MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representatives Horan, McLean
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 45-33-23 AND 45-33-25, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE DEFINITIONS FOR THE PROVISIONS OF LAW THAT REGULATE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY; TO DECLARE THAT THE RECORDS AND PROCEEDINGS OF AN ORGAN PROCUREMENT ORGANIZATION PEER REVIEW COMMITTEE ARE CONFIDENTIAL AND NOT DISCOVERABLE IN A CIVIL ACTION; TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS; TO DESCRIBE THE FUNCTIONS OF PEER REVIEW COMMITTEES; TO PROVIDE THAT PERSONS PROVIDING INFORMATION TO AND MEMBERS OF A PEER REVIEW COMMITTEE MAY NOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE COMMITTEE; TO PROHIBIT A PEER REVIEW COMMITTEE AND ITS MEMBERS FROM REVEALING THE IDENTITY OF ORGAN DONORS AND RECIPIENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-47, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE THE JURISDICTIONAL TIME PERIOD FOR A COURT'S AUTHORITY TO REVISE A DEFENDANT'S SENTENCE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 45-33-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-33-23. For the purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Conviction" means that, regarding the person's offense, there has been a determination or judgment of guilt as a result of a trial or the entry of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere regardless of whether adjudication is withheld. "Conviction of similar offenses" includes, but is not limited to, a conviction by a federal or military tribunal, including a court-martial conducted by the Armed Forces of the United States, a conviction for an offense committed on an Indian Reservation or other federal property, a conviction in any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianna Islands or the United States Virgin Islands, and a conviction in a foreign country if the foreign country's judicial system is such that it satisfies minimum due process set forth in the guidelines under Section 111(5)(B) Public Law 109-248.
(b) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Public Safety unless otherwise specified.
(c) "Jurisdiction" means any court or locality including any state court, federal court, military court, Indian tribunal or foreign court, the fifty (50) states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianna Islands or the United States Virgin Islands, and Indian tribes that elect to function as registration jurisdictions under Title 1, SORNA Section 127 of the Adam Walsh Child Safety Act.
(d) "Permanent
residence" means a place where the person abides, lodges, or resides for a
period of fourteen (14) or more * * * aggregate days in a six (6)
month period.
(e) "Registration" means providing information to the appropriate agency within the timeframe specified as required by this chapter.
(f) "Registration duties" means obtaining the registration information required on the form specified by the department as well as the photograph, fingerprints and biological sample of the registrant. Biological samples are to be forwarded to the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory pursuant to Section 45-33-37; the photograph, fingerprints and other registration information are to be forwarded to the Department of Public Safety immediately.
(g) "Responsible agency" is defined as the person or government entity whose duty it is to obtain information from a criminal sex offender upon conviction and to transmit that information to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
(i) For a criminal sex offender being released from the custody of the Department of Corrections, the responsible agency is the Department of Corrections.
(ii) For a criminal sex offender being released from a county jail, the responsible agency is the sheriff of that county.
(iii) For a criminal sex offender being released from a municipal jail, the responsible agency is the police department of that municipality.
(iv) For a sex offender in the custody of the youth court, the responsible agency is the youth court.
(v) For a criminal sex offender who is being placed on probation, including conditional discharge or unconditional discharge, without any sentence of incarceration, the responsible agency is the sentencing court.
(vi) For an offender who has been committed to a mental institution following an acquittal by reason of insanity, the responsible agency is the facility from which the offender is released. Specifically, the director of the facility shall notify the Department of Public Safety before the offender's release.
(vii) For a criminal sex offender who is being released from a jurisdiction outside this state or who has a prior conviction in another jurisdiction and who is to reside, work or attend school in this state, the responsible agency is both the sheriff of the proposed county of residence and the department.
(h) "Sex offense" or "registrable offense" means any of the following offenses:
(i) Section 97-3-53 relating to kidnapping, if the victim was below the age of eighteen (18);
(ii) Section 97-3-65 relating to rape; however, conviction or adjudication under Section 97-3-65(1)(a) when the offender was eighteen (18) years of age or younger at the time of the alleged offense, shall not be a registrable sex offense;
(iii) Section 97-3-71 relating to rape and assault with intent to ravish;
(iv) Section 97-3-95 relating to sexual battery; however, conviction or adjudication under Section 97-3-95(1)(c) when the offender was eighteen (18) years of age or younger at the time of the alleged offense, shall not be a registrable sex offense;
(v) Section 97-5-5 relating to enticing a child for concealment, prostitution or marriage;
(vi) Section 97-5-23 relating to the touching of a child, mentally defective or incapacitated person or physically helpless person for lustful purposes;
(vii) Section 97-5-27 relating to the dissemination of sexually oriented material to children;
(viii) Section 97-5-33 relating to the exploitation of children;
(ix) Section 97-5-41 relating to the carnal knowledge of a stepchild, adopted child or child of a cohabiting partner;
(x) Section 97-29-3 relating to sexual intercourse between teacher and student;
(xi) Section 97-29-59 relating to unnatural intercourse;
(xii) Section 43-47-18 relating to sexual abuse of a vulnerable person;
(xiii) Section 97-3-54.1(1)(c) relating to procuring sexual servitude of a minor and Section 97-3-54.3 relating to aiding, abetting or conspiring to violate Section 97-3-54.1(1)(c);
(xiv) Section 97-29-61(2) relating to voyeurism when the victim is a child under sixteen (16) years of age;
(xv) Section 97-29-63 relating to filming another without permission where there is an expectation of privacy;
(xvi) Section 97-29-45(1)(a) relating to obscene electronic communication;
(xvii) Section 97-3-104 relating to the crime of sexual activity between law enforcement, correctional or custodial personnel and prisoners;
(xviii) Section 97-5-39(1)(e) relating to contributing to the neglect or delinquency of a child, felonious abuse or battery of a child, if the victim was sexually abused;
(xix) Section 97-29-51 relating to procuring or promoting prostitution when the victim is a child under eighteen (18) years of age;
(xx) Section 97-1-7 relating to attempt to commit any of the offenses referenced in this paragraph (h);
(xxi) Any other offense resulting in a conviction in another jurisdiction which, if committed in this state, would be deemed to be such a crime without regard to its designation elsewhere;
(xxii) Any offense resulting in a conviction in another jurisdiction for which registration is required in the jurisdiction where the conviction was had;
(xxiii) Any conviction of conspiracy to commit, accessory to commission, or attempt to commit any offense listed in this section;
(xxiv) Capital murder when one (1) of the above-described offenses is the underlying crime.
(i) "Temporary
residence" is defined as any place where the person abides, lodges, or
resides for a period of seven (7) or more * * * aggregate days in a six (6)
month period which is not the person's permanent residence.
(j) "Address" means the actual physical street address of a person's permanent or temporary residence. For a person who is homeless but is subject to registration under this chapter, the address information must provide a specific description of where the person habitually lives; the term "homeless" or similar description does not constitute an address within the contemplation of this chapter.
SECTION 2. Section 45-33-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
45-33-25. (1) (a) Any person having a permanent or temporary residence in this state or who is employed or attending school in this state who has been convicted of a registrable offense in this state or another jurisdiction or who has been acquitted by reason of insanity of a registrable offense in this state or another jurisdiction shall register with the responsible agency and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. Registration shall not be required for an offense that is not a registrable sex offense or for an offender who is under fourteen (14) years of age. The department shall provide the initial registration information as well as every change of name, change of address, change of status at a school, or other change of information as required by the department to the sheriff of the county of the residence address of the registrant, the sheriff of the county of the employment address, and the sheriff of the county of the school address, if applicable, and any other jurisdiction of the registrant through either written notice, electronic or telephone transmissions, or online access to registration information. Further, the department shall provide this information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Additionally, upon notification by the registrant that he intends to reside outside the State of Mississippi, the department shall notify the appropriate state law enforcement agency of any state to which a registrant is moving or has moved.
(b) Any person having a permanent or temporary residence or who is employed or attending school in this state who has been adjudicated delinquent for a registrable sex offense listed in this paragraph that involved use of force against the victim shall register as a sex offender with the responsible agency and shall personally appear at a facility designated by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, or in a manner of the Department of Public Safety's choosing, including by electronic means, within three (3) business days of registering with the responsible agency:
(i) Section 97-3-71 relating to rape and assault with intent to ravish;
(ii) Section 97-3-95 relating to sexual battery;
(iii) Section 97-3-65 relating to statutory rape; or
(iv) Conspiracy to commit, accessory to the commission of, or attempt to commit any offense listed in this paragraph.
(2) Any person required to register under this chapter shall submit the following information at the time of registration:
(a) Name, including a former name which has been legally changed;
(b) Street address of
all current permanent and temporary residences within state or out of state at
which the sex offender resides or habitually lives, including dates of
temporary lodgings. There is a presumption that a registrant owes a duty of
updating registration information if * * *
the registrant remains away from a registered address for seven (7)
or more * * *
aggregate days in a six (6) month period; * * *
* * *
(c) Date, place and address of employment, including as a volunteer or unpaid intern or as a transient or day laborer;
(d) Crime for which charged, arrested or convicted;
(e) Date and place of conviction, adjudication or acquittal by reason of insanity;
(f) Aliases used or nicknames, ethnic or tribal names by which commonly known;
(g) Social security number and any purported social security number or numbers;
(h) Date and place of birth and any purported date and place of birth;
(i) Age, race, sex, height, weight, hair and eye colors, and any other physical description or identifying factors;
(j) A brief description of the offense or offenses for which the registration is required;
(k) Driver's license or state or other jurisdiction identification card number, which license or card may be electronically accessed by the Department of Public Safety;
(l) Anticipated future residence;
(m) If the registrant's residence is a motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home or manufactured home, the registrant shall also provide vehicle identification number, license tag number, registration number and a description, including color scheme, of the motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home or manufactured home; if the registrant's place of residence is a vessel or houseboat, the registrant shall also provide the hull identification number, manufacturer's serial number, name of the vessel or houseboat, registration number and a description, including color scheme, of the vessel or houseboat, including permanent or frequent locations where the motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home, manufactured home, vessel or houseboat is kept;
(n) Vehicle make, model, color and license tag number for all vehicles owned or operated by the sex offender, whether for work or personal use, and the permanent or frequent locations where a vehicle is kept;
(o) Offense history;
(p) Photograph;
(q) Fingerprints and palm prints;
(r) Documentation of any treatment received for any mental abnormality or personality disorder of the person;
(s) Biological sample;
(t) Name of any public or private educational institution, including any secondary school, trade or professional institution or institution of higher education at which the offender is employed, carries on a vocation (with or without compensation) or is enrolled as a student, or will be enrolled as a student, and the registrant's status;
(u) Copy of conviction or sentencing order for the sex offense for which registration is required;
(v) The offender's parole, probation or supervised release status and the existence of any outstanding arrest warrants;
(w) Every online identity, screen name or username used, registered or created by a registrant;
(x) Professional licensing information which authorizes the registrant to engage in an occupation or carry out a trade or occupation;
(y) Information from passport and immigration documents;
(z) All telephone numbers, including, but not limited to, permanent residence, temporary residence, cell phone and employment phone numbers, whether landlines or cell phones; and
(aa) Any other information deemed necessary.
(3) For purposes of this chapter, a person is considered to be residing in this state if he maintains a permanent or temporary residence as defined in Section 45-33-23, including students, temporary employees and military personnel on assignment.
(4) (a) A person required to register under this chapter shall not reside within three thousand (3,000) feet of the real property comprising a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school, a child care facility, a residential child-caring agency, a children's group care home or any playground, ballpark or other recreational facility utilized by persons under the age of eighteen (18) years.
(b) A person residing within three thousand (3,000) feet of the real property comprising a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school or a child care facility does not commit a violation of this subsection if any of the following apply:
(i) The person is serving a sentence at a jail, prison, juvenile facility or other correctional institution or facility.
(ii) The person is subject to an order of commitment under Title 41, Mississippi Code of 1972.
(iii) The person established the subject residence before July 1, 2006.
(iv) The school or child care facility is established within three thousand (3,000) feet of the person's residence subsequent to the date the person established residency.
(v) The person established the subject residence between July 1, 2006, and January 1, 2014, in a location at least one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet from the school or child care facility.
(vi) The person is a minor or a ward under a guardianship.
(c) A person residing within three thousand (3,000) feet of the real property comprising a residential child-caring agency, a children's group care home or any playground, ballpark or other recreational facility utilized by persons under the age of eighteen (18) years does not commit a violation of this subsection if any of the following apply:
(i) The person established the subject residence before July 1, 2008.
(ii) The residential child-caring agency, children's group care home, playground, ballpark or other recreational facility utilized by persons under the age of eighteen (18) years is established within three thousand (3,000) feet of the person's residence subsequent to the date the person established residency.
(iii) The person established the subject residence between July 1, 2008, and January 1, 2014, in a location at least one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet from the residential child-caring agency, children's group care home, playground, ballpark or other recreational facility utilized by persons under the age of eighteen (18) years.
(iv) Any of the conditions described in subsection (4)(b)(i), (ii) or (vi) exist.
(5) The Department of Public Safety is required to obtain the text of the law defining the offense or offenses for which the registration is required.
SECTION 3. (1) As used in this section, the following words and phrases have the meanings ascribed in this subsection unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Organ procurement organization PEER review committee," "PEER review committee" or "committee" means a committee of representatives of a not-for-profit organization responsible for recovering organs from donors for transplantation, which organization's federally designated donation service area includes all or a portion of the State of Mississippi. An "organ procurement organization PEER review committee" may be comprised solely of representatives of a state not-for-profit organization or any national not-for-profit entity with which the federal government contracts to serve as the nation's transplant system, or a combination of representatives from both the state organization and entity servicing as the nation's transplant system.
(b) "Proceedings" means all reviews, meetings, conversations and communications of an organ procurement organization PEER review committee.
(c) "Records" means all committee minutes, transcripts, applications, correspondence, incident reports and other documents created, received or reviewed by or for an organ procurement organization PEER review committee.
(2) A not-for-profit organization responsible for recovering organs from donors for transplantation in all or a portion of the state may establish an organ procurement organization PEER review committee. The functions of an organ procurement organization PEER review committee include, but are not limited to: evaluating and improving the quality of services rendered by the state organization; evaluating the competence or practice of employees and staff of the state organization; and determining if services rendered by the organization were professionally performed in compliance with the applicable standard of care.
(3) A person or institution furnishing information, data, reports or records to a PEER review committee may not be held liable for damages to another person by reason of furnishing the information. A member of a PEER review committee may not be held liable for damages to a person for an action taken or recommendation made within the scope of the functions of the committee if the committee or committee member acted without malice and in the reasonable belief that the action or recommendation was warranted by the facts known to the individual at the time of the action or recommendation.
(4) The identity of a person who is an organ donor or organ recipient is confidential and may not be revealed by a PEER review committee or member of the committee.
(5) Notwithstanding any conflicting statute, court rule or other law, in order to encourage PEER review activity, the proceedings and records of an organ procurement organization PEER review committee are confidential and not subject to discovery or introduction into evidence in a civil action arising out of the matters which are the subject of evaluation and review by the committee. A person who was in attendance at a meeting of the PEER review committee may not be permitted or required to testify in a civil action regarding evidence or other matters produced or presented during the proceedings of the committee or as to any findings, recommendations, evaluations, opinions or other actions of the committee or its members. However, information, documents or records otherwise discoverable or admissible from original sources are not to be construed as immune from discovery or use in a civil action merely because they were presented during the proceedings of the committee. A person who testifies before the committee or who is a member of the committee may not be prevented from testifying as to other matters within the person's knowledge; however, a witness may not be questioned concerning the person's participation on or testimony before the committee or opinions formed by the witness as a result of the PEER review committee hearings or proceedings.
(6) The provisions of subsection (5) of this section which limit the discovery of PEER review committee records and proceedings do not apply in a legal action brought by a PEER review committee against an employee of the organization or other person for alleged wrongdoing or in a legal action brought by an aggrieved employee of the organization or other person against the committee or a member of the committee for actions alleged to have been malicious.
SECTION 4. Section 47-7-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-47. (1) The judge of any circuit court may place an offender on a program of earned probation, in an intensive supervision program or any intervention court authorized by law after a period of confinement as set out herein and the judge may seek the advice of the commissioner and shall direct that the defendant be under the supervision of the department.
(2) (a) Any circuit court
or county court may, upon its own motion, acting upon the advice and consent of
the commissioner not earlier than thirty (30) days nor later than * * * three (3) years after the
defendant has been delivered to the custody of the department, * * * incarcerated by order of
the court or otherwise sentenced, modify, alter or suspend the
further execution of the sentence and place the defendant on earned probation, in
an intensive supervision program or any intervention court authorized by law
except when a death sentence or life imprisonment is the maximum penalty which
may be imposed or if the defendant has been confined two (2) or more times for
the conviction of a felony on a previous occasion in any court or courts of the
United States and of any state or territories thereof or has been convicted of
a felony involving the use of a deadly weapon.
(b) The authority granted in this subsection shall be exercised by the judge who imposed sentence on the defendant, or his successor.
(c) The time limit imposed by paragraph (a) of this subsection is not applicable to those defendants sentenced to the custody of the department prior to April 14, 1977. Persons who are convicted of crimes that carry mandatory sentences shall not be eligible for earned probation.
(3) When any circuit or county court places an offender on earned probation, the court shall give notice to the Mississippi Department of Corrections within fifteen (15) days of the court's decision to place the offender on earned probation. Notice shall be delivered to the central office of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and to the regional office of the department which will be providing supervision to the offender on earned probation.
(4) If the court places any person on probation or earned probation, the court may order the person, as a condition of probation, to a period of confinement and treatment at a private or public agency or institution, either within or without the state, which treats emotional, mental or drug-related problems. Any person who, as a condition of probation, is confined for treatment at an out-of-state facility shall be supervised pursuant to Section 47-7-71, and any person confined at a private agency shall not be confined at public expense. Time served in any such agency or institution may be counted as time required to meet the criteria of subsection (2)(a).
(5) If the court places any person on probation or earned probation, the court may order the person to make appropriate restitution to any victim of his crime or to society through the performance of reasonable work for the benefit of the community.
(6) If the court places any person on probation or earned probation, the court may order the person, as a condition of probation, to submit, as provided in Section 47-5-601, to any type of breath, saliva or urine chemical analysis test, the purpose of which is to detect the possible presence of alcohol or a substance prohibited or controlled by any law of the State of Mississippi or the United States.
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.