HB 1398 Mississippi House · 2025 Regular Session

Municipal judges; provide a term of office for.

HB 1398 amends Mississippi law to require municipal judges to serve fixed terms that align with the terms of the municipal governing authorities (like city councils) that appoint them. It also states that a municipal judge must forfeit their position and become ineligible to serve if they lose qualifications for any reason (e.g., failing to meet residency or legal requirements). The bill affects all cities with municipal judges, particularly those with populations over 10,000, by standardizing their terms and adding accountability for maintaining eligibility. This change applies to existing appointment rules under Sections 21-23-3, 21-23-5, and 21-23-9 of Mississippi Code. The bill died in committee in March 2025 and was never enacted.
Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Feb 2025
House Passage
Feb 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 6, 2025 Last action Mar 4, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

As Introduced Current version · 4 edits
MODERATE
This bill establishes fixed terms for municipal judges that align with the terms of the appointing governing authorities, ensuring judicial stability and preventing judges from serving beyond the authority that appointed them. It also clarifies eligibility requirements and forfeiture conditions for municipal judges across different municipality sizes.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains consistent between versions, applying to municipalities of varying population sizes with specific provisions for different population thresholds.
REQUIREMENT

Municipal judges now serve fixed terms that run concurrently with the appointing governing authorities' terms, replacing any previous indefinite appointment structure.

ELIGIBILITY

Judges must forfeit their office and become ineligible to serve if they become unqualified for any reason, with this provision now explicitly stated in multiple sections.

TIMELINE

The act specifies an effective date of July 1, 2025, providing a clear implementation timeline for the new requirements.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting and markup changes occurred during the legislative process, including page numbering updates and session information adjustments.

Floor votes · House Feb 5, 2025

How they voted

9615
Passed · 8 other
Total votes 119
Feb 5, 2025
D Democratic39
20 Yea 12 Nay 7
51% Yea
I Independent2
2 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican78
74 Yea 3 Nay 1
94% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
6
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Feb 17, 2025
Committee
Referred To Judiciary, Division A
upper
Feb 6, 2025
Introduced
Transmitted To Senate
lower
Feb 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Jan 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass
lower
Jan 20, 2025
Committee
Referred To Judiciary A
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors