A staff member for Judiciary Division A said House Bill 49, which is on the governor's call, contains drafting errors that have been corrected to change the number and effective timing of legal assistants in several circuit court districts.

The staff member said the corrections include adding staff for the 14th Circuit Court District through the end of the year and reducing the permanent count in January, fixing an omission for the circuit that covers DeSoto County, and implementing planned changes that take effect in 2027 for other districts. "So what this is doing is, correcting and reflecting what should have been in the bill, when we pass it," the staff member said.

The most immediate fix described was for the 14th Circuit Court District, in the Kapiah Lincoln area, where the staff member said the bill will add six legal assistants through the end of the current year and then set the authorized number at five beginning in January. The staff member said one salary-positioned legal assistant would have lost his job on July 1 if the change had not been made.

For the circuit that includes DeSoto County, the staff member said the House's original draft omitted the number of legal assistants; the corrected text shows seven legal assistants now and raises the authorized number to eight beginning in 2027. "Starting in 2027, you have 8 legal assistance, which includes the ones that we've been paying through the appropriation process as well as what was already, in statute," the staff member said.

The staff member also described changes for the 20th circuit districts: the 20 Third Circuit District will be repealed in 2027 as planned, and the 20 Second Circuit (covering Holmes, Humphreys and Yazoo counties) will have four legal assistants under the corrected language. The speaker said the same staffing changes were applied to criminal investigators in section 2 of the bill.

On hiring practices, the staff member said DeSoto County hires its assistants on effectively one-year contracts, and the Administrative Office of Courts (AOC) and the Attorney General’s Office perform a statewide assessment of assistant district attorneys and salary positioning that informs budgeting and appropriations. "When we put it in the bill like this versus the appropriation bill, we're able to keep track of it," the staff member said.

After the staff presentation, a motion that the bill title was sufficient and to "do pass" was made and the body approved the motion by voice vote. The staff member then reported the vote: "All in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Bill carries. Rise and report." The transcript did not list individual yeas or nays.

The bill remains on the governor's call pending the governor's action.