(1) Except as otherwise provided herein, no chancery clerk elected for a full term of office commencing on or after January 1, 1996, shall exercise any functions of office or be eligible to take the oath of office unless and until the chancery clerk has filed in the office of the circuit clerk a certificate of completion of a course of training and education conducted by the Mississippi Judicial College of the University of Mississippi Law Center within six (6) months of the beginning of the term for which such chancery clerk is elected. A chancery clerk who has completed the course of training and education and has satisfied his annual continuing education course requirements, and who is then elected for a succeeding term of office subsequent to the initial term for which he completed the training course, shall not be required to repeat the training and education course upon reelection. Any chancery clerk who has served a full or partial term before January 1, 1996, shall be exempt from the requirements of this subsection.

(2) In addition to meeting the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, after taking office by election or otherwise, each chancery clerk shall be required to file annually in the office of the circuit clerk a certificate of completion of a course of continuing education conducted by the Mississippi Judicial College. No chancery clerk shall have to comply with this subsection unless he will have been in office for five (5) months or more during a calendar year.

(3) Each chancery clerk elected for a term commencing on or after January 1, 1992, shall be required to file annually the certificate required in subsection (2) of this section commencing January 1, 1994.

(4) The requirements for obtaining the certificates in this section shall be as provided in subsection (6) of this section.

(5) Upon the failure of any chancery clerk to file with the circuit clerk the certificates of completion as provided in this section, such chancery clerk shall, in addition to any other fine or punishment provided by law for such conduct, not be entitled to any fee, compensation or salary, from any source, for services rendered as chancery clerk, for the period of time during which such certificate remains unfiled.

(6) The Mississippi Judicial College of the University of Mississippi Law Center shall prepare and conduct courses of training for basic and continuing education for chancery clerks of this state. The basic course of training shall be known as the “Chancery Clerks Training Course” and shall consist of at least thirty-two (32) hours of training. The continuing education course shall be known as the “Continuing Education Course for Chancery Clerks,” and shall consist of at least eighteen (18) hours of training. The content of the basic and continuing education courses and when and where such courses are to be conducted shall be determined by the judicial college. The judicial college shall issue certificates of completion to those chancery clerks who complete such courses.

(7) The expenses of the training, including training of those elected as chancery clerk who have not yet begun their term of office, shall be borne as an expense of the office of the chancery clerk.

(8) Chancery clerks shall be allowed credit toward their continuing education course requirements for attendance at chancery court proceedings if the presiding chancery court judge certifies that the chancery clerk was in actual attendance at a term or terms of court; provided, however, that at least twelve (12) hours per year of the continuing education course requirements must be completed at a regularly established program or programs conducted by the Mississippi Judicial College.