A Review of the Department of Finance and Administration’s Site Selection Process for the Relocation of the Mississippi Crime Laboratory
Executive Summary
Introduction
During the 2007 Regular Session, the Legislature passed House Bill 1010, which authorized the Department of Public Safety to relocate certain offices (including the Mississippi Crime Laboratory) to the grounds of the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers’ Training Academy in Rankin County. The bill also authorized the Department of Public Safety to enter into long-term leases with the Department of Mental Health. In addition, the bill created a committee for the purpose of studying the relocation of the State Tax Commission to Rankin County.
Based on the provisions of that bill, and upon an already existing need to improve the infrastructure of the state-owned land in Rankin County, the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) decided to explore possibilities for co-locating all offices of the Department of Public Safety and the State Tax Commission to the same site in Rankin County. By the summer of 2008, the Department of Finance and Administration had focused its planning efforts and decided to co-locate these agencies on a portion of state-owned land in Rankin County that is currently under a long-term lease with the Department of Mental Health.
Since that time, due primarily to concerns over a decline in state revenues, the decision to move forward with the relocation of the entire Department of Public Safety and the State Tax Commission has been put on hold, but the relocation and modernization of the Mississippi Crime Laboratory has moved forward. In spite of the fact that now a single facility was being considered for construction, the Department of Finance and Administration retained the Department of Mental Health property as the site of preference to accommodate the possible future relocation of the other offices of the Department of Public Safety, as well as the State Tax Commission, should that become a reality. However, prior to making a formal public announcement of the selected site, DFA staff were asked to view a parcel of privately owned land near the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers’ Training Academy in Rankin County as a possible location for the Mississippi Crime Laboratory. DFA staff viewed this land, but decided to move forward with the site that had already been selected. (Exhibit A is a PDF timeline for the site selection process. Exhibit B is a PDF map of the five sites involved in the selection process.)
During the 2009 Regular Session, the Legislature passed House Bill 1722, which provides $12,000,000 toward the costs of constructing, furnishing, and equipping of the building and related facilities for the central office of the Mississippi Crime Laboratory and the State Medical Examiner. However, the bill states that the building and related facilities are to be located in Hinds, Madison, or Rankin counties, even though the Department of Finance and Administration had already selected a site in Rankin County for the relocation of the Mississippi Crime Laboratory.
The purpose of this review was to determine whether the Department of Finance and Administration acted prudently in considering sites and selecting one for a new crime laboratory.
Conclusions
In conducting this review, the PEER Committee sought to answer three primary questions regarding the selection of a site for the Mississippi Crime Laboratory. Following are these three questions and summary answers.
Were the actions of the Department of Finance and Administration in conflict with the provisions of House Bill 1010, 2007 Regular Session?
Regarding the selection of a site for the Mississippi Crime Laboratory, the actions of the Department of Finance and Administration were not in conflict with House Bill 1010, 2007 Regular Session. DFA selected a site for the relocation of the Mississippi Crime Laboratory that would accommodate the future relocation of other Department of Public Safety offices and the future relocation of the State Tax Commission while improving the infrastructure of the existing state agencies in the area. DFA’s actions represented a reasonable long-term approach for utilizing state resources.
Does House Bill 1010, 2007 Regular Session, contain a provision allowing the acquisition of privately owned land?
House Bill 1010, 2007 Regular Session, does not contain a provision allowing the acquisition of privately owned land. Land other than state-owned land leased from the Department of Mental Health for the relocation of the Mississippi Crime Laboratory would require additional legislative action for approval.
Does House Bill 1722, 2009 Regular Session, open the site selection process to the selection of a site from three counties, rather than from one county?
House Bill 1722, 2009 Regular Session, which provides $12,000,000 for the Mississippi Crime Laboratory, does open the site selection process to the selection of a site from three counties, rather than from one county. However, the process that the Department of Finance and Administration used to select Site 3 for the Mississippi Crime Laboratory was completed prior to the passage of House Bill 1722, 2009 Regular Session, on April 17, 2009.
Action Needed to Resolve Conflicting Statutory Mandates
If the Legislature intends for the Department of Finance and Administration to undertake a site selection process that encompasses both public and private land in the three counties specified in House Bill 1722, 2009 Regular Session, then the process would need to be re-opened. The process would need to include a request for proposals that defines specific site selection criteria for the relocation of the central office of the Mississippi Crime Laboratory and the State Medical Examiner. However, such a process would incur additional costs, both in terms of time and resources, and might ultimately result in the selection of Site 3 in Rankin County, the site already identified for the relocation.
Given the urgency of the need for a new crime laboratory, both Department of Finance and Administration staff and the Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety are anxious to proceed with construction of the facility on the chosen site.