Merit Institute Merit

The Mississippi Government Transparency & Performance Act (MS-GT&P)

Mississippi state companion to GT&P. Extends State Personnel Board (Miss. Code Ann. Title 25 Ch. 9), Mississippi Public Records Act (Sec. 25-61-1 et seq.), and Medicaid Fraud Control Act recovery (Miss. Code Ann. Sec. 43-13-201 et seq.).

THE MISSISSIPPI GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY & PERFORMANCE ACT (MS-GT&P)

Vehicle: State passage. Mississippi Legislature, regular session. Primary referral to House / Senate Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency / Appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the “Mississippi Government Transparency & Performance Act (MS-GT&P).”

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT

The Legislature finds that Mississippi’s State Personnel Board operates under Miss. Code Ann. Title 25 Ch. 9; that the Mississippi Public Records Act operates under Miss. Code Ann. Sec. 25-61-1 et seq.; that the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) provides oversight under Miss. Code Ann. Sec. 5-3-51 et seq.; that the Department of Finance and Administration administers the state budget; that Mississippi does not have a general False Claims Act but recovers Medicaid fraud under the Mississippi Medicaid Fraud Control Act, Miss. Code Ann. Sec. 43-13-201 et seq.; and that the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit operates under the Office of the Attorney General pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396b(q). This Act extends these frameworks.

TITLE I — DEFINITIONS & COORDINATION WITH MISSISSIPPI LAW

Sec. 101. Definitions

  1. (a) “MS-DFA” means the Department of Finance and Administration.
  2. (b) “Publicly visible outcome” means a metric published under Sec. 201.
  3. (c) “MFCA” means Mississippi’s Medicaid Fraud Control Act under Miss. Code Ann. Sec. 43-13-201 et seq.

Sec. 102. Coordination with Existing Mississippi Law

  1. (a) Consistent with:
  • Miss. Code Ann. Title 25 Ch. 9 (State Personnel Board).
  • Miss. Code Ann. Sec. 25-61-1 et seq. (Public Records).
  • Miss. Code Ann. Sec. 5-3-51 et seq. (PEER Committee).
  • Miss. Code Ann. Sec. 43-13-201 et seq. (Medicaid Fraud Control Act).

TITLE II — OUTCOME-BASED BUDGETING

Sec. 201. Outcome Metrics for Covered Programs

  1. (a) Each covered program in the Executive Budget shall publish at least three outcome metrics.
  2. (b) The Department of Finance and Administration shall publish the Mississippi Outcome Dashboard in machine-readable form.

Sec. 202. Fiscal-Note Outcome Integration

  1. (a) Legislative fiscal notes and PEER Committee reports shall identify outcome metrics from Sec. 201.

TITLE III — CIVIL-SERVICE MERIT PROTECTIONS

Sec. 301. Codification of Performance-Standards Protections

  1. (a) Miss. Code Ann. Title 25 Ch. 9 is amended so that nothing precludes policy-influencing-position classifications with publicly posted performance standards.
  2. (b) Classifications consistent with Miss. Code Ann. Sec. 25-9-107 (non-State-Service positions).

TITLE IV — MISSISSIPPI MEDICAID FRAUD QUI TAM (MFCA Rewire)

Sec. 401. Medicaid Fraud Qui Tam Authority

  1. (a) Given that Mississippi does not have a general False Claims Act, this Title operates as a Medicaid-specific qui tam authority under Miss. Code Ann. Sec. 43-13-201 et seq. and in coordination with the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1396b(q).

Sec. 402. Credentialing and Outcome-Data Fraud

  1. (a) A person presenting a materially false or fraudulent claim involving MSRMC, Federal FRAC, MS-OBSA outcome data, or Medicaid-related credential claims is liable to the State for a civil penalty and treble damages.

Sec. 403. Whistleblower Award

  1. (a) A whistleblower whose information leads to recovery shall receive between 15 and 30 percent of the State recovery, as determined by the Attorney General.

TITLE V — IMPLEMENTATION & GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Severability

If any provision is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect the remainder.

Sec. 502. Effective Date

This Act shall take effect July 1 of the year following enactment.

Canonical federal version: GT&P. Other Mississippi bills: MS-ACSA, MS-MEWRA, MS-AI-Workforce.