Several new laws will take effect Tuesday

Published 12:00 am Monday, June 30, 2008

JACKSON (AP) — Here is a glance as several new laws that will take effect in Mississippi on Tuesday:

4INMATES: Some Mississippi prisoners will be authorized to do public service work for churches.

4HOME INVASION: Harsher penalties are set for burglarizing a home while someone is there. The penalty for home invasion will be 10 to 25 years in prison. Current law sets a penalty of three to 25 years for home burglary; that remains the same if no one is home during the burglary.

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4ETHICS: Will require the Ethics Commission to post elected officials’ financial disclosure forms on its Web site. The only way to check the forms now is to submit a request to the commission’s office.

4HONEY: Anyone who packs or sells fewer than 500 gallons of honey a year will not have to meet state health regulations for food establishments.

4YOUNG HUNTERS: Hunters under the age of 16 will be allowed to hunt deer with regular guns during the Dec. 2-15 primitive weapons season. The Mississippi Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks will regulate the special hunting season. Hunters 16 and over will still be restricted to archery equipment, muzzleloading rifles and certain pre-1900 designed centerfire rifles.

4OPEN RECORDS: Incident reports compiled by law enforcement agencies will be considered public records. The reports give basic information when someone is arrested, such as who is involved and where and when an alleged crime took place. Law officers can withhold names of confidential informants.

4CATFISH: Restaurants will have to disclose whether the catfish they serve is imported or raised in the United States.