Human Trafficking; exclude from expungement felony violations of.

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To: Judiciary B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representatives McLean, Hale

HOUSE BILL NO. 1546
(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 99-19-71, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO REVISE EXPUNCTION OF CRIMINAL RECORD BY REDUCING THE WAITING 2
PERIOD FOR ELIGIBILITY; TO PROHIBIT THE EXPUNGEMENT OF THE FELONY 3
CRIMES OF PROMOTING OR PROCURING PROSTITUTION; TO AMEND SECTION 4
97-3-54.1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THAT MINORS ARE 5
NOT LIABLE FOR NONVIOLENT CRIMINAL ACTIVITY THAT TAKES PLACE 6
DURING VICTIMIZATION; TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-54.6, MISSISSIPPI CODE 7
OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT VACATUR OF PROSTITUTION CONVICTIONS ALSO 8
APPLIES TO ADJUDICATION OF DELINQUENCY; TO PROVIDE THAT VICTIMS OF 9
HUMAN TRAFFICKING MAY REQUEST THE COURT TO EXPUNGE MISDEMEANOR AND 10
NONVIOLENT CONVICTIONS THAT WERE A DIRECT RESULT OF THEIR 11
VICTIMIZATION; TO PROVIDE AN AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE TO CERTAIN 12
CRIMINAL CHARGES THAT DIRECTLY RESULT FROM TRAFFICKING A VICTIM; 13
AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 14
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 15
SECTION 1. Section 99-19-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 16
amended as follows: 17
99-19-71. (1) Any person who has been convicted of a 18
misdemeanor that is not a traffic violation, and who is a first 19
offender, may petition the justice, county, circuit or municipal 20
court in which the conviction was had for an order to expunge any 21
such conviction from all public records. 22
(2) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a 23
person who has been convicted of a felony and who has paid all 24
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criminal fines and costs of court imposed in the sentence of 25
conviction may petition the court in which the conviction was had 26
for an order to expunge one (1) conviction from all public 27
records * * * three (3) years after the successful completion of 28
all terms and conditions of the sentence for the conviction upon a 29
hearing as determined in the discretion of the court; however, a 30
person is not eligible to expunge a felony classified as: 31
(i) A crime of violence as provided in Section 32
97-3-2; 33
(ii) Arson, first degree as provided in Sections 34
97-17-1 and 97-17-3; 35
(iii) Trafficking in controlled substances as 36
provided in Section 41-29-139; 37
(iv) A third, fourth or subsequent offense DUI as 38
provided in Section 63-11-30(2)(c) and (2)(d); 39
(v) Felon in possession of a firearm as provided 40
in Section 97-37-5; 41
(vi) Failure to register as a sex offender as 42
provided in Section 45-33-33; 43
(vii) Voyeurism as provided in Section 97-29-61; 44
(viii) Witness intimidation as provided in Section 45
97-9-113; 46
(ix) Abuse, neglect or exploitation of a 47
vulnerable person as provided in Section 43-47-19; * * * 48
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(x) Embezzlement as provided in Sections 97-11-25 49
and 97-23-19 * * *; 50
(xi) Felony procuring prostitution as provided in 51
Section 97-29-51; or 52
(xii) Promoting prostitution as provided in 53
Section 97-29-51. 54
A person is eligible for only one (1) felony expunction under 55
this paragraph (a). For the purposes of this section, the terms 56
"one (1) conviction" and "one (1) felony expunction" mean and 57
include all convictions that arose from a common nucleus of 58
operative facts as determined in the discretion of the court. 59
(b) The petitioner shall give ten (10) days' written 60
notice to the district attorney before any hearing on the 61
petition. In all cases, the court wherein the petition is filed 62
may grant the petition if the court determines, on the record or 63
in writing, that the applicant is rehabilitated from the offense 64
which is the subject of the petition. In those cases where the 65
court denies the petition, the findings of the court in this 66
respect shall be identified specifically and not generally. 67
(3) Upon entering an order of expunction under this section, 68
a nonpublic record thereof shall be retained by the Mississippi 69
Criminal Information Center solely for the purpose of determining 70
whether, in subsequent proceedings, the person is a first 71
offender. The order of expunction shall not preclude a district 72
attorney's office from retaining a nonpublic record thereof for 73
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law enforcement purposes only. The existence of an order of 74
expunction shall not preclude an employer from asking a 75
prospective employee if the employee has had an order of 76
expunction entered on his behalf. The effect of the expunction 77
order shall be to restore the person, in the contemplation of the 78
law, to the status he occupied before any arrest or indictment for 79
which convicted. No person as to whom an expunction order has 80
been entered shall be held thereafter under any provision of law 81
to be guilty of perjury or to have otherwise given a false 82
statement by reason of his failure to recite or acknowledge such 83
arrest, indictment or conviction in response to any inquiry made 84
of him for any purpose other than the purpose of determining, in 85
any subsequent proceedings under this section, whether the person 86
is a first offender. A person as to whom an order has been 87
entered, upon request, shall be required to advise the court, in 88
camera, of the previous conviction and expunction in any legal 89
proceeding wherein the person has been called as a prospective 90
juror. The court shall thereafter and before the selection of the 91
jury advise the attorneys representing the parties of the previous 92
conviction and expunction. 93
(4) Upon petition therefor, a justice, county, circuit or 94
municipal court shall expunge the record of any case in which an 95
arrest was made, the person arrested was released and the case was 96
dismissed or the charges were dropped or there was no disposition 97
of such case, or the person was found not guilty at trial. 98
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(5) No public official is eligible for expunction under this 99
section for any conviction related to his official duties. 100
SECTION 2. Section 97-3-54.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 101
amended as follows: 102
97-3-54.1. (1) (a) A person who coerces, recruits, 103
entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains by any means, or 104
attempts to coerce, recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide or 105
obtain by any means, another person, intending or knowing that the 106
person will be subjected to forced labor or services, or who 107
benefits, whether financially or by receiving anything of value 108
from participating in an enterprise that he knows or reasonably 109
should have known has engaged in such acts, shall be guilty of the 110
crime of human trafficking. 111
(b) A person who knowingly purchases the forced labor 112
or services of a trafficked person or who otherwise knowingly 113
subjects, or attempts to subject, another person to forced labor 114
or services or who benefits, whether financially or by receiving 115
anything of value from participating in an enterprise that he 116
knows or reasonably should have known has engaged in such acts, 117
shall be guilty of the crime of procuring involuntary servitude. 118
(c) A person who knowingly subjects, or attempts to 119
subject, or who recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides 120
or obtains by any means, or attempts to recruit, entice, harbor, 121
transport, provide or obtain by any means, a minor, knowing that 122
the minor will engage in commercial sexual activity, sexually 123
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explicit performance, or the production of sexually oriented 124
material, or causes or attempts to cause a minor to engage in 125
commercial sexual activity, sexually explicit performance, or the 126
production of sexually oriented material, shall be guilty of 127
procuring sexual servitude of a minor and shall be punished by 128
commitment to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not 129
less than twenty (20) years nor more than life in prison, or by a 130
fine of not less than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) nor more 131
than Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00), or both. It is 132
not a defense in a prosecution under this section that a minor 133
consented to engage in the commercial sexual activity, sexually 134
explicit performance, or the production of sexually oriented 135
material, or that the defendant reasonably believed that the minor 136
was eighteen (18) years of age or older. 137
(2) If the victim is not a minor, a person who is convicted 138
of an offense set forth in subsection (1)(a) or (b) of this 139
section shall be committed to the custody of the Department of 140
Corrections for not less than two (2) years nor more than twenty 141
(20) years, or by a fine of not less than Ten Thousand Dollars 142
($10,000.00) nor more than One Hundred Thousand Dollars 143
($100,000.00), or both. If the victim of the offense is a minor, 144
a person who is convicted of an offense set forth in subsection 145
(1)(a) or (b) of this section shall be committed to the custody of 146
the Department of Corrections for not less than twenty (20) years 147
nor more than life in prison, or by a fine of not less than Twenty 148
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Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) nor more than One Hundred Thousand 149
Dollars ($100,000.00), or both. 150
(3) An enterprise may be prosecuted for an offense under 151
this chapter if: 152
(a) An agent of the enterprise knowingly engages in 153
conduct that constitutes an offense under this chapter while 154
acting within the scope of employment and for the benefit of the 155
entity. 156
(b) An employee of the enterprise engages in conduct 157
that constitutes an offense under this chapter and the commission 158
of the offense was part of a pattern of illegal activity for the 159
benefit of the enterprise, which an agent of the enterprise either 160
knew was occurring or recklessly disregarded, and the agent failed 161
to take effective action to stop the illegal activity. 162
(c) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution of an 163
enterprise that the enterprise had in place adequate procedures, 164
including an effective complaint procedure, designed to prevent 165
persons associated with the enterprise from engaging in the 166
unlawful conduct and to promptly correct any violations of this 167
chapter. 168
(d) The court may consider the severity of the 169
enterprise's offense and order penalties, including: (i) a fine 170
of not more than One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00); (ii) 171
disgorgement of profit; and (iii) debarment from government 172
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contracts. Additionally, the court may order any of the relief 173
provided in Section 97-3-54.7. 174
(4) In addition to the mandatory reporting provisions 175
contained in Sections 43-21-353 and 97-5-51, any person who has 176
reasonable cause to suspect that a minor under the age of eighteen 177
(18) is a trafficked person shall immediately make a report of the 178
suspected child abuse or neglect to the Department of Child 179
Protection Services and to the Statewide Human Trafficking 180
Coordinator. The Department of Child Protection Services or the 181
Statewide Human Trafficking Coordinator, whichever is applicable, 182
shall then immediately notify the law enforcement agency in the 183
jurisdiction where the suspected child abuse, neglect or 184
trafficking occurred as required in Section 43-21-353, and the 185
department that received the report shall also commence an initial 186
investigation into the suspected abuse or neglect as required in 187
Section 43-21-353. The department that received such report shall 188
provide an annual report to the Speaker of the Mississippi House 189
of Representatives, the Lieutenant Governor, the Chairpersons of 190
the House and Senate Judiciary Committees that includes the number 191
of reports received, the number of cases screened in or out, the 192
number of cases in which care and services were provided as a 193
result of the report, and the type of care and services that were 194
provided. A minor who has been identified as a victim of 195
trafficking shall not be criminally liable for criminal activity 196
in violation of this section, a misdemeanor or a felony offense 197
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(except a violation of Section 63-11-30) not classified as a crime 198
of violence under Section 97-3-2 if the offense: 199
(a) Occurred during the time period in which the victim 200
was being trafficked; and 201
(b) Occurred as a direct result of the victim's 202
trafficking. 203
(5) It is an affirmative defense in a prosecution under this 204
act that the defendant: 205
(a) Is a victim; and 206
(b) Committed the offense under a reasonable 207
apprehension created by a person that, if the defendant did not 208
commit the act, the person would inflict serious harm on the 209
defendant, a member of the defendant's family, or a close 210
associate. 211
SECTION 3. Section 97-3-54.6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 212
amended as follows: 213
97-3-54.6. (1) Any circuit court may, after making due 214
provision for the rights of trafficked persons, enjoin violations 215
of the provisions of this act by issuing appropriate orders and 216
judgments, including, but not limited to: 217
(a) Ordering any defendant to divest himself of any 218
interest in any enterprise, including real property. 219
(b) Imposing reasonable restrictions upon the future 220
activities or investments of any defendant, including, but not 221
limited to, prohibiting any defendant from engaging in the same 222
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type of endeavor as the enterprise in which he was engaged in 223
violation of the provisions of this act. 224
(c) Ordering the dissolution or reorganization of any 225
enterprise. 226
(d) Ordering the suspension or revocation of a license 227
or permit granted to any enterprise by any agency of the state. 228
(e) Ordering the forfeiture of the charter of a 229
corporation organized under the laws of the state, or the 230
revocation of a certificate authorizing a foreign corporation to 231
conduct business within the state, upon finding that the board of 232
directors or a managerial agent acting on behalf of the 233
corporation in conducting the affairs of the corporation, has 234
authorized or engaged in conduct in violation of this chapter and 235
that, for the prevention of future criminal activity, the public 236
interest requires the charter of the corporation forfeited and the 237
corporation dissolved or the certificate revoked. 238
(2) Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in 239
Section 99-37-1 et seq., the court shall order restitution to the 240
victim for any offense under this chapter. The order of 241
restitution under this section shall direct the defendant to pay 242
the victim, through the appropriate court mechanism, the full 243
amount of the victim's pecuniary damages. For the purposes of 244
determining restitution, the term "victim" means the individual 245
harmed as a result of a crime under this chapter, including, in 246
the case of a victim who is under eighteen (18) years of age, 247
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incompetent, incapacitated, or deceased, the legal guardian of the 248
victim or a representative of the victim's estate, or another 249
family member, or any other person appointed as suitable by the 250
court, but in no event shall the defendant be named as such a 251
representative or guardian. The court may order restitution even 252
if the victim is absent from the jurisdiction or unavailable. 253
(3) Any person who is injured by reason of any violation of 254
the provisions of this chapter shall have a cause of action 255
against any person or enterprise convicted of engaging in activity 256
in violation of this chapter for threefold the actual damages 257
sustained and, when appropriate, punitive damages. The person 258
shall also recover attorney's fees in the trial and appellate 259
courts and reasonable costs of investigation and litigation. 260
(4) The application of one (1) civil remedy under any 261
provision of this act shall not preclude the application of any 262
other remedy, civil or criminal, under this act or any other 263
provision of law. Civil remedies under this act are supplemental. 264
(5) At any time after a conviction or adjudication of 265
delinquency under this act, the court in which the conviction or 266
adjudication of delinquency was entered may, upon appropriate 267
motion, vacate the conviction or adjudication of delinquency if 268
the court finds the defendant's participation in the offense was 269
the result of being a victim. Official documentation from a 270
federal, state or local government agency as to the defendant's 271
status as a victim at the time of the offense creates a 272
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presumption that the defendant's participation in the offense was 273
a result of being a victim, but official documentation is not 274
required to grant a motion under this subsection. 275
(6) At any time after a conviction or adjudication of 276
delinquency of a misdemeanor or a felony offense not classified as 277
a crime of violence under Section 97-3-2, the court in which the 278
conviction or adjudication of delinquency was entered may, upon 279
appropriate motion, expunge the conviction or adjudication of 280
delinquency if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence 281
that the defendant's participation in the offense occurred during 282
the time period in which the victim was being trafficked and was 283
the direct result of the victim's trafficking. Official 284
documentation from a federal, state or local government agency as 285
to the defendant's status as a victim at the time of the offense 286
creates a presumption that the defendant's participation in the 287
offense was a result of being a victim, but official documentation 288
is not required to grant a motion under this subsection. 289
(7) (a) Notwithstanding Section 97-3-54.1(5), it is an 290
affirmative defense to a prosecution for any misdemeanor and 291
felony offense (except a violation of Section 63-11-30) not 292
classified as a crime of violence in Section 97-3-2 if at the time 293
a person engaged in the conduct charged to constitute the offense 294
the person: 295
(i) Was a trafficked person as defined in Section 296
97-3-54.4(q); and 297
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ST: Human Trafficking; exclude from expungement
felony violations of.
(ii) Engaged in the offense as a direct result of 298
his or her status as a victim. 299
(b) Neither the failure to raise this affirmative 300
defense nor the court's finding on the affirmative defense shall 301
have any effect on the petitioner's ability to file for an 302
expungement under subsection (6) of this section. 303
( * * *8) In a prosecution or civil action for damages for 304
an offense under this act in which there is evidence that the 305
alleged victim was subjected to sexual servitude, reputation or 306
opinion evidence of past sexual behavior of the alleged victim is 307
not admissible, unless admitted in accordance with the Mississippi 308
Rules of Evidence. 309
( * * *9) In any investigation or prosecution for an offense 310
under this act, the responsible law enforcement agency or 311
prosecutor's office are required to take all reasonable efforts to 312
keep the identity of the victim and the victim's family 313
confidential by ensuring that the names and identifying 314
information of those individuals are not disclosed to the public. 315
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from 316
and after July 1, 2026. 317