Rep. Tracy Arnold

Maddy summaryHB 60 allows Mississippi first responders (firefighters, law enforcement officers, and public EMS personnel with 10+ years of service) to request a hair follicle drug test if a urine test shows a positive result. It requires employers to place them on paid administrative leave while they contest the result, giving them 2 business days to request the follow-up test and an additional 5 days to complete it. If the hair test is negative, the employer reimburses the first responder’s test costs and cannot require further testing; if positive, the responder pays for the test. The bill creates this process to address potential false positives in initial urine tests before disciplinary action is taken.

Maddy summaryHB 30 creates a new criminal offense for "grooming of a child" in Mississippi, making it illegal for anyone over 21 to engage in a pattern of communication or conduct intended to prepare a child under 18 for sexual exploitation, trafficking, or sexual servitude. The bill defines key terms like "pattern of conduct" and specifies penalties: 2-10 years in prison or $10,000 fines for first offenses, with harsher penalties for those in positions of trust (e.g., teachers, coaches) or repeat offenders. It does not change the age definition for "child" (still under 18), but establishes new legal mechanisms to prosecute grooming behavior before sexual acts occur. The bill died in committee in February 2026 and never became law.

Maddy summaryHB 51 would have allowed Mississippi vehicle owners to purchase a special license tag supporting Eagle Home School, Inc., requiring a $30 annual fee. The fee would have been distributed as $24 to the school, $1 to the Mississippi Burn Care Fund, $2 to highway maintenance, and $1 to another state fund. This bill applied only to owners who paid the fee and displayed the tag alongside their regular license plate. It died in committee in February 2026 and never became law.

Maddy summaryHB 10 revises Mississippi's Foreign Land Ownership Act to transfer oversight of the law from the Attorney General to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture. It requires nonresident aliens owning agricultural or forest land to dispose of such property within 1-2 years (depending on how they acquired it) or face penalties. Violations trigger fines starting at $100,000 for the first offense, with property subject to judicial forfeiture after fines go unpaid. The bill also clarifies definitions and disclosure requirements related to foreign land ownership. The bill died in committee on February 3, 2026, and was not enacted.

Maddy summaryHB 11 prohibits Mississippi courts from applying Sharia law in divorce and child custody cases. The bill makes contracts or court rulings involving marriage or parent-child relationships void if they rely on Sharia law that violates constitutional rights. It specifically targets foreign legal systems like Sharia in family court decisions, requiring courts to disregard such provisions. The bill died in committee in early 2026 and never became law.

Maddy summaryHB 52 would allow Mississippi pharmacists to dispense ivermectin (a medication) without a doctor's prescription, following state pharmacy board guidelines. Pharmacists must provide patients with usage instructions and act reasonably prudently to avoid legal liability, with immunity from criminal, civil, or professional penalties. The State Board of Pharmacy would establish specific implementation rules, and the bill was scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2026. (Note: The bill died in committee on February 3, 2026, and did not become law.)

Maddy summaryMississippi House Concurrent Resolution 4 (HC 4) proposes amending the state constitution to bar individuals convicted of any felony from voting. Currently, Mississippi law excludes voters convicted of specific felonies like murder or rape, but this amendment would extend the restriction to all felony convictions. The change would remove voting eligibility for anyone with a felony conviction, regardless of the crime's nature or sentence. The resolution died in committee in February 2026 and never advanced to a vote by voters.

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes a constitutional amendment limiting signatures for Mississippi's initiative petitions. It would prevent any single congressional district from contributing more than 1/(total congressional districts) of the required signatures - meaning if Mississippi has 4 districts, no one district could provide over 25% of the total signatures needed. This directly affects citizens and groups gathering signatures to place constitutional amendments on ballots. The change aims to ensure broader geographic support for initiatives by preventing dominance from a single district's signatures.

Maddy summaryHB 57 requires courts to order defendants convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) that caused a death to pay child support to the victim's children under 18 (or until high school graduation, whichever is later). The court determines monthly payments based on the child’s needs, the parent’s resources, living standards, and other factors like educational requirements. Payments continue even if the defendant is imprisoned, starting within one year of release, and reduce any civil judgment against the defendant. This applies only to DUI convictions resulting in death, not all DUI cases.

Maddy summaryHB 53 would redirect a portion of Mississippi's state sales tax revenue collected from businesses operating outside incorporated cities (in unincorporated county areas) to county governments. The bill requires counties to use these funds exclusively for repairing, maintaining, and reconstructing roads, streets, and bridges within their jurisdictions. This changes existing tax distribution rules by shifting revenue currently allocated to municipalities for business activity within city limits toward counties for rural infrastructure. The policy directly affects counties with unincorporated areas where businesses operate outside municipal boundaries.