Mississippi Minimum Wage Act; enact.

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To: Labor; Accountability,
Efficiency, Transparency
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) DuPree

SENATE BILL NO. 2662

AN ACT TO ENACT A MINIMUM WAGE LAW FOR THE STATE OF 1
MISSISSIPPI, WITH ANNUAL INCREMENTAL INCREASES OVER A FOUR-YEAR 2
PERIOD; TO DEFINE EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES SUBJECT TO THE MINIMUM 3
WAGE LAW; TO EMPOWER THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT 4
SECURITY, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, TO ENFORCE AND ADMINISTER THE 5
PROVISIONS OF THE MINIMUM WAGE LAW; TO PROVIDE CRIMINAL PENALTIES 6
AND A CIVIL CAUSE OF ACTION AGAINST EMPLOYERS FOR VIOLATIONS OF 7
THE MINIMUM WAGE LAW; TO AMEND SECTION 17-1-51, MISSISSIPPI CODE 8
OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY GOVERNING AUTHORITIES, 9
IN THEIR DISCRETION, TO MANDATE A WAGE THAT IS MORE THAN THE STATE 10
MINIMUM WAGE; TO AMEND SECTION 25-3-40, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 11
TO CONFORM; TO AMEND SECTIONS 85-3-4 AND 97-3-54.4, MISSISSIPPI 12
CODE OF 1972, TO MAKE TECHNICAL, NONSUBSTANTIVE AMENDMENTS; TO 13
BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 7-7-204, 23-15-239, 37-7-307, 37-33-175, 14
57-34-5 AND 99-19-20, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR PURPOSES OF 15
POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 16
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 17
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 18
"Mississippi Minimum Wage Act." 19
SECTION 2. It is declared to be the public policy of the 20
State of Mississippi to establish fair minimum wages for workers 21
in order to safeguard their health, efficiency and general 22
well-being and to protect those workers as well as their employers 23
from the effects of unfair competition resulting from wage levels 24
detrimental to their health, efficiency and well-being. 25
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SECTION 3. As used in this act, unless the context otherwise 26
requires: 27
(a) "Director" means the Executive Director of the 28
Mississippi Department of Employment Security. 29
(b) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of 30
Employment Security, Office of the Governor, established under 31
Section 71-5-101. 32
(c) "Wage" means compensation due to an employee by 33
reason of his or her employment, payable in legal tender of the 34
United States or checks on banks convertible into cash on demand 35
at full face value, subject to any deductions, charges or 36
allowances as may be permitted by this act or by regulations of 37
the department under this act. 38
(d) "Employ" includes to suffer or to permit to work. 39
(e) "Employer" includes any individual, partnership, 40
association, corporation, business trust, or any person or group 41
of persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an 42
employer in relation to an employee. The term "employer" does not 43
include: 44
(i) Any individual, partnership, association, 45
corporation, business trust, or any person or group of persons 46
acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in 47
relation to an employee who employs fewer than five (5) employees 48
in a regular employment relationship; or 49
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(ii) Any person, firm or corporation or other 50
entity subject to the provisions of the federal Fair Labor 51
Standards Act of 1938. 52
(f) "Independent contractor" means any individual who 53
contracts to perform certain work away from the premises of his or 54
her employer, uses his or her own methods to accomplish the work, 55
and is subject to the control of the employer only as to the 56
result of his or her work. 57
(g) "Employee" includes any individual employed by an 58
employer but does not include: 59
(i) Any individual employed in a bona fide 60
executive, administrative or professional capacity, or as an 61
outside commission-paid salesperson, who customarily performs his 62
or her services away from his or her employer's premises, taking 63
orders for goods or services; 64
(ii) Any student performing services for any 65
school, college or university in which he or she is enrolled and 66
is regularly attending classes; 67
(iii) Any individual employed by the United States 68
or by the state or any political subdivision of the state, except 69
public schools and school districts; 70
(iv) Any individual engaged in an activity of any 71
educational, charitable, religious or nonprofit organization where 72
the employer/employee relationship does not in fact exist or where 73
the service is rendered to the organization gratuitously; 74
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(v) Any bona fide independent contractor; 75
(vi) Any individual employed by an agricultural 76
employer who did not use more than five hundred (500) man-days of 77
agricultural labor in any calendar quarter of the preceding 78
calendar year; 79
(vii) The parent, spouse, child or other member of 80
an agricultural employer's immediate family; 81
(viii) An individual who: 82
1. Is employed as a hand-harvest laborer and 83
is paid on a piece-rate basis in an operation that has been, and 84
is customarily and generally recognized as having been, paid on a 85
piece-rate basis in the region of employment; 86
2. Commutes daily from his or her permanent 87
residence to the farm on which he or she is so employed; and 88
3. Has been employed in agriculture less than 89
thirteen (13) weeks during the preceding calendar year; 90
(ix) A migrant who: 91
1. Is sixteen (16) years of age or under and 92
is employed as a hand-harvest laborer; 93
2. Is paid on a piece-rate basis in an 94
operation which has been, and is customarily and generally 95
recognized as having been, paid on a piece-rate basis in the 96
region of employment; 97
3. Is employed on the same farm as his or her 98
parents; and 99
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4. Is paid the same piece-rate as employees 100
over age sixteen (16) are paid on the same farm; 101
(x) Any employee principally engaged in the range 102
production of livestock; or 103
(xi) Any employee employed in planting or tending 104
trees, cruising, surveying or felling timber, or in preparing or 105
transporting logs or other forestry products to the mill, 106
processing plants, or railroad or other transportation terminal if 107
the number of employees employed by his or her employer in the 108
forestry or lumbering operations does not exceed eight (8). 109
(h) "Occupation" means any occupation, service, trade, 110
business, industry, or branch or group of industries or employment 111
or class of employment in which employees are gainfully employed. 112
(i) "Gratuities" means voluntary monetary contributions 113
received by an employee from a guest, patron or customer for 114
services rendered. 115
(j) "Man-day" means any day during any portion of which 116
an employee performs any agricultural labor. 117
SECTION 4. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this act, 118
every employer shall pay each of its employees a fair minimum wage 119
as provided in this section. 120
(2) The state minimum wage shall be as follows: 121
(a) Beginning January 1, 2027, the rate of not less 122
than Twelve Dollars ($12.00) per hour; and 123
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(b) Beginning January 1, 2030, the rate of not less 124
than Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) per hour. 125
(3) Whenever the highest federal minimum wage is increased, 126
the minimum wage established under this section shall be increased 127
to the amount of the federal minimum wage plus one-half of one 128
percent (1/2 of 1%) more than the federal rate, rounded to the 129
nearest whole cent, effective on the same date as the increase in 130
the highest federal minimum wage, and shall apply to all wage 131
orders and administrative regulations then in force. 132
(4) The rates for learners, beginners and persons under the 133
age of eighteen (18) years shall be not less than eighty-five 134
percent (85%) of the state minimum wage for the first two hundred 135
(200) hours of their employment and equal to the applicable state 136
minimum wage thereafter, except institutional training programs 137
specifically exempted by the director. 138
SECTION 5. Nothing in this act shall be deemed to interfere 139
with, impede or in any way diminish the right of employers and 140
employees to bargain collectively through representatives of their 141
own choosing in order to establish wages or other conditions of 142
work. 143
SECTION 6. (1) Any employer who willfully: 144
(a) Hinders or delays the department or its authorized 145
representative in the performance of its duties in the enforcement 146
of this act; 147
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(b) Refuses to admit the department or its authorized 148
representative to any place of employment; 149
(c) Fails to make, keep and preserve any records as 150
required under the provisions of this act or to make the record 151
accessible to the department or its authorized representative upon 152
demand; 153
(d) Refuses to furnish a sworn statement of the record 154
or any other information required for the proper enforcement of 155
this act to the department or its authorized representative upon 156
demand; or 157
(e) Fails to post a summary of this act or a copy of 158
any applicable regulations as required by this act shall be deemed 159
in violation of this act and shall, upon conviction, be fined not 160
less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Four Hundred 161
Dollars ($400.00). For the purposes of this subsection, each 162
violation shall constitute a separate offense. 163
(2) Any employer who pays or agrees to pay minimum wages at 164
a rate less than the rate applicable under this act shall be 165
guilty of a felony, and the employer shall: 166
(a) Be fined not less than Four Thousand Dollars 167
($4,000.00) nor more than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) for 168
each offense if the total amount of all unpaid wages owed to an 169
employee is more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00); 170
(b) Be fined not less than Two Thousand Dollars 171
($2,000.00) nor more than Four Thousand Dollars ($4,000.00) or the 172
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agent or officer of the employer shall be imprisoned not more than 173
one (1) year, or both, for each offense if the total amount of all 174
unpaid wages owed to an employee is more than One Thousand Dollars 175
($1,000.00) but not more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00); 176
(c) Be fined not less than One Thousand Dollars 177
($1,000.00) nor more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) or the 178
agent or officer of the employer shall be imprisoned not more than 179
six (6) months, or both, for each offense if the total amount of 180
all unpaid wages owed to an employee is more than Five Hundred 181
Dollars ($500.00) but not more than One Thousand Dollars 182
($1,000.00); or 183
(d) Be fined not less than Four Hundred Dollars 184
($400.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or the 185
agent or officer of the employer shall be imprisoned not more than 186
three (3) months, or both, for each offense if the total amount of 187
all unpaid wages owed to an employee is Five Hundred Dollars 188
($500.00) or less. 189
(3) Any employer who willfully discharges or in any other 190
manner willfully discriminates against any employee because: 191
(a) The employee has made any complaint to his or her 192
employer, to the department, or to the director or his authorized 193
representative that he or she has not been paid minimum wages in 194
accordance with the provisions of this act; 195
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(b) The employee has caused to be instituted or is 196
about to cause to be instituted any proceeding under or related to 197
this act; or 198
(c) The employee has testified or is about to testify 199
in any such proceeding, shall be deemed in violation of this act 200
and shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than One Hundred 201
Dollars ($100.00). 202
SECTION 7. (1) For any occupation, the department shall 203
make and revise any administrative regulations, including 204
definitions of terms, as it may deem appropriate to carry out the 205
purposes of this act or necessary to prevent the circumvention or 206
evasion of those purposes and to safeguard the minimum wage rates 207
established. 208
(2) The regulations may include, but are not limited to, 209
regulations governing: 210
(a) Outside or commission salespeople; 211
(b) Learners and apprentices, their number, proportion 212
or length of service; 213
(c) Part-time pay, bonuses or fringe benefits; 214
(d) Special pay for special or extra work; 215
(e) Permitted charges to employees or allowances for 216
board, lodging, apparel, or other facilities or services 217
customarily furnished by employers to employees; 218
(f) Allowances for gratuities; or 219
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(g) Allowances for other special conditions or 220
circumstances that may be usual in a particular employer/employee 221
relationship. 222
(3) Regulations or revisions issued by the department under 223
this section shall be made only after a public hearing, at which 224
any person may be heard by the department, at least ten (10) days 225
subsequent to publication of notice of the hearing in a newspaper 226
of general circulation throughout the State of Mississippi. 227
SECTION 8. The director or his or her authorized 228
representatives shall: 229
(a) Have authority to enter and inspect the place of 230
business or employment of any employer in the state for the 231
purpose of examining and inspecting any or all books, registers, 232
payrolls and other records of any employer that in any way relate 233
to or have a bearing upon the question of wages, hours or other 234
conditions of employment of any employees; copy any or all of the 235
books, registers, payrolls or other records as he or she may deem 236
necessary or appropriate; and question employees for the purpose 237
of ascertaining whether the provisions of this act and regulations 238
issued under this act have been and are being complied with; 239
(b) Have authority to require from the employer full 240
and correct statements in writing, including sworn statements, 241
with respect to wages, hours, names, addresses and any information 242
pertaining to his or her employees as the director or his or her 243
authorized representative may deem necessary or appropriate; 244
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(c) Publish all regulations made by the department; and 245
(d) Otherwise implement and enforce the regulations and 246
decisions of the department. 247
SECTION 9. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this 248
section, no employer shall employ any of his or her employees for 249
a workweek longer than forty (40) hours unless the employee 250
receives compensation for his or her employment in excess of the 251
hours above specified at a rate not less than one and one-half 252
(1-1/2) times the regular rate of pay at which he or she is 253
employed. 254
(2) The provisions regarding the payment of wages at one and 255
one-half (1-1/2) times the regular rate of pay for overtime 256
services shall not be applicable with respect to agricultural 257
employees. 258
SECTION 10. (1) Every employer of an employee engaged in 259
any occupation in which gratuities have been customarily and 260
usually constituted and have been recognized as a part of 261
remuneration for hiring purposes shall be entitled to an allowance 262
for gratuities as a part of the hourly wage rate provided in 263
Section 4 of this act in an amount not to exceed fifty percent 264
(50%) of the minimum wage established by Section 4 of this act, 265
provided that the employee actually received that amount in 266
gratuities and that the application of the foregoing gratuity 267
allowances results in payment of wages other than gratuities to 268
tipped employees, including full-time students, subject to the 269
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provisions of this act, of not less than fifty percent (50%) of 270
the minimum wage prescribed by this act. 271
(2) In determining whether an employee received in 272
gratuities the amount claimed, the director may require the 273
employee to show to the satisfaction of the director that the 274
actual amount of gratuities received by him or her during any 275
workweek was less than the amount determined by the employer as 276
the amount by which the wage paid the employee was deemed to be 277
increased under this section. 278
SECTION 11. (1) Every employer subject to any provisions of 279
this act shall keep a summary of this act, approved by the 280
department, and copies of any applicable regulations issued under 281
this act posted in a conspicuous and accessible place in or about 282
the premises where any person subject to this act is employed. 283
(2) Employers shall be furnished copies of the summaries of 284
this statute and regulations by the director on request without 285
charge. 286
SECTION 12. (1) Every employer subject to any provision of 287
this act or of any regulation issued under this act shall make and 288
keep for a period of not less than three (3) years, in or about 289
the premises where any employee is employed, a record of the name, 290
address and occupation of each of his or her employees, the rate 291
of pay and the amount paid each pay period to each employee and 292
any other information as the department prescribes by regulation 293
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as necessary or appropriate for the enforcement of the provisions 294
of this act or of the regulations under this act. 295
(2) The records shall be open for inspection or 296
transcription by the director or his or her authorized 297
representative at any reasonable time. 298
(3) Every employer shall furnish to the director or to his 299
or her authorized representative on demand a sworn statement of 300
the records and information upon forms prescribed or approved by 301
the director. 302
SECTION 13. (1) Any employer who pays any employee less 303
than minimum wages to which the employee is entitled under or by 304
virtue of this act shall be liable to the employee affected for 305
the full amount of the wages, less any amount actually paid to the 306
employee by the employer, and for costs and reasonable attorney's 307
fees as may be allowed by the court. 308
(2) Any agreement between the employee and employer to work 309
for less than minimum wages shall be no defense to the action. 310
(3) The venue of the action shall lie in the circuit court 311
of any county in which the services which are the subject of the 312
employment were performed. 313
(4) The director shall have the authority to fully enforce 314
this act by instituting legal action to recover any wages which he 315
or she determines to be due to employees under this act. 316
SECTION 14. Section 17-1-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 317
amended as follows: 318
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17-1-51. (1) No county, board of supervisors of a county, 319
municipality or governing authority of a municipality is 320
authorized to establish a mandatory, minimum living wage rate 321
lower than the rate provided in Section 4 of this act, minimum 322
number of vacation or sick days, whether paid or unpaid, that 323
would regulate how a private employer pays its employees. Each 324
county, board of supervisors of a county, municipality or 325
governing authority of a municipality shall be prohibited from 326
establishing a mandatory, minimum living wage rate lower than the 327
rate provided in Section 4 of this act, minimum number of vacation 328
or sick days, whether paid or unpaid, that would regulate how a 329
private employer pays its employees. 330
(2) The Legislature finds that the prohibitions of 331
subsection (1) of this section are necessary to ensure an economic 332
climate conducive to new business development and job growth in 333
the State of Mississippi while protecting the health and 334
well-being of workers. * * * 335
* * * 336
( * * *3) The Legislature concludes from * * * this finding 337
that, in order for a business to remain competitive and yet 338
attract and retain the highest possible caliber of employees, and 339
thereby remain sound, an enterprise must work in * * * an 340
environment * * * that respects its workers and that encourages 341
the payment of fair minimum wage rates * * *. The net impact of 342
any local * * * wages * * * greater than the rate provided in 343
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Section 4 of this act will be economically * * * stable and create 344
a * * * rise and increase in the standard of living for the 345
citizens of the state. * * * 346
SECTION 15. Section 25-3-40, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 347
amended as follows: 348
25-3-40. On July 1, 1978, and each year thereafter, the 349
Mississippi Compensation Plan shall be amended to provide salary 350
increases in such amounts and percentages as might be recommended 351
by the Legislative Budget Office and as may be authorized by funds 352
appropriated by the Legislature for the purpose of granting 353
incentive salary increases as deemed possible dependent upon the 354
availability of general and special funds. 355
It is hereby declared to be the intent of the Mississippi 356
Legislature to implement the minimum wage as enacted by statutory 357
law of the United States Congress subject to funds being available 358
for that purpose. It is further the intent of the Legislature to 359
implement the state minimum wage as provided in Section 4 of this 360
act. It is the intent and purpose of this section to maximize 361
annual salary increases consistent with the availability of funds 362
as might be determined by the Mississippi Legislature at its 363
regular annual session and that all salary increases hereafter be 364
made consistent with the provisions of this section. 365
SECTION 16. Section 85-3-4, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 366
amended as follows: 367
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85-3-4. (1) The wages, salaries or other compensation of 368
laborers or employees, residents of this state, shall be exempt 369
from seizure under attachment, execution or garnishment for a 370
period of thirty (30) days from the date of service of any writ of 371
attachment, execution or garnishment. 372
(2) After the passage of the period of thirty (30) days 373
described in subsection (1) of this section, the maximum part of 374
the aggregate disposable earnings (as defined by Section 1672(b) 375
of Title 15, USCS) of an individual that may be levied by 376
attachment, execution or garnishment shall be: 377
(a) In the case of earnings for any workweek, the 378
lesser amount of either * * *: 379
(i) Twenty-five percent (25%) of his disposable 380
earnings for that week, or 381
(ii) The amount by which his disposable earnings 382
for that week exceed thirty (30) times the federal minimum hourly 383
wage (prescribed by Section 206 (a)(1) of Title 29, USCS) in 384
effect at the time the earnings are payable; or 385
(b) In the case of earnings for any period other than a 386
week, the amount by which his disposable earnings exceed the 387
following "multiple" of the federal minimum hourly wage which is 388
equivalent in effect to that set forth in paragraph (a)(ii) of 389
this subsection (2): The number of workweeks, or fractions 390
thereof multiplied by thirty (30) multiplied by the applicable 391
federal minimum wage. 392
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(3) (a) The restrictions of subsections (1) and (2) of this 393
section do not apply in the case of: 394
(i) Any order for the support of any person issued 395
by a court of competent jurisdiction or in accordance with an 396
administrative procedure, which is established by state law, which 397
affords substantial due process, and which is subject to judicial 398
review. 399
(ii) Any debt due for any state or local tax. 400
(b) Except as provided in subparagraph * * * (iii) of 401
this * * * paragraph (b), the maximum part of the aggregate 402
disposable earnings of an individual for any workweek which is 403
subject to garnishment to enforce any order for the support of any 404
person shall not exceed: 405
(i) Where such individual is supporting his spouse 406
or dependent child (other than a spouse or child with respect to 407
whose support such order is used), fifty percent (50%) of such 408
individual's disposable earnings for that week; and 409
(ii) Where such individual is not supporting such 410
a spouse or dependent child described in subparagraph * * * (i) of 411
this * * * paragraph (b), sixty percent (60%) of such individual's 412
disposable earnings for that week; 413
(iii) With respect to the disposable earnings of 414
any individual for that workweek, the fifty percent (50%) 415
specified in subparagraph * * * (i) of this * * * paragraph (b) 416
shall be deemed to be fifty-five percent (55%) and the sixty 417
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percent (60%) specified in subparagraph * * * (ii) of this * * * 418
paragraph (b) shall be deemed to be sixty-five percent (65%), if 419
and to the extent that such earnings are subject to garnishment to 420
enforce a support order with respect to a period which is prior to 421
the period of twelve (12) weeks which ends with the beginning of 422
such workweek. 423
SECTION 17. Section 97-3-54.4, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 424
amended as follows: 425
97-3-54.4. For the purposes of the Mississippi Human 426
Trafficking Act the following words and phrases shall have the 427
meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires 428
otherwise: 429
(a) "Act" or "this act" means the Mississippi Human 430
Trafficking Act. 431
(b) "Actor" means a person who violates any of the 432
provisions of Sections 97-3-54 through 97-3-54.4. 433
(c) "Blackmail" means obtaining property or things of 434
value of another by threatening to (i) inflict bodily injury on 435
anyone; or (ii) commit any other criminal offense. 436
(d) "Coerce" or "coercion" means: 437
(i) Causing or threatening to cause bodily harm to 438
any person, physically restraining or confining any person, or 439
threatening to physically restrain or confine any person; 440
(ii) Exposing or threatening to expose any fact or 441
information or disseminating or threatening to disseminate any 442
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fact or information that would tend to subject a person to 443
criminal or immigration proceedings, hatred, contempt or ridicule; 444
(iii) Destroying, concealing, removing, 445
confiscating or possessing any actual or purported passport or 446
other immigration document, or any other actual or purported 447
government identification document of any person; 448
(iv) Providing a controlled substance to a person 449
for the purpose of compelling the person to engage in labor or 450
sexual servitude against the person's will; 451
(v) Causing or threatening to cause financial harm 452
to any person or using financial control over any person; 453
(vi) Abusing or threatening to abuse a position of 454
power, the law, or legal process; 455
(vii) Using blackmail; 456
(viii) Using an individual's personal services as 457
payment or satisfaction of a real or purported debt when: 1. the 458
reasonable value of the services is not applied toward the 459
liquidation of the debt; 2. the length of the services is not 460
limited and the nature of the services is not defined; 3. the 461
principal amount of the debt does not reasonably reflect the value 462
of the items or services for which the debt is incurred; or 4. the 463
individual is prevented from acquiring accurate and timely 464
information about the disposition of the debt; or 465
(ix) Using any scheme, plan or pattern of conduct 466
intended to cause any person to believe that, if the person did 467
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not perform the labor or services, that the person or another 468
person would suffer serious harm or physical restraint. 469
(e) "Commercial sexual activity" means any sex act on 470
account of which anything of value is given to, promised to, or 471
received by any person. 472
(f) "Enterprise" means any individual, sole 473
proprietorship, partnership, corporation, union or other legal 474
entity, or any association or group of individuals associated in 475
fact regardless of whether a legal entity has been formed pursuant 476
to any state, federal or territorial law. It includes illicit as 477
well as licit enterprises and governmental as well as other 478
entities. 479
(g) "Financial harm" includes, but is not limited to, 480
extortion as defined by Section 97-3-82, Mississippi Code of 1972, 481
or violation of the usury law as defined by Chapter 17, Title 482
75, * * * Mississippi Code of 1972. 483
(h) "Forced labor or services" means labor or services 484
that are performed or provided by another person and are obtained 485
or maintained through coercion. 486
(i) "Labor" means work of economic or financial value. 487
(j) "Maintain" means, in relation to labor or services, 488
to secure continued performance thereof, regardless of any initial 489
agreement on the part of the trafficked person to perform such 490
labor or service. 491
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(k) "Minor" means a person under the age of eighteen 492
(18) years. 493
(l) "Obtain" means, in relation to labor or services, 494
to secure performance thereof. 495
(m) "Pecuniary damages" means any of the following: 496
(i) The greater of the gross income or value to 497
the defendant of the victim's labor or services, including sexual 498
services, not reduced by the expense the defendant incurred as a 499
result of maintaining the victim, or the value of the victim's 500
labor or services calculated under the minimum wage and overtime 501
provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 USCS Section 201 et 502
seq., whichever is higher; 503
(ii) If it is not possible or in the best interest 504
of the victim to compute a value under subparagraph (i) of this 505
paragraph (m), the equivalent of the value of the victim's labor 506
or services if the victim had provided labor or services that were 507
subject to the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair 508
Labor Standards Act, 29 USCS 201 et seq.; 509
(iii) Costs and expenses incurred by the victim as 510
a result of the offense for: 511
1. Medical services; 512
2. Therapy or psychological counseling; 513
3. Temporary housing; 514
4. Transportation; 515
5. Childcare; 516
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6. Physical and occupational therapy or 517
rehabilitation; 518
7. Funeral, interment, and burial services; 519
reasonable attorney's fees and other legal costs; and 520
8. Other expenses incurred by the victim. 521
(n) "Serious harm" means harm, whether physical or 522
nonphysical, including psychological, economic or reputational, to 523
an individual that would compel a reasonable person in similar 524
circumstances as the individual to perform or continue to perform 525
labor or services to avoid incurring the harm. 526
(o) "Services" means an ongoing relationship between a 527
person and the actor in which the person performs activities under 528
the supervision of or for the benefit of the actor or a third 529
party and includes, without limitation, commercial sexual 530
activity, sexually explicit performances, or the production of 531
sexually explicit materials. 532
(p) "Sexually explicit performance" means a live or 533
public act or show intended to arouse or satisfy the sexual 534
desires or appeal to the prurient interests of patrons. 535
(q) "Trafficked person" means a person subjected to the 536
practices prohibited by this act regardless of whether a 537
perpetrator is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or convicted, 538
and is a term used interchangeably with the terms "victim," 539
"victim of trafficking" and "trafficking victim." 540
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(r) "Venture" means any group of two (2) or more 541
individuals associated in fact, whether or not a legal entity. 542
(s) "Sexually oriented material" shall have the meaning 543
ascribed in Section 97-5-27, Mississippi Code of 1972. 544
SECTION 18. Section 7-7-204, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 545
brought forward as follows: 546
7-7-204. (1) Within the limits of the funds available to 547
the Office of the State Auditor for such purpose, the State 548
Auditor may grant a paid internship to students pursuing junior or 549
senior undergraduate-level year coursework toward a bachelor's 550
degree in accounting or graduate-level coursework toward a 551
master's degree in accounting. Those applicants deemed qualified 552
shall receive funds that may be used to pay for tuition, books and 553
related fees to pursue their degree. It is the intent of the 554
Legislature that the paid internship program (hereinafter referred 555
to as the program) shall be used as an incentive for accounting 556
students to develop job-related skills and to encourage accounting 557
careers at the Office of the State Auditor. 558
(2) In order to be eligible for the program, an applicant 559
must: 560
(a) Attend any college or school approved and 561
designated by the Office of the State Auditor. 562
(b) Satisfy the following conditions: 563
(i) Undergraduate stipulations: Applicants must 564
have successfully obtained a minimum of fifty-eight (58) semester 565
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hours toward a bachelor of science degree in accounting from a 566
Mississippi institution of higher learning. 567
Applicants must have achieved a minimum grade point average 568
(GPA) on the previously obtained semester hours toward a bachelor 569
of science degree in accounting of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. 570
If accepted into the program, participants shall maintain a 571
minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in all coursework 572
counted toward a bachelor of science degree in accounting. 573
(ii) Graduate stipulations: Applicants must have 574
met the regular admission standards and have been accepted into 575
the master of science accounting program at a Mississippi 576
institution of higher learning. 577
If accepted into the program, participants shall maintain a 578
minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in all coursework 579
counted toward a master of science degree in accounting. 580
(c) All program participants will be required to work a 581
total of three hundred thirty-six (336) hours each summer at the 582
Office of the State Auditor in Jackson, Mississippi. 583
(d) Agree to work as an auditor at the Office of the 584
State Auditor upon graduation for a period of time equivalent to 585
the period of time for which the applicant receives compensation, 586
calculated to the nearest whole month, but in no event less than 587
two (2) years. 588
(3) (a) Before being placed into the program, each 589
applicant shall enter into a contract with the Office of the State 590
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Auditor, which shall be deemed a contract with the State of 591
Mississippi, agreeing to the terms and conditions upon which the 592
internship shall be granted to him. The contract shall include 593
such terms and provisions necessary to carry out the full purpose 594
and intent of this section. The form of such contract shall be 595
prepared and approved by the Attorney General of this state, and 596
shall be signed by the State Auditor of the Office of the State 597
Auditor and the participant. 598
(b) Upon entry into the program, participants will 599
become employees of the Office of the State Auditor during their 600
time in the program and shall be eligible for benefits such as 601
medical insurance paid by the agency for the participant; however, 602
in accordance with Section 25-11-105II(b), those participants 603
shall not become members of the Public Employees' Retirement 604
System while participating in the program. Participants shall not 605
accrue personal or major medical leave while they are in the 606
program. 607
(c) The Office of the State Auditor shall have the 608
authority to cancel any contract made between it and any program 609
participant upon such cause being deemed sufficient by the State 610
Auditor. 611
(d) The Office of the State Auditor is vested with full 612
and complete authority and power to sue in its own name any 613
participant for any damages due the state on any such uncompleted 614
contract, which suit shall be filed and handled by the Attorney 615
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General of the state. The Office of the State Auditor may 616
contract with a collection agency or banking institution, subject 617
to approval by the Attorney General, for collection of any damages 618
due the state from any participant. The State of Mississippi, the 619
Office of the State Auditor and its employees are immune from any 620
suit brought in law or equity for actions taken by the collection 621
agency or banking institution incidental to or arising from their 622
performance under the contract. The Office of the State Auditor, 623
collection agency and banking institution may negotiate for the 624
payment of a sum that is less than full payment in order to 625
satisfy any damages the participant owes the state, subject to 626
approval by the director of the sponsoring facility within the 627
Office of the State Auditor. 628
(4) (a) Any recipient who is accepted into the program by 629
the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor and who fails to 630
complete undergraduate- or graduate-level coursework toward a 631
degree in accounting, or withdraws from school at any time before 632
completing his or her education, shall be liable to repay the 633
Office of the State Auditor for all monies received during the 634
time the recipient was in the program, at the rate of pay received 635
by the employee while in the program, including benefits paid by 636
the agency for the participant, and monies received for tuition, 637
books and related fees used to pursue their degree with interest 638
accruing at ten percent (10%) per annum from the date the 639
recipient failed or withdrew from school. The recipient also will 640
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not be liable for repayment for any money earned during the 641
required summer hours. This money shall be considered earned by 642
the recipient at the federal minimum wage rate. 643
(b) All paid internship compensation received by the 644
recipient while in school shall be considered earned conditioned 645
upon the fulfillment of the terms and obligations of the paid 646
internship contract and this section. However, no recipient of 647
the paid internship shall accrue personal or major medical leave 648
while the recipient is pursuing junior or senior 649
undergraduate-level year coursework toward a bachelor's degree in 650
accounting or graduate-level coursework toward a master's degree 651
in accounting. The recipient shall not be liable for liquidated 652
damages. 653
(c) If the recipient does not work as an auditor at the 654
Office of the State Auditor for the period required under 655
subsection (2)(d) of this section, the recipient shall be liable 656
for repayment on demand of the remaining portion of the 657
compensation that the recipient was paid while in the program 658
which has not been unconditionally earned, with interest accruing 659
at ten percent (10%) per annum from the recipient's date of 660
graduation or the date that the recipient last worked at the 661
Office of the State Auditor, whichever is the later date. In 662
addition, there shall be included in any contract for paid student 663
internship a provision for liquidated damages equal to Five 664
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Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) which may be reduced on a pro rata 665
basis for each year served under such contract. 666
SECTION 19. Section 23-15-239, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 667
brought forward as follows: 668
23-15-239. (1) The executive committee of each county, in 669
the case of a primary election, or the election commissioners of 670
each county, in the case of all other elections, in conjunction 671
with the circuit clerk, shall, in the years in which counties 672
conduct an election, sponsor and conduct, not less than five (5) 673
days before each election, not less than four (4) hours and not 674
more than eight (8) hours of poll manager training to instruct 675
poll managers as to their duties in the proper administration of 676
the election and the operation of the polling place. Any poll 677
manager who completes the online training course provided by the 678
Secretary of State shall only be required to complete two (2) 679
hours of in-person poll manager training. No poll manager shall 680
serve in any election unless he or she has received these 681
instructions once during the twelve (12) months immediately 682
preceding the date upon which the election is held; however, 683
nothing in this section shall prevent the appointment of an 684
alternate poll manager to fill a vacancy in case of an emergency. 685
The county executive committee or the election commissioners, as 686
appropriate, shall train a sufficient number of alternates to 687
serve in the event a poll manager is unable to serve for any 688
reason. 689
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(2) (a) If it is eligible under Section 23-15-266, the 690
county executive committee may enter into a written agreement with 691
the circuit clerk or the county election commission authorizing 692
the circuit clerk or the county election commission to perform any 693
of the duties required of the county executive committee pursuant 694
to this section. Any agreement entered into pursuant to this 695
subsection shall be signed by the chair of the county executive 696
committee and the circuit clerk or the chair of the county 697
election commission, as appropriate. The county executive 698
committee shall notify the state executive committee and the 699
Secretary of State of the existence of the agreement. 700
(b) If it is eligible under Section 23-15-266, the 701
municipal executive committee may enter into a written agreement 702
with the municipal clerk or the municipal election commission 703
authorizing the municipal clerk or the municipal election 704
commission to perform any of the duties required of the municipal 705
executive committee pursuant to this section. Any agreement 706
entered into pursuant to this subsection shall be signed by the 707
chair of the municipal executive committee and the municipal clerk 708
or the chair of the municipal election commission, as appropriate. 709
The municipal executive committee shall notify the state executive 710
committee and the Secretary of State of the existence of the 711
agreement. 712
(3) The board of supervisors and the municipal governing 713
authority, in their discretion, may compensate poll managers who 714
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attend these training sessions. The compensation shall be at a 715
rate of not less than the federal hourly minimum wage and not more 716
than Twenty Dollars ($20.00) per hour. Poll managers shall not be 717
compensated for more than sixteen (16) hours of attendance at the 718
training sessions regardless of the actual amount of time that 719
they attended the training sessions. 720
(4) The time and location of the training sessions required 721
pursuant to this section shall be announced to the general public 722
by posting a notice thereof at the courthouse and by delivering a 723
copy of the notice to the office of a newspaper having general 724
circulation in the county five (5) days before the date upon which 725
the training session is to be conducted. Persons who will serve 726
as poll watchers for candidates and political parties, as well as 727
members of the general public, shall be allowed to attend the 728
sessions. 729
(5) Subject to the following annual limitations, the 730
election commissioners shall be entitled to receive a per diem in 731
the amount of One Hundred Ten Dollars ($110.00), to be paid from 732
the county general fund, for every day or period of no less than 733
five (5) hours accumulated over two (2) or more days actually 734
employed in the performance of their duties for the necessary time 735
spent in conducting training sessions as required by this section: 736
(a) In counties having less than fifteen thousand 737
(15,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial 738
census, not more than five (5) days per year; 739
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(b) In counties having fifteen thousand (15,000) 740
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 741
less than thirty thousand (30,000) residents according to the 742
latest federal decennial census, not more than eight (8) days per 743
year; 744
(c) In counties having thirty thousand (30,000) 745
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 746
less than seventy thousand (70,000) residents according to the 747
latest federal decennial census, not more than ten (10) days per 748
year; 749
(d) In counties having seventy thousand (70,000) 750
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 751
less than ninety thousand (90,000) residents according to the 752
latest federal decennial census, not more than twelve (12) days 753
per year; 754
(e) In counties having ninety thousand (90,000) 755
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 756
less than one hundred seventy thousand (170,000) residents 757
according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than 758
fifteen (15) days per year; 759
(f) In counties having one hundred seventy thousand 760
(170,000) residents according to the latest federal decennial 761
census but less than two hundred thousand (200,000) residents 762
according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than 763
eighteen (18) days per year; 764
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(g) In counties having two hundred thousand (200,000) 765
residents according to the latest federal decennial census but 766
less than two hundred twenty-five thousand (225,000) residents 767
according to the latest federal decennial census, not more than 768
nineteen (19) days per year; 769
(h) In counties having two hundred twenty-five thousand 770
(225,000) residents or more according to the latest federal 771
decennial census, not more than twenty-two (22) days per year. 772
(6) Election commissioners shall claim the per diem 773
authorized in subsection (5) of this section in the manner 774
provided for in Section 23-15-153(6). 775
(7) (a) To provide poll manager training, the Secretary of 776
State has developed a single, comprehensive poll manager training 777
program to ensure uniform, secure elections throughout the state. 778
The program includes online training on all state and federal 779
election laws and procedures and voting machine opening and 780
closing procedures. 781
(b) County poll managers who individually access and 782
complete the online training program, including all skills 783
assessments, at least five (5) days before an election shall be 784
defined as "certified poll managers," and entitled to a 785
"Certificate of Completion." 786
(c) At least one (1) certified poll manager shall be 787
appointed by the county election officials to work in each polling 788
place in the county during each general election. 789
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SECTION 20. Section 37-7-307, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 790
brought forward as follows: 791
37-7-307. (1) For purposes of this section, the term 792
"licensed employee" means any employee of a public school district 793
required to hold a valid license by the Commission on Teacher and 794
Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and 795
Development. 796
(2) The school board of a school district shall establish by 797
rules and regulations a policy of sick leave with pay for licensed 798
employees and teacher assistants employed in the school district, 799
and such policy shall include the following minimum provisions for 800
sick and emergency leave with pay: 801
(a) Each licensed employee and teacher assistant, at 802
the beginning of each school year, shall be credited with a 803
minimum sick leave allowance, with pay, of seven (7) days for 804
absences caused by illness or physical disability of the employee 805
during that school year. 806
(b) Any unused portion of the total sick leave 807
allowance shall be carried over to the next school year and 808
credited to such licensed employee and teacher assistant if the 809
licensed employee or teacher assistant remains employed in the 810
same school district. In the event any public school licensed 811
employee or teacher assistant transfers from one public school 812
district in Mississippi to another, any unused portion of the 813
total sick leave allowance credited to such licensed employee or 814
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teacher assistant shall be credited to such licensed employee or 815
teacher assistant in the computation of unused leave for 816
retirement purposes under Section 25-11-109. Accumulation of sick 817
leave allowed under this section shall be unlimited. 818
(c) No deduction from the pay of such licensed employee 819
or teacher assistant may be made because of absence of such 820
licensed employee or teacher assistant caused by illness or 821
physical disability of the licensed employee or teacher assistant 822
until after all sick leave allowance credited to such licensed 823
employee or teacher assistant has been used. 824
(d) For the first ten (10) days of absence of a 825
licensed employee because of illness or physical disability, in 826
any school year, in excess of the sick leave allowance credited to 827
such licensed employee, there shall be deducted from the pay of 828
such licensed employee the established substitute amount of 829
licensed employee compensation paid in that local school district, 830
necessitated because of the absence of the licensed employee as a 831
result of illness or physical disability. In lieu of deducting 832
the established substitute amount from the pay of such licensed 833
employee, the policy may allow the licensed employee to receive 834
full pay for the first ten (10) days of absence because of illness 835
or physical disability, in any school year, in excess of the sick 836
leave allowance credited to such licensed employee. Thereafter, 837
the regular pay of such absent licensed employee shall be 838
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suspended and withheld in its entirety for any period of absence 839
because of illness or physical disability during that school year. 840
(3) (a) Beginning with the school year 1983-1984, each 841
licensed employee at the beginning of each school year shall be 842
credited with a minimum personal leave allowance, with pay, of two 843
(2) days for absences caused by personal reasons during that 844
school year. Effective for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school 845
years, licensed employees shall be credited with an additional 846
one-half (1/2) day of personal leave for every day the licensed 847
employee is furloughed without pay as provided in Section 848
37-7-308. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this 849
subsection, such personal leave shall not be taken on the first 850
day of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day 851
previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday. Personal leave 852
may be used for professional purposes, including absences caused 853
by attendance of such licensed employee at a seminar, class, 854
training program, professional association or other functions 855
designed for educators. No deduction from the pay of such 856
licensed employee may be made because of absence of such licensed 857
employee caused by personal reasons until after all personal leave 858
allowance credited to such licensed employee has been used. 859
However, the superintendent of a school district, in his 860
discretion, may allow a licensed employee personal leave in 861
addition to any minimum personal leave allowance, under the 862
condition that there shall be deducted from the salary of such 863
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licensed employee the actual amount of any compensation paid to 864
any person as a substitute, necessitated because of the absence of 865
the licensed employee. Any unused portion of the total personal 866
leave allowance up to five (5) days shall be carried over to the 867
next school year and credited to such licensed employee if the 868
licensed employee remains employed in the same school district. 869
Any personal leave allowed for a furlough day shall not be carried 870
over to the next school year. 871
(b) Notwithstanding the restrictions on the use of 872
personal leave prescribed under paragraph (a) of this subsection, 873
a licensed employee may use personal leave as follows: 874
(i) Personal leave may be taken on the first day 875
of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day 876
previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if, on the 877
applicable day, an immediate family member of the employee is 878
being deployed for military service. 879
(ii) Personal leave may be taken on a day previous 880
to a holiday or a day after a holiday if an employee of a school 881
district has either a minimum of ten (10) years' experience as an 882
employee of that school district or a minimum of thirty (30) days 883
of unused accumulated leave that has been earned while employed in 884
that school district. 885
(iii) Personal leave may be taken on the first day 886
of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day 887
previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if, on the 888
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applicable day, the employee has been summoned to appear for jury 889
duty or as a witness in court. 890
(iv) Personal leave may be taken on the first day 891
of the school term, the last day of the school term, on a day 892
previous to a holiday or a day after a holiday if, on the 893
applicable day, an immediate family member of the employee dies or 894
funeral services are held. Any day of the three (3) bereavement 895
days may be used at the discretion of the teacher, and are not 896
required to be taken in consecutive succession. 897
For the purpose of this subsection (3), the term "immediate 898
family member" means spouse, parent, stepparent, child or 899
stepchild, grandparent or sibling, including a stepbrother or 900
stepsister. 901
(4) Beginning with the school year 1992-1993, each licensed 902
employee shall be credited with a professional leave allowance, 903
with pay, for each day of absence caused by reason of such 904
employee's statutorily required membership and attendance at a 905
regular or special meeting held within the State of Mississippi of 906
the State Board of Education, the Commission on Teacher and 907
Administrator Education, Certification and Licensure and 908
Development, the Commission on School Accreditation, the 909
Mississippi Authority for Educational Television, the meetings of 910
the state textbook rating committees or other meetings authorized 911
by local school board policy. 912
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(5) Upon retirement from employment, each licensed and 913
nonlicensed employee shall be paid for not more than thirty (30) 914
days of unused accumulated leave earned while employed by the 915
school district in which the employee is last employed. Such 916
payment for licensed employees shall be made by the school 917
district at a rate equal to the amount paid to substitute teachers 918
and for nonlicensed employees, the payment shall be made by the 919
school district at a rate equal to the federal minimum wage. The 920
payment shall be treated in the same manner for retirement 921
purposes as a lump-sum payment for personal leave as provided in 922
Section 25-11-103(f). Any remaining lawfully credited unused 923
leave, for which payment has not been made, shall be certified to 924
the Public Employees' Retirement System in the same manner and 925
subject to the same limitations as otherwise provided by law for 926
unused leave. No payment for unused accumulated leave may be made 927
to either a licensed or nonlicensed employee at termination or 928
separation from service for any purpose other than for the purpose 929
of retirement. 930
(6) The school board may adopt rules and regulations which 931
will reasonably aid to implement the policy of sick and personal 932
leave, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations having 933
the following general effect: 934
(a) Requiring the absent employee to furnish the 935
certificate of a physician or dentist or other medical 936
practitioner as to the illness of the absent licensed employee, 937
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where the absence is for four (4) or more consecutive school days, 938
or for two (2) consecutive school days immediately preceding or 939
following a nonschool day; 940
(b) Providing penalties, by way of full deduction from 941
salary, or entry on the work record of the employee, or other 942
appropriate penalties, for any materially false statement by the 943
employee as to the cause of absence; 944
(c) Forfeiture of accumulated or future sick leave, if 945
the absence of the employee is caused by optional dental or 946
medical treatment or surgery which could, without medical risk, 947
have been provided, furnished or performed at a time when school 948
was not in session; 949
(d) Enlarging, increasing or providing greater sick or 950
personal leave allowances than the minimum standards established 951
by this section in the discretion of the school board of each 952
school district. 953
(7) School boards may include in their budgets provisions 954
for the payment of substitute employees, necessitated because of 955
the absence of regular licensed employees. All such substitute 956
employees shall be paid wholly from district funds. Such school 957
boards, in their discretion, also may pay, from district funds 958
other than the total funding formula funds provided for in 959
Sections 37-151-200 through 37-151-215, the whole or any part of 960
the salaries of all employees granted leaves for the purpose of 961
special studies or training. 962
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(8) The school board may further adopt rules and regulations 963
which will reasonably implement such leave policies for all other 964
nonlicensed and hourly paid school employees as the board deems 965
appropriate. Effective for the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school 966
years, nonlicensed employees shall be credited with an additional 967
one-half (1/2) day of personal leave for every day the nonlicensed 968
employee is furloughed without pay as provided in Section 969
37-7-308. 970
(9) Vacation leave granted to either licensed or nonlicensed 971
employees shall be synonymous with personal leave. Unused 972
vacation or personal leave accumulated by licensed employees in 973
excess of the maximum five (5) days which may be carried over from 974
one year to the next may be converted to sick leave. The annual 975
conversion of unused vacation or personal leave to sick days for 976
licensed or unlicensed employees shall not exceed the allowable 977
number of personal leave days as provided in Section 25-3-93. The 978
annual total number of converted unused vacation and/or personal 979
days added to the annual unused sick days for any employee shall 980
not exceed the combined allowable number of days per year provided 981
in Sections 25-3-93 and 25-3-95. Local school board policies that 982
provide for vacation, personal and sick leave for employees shall 983
not exceed the provisions for leave as provided in Sections 984
25-3-93 and 25-3-95. Any personal or vacation leave previously 985
converted to sick leave under a lawfully adopted policy before May 986
1, 2004, or such personal or vacation leave accumulated and 987
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available for use prior to May 1, 2004, under a lawfully adopted 988
policy but converted to sick leave after May 1, 2004, shall be 989
recognized as accrued leave by the local school district and 990
available for use by the employee. The leave converted under a 991
lawfully adopted policy prior to May 1, 2004, or such personal and 992
vacation leave accumulated and available for use as of May 1, 993
2004, which was subsequently converted to sick leave may be 994
certified to the Public Employees' Retirement System upon 995
termination of employment and any such leave previously converted 996
and certified to the Public Employees' Retirement System shall be 997
recognized. 998
(10) (a) For the purposes of this subsection, the following 999
words and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed in this 1000
paragraph unless the context requires otherwise: 1001
(i) "Catastrophic injury or illness" means a 1002
life-threatening injury or illness of an employee or a member of 1003
an employee's immediate family that totally incapacitates the 1004
employee from work, as verified by a licensed physician, and 1005
forces the employee to exhaust all leave time earned by that 1006
employee, resulting in the loss of compensation from the local 1007
school district for the employee. Conditions that are short-term 1008
in nature, including, but not limited to, common illnesses such as 1009
influenza and the measles, and common injuries, are not 1010
catastrophic. Chronic illnesses or injuries, such as cancer or 1011
major surgery, that result in intermittent absences from work and 1012
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that are long-term in nature and require long recuperation periods 1013
may be considered catastrophic. 1014
(ii) "Immediate family" means spouse, parent, 1015
stepparent, sibling, child or stepchild, grandparent, stepbrother 1016
or stepsister. 1017
(b) Any school district employee may donate a portion 1018
of his or her unused accumulated personal leave or sick leave to 1019
another employee of the same school district who is suffering from 1020
a catastrophic injury or illness or who has a member of his or her 1021
immediate family suffering from a catastrophic injury or illness, 1022
in accordance with the following: 1023
(i) The employee donating the leave (the "donor 1024
employee") shall designate the employee who is to receive the 1025
leave (the "recipient employee") and the amount of unused 1026
accumulated personal leave and sick leave that is to be donated, 1027
and shall notify the school district superintendent or his 1028
designee of his or her designation. 1029
(ii) The maximum amount of unused accumulated 1030
personal leave that an employee may donate to any other employee 1031
may not exceed a number of days that would leave the donor 1032
employee with fewer than seven (7) days of personal leave 1033
remaining, and the maximum amount of unused accumulated sick leave 1034
that an employee may donate to any other employee may not exceed 1035
fifty percent (50%) of the unused accumulated sick leave of the 1036
donor employee. 1037
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(iii) An employee must have exhausted all of his 1038
or her available leave before he or she will be eligible to 1039
receive any leave donated by another employee. Eligibility for 1040
donated leave shall be based upon review and approval by the donor 1041
employee's supervisor. 1042
(iv) Before an employee may receive donated leave, 1043
he or she must provide the school district superintendent or his 1044
designee with a physician's statement that states that the illness 1045
meets the catastrophic criteria established under this section, 1046
the beginning date of the catastrophic injury or illness, a 1047
description of the injury or illness, and a prognosis for recovery 1048
and the anticipated date that the recipient employee will be able 1049
to return to work. 1050
(v) Before an employee may receive donated leave, 1051
the superintendent of education of the school district shall 1052
appoint a review committee to approve or disapprove the said 1053
donations of leave, including the determination that the illness 1054
is catastrophic within the meaning of this section. 1055
(vi) If the total amount of leave that is donated 1056
to any employee is not used by the recipient employee, the whole 1057
days of donated leave shall be returned to the donor employees on 1058
a pro rata basis, based on the ratio of the number of days of 1059
leave donated by each donor employee to the total number of days 1060
of leave donated by all donor employees. 1061
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(vii) Donated leave shall not be used in lieu of 1062
disability retirement. 1063
(11) Effective January 1, 2020, the provisions of this 1064
section shall be fully applicable to any licensed employee of the 1065
Mississippi School of the Arts (MSA). 1066
SECTION 21. Section 37-33-175, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1067
brought forward as follows: 1068
37-33-175. (1) Within the limits of the funds available to 1069
the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services for such 1070
purpose, the Executive Director may grant a paid internship to 1071
students pursuing junior or senior undergraduate-level year 1072
coursework toward a bachelor's degree in a program that qualifies 1073
the individual to qualify to become a rehabilitation specialist or 1074
a benefit program specialist within the Mississippi Department of 1075
Rehabilitation Services. Those applicants deemed qualified shall 1076
receive funds that may be used to pay for tuition, books and 1077
related fees to pursue their degree. It is the intent of the 1078
Legislature that the paid internship program (hereinafter referred 1079
to as the "program") shall be used as an incentive for students to 1080
develop job-related skills and to encourage careers as 1081
rehabilitation specialists or benefits programs specialists at the 1082
Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services. 1083
(2) In order to be eligible for the program, an applicant 1084
must: 1085
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(a) Attend any college or school approved and 1086
designated by the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation 1087
Services. 1088
(b) Have successfully obtained a minimum of fifty-eight 1089
(58) semester hours toward a bachelor's degree in an eligible 1090
field as determined by the Mississippi Department of 1091
Rehabilitation Services from a Mississippi institution of higher 1092
learning. Applicants must have achieved a minimum Grade Point 1093
Average (GPA) on these semester hours of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. If 1094
accepted into the internship program, participants shall maintain 1095
a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in all coursework 1096
counted toward a bachelor's degree in an eligible field as 1097
determined by the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation 1098
Services. 1099
(c) Work at least a total of three hundred (300) hours 1100
each summer at a Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation 1101
Services' (MDRS) offices that is mutually agreed upon between MDRS 1102
and the respective intern. 1103
(d) Agree to work as a rehabilitation specialist or a 1104
benefit program specialist at the Mississippi Department of 1105
Rehabilitation Services upon graduation for a period of time 1106
equivalent to one (1) year for each semester the Mississippi 1107
Department of Rehabilitation Services remits payment for tuition, 1108
books and/or related fees towards a bachelors degree in an 1109
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eligible field as determined by the Mississippi Department of 1110
Rehabilitation Services. 1111
(3) (a) Before being placed into the program, each 1112
applicant shall enter into a contract with the Mississippi 1113
Department of Rehabilitation Services, which shall be deemed a 1114
contract with the State of Mississippi, agreeing to the terms and 1115
conditions upon which the internship shall be granted to him or 1116
her. The contract shall include such terms and provisions 1117
necessary to carry out the full purpose and intent of this 1118
section. The form of such contract shall be prepared and approved 1119
by the Attorney General of this state, and shall be signed by the 1120
Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation 1121
Services and the participant. 1122
(b) Upon entry into the program, participants will 1123
become employees of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation 1124
Services during their time in the program and shall be eligible 1125
for benefits such as medical insurance paid by the agency for the 1126
participant; however, in accordance with Section 25-11-105II.(b), 1127
those participants shall not become members of the Public 1128
Employees' Retirement System while participating in the program. 1129
Participants shall not accrue personal or major medical leave 1130
while they are in the program. 1131
(c) The Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation 1132
Services shall have the authority to cancel any contract made 1133
between it and any program participant upon such cause being 1134
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deemed sufficient by the Executive Director of the Mississippi 1135
Department of Rehabilitation Services. 1136
(d) The Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation 1137
Services is vested with full and complete authority and power to 1138
sue in its own name any participant for any damages due the state 1139
on any such uncompleted contract, which suit shall be filed and 1140
handled by the Attorney General of the state. The Mississippi 1141
Department of Rehabilitation Services may contract with a 1142
collection agency or banking institution, subject to approval by 1143
the Attorney General, for collection of any damages due the state 1144
from any participant. The State of Mississippi, the Mississippi 1145
Department of Rehabilitation Services and its employees are immune 1146
from any suit brought in law or equity for actions taken by the 1147
collection agency or banking institution incidental to or arising 1148
from their performance under the contract. The Mississippi 1149
Department of Rehabilitation Services, collection agency and 1150
banking institution may negotiate for the payment of a sum that is 1151
less than full payment in order to satisfy any damages the 1152
participant owes the state, subject to approval by the Executive 1153
Director of the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services. 1154
(4) (a) Any recipient who is accepted into the program by 1155
the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services and who 1156
fails to complete undergraduate level coursework toward an 1157
approved degree, or withdraws from school at any time before 1158
completing his or her education, shall be liable to repay the 1159
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Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services for all monies 1160
received during the time the recipient was in the program, at the 1161
rate of pay received by the employee while in the program, 1162
including benefits paid by the agency for the participant, and 1163
monies received for tuition, books and related fees used to pursue 1164
their degree with interest accruing at ten percent (10%) per annum 1165
from the date the recipient failed or withdrew from school. The 1166
recipient also shall not be liable for repayment for any money 1167
earned during the required summer hours. This money shall be 1168
considered earned by the recipient at the federal minimum wage 1169
rate. 1170
(b) All paid internship compensation received by the 1171
recipient while in school shall be considered earned conditioned 1172
upon the fulfillment of the terms and obligations of the paid 1173
internship contract and this section. However, no recipient of 1174
the paid internship shall accrue personal or major medical leave 1175
while the recipient is pursuing junior or senior 1176
undergraduate-level year coursework toward a bachelor's degree in 1177
a program that qualifies the individual to qualify to become a 1178
rehabilitation specialist or a benefit program specialist within 1179
the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services. The 1180
recipient shall not be liable for liquidated damages. 1181
(c) If the recipient does not work as a rehabilitation 1182
specialist or a benefit program specialist at the Mississippi 1183
Department of Rehabilitation Services for the period required 1184
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under subsection (2)(d) of this section, the recipient shall be 1185
liable for repayment on demand of the remaining portion of the 1186
compensation that the recipient was paid while in the program 1187
which has not been unconditionally earned, with interest accruing 1188
at ten percent (10%) per annum from the recipient's date of 1189
graduation or the date that the recipient last worked at the 1190
Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, whichever is 1191
the later date. 1192
SECTION 22. Section 57-34-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1193
brought forward as follows: 1194
57-34-5. As used in this chapter, the following words and 1195
phrases shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, 1196
unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning: 1197
(a) "Act" means the provisions of this chapter. 1198
(b) "Authority" means the Alabama-Mississippi Joint 1199
Economic Development Authority created pursuant to this chapter. 1200
(c) "Board of directors" means the board of directors 1201
of the authority. 1202
(d) "Designated geographic area" means: 1203
(i) Those counties in the State of Alabama that 1204
share a common border with any county in the State of Mississippi; 1205
and 1206
(ii) Those counties in the State of Mississippi 1207
that share a common border with any county in the State of 1208
Alabama. 1209
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(e) "Herein," "hereby," "hereunder," "hereof" and other 1210
equivalent words refer to this chapter as an entirety and not 1211
solely to the particular section or portion thereof in which any 1212
such word is used. 1213
(f) "Project" means: 1214
(i) Any industrial, commercial, research and 1215
development, warehousing, distribution, transportation, 1216
processing, mining, United States government or tourism enterprise 1217
together with all real property required for construction, 1218
maintenance and operation of the enterprise: 1219
1. With an initial capital investment of not 1220
less than Three Hundred Million Dollars ($300,000,000.00) from 1221
private or United States government sources together with all 1222
buildings, and other supporting land and facilities, structures or 1223
improvements of whatever kind required or useful for construction, 1224
maintenance and operation of the enterprise; or 1225
2. With an initial capital investment of not 1226
less than One Hundred Fifty Million Dollars ($150,000,000.00) from 1227
private or United States government sources together with all 1228
buildings and other supporting land and facilities, structures or 1229
improvements of whatever kind required or useful for construction, 1230
maintenance and operation of the enterprise and which creates at 1231
least one thousand (1,000) net new full-time jobs; or 1232
3. Which creates at least one thousand 1233
(1,000) net new full-time jobs which provide an average hourly 1234
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wage of not less than two hundred percent (200%) of the federal 1235
minimum wage in effect on the date the project is placed in 1236
service. 1237
(ii) Any addition to, or expansion of, any 1238
existing enterprise as described in this paragraph if the addition 1239
or expansion: 1240
1. Has an initial capital investment of not 1241
less than Three Hundred Million Dollars ($300,000,000.00) from 1242
private or United States government sources; 1243
2. Has an initial capital investment of not 1244
less than One Hundred Fifty Million Dollars ($150,000,000.00) from 1245
private or United States government sources together with all 1246
buildings and other supporting land and facilities, structures or 1247
improvements of whatever kind required or useful for construction, 1248
maintenance and operation of the enterprise and which creates at 1249
least one thousand (1,000) net new full-time jobs; or 1250
3. Creates at least one thousand (1,000) net 1251
new full-time jobs which provide an average hourly wage of not 1252
less than two hundred percent (200%) of the federal minimum wage 1253
in effect on the date the project is placed in service. 1254
(iii) Any development with an initial capital 1255
investment from private sources of not less than Seven Hundred 1256
Fifty Million Dollars ($750,000,000.00) which will create at least 1257
three thousand (3,000) net new full-time jobs satisfying criteria 1258
to be established by the authority. 1259
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In addition to meeting the other requirements of this 1260
paragraph, in order to fall within the definition of the term 1261
"project": 1262
(i) The enterprise or development must be located 1263
within the designated geographic area; and 1264
(ii) Each state must provide funds or in-kind 1265
contributions equal to at least one-third (1/3) of the total costs 1266
of the project to the states. 1267
(g) "Project agreement" means an agreement, approved by 1268
the Legislature of the states, setting forth certain obligations, 1269
responsibilities, benefits, administrative matters and any other 1270
matters with respect to a specific project that are not 1271
inconsistent with the terms of this chapter as the legislatures of 1272
the states deem appropriate with respect to a specific project. 1273
(h) "Project tax revenues" means: 1274
(i) All of the following state and local taxes 1275
paid directly to a state or a local government by the project: 1276
income taxes, ad valorem taxes on real and personal property, 1277
sales and use taxes, franchise taxes, license taxes, excise taxes 1278
and severance taxes; and 1279
(ii) All state and local personal income tax and 1280
occupational tax withholdings from employees of the project 1281
attributable to employment at the project. 1282
(i) "States" means the State of Alabama and the State 1283
of Mississippi collectively. 1284
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SECTION 23. Section 99-19-20, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 1285
brought forward as follows: 1286
99-19-20. (1) Except as otherwise provided under Section 1287
99-19-20.1, when any court sentences a defendant to pay a fine, 1288
the court may order (a) that the fine be paid immediately, or (b) 1289
that the fine be paid in installments to the clerk of the court or 1290
to the judge, if there be no clerk, or (c) that payment of the 1291
fine be a condition of probation, or (d) that the defendant be 1292
required to work on public property for public benefit under the 1293
direction of the sheriff for a specific number of hours, or (e) 1294
any combination of the above. 1295
(2) Except as otherwise provided under Section 99-19-20.1, 1296
the defendant may be imprisoned until the fine is paid if the 1297
defendant is financially able to pay a fine and the court so 1298
finds, subject to the limitations provided under this section. 1299
The defendant shall not be imprisoned if the defendant is 1300
financially unable to pay a fine and so states to the court in 1301
writing, under oath, after sentence is pronounced, and the court 1302
so finds, except if the defendant is financially unable to pay a 1303
fine and such defendant failed or refused to comply with a prior 1304
sentence as specified in subsection (1) of this section, the 1305
defendant may be imprisoned. 1306
This subsection shall be limited as follows: 1307
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ST: Mississippi Minimum Wage Act; enact.
(a) In no event shall such period of imprisonment 1308
exceed one (1) day for each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) of the 1309
fine. 1310
(b) If a sentence of imprisonment, as well as a fine, 1311
were imposed, the aggregate of such term for nonpayment of a fine 1312
and the original sentence of imprisonment shall not exceed the 1313
maximum authorized term of imprisonment. 1314
(c) It shall be in the discretion of the judge to 1315
determine the rate of the credit to be earned for work performed 1316
under subsection (1)(d), but the rate shall be no lower than the 1317
rate of the highest current federal minimum wage. 1318
(3) Periods of confinement imposed for nonpayment of two (2) 1319
or more fines shall run consecutively unless specified by the 1320
court to run concurrently. 1321
SECTION 24. This act shall take effect and be in force from 1322
and after July 1, 2026. 1323