Section 69-5-31 - Department of Agriculture and Commerce authorized to hire certain law enforcement officers to provide security on state fairgrounds; powers, duties and responsibilities of officers; confidentiality of officer identities and personal information(1) The Department of Agriculture and Commerce is authorized to hire and designate area law enforcement officers on a contractual basis to provide security and to enforce all laws of the State of Mississippi on the Mississippi State Fairgrounds Complex. All officers must have attended and satisfactorily completed the training course required for law enforcement officers at the Law Enforcement Officer's Training Academy or an equivalent facility. All officers must be current with this certification. A complete record of all law enforcement training of each employee will be maintained in each employee's record of employment. Furthermore, the Department of Agriculture and Commerce may enter into a contract with any certified law enforcement officer to provide security to the Department of Agriculture and Commerce with jurisdiction to enforce all laws of the State of Mississippi on property known as the "Mississippi State Fairgrounds Complex" and any and all of its outlying buildings and property.(2)(a) All officers while in performance of their duty on the premises or at any of the facilities at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds Complex under the direction or control of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce and public property immediately adjacent to such facilities shall:(i) Be required to dress in uniforms prescribed by the respective law enforcement agency by which he or she is employed; and(ii) Be authorized to carry weapons.(b) Employees designated as officers shall be duly sworn and vested with authority to bear arms and make arrests, and shall exercise primarily the responsibilities of the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of criminals, and the enforcement of the ordinances and policies of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, a political subdivision of the State of Mississippi. Employees designated as such officers shall be considered law enforcement officers within the meaning of Section 45-6-3.(3) The identities and personal information of the officers under the authority of this section are confidential and shall not be publicly disclosed by the department. The Department of Agriculture and Commerce shall redact the identities and personal information of officers contracted to serve on the Mississippi State Fairground Complex, from all contracts disclosed as public records in compliance with the Mississippi Public Records Act, prescribed under Section 25-61-1 et seq.; and such law enforcement contracts shall not be posted on the Department of Finance and Administration's searchable website, as required by the Mississippi Accountability and Transparency Act, prescribed under Section 27-104-151 et seq.Amended by Laws, 2023, ch. 396, HB 363,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2023.Reenacted by Laws, 2021, ch. 362, SB 2076,§ 10, eff. 7/1/2021.Amended by Laws, 2020, ch. 417, HB 1566,§ 14, eff. 7/1/2020.Added by Laws, 2013, ch. 357, HB 770, 1, eff. 3/18/2013.