Convicted offender earned-time allowance; may be used by State Parole Board in setting parole eligibility.

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To: Corrections
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) DeBar

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 2043

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 47-5-138 AND 47-7-3, MISSISSIPPI 1
CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT AN INCARCERATED FELON MAY HAVE HIS 2
OR HER PAROLE ELIGIBILITY DATE REDUCED BY THE STATE PAROLE BOARD 3
BY THE NUMBER OF DAYS EQUAL TO THE OFFENDER'S EARNED-TIME 4
ALLOWANCE PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 6
SECTION 1. Section 47-5-138, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 7
amended as follows: 8
47-5-138. (1) The department may promulgate rules and 9
regulations to carry out an Earned-Time Allowance Program based on 10
the good conduct and performance of an inmate. An inmate is 11
eligible to receive an earned-time allowance of one-half (1/2) of 12
the period of confinement imposed by the court except those 13
inmates excluded by law. When an inmate is committed to the 14
custody of the department, the department shall determine a 15
conditional earned-time release date by subtracting the 16
earned-time allowance from an inmate's term of sentence. This 17
subsection does not apply to any sentence imposed after June 30, 18
1995. 19
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(2) An inmate may forfeit all or part of his earned-time 20
allowance for a serious violation of rules. No forfeiture of the 21
earned-time allowance shall be effective except upon approval of 22
the commissioner, or his designee, and forfeited earned time may 23
not be restored. 24
(3) (a) For the purposes of this subsection, "final order" 25
means an order of a state or federal court that dismisses a 26
lawsuit brought by an inmate while the inmate was in the custody 27
of the Department of Corrections as frivolous, malicious or for 28
failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. 29
(b) On receipt of a final order, the department shall 30
forfeit: 31
(i) Sixty (60) days of an inmate's accrued earned 32
time if the department has received one (1) final order as defined 33
herein; 34
(ii) One hundred twenty (120) days of an inmate's 35
accrued earned time if the department has received two (2) final 36
orders as defined herein; 37
(iii) One hundred eighty (180) days of an inmate's 38
accrued earned time if the department has received three (3) or 39
more final orders as defined herein. 40
(c) The department may not restore earned time 41
forfeited under this subsection. 42
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(4) An inmate who meets the good conduct and performance 43
requirements of the earned-time allowance program may be released 44
on his conditional earned-time release date. 45
(5) For any sentence imposed after June 30, 1995, an inmate 46
may receive an earned-time allowance of four and one-half (4-1/2) 47
days for each thirty (30) days served if the department determines 48
that the inmate has complied with the good conduct and performance 49
requirements of the earned-time allowance program. The 50
earned-time allowance under this subsection shall not exceed 51
fifteen percent (15%) of an inmate's term of sentence; however, 52
beginning July 1, 2006, no person under the age of twenty-one (21) 53
who has committed a nonviolent offense, and who is under the 54
jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections, shall be subject to 55
the fifteen percent (15%) limitation for earned-time allowances as 56
described in this subsection (5). Beginning July 1, 2026, the 57
State Parole Board may reduce the parole eligibility date for any 58
offender who has committed a nonviolent offense by the number of 59
days of earned time which has been awarded to the offender under 60
this subsection. 61
(6) Any inmate, who is released before the expiration of his 62
term of sentence under this section, shall be placed under 63
earned-release supervision until the expiration of the term of 64
sentence. The inmate shall retain inmate status and remain under 65
the jurisdiction of the department. The period of earned-release 66
supervision shall be conducted in the same manner as a period of 67
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supervised parole. The department shall develop rules, terms and 68
conditions for the earned-release supervision program. The 69
commissioner shall designate the appropriate hearing officer 70
within the department to conduct revocation hearings for inmates 71
violating the conditions of earned-release supervision. 72
(7) If the earned-release supervision is revoked, the inmate 73
shall serve the remainder of the sentence, but the time the inmate 74
served on earned-release supervision before revocation * * * shall 75
be applied to reduce his sentence. 76
SECTION 2. Section 47-7-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 77
amended as follows: 78
47-7-3. (1) Every prisoner who has been convicted of any 79
offense against the State of Mississippi, and is confined in the 80
execution of a judgment of such conviction in the Mississippi 81
Department of Corrections for a definite term or terms of one (1) 82
year or over, or for the term of his or her natural life, whose 83
record of conduct shows that such prisoner has observed the rules 84
of the department, and who has served the minimum required time 85
for parole eligibility, may be released on parole as set forth 86
herein: 87
(a) Habitual offenders. Except as provided by Sections 88
99-19-81 through 99-19-87, no person sentenced as a confirmed and 89
habitual criminal shall be eligible for parole; 90
(b) Sex offenders. Any person who has been sentenced 91
for a sex offense as defined in Section 45-33-23(h) shall not be 92
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released on parole except for a person under the age of nineteen 93
(19) who has been convicted under Section 97-3-67; 94
(c) Capital offenders. No person sentenced for the 95
following offenses shall be eligible for parole: 96
(i) Capital murder committed on or after July 1, 97
1994, as defined in Section 97-3-19(2); 98
(ii) Any offense to which an offender is sentenced 99
to life imprisonment under the provisions of Section 99-19-101; or 100
(iii) Any offense to which an offender is 101
sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole 102
under the provisions of Section 99-19-101, whose crime was 103
committed on or after July 1, 1994; 104
(d) Murder. No person sentenced for murder in the 105
first degree, whose crime was committed on or after June 30, 1995, 106
or murder in the second degree, as defined in Section 97-3-19, 107
shall be eligible for parole; 108
(e) Human trafficking. No person sentenced for human 109
trafficking, as defined in Section 97-3-54.1, whose crime was 110
committed on or after July 1, 2014, shall be eligible for parole; 111
(f) Drug trafficking. No person sentenced for 112
trafficking and aggravated trafficking, as defined in Section 113
41-29-139(f) through (g), shall be eligible for parole; 114
(g) Offenses specifically prohibiting parole release. 115
No person shall be eligible for parole who is convicted of any 116
offense that specifically prohibits parole release; 117
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(h) (i) Offenders eligible for parole consideration 118
for offenses committed after June 30, 1995. Except as provided in 119
paragraphs (a) through (g) of this subsection, offenders may be 120
considered eligible for parole release as follows: 121
1. Nonviolent crimes. All persons sentenced 122
for a nonviolent offense shall be eligible for parole only after 123
they have served twenty-five percent (25%) or ten (10) years, 124
whichever is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed by the 125
trial court. For purposes of this paragraph, "nonviolent crime" 126
means a felony not designated as a crime of violence in Section 127
97-3-2. 128
2. Violent crimes. A person who is sentenced 129
for a violent offense as defined in Section 97-3-2, except robbery 130
with a deadly weapon as defined in Section 97-3-79, drive-by 131
shooting as defined in Section 97-3-109, and carjacking as defined 132
in Section 97-3-117, shall be eligible for parole only after 133
having served fifty percent (50%) or twenty (20) years, whichever 134
is less, of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court. 135
Those persons sentenced for robbery with a deadly weapon as 136
defined in Section 97-3-79, drive-by shooting as defined in 137
Section 97-3-109, and carjacking as defined in Section 97-3-117, 138
shall be eligible for parole only after having served sixty 139
percent (60%) or twenty-five (25) years, whichever is less, of the 140
sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court. 141
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3. Nonviolent and nonhabitual drug offenses. 142
A person who has been sentenced to a drug offense pursuant to 143
Section 41-29-139(a) through (d), whose crime was committed after 144
June 30, 1995, shall be eligible for parole only after he has 145
served twenty-five percent (25%) or ten (10) years, whichever is 146
less, of the sentence or sentences imposed. 147
(ii) Parole hearing required. All persons 148
eligible for parole under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (h) 149
who are serving a sentence or sentences for a crime of violence, 150
as defined in Section 97-3-2, shall be required to have a parole 151
hearing before the Parole Board pursuant to Section 47-7-17, prior 152
to parole release. 153
(iii) Geriatric parole. Notwithstanding the 154
provisions in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (h), a person 155
serving a sentence who has reached the age of sixty (60) or older 156
and who has served no less than ten (10) years of the sentence or 157
sentences imposed by the trial court shall be eligible for parole. 158
Any person eligible for parole under this subparagraph (iii) shall 159
be required to have a parole hearing before the board prior to 160
parole release. No inmate shall be eligible for parole under this 161
subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph (h) if: 162
1. The inmate is sentenced as a habitual 163
offender under Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87; 164
2. The inmate is sentenced for a crime of 165
violence under Section 97-3-2; 166
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3. The inmate is sentenced for an offense 167
that specifically prohibits parole release; 168
4. The inmate is sentenced for trafficking in 169
controlled substances under Section 41-29-139(f); 170
5. The inmate is sentenced for a sex crime; 171
or 172
6. The inmate has not served one-fourth (1/4) 173
of the sentence imposed by the court. 174
(iv) Parole consideration as authorized by the 175
trial court. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of 176
this subsection, any offender who has not committed a crime of 177
violence under Section 97-3-2 and has served twenty-five percent 178
(25%) or more of his sentence may be paroled by the State Parole 179
Board if, after the sentencing judge or if the sentencing judge is 180
retired, disabled or incapacitated, the senior circuit judge 181
authorizes the offender to be eligible for parole consideration; 182
or if the senior circuit judge must be recused, another circuit 183
judge of the same district or a senior status judge may hear and 184
decide the matter. A petition for parole eligibility 185
consideration pursuant to this subparagraph (iv) shall be filed in 186
the original criminal cause or causes, and the offender shall 187
serve an executed copy of the petition on the District Attorney. 188
The court may, in its discretion, require the District Attorney to 189
respond to the petition. 190
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(2) The State Parole Board shall, by rules and regulations, 191
establish a method of determining a tentative parole hearing date 192
for each eligible offender taken into the custody of the 193
Department of Corrections. The tentative parole hearing date 194
shall be determined within ninety (90) days after the department 195
has assumed custody of the offender. Except as provided in 196
Section 47-7-18, the parole hearing date shall occur when the 197
offender is within thirty (30) days of the month of his parole 198
eligibility date. Any parole eligibility date shall not be 199
earlier than as required in this section. 200
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an inmate 201
shall not be eligible to receive earned time, good time or any 202
other administrative reduction of time which shall reduce the time 203
necessary to be served for parole eligibility as provided in 204
subsection (1) of this section. 205
(4) Any inmate within forty-eight (48) months of his parole 206
eligibility date and who meets the criteria established by the 207
classification board shall receive priority for placement in any 208
educational development and job-training programs that are part of 209
his or her parole case plan. Any inmate refusing to participate 210
in an educational development or job-training program, including, 211
but not limited to, programs required as part of the case plan, 212
shall be in jeopardy of noncompliance with the case plan and may 213
be denied parole. 214
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(5) In addition to other requirements, if an offender is 215
convicted of a drug or driving under the influence felony, the 216
offender must complete a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program 217
prior to parole, or the offender shall be required to complete a 218
postrelease drug and alcohol program as a condition of parole. 219
(6) Except as provided in subsection (1)(a) through (h) of 220
this section, all other persons shall be eligible for parole after 221
serving twenty-five percent (25%) of the sentence or sentences 222
imposed by the trial court, or, if sentenced to thirty (30) years 223
or more, after serving ten (10) years of the sentence or sentences 224
imposed by the trial court. 225
(7) The Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task 226
Force established in Section 47-5-6 shall develop and submit 227
recommendations to the Governor and to the Legislature annually on 228
or before December 1st concerning issues relating to juvenile and 229
habitual offender parole reform and to review and monitor the 230
implementation of Chapter 479, Laws of 2021. 231
(8) The amendments contained in Chapter 479, Laws of 2021, 232
shall apply retroactively from and after July 1, 1995. 233
(9) Notwithstanding provisions to the contrary in this 234
section, a person who was sentenced before July 1, 2021, may be 235
considered for parole if the person's sentence would have been 236
parole eligible before July 1, 2021. 237
(10) Beginning July 1, 2026, the State Parole Board may 238
reduce the parole eligibility date for any offender who has 239
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ST: Convicted offender earned-time allowance;
may be used by State Parole Board in setting
parole eligibility.
committed a nonviolent offense by the number of days of earned 240
time which has been awarded to the offender under Section 241
47-5-138(5). 242
( * * *11) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 243
2027. 244
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 245
and after July 1, 2026; and shall stand repealed on June 30, 2026. 246