Committee hears list of chancery districts to receive youth-court chancellors

Committee counsel Ethan Samsel read a multi-district list of counties that would receive newly appointed youth-court chancellors under the bill. Samsel enumerated the counties by chancery district — naming the first, second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh, ninth, fifteenth and eighteenth chancery districts and listing counties such as Alcorn, Tishomingo, Marshall, Benton, Tippa, Lafayette and Calhoun among others.

Chair framed the appointments as a response to areas that lack full-time judges and said the state would fund the chancellor supplements. Senators asked how the appointments would affect counties that already operate youth-court divisions and whether a county that preferred to retain its county youth court could do so; chair and counsel said counties could opt to retain local youth-court divisions but would need to notify the legislature under the opt-out timetable built into the bill.