AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 25-61-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DEFINE PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION AND PROTECTED PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION AS USED IN THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC RECORDS ACT OF 1983; TO AMEND SECTION 25-61-12, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXEMPT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION AND PROTECTED PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION FROM THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC RECORDS ACT OF 1983; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
HB 1468 amends the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 to add formal definitions for “personally identifiable information” (PII) and “protected personally identifiable information” (protected PII). The bill defines PII broadly as information that can identify or trace an individual, alone or when combined with other data, and lists examples of protected PII such as Social Security numbers, home addresses, driver’s license numbers, dates of birth, financial account numbers, personnel and employment records, tax-return information, passport numbers, criminal/medical/financial records, and educational transcripts.
The bill also adds a new exemption to the Public Records Act for protected PII and other personally identifying information as defined in the amended statute. In practical terms, this would limit public access to records containing sensitive personal data held by public bodies, while leaving existing provisions in place for incident reports, investigative reports, victim information, and other specified exemptions. The measure is framed as a records-privacy bill and takes effect July 1, 2026, though the text includes an apparent drafting error stating it will repeal on June 30, 2026.
HB 1468 would amend Sections 25-61-3 and 25-61-12 of the Mississippi Code, expanding the list of information exempt from disclosure under the Mississippi Public Records Act. It would require public bodies to withhold or redact protected PII from records requested under the Act, affecting agencies that maintain personnel, licensing, tax, medical, financial, and educational records, as well as records containing home addresses and other identifying details. The bill preserves existing exemptions for law enforcement, victims, and certain hospital board records, but adds a broader privacy-based limitation on disclosure.
The available voting history suggests strong support for the bill in the House, where it passed 116-1. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate broader disagreement. Overall, the bill appears to have been received as a privacy and records-management measure with little visible opposition in the House vote.
The main policy tension is between public-records transparency and personal privacy. Supporters are likely to view the bill as a necessary update to protect sensitive personal data from disclosure, especially in an era of data aggregation and identity theft risk. Potential critics could argue that the new exemption is broad and may make it harder for the public, media, and watchdog groups to obtain information from government records. A notable drafting issue is the effective/repeal language in Section 3, which states the act takes effect July 1, 2026, but also says it repeals on June 30, 2026; that inconsistency could create confusion and may need technical correction.