KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

Back to Mississippi

HC17 • 2026

Constitution; amend to provide secured bond requiremtns for bail restricted offenses.

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890 TO PROVIDE SECURED BOND REQUIREMENTS FOR BAIL RESTRICTED OFFENSES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

Crime
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Yancey
Last action
2026-02-03
Official status
Dead
Effective date
No Effecti

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about the impact of the bill on current bail practices or how it would be implemented in practice.

Mississippi Constitution Amendment on Bail Requirements

The bill proposes an amendment to the Mississippi Constitution that requires people charged with certain serious crimes to post a monetary bond before being released from jail.

What This Bill Does

  • Defines 'bail restricted offense' as any crime where the punishment could include more than one year in prison.
  • States that people accused of these offenses cannot be let out of jail without posting money or property as security.
  • Gives the Mississippi Legislature the power to make laws related to this amendment.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People charged with serious crimes in Mississippi
  • Judges who decide whether to release people from jail

Terms To Know

Bail restricted offense
A crime that could result in a prison sentence of more than one year.
Unsecured judicial release
Being let out of jail without having to post money or property as security.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass and was stopped in committee.
  • It is unclear how this amendment would affect current bail practices in Mississippi.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-03 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    02/03 (H) Died In Committee

  2. 2026-01-12 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    01/12 (H) Referred To Constitution

Official Summary Text

Constitution; amend to provide secured bond requiremtns for bail restricted offenses.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
H. C. R. No. 17 *HR43/R1307* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G2/3
26/HR43/R1307
PAGE 1 (MCL\KP)

To: Constitution
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Yancey

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 17

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE 1
MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890 TO PROVIDE SECURED BOND 2
REQUIREMENTS FOR BAIL RESTRICTED OFFENSES; AND FOR RELATED 3
PURPOSES. 4
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF 5
MISSISSIPPI, That the following amendment to the Mississippi 6
Constitution of 1890 is proposed to the qualified electors of the 7
state: 8
Amend the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 by creating a new 9
section to read as follows: 10
"Section____. (1) As used in this section, the following 11
words and phrases shall have the meanings as defined in this 12
section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: 13
(a) "Bail restricted offense" means any offense for 14
which the punishment may include imprisonment in excess of one (1) 15
year. 16
(b) "Unsecured judicial release" means any release that 17
does not require the posting of a monetary bond, property, or 18
other security, including, but not limited to: 19
H. C. R. No. 17 *HR43/R1307* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR43/R1307
PAGE 2 (MCL\KP)

(i) Release on a person's own recognizance; 20
(ii) Release on an unsecured appearance bond; or 21
(iii) Release conditioned upon entering a pretrial 22
release program, pretrial diversion program, or similar 23
intervention program, where no monetary bond, property, or other 24
security is required. 25
(2) No person charged with a bail restricted offense shall 26
be eligible for release by any judge on an unsecured judicial 27
release. Such persons charged with a bail restricted offense 28
shall only be eligible for release through the use of a secured 29
monetary bond, property bond, or surety bond. 30
(3) In addition to other laws regarding the release of an 31
accused person, and except as provided in subsection (2) of this 32
section, the judge of any court having jurisdiction over a person 33
charged with committing * * * a criminal offense * * * shall have 34
authority, in his or her sound discretion and in appropriate 35
cases, to authorize the release of the person on an unsecured 36
judicial release. 37
(4) The Mississippi Legislature shall have power to enact 38
legislation consistent with this amendment. This amendment shall 39
take effect on January 1 of the year following ratification. 40
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this proposed amendment shall be 41
submitted by the Secretary of State to the qualified electors at 42
an election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday 43
H. C. R. No. 17 *HR43/R1307* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/HR43/R1307
PAGE 3 (MCL\KP)
ST: Constitution; amend to provide secured bond
requiremtns for bail restricted offenses.
of November 2026, as provided by Section 273 of the Constitution 44
and by general law. 45
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the explanation of this proposed 46
amendment for the ballot shall read as follows: "This proposed 47
constitutional amendment provides secured bond requirements for 48
bail restricted offenses." 49