"Public Safety Recruitment and Retention Act"; create to provide college tuition awards to certain public safety personnel and their legal dependents.

HB 649, the "Public Safety Recruitment and Retention Act," would have provided college tuition awards to Mississippi public safety personnel (including police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics) with at least six years of service, covering up to 100% of resident tuition costs at public institutions or the equivalent at private schools. It would also have allowed legal dependents of personnel with ten years of service to receive awards, contingent on agreeing to remain in Mississippi for five years after graduation and providing annual tax proof. The program required applicants to exhaust other federal/state financial aid first (acting as a "last dollar" scholarship) and established a state fund prioritizing current personnel over dependents if funding was limited. The bill died in committee on February 3, 2026, and never became law.