Bill Text: MS SB2687 | 2026 | Regular Session | Introduced

Mississippi Senate Bill 2687

Introduced

Bill Title: Mississippi Rural Attorney Program Act; enact.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)

Status: (Failed) 2026-02-03 - Died In Committee [SB2687 Detail]

Download: Mississippi-2026-SB2687-Introduced.html

MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2026 Regular Session

To: Judiciary, Division A; Appropriations

By: Senator(s) Hickman, Simmons (12th)

Senate Bill 2687

AN ACT TO ENACT THE MISSISSIPPI RURAL ATTORNEY PROGRAM ACT; TO DEFINE TERMS; TO ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI RURAL ATTORNEYS PROGRAM WITHIN THE MISSISSIPPI BAR FOR THE PURPOSE OF IDENTIFYING AND RECRUITING QUALIFIED ATTORNEYS TO PRACTICE LAW IN RURAL AND UNDERSERVED AREAS; TO ESTABLISH THE MISSISSIPPI RURAL ATTORNEYS COMMISSION WITHIN THE MISSISSIPPI BAR; TO PROVIDE THAT THE COMMISSION SHALL BE DIRECTED BY A BOARD; TO PROVIDE FOR THE COMPOSITION AND PROCEDURES OF THE BOARD; TO SET FORTH THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE BOARD; TO DIRECT THE COMMISSION, THROUGH THE USE OF GENERALLY APPLICABLE DEFINITIONS, TO DESIGNATE AREAS OF THE STATE AS RURAL AND UNDERSERVED; TO PROVIDE AN APPLICATION PROCEDURE FOR ADMISSION INTO THE PROGRAM; TO PROVIDE FOR A MINIMUM NUMBER OF ADMISSIONS TO THE PROGRAM EACH YEAR; TO PROVIDE THAT A PARTICIPANT ADMITTED TO THE PROGRAM SHALL RECEIVE A STIPEND FROM THE COMMISSION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ESTABLISHING A LAW FIRM IN A RURAL AND UNDERSERVED AREA OF MISSISSIPPI; TO PROVIDE THAT WHEN A PARTICIPANT PRACTICES LAW IN A RURAL AND UNDERSERVED AREA OF MISSISSIPPI FOR FIVE YEARS THE STIPEND SHALL BE FORGIVEN; TO REQUIRE THE COMMISSION TO MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ESTABLISH A PRACTICE SUPPORT SYSTEM AND MENTORSHIPS FOR PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM; 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 "Mississippi Rural Attorney Program Act."

SECTION 2. As used in this act, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed herein unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(a) "Commission" means the Mississippi Rural Attorneys Commission created in Section 4 of this act.

(b) "Program" means the Mississippi Rural Attorneys Program created in Section 3 of this act.

SECTION 3. There is established the Mississippi Rural Attorneys Program within the Mississippi Bar for the purpose of identifying and recruiting qualified attorneys to practice law in rural and underserved areas.

SECTION 4. (1) There is established the Mississippi Rural Attorneys Commission within the Mississippi Bar. The commission shall administer the program and shall be directed by a board. The board shall be composed of the following members:

(a) Two (2) general practice lawyers appointed by and from the membership of the Mississippi Bar, the term of which shall be three (3) years and may be reappointed for one (1) additional term;

(b) One (1) general practice lawyer appointed by and from the membership of each of the following sections of the Mississippi Bar, the term of which shall be three (3) years and may be reappointed for one (1) additional term:

(i) Litigation Section of the Mississippi Bar;

(ii) Estates and Trusts Section of the Mississippi Bar;

(iii) Family Law Section of the Mississippi Bar;

(iv) Real Property Section of the Mississippi Bar;

(v) Women in the Profession Section of the Mississippi Bar;

(vi) Criminal Defense Section of the Mississippi Bar; and

(vii) Prosecutors Section of the Mississippi Bar;

(c) One (1) designee of the Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Law whose term is at the discretion of the Dean;

(d) One (1) designee of the Dean of the Mississippi College School of Law whose term is at the discretion of the Dean;

(e) A member of the Mississippi Supreme Court to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court;

(f) A member of the Mississippi Court of Appeals to be appointed by the Chief Judge of the Mississippi Court of Appeals; and

(g) The Executive Director of the Mississippi Bar.

(2) Vacancies on the commission must be filled in a manner consistent with the original appointments.

(3) All appointments to the commission must be made no later than September 1, 2026. After the members are appointed, the Executive Director of the Mississippi Bar shall set a date for the organizational meeting that is mutually acceptable to the majority of the commission members. The organizational meeting shall be for the purposes of organizing the commission and establishing rules for transacting its business. A majority of the members of the commission shall constitute a quorum at all commission meetings. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members present and voting shall be required in the adoption of rules, reports and in any other actions taken by the commission. At the organizational meeting, the commission shall elect a chair and vice chair from the members appointed according to paragraphs (a) through (d) of subsection (1). The chair shall serve for a term of two (2) years, upon the expiration of which the vice chair shall assume the office of chair, and a new vice chair shall be elected at the next meeting of the commission.

(4) After the organizational meeting, the commission shall hold no less than two (2) meetings annually.

(5) The commission may form an executive committee for the purpose of transacting business that must be conducted before the next regularly scheduled meeting of the commission. All actions taken by the executive committee must be ratified by the commission at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

(6) Members of the commission shall serve without compensation but may be reimbursed, subject to the availability of funding, for mileage and actual and necessary expenses incurred in attending meetings of the commission.

(7) Funding for the establishment and operation of the program and commission shall be subject to appropriation by the Legislature.

(8) The commission may establish advisory committees to assist the commission in its administration of the program.

SECTION 5. The commission shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) Developing the administrative policy for the commission and the program;

(b) Promulgating rules and regulations pertaining to the implementation and operation of the program;

(c) Developing and implementing strategies and activities for the identification and recruitment of lawyers and for marketing the program and for the implementation of the program;

(d) Establishing a budget to support the activities of the program and periodically reviewing and if appropriate, revising, the stipends offered through the program;

(e) Advising the Mississippi Bar regarding hiring an executive director and support staff if necessary for the commission's work;

(f) Reviewing participants' progress in the program and mentoring lawyers participating in the program;

(g) Seeking funding for the program from any available public or private source;

(h) Designating areas of the state as rural and underserved through use of generally applicable definitions;

(i) Reporting, annually, to the Legislature certain information relating to the program for the previous fiscal year, including the following:

(i) Budget, including funds provided in addition to legislative appropriations;

(ii) Number of participants in the program;

(iii) The location of attorneys who have entered the practice of law in rural and underserved areas in Mississippi; and

(iv) The number and cause of participants who breached their obligation(s) to the program.

SECTION 6. (1) The commission shall, through the use of generally applicable definitions, designate areas of the state as rural and underserved. The method by which these designations shall be made shall be contained in rules and regulations promulgated by the commission.

(2) The commission shall develop and implement policies and procedures designed to recruit and identify attorneys who demonstrate the necessary interest, commitment, aptitude and dedication to pursue careers as attorneys in rural and underserved areas of Mississippi, and to develop and implement the programs designed to foster successful entry of participants into the practice of law in a rural and underserved area of Mississippi.

SECTION 7. (1) Each applicant for admission to the program must submit an application to the commission that conforms to requirements established by the commission.

(2) An applicant for the program may be admitted only upon a majority vote of the members of the commission.

(3) Not less than fifteen (15) attorneys will be admitted to the program each year, provided that there are fifteen (15) or more qualified applicants for the program.

SECTION 8. (1) Participants must adhere to the policies and practices as stipulated by the commission to continue in the program.

(2) A participant admitted to the program shall receive a stipend from the commission for the purposes of establishing a law firm in a rural and underserved area of Mississippi. If a participant in the program practices law in a rural or underserved area of Mississippi for five (5) years from the initial date of disbursement of funds from the commission, the stipend provided to the participant by the commission will be forgiven. However, if the participant does not practice law within a rural or underserved area of Mississippi for five (5) years, or if the participant otherwise breaches his or her agreement with the commission, the stipend provided to the participant must be repaid according to policies adopted by the commission.

SECTION 9. (1) The commission shall make every effort to establish a practice support system for participants in the program.

(2) The commission shall have the authority to provide participants in the program selected for funding with mentors and other programs designed to enhance the participant's likelihood of success as a practicing attorney in a rural and underserved area of the state.

SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.