JACKSON- On July 1, numerous bills passed by the Mississippi legislature during the 2013 session became law. Included in that was the following legislation supported by the Office of State Auditor:

Senate Bill 2625: Public officers and employees; revise punishment for embezzlement and restrict government hiring of felons.

Under this new law, an individual who has been convicted or pled guilty to stealing public funds in the state of Mississippi may not be employed by the state or any county, municipality or any other political subdivision. On numerous occasions, officials have stolen from one government agency only to then be employed by another agency at a later time.

House Bill 1530: School attendance and absenteeism; standardize for compulsory attendance law & ADA calculations under MAEP.

Under this new law, schools will now have a standardized definition for attendance and absenteeism for calculations under the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) formula.

Now, a student will be considered absent if he or she is not present at school for a minimum of 63 percent of the instructional day. Currently, school attendance policies vary from district to district, with some having high expectations of attendance and others which have little or no expectations.

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