Sixteenth section land; define rights of owners of land on which is located a body of water.
HB 1593 clarifies that owners of Mississippi "sixteenth section" land (land historically held for public school funding) have superior rights over public access to navigable waterways or oxbow lakes located on their property. The bill amends Section 51-1-4 to declare the Sixteenth Section Trust "superior to the public waters trust," meaning landowners can restrict public use of water bodies on their land. It also updates definitions of "navigable waters" in Sections 1-3-31 and 29-3-1, 29-3-41, and 29-3-54 to align with this change. This directly affects landowners of sixteenth section parcels containing waterways, altering public access rights previously governed by state waterway laws.
Bill status
died
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 19, 2026
Last action Feb 12, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
As Introduced
→
Current version
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to expand its scope by adding new sections related to sixteenth section lands, hunting, fishing, and trespass notices. The act now explicitly states that sixteenth section trust rights are superior to public waters trust rights, and it adds provisions for leasing sixteenth section lands for hunting and fishing purposes along with trespass notice requirements.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to include additional sections (29-3-41 and 29-3-54) related to sixteenth section lands, hunting, fishing, and trespass notices, whereas the original version only referenced section 29-3-1.
SCOPE
The act's purpose statement was expanded to include amendments to sections 29-3-41 and 29-3-54 in addition to the original section 29-3-1, broadening the legislative intent to cover hunting, fishing leasing, and trespass notice provisions.
REQUIREMENT
New provisions were added regarding the leasing of sixteenth section lands for hunting and fishing purposes, as well as requirements for posting trespass notices on such lands.
DEFINITION
The bill's formatting was updated to include page numbering and committee substitute markings, though the substantive content of the definitions remained consistent with the original version.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
3
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub
lower
Jan 19, 2026
Committee
Referred To Judiciary B
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor
Sponsors
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