Mississippi · Legislation

HB 377 (2026)

Missing- and unidentified-person identification procedures

Status: Enacted
Effective date: July 1, 2026
Last reviewed: September 24, 2026
Source review: Primary source reviewed

Summary

Mississippi enacted HB 377 in 2026 to establish procedures for missing- and unidentified-person investigations. The law governs the collection and submission of specified DNA information and requires forensic genetic genealogy testing of unidentified human remains in state custody after a specified period.

Topics: Genetic Data & Law Enforcement

What it requires or prohibits

Law enforcement agencies must obtain voluntary DNA samples from appropriate family members when carrying out the law's missing-person procedures and submit resulting profiles through the specified state and federal systems. The State Medical Examiner must use forensic genetic genealogy testing after possessing unidentified human remains for 45 days. The act also requires specified missing- and unidentified-person information to be entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

In plain language

The law directs Mississippi authorities to use family-reference DNA, forensic DNA databases, and genetic genealogy to help identify missing people and unidentified remains. It sets deadlines for entering information and for testing remains held by the State Medical Examiner.

Primary sources

HB 377 final bill text. Mississippi Legislature. Accessed September 24, 2026.
HB 377 legislative history. Mississippi Legislature. Accessed September 24, 2026.

Record details

Record metadata

Jurisdiction: Mississippi
Record type: Legislation
Session: 2026 Regular Session
Statute citation: 2026 Miss. Laws ch. 445
Introduced: January 9, 2026
Signed: April 8, 2026
Effective: July 1, 2026
Last legislative action: April 8, 2026
Last reviewed: September 24, 2026
Record version: 1.0
Source review: Primary source reviewed
Permanent URL: https://whoownsyourdna.org/records/ms-hb-377-2026/

Record history

January 9, 2026: Bill introduced and referred to the House Judiciary B Committee. Source: Mississippi Legislature.
February 12, 2026: House adopted a committee substitute and passed the bill. Source: Mississippi Legislature.
March 11, 2026: Senate passed the bill as amended. Source: Mississippi Legislature.
March 31, 2026: House and Senate adopted the conference report. Source: Mississippi Legislature.
April 8, 2026: Governor approved the bill as Chapter 445. Source: Mississippi Legislature.
July 1, 2026: Act became effective. Source: Mississippi Legislature.
September 24, 2026: Record created from the final bill text and legislative history.

Technical metadata

Record ID: ms-hb-377-2026

Topics: genetic-data-and-law-enforcement

Record data file: data/states/mississippi/ms-hb-377-2026.yaml

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Cite this record

Who Owns Your DNA? HB 377 (2026): Missing- and unidentified-person identification procedures. U.S. Genetics & Genomics Law and Policy Tracker. Record version 1.0. Accessed [date]. https://whoownsyourdna.org/records/ms-hb-377-2026/

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