Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-355

This is the official text of Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-355, part of Mississippi’s Code Ann — part of the compiled statutory law of Mississippi, published by the state as "Code Ann." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Miss. Code Ann. § 47-5-355

Official statutory text

(1) The Commissioner of Corrections shall employ a director of the prison agricultural enterprises, who shall be directly responsible to the commissioner. The director shall have the following duties and powers:

(a) To implement and manage the prison agricultural enterprises;

(b) To determine, with the advice of the Director of Planning, the type of agricultural, animal husbandry and aquaculture products needed to feed inmates and which may be grown profitably on department lands;

(c) To use inmate labor to meet the labor needs of the programs, subject to the requirements of subsection (2);

(d) To recommend rules and regulations and employ personnel necessary for the operation of the programs;

(e) To determine the proper methods of canning, freezing or preserving that may be used to the best advantage of the programs;

(f) With approval of the commissioner, to do those things necessary and proper to accomplish the purposes of the programs;

(g) To determine and establish priorities on the most appropriate and profitable products to be grown and which department lands should be farmed, taking into consideration the available prison labor, existing equipment and funds available therefor, markets for the products, and other matters consistent with prudent agricultural practices;

(h) To manage the food services of the department at the discretion of the commissioner.

(2) The director shall have the right to use inmate labor to the exclusion of prison industries. The superintendents shall provide the prison agricultural enterprises with sufficient inmate labor. If a superintendent refuses to provide inmate labor because of security concerns, the commissioner shall decide if security requirements preclude use of inmate labor. Upon the request of the director, the superintendents shall provide security for prison agricultural enterprises.

(3) The director shall maintain accurate and complete financial records of all receipts and expenditures of the prison agricultural enterprise programs.

(4) The director shall file a full and complete report with the Legislature before January 1 of each year detailing the costs, inventory and receipts of each program. The report shall also provide the cost or cost savings of such programs.

(5) The department may enter into joint ventures with private businesses related to prison agricultural enterprises.

Status: in_force

Need a lawyer in Mississippi?

Find a Mississippi lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.