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2017 Legislative Recap
Highlights from the Mississippi Legislature's Regular Session
MCPP's top priority for 2017 was a major welfare-to-work bill, which was signed into law (see HB 1090, the first item below). We also worked on bills to reduce the regulatory burden on entrepreneurs, a major one which passed and others which made surprising progress in their first year to be considered. In addition we continued our efforts to revise the graduation test in U.S. History to include the nation’s founding.
As always, we assisted lawmakers on numerous bills by analyzing them based on the principles in our Governing by Principle booklet. We also suggested amendments to bills that could be improved and, in one of our more important roles, encouraged the killing of bills that were inconsistent with those principles.
Below is a summary of most of the significant bills and issues addressed (or not) during the 2017 Regular Session, which began on January 3 and ended on March 29, four days before the anticipated SINE DIE of April 2. Several important bills, such as those regarding school funding and road construction, did not pass and will likely come up again in 2018. A special session has been called for June 5, 2017.
NOTE:
MCPP did not take positions or otherwise work on all these bills. This is a list of the most significant legislation considered by the 2017 legislature, or bills which we thought you would be interested in.
| Bill Trivia |
| Bills Introduced: 2,854 (1,786 House, 1,068 Senate) |
| Signed by Governor: 308 (incl. 100 agency appropriations bills) |
| Became Law without Gov.’s Signature: 6 |
| Vetoed: 4 |
| Partially (Line-Item) Vetoed: 3 |
| * 11% of introduced bills made it through the whole process and became law. That drops to less than 8% if agency appropriations bills (which are required annually) are not included. |
| * 78% of bills that were introduced died without being considered at all. |
| * 44% of House-passed bills died in the Senate; 30% of Senate-passed bills died in the House. |
Significant Legislation Passed
and Signed into Law:
Welfare-to-Work Reforms (HB 1090): Otherwise known as the HOPE Act, HB 1090 will save an estimated $40 million per year for Mississippi taxpayers alone, and four times that much for federal taxpayers, once it is fully implemented over the next two years. It is designed to remove dead people and non-Mississippians from our welfare rolls and to restore the Clinton-era work requirements that have been waived by previous administrations. It also ends our being the only state in the country in which Medicaid and other welfare agencies don't share eligibility information on applicants. According to an independent review of the law, HB 1090 moves "Mississippi to the forefront of states in overall benefits integrity and the move from reliance on benefit programs to employment." MCPP-supported policy.
Regulation
Occupational Licensure Reform (HB 1425): This law is among the first in the nation to respond to a recent U.S. Supreme Court anti-trust ruling. It requires the state to use the least restrictive method of regulating certain professions so that the public
is protected, but competition is not stifled. The regulatory options that may be taken are listed from least to most restrictive, ranging from "market competition" (no license needed) to licensure, with several steps in between. A commission, made up of the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state, will review regulations to ensure
compliance with the law. MCPP-supported policy.
Acupuncture Licensing (SB 2214): This law incrementally lifts current restrictions on acupuncturists that require practice under a supervising physician.
Elimination of Inactive Boards (SB 2572 and HB 1330): These two laws eliminate nearly 20 inactive boards and commissions.
Deregulation for small breweries (HB 1322): This law allows small "craft breweries" to sell a limited amount of light wine or beer products for consumption on or off property. It also increases the amount of beer that a brewpub (a restaurant or bar that produces its own beer) may produce and allows sales for off-premises consumption.
Law Enforcement
Asset Forfeiture Transparency (HB 812): In 2016, MCPP supported efforts to increase transparency regarding how state and local law enforcement agencies seize assets from citizens. Instead, the legislature elected to create a task force to study the issue. (MJI's Mike Hurst served on that task force.) This year, HB 812 implemented their recommendations. It requires law enforcement agencies to give back property they seize unless they obtain a warrant for seizure within 72 hours. It also requires details and documentation regarding forfeited property to be reported on a state website. MCPP-supported policy.
Hate Crime Penalties/Back the Badge (SB 2469): This law provides an enhanced "hate crime" penalty for crimes that specifically target a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergency medical technician (EMT). These groups join the other protected classes of "race, color, religion, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin or gender." This is the first time in state law that a class has been defined by occupation, rather than biology or deeply held belief.
Limiting Sanctuary Cities/Campuses (SB 2710): This law says state and local entities may not limit cooperation with federal authorities in reporting a person's immigration status. The essence of a "sanctuary city" is the refusal, often at the city or county jail level, to detain illegal aliens due to immigration status. This law only very weakly prohibits this practice, if at all.
Death Penalty Clarification (HB 638): In the event Mississippi's current method of capital punishment, lethal injection, becomes unavailable (by court ruling or the non-availability of the necessary drugs), this law provides for the alternatives of nitrogen gas (an option in 5 other states), electrocution (8 states) or firing squad (2 states).
Prescription Drug Monitoring (HB 1032): This law requires all healthcare providers allowed to prescribe drugs to participate in the current Prescription Monitoring Program, which tracks prescriptions for controlled substances in an attempt to prevent a patient from being prescribed the same controlled substance by multiple
doctors.
Family
Abused Children, Abused Spouse, Divorce (SB 2680): SB 2680 was originally written to clarify the legal options for placing abused and neglected children with relatives rather than in the foster care system. Those provisions remained in the bill, but when the bill came out of a conference committee, a provision had been added to clarify that spousal domestic abuse is included under the "Habitual Cruel and Inhuman Treatment" ground for divorce. This occurred after other divorce bills died in the House after passing the Senate.
Campaign Finance Changes (SB 2689): This law disallows the use of campaign contributions for personal use, including conversion of campaign funds to personal use upon retirement, beginning January 1, 2018. (These uses are currently allowed.) The new law prohibits a wide array of expenditures, ranging from rent to funeral expenses to clothes to automobiles. It also requires credit card transactions of $200 or more to be reported individually. (It is common for payments to credit card companies to be reported, but not the individual transactions. Candidates are not required – and will not under the new law – be required to submit credit card statements or any other documentation of their expenditures. The Ethics Commission will now have limited jurisdiction to enforce the law.
Election Code Revisions (HB 467): This law makes several changes to the state's election code. What is more interesting, perhaps, are election-related bills that died. In particular, HB 228, which passed the House but died in the Senate, would have allowed early voting to occur 14 days prior to an election. HB 373 (online voter registration for first-time voters) and HB 1054 (to study franchisement for nonviolent offenders) also passed the House but died in the Senate.
Procurement Reform (HB 1106/ HB 1109/ SB 2354): These new laws create more transparency and accountability for purchases made by state agencies. In addition to implementing an electronic, interactive bidding option, and providing clearer definitions in the law, these bills reform the procurement process by: 1) consolidating oversight of both product and service contracts under a Public Procurement Review Board; 2) requiring contracts in excess of $75,000 to be approved by the board; and 3) providing for more transparency regarding sole-source contracts.
Healthcare & Health Insurance
UMMC Healthcare Collaboratives (HB 926): This law will enable the Univ. of Miss. Medical Center (UMMC) to enter into "cooperative arrangements" with public or private health-related organizations, including community hospitals. It exempts UMMC from certain state purchasing/procurement laws under certain conditions. Advocates of the law argue that it provides needed flexibility for UMMC to attract new doctors/researchers and that it will increase access to care. Opponents argue that it gives UMMC, as a governmental entity, the ability to enter into partnerships that will either crowd-out the private sector or result in unwise investment.
Education
Teaching Children to Write in Cursive (SB 2273): The federally driven Common Core standards do not require cursive instruction, so many states simply stopped teaching it. SB 2273 requires instruction so that students know how to write in cursive by the end of fifth grade.
School Choice Expansion for Dyslexic Students (HB 1046): Mississippi currently offers a very limited school choice scholarship for children with dyslexia. (This is separate from the Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) for students with special needs.)The current program, which serves 159 students in three participating schools is only available to students in 1st through 6th grade. HB 1046 expands that to 1st through 12th grade.
School Suspensions/Expulsions Review Process (HB 1413): This law clarifies due process rights for suspended or expelled students, but only for those suspended for more than 10 days (i.e., two weeks of school) or expelled for the year. It defines the standard of proof that must be used in evaluating such cases. Currently, such students have undefined appeal and due process rights, a defeat which remains for students suspended less than 10 days.
Taxes
First-Time Home Buyers Tax Break (HB 1601): This law excludes from gross income, for tax purposes, up to $2,500 per year ($5,000 for a married couple filing jointly) deposited into a first-time homebuyer savings account to be used to purchase a home in Mississippi.
Agricultural Land Tax Cut (HB 1340): Currently, agricultural land appraisal values are determined by a formula that allows for an up or down valuation of 10 percent over the previous year. This law reduces the potential variation to no more or less than 4 percent, providing for more tax predictability for land owners. The law also makes changes to the appraisal process related to ground leases connected to the state port at Gulfport.
Restaurant/Hotel/Tourism Tax Bills (SB 2941 and many others): Every year, the Mississippi legislature almost automatically extends numerous optional local taxes, primarily sales taxes on restaurants and hotels. They are often sold to the public as temporary tax increases that must be approved by local voters before going into effect. But when the legislature extends the authority to levy the tax, no local referendum is required, no matter how many times that authority is extended. The Byhalia tourism tax (SB 2941) is noteworthy because the tax, passed in 2010, expired on July 31, 2016. The town continued to collect the tax, a practice SB 2941 retroactively condones and extends to the year 2021.
Miscellaneous
Faith-Based Initiatives Council (SB 2514): The purpose of this law is to create an advisory council to the governor with the goal of empowering the faith-based and community nonprofit sectors to address systemic problems in Mississippi. The law is based on a successful Florida program in place since 2006.
Capitol Complex (HB 1226): This measure authorizes the Miss. Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) to develop and administer infrastructure improvement projects within a "Capitol Complex Improvement District" within the city of Jackson. The projects are to be funded by diverting up to 6 percent of state sales tax revenue collected in Jackson. This is in addition to the 1 percent sales tax (on top of the state 7 percent rate) that was approved in 2014 to pay for infrastructure improvements.
Bonds for "Economic Development" Projects and Programs (SB 3033): This law authorizes the state to issue bonds to borrow $20 million to assist local economic development and infrastructure projects, and $45 Million for Huntington-Ingalls Shipbuilding, if Ingalls first invests at least twice that much in the improvements to the shipyard it leases from the state.
Local Taxpayer Subsidies for Nonprofits (HB 1747, HB 761 and many others): Every year, the legislature authorizes certain cities and counties to donate taxpayer funds to numerous nonprofits. Among this year's winners are Vicksburg Family Development Service and unnamed Rankin County "nonprofit organizations that provide recreational and/or sports opportunities, for the purpose of constructing or maintaining recreational and sports facilities."
Became Law Without Governor's Signature
Suffrage Restoration Bills (HBs 612, 742, 1475, 1750 and SBs 2107, 2951):
If the governor does not sign or veto a piece of legislation, it automatically becomes law without his signature after a certain number of days. Gov. Bryant refused to sign or veto any of the six bills the legislature passed to restore voting rights to specific individuals. They became law on April 20.
Partially Vetoed Bills
Line-item vetoes (HB 1502/SB 2956/SB 3015): The governor is allowed to veto portions of appropriations bills he signs. This is known as a line-item veto. Gov. Bryant vetoed an earmark in the Department of Education appropriations bill, HB 1502. He also vetoed a section of SB 2956 because it had the effect of changing a general law, which appropriations bills are not supposed to do. In SB 3015, he vetoed an item that would have provided $50,000 for a project for which a no-cost option is available.
Significant Legislation that
Did Not Become Law:
Modernizing the School Funding Formula (HB 878/SB 2607): While a handful of bills related to school funding were introduced, lawmakers never saw a final bill that overhauled the state's current education funding formula, known as MAEP (Mississippi Adequate Education Program), which has been in place since 1997. The legislature hired a consulting firm, EdBuild, to recommend changes to the formula. The initial recommendations would not have generated enough support in the legislature, so they remain on the drawing board. If a satisfactory solution is devised, lawmakers could consider a funding formula bill in a special session.
More Funding for Roads (HB 480/SB 2939/HB 1732): One of the hot button issues over the past few years has been whether to allocate more money for road and bridge repair, rebuilding, and maintenance. This year, the House approved a bill (HB 480) to fund such work by requiring out-of-state companies with no presence in the state to collect a "use tax" (similar to a sales tax) on internet sales. The U.S. Supreme Court has said it is unconstitutional for states to require such companies to collect such taxes without specific approval by the U.S. Congress. HB 480 died in the Senate, but the House later approved an amendment to an unrelated bill (SB 2939) that would have allocated money collected from an internet tax if companies collect and remit the tax voluntarily (as Amazon is already doing), or if the Supreme Court reverses its ruling, or if Congress approves such an action. The House amendment would have diverted the expected windfall from the Amazon internet sales tax agreement to a special fund for road repair. Finally, HB 1732, sponsored by Speaker Philip Gunn, would have borrowed up to $50 million for county/local bridge repair.
Lawmakers did not reach an agreement on the annual appropriations bill for the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) and will return to the Capitol on June 5, supposedly to pass that and an appropriation for the Attorney General's office. This must be done by July 1, which is the beginning of the state's fiscal year. If there is agreement on other road and bridge funding, that could be added to the special session by the governor. (The governor dictates what the legislature considers in a special session.)
Lottery (HB 804): A House committee completely gutted an unrelated bill and inserted provisions that would have implemented a state lottery. It was never taken up on the House floor, but if it had been, it would have been struck down under House rules intended to prohibit the method used by the committee to change the purpose of a bill. Speaker Philip Gunn has called for a study of the lottery, saying any money spent buying a lottery ticket is money not spent at private, job-providing businesses.
Multipurpose Bond Bill (HB 1734/SB2281): Every year, many bills are introduced to borrow money for a variety of projects by issuing state bonds, but only one or two "bond bills" are approved, usually combining some of the projects that were in the individual bills, along with building construction/repair requests regularly made by state colleges and universities. This year, both houses passed their own versions, which is common. But ultimately, no agreement was reached between the houses, in part because of the question of whether to borrow money for road and bridge maintenance. As a result, no additional debt will be added this year for such projects for taxpayers to repay in future years. However, see SB 3033 regarding bonds for "economic development" projects.
Expanding DOR Debt Collection Activities (HB 687): Mississippi law currently allows state universities to collaborate with the Department of Revenue in withholding tax refunds to pay off educational loans issued by the state. This bill would have expanded DOR's debt collection activities to include community/junior colleges. What killed the bill was an amendment to allow hospitals to have the same ability to use DOR as their debt collectors. The measure ultimately died in conference.
State Agency Lobbying Reform (SB 2632/SB 2843): Both of these measures would have banned agency lobbying while leaving agency employees free to share technical and factual information with lawmakers. SB 2632 passed the Senate and a House committee, but was never taken up on the House floor.
Teaching the Constitution (HB 433): For Mississippi high school students, the U.S. History "subject area test," which they must take before graduating, starts in the 1870s, with the result that prior historical periods (for instance, the Founding and the Civil War) are neglected. This measure would have required the State Board of Education to implement a test identical to the civics test given to immigrants who want to become U.S. citizens. Fifteen states currently have a similar requirement. The civics test's 100 questions cover some current facts, such as the name of the president, but most of it is a good smattering of questions that cover the whole span of U.S. History. This bill died on the House calendar but the sponsor received assurances from the state Department of Education that a review will be done in their already-scheduled review of history curriculum.
Vetoed Bills
Even Righter on Crime (HB 1033): Promoted by a coalition of local and national conservative organizations (including MCPP) known as "Right on Crime," as well as unusual allies on the center and left, this bill built upon reforms enacted three years ago aimed at using a cost-effective, safe and humane approach to right-sizing Mississippi's criminal justice system. This year, HB 1033 was designed, among other things, to make it easier for ex-convicts to obtain and retain a job, thus enabling them to take care of their families and making them much less likely to return to criminal behavior. For example, the bill would have allowed those on probation or parole, if they have a job, to use FaceTime or Skype (or similar) to check in with parole or probation officers, making it unnecessary to leave, and possibly lose, their jobs. The governor vetoed the bill due to a last-minute addition that would have permitted habitual nonviolent offenders to be eligible for parole after serving only 25 percent of their sentence, as currently allowed for non-habitual nonviolent offenders.
Emergency Service Telephone Fees (SB 2861): This bill was vetoed by the governor because of a technical error that made it inoperable.
Payment of Damages to a Private Citizen (SB 2349): This bill would have allowed Forrest County to donate more than $100,000 to various private entities, as do other bills for other localities. But this one was vetoed because it also included a $45,000 payment to an individual for damages that were litigated decades ago, which were ultimately dismissed by a court in 1982.
Municipal Qualified Resort Areas (HB 1447): Among other things, this bill would have enabled entire municipalities to become qualified resort areas, which in turn, would allow these areas to sell alcoholic beverages. The governor vetoed the bill because it indirectly overturns the current Local Option Alcoholic Beverage law, which allows individual communities to regulate such sales.
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Legislative Update - February 6, 2017
This Thursday is the deadline for the House and Senate to pass bills that were approved by their own committees. The exception to that are bills that take your money and spend your money, otherwise known as Appropriations and Revenue bills. That deadline comes later this month.
Although bills died that would have made blue the official state color, classified venomous snakes as inherently dangerous to humans, required contracts to be written in large print, require a "probable cause" hearing for legislators who are arrested, and require school districts to serve low-fat meals and snacks to students diagnosed as overweight, there are still plenty of bills still alive.
Out of 2,300 bills that were introduced to change or create state laws (called “general bills”), 91% of them died in committee, leaving 429 to consider. Many of those are duplicate or similar bills in the House and Senate, and many are to simply extend current laws that would otherwise expire this year.
Below are significant bills that are still alive. If you click on the bill number, it will take you to the legislature’s status page for that bill, where you can read the original and current versions, and if it has been voted on in the full House or Senate, you can see who voted for or against it.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Listing of the bills below should NOT be taken as our endorsement of them. To the contrary, there are some horrible bills that somehow made it out of committees with generally conservative majorities.
Accountability and Transparency |
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| HB 396 | Prohibit elected state officials from visibly or audibly participating in the making of state funded advertising. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 479 | Prohibit personal use of campaign contributions and revise law to require detailed reporting. Passed House 104-12. |
| HB 555 | Require approval by Outside Counsel Oversight Commission for Attorney General to bring certain suits. Passed House 63-58 after initially failing 58-60. |
| HB 812 | Revise regulations regarding Civil Asset Forfeiture. Passed House 118-3. |
| HB 938 | Prohibit state agencies from purchasing motor vehicles for one year. Passed House 115-5. |
| HB 974 | Remove most civil service protections for employees in several agencies by exempting those agencies from the Personnel Board rules, regulations and procedures for three years. Passed House 62-58. |
| HB1109 | Provide standards for state agencies to follow regarding Requests for Proposals (RFPs). Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1112 | Agency Accountability Review Act of 2017. Require legislature's watchdog, the PEER committee, to regularly evaluate state agencies' effectiveness and efficiency, including whether they are achieving ther goals. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1127 | Revise Open Meetings Act to require minutes to be posted on public bodies' websites within certain time after the meeting. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1296 | Financial Transparency in Education Act - require school districts to post their revenue and expenditures online in a searchable format. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1330 | Abolish certain boards and commissions that have not met in more than a year. Awaits House Floor. |
| SB2567 | Mississippi Health Agency Reorganization Act of 2017 - give governor the power to appoint the executive directors of several agencies, including the Health Department and the Mental Health Department, among others. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2572 | Abolish certain boards and commissions that have not met in more than a year. Passed Senate 51-0. |
| SB2632 | Prohibit state agencies from using state funds to hire contract lobbyists. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2634 | Transfer BP Settlement Funds into Gulf Coast New Restoration Reserve Fund. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2642 | Require state agencies to report to the Legislative Budget Office any "Maintenance of Effort" agreements or "Memoranda of Understanding" between the agency and the federal government. Passed Senate 51-0. |
| SB2645 | Impose moratorium on the acquisition of State vehicles. Passed Senate 51-0. |
| SB2689 | Prohibit personal use of campaign funds. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2846 | Provide standards for state agencies to follow regarding Requests for Proposals (RFPs). Awaits Senate Floor. |
Business |
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| HB 883 | Authorize natural gas public utilities that are rate-regulated to undertake economic development activities. Passed House 119-0 |
| HB 928 | Allow Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements to allow empoyers to provide health insurance while limiting its cost. Passed House 117-2. |
| HB1076 | Allow counties and cities in high-poverty or high-unemployment areas to exempt an area within their jurisdiction to exempt businesses from certain regulations, in an effort to draw investment into these communities. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1322 | Authorize small craft breweries to sell light wine or beer they produce on the premises of the brewery. Passed House 94-23. |
| SB2542 | Authorize natural gas public utilities that are rate-regulated to undertake economic development activities. Passed Senate 51-0 |
| Crime and Courts | |
| HB 645 | Increase penalties for capital and first-degree murder committed against police officers. It differs from the Senate version in that it does not place this under the "hate crimes" statute. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 805 | Allow challenges to MS laws to be filed in any county circuit court, not only in Hinds County (which is the current requirement). The Chief Justice of teh MS Supreme Court would then appoint a judge to hear the arguments in whatever location he or she chooses. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1033 | Remove the automatic action of sending criminals to prison if they miss a payment on their fines; prohibit suspending driver licenses for crimes that do not involve driving. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1039 | Creats severe penalties and prevents due process for alleged sexual assault perpetrators on college campuses. Awaits House Floor. |
| SB2302 | "Ban the Box" & expunction: Prohibit employers from asking on employment applications about criminal convictions. They may ask that in interviews, but cannot preemptively ask. This and other provisions of the bill are part of the recommendatinos of the "Re-Entry Council" made up of judges, attorneys, and others seeking to enable former offenders to gain employment and thus reduce the likelihood of commiting another crime. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2469 | "Blue, Red, and Med Lives Matter": Places violent offenses against law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel under the "hate crimes" law. Passed Senate 37-13. |
| SB2710 | Prohibit sanctuary cities and require local cooperation with federal immigration control. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2842 | Authorize mental health court intervention programs. Passed Senate 51-0. |
| SB2907 | Criminalize the posting or other sharing of explicit photos or videos without the subject's consent. Awaits Senate Floor. |
Education |
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| HB 32 | Require appointment (rather than election) of school superintendents in the event of vacancy in elected office before January 1, 2019, when all superintendents must be appointed. Passed House 113-4 and Senate 49-2. Signed into law by the Governor. |
| HB 263 | Require school districts to adopt policies to notify parents of alleged bullying incidents involving their children. Also broadens the definition of bullying to include words or actions that "exploit an imbalance of power" between the perpetrator and the victim. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 267 | Elect all school boards during statewide general election or presidential election for four-year term. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 293 | Reduce the number of days in a scholastic year from 180 to 170. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 312 | Authorize inclusion of hunter safety education program in school curriculum. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 433 | Require citizenship exam as part of U.S. History or American Government courses. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 442 | Revise the qualifications for school superintendents to allow someone with a master's degree, or a bachelors degree if he or she has at least 10 years of management experience, to be appointed as a superintendent. The latter is only an option where all members of the school board that appoints the superintendent are elected. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 503 | Direct the State Board of Education to incorporate cursive writing into elementary education curriculum. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 544 | Authorize the State Dept of Education to issue Nontraditional Route Standard Licenses to certain teachers and administrators with advanced degrees. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 866 | Limit the number of days a student may be required to take standardized assessments: State-required tests no more than 3 days; for district tests, no more than 20. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 875 | Revise the process of state school accreditation in failing school districts through a process of district transformation. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 905 | Require uniform accounting system for all school districts to address local, state and federal funds. Also, transfer audit powers from State Auditor to the State Department of Education. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1036 | Expand eligibility for the MS Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship to 12th grade (it's now 6th), as would HB1046, but also expand the universe of schools at which the scholarship may be used. Also requires a school district to test a student for dyslexia if a parent requests it. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1046 | Expand eligibility for the MS Dyslexia Therapy Scholarship to 12th grade (it's now 6th). Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1050 | Allow unspent funds from a special-needs education scholarship account to remain in the account to be used the following school year. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1224 | Exempt school districts with "A" and "B" accountability ratings from certain duties. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1227 | Discontinue MS Statewide Teacher Appraisal Rubric (M-STAR) and require local districts to adopt teacher evaluation system. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1294 | Revise education funding formula. So far, this bill simply includes the current law with no changes, in order to have all the necessary "code sections" necessary once they decide what to propose. Awaits House Floor. |
| SB2036 | Sets all school board elections to be held in November general elections beginning in 2019. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2042 | Establish Early Childhood Services Interagency Coordinating Council. Considered on Senate Floor but was sent back to committee, which effectively killed it. |
| SB2273 | Direct the State Board of Education to incorporate cursive writing into elementary education curriculum. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2328 | Increase minimum GPA to qualify for the MS Resident Tuition Assistance Grant Program (M-TAG). Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2398 | Revise the qualifications for school superintendents, but differently from HB442. This bill would require at least 6 years of classroom or administrative experience, at least 3 of which must have been as a principal of a school rated A or B or a school that improved at least a letter grade. However, the State Board of Education may approve rules that allow someone without direct experience to be a superintendent. Passed Senate 34-17. |
| SB2431 | Authorize the State Board of Education to place failing school districts into "District Transformation Status." Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2459 | Expands compulsory school age from the current 6-17 to the ages of 5-18. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2461 | Require school district consolidation in Perry County. Passed Senate 33-18. |
| SB2463 | Require school district consolidation in Chickasaw County. Passed Senate 35-16. |
| SB2607 | Revise education funding formula. So far, this bill simply includes the current law with no changes, in order to have all the necessary "code sections" necessary once they decide what to propose. Awaits Senate Floor. |
Elections |
|
| HB 228 | Authorize pre-election day voting. Passed House 113-8. |
| HB 373 | Allow first-time voters to register online. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 467 | An almost-300 page bill to revise election laws. Awaits House Floor. |
| SB2468 | An almost-300 page bill to revise election laws. Awaits Senate Floor. |
Family |
|
| HB 853 | Revise Power of Attorney to authorize parents to delegate care and custody of a child. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1210 | Require Youth Court to provide redacted copy of child's record to child's parent/guardian upon request of the parent/guardian. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1298 | Create MS Advisory Council on Faith-based Initiatives. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1451 | Increase fee for marriage certificates from $10 to $20, and for processing marriage license applications, from $20 to $30. House voted 70-47, but it needed 71 votes. It was later reconsidered and approved 84-29. |
| SB2311 | Create MS Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, to provide accounts for individuals with disabilities. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2342 | Termination of parental rights - technical corrections. Passed Senate 48-1. |
| SB2483 | Divorce - add 2-year separation as a ground for. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2520 | Require Youth Court to provide redacted copy of child's record to child's parent/guardian upon request of the parent/guardian. Passed Senate 51-0. |
| SB2514 | Create MS Advisory Council on Faith-based Initiatives. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2680 | Clarify alternative of relative care for abused and neglected children. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2695 | Sheriff or police chief to notify parent or guardian of minor released after arrest. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2703 | Divorce - add domestic violence as a ground for. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2704 | Increase marriage license processing fee from $20 to $50. Awaits Senate Floor. |
Health |
|
| HB 318 | Authorize grants to rural hospitals to help them stay alive or adjust to new opportunities. Passed House 113-8. |
| HB 909 | Require State Health Plan to cover annual pap smears and PSA tests. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 926 | Allow the University of MS Medical Center to form Health Care Collaboratives - joint ventures that are exempt from antitrust laws, to the extent possible, as well as the Open Meetings and Public Records Acts. Awaits House Floor. |
| SB2214 | Allow acupuncturists to provide care without a referral from a physician if they have been practicing in MS for at least 5 years. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2511 | Provide for the licensing of Naturopathic medicine practitioners. Awaits Senate Floor. |
| SB2610 | Clarify the allowable use of Cannabidiol in research of seizures and other medical conditions. Awaits Senate Floor. |
Regulation |
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| HB 539 | Require seat belts for all passengers. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB 967 | Regulate and tax fantasy sports games in the same way the state regulates and taxes casinos. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1076 | Allow counties and cities in high-poverty or high-unemployment areas to exempt an area within their jurisdiction to exempt businesses from certain regulations, in an effort to draw investment into these communities. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1216 | Direct agencies to report on laws and regulations that were put in place as a result of Obamacare, and the impact of those laws and regulations. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1265 | Require all state agency rules to be repealed after certain time unless the agency readopts them through the normal public-comment process. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1425 | Require occupational licensing boards, if they are controlled by people who are in the industry they regulate - to submit their proposed regulations and enforcement actions to the governor before they are finalized. This is in response to a US Supreme Court ruling regarding executive power that is exercised independent of a governor, if the boards are controlled "active market participants." Awaits House Floor. |
| SB2896 | Regulate and tax fantasy sports games in the same way the state regulates and taxes casinos. Awaits Senate Floor. |
Tax |
|
| HB 131 | Authorize the Department of Revenue to compromise and settle certain tax liabilities. Passed House 119-0. |
| HB 480 | Require out-of-state sellers who do not have a presence in MS to collect "use tax" (similar to sales tax) on purchases made by Mississippi residents. Any money collected from this requirement would be used for road and bridge repair, with 70% going to the state department of transportation and 30% going to local governments. Originally passed House 77-40. A normally-routine procedural vote to send it on to the Senate failed, leaving the bill in limbo for the moment. |
| HB 687 | Allow public community and junior colleges to collect a debt by obtaining from the Dept of Revenue a set off against a debtor's state tax refund. Because of where it appears in the MS Code, it would also allow community and junior college officials to obtain the state and federal tax returns of the debtor. Passed House 104-14. |
| HB 699 | Authorize the Dept of Revenue to disclose certain taxpayer information to law enforcement entities. Brought up on House Floor but debate has been suspended on it. |
| HB 711 | Extend authority of Dept of Revenue to approve applications for certain "rebates" given to Hollywood and other producers under the MS Motion Picture Incentive Act. Passed House 107-15. |
| HB 804 | Require MS Gaming Commission to establish a lottery. Awaits House Floor. |
Welfare |
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| HB1090 | Requires Medicaid to contract with a company to identify dead people and non-Mississippi residents who are on the Medicad rolls, among other provisions to combat fraud in welfare programs. Awaits House Floor. |
| HB1186 | Require Medicaid to apply for waivers from Federal requirements in order to conduct pilot projects to best meet needs and control costs. Awaits House Floor. |
| SB2330 | Requires Medicaid to contract with a company to identify dead people and non-Mississippi residents who are on the Medicad rolls. Awaits Senate Floor. |
Budget and Taxes
This fiscal year there was a significant boost in state government revenue. While surpluses ideally should be returned to taxpayers, the Legislature did at least stabilize the budget to guard against tax increases in the future. (more…)
Education: Best bills of the session
The 2013 session was heralded as the education session and revealed quite a bit about how far the legislature was willing to go - or not go - in pursuit of fundamental education reform. To their credit, legislators passed a modest charter school bill that allows charters in D and F districts. In addition, they passed a bill ending social promotion for third graders who cannot read. (more…)
Charter schools are nonprofit educational organizations that are public schools. As such, they:
(more…)
2012 Session | Education Bills Recap: Mississippi Students Denied Choice Yet Again
As far as education policy goes, the low point of the 2012 session was the failure of charter school legislation in the House. In addition to charters, legislators introduced several other bills that would have expanded educational freedom in Mississippi. These include a bill to provide scholarships to low-income students to attend the school of their choice; a special needs voucher bill; and an open enrollment public school choice bill. (more…)
I have some great news, and some bad news.
First, the bad news. Charter school legislation is dead for this legislative session. Thousands of children will go another year without being able to escape the schools that are failing to meet their needs. (more…)