Bill Text: MS SB2557 | 2018 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Age of majority; revise.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2018-02-08 - Died On Calendar [SB2557 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2018-SB2557-Comm_Sub.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2018 Regular Session
To: Judiciary, Division A
By: Senator(s) DeBar, Branning
Senate Bill 2557
(COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)
AN ACT TO CREATE THE AGE OF MAJORITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE; TO PROVIDE FOR THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE; TO PROVIDE THE DUTIES OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) The Age of Majority Advisory Committee is created to address the proposal of lowering the age of majority in this state to age eighteen (18). The Director of the Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University shall appoint the chair. The other members shall be the following persons:
(a) The chairpersons of the Senate Judiciary Division "A" and House of Representatives Judiciary A Committees, or their designees;
(b) Two (2) members of the Senate appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;
(c) Two (2) members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House;
(d) The Mississippi Attorney General, or a designee;
(e) The President of the Mississippi Prosecutors Association, or a designee;
(f) The President of the Conference of Youth Court Judges, or a designee;
(g) The President of the Mississippi Bankers Association, or a designee;
(h) The President of the Mississippi Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, or a designee;
(i) The State Defender of the Mississippi Office of Public Defender, or a designee;
(j) A member of The Mississippi Bar designated by the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court;
(k) A person who is not an attorney, designated by the Governor;
(l) The Director of the Mississippi Law Research Institute, or a designee;
(m) The Director of the Mississippi Judicial College, or a designee;
(n) The Director of the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services, or a designee;
(o) The Executive Director of the Magnolia Bar Association, or a designee;
(p) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Medical and Surgical Association, or a designee; and
(q) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, or a designee;
(2) All appointed members of the committee shall be so appointed within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this act. The committee shall hold its first meeting within sixty (60) days of the effective date of this act. At its first meeting, the advisory committee shall elect a vice chairman from its membership and shall adopt rules for transacting its business and keeping records. Members of the advisory committee shall serve without compensation.
(3) The duties of the committee shall be to:
(a) (i) Make a comprehensive study of the statutory and case law affecting and affected by the current age of majority of twenty-one (21).
(ii) Make a recommendation as to the advisability of lowering the age of majority to eighteen (18).
(iii) Make recommendations for statutory changes, if any, necessary to implement subparagraph (ii) of this subsection (3).
(b) Report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature by December 1, 2018, and annually in each subsequent year of its existence.
(4) The Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State University, the Mississippi Law Research Institute, and the Mississippi Judicial College shall provide staff to assist the committee in carrying out its duties required by this section.
(5) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2020.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.
