Section 47-5-579 - [Work Initiative; department responsibilities; inmate eligibility; selection of inmates; escape; inmate required to make certain payments from wages earned in work initiative; semiannual report](1)(a) The corporation shall operate a work initiative at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, South Mississippi Correctional Institution, Mississippi State Penitentiary and the Mississippi Correctional Institute for Women, and is authorized, in its discretion, to create a work initiative at any other correctional facility listed in Section 47-5-539(d). In lieu of a work initiative created by the corporation, the warden or superintendent or sheriff at any regional and private facility listed in Section 47-5-539 is authorized to create a work initiative at their respective facility consistent with the provisions and requirements of this section. Each initiative shall be limited to no more than twenty-five (25) inmates in the state, regional or private facility at any given time.(b) The department, with regard to a work initiative in an MDOC facility, shall:(i) Have the ultimate authority for oversight of the administration of the initiative;(ii) Delegate the administration of the initiative to the corporation; and(iii) Oversee the selection of inmates for admission to the initiative.(c) The sheriff, with regard to a work initiative at a regional facility, shall: (i) Have the ultimate authority for oversight of the administration of the initiative;(ii) Oversee the selection of inmates for admission to the initiative; and(iii) Work with the department and the corporation to establish guidelines for the initiative and develop a report thereon.(2)(a) An inmate is eligible for participation in the initiative if the inmate has: (i) No more than two (2) years remaining on the inmate's sentence;(ii) Not been convicted under Section 97-9-49 within the last five (5) years; and(iii) Not been sentenced for a sex offense as defined in Section 45-33-23(h).(b) Any inmate who meets the eligibility requirements of paragraph (a) may request assignment to a work initiative established under this section.(3)(a) The commissioner, in the case of MDOC facilities, or the warden, superintendent, sheriff or similar leader in the case of regional and private facilities, shall select inmates for admission to the program.(b) An inmate currently participating in vocational training or a soft skills training program at a facility authorized to operate a work initiative shall have priority in admission to the program.(4)(a) The chief executive officer, in the case of MDOC facilities, or the warden, superintendent, sheriff or similar leader in the case of regional and private facilities, may authorize the inmate to participate in educational or other rehabilitative programs designed to supplement his work initiative employment or to prepare the person for successful reentry.(b) Before accepting any participants to the program, the corporation, in consultation with the department, shall adopt and publish rules and regulations to effectuate this section no later than six (6) months after the effective date of this section. These rules and regulations shall include all protection requirements for work release programs established pursuant to Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-471.(5) Participating employers shall pay no less than the prevailing wage for the position and shall under no circumstance pay less than the federal minimum wage.(6) Any inmate assigned to the initiative who, without proper authority or just cause, leaves the area to which he has been assigned to work or attend educational or other rehabilitative programs, or leaves the vehicle or route of travel involved in his or her going to or returning from such place, will be guilty of escape as provided in Section 97-9-49. An offender who is convicted under Section 97-9-49 shall be ineligible for further participation in the work initiative during his or her current term of confinement.(7)(a) The inmate shall maintain an account through a local financial institution and shall provide a copy of a check stub to the chief executive officer, the warden, the superintendent or the sheriff at a regional facility, as the case may be.(b) The inmate shall be required:(i) To pay twenty-five percent (25%) of the inmate's wages after mandatory deductions for the following purposes:1. To pay support of dependents or to the Mississippi Department of Human Services on behalf of dependents as may be ordered by a judge of competent jurisdiction; and2. To pay any fines, restitution, or costs as ordered by the court to include any fines and fees associated with obtaining a valid driver's license upon release.(ii) To pay fifteen percent (15%) of the inmate's wages to the corporation for administrative expenses to include transportation costs to be remitted to the state, regional or private facility where the inmate is housed. In the case of state facilities, the administrative expense reimbursement shall be paid to the corporation; in the case of regional facilities, the administrative expense reimbursement shall be paid to the sheriff's department; in the case of private facilities the administrative expense reimbursement shall be paid to the contractor overseeing the facility.(iii) To save fifty percent (50%) of the inmate's wages in the account required under paragraph (a) of this subsection. Monies under this subparagraph shall be made available to the inmate upon parole or release.(c) The inmate shall have access to the remaining ten percent (10%) of the monies in the inmate's account to purchase incidental expenses.(d) Any monies remaining under paragraph (a) of this subsection after all mandatory deductions are paid, shall be deposited in the inmate's account established under this subsection. Any monies remaining upon release in paragraph (c) of this subsection shall be released to the inmate.(8) The chief executive officer of the corporation shall collect and maintain data which shall be shared semiannually with the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) and the Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force in sortable electronic format. The first report shall be made on January 15, 2023, and in six-month intervals thereafter unless PEER establishes a different schedule. The data shall include: (a) Total number of participants at the end of each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;(b) Total number of participants who began the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;(c) Total number of participants who successfully completed the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;(d) Total number of participants who left the program in each month and reason for leaving by race, gender, and offenses charged;(e) Total number of participants who were arrested for a new criminal offense while in the program in each month by race, gender and offenses charged;(f) Total number of participants who were convicted of a new crime while in the program in each month by race, gender and offenses charged;(g) Total number of participants who completed the program and were convicted of a new crime within three (3) years of completing the program;(h) Total amount earned by participants and how the earnings were distributed in each month;(i) Results of any initial risk and needs assessments conducted on each participant by race, gender, and offenses charged;(j) List of participating employers;(k) List of jobs acquired by participants;(l) List of the hourly wage paid to each participant;(m) Accounting of the manner and use of the ten percent (10%) of the wages paid to the corporation by the inmate for administrative expenses;(n) Total costs associated with program operations;(o) List of participating financial institutions;(p) The number of accounts opened by participants at financial institutions;(q) The average hourly wage earned in the program; and(r) Any other data or information as requested by the task force.(9) The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) shall conduct a review of the initiative , including any expansion of the initiative authorized under this section, and produce an annual report to the Legislature on their effectiveness by January 1 of each year. The PEER Committee shall seek the assistance of the Corrections and Criminal Justice Task Force and may seek assistance from any other criminal justice experts it deems necessary during its review. Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 464, SB 2445,§ 3, eff. 7/1/2024.Added by Laws, 2022, ch. 493, SB 2437,§ 2, eff. 7/1/2022.