Senate Bill 2047 Summary

• Phases down operations at the State Penitentiary at Parchman over four years beginning July 1, 2025, with inmates, employees, and programs transferred to other state and regional facilities.

• Requires the Commissioner of Corrections to develop and submit a consolidation plan to the Legislature by January 1, 2026, and reduce the Parchman inmate population by at least 1,700 inmates by July 1, 2027.

• Authorizes contracting with the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility at Tutwiler to receive transferred inmates, with Tutwiler to be renamed the "Northwest Mississippi Correctional Facility."

• Establishes the "Northwest Mississippi Facility for the Treatment and Care of Inmates with Mental Illness" at Parchman to serve mentally ill inmates from any state or regional facility, and continues Unit 29 (death row) at Parchman.

• Authorizes the Mississippi Department of Corrections to lease Parchman land and buildings for agricultural, industrial, commercial, and other uses up to 40 years; directs savings from consolidation toward correctional officer salaries and extends automatic repealers on prison industry and work release programs to 2029.