Section 37-146-5 - Powers and duties of commission The Mississippi Rural Dentists Scholarship Commission shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) Developing the administrative policy for the commission and the Mississippi Rural Dentists Scholarship Program;(b) Promulgating rules and regulations, with the advice and consent of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, pertaining to the implementation and operation of the Rural Dentists Scholarship Program;(c) Developing and implementing strategies and activities for the identification and recruitment of students and for marketing the program and for the implementation of the program. In developing these strategies, the board shall seek the input of various organizations and entities ;(d) Establishing a budget, with the advice and consent of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, to support the activities of the program and periodically reviewing and if appropriate, revising, the scholarship and other stipends offered through the program;(e) Advising the University of Mississippi Medical Center regarding hiring appropriate staff necessary to work in conjunction with the Executive Director of the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program ;(f) Reviewing participants' progress in the program and mentoring students and dentists participating in the program;(g) The commission shall have the authority through use of generally applicable definitions, to designate an area of the state as underserved or rural. The method by which these designations shall be made shall be contained in rules and regulations promulgated by the commission ;(h) The commission shall produce an annual report to the Legislature showing certain information relating to the program for the previous fiscal year, including the following: (i) Budget, including funds provided in addition to legislative appropriations;(ii) The number of participants enrolled in dental school along with their matriculation status;(iii) The status of, to include location or practice, participants who have entered a dental residency program;(iv) The number and cause of participants who breached their obligation(s) to the program; and(v) The status of, to include location of practice, participants who have entered into the practice of dentistry in a rural or medically underserved area in Mississippi.Amended by Laws, 2024, ch. 493, SB 2729,§ 7, eff. 7/1/2024.Added by Laws, 2013, ch. 397, HB 776, 3, eff. 7/1/2013.