House Bill 387 Summary

• Prohibits automatic incarceration for nonpayment of fines, restitution, or court costs; requires courts to hold hearings and find willful nonpayment after examining the defendant's financial circumstances and considering alternatives like payment plans or community service.

• Caps imprisonment for unpaid fines at one day per $100 of the fine owed, and limits combined sentences for nonpayment plus original sentence to the maximum authorized term for the offense.

• Expands parole eligibility to inmates who have not committed crimes of violence, drug trafficking, or habitual offender convictions and have served 25% or more of their sentence, regardless of other restrictions.

• Modifies parole and probation revocation procedures to base imprisonment lengths on the number of prior revocations rather than number of technical violations (90 days for first, 120 days for second, up to 180 days for third revocation).

• Requires a one-time jail census by the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review and creates the Mississippi Sentencing Disparity Task Force to study sentencing disparities across the state.