HB 1694 Mississippi House · 2026 Regular Session

Inmate Welfare Fund; revise committee for and increase inmate phone call commissions percentage deposited to.

HB 1694 revises the composition of the Inmate Welfare Fund Committee by adding the chairpersons of the House and Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committees as nonvoting members. The committee, which oversees the Inmate Welfare Fund used for inmate welfare programs like benefits and services, now includes these four new nonvoting members (the two Corrections Committee chairs and two Accountability Committee chairs) alongside existing members. The bill does not change the committee's requirement to meet at least quarterly or the fund's existing purpose of using inmate telephone commissions and other revenues.

Bill status died 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

House Passage

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 11, 2026 Last action Mar 3, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Committee Substitute → Current version · 1 edit

MINOR

The bill title was updated from 'Committee Substitute' to 'As Passed the House', indicating the legislation has moved forward in the legislative process. This change reflects procedural status rather than substantive policy modifications.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill version designation from 'Committee Substitute' to 'As Passed the House' to reflect its current legislative status.

As Introduced → Committee Substitute · 10 edits

MAJOR

The bill was amended to revise the composition of the Inmate Welfare Fund Committee by adding nonvoting members from the Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committees, require the committee to meet quarterly, and establish new oversight requirements including annual needs assessments, third-party canteen evaluations, and mental health services for parole-eligible inmates. The percentage of inmate telephone call commissions allocated to the Inmate Welfare Fund was increased from 25% to 40%, while the portion going to the Prison Agricultural Enterprise Fund was reduced from 35% to 30%. Additional regulations were added to govern allowable purchases and committee operations.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include new committee oversight requirements and additional inmate welfare programs, while the funding allocation for inmate telephone commissions was modified to benefit the Inmate Welfare Fund more substantially.

REQUIREMENT

The Inmate Welfare Fund Committee composition was changed to include nonvoting members from the House and Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committees in addition to existing voting and nonvoting members.

The committee is now required to meet at least once quarterly, maintain a quorum of voting members, and establish minimum attendance requirements for members.

New requirements mandate that the committee conduct annual needs assessments with assistance from department personnel, inmates, and inmate families to determine what items should be purchased for inmate benefit.

The committee must now evaluate proposals from interested third parties for administering inmate canteen services as provided in Section 47-5-109.1.

New requirement for the committee to expend funds to assist parole-eligible inmates diagnosed with mental illness to receive outpatient and community-based mental health services.

Regulations adopted by the committee must now specify allowable purchase types, explain which regulation permits each purchase, prescribe quorum and attendance requirements, and include a mission statement.

FISCAL

The percentage of inmate telephone call commissions deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund was increased from 25% to 40%.

The percentage of inmate telephone call commissions deposited into the Prison Agricultural Enterprise Fund was reduced from 35% to 30%.

ENFORCEMENT

The Department of Audit must now conduct an annual comprehensive special audit of the committee's use of the Inmate Welfare Fund and report findings to the Senate and House Corrections Committee Chairpersons.

TIMELINE

The act takes effect and is in force from and after July 1, 2026.

Floor votes · House Feb 10, 2026

How they voted

120–0

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 122

Feb 10, 2026

D Democratic40

40 Yea

100% Yea

I Independent2

2 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican80

78 Yea 2

97% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 17, 2026

Committee

Referred To Corrections;Appropriations

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Introduced

Transmitted To Senate

lower

Feb 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed

lower

Feb 3, 2026

Lower · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub

lower

Jan 19, 2026

Committee

Referred To Corrections;Appropriations A

lower

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor