Mississippi Rural Attorney Program Act; enact.

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To: Judiciary, Division A;
Appropriations
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Hickman, Simmons (12th)

SENATE BILL NO. 2687

AN ACT TO ENACT THE MISSISSIPPI RURAL ATTORNEY PROGRAM ACT; 1
TO DEFINE TERMS; TO ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI RURAL ATTORNEYS 2
PROGRAM WITHIN THE MISSISSIPPI BAR FOR THE PURPOSE OF IDENTIFYING 3
AND RECRUITING QUALIFIED ATTORNEYS TO PRACTICE LAW IN RURAL AND 4
UNDERSERVED AREAS; TO ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI RURAL ATTORNEYS 5
COMMISSION WITHIN THE MISSISSIPPI BAR; TO PROVIDE THAT THE 6
COMMISSION SHALL BE DIRECTED BY A BOARD; TO PROVIDE FOR THE 7
COMPOSITION AND PROCEDURES OF THE BOARD; TO SET FORTH THE POWERS 8
AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD; TO DIRECT THE COMMISSION, THROUGH THE USE 9
OF GENERALLY APPLICABLE DEFINITIONS, TO DESIGNATE AREAS OF THE 10
STATE AS RURAL AND UNDERSERVED; TO PROVIDE AN APPLICATION 11
PROCEDURE FOR ADMISSION INTO THE PROGRAM; TO PROVIDE FOR A MINIMUM 12
NUMBER OF ADMISSIONS TO THE PROGRAM EACH YEAR; TO PROVIDE THAT A 13
PARTICIPANT ADMITTED TO THE PROGRAM SHALL RECEIVE A STIPEND FROM 14
THE COMMISSION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ESTABLISHING A LAW FIRM IN A 15
RURAL AND UNDERSERVED AREA OF MISSISSIPPI; TO PROVIDE THAT WHEN A 16
PARTICIPANT PRACTICES LAW IN A RURAL AND UNDERSERVED AREA OF 17
MISSISSIPPI FOR FIVE YEARS THE STIPEND SHALL BE FORGIVEN; TO 18
REQUIRE THE COMMISSION TO MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ESTABLISH A 19
PRACTICE SUPPORT SYSTEM AND MENTORSHIPS FOR PARTICIPANTS IN THE 20
PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 21
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 22
SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the 23
"Mississippi Rural Attorney Program Act." 24
SECTION 2. As used in this act, the following terms shall 25
have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly 26
requires otherwise: 27
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(a) "Commission" means the Mississippi Rural Attorneys 28
Commission created in Section 4 of this act. 29
(b) "Program" means the Mississippi Rural Attorneys 30
Program created in Section 3 of this act. 31
SECTION 3. There is established the Mississippi Rural 32
Attorneys Program within the Mississippi Bar for the purpose of 33
identifying and recruiting qualified attorneys to practice law in 34
rural and underserved areas. 35
SECTION 4. (1) There is established the Mississippi Rural 36
Attorneys Commission within the Mississippi Bar. The commission 37
shall administer the program and shall be directed by a board. 38
The board shall be composed of the following members: 39
(a) Two (2) general practice lawyers appointed by and 40
from the membership of the Mississippi Bar, the term of which 41
shall be three (3) years and may be reappointed for one (1) 42
additional term; 43
(b) One (1) general practice lawyer appointed by and 44
from the membership of each of the following sections of the 45
Mississippi Bar, the term of which shall be three (3) years and 46
may be reappointed for one (1) additional term: 47
(i) Litigation Section of the Mississippi Bar; 48
(ii) Estates and Trusts Section of the Mississippi 49
Bar; 50
(iii) Family Law Section of the Mississippi Bar; 51
(iv) Real Property Section of the Mississippi Bar; 52
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(v) Women in the Profession Section of the 53
Mississippi Bar; 54
(vi) Criminal Defense Section of the Mississippi 55
Bar; and 56
(vii) Prosecutors Section of the Mississippi Bar; 57
(c) One (1) designee of the Dean of the University of 58
Mississippi School of Law whose term is at the discretion of the 59
Dean; 60
(d) One (1) designee of the Dean of the Mississippi 61
College School of Law whose term is at the discretion of the Dean; 62
(e) A member of the Mississippi Supreme Court to be 63
appointed by the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court; 64
(f) A member of the Mississippi Court of Appeals to be 65
appointed by the Chief Judge of the Mississippi Court of Appeals; 66
and 67
(g) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Bar. 68
(2) Vacancies on the commission must be filled in a manner 69
consistent with the original appointments. 70
(3) All appointments to the commission must be made no later 71
than September 1, 2026. After the members are appointed, the 72
Executive Director of the Mississippi Bar shall set a date for the 73
organizational meeting that is mutually acceptable to the majority 74
of the commission members. The organizational meeting shall be 75
for the purposes of organizing the commission and establishing 76
rules for transacting its business. A majority of the members of 77
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the commission shall constitute a quorum at all commission 78
meetings. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members 79
present and voting shall be required in the adoption of rules, 80
reports and in any other actions taken by the commission. At the 81
organizational meeting, the commission shall elect a chair and 82
vice chair from the members appointed according to paragraphs (a) 83
through (d) of subsection (1). The chair shall serve for a term 84
of two (2) years, upon the expiration of which the vice chair 85
shall assume the office of chair, and a new vice chair shall be 86
elected at the next meeting of the commission. 87
(4) After the organizational meeting, the commission shall 88
hold no less than two (2) meetings annually. 89
(5) The commission may form an executive committee for the 90
purpose of transacting business that must be conducted before the 91
next regularly scheduled meeting of the commission. All actions 92
taken by the executive committee must be ratified by the 93
commission at its next regularly scheduled meeting. 94
(6) Members of the commission shall serve without 95
compensation but may be reimbursed, subject to the availability of 96
funding, for mileage and actual and necessary expenses incurred in 97
attending meetings of the commission. 98
(7) Funding for the establishment and operation of the 99
program and commission shall be subject to appropriation by the 100
Legislature. 101
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(8) The commission may establish advisory committees to 102
assist the commission in its administration of the program. 103
SECTION 5. The commission shall have the following powers 104
and duties: 105
(a) Developing the administrative policy for the 106
commission and the program; 107
(b) Promulgating rules and regulations pertaining to 108
the implementation and operation of the program; 109
(c) Developing and implementing strategies and 110
activities for the identification and recruitment of lawyers and 111
for marketing the program and for the implementation of the 112
program; 113
(d) Establishing a budget to support the activities of 114
the program and periodically reviewing and if appropriate, 115
revising, the stipends offered through the program; 116
(e) Advising the Mississippi Bar regarding hiring an 117
executive director and support staff if necessary for the 118
commission's work; 119
(f) Reviewing participants' progress in the program and 120
mentoring lawyers participating in the program; 121
(g) Seeking funding for the program from any available 122
public or private source; 123
(h) Designating areas of the state as rural and 124
underserved through use of generally applicable definitions; 125
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(i) Reporting, annually, to the Legislature certain 126
information relating to the program for the previous fiscal year, 127
including the following: 128
(i) Budget, including funds provided in addition 129
to legislative appropriations; 130
(ii) Number of participants in the program; 131
(iii) The location of attorneys who have entered 132
the practice of law in rural and underserved areas in Mississippi; 133
and 134
(iv) The number and cause of participants who 135
breached their obligation(s) to the program. 136
SECTION 6. (1) The commission shall, through the use of 137
generally applicable definitions, designate areas of the state as 138
rural and underserved. The method by which these designations 139
shall be made shall be contained in rules and regulations 140
promulgated by the commission. 141
(2) The commission shall develop and implement policies and 142
procedures designed to recruit and identify attorneys who 143
demonstrate the necessary interest, commitment, aptitude and 144
dedication to pursue careers as attorneys in rural and underserved 145
areas of Mississippi, and to develop and implement the programs 146
designed to foster successful entry of participants into the 147
practice of law in a rural and underserved area of Mississippi. 148
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SECTION 7. (1) Each applicant for admission to the program 149
must submit an application to the commission that conforms to 150
requirements established by the commission. 151
(2) An applicant for the program may be admitted only upon a 152
majority vote of the members of the commission. 153
(3) Not less than fifteen (15) attorneys will be admitted to 154
the program each year, provided that there are fifteen (15) or 155
more qualified applicants for the program. 156
SECTION 8. (1) Participants must adhere to the policies and 157
practices as stipulated by the commission to continue in the 158
program. 159
(2) A participant admitted to the program shall receive a 160
stipend from the commission for the purposes of establishing a law 161
firm in a rural and underserved area of Mississippi. If a 162
participant in the program practices law in a rural or underserved 163
area of Mississippi for five (5) years from the initial date of 164
disbursement of funds from the commission, the stipend provided to 165
the participant by the commission will be forgiven. However, if 166
the participant does not practice law within a rural or 167
underserved area of Mississippi for five (5) years, or if the 168
participant otherwise breaches his or her agreement with the 169
commission, the stipend provided to the participant must be repaid 170
according to policies adopted by the commission. 171
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ST: Mississippi Rural Attorney Program Act;
enact.
SECTION 9. (1) The commission shall make every effort to 172
establish a practice support system for participants in the 173
program. 174
(2) The commission shall have the authority to provide 175
participants in the program selected for funding with mentors and 176
other programs designed to enhance the participant's likelihood of 177
success as a practicing attorney in a rural and underserved area 178
of the state. 179
SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from 180
and after July 1, 2026. 181