Rep. Jimmy Fondren

Maddy summaryHB 870, the Boyd Mason Act, exempts Mississippi veterans with a 100% permanent service-connected disability (certified by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) and their surviving spouses from paying sales tax on goods and services. It also allows a spouse or household member to make tax-free purchases on the veteran’s behalf when the veteran is not present. The exemption applies to a limited annual amount of purchases. This bill directly affects eligible veterans, their surviving spouses, and authorized household members making purchases for the veteran’s benefit.

Maddy summaryHB 969 requires Mississippi municipalities and counties to automatically pause certain property-related rulings - such as demolition orders, tree removal, or nuisance abatement - when an appeal is filed, keeping the ruling on hold until the appeal process ends. During this pause, no irreversible actions can be taken, and if a government entity violates the stay, they must pay property owners damages including at least $10,000 per structure or tree destroyed, plus restoration costs and attorney fees. The bill amends state law to clarify that property owners can sue for these damages under the Tort Claims Act without government immunity for willful or reckless violations.

Maddy summaryHB 684 creates the Mississippi Menhaden Processing Plant Odor Elimination Task Force to address odor and toxic air pollution from Gulf Coast processing plants. The task force, composed of state environmental agency leaders and coastal legislators, will investigate current pollution levels, review existing odor-reduction measures, and recommend solutions and potential policy changes. It must submit a final report with findings and legislative recommendations to the state legislature by December 1, 2026, after meeting monthly and conducting investigations. This bill directly affects Gulf Coast residents impacted by air quality issues and requires state agencies to support the task force's work.

Maddy summaryHB 638 would prohibit anyone 16 or older from intentionally releasing or discarding non-biodegradable or non-photodegradable balloons (or balloons taking over 5 minutes to degrade in air/water) outdoors. Exceptions include scientific/meteorological releases by government agencies or recovered hot air balloons. Violators would face $25 fines per balloon, paid into Mississippi's Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund. The bill died in committee in February 2026 and is not law.

Maddy summaryHB 676 requires every vehicle owner in Mississippi to provide proof of minimum liability insurance coverage when registering or renewing a vehicle registration. It establishes an online verification system managed by the Department of Public Safety (replacing the Department of Revenue) to check insurance status instantly during registration. The system overrides physical insurance cards, denies registration for non-compliant vehicles, and mandates insurers to submit policy data every 30 days. This directly affects all vehicle owners and insurers operating in Mississippi, with the system required to be fully operational by 2026.

Maddy summaryHB 695 would have removed the bond requirement for deputy chancery clerks in Mississippi, directly affecting those appointed to assist circuit court clerks. The bill amended Section 9-7-123 of the Mississippi Code to eliminate the need for deputies to post a bond, streamlining their appointment process. This change would have applied to all deputy chancery clerks statewide, removing a financial barrier for the position. The bill was referred to committee in 2026 but died there without further action, so it never took effect.

Maddy summaryHB 686 would have allowed Mississippi residents to purchase special license tags supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mississippi, Inc., for a $30 annual fee. Owners paying this fee would receive distinctive tags (with color/design specified by the Department of Revenue and the charity), while the fee would be distributed as follows: $24 to the charity, $1 to the Mississippi Burn Care Fund, $2 to highway maintenance, and $1 to a special fund. The bill, which died in committee in February 2026, aimed to reauthorize this program for vehicles registered in the owner's name. It did not change existing vehicle registration requirements but created a new revenue stream for specific causes through license tag sales.

Maddy summaryHB 685 requires Mississippi law enforcement agencies to immediately report missing children and submit detailed information - including fingerprints, dental records, and DNA - to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NMUPS). It mandates that the State Medical Examiner test DNA of unidentified human remains using forensic genealogy within 45 days and prohibits destroying remains (classifying it as a felony). The bill defines "unidentified human remains" and "unclaimed human remains" to clarify which cases must be handled by medical examiners. These provisions directly affect law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and the process for identifying missing persons and unidentified remains.

Maddy summaryHB 1062 requires any gaming operation in Mississippi using state-owned coastal lands (public trust tidelands) to obtain a lease directly from the Secretary of State, rather than from local governments. It clarifies that gaming use is distinct from general commercial use of these lands and mandates this lease for all gaming projects, including those by state agencies or municipalities. The bill also establishes the Secretary of State as the sole authority for managing these leases and defines key terms to ensure consistent application. These changes aim to centralize control of tidelands use under state oversight for gaming purposes.

Maddy summaryHB 968 authorizes Mississippi school resource officers (SROs) to detain and search a student’s person and belongings when they have reasonable suspicion the student is engaged in unlawful activity on school property. The bill applies directly to students in Mississippi public schools where SROs are employed, allowing searches that are reasonable in scope and not excessively intrusive based on the student's age, sex, and the suspected activity. SROs must comply with Fourth Amendment constitutional protections during these searches, and the authority applies only when acting within their official law enforcement capacity. This change modifies existing law to explicitly permit such searches under the specified reasonable suspicion standard.