House Rules; amend to require a racial impact statement for all legislation to be attached to each bill.

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To: Rules
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Karriem

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 8

A RESOLUTION TO CREATE NEW HOUSE RULE NO. 104C TO PROVIDE A 1
PROCEDURE FOR ISSUANCE OF RACIAL AND ETHNIC IMPACT STATEMENTS THAT 2
EXAMINE HOW PROPOSED LEGISLATION WILL AFFECT CERTAIN POPULATIONS. 3
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE 4
OF MISSISSIPPI, That a new House Rule No. 104C is created to read 5
as follows: 6
104C. (1) Prior to debate on the floor of either house of 7
the Legislature, a racial and ethnic impact statement shall be 8
attached to any bill, concurrent resolution, or amendment which 9
proposes a change in the law which creates a public offense, 10
significantly changes an existing public offense or the penalty 11
for an existing offense, or changes existing sentencing, parole, 12
or probation procedures. 13
(2) The Department of Public Safety's Office of Public 14
Safety Planning, in consultation with the Mississippi Department 15
of Corrections, is authorized to prepare and provide the racial 16
and ethnic impact statements described in this section. Upon 17
request, any state agency shall provide information to the office 18
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for the purposes of preparing an impact statement. The office may 19
adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this section. 20
(3) If a racial and ethnic impact statement described in 21
this section is not attached to the bill, a member of the 22
Mississippi Legislature may make a proper motion on the floor 23
during debate of the proposed legislation. Upon approval of the 24
request, the Office of Public Safety Planning shall prepare a 25
racial and ethnic impact statement that describes the effects of 26
proposed legislation on the racial and ethnic populations of the 27
state. 28
(4) A racial and ethnic impact statement must be factual, 29
impartial, simple and understandable and must include, for racial 30
and ethnic groups for which data are available, the following: 31
(a) An estimate of how the proposed legislation would 32
change the racial and ethnic composition of the criminal offender 33
population; 34
(b) A statement of the methodologies and assumptions 35
used in preparing the estimate; and 36
(c) An estimate of the racial and ethnic composition of 37
the crime victims who may be affected by the proposed legislation. 38
(5) The following words shall have the following meaning, 39
unless the context indicates otherwise: 40
(a) "Minority persons" includes women, individuals with 41
disabilities, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians or Pacific 42
Islanders, American Indians and Alaskan Natives. 43
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(b) "State agency" means every state institution, 44
board, commission, council, department or unit thereof created by 45
the Mississippi Constitution or statutes. 46
(6) A state agency that awards grants shall require that 47
each grant application include a racial and ethnic impact 48
statement that must contain the following information: 49
(a) Any disproportionate or unique impact of proposed 50
policies or programs on minority persons in this state; 51
(b) A rationale for the existence of policies or 52
programs having a disproportionate or unique impact on minority 53
persons in this state; and 54
(c) Evidence of consultation with representatives of 55
minority persons in cases in which a proposed policy or program 56
has a disproportionate or unique impact on minority persons in 57
this state. 58
(7) The Department of Finance and Administration, in 59
consultation with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety's 60
Office of Public Safety Planning, shall create and distribute a 61
racial and ethnic impact statement form for state agencies and 62
shall ensure that the statement is included in applications for 63
grants awarded by state agencies. 64
(8) The racial and ethnic impact statement shall be used for 65
informational purposes. 66
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ST: House Rules; amend to require a racial
impact statement for all legislation to be
attached to each bill.
(9) The requirements of this section apply only to grants 67
awarded to corporations or other legal entities other than natural 68
persons. 69