House Bill 1465

AN ACT TO CREATE THE "RIGHT TO KNOW HOW SAFE WE ARE ACT OF 2025"; TO REQUIRE DISTRICT ATTORNEYS TO FILE REPORTS WITH STATE POLICYMAKERS SUMMARIZING THE DECISIONS MADE BY EACH OFFICE AS INVESTIGATIONS OF CRIMES CONCLUDE; TO REQUIRE EACH DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO SHARE AN ANNUAL REPORT BY MARCH 1 OF EACH YEAR WITH THE GOVERNOR AND ATTORNEY GENERAL AND MAKE SUCH REPORT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC UPON REQUEST; TO REQUIRE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO COMPILE A STATEWIDE REPORT SUMMARIZING THE INFORMATION REQUIRED BY THIS ACT FROM EACH DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN A UNIFORM FASHION AND SORTABLE BY CRIME AND JURISDICTION, MAKE THE REPORT AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Right to Know How Safe We Are Act of 2025."

SECTION 2. The purpose of this act is to increase public accountability and safety by requiring district attorneys to file reports with state policymakers summarizing the decisions made by each office as investigations of crimes conclude.

SECTION 3. (1) Each district attorney's office shall share an annual report by March 1 of each year with the Governor and Attorney General and make such report available to the public upon request. Each report shall contain, at a minimum, for the previous year, aggregate, nonpersonally identifying data regarding the office's handling of cases in each category of offense including the office's:

(a) Intake process, including the number of arrests or referrals made for each category of offense and, of those:

(i) The number accepted for prosecution;

(ii) The number referred to diversion before charging; and

(iii) The number dismissed with a categorical description of why the case was so dismissed;

(b) Disposals for each category of offense, including the number of cases:

(i) Disposed of by diversion program;

(ii) Adjudicated guilty by plea agreement, or dismissed due to a guilty plea to a different charge;

(iii) Dismissed for prosecution by another authority;

(iv) Dismissed due to suppression of evidence;

(v) Dismissed due to other legal defect;

(vi) Dismissed due to refusal of one or more witnesses to cooperate;

(vii) Dismissed for any other reason;

(viii) Adjudicated by trial to the court, with the number convicted;

(ix) Adjudicated by jury trial, with the number convicted; and

(i) Sentenced to incarceration;

(ii) Sentenced to county jail with the average length of such sentence;

(iii) Sentenced to the state prison system, with the average length of such sentence; and

(iv) Sentenced to probation.

(2) The Attorney General shall compile a statewide report summarizing the information required by this act from each district attorney in a uniform fashion and sortable by crime and jurisdiction, make the report available to the public, and submit the report to the Governor and the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate who shall distribute the report to committees of jurisdiction. Each district attorney shall assist the Attorney General in compiling a uniform report, comply with any requests by the Attorney General to provide additional, disaggregated, or clarifying information.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2025.