Habitual offenders; exclude nonviolent offenders.

HB 1349 would have excluded nonviolent offenders from Mississippi's habitual offender sentencing laws, which currently impose mandatory maximum prison terms or life sentences for repeat felony convictions. The bill amended two sections (99-19-81 and 99-19-83) to remove nonviolent offenses from the definition of "crime of violence" used in these penalties and repealed a separate law governing repeat drug offense penalties. This would have directly affected individuals convicted of nonviolent felonies (like many drug offenses) who had prior convictions, preventing them from facing the harshest mandatory sentences under habitual offender statutes. The bill died in committee on February 3, 2026, and did not become law.