Rep. Kabir Karriem

Maddy summaryHB 428 requires Mississippi's State Board of Education to create and implement a mandatory curriculum in African-American Studies and Racial Diversity for all public high school students in grades 9 through 12. The curriculum must cover specific historical content, including the contributions of African descendants to American history, chronological African and African-American history, the Civil Rights Movement, slavery, Reconstruction, and the Harlem Renaissance. It also mandates that the course connect historical events to contemporary issues and integrate these topics into American History education. The bill takes effect on July 1, 2026, directly affecting all Mississippi public high schools and their students.

Maddy summaryHB 522 authorizes the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) to sell two specific land parcels totaling approximately 32 acres in Lowndes County and Columbus for less than fair market value. The properties include Tract I (28.4373 acres near Columbus) and Tract II (2.1603 acres plus 1.8287 acres in Columbus). Proceeds from the sale must be deposited into the Mississippi Existing Industry Productivity Loan Program Bond Sinking Fund, which supports economic development initiatives. The bill also allows the MDA to correct property description errors and covers related costs like title searches during the sale process.

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes a constitutional amendment to automatically restore voting rights in Mississippi to individuals convicted of nonviolent crimes after five years from completing their sentence, probation, or restitution. It directly affects people with nonviolent criminal convictions who have met these requirements. The amendment would eliminate the need for separate legislative action to restore rights for nonviolent offenses, while still requiring a two-thirds legislative vote (with documented reasons) to restore voting rights for those convicted of violent crimes. The amendment must be approved by voters in the November 2026 election.

Maddy summaryHB 521 would have established clear procedures for removing Mississippi school board members for specific reasons like neglecting duties (including missing over 50% of meetings), breaching public trust, or abusing authority, requiring a recommendation from the school board and a majority vote by the local governing authority after a hearing. It also directly affected school districts by eliminating school boards' power to raise property taxes by more than 2% annually without voter approval via referendum. The bill amended several Mississippi Code sections (including 37-6-13, 37-57-104, and 37-57-107) to implement these changes. This legislation died in committee in February 2026 and was never enacted.

Maddy summaryHB 526 establishes a $15.00 per hour minimum wage for most Mississippi workers, with a separate $3.62 per hour base rate for tipped employees (like servers). It requires overtime pay at 1.5 times the regular rate for employees earning $455 or less weekly, including many blue-collar workers, first responders, and public safety staff. The bill also specifies that workers not covered by these rules fall under federal Fair Labor Standards Act protections. It directly affects hourly workers across Mississippi’s private and public sectors, particularly those in service industries and frontline roles.

Maddy summaryHB 816, the Fresh Start Act of 2019, revises Mississippi's occupational licensing laws to reduce barriers for individuals with criminal records. It prohibits licensing authorities from disqualifying applicants based on prior convictions unless the crime directly relates to the occupation's duties, replacing vague terms like "moral turpitude" with a specific evaluation framework. The bill requires authorities to consider the crime's nature, time elapsed, relevance to the job, and rehabilitation efforts when reviewing applications. Licensing bodies must implement these changes within 120 days of the effective date and provide written explanations for denials. The law applies to most licensed professions but excludes admission to the Mississippi Bar for attorneys.

Maddy summaryThis bill (HC 28) is a procedural resolution to bring forward Section 241 of Mississippi's 1890 Constitution, which lists crimes that disqualify individuals from voting (such as murder, rape, theft, and forgery). It does not change voting rules but makes this existing constitutional section available for potential future amendment. The resolution would have submitted the section to voters in November 2026 for consideration, though the bill died in committee on February 3, 2026. It directly affects voting eligibility for people convicted of the listed offenses under current law.

Maddy summaryHB 1423 clarifies that Mississippi residents who have had a crime disqualifying them from voting expunged automatically regain voting rights, provided they have no other such disqualifying convictions and meet standard voter eligibility requirements. The bill requires election officials to automatically update statewide voter records to restore voting eligibility without requiring individuals to re-register. This change ensures expungement of a disqualifying crime immediately reinstates voting rights, aligning with the legal effect of expungement. The bill does not alter the expungement process but explicitly links it to voting rights restoration.

Maddy summaryHB 1430 would change Mississippi's penalties for possessing small amounts of marijuana by replacing criminal charges with a civil penalty. Specifically, it would impose a $100 civil fine for possessing less than 3.5 ounces of marijuana, rather than subjecting offenders to potential jail time or criminal fines. This change directly affects individuals caught with small quantities of marijuana under the new threshold. The bill modifies Section 41-29-139 of Mississippi's code to establish this civil penalty as the sole consequence for this specific possession amount.

Maddy summaryHB 1426 would require all Mississippi elections - including primaries, general elections, runoffs, and municipal contests - to offer at least 21 days of early voting, starting no earlier than 21 days before the election and ending at 5 p.m. on the Saturday before election day. It mandates that early voting occur at county election offices during regular business hours (with extended hours the last two Saturdays), requires posting notice of voting locations in three public places eight days in advance, and ensures early votes are counted simultaneously with election-day votes. The bill affects all registered voters in Mississippi by expanding access to early voting for all election types and standardizing procedures for voter identification and ballot handling during this period. It also requires additional early voting locations based on population size (one per 30,000 county voters or 10,000 municipal voters).