetings. The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance 495
Evaluation and Expenditure Review shall provide the auditor with a 496
secretary and such personnel as it deems necessary. 497
SECTION 3. Section 47-5-158, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 498
brought forward as follows: 499
47-5-158. (1) The department is authorized to maintain a 500
bank account which shall be designated as the Inmate Welfare Fund. 501
All monies now held in a similar fund or in a bank account or 502
accounts for the benefit and welfare of inmates shall be deposited 503
into the Inmate Welfare Fund. This fund shall be used for the 504
benefit and welfare of inmates in the custody of the department 505
and shall be expended in accordance with any provisions or 506
restrictions in the regulations promulgated under subsection (7) 507
of this section. 508
(2) There shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund 509
interest previously earned on inmate deposits, all net profits 510
from the operation of inmate canteens, performances of the 511
Penitentiary band, interest earned on the Inmate Welfare Fund and 512
other revenues designated by the commissioner. All monies shall 513
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be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund as provided in Section 514
7-9-21. 515
(3) All inmate telephone call commissions shall be paid to 516
the department. Monies in the fund may be expended by the 517
department, upon requisition by the commissioner or his designee, 518
only for the purposes established in this subsection. 519
(a) Twenty-five percent (25%) of the inmate telephone 520
call commissions shall be used to purchase and maintain 521
telecommunication equipment to be used by the department. 522
(b) Until July 1, 2008, twenty-five percent (25%) of 523
the inmate telephone call commissions shall be deposited into the 524
Prison Agricultural Enterprise Fund. Beginning on July 1, 2008, 525
thirty-five percent (35%) of the inmate telephone call commissions 526
shall be deposited into the Prison Agricultural Enterprise Fund. 527
The department may use these funds to supplement the Prison 528
Agricultural Enterprise Fund created in Section 47-5-66. 529
(c) Forty percent (40%) of the inmate telephone call 530
commissions shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund. 531
(4) The commissioner may invest in the manner authorized by 532
law any money in the Inmate Welfare Fund that is not necessary for 533
immediate use, and the interest earned shall be deposited in the 534
Inmate Welfare Fund. 535
(5) The Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Finance 536
shall establish and implement internal accounting controls for the 537
Inmate Welfare Fund that comply with generally accepted accounting 538
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principles and regulations of the Department of Finance and 539
Administration. The Deputy Commissioner for Administration and 540
Finance shall prepare and issue quarterly consolidated and 541
individual facility financial statements to the prison auditor of 542
the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and 543
Expenditure Review. The deputy commissioner shall prepare an 544
annual report which shall include a summary of expenditures from 545
the fund by major categories and by individual facility. This 546
annual report shall be sent to the prison auditor, the Legislative 547
Budget Office, the Chairman of the Corrections Committee of the 548
Senate, and the Chairman of the Corrections Committee of the House 549
of Representatives. 550
(6) (a) A portion of the Inmate Welfare Fund shall be 551
deposited in the Discharged Offenders Revolving Fund, as created 552
under Section 47-5-155, in amounts necessary to provide a balance 553
not to exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) in the 554
Discharged Offenders Revolving Fund, and shall be used to 555
supplement those amounts paid to discharged, paroled or pardoned 556
offenders from the department. The superintendent of the Parchman 557
facility shall establish equitable criteria for the making of 558
supplemental payments which shall not exceed Two Hundred Dollars 559
($200.00) for any offender. The supplemental payments shall be 560
subject to the approval of the commissioner. The State Treasurer 561
shall not be required to replenish the Discharged Offenders 562
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Revolving Fund for the supplemental payments made to discharged, 563
paroled or pardoned offenders. 564
(b) A portion of the Inmate Welfare Fund shall be 565
deposited into the Inmate Incentive to Work Program Fund, as 566
created under Section 47-5-371, in amounts necessary to provide a 567
balance not to exceed One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) in the 568
fund. Such fund shall be utilized to pay inmates who are 569
participants in the Inmate Incentive to Work Program as created 570
under Section 47-5-371. 571
(7) (a) The Inmate Welfare Fund Committee is hereby created 572
and shall be composed of nine (9) members: The Deputy 573
Commissioner for Community Corrections, the Deputy Commissioner of 574
Institutions, the Superintendent of the Parchman facility, the 575
Superintendent of the Rankin County facility, the Superintendent 576
of the Greene County facility, the State Treasurer, the State 577
Auditor, and two (2) members to be appointed by the Commissioner 578
of Corrections, one (1) of whom must have a relative incarcerated 579
by the department at the time of appointment and shall be a 580
representative of inmate families. The commissioner shall appoint 581
the chairman of the committee. The committee shall administer and 582
supervise the operations and expenditures from the Inmate Welfare 583
Fund and shall maintain an official minute book upon which shall 584
be spread its authorization and approval for all such 585
expenditures. The committee shall promulgate regulations 586
governing the use and expenditures of the fund. 587
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(b) Regulations adopted shall set out what types of 588
items shall be allowable purchases, and in all cases, the minutes 589
of the committee shall explain which regulation permits any 590
purchase it approves. Additionally, regulations of the committee 591
shall prescribe the number of members necessary to constitute a 592
quorum, minimum attendance requirements for a member to retain a 593
seat on the committee, and a mission statement for the committee. 594
(c) The committee shall conduct an annual needs 595
assessment to determine what types of items should be purchased 596
for the benefit of inmates. The needs assessments shall be 597
conducted with the assistance of the department personnel, inmates 598
and the families of inmates. 599
(d) The committee shall evaluate the proposals of 600
interested third parties for the administration of inmate canteen 601
services as provided in Section 47-5-109.1. 602
(e) The committee shall expend necessary funds to 603
assist parole eligible inmates who have been diagnosed with a 604
mental illness while housed within a state correctional facility 605
so that such inmates may receive outpatient services and 606
community-based services to treat the mental illness of such 607
inmates. 608
(8) The Department of Audit shall conduct an annual 609
comprehensive special audit of the committee's use of the Inmate 610
Welfare Fund. The department shall incorporate in its special 611
audit report any recommendations it has concerning the financial 612
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ST: Office of Corrections Ombudsman; establish.
and management control practices of the committee. The department 613
shall report its findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of 614
the Senate and House Corrections Committees. 615
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from 616
and after July 1, 2026. 617