Bill > HB319

This bill revises the Fresh Start Act of 2019 to prohibit licensing authorities in Mississippi from requiring individuals to disclose certain criminal history information when applying for a license. Specifically, licensing bodies can no longer ask about arrests that did not lead to a conviction, nonviolent misdemeanors, or convictions that have been legally cleared through processes like sealing, annulment, dismissal, expungement, pardon, or being overturned or vacated. Additionally, for most convictions, licensing authorities cannot consider those that occurred more than three years ago, unless the individual was incarcerated for them, with exceptions for serious felonies like sexual offenses, fraud, aggravated assault, child abuse, arson, carjacking, kidnapping, or homicide. The bill also allows individuals to present evidence of rehabilitation when petitioning a licensing authority about whether their criminal record would disqualify them from obtaining a license, and requires these authorities to make the petition application and related process information available online.

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https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2026/pdf/history/HB/HB0319.xml