Hearings of Board on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Training, certain; provide officers shall be entitled to discovery during.

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To: Judiciary B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representatives Burch, Arnold, Hall

HOUSE BILL NO. 611
(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 45-6-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 1
PROVIDE THAT IF THE MISSISSIPPI BOARD ON LAW ENFORCEMENT STANDARDS 2
AND TRAINING CONTEMPLATES REPRIMANDING, SUSPENDING, CANCELLING OR 3
RECALLING THE CERTIFICATION OF A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER, THEN 4
SUCH OFFICER SHALL BE ENTITLED TO DISCOVERY DURING THE HEARING 5
PROCESS OF THE BOARD; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 7
SECTION 1. Section 45-6-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 8
amended as follows: 9
45-6-11. (1) Law enforcement officers already serving under 10
permanent appointment on July 1, 1981, and personnel of the 11
Division of Community Services under Section 47-7-9 serving on 12
July 1, 1994, shall not be required to meet any requirement of 13
subsections (3) and (4) of this section as a condition of 14
continued employment; nor shall failure of any such law 15
enforcement officer to fulfill such requirements make that person 16
ineligible for any promotional examination for which that person 17
is otherwise eligible. Provided, however, if any law enforcement 18
officer certified under the provisions of this chapter leaves his 19
or her employment as such and does not become employed as a law 20
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enforcement officer within two (2) years from the date of 21
termination of his or her prior employment, he or she shall be 22
required to comply with board policy as to rehiring standards in 23
order to be employed as a law enforcement officer; except, that, 24
if any law enforcement officer certified under this chapter leaves 25
his or her employment as such to serve as a sheriff, he or she may 26
be employed as a law enforcement officer after he or she has 27
completed his or her service as a sheriff without being required 28
to comply with board policy as to rehiring standards. Part-time 29
law enforcement officers serving on or before July 1, 1998, shall 30
have until July 1, 2001, to obtain certification as a part-time 31
officer. 32
(2) (a) Any person who has twenty (20) years of law 33
enforcement experience and who is eligible to be certified under 34
this section shall be eligible for recertification after leaving 35
law enforcement on the same basis as someone who has taken the 36
basic training course. Application to the board to qualify under 37
this paragraph shall be made no later than June 30, 1993. 38
(b) Any person who has twenty-five (25) years of law 39
enforcement experience, whether as a part-time, full-time, reserve 40
or auxiliary officer, and who has received certification as a 41
part-time officer, may be certified as a law enforcement officer 42
as defined in Section 45-6-3(c) without having to meet further 43
requirements. Application to the board to qualify under this 44
paragraph shall be made no later than June 30, 2009. 45
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(3) (a) No person shall be appointed or employed as a law 46
enforcement officer or a part-time law enforcement officer unless 47
that person has been certified as being qualified under the 48
provisions of subsection (4) of this section. 49
(b) No person shall be appointed or employed as a law 50
enforcement trainee in a full-time capacity by any law enforcement 51
unit for a period to exceed one (1) year. No person shall be 52
appointed or employed as a law enforcement trainee in a part-time, 53
reserve or auxiliary capacity by any law enforcement unit for a 54
period to exceed two (2) years. The prohibition against the 55
appointment or employment of a law enforcement trainee in a 56
full-time capacity for a period not to exceed one (1) year or a 57
part-time, reserve or auxiliary capacity for a period not to 58
exceed two (2) years may not be nullified by terminating the 59
appointment or employment of such a person before the expiration 60
of the time period and then rehiring the person for another 61
period. Any person, who, due to illness or other events beyond 62
his control, could not attend the required school or training as 63
scheduled, may serve with full pay and benefits in such a capacity 64
until he can attend the required school or training. 65
(c) No person shall serve as a law enforcement officer 66
in any full-time, part-time, reserve or auxiliary capacity during 67
a period when that person's certification has been suspended, 68
cancelled or recalled pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. 69
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(4) In addition to the requirements of subsections (3), (7) 70
and (8) of this section, the board, by rules and regulations 71
consistent with other provisions of law, shall fix other 72
qualifications for the employment of law enforcement officers, 73
including minimum age, education, physical and mental standards, 74
citizenship, good moral character, experience and such other 75
matters as relate to the competence and reliability of persons to 76
assume and discharge the responsibilities of law enforcement 77
officers, and the board shall prescribe the means for presenting 78
evidence of fulfillment of these requirements. Additionally, the 79
board shall fix qualifications for the appointment or employment 80
of part-time law enforcement officers to essentially the same 81
standards and requirements as law enforcement officers. The board 82
shall develop and implement a part-time law enforcement officer 83
training program that meets the same performance objectives and 84
has essentially the same or similar content as the programs 85
approved by the board for full-time law enforcement officers and 86
the board shall provide that such training shall be available 87
locally and held at times convenient to the persons required to 88
receive such training. 89
(5) Any elected sheriff, constable, deputy or chief of 90
police may apply for certification. Such certification shall be 91
granted at the request of the elected official after providing 92
evidence of satisfaction of the requirements of subsections (3) 93
and (4) of this section. Certification granted to such elected 94
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officials shall be granted under the same standards and conditions 95
as established by law enforcement officers and shall be subject to 96
recall as in subsection (7) of this section. 97
(6) The board shall issue a certificate evidencing 98
satisfaction of the requirements of subsections (3) and (4) of 99
this section to any applicant who presents such evidence as may be 100
required by its rules and regulations of satisfactory completion 101
of a program or course of instruction in another jurisdiction or 102
military training equivalent in content and quality to that 103
required by the board for approved law enforcement officer 104
education and training programs in this state, and has 105
satisfactorily passed any and all diagnostic testing and 106
evaluation as required by the board to ensure competency. 107
(7) Professional certificates remain the property of the 108
board, and the board reserves the right to either reprimand the 109
holder of a certificate, suspend a certificate upon conditions 110
imposed by the board, or cancel and recall any certificate when: 111
(a) The certificate was issued by administrative error; 112
(b) The certificate was obtained through 113
misrepresentation or fraud; 114
(c) The holder has been convicted of any crime 115
involving moral turpitude; 116
(d) The holder has been convicted of a felony; 117
(e) The holder has committed an act of malfeasance or 118
has been dismissed from his employing law enforcement agency; or 119
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(f) Other due cause as determined by the board. 120
(8) When the board believes there is a reasonable basis for 121
either the reprimand, suspension, cancellation of, or recalling 122
the certification of a law enforcement officer or a part-time law 123
enforcement officer, notice and opportunity for a hearing shall be 124
provided in accordance with law prior to such reprimand, 125
suspension or revocation. 126
For any hearing that is provided, a law enforcement officer 127
or part-time law enforcement officer may request and shall be 128
provided: (a) any documentary evidence which could be introduced 129
at the hearing to substantiate the reprimand, suspension, 130
cancellation of, or recalling the certification of the officer in 131
question;(b) any exculpatory information in the possession, 132
custody, or control of the Office of Standards and Training that 133
is material to the issues to be determined at the hearing; and (c) 134
a list of witnesses expected to testify in support of the proposed 135
reprimand, suspension, cancellation of, or recall of 136
certification, including the witnesses' names, addresses and 137
contact information. 138
Any confidential information contained in the documentary 139
evidence may be redacted by the Executive Director of the Office 140
of Standards and Training. 141
(9) Any full- or part-time law enforcement officer aggrieved 142
by the findings and order of the board may file an appeal with the 143
chancery court of the county in which such person is employed from 144
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the final order of the board. Such appeals must be filed within 145
thirty (30) days of the final order of the board. 146
(10) Any full- or part-time law enforcement officer whose 147
certification has been cancelled pursuant to this chapter may 148
reapply for certification, but not sooner than two (2) years after 149
the date on which the order of the board cancelling such 150
certification becomes final. 151
(11) (a) Any full- or part-time law enforcement officer, 152
who is certified as required by the provisions under this chapter, 153
and such officer resigns from his or her law enforcement agency, 154
then the agency that the officer has resigned from shall notify 155
the board in writing and by email within seventy-two (72) hours of 156
the officer's resignation. 157
(b) If any full- or part-time law enforcement officer 158
is terminated or resigns due to disciplinary action, the law 159
enforcement agency shall notify the board within seventy-two (72) 160
hours of the termination or resignation, as the case may be, and 161
the agency shall provide in writing and by email to the board, the 162
explanation for the termination or resignation of the officer. 163
The required explanation of such termination or resignation shall 164
be submitted, along with the required notification, within the 165
same seventy-two (72) hour time frame as required under this 166
subsection. 167
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ST: Hearings of Board on Law Enforcement
Officer Standards and Training, certain; provide
officers shall be entitled to discovery during.
(c) If a law enforcement agency fails to adhere to the 168
reporting requirements of this subsection, as determined by the 169
board, then such agency, during the time of noncompliance: 170
(i) Shall not be eligible for state grants or 171
other subsidiary funding provided by the state; and 172
(ii) Shall not receive reimbursement for 173
continuing education requirements as provided under Section 174
45-6-19. 175
(d) When the board determines that a law enforcement 176
agency failed to adhere to the reporting requirements of this 177
subsection, notice and opportunity for a hearing shall be provided 178
by the board in accordance with law prior to the failure of the 179
reporting. 180
(e) Any law enforcement agency that is aggrieved by any 181
order or ruling made under the provisions of this subsection has 182
the same rights and procedure of appeal as from any other order or 183
ruling of the board. 184
(f) The board is authorized to institute and promulgate 185
all rules necessary for implementing the requirements set out 186
under this subsection (11). 187
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 188
and after July 1, 2026. 189