As Amended
SEC. 37-33-55. General powers and duties of director of Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind.
Vocational rehabilitation for the blind shall be administered by the director under supervision of the state board, in conformity with federal policies adopted by the state board. The director shall be selected by the executive director in accordance with established personnel standards and on the basis of his education, training, experience and administrative ability. The director shall devote his full time to the administration of vocational rehabilitation. In carrying out his duties under the Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind Law, the director:
(a) Shall, with the approval of the executive director, make regulations in conformity with the Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Act governing the protection of records and confidential information, the manner and form of filing applications, eligibility and investigations and determinations thereof for vocational rehabilitation services, procedures for fair hearings, and such other regulations as are found necessary to carry out the purposes of that law;
(b) Shall, with the approval of the executive director, establish appropriate subordinate administrative units within the office for providing vocational rehabilitation, independent living, supported employment, rehabilitation engineering and other services to children, adolescents and adults pursuant to federal and state regulatory guidelines;
(c) Shall, with the approval of the executive director, recommend for appointment of such personnel as may be necessary for the efficient performance of the functions of the office;
(d) Shall prepare and submit to the state board through the executive director annual reports of activities and expenditures and, before each regular session of the Legislature, shall submit estimates of sums required for carrying out the Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind Law and estimates of the amounts to be made available for this purpose from all sources;
(e) Shall, if the executive director so authorizes, make certifications on behalf of the executive director for the disbursement of funds available for vocational rehabilitation for the blind;
(f) Shall, with the approval of the executive director and the state board, take such other action as he deems necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of the Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind Law;
(g) May, with the approval of the executive director and the state board, delegate to any officer or employee of the office such of his powers and duties, except the making of regulations and the making of recommendations for appointment of personnel, as he finds necessary to carry out the purposes of the Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind Law;
(h) Shall, with the approval of the executive director and the state board, appoint committees to serve as the governing authority for independent living centers or other entities as required by federal law;
(i) Shall be authorized, in his discretion and with the approval of the executive director and the state board, to obtain and pay for liability insurance covering each, all or any of the motor vehicles of the office so as to cover the following damages for injury to persons or property, or both, caused by negligence of any duly authorized officer, agent, servant, attorney or employee of the office while operating such motor vehicle in the performance of his official duties, such policy to be written by the licensed resident agent or agents of an insurance company or companies qualified to do and authorized to do business in the State of Mississippi. On each vehicle the insurance policy shall be limited to Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) for personal injury to any one (1) person in any one (1) accident or Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) for personal injury to two (2) or more persons in any one (1) accident and Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) property damages. The policy of insurance shall contain a provision to the effect that the insurance company shall make no plea of the sovereign immunity doctrine.
All policies shall be subject to the approval of the director, and premiums thereon shall be paid from funds available to the office.
The department may be sued by anyone affected by the operation of the motor vehicles of the office which are covered by such liability insurance, to the extent of such insurance carried on the vehicle involved. However, immunity from suit is only waived to the extent of such liability insurance carried, and a judgment creditor shall have recourse only to the proceeds or right to proceeds of such liability insurance. No attempt shall be made in the trial of any case to suggest the existence of any insurance which covers in whole or in part any judgment or award rendered in favor of a claimant, but if the verdict rendered by the jury exceeds the limit of applicable insurance, the court on motion shall reduce the amount of the judgment, as against the department only and not as to joint tort-feasors, if any, to a sum equal to the applicable limit stated in the insurance policy.
This paragraph (i) shall stand repealed on the date that the sovereign immunity of the state is waived as provided in Section 11-46-5.
SOURCES: Codes, 1942, Sec. 6508.5-03; Laws, 1948, ch. 303, Sec. 3; 1975, ch. 434, Sec. 2; 1989, ch. 467, Sec. 2; 1989, ch. 544, Sec. 92; 1990, ch. 522, Sec. 8; 1991, ch. 608, Sec. 30, eff from and after July 1, 1991 (became law without the Governor's signature).