Tasers; adopt certain guidelines for use, require training by law enforcement officers.

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To: Judiciary, Division B
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Blackmon

SENATE BILL NO. 2317

AN ACT TO PROVIDE CERTAIN USE AND TRAINING REQUIREMENT FOR 1
TASERS BY LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS; TO REQUIRE LAW ENFORCEMENT 2
OFFICERS TO LIMIT THE USE OF TASERS; TO REQUIRE DOCUMENTATION OF 3
EACH USE OF TASERS TO BE COLLECTED; TO PROHIBIT LAW ENFORCEMENT 4
OFFICERS FROM USING TASERS ON CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS; TO REQUIRE THE 5
BOARD OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER STANDARDS AND TRAINING, IN 6
CONJUNCTION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, TO CREATE, 7
ADOPT, AND PROMULGATE POLICIES TO ENFORCE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS 8
SECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 97-37-7, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 9
CONFORM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 10
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 11
SECTION 1. (1) Law enforcement officers shall limit the use 12
of a taser to circumstances under which the use of deadly or 13
lethal force would also be permitted. 14
(2) Law enforcement officers shall: 15
(a) Be encouraged to use tasers as an alternative to 16
other means of lethal force; 17
(b) Ensure medical personnel remove taser barbs from an 18
individual; 19
(c) Document each use of a taser, including: 20
1. Identifying information regarding the subject 21
such as: 22
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a. Age; 23
b. Race; 24
c. Physical health; 25
d. Degree of intoxication, if any; and 26
e. Medications taken by the individual, if 27
known. 28
2. Information regarding the circumstances of the 29
taser use itself, including: 30
a. The actions of the subject; 31
b. The basis for the use of the taser; 32
c. Whether the individual was arrested; 33
d. The number of times the taser was used; 34
and 35
e. Whether the taser was used in stun gun 36
mode or shot from a distance. 37
(3) Law enforcement officers shall never use tasers: 38
(a) On vulnerable populations, including children, 39
pregnant women, the elderly, the mentally ill, and persons under 40
the influence of drugs; 41
(b) For the purpose of inflicting punishment or pain; 42
or 43
(c) On persons who are passively resisting arrest. 44
(4) The Board of Law Enforcement Officer Standards and 45
Training, in conjunction with the Department of Public Safety, 46
shall create, adopt, and promulgate policies to enforce the 47
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provisions of this section. The Board of Law Enforcement Officer 48
Standards and Training shall also ensure that law enforcement 49
officers receive appropriate training on the requirements of this 50
section. The training shall not be developed in conjunction with 51
entities that in any way profit from the sale or use of tasers. 52
(5) As used in this section, "taser" means a weapon that 53
fires barbs attached by wires to batteries, causing temporary 54
paralysis. 55
SECTION 2. Section 97-37-7, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 56
amended as follows: 57
97-37-7. (1) (a) It shall not be a violation of Section 58
97-37-1 or any other statute for pistols, firearms or other 59
suitable and appropriate weapons to be carried by duly constituted 60
bank guards, company guards, watchmen, railroad special agents or 61
duly authorized representatives who are not sworn law enforcement 62
officers, agents or employees of a patrol service, guard service, 63
or a company engaged in the business of transporting money, 64
securities or other valuables, while actually engaged in the 65
performance of their duties as such, provided that such persons 66
have made a written application and paid a nonrefundable permit 67
fee of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) to the Department of Public 68
Safety. 69
(b) No permit shall be issued to any person who has 70
ever been convicted of a felony under the laws of this or any 71
other state or of the United States. To determine an applicant's 72
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eligibility for a permit, the person shall be fingerprinted. If 73
no disqualifying record is identified at the state level, the 74
fingerprints shall be forwarded by the Department of Public Safety 75
to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal 76
history record check. The department shall charge a fee which 77
includes the amounts required by the Federal Bureau of 78
Investigation and the department for the national and state 79
criminal history record checks and any necessary costs incurred by 80
the department for the handling and administration of the criminal 81
history background checks. In the event a legible set of 82
fingerprints, as determined by the Department of Public Safety and 83
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, cannot be obtained after a 84
minimum of three (3) attempts, the Department of Public Safety 85
shall determine eligibility based upon a name check by the 86
Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol and a Federal Bureau of 87
Investigation name check conducted by the Mississippi Highway 88
Safety Patrol at the request of the Department of Public Safety. 89
(c) A person may obtain a duplicate of a lost or 90
destroyed permit upon payment of a Fifteen Dollar ($15.00) 91
replacement fee to the Department of Public Safety, if he 92
furnishes a notarized statement to the department that the permit 93
has been lost or destroyed. 94
(d) (i) No less than ninety (90) days prior to the 95
expiration date of a permit, the Department of Public Safety shall 96
mail to the permit holder written notice of expiration together 97
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with the renewal form prescribed by the department. The permit 98
holder shall renew the permit on or before the expiration date by 99
filing with the department the renewal form, a notarized affidavit 100
stating that the permit holder remains qualified, and the renewal 101
fee of Fifty Dollars ($50.00); honorably retired law enforcement 102
officers shall be exempt from payment of the renewal fee. A 103
permit holder who fails to file a renewal application on or before 104
its expiration date shall pay a late fee of Fifteen Dollars 105
($15.00). 106
(ii) Renewal of the permit shall be required every 107
four (4) years. The permit of a qualified renewal applicant shall 108
be renewed upon receipt of the completed renewal application and 109
appropriate payment of fees. 110
(iii) A permit cannot be renewed six (6) months or 111
more after its expiration date, and such permit shall be deemed to 112
be permanently expired; the holder may reapply for an original 113
permit as provided in this section. 114
(2) It shall not be a violation of this or any other statute 115
for pistols, firearms or other suitable and appropriate weapons to 116
be carried by Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks law 117
enforcement officers, railroad special agents who are sworn law 118
enforcement officers, investigators employed by the Attorney 119
General, criminal investigators employed by the district 120
attorneys, all prosecutors, public defenders, investigators or 121
probation officers employed by the Department of Corrections, 122
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employees of the State Auditor who are authorized by the State 123
Auditor to perform investigative functions, or any deputy fire 124
marshal or investigator employed by the State Fire Marshal, while 125
engaged in the performance of their duties as such, or by fraud 126
investigators with the Department of Human Services, or by judges 127
of the Mississippi Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, circuit, 128
chancery, county, justice and municipal courts, or by coroners. 129
Before any person shall be authorized under this subsection to 130
carry a weapon, he shall complete a weapons training course 131
approved by the Board of Law Enforcement Officer Standards and 132
Training which shall include specific training on the requirements 133
of Section 1 of this act. Before any criminal investigator 134
employed by a district attorney shall be authorized under this 135
section to carry a pistol, firearm or other weapon, he shall have 136
complied with Section 45-6-11 or any training program required for 137
employment as an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation as 138
well as a training on the requirements of Section 1 of this act. 139
A law enforcement officer, as defined in Section 45-6-3, shall be 140
authorized to carry weapons in courthouses in performance of his 141
official duties. A person licensed under Section 45-9-101 to 142
carry a concealed pistol, who (a) has voluntarily completed an 143
instructional course in the safe handling and use of firearms 144
offered by an instructor certified by a nationally recognized 145
organization that customarily offers firearms training, or by any 146
other organization approved by the Department of Public Safety, 147
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(b) is a member or veteran of any active or reserve component 148
branch of the United States of America Armed Forces having 149
completed law enforcement or combat training with pistols or other 150
handguns as recognized by such branch after submitting an 151
affidavit attesting to have read, understand and agree to comply 152
with all provisions of the enhanced carry law, or (c) is an 153
honorably retired law enforcement officer or honorably retired 154
member or veteran of any active or reserve component branch of the 155
United States of America Armed Forces having completed law 156
enforcement or combat training with pistols or other handguns, 157
after submitting an affidavit attesting to have read, understand 158
and agree to comply with all provisions of Mississippi enhanced 159
carry law shall also be authorized to carry weapons in courthouses 160
except in courtrooms during a judicial proceeding, and any 161
location listed in subsection (13) of Section 45-9-101, except any 162
place of nuisance as defined in Section 95-3-1, any police, 163
sheriff or highway patrol station or any detention facility, 164
prison or jail. For the purposes of this subsection (2), 165
component branch of the United States Armed Forces includes the 166
Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard or Marine Corps, or the Army 167
National Guard, the Army National Guard of the United States, the 168
Air National Guard or the Air National Guard of the United States, 169
as those terms are defined in Section 101, Title 10, United States 170
Code, and any other reserve component of the United States Armed 171
Forces enumerated in Section 10101, Title 10, United States Code. 172
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The department shall promulgate rules and regulations allowing 173
concealed pistol permit holders to obtain an endorsement on their 174
permit indicating that they have completed the aforementioned 175
course and have the authority to carry in these locations. This 176
section shall in no way interfere with the right of a trial judge 177
to restrict the carrying of firearms in the courtroom. 178
For purposes of this subsection (2), the following words 179
shall have the meanings described herein, unless the context 180
otherwise requires: 181
(i) "Courthouse" means any building in which a 182
circuit court, chancery court, youth court, municipal court, 183
justice court or any appellate court is located, or any building 184
in which a court of law is regularly held. 185
(ii) "Courtroom" means the actual room in which a 186
judicial proceeding occurs, including any jury room, witness room, 187
judge's chamber, office housing the judge's staff, or similar 188
room. "Courtroom" shall not mean hallways, courtroom entrances, 189
courthouse grounds, lobbies, corridors, or other areas within a 190
courthouse which are generally open to the public for the 191
transaction of business outside of an active judicial proceeding, 192
the grassed areas, cultivated flower beds, sidewalks, parking 193
lots, or other areas contained within the boundaries of the public 194
land upon which the courthouse is located. 195
(3) It shall not be a violation of this or any other statute 196
for pistols, firearms or other suitable and appropriate weapons, 197
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ST: Tasers; adopt certain guidelines for use,
require training by law enforcement officers.
to be carried by any out-of-state, full-time commissioned law 198
enforcement officer who holds a valid commission card from the 199
appropriate out-of-state law enforcement agency and a photo 200
identification. The provisions of this subsection shall only 201
apply if the state where the out-of-state officer is employed has 202
entered into a reciprocity agreement with the state that allows 203
full-time commissioned law enforcement officers in Mississippi to 204
lawfully carry or possess a weapon in such other states. The 205
Commissioner of Public Safety is authorized to enter into 206
reciprocal agreements with other states to carry out the 207
provisions of this subsection. 208
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 209
and after July 1, 2026. 210