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S. B. No. 2209 *SS36/R188* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
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To: Universities and
Colleges
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Senator(s) Simmons (12th)
SENATE BILL NO. 2209
AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE 1
BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO 2
COORDINATE TO PROVIDE ENHANCED SECURITY MEASURES AND PROMOTE 3
COLLABORATION AMONG LAW ENFORCEMENT ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES FOR 4
LARGE EVENTS; TO PRESCRIBE DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC 5
SAFETY UNDER THIS ACT; TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE 6
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO REQUIRE EACH INSTITUTION OF 7
HIGHER LEARNING TO POST A PROMINENT LINK TO THE TIP SUBMISSION 8
PLATFORM DEVELOPED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY; TO AMEND 9
SECTION 45-1-2, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE 10
COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC SAFETY TO APPOINT A STATEWIDE SAFETY 11
TRAINING OFFICER WHOSE DUTY IT SHALL BE TO PERFORM PUBLIC TRAINING 12
FOR CAMPUS LAW ENFORCEMENT; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 45-1-3, 13
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; TO BRING FORWARD 14
SECTION 37-101-15, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR POSSIBLE 15
AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 16
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 17
SECTION 1. (1) The Department of Public Safety and the 18
Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall 19
coordinate to provide enhanced security measures and promote 20
collaboration among law enforcement on university campuses for 21
large events. The Department of Public Safety shall have the 22
ultimate authority for oversight of the administration of this 23
act. 24
(2) The Department of Public Safety shall: 25
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(a) Strengthen campus law enforcement coordination, 26
ensuring that university, municipal, county and state law 27
enforcement operate in a unified command during high-risk events; 28
(b) Formalize intelligence sharing, joint patrols, and 29
rapid response protocols for all law enforcement; 30
(c) Ensure the implementation of stricter access 31
control and screening at large events; 32
(d) Adopt threat assessment and behavioral monitoring 33
to proactively identify individuals or patterns of behavior that 34
signal risk, ensuring opportunities for early intervention; 35
(e) Ensure adequate support for mental health and 36
conflict resolution resources, expanding counseling, mediation, 37
and conflict de-escalation training for law enforcement; 38
(f) Promote community and student engagement, utilizing 39
awareness campaigns, anonymous tip lines, safety ambassadors, and 40
peer-to-peer accountability; and 41
(g) Develop, in coordination with the Department of 42
Information Technology Services, a tip submission platform, with 43
the option of anonymity provided to the submitter. 44
(3) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher 45
Learning shall require all of the institutions of higher learning 46
to publish a prominent link on their own websites to the tip 47
submission platform developed by the Department of Public Safety. 48
SECTION 2. Section 45-1-2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 49
amended as follows: 50
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45-1-2. (1) The Executive Director of the Department of 51
Public Safety shall be the Commissioner of Public Safety. 52
(2) The Commissioner of Public Safety shall establish the 53
organizational structure of the Department of Public Safety, which 54
shall include the creation of any units necessary to implement the 55
duties assigned to the department and consistent with specific 56
requirements of law including, but not limited to: 57
(a) Office of Public Safety Planning; 58
(b) Office of Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol; 59
(c) Office of Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (to 60
be directed by a Lieutenant Colonel of the Mississippi Highway 61
Safety Patrol); 62
(d) Office of Forensic Laboratories, which includes the 63
Mississippi Forensics Laboratory and the Office of the State 64
Medical Examiner; 65
(e) Office of Law Enforcement Officers' Training 66
Academy; 67
(f) Office of Support Services; 68
(g) Office of Narcotics, which shall be known as the 69
Bureau of Narcotics; 70
(h) Office of Homeland Security; 71
(i) Office of Capitol Police; 72
(j) Office of Driver Service Bureau; and 73
(k) Office of Commercial Transportation Enforcement 74
Division. 75
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(3) The department shall be headed by a commissioner, who 76
shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. 77
The appointment of the commissioner shall be made with the advice 78
and consent of the Senate. The commissioner shall have, at a 79
minimum, a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or 80
university. 81
(4) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, 82
the commissioner shall appoint heads of offices, who shall serve 83
at the pleasure of the commissioner. The commissioner shall have 84
the authority to organize the offices established by subsection 85
(2) of this section as deemed appropriate to carry out the 86
responsibilities of the department. The commissioner may assign 87
to the appropriate offices such powers and duties as deemed 88
appropriate to carry out the department's lawful functions. The 89
organization charts of the department shall be presented annually 90
with the budget request of the Governor for review by the 91
Legislature. 92
(5) The commissioner shall appoint, from within the 93
Department of Public Safety, a statewide safety training officer 94
who shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner and whose duty 95
it shall be to perform public training for both law enforcement 96
and private persons throughout the state concerning proper 97
emergency response to the mentally ill, terroristic threats or 98
acts, domestic conflict, other conflict resolution, and such other 99
matters as the commissioner may direct. 100
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(6) The commissioner shall appoint, from within the 101
Department of Public Safety, a statewide safety training officer 102
who shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner and whose duty 103
it shall be to perform public training for campus law enforcement 104
to effectuate the purposes of Section 1 of this act. 105
( * * *7) The commissioner, after consultation with the 106
Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police and the Mississippi 107
Sheriffs' Association, shall be responsible for establishing 108
guidelines for response to active shooter situations and any 109
related jurisdictional issues. 110
( * * *8) The commissioner shall establish within the 111
department the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security for the 112
purpose of seeing that the laws are faithfully executed and for 113
the purpose of investigating cyber-related crimes and suppressing 114
crimes of violence and acts of intimidation and terror. The 115
commissioner is hereby authorized to employ within the Office of 116
Homeland Security a director, investigators and other qualified 117
personnel as he may deem necessary to make investigation of 118
cyber-related crimes, crimes of violence and acts of terrorism or 119
intimidation, to aid in the arrest and prosecution of persons 120
charged with such cyber-related crimes, crimes of violence, acts 121
of terrorism or intimidation, or threats of violence and to 122
perform other duties as necessary to accomplish these purposes. 123
Investigators and other law enforcement personnel employed by the 124
commissioner shall have full power to investigate, apprehend, and 125
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arrest persons committing cyber-related crimes, acts of violence, 126
intimidation, or terrorism anywhere in the state, and shall be 127
vested with the power of police officers in the performance of 128
such duties as provided herein. Such investigators and other 129
personnel shall perform their duties under the direction of the 130
commissioner, or his designee. The commissioner shall be 131
authorized to offer and pay suitable rewards to other persons for 132
aiding in such investigation and in the apprehension and 133
conviction of persons charged with cyber-related crimes, acts of 134
violence, or threats of violence, or intimidation, or acts of 135
terrorism. 136
( * * *9) The commissioner shall establish within the Office 137
of Homeland Security a Mississippi Analysis and Information Center 138
(MSAIC Fusion Center) which shall be the highest priority for the 139
allocation of available federal resources for statewide 140
information sharing, including the deployment of personnel and 141
connectivity with federal data systems. Subject to appropriation 142
therefor, the Mississippi Fusion Center shall employ three (3) 143
regional analysts dedicated to analyzing and resolving potential 144
threats identified by the agency's statewide social media 145
intelligence platform and the dissemination of school safety 146
information. 147
SECTION 3. Section 45-1-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 148
brought forward as follows: 149
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45-1-3. (1) When not otherwise specifically provided, the 150
commissioner is authorized to make and promulgate reasonable rules 151
and regulations to be coordinated, and carry out the general 152
provisions of the Highway Safety Patrol and Driver's License Law 153
of 1938. 154
(2) The commissioner shall have the authority to administer 155
oaths. 156
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, with written 157
approval from the Executive Director of the Department of Finance 158
and Administration, the commissioner may enter into a lease or 159
sublease agreement for space in the Department of Public Safety 160
headquarters building with a third party for the purpose of 161
providing services and assistance to the department and its 162
employees. The proceeds received from the lease under this 163
subsection shall be paid to the State Treasurer for deposit into 164
the General Fund. 165
SECTION 4. Section 37-101-15, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 166
brought forward as follows: 167
37-101-15. (a) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions 168
of Higher Learning shall succeed to and continue to exercise 169
control of all records, books, papers, equipment, and supplies, 170
and all lands, buildings, and other real and personal property 171
belonging to or assigned to the use and benefit of the board of 172
trustees formerly supervising and controlling the institutions of 173
higher learning named in Section 37-101-1. The board shall have 174
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and exercise control of the use, distribution and disbursement of 175
all funds, appropriations and taxes, now and hereafter in 176
possession, levied and collected, received, or appropriated for 177
the use, benefit, support, and maintenance or capital outlay 178
expenditures of the institutions of higher learning, including the 179
authorization of employees to sign vouchers for the disbursement 180
of funds for the various institutions, except where otherwise 181
specifically provided by law. 182
(b) The board shall have general supervision of the affairs 183
of all the institutions of higher learning, including the 184
departments and the schools thereof. The board shall have the 185
power in its discretion to determine who shall be privileged to 186
enter, to remain in, or to graduate therefrom. The board shall 187
have general supervision of the conduct of libraries and 188
laboratories, the care of dormitories, buildings, and grounds; the 189
business methods and arrangement of accounts and records; the 190
organization of the administrative plan of each institution; and 191
all other matters incident to the proper functioning of the 192
institutions. The board shall have the authority to establish 193
minimum standards of achievement as a prerequisite for entrance 194
into any of the institutions under its jurisdiction, which 195
standards need not be uniform between the various institutions and 196
which may be based upon such criteria as the board may establish. 197
(c) The board shall exercise all the powers and prerogatives 198
conferred upon it under the laws establishing and providing for 199
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the operation of the several institutions herein specified. The 200
board shall adopt such bylaws and regulations from time to time as 201
it deems expedient for the proper supervision and control of the 202
several institutions of higher learning, insofar as such bylaws 203
and regulations are not repugnant to the Constitution and laws, 204
and not inconsistent with the object for which these institutions 205
were established. The board shall have power and authority to 206
prescribe rules and regulations for policing the campuses and all 207
buildings of the respective institutions, to authorize the arrest 208
of all persons violating on any campus any criminal law of the 209
state, and to have such law violators turned over to the civil 210
authorities. 211
(d) For all institutions specified herein, the board shall 212
provide a uniform system of recording and of accounting approved 213
by the State Department of Audit. The board shall annually 214
prepare, or cause to be prepared, a budget for each institution of 215
higher learning for the succeeding year which must be prepared and 216
in readiness for at least thirty (30) days before the convening of 217
the regular session of the Legislature. All relationships and 218
negotiations between the State Legislature and its various 219
committees and the institutions named herein shall be carried on 220
through the board of trustees. No official, employee or agent 221
representing any of the separate institutions shall appear before 222
the Legislature or any committee thereof except upon the written 223
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order of the board or upon the request of the Legislature or a 224
committee thereof. 225
(e) For all institutions specified herein, the board shall 226
prepare an annual report to the Legislature setting forth the 227
disbursements of all monies appropriated to the respective 228
institutions. Each report to the Legislature shall show how the 229
money appropriated to the several institutions has been expended, 230
beginning and ending with the fiscal years of the institutions, 231
showing the name of each teacher, officer, and employee, and the 232
salary paid each, and an itemized statement of each and every item 233
of receipts and expenditures. Each report must be balanced, and 234
must begin with the former balance. If any property belonging to 235
the state or the institution is used for profit, the reports shall 236
show the expense incurred in managing the property and the amount 237
received therefrom. The reports shall also show a summary of the 238
gross receipts and gross disbursements for each year and shall 239
show the money on hand at the beginning of the fiscal period of 240
the institution next preceding each session of the Legislature and 241
the necessary amount of expense to be incurred from said date to 242
January 1 following. The board shall keep the annual expenditures 243
of each institution herein mentioned within the income derived 244
from legislative appropriations and other sources, but in case of 245
emergency arising from acts of providence, epidemics, fire or 246
storm with the written approval of the Governor and by written 247
consent of a majority of the senators and of the representatives 248
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it may exceed the income. The board shall require a surety bond 249
in a surety company authorized to do business in this state of 250
every employee who is the custodian of funds belonging to one or 251
more of the institutions mentioned herein, which bond shall be in 252
a sum to be fixed by the board in an amount that will properly 253
safeguard the said funds, the premium for which shall be paid out 254
of the funds appropriated for said institutions. 255
(f) The board shall have the power and authority to elect 256
the heads of the various institutions of higher learning and to 257
contract with all deans, professors, and other members of the 258
teaching staff, and all administrative employees of said 259
institutions for a term not exceeding four (4) years. The board 260
shall have the power and authority to terminate any such contract 261
at any time for malfeasance, inefficiency, or contumacious 262
conduct, but never for political reasons. It shall be the policy 263
of the board to permit the executive head of each institution to 264
nominate for election by the board all subordinate employees of 265
the institution over which he presides. It shall be the policy of 266
the board to elect all officials for a definite tenure of service 267
and to reelect during the period of satisfactory service. The 268
board shall have the power to make any adjustments it thinks 269
necessary between the various departments and schools of any 270
institution or between the different institutions. 271
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(g) The board shall keep complete minutes and records of all 272
proceedings which shall be open for inspection by any citizen of 273
the state. 274
(h) The board shall have the power to enter into an energy 275
performance contract, energy services contract, on a 276
shared-savings, lease or lease-purchase basis, for energy 277
efficiency services and/or equipment as prescribed in Section 278
31-7-14. 279
(i) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher 280
Learning, for and on behalf of Jackson State University, is hereby 281
authorized to convey by donation or otherwise easements across 282
portions of certain real estate located in the City of Jackson, 283
Hinds County, Mississippi, for right-of-way required for the Metro 284
Parkway Project. 285
(j) In connection with any international contract between 286
the board or one (1) of the state's institutions of higher 287
learning and any party outside of the United States, the board or 288
institution that is the party to the international contract is 289
hereby authorized and empowered to include in the contract a 290
provision for the resolution by arbitration of any controversy 291
between the parties to the contract relating to such contract or 292
the failure or refusal to perform any part of the contract. Such 293
provision shall be valid, enforceable and irrevocable without 294
regard to the justiciable character of the controversy. Provided, 295
however, that in the event either party to such contract initiates 296
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litigation against the other with respect to the contract, the 297
arbitration provision shall be deemed waived unless asserted as a 298
defense on or before the responding party is required to answer 299
such litigation. 300
(k) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher 301
Learning ("board"), on behalf of any institution under its 302
jurisdiction, shall purchase and maintain business property 303
insurance and business personal property insurance on all 304
university-owned buildings and/or contents as required by federal 305
law and regulations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 306
(FEMA) as is necessary for receiving public assistance or 307
reimbursement for repair, reconstruction, replacement or other 308
damage to those buildings and/or contents caused by the Hurricane 309
Katrina Disaster of 2005 or subsequent disasters. The board is 310
authorized to expend funds from any available source for the 311
purpose of obtaining and maintaining that property insurance. The 312
board is authorized to enter into agreements with the Department 313
of Finance and Administration, local school districts, 314
community/junior college districts, community hospitals and/or 315
other state agencies to pool their liabilities to participate in a 316
group business property and/or business personal property 317
insurance program, subject to uniform rules and regulations as may 318
be adopted by the Department of Finance and Administration. 319
(l) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher 320
Learning, or its designee, may approve the payment or 321
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reimbursement of reasonable travel expenses incurred by candidates 322
for open positions at the board's executive office or at any of 323
the state institutions of higher learning, when the job candidate 324
has incurred expenses in traveling to a job interview at the 325
request of the board, the Commissioner of Higher Education or a 326
state institution of higher learning administrator. 327
(m) (i) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of 328
Higher Learning is authorized to administer and approve contracts 329
for the construction and maintenance of buildings and other 330
facilities of the state institutions of higher learning, including 331
related contracts for architectural and engineering services, 332
which are paid for with self-generated funds. 333
(ii) Additionally, the board is authorized to oversee, 334
administer and approve contracts for the construction and 335
maintenance of buildings and other facilities of the state 336
institutions of higher learning, including related contracts for 337
architectural and engineering services, which are funded in whole 338
or in part by general obligation bonds of the State of Mississippi 339
at institutions designated annually by the board as being capable 340
to procure and administer all such contracts. Prior to the 341
disbursement of funds, an agreement for each project between the 342
institution and the Department of Finance and Administration shall 343
be executed. The approval and execution of the agreement shall 344
not be withheld by either party unless the withholding party 345
provides a written, detailed explanation of the basis for 346
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ST: University campus events; require enhanced
security measures and collaboration among law
enforcement for large events.
withholding to the other party. The agreement shall stipulate the 347
responsibilities of each party, applicable procurement 348
regulations, documentation and reporting requirements, conditions 349
prior to, and schedule of, disbursement of general obligation bond 350
funds to the institution and provisions concerning handling any 351
remaining general obligation bonds at the completion of the 352
project. Such agreement shall not include provisions that 353
constitute additional qualifications or criteria that act to 354
invalidate the designation of an institution as capable of 355
procuring and administering such project. Inclusion of any such 356
provisions may be appealed to the Public Procurement Review Board. 357
(n) The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher 358
Learning ("board") shall require all on-campus faculty and staff 359
employed by, and all students attending, any of the state 360
institutions of higher learning identified in Section 37-101-1 to 361
be issued an identification badge in physical or electronic 362
format. Any identification card issued or renewed pursuant to 363
this section, whether physical or in an electronic format, shall 364
include the words "Crisis Lifeline - Dial or Text 988, or chat 365
988lifeline.org" or like language for formatting purposes. 366
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from 367
and after July 1, 2026. 368