MS HB1424

Department of Corrections must contract with a third party to administer inmate canteen services through a competitive request for proposals process.

Request for proposals must be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least once per week for three weeks, and must require bidders to describe qualifications for serving geographically dispersed facilities and provide details on commissions, pricing, and quality assurance.

Inmate Welfare Fund Committee evaluates all proposals using uniform criteria and presents recommendations to the Department of Corrections, which retains all evaluations for at least three years and must document its final selection decision in meeting minutes.

Contracts must include performance evaluation standards with an initial evaluation after six months; the PEER Committee may conduct compliance audits at the request of legislative Corrections Committees using appropriated funds, with results delivered to the Legislature by January 1.

Contracts commence January 1 and end December 31 each year, with the Department authorized to select interim administrators without competitive bidding only when necessary to terminate or not renew an existing contract, and must notify the Legislature and Governor of transition plans.