HB 49 Mississippi House · 2025 First Extraordinary Session

Assistant District Attorneys and Criminal Investigators; revise number of for certain judicial districts.

HB 49 revises the authorized number of Assistant District Attorneys (referred to as "legal assistants" in the bill) in multiple Mississippi judicial districts, such as increasing the Ninth Circuit's count to 4 effective January 2027. It also revises the number of criminal investigators for the Twenty-Second Circuit Court District. The bill allows additional Assistant District Attorneys to be funded through county resolutions or other sources like federal grants, requiring reporting to county boards and the state budget office. This affects district attorneys' offices and county governments in the specified judicial districts.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

May 2025

Committee Review

May 2025

House Passage

May 2025

Senate Passage

May 2025

Signed into Law

Jun 2025

Introduced May 28, 2025 Signed Jun 17, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed the lower → Current version · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill title was updated to reflect its current status as sent to the Governor, indicating it has passed the House and is awaiting final approval. No substantive policy changes were made to the bill's content; the modifications are purely administrative and relate to the bill's procedural status.

TECHNICAL

The bill header was changed from 'As Passed the House' to 'As Sent to Governor', and the act title was updated accordingly to reflect its current legislative status.

As Introduced → As Passed the lower · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates Mississippi's staffing levels for Assistant District Attorneys and Criminal Investigators across 23 circuit court districts. It increases legal assistant positions in several districts, adjusts criminal investigator limits based on district workload, and establishes new funding mechanisms allowing counties and private sources to supplement state funding. The bill also sets specific effective dates for these changes and repeals certain temporary provisions.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of funding sources for legal assistants and criminal investigators, allowing county boards, municipalities, federal funds, private grants, and interlocal cooperative agreements to contribute to salaries and benefits beyond state appropriations.

REQUIREMENT

Increased legal assistant positions in multiple circuit court districts, including the Ninth Circuit (to 4), Fourteenth Circuit (to 5), and Twentieth Circuit (to 10), with specific effective dates ranging from 2026 to 2027.

Revised criminal investigator appointment limits across districts, with some districts authorized to have 2-4 investigators depending on workload and funding availability.

Established salary cap of $63,000 per annum for criminal investigators with provisions for law degree holders to receive additional compensation up to legal assistant salary levels.

FISCAL

Added new funding provisions allowing district attorneys to employ additional legal assistants and criminal investigators using non-state funds including county contributions, federal funds, private grants, and interlocal cooperative agreements.

TIMELINE

Set effective dates for staffing changes ranging from January 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027, with some provisions for Twenty-second and Twenty-third Circuit Court Districts to be repealed effective January 1, 2027 or 2031.

ENFORCEMENT

Added reporting requirements for district attorneys to report supplemental salary sources to county boards of supervisors and the Department of Finance and Administration.

Floor votes · Senate May 29, 2025 · House May 28, 2025

How they voted

42–0

Passed · 17 other

Total votes 59

May 29, 2025

D Democratic20

11 Yea 9

55% Yea

R Republican39

31 Yea 8

79% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jun 17, 2025

Signed into law

Approved by Governor

executive

May 29, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed

upper

May 29, 2025

Upper · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass

upper

May 29, 2025

Committee

Referred To Judiciary, Division A

upper

May 29, 2025

Introduced

Transmitted To Senate

lower

May 28, 2025

Introduced

Transmitted To Senate

lower

May 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

May 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass

lower

May 28, 2025

Committee

Referred To Judiciary B

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors