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House Speaker, Jason White, addressed a packed lunch time meeting hosted by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy in Jackson.

Speaker White talked about what had been accomplished during his first session as House Speaker, and shared his priorities for the future.

Notably, under Speaker White’s leadership the House:

The Senate might have subsequently blocked the restoration of the ballot initiative and Certificate of Need reform, but both school funding reform and the SAFER Act have since passed into law.

“There was enormous interest in what Speaker White had to say” said Douglas Carswell, MCPP CEO.  “Rather than skating over subjects, the Speaker went into tremendous detail.”

“While praising public schools, Speaker White talked about the need to allow money to follow the student within the public school system.”

“He also talked about Certificate of Need laws and the need to review the impact of such laws of restricting access to health care in certain areas.”

“MCPP loves hosting conservatives, and there was real warmth towards Speaker White and what he had to say.”

When running for President in 2020, then-candidate Joe Biden promised to “defeat the NRA” by banning assault weapons and enacting other radical gun control measures. After recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, President Biden signed gun control legislation into law, but did he deliver on his campaign promises? 

The latest ‘red flag’ law being debated in Washington increases mental health funding, closes the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” which aims to prevent unmarried domestic abusers from acquiring guns, and most controversially, incentivizes states to adopt “red flag laws.”

Red flag laws allow citizens to go to court to seek an order permitting law enforcement to seize the weapons of a person who has exhibited behavior indicating they might be a threat to themselves or others. Conservatives, wary of big government abuse and overreach, say red flag laws could be used to target people over political beliefs. For example, someone’s leftist ex-girlfriend could pursue a court order against them for posting a picture with guns or sharing a “dangerous” opinion on social media, and if one judge deems it appropriate, those guns could be taken away for some period of time. 

Yes, this new law is another step in the left’s march toward stronger gun control laws, but it does not ban assault weapons or deliver any other major progressive “wins” that President Biden promised. Biden admitted this himself, saying that “this bill doesn’t do everything I want.” Other members of the President’s parties have made even more extreme gun control promises than Biden. Texas Governor Candidate Beto O’Rourke, who has lost two elections within the last four years, famously said “hell, yes” in response to whether certain guns should be taken away by law-abiding gun owners. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said that she is prepared to enact gun control so extreme that her state will “go back to muskets.” 

Democrats control both chambers of Congress and the presidency, but they still cannot deliver on their anti-second amendment crusade. As their political capital diminishes, their promises become increasingly vague, from an assault weapon ban to “common sense gun reform” to simply “doing something.” This catch-all phrase is designed to create the façade that something truly special has happened thanks to the President’s leadership when, in reality, that is nowhere near the truth. 

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has struck down a New York law that required citizens to show “proper cause” to get a concealed carry gun license. According to the left, the right to bear arms is dependent on if the anti-gun government thinks the specific reasoning for doing so is good enough. Thankfully, the Supreme Court can recognize an unconstitutional infringement when it sees one.  For the past thirty years or more, the anti-gun lobby has promised a lot. But they don’t have an awful lot to show for it.

Today the Mississippi Senate and House appear to have reached a compromise deal on income tax cuts.

Commenting on the news, President & CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, Douglas Carswell said:

“This tax cut is great news for Mississippi.  With the cost of living rising, exempting every Mississippi worker from paying income tax on the first $18,000 earned is welcome.”

“It is good that some of our state’s $1.2 billion surplus is being used to give taxpayers back some of their own money.  However, this package is more modest than we would like to have seen.

“This is a good first step but it is not full income tax elimination.  Under this proposal, in 2026 the legislature will still need to agree further reductions.” 

“There is a danger that the Mississippi government will not tax to get the money it needs, but finds a need for the money it gets”.

“While this a step forward towards eventual income tax elimination, Mississippi still needs bold, game-changing policy changes if our state is not to continue to rank 50th out of 50 states by many metrics”.

In just a few days, a new legislative session will begin. Our state representatives and senators will be considering a range of bills that could have a major impact on our lives.

While some entrenched interests fight to protect their own industries and pocketbooks, our aim is quite the opposite. We seek to defend and expand freedom and ensure that the rights and liberties of each Mississippian are defended under the dome of our capitol building.

Recognizing this, we are launching a coordinated strategic press to advance a range of policies that we believe will empower free markets and free people in our state.

Here’s a look into what we’ll be fighting for this session:

Bills to Combat Critical Race Theory:

1. Combat Critical Race Theory

Having published a paper highlighting how Critical Race Theory is being advanced in our state, we are supporting legislative efforts to ensure that no public money be spent to promote this divisive ideology.

2. Promote Academic Transparency

A key way to combat the presence of toxic ideologies in the classroom is to require schools to publish details of what is actually being taught to our young Mississippians. We support legislative efforts to do exactly that.

Bills to Extend Economic Liberty:

3. State Income Tax Abolition

A number of Southern states like Texas, Florida, and Tennessee have already eliminated or are working to eliminate the state income tax. This policy proposal may be the best way to bolster the Mississippi economy and make us more competitive in the region.

4. Red Tape Reduction

Mississippi is burdened by far too many boards, commissions, and states agencies that are constantly pushing new regulations onto the people. Big businesses can navigate this minefield of market obstacles, but small businesses and entrepreneurs are often stifled. We want to mandate a significant scaling back of the existing regulatory landscape.

Bills to Improve Education:

5. Open Enrollment in Education

To improve public schools in Mississippi, we need to give moms and dads more control. We seek to allow parents who are dissatisfied with their current school systems, the ability to send their child, and their tax dollars, to a different school of their choice.

6. Cap School Board Administrative Costs

Too much of our education budget is spent on administrative costs and bureaucratic salaries. We support efforts to ensure that more money goes into the classroom instead.

7. Establish Multiple Charter School Authorizers

Charter schools are meant to offer families a better future for their kids. But a decade since they were allowed to be authorized in Mississippi, there are still far too few of them. We want to streamline the authorization process and encourage the expansion of education freedom.

8. Free Speech on Campus

We need to protect freedom of speech for college students on our state campuses. We want to ensure that peaceful assembly, protests, lectures, petitions, and literature distribution will be allowed.

Bills to Improve Healthcare Provision:

9. Repeal Certificate of Need

Mississippi has some of the worst health outcomes in America. One reason for this is that we have some of the most severe restrictions on the expansion and creation of healthcare facilities. Certificate of Need (CON) laws mean that no new health care provider can come along and offer services without the express permission of competitors. This makes as much sense as allowing a Pizza Hut to block the building of a Papa John’s because of the potential for competition. We aim to get rid of this incredibly outdated policy.

10. Repeal of Moratorium on Home Health Agencies

With more folks than ever seeking to get medical care from the comfort of their own homes, we support legislation that would make it easier to offer medical access directly. Our system currently makes this almost impossible.

Bills to Encourage Technology & Innovation:

11. Agricultural Incubator

A major portion of Mississippi’s economy is comprised of agriculture. We would like to empower innovators and small businesses to bring new technology to market with reduced regulatory burdens that could allow for Mississippi to become the nation’s leader in the field.

12. Reduce Barriers to Telemedicine/Telepharmacy

In an age of unprecedented integration between digital technology and daily life, we believe that Mississippians should be allowed to access their healthcare systems and doctors using modern devices.

Yesterday marked one of the most important procedural deadlines of the legislative session.

It was the deadline for committees to report general bills and constitutional amendments originating in the other chamber.

While it may sound technical, this deadline has a very real impact on which policies still have a chance of becoming law this year.

Here’s what that deadline means — and one bill we’ve been watching closely this week.

Another Major Deadline at the Capitol

At this point in the session, bills that passed one chamber must be taken up by committees in the other chamber.

If a committee did not vote a bill out before yesterday’s deadline, that legislation is effectively dead for the year.

In other words, this moment significantly narrows the field of legislation still moving through the Capitol.

Committees decide which proposals continue forward — and which ones stop here.

Every year, this deadline quietly determines the fate of dozens of bills.

A Bill We're Watching: HB 1072 — Portable Benefits for Independent Workers

One bill we’ve been watching this week is HB 1072, the Voluntary Portable Benefit Plan Act.

The bill addresses a growing part of Mississippi’s workforce: independent contractors and gig workers.

Across many industries — from trucking and construction to healthcare and app-based services — more workers are earning income on a per-project or contract basis. But unlike traditional employees, many independent workers do not have access to benefits like retirement savings, paid leave, or health-related savings.

HB 1072 proposes allowing voluntary portable benefit accounts for these workers.

Under the bill:

Importantly, the benefits would belong to the worker — not tied to any single employer.

That portability is key for workers who earn income across multiple contracts or platforms.

Reducing Barriers for the Modern Workforce

One of the biggest barriers today is legal uncertainty.

In many cases, businesses hesitate to offer voluntary benefits to independent workers because doing so could risk triggering employment classification laws — potentially forcing those workers to be treated as employees.

HB 1072 attempts to address that problem by clarifying that voluntary benefit contributions do not automatically change a worker’s independent status.

That kind of policy clarity can reduce red tape and allow new benefit structures to develop for a workforce that doesn’t always fit traditional employment models.

What Comes Next

HB 1072 passed the House earlier this session and is now awaiting consideration in the Senate.

As with many bills at this stage of the session, its future will depend on whether Senate committees choose to move it forward as the legislative calendar continues to tighten.

We’ll continue watching how lawmakers approach this issue and what steps Mississippi may take to adapt policy for an evolving workforce.

Why These Deadlines Matter

Legislative deadlines can sometimes feel procedural, but they play a major role in shaping the outcome of a session.

Each deadline narrows the list of bills still alive — focusing attention on the proposals lawmakers ultimately decide to advance.

As the session moves forward, I’ll continue tracking the policies that survive these milestones and what they could mean for Mississippi.

Track Legislation in Real Time

If you’d like to follow along as bills move through the process, you can track key legislation throughout the session using the Mississippi Center for Public Policy’s bill tracker, linked below.

Track Bills Here

Thanks for following along as the session continues to unfold. I’ll keep monitoring what’s happening at the Capitol and sharing the developments that matter most for Mississippi.

This week at the Capitol has been quieter on major headline legislation, but that doesn’t mean meaningful policy conversations aren’t happening.

One bill worth highlighting right now is HB 1944 — a proposal that focuses on strengthening private support for Mississippi families and nonprofit organizations serving vulnerable communities. Here’s what it does — and why it matters.

What HB 1944 Would Do

HB 1944 proposes expanding Mississippi’s existing tax credit structure for certain charitable contributions.

In simple terms, the bill would increase the amount of tax credits available to businesses that contribute to qualifying nonprofit organizations — including those that provide services for children in foster care and other educational or support programs.

Rather than expanding government programs, this approach encourages private investment in community-based organizations that are already doing critical work across our state. It’s a policy model rooted in a simple principle: when the private sector and nonprofit community are empowered, families benefit.

Why This Matters

Mississippi has no shortage of organizations stepping in to serve children, support struggling families, and strengthen communities. Many of these groups operate on tight budgets and rely heavily on private donations.

By expanding tax incentives for charitable giving, HB 1944 aims to:

It’s not a sweeping reform bill — but it reflects an important policy approach: supporting solutions that flow through civil society rather than exclusively through government expansion.

What Comes Next

HB 1944 is currently moving through the legislative process and will continue to be evaluated in committee.

As with any tax policy change, lawmakers will weigh its fiscal impact alongside its potential community benefit. We’ll continue monitoring its progress and evaluating how it fits within broader conversations about tax policy, charitable giving, and support for Mississippi families.

Looking Ahead

Not every week at the Capitol is defined by high-profile floor fights. Sometimes progress shows up in targeted policy adjustments that strengthen institutions outside of government.

As always, I’ll keep breaking down what’s moving — and what’s not — in plain language. If you’d like to follow legislation in real time, you can track bills throughout the session using the Mississippi Center for Public Policy’s bill tracker.

Track Bills Here

Thanks for staying engaged and informed. I’ll continue tracking these developments and keeping you updated as reform moves forward.

Too many young people still leave Mississippi to chase opportunities elsewhere.  MCPP is on a mission to help change that - by creating the conditions for real, sustained growth so our children and grandchildren choose to stay, build lives, and thrive right here in our state.
 
The good news?  Mississippi is no longer a laggard, but leading.

Thanks to free-market reforms, we're now one of the fastest-growing states in the nation. Over the past five years, we've seen more economic growth than in the previous 15 combined. In 2024, Mississippi ranked #2 nationally in real GDP growth. Historic tax cuts have put more money back in families' pockets, flexible labor laws and affordable energy have attracted over $40 billion in investments since 2020, and fiscal discipline has kept us on solid ground.
 
Building on this remarkable momentum, the Mississippi Center for Public Policy recently launched our latest paper at an event in Jackson: Mississippi Momentum: A Blueprint for Lasting Prosperity.

This blueprint outlines targeted, practical reforms to accelerate our progress and secure long-term prosperity. Key proposals include:
 

  1. Universal school choice through a phased-in Education Savings Account (ESA) program - starting with thousands of students and expanding to make every family empowered to choose the best education path for their child.
  2. Healthcare freedom by partially repealing Certificate-of-Need (CON) laws and granting full practice authority to Advanced Practice Registered Nurses - reducing costs by up to 15% and improving access, especially in rural areas.
  3. Conservative spending to limit government growth to inflation plus population increases, protecting our tax cuts and generating surpluses for future relief or priorities.
  4. Welfare-to-work requirements for able-bodied adults on TANF and SNAP, promoting self-reliance and drawing on successful models from other states.
  5. Merit-based procurement reforms to ensure transparent, competitive public contracts focused on price, quality, and expertise - ending favoritism and waste.


These ideas are already shaping the policy conversation in Mississippi. Many of the reforms outlined in this blueprint are now central to debates at the Capitol. While important work remains, the direction is clear: Mississippi can continue to grow faster, compete harder, and lead the nation in pro-growth reform.

Readers can access the full “Mississippi Momentum: A Blueprint for Lasting Prosperity” at mspolicy.org/publications/msmomentum/
 
I hope you find our latest paper inspiring and useful.
 
As someone who moved 4,000 miles with my family to make our home in the Magnolia State, I am more certain than ever that Mississippi can lead the way for other states in America to follow.

Earlier this month, on February 4, the Governor signed HB 3 into law.

While it may not have grabbed major headlines, this legislation represents one of the most meaningful healthcare policy shifts of the session.

HB 3 — targeted reform of Mississippi’s Certificate of Need (CON) laws — is now officially law.

And while it is not full repeal, it is a real step in the right direction. Here’s what that means — and why it matters.

What HB 3 Does

For decades, Mississippi’s Certificate of Need laws have required hospitals and healthcare providers to receive government approval before expanding facilities, adding services, or making certain major investments.

In practice, that system can slow growth, limit competition, and make it harder for new providers to enter underserved areas.

HB 3 makes several important changes:

This bill does not eliminate the CON system entirely. But it does loosen restrictions that have long limited flexibility in our healthcare market.

The Most Important Piece: A Research Mandate

One of the most significant elements of HB 3 is something that hasn’t received as much attention:

The bill directs further study into what it would look like for Mississippi to repeal CON requirements in certain contexts — particularly for rural hospitals.

That research matters.

Mississippi has long struggled with access to care in rural communities. Many areas face hospital closures, limited specialty services, and long travel times for treatment. These gaps contribute to what many refer to as “medical deserts” — areas where patients simply don’t have reasonable access to care.

We also know that Mississippi consistently ranks near the bottom nationally in key health outcomes — and access, competition, and flexibility in our healthcare system are all part of that conversation.

If repealing or further scaling back CON laws for rural hospitals could help expand services, attract providers, or stabilize struggling facilities, that is a policy discussion worth having seriously and thoughtfully. HB 3 opens the door to that conversation.

Why This Is a Step Forward

Large reforms rarely happen all at once.

More often, they happen in phases — modernizing thresholds, creating exemptions, and eventually rethinking the system more broadly.

HB 3 represents progress. It shows lawmakers are willing to revisit long-standing regulatory structures and ask whether they are still serving Mississippi patients well.

We will continue to advocate for broader reform, particularly where it could expand access in underserved communities. But this is a real and measurable step toward a more flexible, patient-focused healthcare system. And it’s now law.

What Comes Next

Now that HB 3 has been signed, attention turns to implementation — and to the research it mandates regarding potential additional reforms.

We’ll be watching closely to see:

Healthcare access is not an abstract policy issue in Mississippi. It affects families in every corner of our state.

If reform can help strengthen rural hospitals, reduce barriers to care, and improve outcomes, that’s a conversation worth continuing. As always, I’ll keep breaking it down in plain language and keeping you updated as the session moves forward.

Track Legislation in Real Time

If you’d like to follow along as bills move through the process, you can track key legislation throughout the session using the Mississippi Center for Public Policy’s bill tracker.

Track Bills Here

Thanks for staying engaged and informed. I’ll continue tracking these developments and keeping you updated as reform moves forward.

A small win for freedom in Mississippi!  Governor Tate Reeves recently signed HB3, a law that reforms the state’s Certificate of Need (CON) rules. 

CON is basically a government approval process healthcare providers (like hospitals) must go through before they can add certain services, build new facilities, buy expensive equipment, or make big expansions.

HB3 makes some modest changes, allowing more flexibility for some specific providers.  It also raises the dollar threshold for capital spending requiring approval. 

Perhaps the most significant part of the bill is that it mandates the Mississippi Department of Health to do a study over the course of this year into the feasibility of letting smaller hospitals skip CON when providing kidney dialysis treatment and adult psychiatric services. 

While HB3 does not give us the reforms Mississippi needs, it is a step in the right direction.  In a legislative session that has seen most significant reforms killed in the Senate, this is one rare example of a free market reform in the 2026 session.

Yesterday was one of those days at the Capitol that quietly reshapes the rest of the legislative session.

It was the final day for committees to report general bills originating in their own chamber, a deadline that determines which ideas move forward and which ones are effectively ended for the year. And yesterday, we saw both outcomes play out in stark contrast. Here’s what happened — and why it matters.

Committee Deadline Day — Where Bills Live or Die

By February 3, committees must vote on bills that originated in their own chamber. If a bill does not pass out of committee by that deadline, it is done for the year.

This is not a procedural footnote — it is one of the most consequential moments of the session.

Committee chairs control the agenda. If a bill is not brought up, not debated, or not voted out, it never reaches the full Senate or House for consideration. For many proposals, this is where momentum either materializes — or disappears entirely. Yesterday was that moment for several major bills.

Education Reform Update: HB2 Dies in Senate Committee

Yesterday afternoon, the Senate Education Committee met and took up HB2, the Mississippi Educational Freedom Program Act.

The bill was gaveled up late in the day, on deadline day. The chairman asked whether there was any discussion. There was none. He then asked if there were any votes in favor. There were none. Finally, he asked for votes against — and the committee voted unanimously to kill the bill.

The entire process took less than a minute.

With that vote, HB2 is dead for this legislative session.

This matters — not just because of the outcome, but because of what it represents.

HB 2 passed the House after full debate. It was one of the most closely watched education proposals of the session. But it never received discussion, amendment, or debate in the Senate committee charged with reviewing it.

That is how committee power works — and why this stage of session is so decisive. While this is a significant setback for education reform this year, the underlying issues that HB2 sought to address have not gone away. We’ll continue tracking where the conversation goes next and what lessons lawmakers — and the public — take from how this unfolded.

A Win for Healthcare Reform: HB3 Heads to the Governor

Yesterday also brought a very different outcome on healthcare reform.

HB3 passed the Legislature and has been sent to the Governor’s desk.

HB3 makes targeted reforms to Mississippi’s Certificate of Need (CON) laws — rules that control when hospitals and medical providers can expand, add services, or make major investments. These regulations have long been criticized for slowing growth, limiting competition, and making it harder for providers to respond to patient needs.

While HB3 does not fully repeal the CON system — something we continue to believe Mississippi should do — it represents a meaningful step in the right direction. The bill raises cost thresholds that trigger government approval, creates limited exemptions, and begins modernizing a regulatory framework that has not kept pace with today’s healthcare realities.

Importantly, HB3 passed before the committee deadline — meaning these reforms are no longer theoretical. If signed by the Governor, they will take effect. Progress does not always come all at once. Sometimes it comes in hard-won steps. This is one of them.

What Comes Next

With committee deadlines now behind us, the shape of the rest of the session is clearer.

The bills still alive are the ones that cleared their first major hurdle. The ones that didn’t — like HB2 — will shape future conversations, even if they are no longer moving this year.

I’ll continue watching:

As always, I’ll keep breaking it all down in plain language — no jargon, no spin.

Track Legislation in Real Time

If you’d like to follow along as bills move through the process, you can track key legislation throughout the session using the Mississippi Center for Public Policy’s bill tracker.

Track Bills Here

Thanks for staying engaged and informed. I’ll be back next week with another update from under the dome — and as always, I’ll keep breaking things down in plain language as the session continues.

As the legislative session settles into its next phase, the pace at the Capitol has shifted. With the deadline for introducing new bills now behind us, lawmakers are no longer filing new ideas. Instead, attention has turned almost entirely to committee meetings — where bills are discussed, changed, and ultimately decided. 

Yesterday gave us a clear snapshot of where things stand: education reform and healthcare policy are now in Senate committees, and a few other reform-focused bills are starting to stand out. 

Here's what you need to know. 

Where Things Stand in the Legislature

Now that bill filing is complete, committees are doing the real work of session. 

Before any bill can ever reach the House or Senate floor, it has to make it through the committee it's assigned to. Committees can rewrite bills, delay them, vote them down, or move them forward. In practice, this is where many bills quietly die, and where the most important decisions are made. 

Put simply: this is where momentum is built or lost.

Education Reform Update: HB2 Awaits Senate Consideration

After passing the House last week, HB2, the Mississippi Educational Freedom Program Act, is now in the Senate Education Committee.

At this point, the bill is waiting to be taken up by the committee. The Senate Education Committee is scheduled to meet today, January 28, and HB2 could be discussed at that meeting.

HB 2 is aimed at expanding educational options for families while keeping participation voluntary and preserving local decision-making for school districts. Now that the bill has moved to the Senate, what happens in committee will largely determine whether it continues moving forward or stalls. We'll be watching closely.

Healthcare Regulation: HB3 Moves to Senate Public Health

On the healthcare front, HB3, the bill dealing with Mississippi's Certificate of Need laws, is now in the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee. Certificate of Need laws control when hospitals and medical providers can expand, build, or offer certain services. HB3 would make some targeted changes to those rules, including raising the dollar thresholds that trigger government approval and creating limited exemptions.

This bill does not eliminate the CON system, but it does represent another attempt to loosen regulations that can limit healthcare access and competition. As with most legislation at this stage, whether these changes move forward—and how strong they end up being—will be decided in committee.

Procurement Reform to Watch: SB2250

One bill that stood out this week is SB2250, authored by Senator Angela Hill, which focuses on how government agencies award public contracts. At its core, SB2250 is about fairness and transparency. The bill prohibits state and local governments from giving preferential treatment based on race, ethnicity, or sex when awarding public contracts, reinforcing the principle that government contracts should be awarded based on merit, qualifications, and value—not identity-based criteria.

The bill also strengthens competitive bidding requirements, tightens the use of no-bid contracts, and improves reporting and oversight so the public has a clearer picture of how government agencies are spending money.

This kind of reform doesn't always grab headlines, but it matters. Clear rules and open competition help ensure that government agencies award contracts based on merit and value, rather than favoritism or backroom deals. That kind of structure protects taxpayers while keeping the government focused on its core responsibility: spending public dollars wisely within its own operations.

SB2250 represents a practical, policy-driven step toward better accountability in government spending, and it's a bill we'll continue to follow as it moves through the Senate. 

What I'll Be Watching Next

As committees continue meeting, I’ll be keeping a close eye on:

This is the point in session where the list of “possible” bills gets much shorter—and where outcomes start to take shape.

Track Legislation in Real Time

If you’d like to follow along as bills move through the process, you can track key legislation throughout the session using the Mississippi Center for Public Policy’s bill tracker.

Track Bills Here

Thanks for staying engaged and informed. I’ll be back next week with another update from under the dome—and I’ll keep breaking down what’s happening in plain language as the session continues.

Over the past few years, Mississippi lawmakers have passed some critical conservative reforms. Last year, Mississippi became the first state in America to legislate to eliminate the income tax in 40 years.  In 2022, we implemented flat tax reform.  A few years before that, we passed important labor market reforms.  In 2024, we reformed school funding to get more money into the classroom. 
 
It is thanks to these flagship conservative reforms that Mississippi has enjoyed more economic growth in the past five years than over the previous fifteen combined.  
 
Yet every single time one of these flagship conservative reform was being considered, I noticed a similar pattern. Those opposed to flagship conservative policy are too wily to come straight out and say they don’t want conservative policy in a conservative state.  What they do instead is offer less substantial alternatives, which might be perfectly good policy, but don’t really change much at all. 
 
On school funding, for example, those opposed to the new funding formula offered a few tweaks to the old system.  Those that did not want income tax to be eliminated proposed a handful of performative tax reductions here and there. Now that Mississippi has a real chance to achieve universal school choice, we are seeing the same distraction strategy. 
 
Speaker Jason White’s Mississippi Education Freedom Bill (HB 2) is the most consequential education legislation seen in a generation.  
 
It establishes Magnolia Student Accounts as education savings accounts to enable universal school choice in Mississippi. Families would receive roughly $7,000 per child deposited into a dedicated account. Parents could use these funds for tuition, curriculum materials, or other approved education expenses at the school of their choice—public, private, charter, or homeschool.
 
The program is due to begin in the 2027-28 school year with 12,500 accounts. Half of those (6,250) are reserved for students currently enrolled in public schools, while the remaining half are awarded via a first-come, first-served lottery to any eligible student.
 
Speaker White’s bill goes further by dismantling outdated, self-serving bureaucratic restrictions.  It eliminates school districts' ability to block student transfers: If a receiving district is willing and has capacity, students can freely switch.  The bill also removes barriers to charter school growth. HB 2 allows charters to open wherever operators see demand and viability, enabling statewide expansion.
 
You would have to be a socialist to oppose this – which is why it was so disappointing to see some Republicans listed at the bottom of this message vote against parent power. 

Having failed to kill HB2 in the House, the socialists are now trying another tactic.  They are offering up far less significant reforms that appeal to conservative ears, but fall far short of giving parents power.
 
This week the Senate approved a cluster of such education bills.  There’s a bill that will require financial literacy lessons, another that will insist on civics.  One of the bills approved by the Senate will try to improve math outcomes, another that will require 8th graders to reach a certain reading standard before advancing.
 
All of these things may be desirable, but they fall far short of parent power. 
 
The danger is that some misguided voices big up these bills as something more substantial than they really are – and in doing make it easier for those opposed to flagship conservative reform to quietly kill off the important bits in HB2.
 
HB2 has now passed out of the Mississippi House and is on its way for consideration by the State Senate. If enacted, this would represent the pinnacle of conservative education reform in the United States.  Most importantly, it shows a deep understanding that truly successful education reform requires parental involvement.
 
The Magnolia State has made great progress in recent years on the education front. Mississippi’s fourth graders now read better than those in New York, California, or Minnesota, according to National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores.   You read that correctly: A state that barely a decade ago ranked near the bottom for fourth grade reading now sits near the top of the NAEP tables.
 
But despite Mississippi’s stellar progress, almost half of fourth graders still are not proficient in reading and math, and roughly one in four elementary students continues to be chronically absent.
 
The solution to that is not to micromanage how teachers teach in every classroom in our state, but to give families the power to choose the education for their child. Mississippi needs to give parents - not politicians - the ultimate oversight of what happens in the classroom.
 
You cannot credibly claim to be a conservative in the legislature if you oppose HB2.  Here, incidentally, is a list of the Republican members of the House that sided with the socialists against parent power. 
 
Who sided with progressives to try to block school choice?

If you’ve been following along the past couple of weeks, you know things have been moving fast at the Capitol. This week marked an important turning point in the legislative session: the deadline for introducing new bills has officially passed.

That deadline matters more than it might sound. Up until now, lawmakers have been focused on filing ideas. From here on out, the focus shifts to debating, amending, and voting on the bills that actually made it in before the clock ran out. While hundreds of bills were filed before the deadline, history tells us that only a small number will ultimately advance and become law.

In other words, the session is moving from volume to substance — and that’s when the real decisions begin. Below is a look at where things stand, with updates from both chambers, a closer look at education reform, and a notable win for conservative governance and responsible budgeting.

The Bill Deadline — Why This Moment Matters

For a bill to become law, it first has to pass committee and then receive a floor vote in its originating chamber. If it passes there, then the process repeats in the other chamber before the bill is sent to the Governor. 

Over the past two weeks, the Legislature introduced hundreds of bills across both chambers. Now that the filing deadline is behind us, lawmakers have to start narrowing their focus to the proposals that are still alive and moving through committee. This is often the point in session where priorities become clearer. Some ideas gain momentum, others quietly stall, and attention begins to center on the bills that have a real path forward.

What’s Happening in the House

With bill introductions wrapped up, the House is beginning to shift gears. Committees are starting to sort through the large volume of legislation that was filed, and the emphasis is now on which bills will actually move to the floor.

Education policy has remained one of the most active areas in the House so far, with HB 2 emerging early as a major focus. Beyond education, House members have filed legislation touching healthcare regulation, state spending, and a variety of local issues. Many of those proposals are now waiting for committee consideration as the House works through its priorities. The next few weeks will tell us a lot about which of these ideas have the support to move forward.

A Senate Update — And a Clear Conservative Win

The Senate has moved more quickly into floor action, particularly on government structure and budget-related reforms.

This week, the Senate voted unanimously to pass SB 2017, a bill that eliminates 22 obsolete state boards and commissions — entities that no longer serve an active or necessary purpose. This is a straightforward example of conservative governance in action. Clearing out boards and commissions that exist only on paper helps streamline state government, reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, and cut structures that cost taxpayers money without delivering results.

At a time when Mississippians are rightly focused on responsible spending, SB 2017 is a reminder that reform doesn’t always require new programs — sometimes it means finally letting go of old ones.

Credit is due to Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann for prioritizing this legislation, and to Senator Tyler McCaughn for authoring SB 2017. This bill represents a shared commitment to leaner, more efficient government.

Education Reform Update: HB 2 Moves Forward

Education reform continues to be a central conversation at the Capitol, and HB 2, the Mississippi Educational Freedom Program Act, remains one of the most closely watched bills this session.

Last week, the House Education Committee took up HB 2 and voted to advance the bill by a 14–11 vote, sending it to the full House for consideration. Later that week, the House debated the bill on the floor, where it passed by a narrow 60–58 vote.

The close margin underscores just how significant — and closely watched — this legislation has become. With House passage complete, HB 2 now heads to the Senate, where it will receive further consideration in the weeks ahead.

Lawmakers have also made adjustments along the way. Notably, provisions related to teacher and assistant teacher pay are being separated into standalone legislation. That change allows education pay raises to be debated and voted on independently, rather than being tied to the broader school choice debate. HB 2 would allow parents greater flexibility to direct their child's share of state education funding toward the learning environment that best fits their needs. 

Certificate of Need: Incremental Movement, Limited Reform

Certificate of Need reform remains an important priority, and while we would prefer broader repeal of Mississippi’s CON laws, the Legislature is currently considering more limited, targeted changes.

One bill to watch is HB 3, which revises certain Certificate of Need provisions and increases the dollar thresholds that trigger CON requirements. The bill also creates specific exemptions and directs further study of potential reforms related to dialysis units and psychiatric care. While HB 3 does not represent comprehensive CON reform, it reflects continued legislative willingness to revisit how healthcare access and competition are regulated in Mississippi. We’ll continue to evaluate which proposals meaningfully move the state toward greater flexibility and improved patient access—and which fall short of that goal.

Supporters argue that easing these restrictions could increase competition and expand access to care, particularly in underserved areas.

What I’ll Be Watching Next

With the bill deadline behind us, attention now turns to floor votes, committee deadlines, and which reforms ultimately make it to the Governor’s desk. I’ll continue tracking education reform, healthcare regulation — including ongoing conversations around Certificate of Need — and efforts to make state government leaner, more efficient, and more accountable.

I'm also watching early conversations around restoring Mississippi's citizen-led ballot initiative process, an issue that could resurface later in session. 

Track Legislation in Real Time

Want to follow along as bills move through the process? You can track key legislation throughout the session using the Mississippi Center for Public Policy’s bill tracker.

Track Bills Here

Thanks for taking the time to stay informed and engaged. I’ll be back next week with another update from under the dome — and as always, I’ll keep breaking things down in plain language as session continues.

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