MAS Weekly Legislative Recap Newsletter

Week 5 - February 6

Regular Legislative Session

The Fifth week of the 2026 Regular Legislative Session has passed. The deadline for committees to report general bills and constitutional amendments originating in own house has passed. The deadline for original floor action on general bills and constitutional amendments originating in own house is Thursday Feb. 12^th.   

Municipal Inmates in County Jail Facilities Measure Passes Senate County Affairs Committee

Senate Bill 2432

Senate Bill 2432: This measure revises methods that counties and municipalities use to calculate costs for payments of housing municipal prisoners in county jails.

NOTE: This measure currently resides on the Senate Floor Calendar awaiting a Senate Floor Vote.

Further Note: This measure must be voted on by Feb. 12^th, or this measure would die on the calendar.



Please contact your local Senate delegation and ask for support and a vote in favor of this measure.  

Group Purchase Measures Passes Both

House & Senate Chamber

Senate Bill 2661 & House Bill 1525

Senate Bill 2661 & House Bill 1525: Both measures would all the Mississippi Association of Supervisors to establish a group purchasing program for the purchase of supplies, commodities and equipment. Participation in the proposed program will be strictly on a volunteer basis.

NOTE: Both measures have passed out of their respective committees, and both currently reside on their respective floor calendars.

Further Note: These measures must be voted on by Feb. 12^th, or both measures would die on the calendar.

Please contact both your House and Senate delegation and ask for support and a vote in favor of both measures.  

Both Chambers Passes County Radar

House Bill 1042 and Senate Bill 2614

House Bill 1042 & Senate Bill 2614: Both measures address county radar in different ways.

• House Bill 1042 authorizes the sheriff and his or her deputies in any county to use radar speed detection equipment upon the public streets, roads and highways where a work zone or school zone is designated.

• Senate Bill 2614 utilizes radar detection equipment based on a tiered population threshold and it prohibits speed traps.

NOTE: Both measures have passed out of their respective committees, and both currently reside on their respective floor calendars.

Measure Seeking to Improve Ambulance Patient Protection

House Bill 1657

House Bill 1657: This measure seeks to improve on an ambulance patient protection bill that passed two sessions ago. The existing law directs state-regulated health plans to honor ambulance rates established by local jurisdictions and sets payment standards for jurisdictions who have not set rates for their ambulance services by allowing for the GREATER OF billed charges OR 325% of the prevailing Medicare rate. 



HB 1657 would change the language to allow for the LESSOR of billed charges or a multiple of Medicare, which the ambulance industry supports, and which would be consistent with several other states. However, the bill would also lower the multiple to 200% of Medicare, which the ambulance industry does not support. The patient would have the same co-payments and deductibles, but health plans would have to pay less for the service. 

Virtually every other state that has passed similar legislation has used a multiple of 325% of Medicare, with a few going as high as 350% or 400%. Mississippi EMS providers are supporting changing the "greater of" language to "lessor of" but are not supportive of lowering the multiple of Medicare to 200%.

NOTE: This measure has passed the House Chamber by a vote of 116 to 2. This measure will now head to the Senate Chamber for consideration. 

The Peoples Access Act

Senate Bill 2259

Senate Bill 2259: This measure would require counties, cities, and other local public bodies to livestream their regular and special meetings online, with the video link clearly posted on the front page of the government’s website along with a detailed agenda.

If a local government fails to make a good-faith effort to livestream a meeting or properly post notice, any action taken at that meeting could be legally void, even if the decision itself was otherwise valid.

The bill also requires local governments to record and post meetings if technical problems occur and sets phased compliance deadlines based on the size of the municipality, placing new technology, staffing, and legal-compliance responsibilities directly on local governments.

NOTE: This measure currently resides on the Senate Floor Calendar. 

Local Improvement Project Claw Back Measure

House Bill 1652

House Bill 1652: This measure requires the return of unexpended funds and earned interest for the Local Improvement Projects measure passed in 2021.

NOTE: This measure has passed out the House Floor Chamber by a vote of 67 to 30 and will now head to the House Floor Calendar for consideration.

Further Note: This measure is currently held on a motion to reconsider.

Mississippi Emergency Communications Authority Act

Senate Bill 2650

Senate Bill 2650: This measure brings forward the full code section for the Mississippi Emergency Communications Authority Act.

NOTE: MAS staff observed the committee as they considered revisiting the governance committee established by last year's measure, where MAS holds representation. The committee also discussed potential legislative actions concerning local Emergency Communication Districts (ECDs).

Further Note: This measure passed the Senate Chamber by a vote of 52 to 0. It has been referred to the House Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency Committee. 

16^th Section Land Issue

House Bill 1593

House Bill 1593: This measure defines the rights of owners of land on which is located a body of water regarding Sixteenth Section Land. This measure is brought about due to a Supreme Court ruling that the public can openly utilize leased water on 16^th Section Land. Because of this ruling, counties will lose revenue from leases.

House Bill 1593 is intended to clarify and strengthen property and management rights over Sixteenth Section Lands when bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, navigable streams, or oxbow lakes are located on or within those lands. The goal is to ensure the Sixteenth Section School Trust Interest comes first and that the counties continue to receive the leasing revenue.

NOTE: This measure currently resides on the House Floor Calendar for consideration.

OPPOSE!!

Mississippi Video Service Act

House Bill 1664

House Bill 1664: This measure creates a statewide franchise authority. The Secretary of State would serve in a ministerial role. The language within this proposed new measure preempts and stripes various powers of county and municipal government, and it prohibits any franchise fee agreement negotiation above 5%.

NOTE: This measure passed the House Floor by a vote of 104 to 12. Additional Note: The House Chamber amended this measure with a “reverse repealer”, therefore this measure cannot be signed into law until the reverse repealer is removed. This reverse repealer is added to this measure for consideration of further changes.



MAS is OPPOSED to this measure

House and Senate will reconvene Monday.

Note: Bill numbers in bold and blue are hyperlinked to the bill.

*Copyrights. All rights reserved.

Authors: Steve Gray, MAS Gov't Affairs Dir & Deputy Dir. & Derrick Surrette, MAS Executive Dir.