MS Earned Parole Eligibility Act of 2021; remove repealer on.

H. B. No. 1610 *HR26/R2234* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
26/HR26/R2234
PAGE 1 (OM\KW)

To: Judiciary B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Horan

HOUSE BILL NO. 1610

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
REMOVE THE AUTOMATIC REPEALER ON THE MISSISSIPPI EARNED PAROLE 2
ELIGIBILITY ACT OF 2021; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 4
SECTION 1. Section 47-7-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 5
amended as follows: 6
47-7-3. (1) Every prisoner who has been convicted of any 7
offense against the State of Mississippi, and is confined in the 8
execution of a judgment of such conviction in the Mississippi 9
Department of Corrections for a definite term or terms of one (1) 10
year or over, or for the term of his or her natural life, whose 11
record of conduct shows that such prisoner has observed the rules 12
of the department, and who has served the minimum required time 13
for parole eligibility, may be released on parole as set forth 14
herein: 15
(a) Habitual offenders. Except as provided by Sections 16
99-19-81 through 99-19-87, no person sentenced as a confirmed and 17
habitual criminal shall be eligible for parole; 18
H. B. No. 1610 *HR26/R2234* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2234
PAGE 2 (OM\KW)

(b) Sex offenders. Any person who has been sentenced 19
for a sex offense as defined in Section 45-33-23(h) shall not be 20
released on parole except for a person under the age of nineteen 21
(19) who has been convicted under Section 97-3-67; 22
(c) Capital offenders. No person sentenced for the 23
following offenses shall be eligible for parole: 24
(i) Capital murder committed on or after July 1, 25
1994, as defined in Section 97-3-19(2); 26
(ii) Any offense to which an offender is sentenced 27
to life imprisonment under the provisions of Section 99-19-101; or 28
(iii) Any offense to which an offender is 29
sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole 30
under the provisions of Section 99-19-101, whose crime was 31
committed on or after July 1, 1994; 32
(d) Murder. No person sentenced for murder in the 33
first degree, whose crime was committed on or after June 30, 1995, 34
or murder in the second degree, as defined in Section 97-3-19, 35
shall be eligible for parole; 36
(e) Human trafficking. No person sentenced for human 37
trafficking, as defined in Section 97-3-54.1, whose crime was 38
committed on or after July 1, 2014, shall be eligible for parole; 39
(f) Drug trafficking. No person sentenced for 40
trafficking and aggravated trafficking, as defined in Section 41
41-29-139(f) through (g), shall be eligible for parole; 42
H. B. No. 1610 *HR26/R2234* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2234
PAGE 3 (OM\KW)

(g) Offenses specifically prohibiting parole release. 43
No person shall be eligible for parole who is convicted of any 44
offense that specifically prohibits parole release; 45
(h) (i) Offenders eligible for parole consideration 46
for offenses committed after June 30, 1995. Except as provided in 47
paragraphs (a) through (g) of this subsection, offenders may be 48
considered eligible for parole release as follows: 49
1. Nonviolent crimes. All persons sentenced 50
for a nonviolent offense shall be eligible for parole only after 51
they have served twenty-five percent (25%) or ten (10) years, 52
whichever is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed by the 53
trial court. For purposes of this paragraph, "nonviolent crime" 54
means a felony not designated as a crime of violence in Section 55
97-3-2. 56
2. Violent crimes. A person who is sentenced 57
for a violent offense as defined in Section 97-3-2, except robbery 58
with a deadly weapon as defined in Section 97-3-79, drive-by 59
shooting as defined in Section 97-3-109, and carjacking as defined 60
in Section 97-3-117, shall be eligible for parole only after 61
having served fifty percent (50%) or twenty (20) years, whichever 62
is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court. 63
Those persons sentenced for robbery with a deadly weapon as 64
defined in Section 97-3-79, drive-by shooting as defined in 65
Section 97-3-109, and carjacking as defined in Section 97-3-117, 66
shall be eligible for parole only after having served sixty 67
H. B. No. 1610 *HR26/R2234* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2234
PAGE 4 (OM\KW)

percent (60%) or twenty-five (25) years, whichever is less, of the 68
sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court. 69
3. Nonviolent and nonhabitual drug offenses. 70
A person who has been sentenced to a drug offense pursuant to 71
Section 41-29-139(a) through (d), whose crime was committed after 72
June 30, 1995, shall be eligible for parole only after he has 73
served twenty-five percent (25%) or ten (10) years, whichever is 74
less, of the sentence or sentences imposed. 75
(ii) Parole hearing required. All persons 76
eligible for parole under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (h) 77
who are serving a sentence or sentences for a crime of violence, 78
as defined in Section 97-3-2, shall be required to have a parole 79
hearing before the Parole Board pursuant to Section 47-7-17, prior 80
to parole release. 81
(iii) Geriatric parole. Notwithstanding the 82
provisions in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (h), a person 83
serving a sentence who has reached the age of sixty (60) or older 84
and who has served no less than ten (10) years of the sentence or 85
sentences imposed by the trial court shall be eligible for parole. 86
Any person eligible for parole under this subparagraph (iii) shall 87
be required to have a parole hearing before the board prior to 88
parole release. No inmate shall be eligible for parole under this 89
subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph (h) if: 90
1. The inmate is sentenced as a habitual 91
offender under Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87; 92
H. B. No. 1610 *HR26/R2234* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2234
PAGE 5 (OM\KW)

2. The inmate is sentenced for a crime of 93
violence under Section 97-3-2; 94
3. The inmate is sentenced for an offense 95
that specifically prohibits parole release; 96
4. The inmate is sentenced for trafficking in 97
controlled substances under Section 41-29-139(f); 98
5. The inmate is sentenced for a sex crime; 99
or 100
6. The inmate has not served one-fourth (1/4) 101
of the sentence imposed by the court. 102
(iv) Parole consideration as authorized by the 103
trial court. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of 104
this subsection, any offender who has not committed a crime of 105
violence under Section 97-3-2 and has served twenty-five percent 106
(25%) or more of his sentence may be paroled by the State Parole 107
Board if, after the sentencing judge or if the sentencing judge is 108
retired, disabled or incapacitated, the senior circuit judge 109
authorizes the offender to be eligible for parole consideration; 110
or if the senior circuit judge must be recused, another circuit 111
judge of the same district or a senior status judge may hear and 112
decide the matter. A petition for parole eligibility 113
consideration pursuant to this subparagraph (iv) shall be filed in 114
the original criminal cause or causes, and the offender shall 115
serve an executed copy of the petition on the District Attorney. 116
H. B. No. 1610 *HR26/R2234* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2234
PAGE 6 (OM\KW)

The court may, in its discretion, require the District Attorney to 117
respond to the petition. 118
(2) The State Parole Board shall, by rules and regulations, 119
establish a method of determining a tentative parole hearing date 120
for each eligible offender taken into the custody of the 121
Department of Corrections. The tentative parole hearing date 122
shall be determined within ninety (90) days after the department 123
has assumed custody of the offender. Except as provided in 124
Section 47-7-18, the parole hearing date shall occur when the 125
offender is within thirty (30) days of the month of his parole 126
eligibility date. Any parole eligibility date shall not be 127
earlier than as required in this section. 128
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an inmate 129
shall not be eligible to receive earned time, good time or any 130
other administrative reduction of time which shall reduce the time 131
necessary to be served for parole eligibility as provided in 132
subsection (1) of this section. 133
(4) Any inmate within forty-eight (48) months of his parole 134
eligibility date and who meets the criteria established by the 135
classification board shall receive priority for placement in any 136
educational development and job-training programs that are part of 137
his or her parole case plan. Any inmate refusing to participate 138
in an educational development or job-training program, including, 139
but not limited to, programs required as part of the case plan, 140
H. B. No. 1610 *HR26/R2234* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2234
PAGE 7 (OM\KW)

shall be in jeopardy of noncompliance with the case plan and may 141
be denied parole. 142
(5) In addition to other requirements, if an offender is 143
convicted of a drug or driving under the influence felony, the 144
offender must complete a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program 145
prior to parole, or the offender shall be required to complete a 146
postrelease drug and alcohol program as a condition of parole. 147
(6) Except as provided in subsection (1)(a) through (h) of 148
this section, all other persons shall be eligible for parole after 149
serving twenty-five percent (25%) of the sentence or sentences 150
imposed by the trial court, or, if sentenced to thirty (30) years 151
or more, after serving ten (10) years of the sentence or sentences 152
imposed by the trial court. 153
(7) The Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task 154
Force established in Section 47-5-6 shall develop and submit 155
recommendations to the Governor and to the Legislature annually on 156
or before December 1st concerning issues relating to juvenile and 157
habitual offender parole reform and to review and monitor the 158
implementation of Chapter 479, Laws of 2021. 159
(8) The amendments contained in Chapter 479, Laws of 2021, 160
shall apply retroactively from and after July 1, 1995. 161
(9) Notwithstanding provisions to the contrary in this 162
section, a person who was sentenced before July 1, 2021, may be 163
considered for parole if the person's sentence would have been 164
parole eligible before July 1, 2021. 165
H. B. No. 1610 *HR26/R2234* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR26/R2234
PAGE 8 (OM\KW)
ST: MS Earned Parole Eligibility Act of 2021;
remove repealer on.
* * * 166
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 167
and after July 1, 2026. 168