House Bill 1020 conference report filed but recommitted for more work

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) -Your elected officials will be in Jackson a little longer than first planned. They still haven’t agreed on a budget and there are controversial bills left to handle, like House Bill 1020.

”1020 is no different than any other bill that’s filed in the legislative process,” said Rep. Trey Lamar. “It starts one way then it goes through the public scrutiny, and it hopefully improves.”

You’ve seen the public outcry for various pieces of the bill. Now, a conference report is filed, and it looks different than the other versions you’ve seen. The only conferee from Jackson, Earle Banks, previously said he was waiting on a conference meeting, so we asked if the six men ever sat down together.

“No. No. No. Never,” said Rep. Earle Banks.

“We’ve all met at different times,” said Lamar.

Meeting logistics aside, let’s get into the changes. Some deleted elements are back but in slightly different ways. They’re now proposing creating a new court for the Capitol Complex Improvement District with an appointed judge and prosecutors.

“Because you have the CCID, it’s basically effectively a municipal court,” said Sen. Brice Wiggins. “And all across the state, that’s what municipal courts do. They handle your preliminary matters, or they handle your traffic laws and things like that. And so that’s where that that came from.”

“The municipal court system that will be set up municipal court sets that we’ve set up, those funds will go to the city of Jackson, not to Hinds County, nor to the state of Mississippi,” added Banks.

From a policing perspective, the CCID lines would be expanded but not quite as far north as first proposed. And who responds?

“Capitol Police only within the CCID will have primary jurisdiction,” said Sen. Brice Wiggins. “And outside of the CCID, JPD will have primary jurisdiction, and they’ll work together in each other’s areas.”

An accountability piece was added that would require a public hearing every quarter for you to express any concerns or ask questions.

”I would ask that people actually read the bill and understand what’s what we’re trying to do here,” added Wiggins.

“We’re still working on the conference report. I expect a final version within the next day or so,” said Lamar.

Remember, this isn’t a done deal. It has to be voted on by the House and Senate again. So, expect more debate.

The first version of the conference report included some of the following:

JUDICIAL IMPACT

• Creation of CCID inferior court-Chief Justice would appoint the judge. AG would appoint prosecutors.
• Four temporary special circuit judges in Hinds County
• Three new assistant public defenders
• Two new assistant district attorneys
• Fines, penalties, fees, and costs collected by CCID court shall be deposited with the City of Jackson.

POLICING IMPACT

• Expand CCID north to Northside Drive rather than original plan that extended to County Line Road.
• Capitol Police would have primary jurisdiction WITHIN CCID. Secondary outside CCID.
• Requires DPS to develop a 911 system for CCID.
• Require Capitol Police officers to wear body cameras.
• No longer a mention of an MOU.
• Public meeting to be held quarterly with Capitol Police, JPD, and HCSO to answer questions and concerns.

Want more WLBT news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Copyright 2023 WLBT. All rights reserved.