HB 1252 Mississippi House · 2025 Regular Session

MEC; require free access to public defenders.

HB 1252 (Mississippi House Bill 1252) requires Mississippi public defenders to have free access to the state's electronic court system records when representing defendants who cannot afford private lawyers (indigent defendants). This amendment to Section 9-1-59 of the Mississippi Code removes fees that previously restricted public defenders' access to court records for these cases. The bill directly affects public defenders and the indigent defendants they represent by ensuring they can review case materials without cost. It does not alter court procedures, funding, or penalties, but addresses a specific access barrier in the electronic court system.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Feb 2025

House Passage

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 6, 2025 Last action Mar 4, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

As Introduced → Current version · 7 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends Mississippi law to grant public defenders free access to electronic court records for indigent defendants and restructures traffic and criminal fine assessments. The changes significantly alter how fines are distributed across various state funds, creating new categories for speeding violations and modifying assessment amounts for different offense types.

Scope change

The bill expands public defender access to electronic court records and reorganizes the distribution of fines and penalties across multiple state funds, affecting how revenue from traffic and criminal violations is allocated.

ELIGIBILITY

Public defenders now have free access to Mississippi Electronic Court System records for cases involving indigent defendants

FISCAL

All previously listed special funds for traffic violations are deleted, with amounts redirected to the State General Fund

Speeding fine assessments now vary by severity: $10 for 10-20 mph over limit, $20 for 20-30 mph over, and $30 for 30+ mph over

Uninsured motorist violation assessments increased to $200 for first offense, $300 for second, and $400 for third or subsequent offenses

General Fund allocation amounts changed from $90.50 to $89.00 for implied consent violations and $121.75 for other misdemeanors

General Fund allocation for other felonies increased to $280.50

REQUIREMENT

New requirements for monthly deposits of state assessments by court clerks and reporting to the Department of Finance and Administration

Floor votes · House Feb 5, 2025

How they voted

116–0

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 119

Feb 5, 2025

D Democratic39

39 Yea

100% Yea

I Independent2

1 Yea 1

50% Yea

R Republican78

76 Yea 2

97% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 17, 2025

Committee

Referred To Judiciary, Division A

upper

Feb 6, 2025

Introduced

Transmitted To Senate

lower

Feb 5, 2025

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

Jan 30, 2025

Lower · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass

lower

Jan 20, 2025

Committee

Referred To Judiciary B

lower

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors