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To: Judiciary A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representative Gibbs (72nd)
HOUSE BILL NO. 1592
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 97-3-105, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO CLARIFY THE CRIME OF HAZING; TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS FOR HAZING; 2
TO INCREASE PENALTIES FOR THE CRIME OF HAZING; AND FOR RELATED 3
PURPOSES. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 5
SECTION 1. Section 97-3-105, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 6
amended as follows: 7
97-3-105. (1) For purposes of this section, the following 8
words shall have the meanings ascribed herein, unless the context 9
clearly requires otherwise: 10
(a) "Education institution" means any junior or 11
community college, institution of higher learning or any 12
postsecondary education institution in this state. 13
(b) (i) "Hazing" means any intentional or reckless act 14
by a person acting alone or with others directed against another 15
when both of the following apply: 16
1. The person knew or should have known that 17
the act endangers the physical health or safety of the other 18
person or causes severe emotional distress; and 19
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2. The act was done as a result of an 20
expression of interest, pledging, intake, initiation into, 21
affiliation with, participation in, holding office in, obtaining 22
or maintaining membership or obtaining or maintaining a certain 23
status as a member of in any organization. 24
(ii) "Hazing" includes, but is not limited to, any 25
of the following acts associated with an expression of interest, 26
pledging, intake, initiation into, affiliation with, participation 27
in, holding office in, or obtaining, maintaining membership or 28
obtaining or maintaining a certain status as a member of in any 29
organization: 30
1. Physical brutality, such as whipping, 31
beating, paddling, striking, branding, electronic shocking, 32
placing of a harmful substance on the body, or similar activity. 33
2. Physical activity, such as sleep 34
deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement in a small 35
space, or calisthenics, that subjects the other person to an 36
unreasonable risk of harm or that endangers the physical or mental 37
health or safety of the individual. 38
3. Activity involving consumption of food, 39
liquid, or any other substance, including, but not limited to, an 40
alcoholic beverage or drug, that subjects the individual to an 41
unreasonable risk of harm or that endangers the physical or mental 42
health or safety of the individual. 43
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4. Activity that induces, causes, or requires 44
an individual to perform a duty or task that involves the 45
commission of a crime or an act of hazing. 46
5. Activity that coerces current or 47
prospective members to use technological applications to transfer 48
monies to another person for personal use, except for official 49
organization requirements. 50
6. Activity that would subject forced 51
prolonged exclusion from social contact, forced conduct which 52
could result in extreme embarrassment, or any other forced 53
activity which could adversely affect the mental health or dignity 54
of the individual. 55
7. "Hazing" does not mean a physical or 56
mental activity that is normal, customary, and reasonable for a 57
person's training or participation in any band, athletic, physical 58
education, military training, or similar program sanctioned by the 59
education institution or that institution's athletics regulatory 60
body or conference. 61
(c) "Organization" means a fraternity, sorority, 62
association, corporation, order, society, corps, cooperative, 63
club, service group, social group, band, spirit group, athletic 64
team, or similar group whose members are primarily students at, or 65
former students of, an education institution. "Organization" also 66
includes the local, national or parent organization of which any 67
of the underlying entities provided for in this paragraph is a 68
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sanctioned or recognized member at the time of the hazing. 69
"Organization" does not mean or include the educational 70
institution. 71
(d) "Pledging," also known as "recruitment," "intake" 72
or "rushing," means any action or activity related to expressing 73
interest in becoming a member, holding office in, maintaining 74
membership in or obtaining a certain level of respect of the 75
organization. 76
( * * *2) A person is guilty of hazing in the first degree 77
when, in the course of another person's expression of interest, 78
pledging, intake, initiation into or affiliation with, 79
participation in, holding office in, or obtaining or maintaining 80
membership in, or obtaining or maintaining a certain status as a 81
member of any organization, he or she intentionally or recklessly 82
engages in conduct which creates a substantial risk of physical 83
injury to such other person or a third person and thereby causes 84
such injury. 85
( * * *3) Any person violating the provisions of this 86
subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor 87
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not 88
more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) or imprisonment in the 89
county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both. 90
( * * *4) (a) A person is guilty of hazing in the second 91
degree when, in the course of another person's expression of 92
interest, pledging, intake, initiation into or affiliation with, 93
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participation in, holding office in, or obtaining or maintaining 94
membership in, or obtaining or maintaining a certain status as a 95
member of any organization, he or she intentionally or recklessly 96
engages in conduct which creates a substantial risk of physical 97
injury to such other person or a third person. 98
( * * *5) Any person violating the provisions of subsection 99
(3) of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon 100
conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than 101
One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00). 102
(6) It shall not be a defense to prosecution for a violation 103
of this act that the person against whom the hazing was directed 104
consented to or acquiesced in the hazing. 105
(7) The provisions of this act shall not be applied to the 106
person who is the subject of the hazing, regardless of whether the 107
person voluntarily allowed himself or herself to be hazed. 108
(8) The penalties provided in this act may be imposed in 109
addition to any other penalty that may be imposed for any other 110
criminal offense arising from the same incident or activity, and 111
in addition to any penalty imposed by the organization. 112
( * * *9) The provisions of this section shall be in 113
addition to other criminal laws, and actions taken pursuant to 114
this section shall not bar prosecutions for other violations of 115
criminal law. 116
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ST: Hazing; increase penalties and clarify the
crime of.
(10) Nothing in this act precludes any civil remedy provided 117
by law for any injury, incident or activity arising from violation 118
of this act. 119
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 120
and after July 1, 2026. 121