HB 1295 Mississippi House · 2026 Regular Session

Juror qualifications; revise.

HB 1295 revises Mississippi's juror qualifications by requiring prospective jurors to demonstrate basic literacy. The bill mandates that jurors complete a written form with personal details (name, address, occupation, etc.) before serving, which the judge must personally review to confirm they can read and write. Those unable to complete the form will be disqualified and removed from the jury pool until they qualify. This change directly affects individuals summoned for jury duty in Mississippi courts, starting July 1, 2026.
Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Feb 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 12, 2026 Last action Mar 3, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

As Introduced Current version · 2 edits
MINOR
The bill title was updated to reflect that it has passed the House rather than being in its original introduced form. This indicates the bill has moved forward in the legislative process but does not yet represent final passage. The substantive content of the bill appears unchanged based on the visible text provided.
TECHNICAL

Title updated from 'As Introduced' to 'As Passed the House' to reflect the bill's current legislative status

Added parenthetical note '(As Passed the House)' below the bill title to clarify the version status

Floor votes · House Feb 11, 2026

How they voted

1053
Passed · 14 other
Total votes 122
Feb 11, 2026
D Democratic40
26 Yea 3 Nay 11
65% Yea
I Independent2
2 Yea
100% Yea
R Republican80
77 Yea 3
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
6
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Feb 19, 2026
Committee
Referred To Judiciary, Division A
upper
Feb 12, 2026
Introduced
Transmitted To Senate
lower
Feb 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
Feb 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass
lower
Jan 19, 2026
Committee
Referred To Judiciary B
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Jansen Owen
Jansen Owen
RRepublican
MS
106