THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

During its 1992 Regular Session, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 3120 (now Section 30, Chapter 419, Laws of 1992) mandating a ten percent reduction in the state government work force by July 1, 1997. Using FY 1993 authorized positions as the base figure for calculations, the law requires agencies under the jurisdiction of the State Personnel Board to reduce positions in increments of approximately two percent each fiscal year.

As of January 15, 1996, the Governor had exempted twelve agencies from complying with Section 30 due to "the severity and computational difficulty of applying a ten percent reduction to an agency with ten or fewer employees" and "the hardship that compliance would impose." The Governor has also exempted the Department of Economic and Community Development from the requirements of Section 30 due to the department's need for additional employees and program expansions consistent with the governor's guidelines.

Three years after passage of the law, thirty-three state agencies had experienced no growth or a decline in the number of positions and twenty-four agencies had experienced increases. Overall, the number of positions in agencies subject to this law experienced a net increase of seven percent. After excluding increases of positions within the Legislature's priority growth areas--mental health, crime control, and gaming control--the number of state employees has actually declined by three percent since FY 1993, the effective date of Section 30, Chapter 419, Laws of 1992.

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