Title 25, Public Officers and Employees; Public Records

(a) The bureau is hereby authorized and empowered to exercise such duties and powers necessary to effectuate the purposes of Sections 25-53-101 through 25-53-125 including the following:(a) Form an advisory council made up of persons with expertise, and experience in the field of…

The authority shall meet regularly at a place designated by it once each calendar month and shall meet at such other times as may be set upon call of the chairman or a majority of the members of the authority. At its first meeting, the authority shall organize and elect a chairma…

(a) The bureau shall have the following additional duties:(a) To establish and coordinate through either state ownership or commercial leasing, all telecommunications systems and services affecting the management and operations of the state.(b) To act as the sole centralized cust…

Each and every agency of the state shall give full cooperation to the bureau in furnishing all information of any kind as it pertains to telecommunications.

No agency shall rent, lease, lease/purchase, purchase or in any way own or pay for the operation of any telecommunications system out of any funds available for the use by that agency without the written approval of the bureau.

No agency shall be permitted to obligate the state to any vendor source for a telecommunications system of any kind. All transactions dealing with a telecommunications system shall be conducted through the bureau, and any vendor found in violation of this policy may be prohibited…

The bureau shall, subject to the provisions of Sections 25-53-101 through 25-53-125, have sole authority and responsibility for defining the specific telecommunications equipment, systems and related services to which the provisions of Sections 25-53-101 through 25-53-125 shall b…

(1) The types of contracts permitted in the procurement of telecommunications equipment, systems and related services are defined herein, and the provisions in Sections 25-53-101 through 25-53-125 and 25-53-5 supplement the provisions of Chapter 7, Title 31, Mississippi Code of 1…

(1) The only method of procurement permitted for the acquisition of nonregulated telecommunications systems, including equipment and related services, shall be in conformity with Section 25-53-5.

(a) The following general provisions shall apply to all procurements under Sections 25-53-101 through 25-53-125:(a) No contracts entered into hereunder shall have an initial effective date earlier than the date on which such contract receives approval as required herein.(b) All c…

In order to have a quorum for a meeting of the authority, at least three (3) members of the authority must be present.

Any member of the authority may have his vote on any question before the authority recorded on the minutes thereof at the time of the vote, and a member of the authority who votes against an illegal or unauthorized expenditure of funds may not be held liable therefor.

(1) There is established in the State Treasury the “Electronic Government Services Fund,” into which shall be deposited specific funds appropriated by the Legislature for developing and providing electronic government services within the State of Mississippi. Any funds in the Ele…

The authority shall keep full, complete, and permanent minutes and records of all its proceedings, including the rules and regulations adopted by it, and said minutes shall be signed by the chairman, or vice-chairman, and attested by the secretary.

(1) There is hereby created the Wireless Communication Commission, which shall be responsible for promoting the efficient use of public resources to ensure that law enforcement personnel and essential public health and safety personnel have effective communications services avail…

The authority shall select an executive director, with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall be the administrative officer of the authority and shall perform such duties as are required of him by law and such other duties as may be assigned him by the authority, and who…

(1) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section unless the context otherwise clearly requires:(a) “Department” means the Mississippi Department of Information Technology.(b) “State agency” means any agency, depart…

(1) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “National Security on State Devices and Networks Act.” (2) For the purposes of this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:(a)…

(1) There is hereby established the Enterprise Security Program which shall provide for the coordinated oversight of the cybersecurity efforts across all state agencies, including cybersecurity systems, services and the development of policies, standards and guidelines. (2) The M…

(a) The executive director shall have the following duties, responsibilities and authority:(a) He shall conduct continuing studies of all information technology activities carried out by all agencies of the state and shall develop a long-range plan for the efficient and economica…

The authority shall act upon all appeals of decisions made by the executive director thereof and shall, upon such appeals, approve or disapprove such administrative actions as may be taken by him. The form of an appeal to the full authority from an action or recommendation of the…

There is hereby created the “Cyber Security Review Board,” which shall be responsible for ensuring a collaborative effort is made to address the cybersecurity threat posed to the State of Mississippi. Responsibilities of the board include creating a system of reporting cybersecur…

(a) The Cyber Security Review Board, hereafter referred to as the “board,” shall consist of the following seven (7) members:(a) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security, or his or her designee, as chairman of the board;(b) The Executive Director of th…

(1) Ex officio nonvoting members of the board include:(a) The President of the Mississippi Municipal League, or his or her designee;(b) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors staff, or his or her designee; and(c) The Chairmen of the Technology Commit…

Within forty-five (45) days of April 8, 2024, the Executive Director of the Mississippi Office of Homeland Security shall call a meeting of the board. The board shall adopt rules which govern the time of meetings, place of meetings, and the manner of conducting the business of th…

The board shall produce a statewide cybersecurity report, which shall be presented to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and the Chairmen of the Technology Committees of the Mississippi Senate and Mississippi House of Representatives by December 15 each year…

(1) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the “Cyber Security Review Board Fund.” Any funds which may be needed for administrative and travel expenses shall be deposited in this special fund by the Department of Public Safety from the department’s r…

(1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 25-53-5, 25-53-25(5) or any other provision of law, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to imply exemption from the public purchases law, being Section 31-7-1 et seq. (2) The authority may establish policies and procedures for th…

Sections 25-53-251 through 25-53-263 shall be known and may be cited as the “Cloud Center of Excellence Act.”

(a) As used in Sections 25-53-251 through 25-53-263, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed herein, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:(a) “Cloud Center of Excellence” or “CCOE” means the centralized body responsible for providing strategic guidance, best…

(1) There is established within the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) a centralized Cloud Center of Excellence (CCOE) to facilitate cloud adoption across state agencies and governing authorities, enhance technological infrastructure, improve security…

(1) The Cloud Center of Excellence (CCOE) shall establish a two-year phased implementation plan, which shall accomplish the following benchmarks by July 1, 2027:(a) Conduct statewide readiness assessments and develop detailed cloud migration plans for pilot agencies;(b) Initiate …

Not later than November 15 of each even-numbered year, ITS, using existing resources, shall submit a report to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Speaker, the Chairpersons of the House and Senate Committees on Technology and of the House State Affairs Committee on the use of c…

The Legislature shall appropriate funds to the Department of Information Technology Services to implement and operate the Cloud Center of Excellence (CCOE). The CCOE may seek additional funding through federal grants, partnerships, and other available resources.

(1) The purpose of Sections 25-53-251 through 25-53-263 is to establish a Technology Innovation Fund, hereafter referred to as “Fund,” to facilitate the development and deployment of innovative technological solutions that enhance the efficiency, transparency and responsiveness o…

(1) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi Statewide Data Exchange Act.” (2) The Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (ITS) is tasked with conducting a comprehensive study to assess the feasibility, operational requirements and polic…

(1) For the purposes of this section the term “bureau” shall mean the “Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services.” The authority shall have the following powers and responsibilities to carry out the establishment of policy and provide for long-range planning and c…

(1) Whenever the term “Central Data Processing Authority” or the term “authority,” when referring to the Central Data Processing Authority, is used in any law, rule, regulation, document or elsewhere, it shall be construed to mean the Mississippi Department of Information Technol…

(1) The Legislature finds that:(a) The State of Mississippi needs to support stakeholders as they gather information and decide the best means to utilize and oversee artificial intelligence (AI) tools and systems used by the State of Mississippi’s governing bodies;(b) The Legisla…

(1) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Mississippi IT Optimization Act.” (2) As used in this section, all words and phrases used herein shall have the meanings as are ascribed to and provided for them in Section 25-53-3, and the following words shall have the me…

(1) There is created within the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services (ITS), a State Security Operations Center (SSOC). The SSOC shall operate under the leadership of the Executive Director of ITS and in direct coordination with the Enterprise Security Program…

(a) The SSOC shall:(a) Develop operational cybersecurity procedures to support policies adopted under Section 25-53-201;(b) Provide centralized monitoring, threat intelligence, vulnerability identification and incident response services to all state agencies subject to Section 25…

(1) All state agencies subject to Section 25-53-201 shall:(a) Comply with all cybersecurity policies, standards and controls established under Section 25-53-201;(b) Report suspected cybersecurity incidents to both the Enterprise Security Program and the SSOC within timeframes set…

(a) If an agency fails to comply with statewide cybersecurity requirements under Section 25-53-201 or procedures executed by the SSOC under Sections 25-53-351 through 25-53-365, the Executive Director of ITS may:(a) Impose additional oversight, monitoring or cybersecurity audit r…

(1) The SSOC is authorized to collaborate with:(a) The Mississippi Office of Homeland Security;(b) Federal cybersecurity centers and public-sector threat-intelligence partners; and(c) Any other entity necessary to execute operational cybersecurity responsibilities. (a) The Missis…

(a) On or before January 1 of each year, the SSOC shall submit to the Executive Director of ITS, the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House and the ITS Board a report that includes:(a) Operational performance and activities for the preceding year;(b) A summar…