MS HB929

Creates a pilot reentry court program in the First, Seventh, and Fifteenth Circuit Court Districts, allowing judges to recommend eligible offenders for a rehabilitation and workforce development program lasting up to 3 years

Establishes eligibility requirements for the workforce development sentencing program: defendants must have sentences of 20 years or less, no prior sex offense convictions, no current violent crime charges (except house burglary), and cannot be sentenced as habitual offenders

Upon successful completion of the rehabilitation program, the court must suspend the remainder of the sentence and place the offender on probation for up to 3 years under intensive supervision; participants are ineligible for parole or "good time" credits while in the program

Brings forward existing Mississippi Prison Industries statutes (Sections 47-5-533 through 47-5-575) governing the nonprofit corporation that operates prison industry programs using inmate labor

Requires the PEER Committee to review all reentry court programs and report to the Legislature on their effectiveness by December 1, 2024; the act is set to repeal on July 1, 2024