HB 827 Mississippi House · 2026 Regular Session

Rick Kennedy Act; create.

HB 827, the "Rick Kennedy Act," requires that a person’s Mississippi hunting license be suspended if they cause injury or death to another person while hunting (using a firearm, bow, arrow, or other hunting weapon) and face criminal charges. The license remains suspended until the criminal case ends with dismissal, acquittal, or a not-guilty verdict. To reinstate the license after such an incident, the person must complete an approved hunter safety course, serve a one-year probation period, and appear before the wildlife commission. Law enforcement must notify the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks within 48 hours of the criminal charges being filed.

Bill status died 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 16, 2026 Last action Feb 12, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

As Introduced → Current version · 2 edits

MINOR

The bill was reformatted from a standard legislative introduction to a committee substitute version, which is a procedural change indicating the bill has been reviewed and amended by a legislative committee. The substantive policy content regarding the Rick Kennedy Act remains unchanged, maintaining provisions for hunting license suspension when a hunter causes injury or death to another person, along with reinstatement requirements.

TECHNICAL

The document was reformatted from a standard 'As Introduced' version to a 'Committee Substitute' version, indicating the bill has undergone committee review and amendment. This is a procedural change rather than a substantive policy change.

Page numbering and formatting were updated to reflect official committee substitute markup, including page headers and footers with bill tracking information.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

Title Suff Do Pass Comm Sub

lower

Jan 16, 2026

Committee

Referred To Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks

lower

1 primary · 4 co-sponsors