Tort Claims Board; require to create a registry of all governmental entities and CEOs., the official text

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2026 Regular Session

To: Judiciary, Division A

By: Senator(s) Hickman

Senate Bill 2360

(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 11-46-20, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972,
TO REQUIRE THE TORT CLAIMS BOARD TO CREATE A PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE ONLINE
REGISTRY OF ALL GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES AND THEIR CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS BY A
CERTAIN DATE; TO AMEND SECTION 11-46-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM
TO THE TOLLING PROVISIONS OF SECTION 11-46-20; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 11-46-19,
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES POWERS FOR THE TORT CLAIMS BOARD, FOR
PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1.  Section
11-46-20, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

11-46-20.  (1)  The Tort
Claims Board shall be charged with the responsibility to regulate all liability
coverage of governmental entities required to have certificates of coverage
under this chapter which elect to provide the same through a public entity
group or individual self-insurance program.  This regulation shall be
accomplished through an initial approval as provided in Section 11-46-17 and by
ongoing or annual review.  Each self-insurance program shall annually submit to
the Tort Claims Board the following items within ninety (90) days from the end
of the group year:

(a)  An audited
financial statement;

(b)  An actuarial
valuation;

(c)  Contracts with
third-party administrators (if any);

(d)  Excess insurance
policies;

(e)  A list of members
and premiums due from and collected from each member; and

(f)  Other data as may
be required by the Tort Claims Board.

(2)  Areas of regulation
under this section shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a)  Financial
solvency;

(b)  Rating plans,
rates and rating basis;

(c)  Assessment plans
of public entity groups;

(d)  Coverages offered
and excluded;

(e)  Deductibles and
deductible credits;

(f)  Proper purchase of
excess insurance or reinsurance; and

(g)  Review of losses,
reserves and expenses annually.

(3)  Individual self-insurers
and group public entity self-insurers must provide the data requested for the
purposes of this section in order to receive continuing approval of the Tort
Claims Board and issuance of annual certificates of coverage to the
governmental entities involved.

(4)  The Tort Claims Board
is authorized to assess and charge appropriate fees for the costs of
regulation, as determined by the board, to the individual self-insurers and
group public entity self-insurers being regulated.

(5)  The Tort Claims Board
is empowered to:

(a)  Issue cease and
desist orders;

(b)  Require rate
increases or decreases;

(c)  Require
assessments of members of group public entity self-insurers in such amounts as
are authorized and required by the board;

(d)  Require changes in
excess insurance or reinsurance; or

(e)  Take such other actions
as deemed necessary by the board to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

(6)  (a)  The Tort Claims
Board shall create a publicly accessible online
registry by July 1, 2026, that lists all governmental entities that are
required to have certificates of coverage under this chapter with the name,
email address and mailing address of the Chief Executive Office of the
governmental entity.  If the information listed on the registry required by
this section is not correct at the time the notice of claim described in
Section 11-46-11 is served, the one-year statute of limitations provided in
Section 11-46-11 shall be tolled until the correct information is listed for
the governmental entity as required by this section and the court shall not
dismiss a complaint for listing such incorrect information when the complaint
is otherwise properly filed.

(b)  Each
governmental entity that is required to have certificates of coverage under
this chapter shall have a duty to provide the current name, email address and
mailing address of the Chief Executive Office of the governmental entity to the
Tort Claims Board.  If the information provided to the registry is not correct
at the time the notice of claim described in Section 11-46-11 is served, the
one-year statute of limitations provided in Section 11-46-11 shall be tolled
until the correct information is listed for the governmental entity as required
by this section and the court shall not dismiss a complaint for listing such
incorrect information when the complaint is otherwise properly filed.

SECTION 2.  Section
11-46-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

11-46-11.  (1)  After all
procedures within a governmental entity have been exhausted, any person having
a claim under this chapter shall proceed as he might in any action at law or in
equity, except that at least ninety (90) days before instituting suit, the
person must file a notice of claim with the chief executive officer of the
governmental entity.

(2)  (a)  Service of notice
of claim shall be made as follows:

(i)  For local
governments:

1.  If the
governmental entity is a county, then upon the chancery clerk of the county
sued;

2.  If the
governmental entity is a municipality, then upon the city clerk.

(ii)  If the
governmental entity to be sued is a state entity as defined in Section 11-46-1(j),
or is a political subdivision other than a county or municipality, service of
notice of claim shall be had only upon that entity's or political subdivision's
chief executive officer.  The chief executive officer of a governmental entity
participating in a plan administered by the board pursuant to Section 11-46-7(3)
shall notify the board of any claims filed within five (5) days after receipt
thereof.

(b)  Every notice of
claim shall:

(i)  Be in writing;

(ii)  Be delivered
in person or by registered or certified United States mail; and

(iii)  Contain
a short and plain statement of the facts upon which the claim is based,
including the circumstances which brought about the injury, the extent of the
injury, the time and place the injury occurred, the names of all persons known
to be involved, the amount of money damages sought, and the residence of the
person making the claim at the time of the injury and at the time of filing the
notice.

(3)  (a)  Except as
otherwise provided in Section 11-46-20 when the public online registry provided
by the Tort Claims Board is incorrect, all actions brought under this
chapter shall be commenced within one (1) year next after the date of the
tortious, wrongful or otherwise actionable conduct on which the liability phase
of the action is based, and not after, except that filing a notice of claim within
the required one-year period will toll the statute of limitations for ninety-five
(95) days from the date the chief executive officer of the state entity or the
chief executive officer or other statutorily designated official of a political
subdivision receives the notice of claim.

(b)  No action
whatsoever may be maintained by the claimant until the claimant receives a
notice of denial of claim or the tolling period expires, whichever comes first,
after which the claimant has an additional ninety (90) days to file suit;
failure to file within the time allowed is an absolute bar to any further
proceedings under this chapter.

(c)  All notices of
denial of claim shall be served by governmental entities upon claimants by
certified mail, return receipt requested, only.

(d)  (i)  To determine
the running of limitations periods under this chapter, service of any notice of
claim or notice of denial of claim is effective upon delivery by the methods
statutorily designated in this chapter in accordance with Section 11-46-20
for the online registry.

(ii)  The
limitations period provided in this section controls and shall be exclusive in
all actions subject to and brought under the provisions of this chapter,
notwithstanding the nature of the claim, the label or other characterization
the claimant may use to describe it, or the provisions of any other statute of
limitations that would otherwise govern the type of claim or legal theory if it
were not subject to or brought under the provisions of this chapter.

(4)  From and after April 1,
1993, if any person entitled to bring any action under this chapter shall, at
the time at which the cause of action accrued, be under the disability of
infancy or unsoundness of mind, he may bring the action within the time allowed
in this section after his disability shall be removed as provided by law.  The
savings in favor of persons under disability of unsoundness of mind shall never
extend longer than twenty-one (21) years.

SECTION 3.  Section
11-46-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

11-46-19.  (1)  The board
shall have the following powers:

(a)  To provide
oversight over the Tort Claims Fund;

(b)  To approve any
award made from the Tort Claims Fund;

(c)  To pay all
necessary expenses attributable to the operation of the Tort Claims Fund from
such fund;

(d)  To assign
litigated claims against governmental entities other than political
subdivisions to competent attorneys unless such governmental entity has a staff
attorney who is competent to represent the governmental entity and is approved
by the board; the board shall give primary consideration to attorneys
practicing in the jurisdiction where the claim arose in assigning cases;
attorneys hired to represent a governmental entity other than a political
subdivision shall be paid according to the department fee schedule;

(e)  To approve all
claimants' attorney fees in claims against the state;

(f)  To employ on a
full-time basis a staff attorney who shall possess the minimum qualifications
required to be a member of The Mississippi Bar, and such other staff as it may
deem necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter; the employees in the
positions approved by the board shall be hired by the director, shall be
employees of the department, and shall be compensated from the Tort Claims
Fund;

(g)  To contract with
one or more reputable insurance consulting firms as may be necessary;

(h)  To purchase any
policies of liability insurance and to administer any plan of self-insurance or
policies of liability insurance required for the protection of the state
against claims and suits brought under this chapter;

(i)  To expend money
from the Tort Claims Fund for the purchase of any policies of liability
insurance and the payment of any award or settlement of a claim against the
state under the provisions of this chapter or of a claim against any school
district, junior college or community college district, or state agency,
arising from the operation of school buses or other vehicles, under the
provisions of Section 37-41-42;

(j)  To cancel, modify
or replace any policy or policies of liability insurance procured by the board;

(k)  To issue
certificates of coverage to governmental entities, including any political
subdivision participating in any plan of liability protection approved by the
board;

(l)  To review and
approve or reject any plan of liability insurance or self-insurance reserves
proposed or provided by political subdivisions if such plan is intended to
serve as security for risks of claims and suits against them for which immunity
has been waived under this chapter;

(m)  To administer
disposition of claims against the Tort Claims Fund;

(n)  To withhold
issuance of any warrants payable from funds of a participating state entity
should such entity fail to make required contributions to the Tort Claims Fund
in the time and manner prescribed by the board;

(o)  To develop a
comprehensive statewide list of attorneys who are qualified to represent the
state and any employee thereof named as a defendant in a claim brought under
this chapter against the state or such employee;

(p)  To develop a
schedule of fees for paying attorneys defending claims against the state or an
employee thereof;

(q)  To adopt and
promulgate such reasonable rules and regulations and to do and perform all such
acts as are necessary to carry out its powers and duties under this chapter;

(r)  To establish and
assess premiums to be paid by governmental entities required to participate in
the Tort Claims Fund;

(s)  To contract with a
third-party administrator to process claims against the state under this
chapter;

(t)  To annually submit
its budget request to the Legislature as a state agency;

(u)  To dispose of
salvage obtained in settlement or payment of any claim at fair market value by
such means and upon such terms as the board may think best; and

(v)  [Repealed]

(2)  Policies of liability
insurance purchased for the protection of governmental entities against claims
and suits brought under this chapter shall be purchased pursuant to the
competitive bidding procedures set forth in Section 31-7-13.

(3)  The department shall
have the following powers and duties:

(a)  To annually report
to the Legislature concerning each comprehensive plan of liability protection
established pursuant to Section 11-46-17(2).  Such report shall include a
comprehensive analysis of the cost of the plan, a breakdown of the cost to
participating state entities, and such other information as the department may
deem necessary.

(b)  To provide the
board with any staff and meeting facilities as may be necessary to carry out
the duties of the board as provided in this chapter.

(c)  To submit the
board's budget request for the initial year of operation of the board in order
to authorize expenditures for the 1993-1994 fiscal year and for the
appropriation of such general funds as shall be required for the commencement
of its activities.

SECTION 4.  This act
shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.