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To: Judiciary B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representative Carpenter
HOUSE BILL NO. 1557
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-61-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
INCLUDE BODY CAMERA AUDIO VISUAL TO THE LIST OF INVESTIGATIVE 2
REPORT FOR PURPOSES OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS; AND FOR RELATED 3
PURPOSES. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 5
SECTION 1. Section 25-61-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 6
amended as follows: 7
25-61-3. The following words shall have the meanings 8
ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise: 9
(a) "Public body" shall mean any department, bureau, 10
division, council, commission, committee, subcommittee, board, 11
agency and any other entity of the state or a political 12
subdivision thereof, and any municipal corporation and any other 13
entity created by the Constitution or by law, executive order, 14
ordinance or resolution. The term "public body" includes the 15
governing board of a charter school authorized by the Mississippi 16
Charter School Authorizer Board. Within the meaning of this 17
chapter, the term "entity" shall not be construed to include 18
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individuals employed by a public body or any appointed or elected 19
public official. 20
(b) "Public records" shall mean all books, records, 21
papers, accounts, letters, maps, photographs, films, cards, tapes, 22
recordings or reproductions thereof, and any other documentary 23
materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, having 24
been used, being in use, or prepared, possessed or retained for 25
use in the conduct, transaction or performance of any business, 26
transaction, work, duty or function of any public body, or 27
required to be maintained by any public body. "Public records" 28
shall not mean "personal information" as defined in Section 29
25-62-1. 30
(c) "Data processing software" means the programs and 31
routines used to employ and control the capabilities of data 32
processing hardware, including, but not limited to, operating 33
systems, compilers, assemblers, utilities, library routines, 34
maintenance routines, applications and computer networking 35
programs. 36
(d) "Proprietary software" means data processing 37
software that is obtained under a licensing agreement and is 38
protected by copyright or trade secret laws. 39
(e) "Incident report" means a narrative description, if 40
such narrative description exists and if such narrative 41
description does not contain investigative information, of an 42
alleged offense, and at a minimum shall include the name and 43
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identification of each person charged with and arrested for the 44
alleged offense, the time, date and location of the alleged 45
offense, and the property involved, to the extent this information 46
is known. 47
(f) "Investigative report" means records of a law 48
enforcement agency containing information beyond the scope of the 49
matters contained in an incident report, and generally will 50
include, but not be limited to, the following matters if beyond 51
the scope of the matters contained in an incident report: 52
(i) Records that are compiled in the process of 53
detecting and investigating any unlawful activity or alleged 54
unlawful activity, the disclosure of which would harm the 55
investigation which may include crime scene reports and 56
demonstrative evidence; 57
(ii) Records that would reveal the identity of 58
informants and/or witnesses; 59
(iii) Records that would prematurely release 60
information that would impede the public body's enforcement, 61
investigative or detection efforts; 62
(iv) Records that would disclose investigatory 63
techniques and/or results of investigative techniques; 64
(v) Records that would deprive a person of a right 65
to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication; 66
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ST: Body camera audio of law enforcement; add
to list of investigative report.
(vi) Records that would endanger the life or 67
safety of a public official or law enforcement personnel, or 68
confidential informants or witnesses; 69
(vii) Records pertaining to quality control or 70
PEER review activities; or 71
(viii) Records that would impede or jeopardize a 72
prosecutor's ability to prosecute the alleged offense. 73
(ix) Any audio or visual recording, whether analog 74
or digital, created, generated, or maintained by a law enforcement 75
agency in the course of a criminal investigation or enforcement 76
action, including, but not limited to: 77
1. Body-worn camera recordings; 78
2. In-car or dash-mounted camera recordings; 79
3. Interview room or custodial facility 80
recordings; and 81
4. Any other law enforcement evidentiary 82
video or audio recordings. 83
(g) "Law enforcement agency" means a public body that 84
performs as one (1) of its principal functions activities 85
pertaining to the enforcement of criminal laws, the apprehension 86
and investigation of criminal offenders, or the investigation of 87
criminal activities. 88
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 89
and after July 1, 2026. 90