Bill Text: MS HB1271 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Law enforcement officers; prohibit public disclosure of personnel file.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2013-02-05 - Died In Committee [HB1271 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2013-HB1271-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representative Bell
House Bill 1271
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-61-12, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY THAT THE PERSONNEL FILES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM PUBLIC RECORDS DISCLOSURE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 25-61-12, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
25-61-12. (1) The home address, any telephone number of a privately paid account, any personnel file or other private information of any law enforcement officer, criminal investigator, judge or district attorney or the spouse or child of such law enforcement officer, criminal investigator, judge or district attorney shall be exempt from the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983. This exemption does not apply to any court transcript or recording if given under oath and not otherwise excluded by law. No public disclosure of law enforcement personnel files shall be made by any law enforcement agency, except as provided in this section. For purposes of this section, the term "law enforcement officer," includes, but is not limited to, municipal, county, law enforcement officers.
(2) (a) When in the possession of a law enforcement agency, investigative reports shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter; however, a law enforcement agency, in its discretion, may choose to make public all or any part of any investigative report.
(b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prevent any and all public bodies from having among themselves a free flow of information for the purpose of achieving a coordinated and effective detection and investigation of unlawful activity. Where the confidentiality of records covered by this section is being determined in a private hearing before a judge under Section 25-61-13, the public body may redact or separate from such records the identity of confidential informants or the identity of the person or persons under investigation or other information other than the nature of the incident, time, date and location.
(c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to exempt from public disclosure a law enforcement incident report. An incident report shall be a public record. A law enforcement agency may release information in addition to the information contained in the incident report.
(d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require the disclosure of information that would reveal the identity of the victim.
(3) Personal information of victims, including victim impact statements and letters of support on behalf of victims that are contained in records on file with the Mississippi Department of Corrections and State Parole Board shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2013.
