Mississippi transparency legislation
Contents |
- See sample transparency legislation at the Sunshine Standard
2011
Here is a list of transparency legislation for Mississippi in 2011:
 | House Bill 314 | Current Status: (Referred to Ethics Committee) | 
|
House Bill 314 is a bill introduced to the Mississippi House of Representatives by Representative Rita Martinson which would impose the civil penalties for violations of open records laws on individual members of a public body. Initial fine levels would be made $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for a second offense. Any person who denies access to a public record may also be liable for a civil sum up to $100 per violation. The companion bills House Bill 358, Mississippi 2011, House Bill 865, Mississippi 2011, Senate Bill 2158, Mississippi 2011, and Senate Bill 2070, Mississippi 2011 all died in committee. Senate Bill 2289, Mississippi 2011 is the senate version of the bill. [1]
| House Bill 733 | Current Status: (Died in Committee) | 
|
House Bill 733 is a bill introduced to the Mississippi House of Representatives by Representative Mark Baker which would require public bodies to maintain certain public records on their agency's website. [2]
 | House Bill 974 | Current Status: (Died in Committee) |
|
House Bill 974 is a bill introduced to the Mississippi House of Representatives by Representative Omeria Scott which would impose civil penalties against anyone who discloses information derived from an executive session of a public body. First violation may be subject to civil penalty of no less than $25,000 with the penalty increasing by $25,000 for each subsequent violation. The bill would also provide for rules regarding entering an executive session. [3]
| Senate Bill 2289 | Current Status: (Signed into law by Governor on 02/24/2011 effective 06/01/2011) | 
|
Senate Bill 2289 is a bill introduced to the Mississippi House of Representatives by Senator Merle Flowers which would impose the civil penalties for violations of open records laws on individual members of a public body. Initial fine levels would be made $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for a second offense. Any person who denies access to a public record may also be liable for a civil sum up to $100 per violation. The companion bills House Bill 358, Mississippi 2011, House Bill 865, Mississippi 2011, Senate Bill 2158, Mississippi 2011 and Senate Bill 2070, Mississippi 2011 all died in committee. House Bill 314, Mississippi 2011 is the house version of the bill. [4]
Minor Bills
- House Bill 1366, Mississippi 2011 - This bill would include a clause that would prohibit the board of directors from using social functions to circumvent open meetings laws.
- House Bill 207, Mississippi 2011 - This bill would require the State Department of Heath to maintain records of license holder as a public record.
- House Bill 213, Mississippi 2011 - This bill would require the Mississippi Public Service Commission to maintain records of commission proceedings and meetings which would be considered public records.
- House Bill 446, Mississippi 2011 - This bill would require personal care homes to maintain records relating to health condition, medicine, and reactions which would be available to family members upon request.
- House Bill 489, Mississippi 2011 - This bill would allow legal spouses to enter into agreements concerning the property interests of each spouse which would be filed as public record.
- House Bill 529, Mississippi 2011 - This bill would amend public records law to allow legislative committees to obtain records with trade secrets, confidential, commercial or financial information by subpoena.
- House Bill 586, Mississippi 2011 - This bill would make the detailed accounting information of the State Bond Commission a public record.
- House Bill 607, Mississippi 2011 - This bill would create the Board of Examiners for Social Workers and Marriage and Family Therapists who would be able to conduct criminal background checks, and if any information contained in a report is not already public record it would be considered confidential information.
- House Bill 807, Mississippi 2011 - This bill would allow for an officer to have a pre-disciplinary hearing which may be conducted in an executive session, provided that final adjudication shall occur in an open session.
- House Bill 812, Mississippi 2011 - This bill is the same as House Bill 807 for the intents and purposes of public record law.
- House Bill 91, Mississippi 2011 - This bill is the same as House Bill 586 for the intents and purposes of public record law.
- Senate Bill 2179, Mississippi 2011 - This bill would require the district attorney to redact identifying information from reports regarding illegal aliens working for companies with the exception of the employer's name and address.
- Senate Bill 2230, Mississippi 2011 - This bill would make information concerning persons being investigated under the Mississippi Securities Act of 2010 by the Secretary of State confidential and not subject to disclosure.
- Senate Bill 2431, Mississippi 2011 - This bill is the same as House Bill 807 for the intents and purposes of public record law.
- Senate Bill 2493, Mississippi 2011 - This bill is the same as House Bill 607 for the intents and purposes of public record law.
- Senate Bill 2798, Mississippi 2011 - This bill would require that the annual performance reports received by the State Board of Education would be a matter of public record.
- Senate Bill 2843, Mississippi 2011 - This bill is the same as Senate Bill 2179 for the intents and purposes of public record law.
2010
Here is a list of transparency legislation for Mississippi in 2010:
| House Bill 113 | Current Status: (Effective date: 07/01/2010) |
|
House Bill 113 is a bill introduced to the Mississippi House of Representatives which would set a cap on fees associated with staff time. Public agencies could only charge fees at the rate of the lowest paid employee. [1]
Update This bill has passed the house and senate and is awaiting a signature from the governor. However the bill was heavily modified and changed entirely. The new bill would reduce the time permitted a public body to respond to a records request from 14 day to 7 days.[2]
| Senate Bill 2373 | Current Status: (Died on Calendar, 03/11/2010) | 
|
Senate Bill 2373 introduced by Senator David Baria, would alter the Mississippi Open Meetings Act by increasing the jurisdiction of the courts and expanding the potential penalties for violations to include rendering actions null and void, assessing fines of up to $1000 per violation and assessing court and legal fees to public agencies who have violated the act. [3]
2009
- House Bill 1048 [4] would restrict the fees charged for open records to actual costs. Unanimously passed the House February 10, 2009. [5]
- Senate Bill 2921 [6] would reduce the response time required by law for open records requests to seven days (rather than the current 14 days) and restrict fees charged for open records to actual costs. The Senate recommitted this bill to committee 26-23, which effectively killed it. [5] [7]
- Senate Bill 3109 [8] concerns the construction of artificial reefs in the Gulf and contains an exemption to FOIA. The House version of the bill does not contain the exemption. [5]
The Natchez Democrat [9], Clarion Ledger [10] and the Hattiesburg American [11] have editorialized in favor of both HB1048 and SB2921.
2008
- Mississippi House Bill 101 (2008), aka the "Mississippi Accountability and Transparency Act of 2008," requires the creation of an online database detailing state expenditures.
- Mississippi House Bill 725 (2008), aka the "Mississippi Taxpayer Transparency Act."
References
- ↑ Text of HB 113
- ↑ HB 113 Sent to Governor
- ↑ Text of SB 2373
- ↑ Text and Status of HB1048
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Two bills deal with public-records policy, Sun Herald, February 11, 2009
- ↑ Text and Status of SB2921
- ↑ Secrecy: Senate backslides on openness, Clarion Ledger, February 13, 2009
- ↑ Text and Status of SB3109
- ↑ Cheese holes best filled one at a time, Natchez Democrat, February 11, 2009
- ↑ Secrecy: Senate backslides on openness, Clarion Ledger, February 13, 2009
- ↑ Lawmakers must get serious about records, Hattiesburg American, February 12, 2009
| |||||
