JACKSON, Miss.—A proposal that would have limited public access to certain roadway safety records in Mississippi has died in committee.

House Bill 1660 failed to advance out of the Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee before the March 3 deadline, ending the measure for the 2026 legislative session.

The bill would have created a new exemption under Mississippi’s Public Records Act. It would have allowed state agencies to deny requests for “reports, surveys, schedules, lists or data compiled or collected for the purpose of identifying, evaluating or planning the safety enhancement of potential accident sites, hazardous roadway conditions or railway-highway crossings.”

Those records include inspection reports for bridges and roads funded through the federal-aid highway program—documents that can show when safety issues were identified, how severe the problems were and what actions were taken in response.

Under current law, safety data collected through federal highway programs cannot be used as evidence in state or federal court. However, those records are not explicitly exempt from Mississippi’s Public Records Act.

The Roy Howard Community Journalism Center requested bridge inspection records dating back to 2019 from the Mississippi Department of Transportation after reporting on the closure of the Davis Bayou Bridge on Hanshaw Road in Ocean Springs.

The Office of State Aid Road Construction initially denied the request. However, the Mississippi Ethics Commission issued a final order Jan. 22 directing the agency to provide a reasonable estimate of the cost to produce the records, ruling the office violated Section 25-61-5 of state law.

Shortly after the order, State Rep. Steve Massengill, R-District 13, and chairman of the House Transportation Committee, introduced House Bill 1660, which would have prevented public access to certain roadway safety documents, including inspection reports.

Because the bill failed to advance in the Senate, Mississippi’s public records law remains unchanged.

The Roy Howard Community Journalism Center said it continues to work to ensure the Mississippi Department of Transportation complies with the Ethics Commission’s order.

This article first appeared on RHCJC and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

A native of northeastern Pennsylvania, Justin is a 2022 graduate of Syracuse University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in television, radio and film.

Prior to joining the RHCJC, Justin worked as a digital producer and assignment editor for WBRE/WYOU in northeastern Pennsylvania. During his two years at the station, he covered a wide range of stories, coordinated local and national news coverage, and oversaw the station’s assignment desk. His work included producing content for digital platforms, managing breaking news and organizing coverage for high-profile stories.

Justin is passionate about storytelling and brings a strong background in digital media production and editorial leadership to his role at the center.

The Roy Howard Community Journalism Center, housed at The University of Southern Mississippi, is dedicated to enhancing the media landscape in southeast Mississippi by prioritizing impactful, issue-oriented, and people-centered reporting.

In addition to providing original reporting, we also aim to improve media literacy efforts among the citizens of southeast Mississippi. To that end, we host free, public media literacy trainings and awareness events. We also operate a “What is True?” service, where the public can submit disinformation and misinformation questions—through a special hotline, web form, or an email address—for us to research, investigate, and answer.