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To: Judiciary B;
Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representative Grady
HOUSE BILL NO. 1489
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-106-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO REVISE THE DEFINITION OF "LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER" FOR PURPOSES 2
OF THE MISSISSIPPI LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS 3
SCHOLARSHIP; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 5
SECTION 1. Section 37-106-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 6
amended as follows: 7
37-106-39. (1) There is established the Mississippi Law 8
Enforcement Officers and Firefighters Scholarship. 9
(2) Except as provided in this section, if any Mississippi 10
law enforcement officer, full-time firefighter or volunteer 11
firefighter shall suffer or has suffered fatal injuries or wounds 12
or become permanently and totally disabled as a result of injuries 13
or wounds which occurred in the performance of the official and 14
appointed duties of his or her office, his or her spouse, child or 15
children shall be entitled to an eight-semester scholarship 16
without cost, exclusive of books, food, school supplies, materials 17
and dues or fees for extracurricular activities, at any 18
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state-supported college or university of his or her choice within 19
this state. 20
(a) No child shall be entitled to receive benefits 21
during any semester or quarter when said child has reached the age 22
of twenty-three (23) years on the first day of said semester or 23
quarter. However, any child who has begun the process of 24
acquiring college credits under the provisions of this section 25
prior to attaining the age of twenty-three (23) years shall be 26
entitled to the full eight-semester scholarship if his or her 27
college instruction was interrupted for any reason. 28
(b) Scholarship benefits shall not accrue hereunder to 29
any person if the wounds or injuries suffered by any law 30
enforcement officer, full-time firefighter or volunteer 31
firefighter are self-inflicted or if his death is self-induced. 32
(3) Eligibility for renewal of the scholarship shall be 33
evaluated each academic year at the end of each semester or term. 34
As a condition for renewal, a student shall: 35
(a) Make steady academic progress toward a certificate 36
or degree, as outlined in the school Satisfactory Academic 37
Progress Standards and certified by the institution's registrar; 38
and 39
(b) Have a cumulative grade point average of at least 40
2.5 calculated on a 4.0 scale at the end of each academic year. 41
(4) For the purposes of this section, these words and 42
phrases shall be defined as follows: 43
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(a) "Mississippi law enforcement officers" shall be 44
defined as follows: 45
(i) Any law enforcement officer who is certified 46
and in good standing as determined by the Mississippi Board on Law 47
Enforcement Standards and Training. 48
* * * 49
( * * *ii) "Constables" means all duly elected 50
constables of any beat of any county within the state while 51
actually engaged in the performance of their duties concerning the 52
criminal laws of the county and state. 53
* * * 54
( * * *iii) Members of the National Guard serving 55
as peace officers when ordered to state emergency duty under 56
authority vested in the Governor by the Constitution and laws of 57
the state. 58
* * * 59
( * * *iv) Correctional * * * officers employed by 60
the Mississippi Department of Corrections. 61
(b) "Mississippi full-time firefighters" shall be 62
defined as all firefighters employed by any subdivision of the 63
State of Mississippi on a full-time duty status while actually 64
engaged in the performance of their duties, and volunteer 65
firefighters shall be defined as any volunteer firefighter 66
registered with the State of Mississippi or a political 67
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subdivision thereof on a volunteer firefighting status while 68
actually engaged in the performance of firefighting duties. 69
(c) "Child" or "children" means natural children, 70
adopted children or stepchildren. 71
(d) "Spouse" means a person who was, at the time of the 72
death of the decedent, legally married to a Mississippi law 73
enforcement officer, full-time firefighter, or volunteer 74
firefighter, or in the case of a law enforcement officer, 75
full-time firefighter or volunteer firefighter who suffered fatal 76
injuries or wounds, prior to or after March 13, 1990, who has not 77
remarried. 78
(5) (a) Any law enforcement officer, full-time firefighter 79
or volunteer firefighter claiming permanent and total disability 80
shall be qualified or disqualified for a claim under this section 81
based on examination and review of the following four (4) 82
documents: 83
(i) A letter from the officer's or firefighter's 84
former supervisor or employer stating whether the officer or 85
firefighter is disabled as a result of injuries or wounds that 86
occurred in the performance of the official duties of his office; 87
(ii) A statement from the officer's or 88
firefighter's physician stating whether the officer or firefighter 89
is disabled and the reason for that disability; 90
(iii) Verification from the Public Employees' 91
Retirement System; and 92
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ST: The MS Law Enforcement Officers and
Firefighters Scholarship; revise definition of
"law enforcement officers".
(iv) Verification from the Social Security 93
Administration. 94
(b) If the law enforcement officer, full-time 95
firefighter or volunteer firefighter suffered fatal injuries or 96
wounds, a claim under this section shall be based on examination 97
and review of the following two (2) documents: 98
(i) A letter from the officer's or firefighter's 99
former supervisor or employer stating whether he suffered fatal 100
injuries in the performance of the official duties of his office; 101
and 102
(ii) A death certificate. 103
(6) Any applicant qualified and desiring a scholarship under 104
the provisions of this section shall apply in writing to the 105
board. The board shall make inquiries into each application and 106
shall make the investigation as it deems proper to establish and 107
validate all claims before a scholarship is granted. 108
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 109
and after October 1, 2026. 110