Expungement; authorize for embezzlement by a state, county, city or town officer 14 years after completing all terms and conditions of sentences.

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To: Judiciary B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Burnett

HOUSE BILL NO. 358

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 99-19-71, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO AUTHORIZE EXPUNGEMENT FOR A CONVICTION OF EMBEZZLEMENT BY A 2
STATE OFFICER OR COUNTY OFFICER, OR AN OFFICER OF ANY CITY, TOWN 3
OR VILLAGE FOURTEEN YEARS AFTER COMPLETION OF ALL TERMS FOR THE 4
CONVICTION OF SUCH CRIME; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 6
SECTION 1. Section 99-19-71, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 7
amended as follows: 8
99-19-71. (1) Any person who has been convicted of a 9
misdemeanor that is not a traffic violation, and who is a first 10
offender, may petition the justice, county, circuit or municipal 11
court in which the conviction was had for an order to expunge any 12
such conviction from all public records. 13
(2) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this * * * section, 14
a person who has been convicted of a felony and who has paid all 15
criminal fines and costs of court imposed in the sentence of 16
conviction may petition the court in which the conviction was had 17
for an order to expunge one (1) conviction from all public records 18
five (5) years after the successful completion of all terms and 19
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conditions of the sentence for the conviction upon a hearing as 20
determined in the discretion of the court; however, a person is 21
not eligible to expunge a felony classified as: 22
(i) A crime of violence as provided in Section 23
97-3-2; 24
(ii) Arson, first degree as provided in Sections 25
97-17-1 and 97-17-3; 26
(iii) Trafficking in controlled substances as 27
provided in Section 41-29-139; 28
(iv) A third, fourth or subsequent offense DUI as 29
provided in Section 63-11-30(2)(c) and (2)(d); 30
(v) Felon in possession of a firearm as provided 31
in Section 97-37-5; 32
(vi) Failure to register as a sex offender as 33
provided in Section 45-33-33; 34
(vii) Voyeurism as provided in Section 97-29-61; 35
(viii) Witness intimidation as provided in Section 36
97-9-113; 37
(ix) Abuse, neglect or exploitation of a 38
vulnerable person as provided in Section 43-47-19; or 39
(x) Embezzlement as provided in Sections 97-11-25 40
and 97-23-19. 41
A person is eligible for only one (1) felony expunction under 42
this paragraph. For the purposes of this section, the terms "one 43
(1) conviction" and "one (1) felony expunction" mean and include 44
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all convictions that arose from a common nucleus of operative 45
facts as determined in the discretion of the court. 46
(b) The petitioner shall give ten (10) days' written 47
notice to the district attorney before any hearing on the 48
petition. In all cases, the court wherein the petition is filed 49
may grant the petition if the court determines, on the record or 50
in writing, that the applicant is rehabilitated from the offense 51
which is the subject of the petition. In those cases where the 52
court denies the petition, the findings of the court in this 53
respect shall be identified specifically and not generally. 54
(c) A person who has been convicted of felony 55
embezzlement under Section 97-23-19 or 97-23-25 and who has paid 56
all criminal fines and costs of court imposed in the sentence of 57
conviction may petition the court in which the conviction was had 58
for an order to expunge one (1) conviction from all public records 59
fourteen (14) years after the successful completion of all terms 60
and conditions of the sentence for the conviction upon a hearing 61
as determined in the discretion of the court. For purposes of 62
this section, the term "one (1) conviction" and "one (1) felony 63
expunction" means the same as provided in subsection (2)(a) of 64
this section. 65
(3) Upon entering an order of expunction under this section, 66
a nonpublic record thereof shall be retained by the Mississippi 67
Criminal Information Center solely for the purpose of determining 68
whether, in subsequent proceedings, the person is a first 69
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offender. The order of expunction shall not preclude a district 70
attorney's office from retaining a nonpublic record thereof for 71
law enforcement purposes only. The existence of an order of 72
expunction shall not preclude an employer from asking a 73
prospective employee if the employee has had an order of 74
expunction entered on his behalf. The effect of the expunction 75
order shall be to restore the person, in the contemplation of the 76
law, to the status he occupied before any arrest or indictment for 77
which convicted. No person as to whom an expunction order has 78
been entered shall be held thereafter under any provision of law 79
to be guilty of perjury or to have otherwise given a false 80
statement by reason of his failure to recite or acknowledge such 81
arrest, indictment or conviction in response to any inquiry made 82
of him for any purpose other than the purpose of determining, in 83
any subsequent proceedings under this section, whether the person 84
is a first offender. A person as to whom an order has been 85
entered, upon request, shall be required to advise the court, in 86
camera, of the previous conviction and expunction in any legal 87
proceeding wherein the person has been called as a prospective 88
juror. The court shall thereafter and before the selection of the 89
jury advise the attorneys representing the parties of the previous 90
conviction and expunction. 91
(4) Upon petition therefor, a justice, county, circuit or 92
municipal court shall expunge the record of any case in which an 93
arrest was made, the person arrested was released and the case was 94
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ST: Expungement; authorize for embezzlement by
a state, county, city or town officer 14 years
after completing all terms and conditions of
sentences.
dismissed or the charges were dropped or there was no disposition 95
of such case, or the person was found not guilty at trial. 96
(5) No public official is eligible for expunction under this 97
section for any conviction related to his official duties. 98
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 99
and after July 1, 2026. 100