HB 1063 Mississippi House · 2025 Regular Session

MS State Employees Paid Parental Leave Act; create.

HB 1063 creates Mississippi's first state-level paid parental leave policy for eligible state employees. It provides six weeks (240 hours) of paid leave at 100% salary for primary caregivers after a child's birth or adoption, requiring at least 12 months of full-time state employment. The leave must be taken within 12 weeks of the event, used only once per year, and runs concurrently with federal FMLA without counting against other leave types. Public school and community college districts may adopt similar policies for their employees. The law became effective after Governor approval on March 25, 2025.

Issues: ✓ Labor & Employment

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

House Passage

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

Signed into Law

Mar 2025

Introduced Jan 31, 2025 Signed Mar 25, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Passed the lower → Current version · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was revised to reduce paid parental leave benefits for state employees from eight weeks for primary caregivers and two weeks for secondary caregivers to six weeks for primary caregivers only, eliminating the secondary caregiver provision. This change simplifies the program by removing the distinction between primary and secondary caregivers and reduces the total leave entitlement available to employees.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed by removing provisions that allowed secondary caregivers to take paid parental leave and by reducing the total weeks of paid leave available to primary caregivers.

ELIGIBILITY

Reduced paid parental leave entitlement from eight weeks to six weeks for primary caregivers

Eliminated the secondary caregiver category and associated two-week paid leave entitlement

DEFINITION

Removed the definition of 'secondary caregiver' from the bill

REQUIREMENT

Simplified eligibility criteria by removing the requirement that employees be either primary or secondary caregivers

As Introduced → As Passed the lower · 10 edits

MAJOR

This bill establishes a new paid parental leave program for Mississippi state employees, providing eight weeks of paid leave for primary caregivers and two weeks for secondary caregivers after the birth or adoption of a child. The legislation also authorizes school districts and community colleges to adopt similar policies for their employees. The bill amends existing state leave laws to accommodate this new paid leave program and clarifies how it interacts with other leave benefits.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include a new paid parental leave program that was not previously available to state employees, while also authorizing local school districts and community colleges to implement similar programs for their employees.

ELIGIBILITY

New eligibility requirements for state employees include a minimum of 12 consecutive months of full-time permanent employment to qualify for paid parental leave.

REQUIREMENT

Primary caregivers receive 8 weeks (320 hours) of paid parental leave at 100% of regular salary, while secondary caregivers receive 2 weeks (80 hours) at 100% of regular salary.

Paid parental leave must be taken within 12 weeks of the child's birth or adoption and can only be used once in a 12-month period.

Employees must provide at least 30 days advance notice of planned leave when foreseeable, or notify at the earliest opportunity if exigent circumstances prevent advance notice.

Paid parental leave runs concurrently with FMLA leave and does not count against accrued personal leave or major medical leave, but cannot be accrued, carried over, or used for retirement purposes.

After using paid parental leave, employees may use up to 6 weeks of earned major medical leave for the birth of their child within one year of placement.

DEFINITION

New definitions established for 'eligible employee,' 'paid parental leave,' 'primary caregiver,' and 'secondary caregiver' to clarify program terms.

SCOPE

Public school districts and community/junior college districts are authorized to adopt similar paid parental leave policies for their employees.

ENFORCEMENT

State agencies must submit annual reports to the State Personnel Board on paid parental leave usage starting July 1, 2026.

TIMELINE

The paid parental leave program and related amendments to state code take effect on January 1, 2026.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 11, 2025 · House Jan 30, 2025

How they voted

34–16

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 51

Mar 11, 2025

D Democratic16

16 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican35

18 Yea 16 Nay 1

51% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 25, 2025

Signed into law

Approved by Governor

executive

Mar 14, 2025

Lower · Passed

Concurred in Amend From Senate

lower

Mar 11, 2025

Upper · Passed

Passed As Amended

upper

Mar 11, 2025

Upper · Passed

Amended

upper

Mar 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass As Amended

upper

Feb 17, 2025

Committee

Referred To Judiciary, Division A

upper

Jan 31, 2025

Introduced

Transmitted To Senate

lower

Jan 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

Jan 29, 2025

Lower · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass

lower

Jan 17, 2025

Committee

Referred To Public Health and Human Services;Appropriations A

lower

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors