Spouses and children of first responders killed in the line of duty; provide scholarship for attendance at postsecondary institutions.

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To: Universities and
Colleges; Appropriations A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representatives Faulkner, Summers,
Denton

HOUSE BILL NO. 787

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-106-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIPS TO THE SPOUSES AND CHILDREN OF FIRST 2
RESPONDERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY OR WHO BECOME PERMANENTLY 3
AND TOTALLY DISABLED AS THE RESULT OF INJURIES OR WOUNDS WHICH 4
OCCURRED WHILE IN THE LINE OF DUTY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 6
SECTION 1. Section 37-106-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 7
amended as follows: 8
37-106-39. (1) There is established the Mississippi Law 9
Enforcement Officers * * *, Firefighters and First Responders 10
Scholarship. 11
(2) Except as provided in this section, if any Mississippi 12
law enforcement officer, full-time firefighter or volunteer 13
firefighter or first responder shall suffer or has suffered fatal 14
injuries or wounds or become permanently and totally disabled as a 15
result of injuries or wounds which occurred in the performance of 16
the official and appointed duties of his or her office, his or her 17
spouse, child or children shall be entitled to an eight-semester 18
scholarship without cost, exclusive of books, food, school 19
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supplies, materials and dues or fees for extracurricular 20
activities, at any state-supported college or university of his or 21
her choice within this state. 22
(a) No child shall be entitled to receive benefits 23
during any semester or quarter when said child has reached the age 24
of twenty-three (23) years on the first day of said semester or 25
quarter. However, any child who has begun the process of 26
acquiring college credits under the provisions of this section 27
prior to attaining the age of twenty-three (23) years shall be 28
entitled to the full eight-semester scholarship if his or her 29
college instruction was interrupted for any reason. 30
(b) Scholarship benefits shall not accrue hereunder to 31
any person if the wounds or injuries suffered by any law 32
enforcement officer, full-time firefighter or volunteer 33
firefighter or first responder are self-inflicted or if his death 34
is self-induced. 35
(3) Eligibility for renewal of the scholarship shall be 36
evaluated each academic year at the end of each semester or term. 37
As a condition for renewal, a student shall: 38
(a) Make steady academic progress toward a certificate 39
or degree, as outlined in the school Satisfactory Academic 40
Progress Standards and certified by the institution's registrar; 41
and 42
(b) Have a cumulative grade point average of at least 43
2.5 calculated on a 4.0 scale at the end of each academic year. 44
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(4) For the purposes of this section, these words and 45
phrases shall be defined as follows: 46
(a) "Mississippi law enforcement officers" shall be 47
defined as follows: 48
(i) "State highway patrolmen" means all law 49
enforcement officers, regardless of department or bureau, of the 50
Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol. 51
(ii) "Municipal police officers" means all law 52
enforcement officers of any municipality who are regular duty 53
personnel on full-time status, auxiliary or reserve officers, or 54
those serving on a temporary or part-time status. 55
(iii) "Sheriffs" and "deputy sheriffs" means all 56
law enforcement officers of full-time duty status on a regular 57
basis serving the sheriff's department of any county, deputy 58
sheriffs who are engaged in administrative or civil duty, 59
auxiliary or reserve deputies, or deputy sheriffs serving in a 60
temporary capacity or part-time basis. 61
(iv) "Constables" means all duly elected 62
constables of any beat of any county within the state while 63
actually engaged in the performance of their duties concerning the 64
criminal laws of the county and state. 65
(v) "Conservation officers" means all duly 66
appointed game wardens employed by the State of Mississippi on a 67
full-time duty status while actually engaged in the performance of 68
their duties concerning the game laws of the state. 69
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(vi) "Alcoholic Beverage Control Division agents 70
and inspectors" means all duly appointed agents and investigators 71
of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the Mississippi 72
Department of Revenue on a full-time duty status while actually 73
engaged in the performance of their duties concerning the 74
alcoholic beverage control laws of the state. 75
(vii) Members of the National Guard serving as 76
peace officers when ordered to state emergency duty under 77
authority vested in the Governor by the Constitution and laws of 78
the state. 79
(viii) "Tax commission scales enforcement 80
officers" means all duly appointed scales enforcement officers of 81
the Mississippi Department of Revenue on a full-time duty status 82
while actually engaged in the performance of their duties. 83
(ix) Duly appointed agents of the Mississippi 84
Bureau of Narcotics. 85
(x) Correctional, probation and parole officers 86
employed by the Mississippi Department of Corrections. 87
(b) "Mississippi full-time firefighters" shall be 88
defined as all firefighters employed by any subdivision of the 89
State of Mississippi on a full-time duty status while actually 90
engaged in the performance of their duties, and volunteer 91
firefighters shall be defined as any volunteer firefighter 92
registered with the State of Mississippi or a political 93
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subdivision thereof on a volunteer firefighting status while 94
actually engaged in the performance of firefighting duties. 95
(c) "Child" or "children" means natural children, 96
adopted children or stepchildren. 97
(d) "Spouse" means a person who was, at the time of the 98
death of the decedent, legally married to a Mississippi law 99
enforcement officer, full-time firefighter, or volunteer 100
firefighter, or in the case of a law enforcement officer, 101
full-time firefighter or volunteer firefighter who suffered fatal 102
injuries or wounds, prior to or after March 13, 1990, who has not 103
remarried. 104
(e) "First responder" means state and local law 105
enforcement personnel, fire department personnel, emergency 106
medical personnel, emergency management personnel and public works 107
personnel. 108
(5) (a) Any law enforcement officer, full-time firefighter 109
or volunteer firefighter or first responder claiming permanent and 110
total disability shall be qualified or disqualified for a claim 111
under this section based on examination and review of the 112
following four (4) documents: 113
(i) A letter from the officer's * * *, 114
firefighter's or first responder's former supervisor or employer 115
stating whether the officer * * *, firefighter or first responder 116
is disabled as a result of injuries or wounds that occurred in the 117
performance of the official duties of his office; 118
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ST: Spouses and children of first responders
killed in the line of duty; provide scholarship
for attendance at postsecondary institutions.
(ii) A statement from the officer's * * *, 119
firefighter's or first responder's physician stating whether the 120
officer * * *, firefighter or first responder is disabled and the 121
reason for that disability; 122
(iii) Verification from the Public Employees' 123
Retirement System; and 124
(iv) Verification from the Social Security 125
Administration. 126
(b) If the law enforcement officer, full-time 127
firefighter or volunteer firefighter or first responder suffered 128
fatal injuries or wounds, a claim under this section shall be 129
based on examination and review of the following two (2) 130
documents: 131
(i) A letter from the officer's * * *, 132
firefighter's or first responder's former supervisor or employer 133
stating whether he suffered fatal injuries in the performance of 134
the official duties of his office; and 135
(ii) A death certificate. 136
(6) Any applicant qualified and desiring a scholarship under 137
the provisions of this section shall apply in writing to the 138
board. The board shall make inquiries into each application and 139
shall make the investigation as it deems proper to establish and 140
validate all claims before a scholarship is granted. 141
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 142
and after July 1, 2026. 143