SB 2633

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency
By: Senator(s) DeLano
Senate Bill 2633
AN ACT TO AMEND THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC RECORDS ACT OF 1983
TO PROVIDE EXEMPTIONS FOR PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION (PII); TO AMEND
SECTION 25-61-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DEFINE PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE
INFORMATION AND PROTECTED PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION; TO AMEND SECTION
25-61-12, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXEMPT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE
INFORMATION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
���� BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
���� SECTION 1.� Section
25-61-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
���� 25-61-3.� The following
words shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly
requires otherwise:
��������� (a)� "Public
body" shall mean any department, bureau, division, council, commission,
committee, subcommittee, board, agency and any other entity of the state or a
political subdivision thereof, and any municipal corporation and any other
entity created by the Constitution or by law, executive order, ordinance or
resolution.� The term "public body" includes the governing board of a
charter school authorized by the Mississippi Charter School Authorizer Board.�
Within the meaning of this chapter, the term "entity" shall not be
construed to include individuals employed by a public body or any appointed or
elected public official.
��������� (b)� "Public
records" shall mean all books, records, papers, accounts, letters, maps,
photographs, films, cards, tapes, recordings or reproductions thereof, and any
other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics,
having been used, being in use, or prepared, possessed or retained for use in
the conduct, transaction or performance of any business, transaction, work,
duty or function of any public body, or required to be maintained by any public
body.� "Public records" shall not mean "personal
information" as defined in Section 25-62-1.
��������� (c)� "Data
processing software" means the programs and routines used to employ and
control the capabilities of data processing hardware, including, but not
limited to, operating systems, compilers, assemblers, utilities, library
routines, maintenance routines, applications and computer networking programs.
��������� (d)� "Proprietary
software" means data processing software that is obtained under a
licensing agreement and is protected by copyright or trade secret laws.
��������� (e)� "Incident
report" means a narrative description, if such narrative description
exists and if such narrative description does not contain investigative
information, of an alleged offense, and at a minimum shall include the name and
identification of each person charged with and arrested for the alleged
offense, the time, date and location of the alleged offense, and the property
involved, to the extent this information is known.
��������� (f)�
"Investigative report" means records of a law enforcement agency
containing information beyond the scope of the matters contained in an incident
report, and generally will include, but not be limited to, the following
matters if beyond the scope of the matters contained in an incident report:
������������� (i)� Records that
are compiled in the process of detecting and investigating any unlawful
activity or alleged unlawful activity, the disclosure of which would harm the
investigation which may include crime scene reports and demonstrative evidence;
������������� (ii)� Records that
would reveal the identity of informants and/or witnesses;
������������� (iii)� Records that
would prematurely release information that would impede the public body's
enforcement, investigative or detection efforts;
������������� (iv)� Records that
would disclose investigatory techniques and/or results of investigative
techniques;
������������� (v)� Records that
would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication;
������������� (vi)� Records that
would endanger the life or safety of a public official or law enforcement
personnel, or confidential informants or witnesses;
������������� (vii)� Records
pertaining to quality control or PEER review activities; or
������������� (viii)� Records
that would impede or jeopardize a prosecutor's ability to prosecute the alleged
offense.
��������� (g)� "Law
enforcement agency" means a public body that performs as one (1) of its
principal functions activities pertaining to the enforcement of criminal laws,
the apprehension and investigation of criminal offenders, or the investigation
of criminal activities.
����������� (h)� "Personally Identifiable Information (PII)" means information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity, either alone or when combined with other personal or identifying information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual. �The definition of PII is not anchored to any single category of information or technology.� Rather, it requires a case-by-case assessment of the specific risk that an individual can be identified. �Non-PII can become PII whenever additional information is made publicly available, in any medium and from any source, that when combined with other available information could be used to identify an individual.
����������� (i)�
"Protected Personally Identifiable Information (Protected PII)" means
an individual's first name or first initial and last name in combination with
any one or more of types of information, including, but not limited to:
����������������� (i)�
Social Security numbers;
����������������� (ii)�
Home addresses;
����������������� (iii)�
Driver's license numbers;
���������������������� (iv)� Date and place of birth;����������������� (v)� Home or personal phone number;����������������� (vi)� Financial account numbers;����������������� (vii)� Personnel records and applications for employment;����������������� (viii)� Information that would disclose a person's individual tax return or status;����������������� (ix)� Applications for licensure in the possession of a public body;����������������� (x)� Passport number;����������������� (xi)� Mother's maiden name;����������������� (xii)� Criminal, medical and financial record;����������������� (xiii)� Educational transcripts.����� SECTION 2.� Section 25-61-12, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
���� 25-61-12.� (1)� The home
address, any telephone number of a privately paid account or other private
information of any law enforcement officer, criminal investigator, judge or
district attorney, or the spouse or child of the law enforcement
officer, criminal investigator, judge or district attorney, shall be
exempt from the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.� This exemption does
not apply to any court transcript or recording if given under oath and not
otherwise excluded by law.
���� (2)� (a)� When in the
possession of a law enforcement agency, investigative reports shall be exempt
from the provisions of this chapter; however, a law enforcement agency, in its
discretion, may choose to make public all or any part of any investigative
report.
��������� (b)� Nothing in this
chapter shall be construed to prevent any and all public bodies from having
among themselves a free flow of information for the purpose of achieving a
coordinated and effective detection and investigation of unlawful activity.�
Where the confidentiality of records covered by this section is being
determined in a private hearing before a judge under Section 25-61-13, the
public body may redact or separate from the records the identity of
confidential informants or the identity of the person or persons under
investigation or other information other than the nature of the incident, time,
date and location.
��������� (c)� Nothing in this
chapter shall be construed to exempt from public disclosure a law enforcement
incident report.� An incident report shall be a public record.� A law
enforcement agency may release information in addition to the information
contained in the incident report.
��������� (d)� Nothing in this
chapter shall be construed to require the disclosure of information that would
reveal the identity of the victim.
���� (3)� Personal information of
victims, including victim impact statements and letters of support on behalf of
victims that are contained in records on file with the Mississippi Department
of Corrections and State Parole Board, shall be exempt from the provisions of
this chapter.
���� (4)� Records of a public
hospital board relating to the purchase or sale of medical or other practices
or other business operations, and the recruitment of physicians and other
health care professionals, shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter.
���� (5)� Protected Personally
Identifiable Information and other Personally Identifiable Information, as
defined in Section 25-61-3, shall be exempt from the provisions of this
chapter.
���� SECTION 3.� This act
shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.