SB 2081 Summary

• Creates a mandatory county court system in all 82 Mississippi counties organized into 44 county court districts, eliminating optional county court establishment.

• Establishes judge allocation: one judge per district, except six districts with two judges (DeSoto, Lee, Madison, Lauderdale, Rankin, Jackson) and two districts with three judges (Hinds, Harrison).

• Sets county court judge salary at $1,000 less than circuit/chancery judges, paid from county treasuries with state funding for counties that had courts on January 1, 2016.

• Grants county courts concurrent jurisdiction with justice courts and concurrent jurisdiction with circuit/chancery courts for civil and criminal matters up to $200,000.

• Allocates $60,000 annually per county court district from the Youth Court Support Fund for court operations and support staff, contingent on judges receiving required continuing legal education.