House Bill 802

AN ACT TO CREATE "JENNIFER'S LAW" TO PROHIBIT ANY STATE OR LOCAL AGENCY THAT EMPLOYS PEACE OFFICERS OR PARKING ENFORCEMENT EMPLOYEES FROM ESTABLISHING ANY POLICY REQUIRING ANY SUCH OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES TO MEET AN ARREST QUOTA CONCERNING TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS; TO PROHIBIT THE NUMBER OF ARRESTS OR CITATIONS ISSUED BY A PEACE OFFICER OR PARKING ENFORCEMENT EMPLOYEE AS THE SOLE CRITERION FOR EARNING ANY BENEFIT PROVIDED BY A STATE OR LOCAL AGENCY; TO PROVIDE CERTAIN DEFINITIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) This section shall be referred to as "Jennifer's Law."

(2) The words and phrases used in this section shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them as follows:

(a) "Arrest quota" means any requirement regarding the number of arrests made, or the number of citations issued, by a peace officer, or parking enforcement employee, or the proportion of those arrests made and citations issued by a peace officer or parking enforcement employee, relative to the arrests made and citations issued by another peace officer or parking enforcement employee, or group of officers or employees.

(b) "Citation" means a notice to appear, notice of violation or notice of parking violation.

(c) "Peace officer" means any person appointed or employed full time by the state or any political subdivision thereof, who is duly sworn and vested with authority to bear arms and make arrests, and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of criminals and the enforcement of criminal and traffic laws of this state and/or the ordinances of any political subdivision thereof.

(d) "Agency" includes any governing authority that employs peace officers within the State of Mississippi.

(2) No state or local agency employing peace officers or parking enforcement employees engaged in the enforcement of Title Code 63, Mississippi Code of 1972, or any local ordinance adopted pursuant to Title 63, Mississippi Code of 1972, may establish any policy requiring any peace officer or parking enforcement employees to meet an arrest quota.

(3) No state or local agency employing peace officers or parking enforcement employees engaged in the enforcement of Title 63, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall use the number of arrests or citations issued by a peace officer or parking enforcement employee as the sole criterion for promotion, demotion, dismissal, or the earning of any benefit provided by the agency. Those arrests or citations, and their ultimate dispositions, may only be considered in evaluating the overall performance of a peace officer or parking enforcement employees. An evaluation may include, but shall not be limited to, criteria such as attendance, punctuality, work safety, complaints by citizens, commendations, demeanor, formal training and professional judgment.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2022.