Senate Bill 2149

AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT REFUGEES PLACED IN THIS STATE BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MUST REGISTER WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES; TO PROVIDE CIVIL LIABILITY FOR VOLUNTARY RESETTLEMENT ORGANIZATIONS ARISING FROM THE ACTIONS OF A REFUGEE PLACED IN THIS STATE TO WHOM THE ORGANIZATION PROVIDED SPONSORSHIP OR RESETTLEMENT SERVICES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. (1) Sponsors placing refugees in this state pursuant to the federal Refugee Resettlement Program are required to enroll the refugee with the Department of Human Services within thirty (30) days of the refugee entering the state. The department shall send the enrollment information of refugees placed in this state to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.

(2) In order to register with the department, the sponsor shall provide the refugee's name, address, telephone number, job status, name and contact information of the refugee's employer, if any, all state, local, or federal assistance provided to the refugee, criminal record, and any other information that the department determines to be relevant. A sponsor must update the refugee's registration within ten (10) days of any change in any of the information required for registration.

(3) The registration information required in subsection (2) of this section shall be maintained by the department on a database and that database shall not be made available to the public.

SECTION 2. (1) A refugee's sponsor shall be strictly liable to a person if:

(a) The refugee is in the Refugee Resettlement Program; and

(b) The refugee acted in a reckless, willful, or grossly negligent manner, committed an act of terrorism or committed a violent crime, as defined in Section 97-3-2, that resulted in physical harm or injury to a person or damage to or theft of real or personal property.

(2) If the conditions of this section are met, the refugee's sponsor shall be strictly liable to the injured party. The injured party shall be entitled to recover damages in a civil action.

SECTION 3. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety, in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies, shall confirm that any refugees placed in Mississippi by the federal government pursuant to the Refugee Resettlement Program do not pose a public safety risk. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety must report to the Legislature its findings regarding public safety risks as soon as practicable and thereafter update the report not later than December 1st of each year.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.