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To: Workforce Development;
Corrections
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representatives Taylor, Hulum
HOUSE BILL NO. 627
AN ACT TO REQUIRE EACH COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT THAT HAS AN 1
AFFILIATED DISTRICT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL AND EACH WORK 2
FORCE DEVELOPMENT CENTER TO PROVIDE TRAINING WITH ITS MOBILE 3
TRAINING UNITS AT REGIONAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES FOR ELIGIBLE 4
NONVIOLENT INMATES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-153-9 AND 37-153-11, 5
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; TO 6
BRING FORWARD SECTION 47-5-931, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR 7
PURPOSES OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 9
SECTION 1. Each community college district that has an 10
affiliated District Workforce Development Council and each 11
workforce development center shall coordinate efforts to utilize 12
the community college mobile training units at each regional 13
correctional facility in the state. The mobile training units, 14
which include, but are not limited to welding, shall be provided 15
to a correctional facility along with the necessary instructors 16
for at least ninety (90) days at each regional correctional 17
facility for the training of nonviolent offenders who are housed 18
at a regional correctional facility. 19
SECTION 2. Section 37-153-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 20
amended as follows: 21
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37-153-9. (1) In accordance with the federal Workforce 22
Investment Act of 1998, there shall be established, for each of 23
the four (4) state workforce areas prescribed in Section 37-153-3 24
(2)(c), a local workforce investment board to set policy for the 25
portion of the state workforce investment system within the local 26
area and carry out the provisions of the Workforce Investment Act. 27
(2) Each community college district shall have an affiliated 28
District Workforce Development Council. The district council 29
shall be composed of a diverse group of fifteen (15) persons 30
appointed by the board of trustees of the affiliated public 31
community or junior college. The members of each district council 32
shall be selected from persons recommended by the chambers of 33
commerce, employee groups, industrial foundations, community 34
organizations and local governments located in the community 35
college district of the affiliated community college with one (1) 36
appointee being involved in basic literacy training. However, at 37
least eight (8) members of each district council shall be chief 38
executive officers, plant managers that are representatives of 39
employers in that district or service sector executives. The 40
District Workforce Development Council affiliated with each 41
respective community or junior college shall advise the president 42
of the community or junior college on the operation of its 43
workforce development center/one-stop center. 44
The Workforce Development Council shall have the following 45
advisory duties: 46
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(a) To develop an integrated and coordinated district 47
workforce investment strategic plan that: 48
(i) Identifies workforce investment needs through 49
job and employee assessments of local business and industry; 50
(ii) Sets short-term and long-term goals for 51
industry-specific training and upgrading and for general 52
development of the workforce; and 53
(iii) Provides for coordination of all training 54
programs, including ABE/High School Equivalency Diploma, Skills 55
Enhancement and Industrial Services, and shall work 56
collaboratively with the State Literacy Resource Center; 57
(b) To coordinate and integrate delivery of training as 58
provided by the workforce development plan; 59
(c) To assist business and industry management in the 60
transition to a high-powered, quality organization; 61
(d) To encourage continuous improvement through 62
evaluation and assessment; * * * 63
(e) To oversee development of an extensive marketing 64
plan to the employer community * * * ;and 65
(f) To coordinate and integrate delivery of training 66
of certain nonviolent offenders as provided under Section 1 of 67
this act. 68
SECTION 3. Section 37-153-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 69
amended as follows: 70
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37-153-11. (1) There are created workforce development 71
centers to provide assessment, training and placement services to 72
individuals needing retraining, training and upgrading for small 73
business and local industry. Each workforce development center 74
shall be affiliated with a separate public community or junior 75
college district and shall coordinate with the Office of Workforce 76
Development. 77
(2) Each workforce development center shall be staffed and 78
organized locally by the affiliated community college. The 79
workforce development center shall serve as staff to the 80
affiliated district council. 81
(3) Each workforce development center, working in concert 82
with its affiliated district council, shall offer and arrange 83
services to accomplish the purposes of this article, including, 84
but not limited to, the following: 85
(a) For individuals needing training and retraining: 86
(i) Recruiting, assessing, counseling and 87
referring to training or jobs; 88
(ii) Preemployment training for those with no 89
experience in the private enterprise system; 90
(iii) Basic literacy skills training and high 91
school equivalency education; 92
(iv) Vocational and technical training, full-time 93
or part-time; and 94
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(v) Short-term skills training for educationally 95
and economically disadvantaged adults in cooperation with 96
federally established employment and training programs; 97
(b) For specific small businesses, industries or firms 98
within the district: 99
(i) Job analysis, testing and curriculum 100
development; 101
(ii) Development of specific long-range training 102
plans; 103
(iii) Industry or firm-related preemployment 104
training; 105
(iv) Workplace basic skills and literacy training; 106
(v) Customized skills training; 107
(vi) Assistance in developing the capacity for 108
total quality management training; 109
(vii) Technology transfer information and referral 110
services to business of local applications of new research in 111
cooperation with the University Research Center, the state's 112
universities and other laboratories; and 113
(viii) Development of business plans; 114
(c) For public schools within the district technical 115
assistance to secondary schools in curriculum coordination, 116
development of tech prep programs, instructional development and 117
resource coordination; * * * 118
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(d) For economic development, a local forum and 119
resource center for all local industrial development groups to 120
meet and promote regional economic development * * * ; and 121
(e) Training of nonviolent offenders in regional 122
correctional facilities as prescribed under Section 1 of this act. 123
(4) Each workforce development center shall compile and make 124
accessible to the Office of Workforce Development and Mississippi 125
State Workforce Investment Board necessary information for use in 126
evaluating outcomes of its efforts and in improving the quality of 127
programs at each community college, and shall include information 128
on literacy initiatives. Each workforce development center shall, 129
through an interagency management information system, maintain 130
records on new small businesses, placement, length of time on the 131
job after placement and wage rates of those placed in a form 132
containing such information as established by the state council. 133
(5) The Mississippi Community College Board is authorized to 134
designate one or more workforce development centers at the request 135
of affiliated community or junior colleges to provide skills 136
training to individuals to enhance their ability to be employed in 137
the motion picture industry in this state. 138
SECTION 4. Section 47-5-931, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 139
brought forward as follows: 140
47-5-931. (1) (a) The Department of Corrections, in its 141
discretion, may contract with the board of supervisors of one or 142
more counties or with a regional facility operated by one or more 143
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counties, to provide for housing, care and control of offenders 144
who are in the custody of the State of Mississippi. Any facility 145
owned or leased by a county or counties for this purpose shall be 146
designed, constructed, operated and maintained in accordance with 147
American Correctional Association standards, and shall comply with 148
all constitutional standards of the United States and the State of 149
Mississippi, and with all court orders that may now or hereinafter 150
be applicable to the facility. If the Department of Corrections 151
contracts with more than one (1) county to house state offenders 152
in county correctional facilities, excluding a regional facility, 153
then the first of such facilities shall be constructed in Sharkey 154
County and the second of such facilities shall be constructed in 155
Jefferson County. 156
(b) In addition to the authority granted under this 157
subsection, the Department of Corrections may contract with 158
Forrest County and Wayne County to provide for the housing, care 159
and control of offenders who are in the custody of the State of 160
Mississippi. 161
(2) The Department of Corrections shall contract with the 162
board of supervisors of the following counties to house state 163
inmates in regional facilities: (a) Marion and Walthall Counties; 164
(b) Carroll and Montgomery Counties; (c) Stone and Pearl River 165
Counties; (d) Winston and Choctaw Counties; (e) Kemper and Neshoba 166
Counties; (f) Alcorn County and any contiguous county in which 167
there is located an unapproved jail; (g) Yazoo County and any 168
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contiguous county in which there is located an unapproved jail; 169
(h) Chickasaw County and any contiguous county in which there is 170
located an unapproved jail; (i) George and Greene Counties and any 171
contiguous county in which there is located an unapproved jail; 172
(j) Washington County and any contiguous county in which there is 173
located an unapproved jail; (k) Hinds County and any contiguous 174
county in which there is located an unapproved jail; (l) Leake 175
County and any contiguous county in which there is located an 176
unapproved jail; (m) Issaquena County and any contiguous county in 177
which there is located an unapproved jail; (n) Jefferson County 178
and any contiguous county in which there is located an unapproved 179
jail; (o) Franklin County and any contiguous county in which there 180
is located an unapproved jail; (p) Holmes County and any 181
contiguous county in which there is located an unapproved jail; 182
and (q) Bolivar County and any contiguous county in which there is 183
located an unapproved jail. The Department of Corrections shall 184
decide the order of priority of the counties listed in this 185
subsection with which it will contract for the housing of state 186
inmates. For the purposes of this subsection, the term 187
"unapproved jail" means any jail that the local grand jury 188
determines should be condemned or has found to be of substandard 189
condition or in need of substantial repair or reconstruction. 190
(3) In addition to the offenders authorized to be housed 191
under subsection (1) of this section, the Department of 192
Corrections may contract with any regional facility to provide for 193
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ST: Workforce training, certain; provide for
nonviolent offenders in regional correctional
facilities.
housing, care and control of not more than seventy-five (75) 194
additional offenders who are in the custody of the State of 195
Mississippi. 196
(4) The Governor and the Commissioner of Corrections are 197
authorized to increase administratively the number of offenders 198
who are in the custody of the State of Mississippi that can be 199
placed in regional correctional facilities. 200
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from 201
and after July 1, 2026. 202