Last week began with Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann giving an update on the 2021 legislative session at the Stennis Institute’s press forum on Monday. The Lieutenant Governor mentioned a number of key issues that the Senate wanted to address by the deadline, with one issue being the pay raise for teachers across the state. Mr. Hosemann stated that he is hoping SB 2001 will continue to make its way through the process and will eventually be passed in order to give teachers a well overdue pay increase. The Lieutenant Governor also discussed HB 1439 and its proposed changes to taxation in the state. He stated that the bill requires deep scrutiny, but he is open to discussion on the bill. The bill does seem to put more money in the pocket of individual taxpayers; however, one of the main goals for the Senate is to review all unintended consequences, such as the burden it may place on restaurants around the state that are just beginning to recover from COVID-19. Overall, the Lieutenant Governor said that HB 1439 may not make it through the Senate this year.

Tuesday was the deadline for committees to report general bills that originated in the other house. Any general bill not taken up by a committee by Tuesday’s deadline died on the calendar. The House Education Committee met on Tuesday and passed three bills. Those bills are:

The Senate Education Committee also met on Tuesday and passed a variety of bills. Some of those bills are:

However, the most important bill taken up by the Senate Education Committee was HB 852 which was one of the teacher pay raise bills presented this year. The Senate Education Committee met Tuesday afternoon and passed a strike-all amendment for HB 852. This amendment strikes the House’s original language from the bill and replaces it with the language from the Senate’s teacher pay raise bill, SB 2001. The House Education Committee did not take up SB 2001 which left the only vehicle for the teacher pay raise to reside within HB 1439 which seeks to establish the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2021. However, by passing HB 852, the Senate Education Committee kept alive a stand-alone bill for a pay increase for teachers across the state. HB 852 was then brought to the Senate floor, and the strike-all was passed unanimously by the Senate. As passed, HB 852 provides a $1,100 raise to teachers with 0-2 years of experience and a $1,000 increase for all other teachers. It also increases the minimum salary for assistant teachers by $1,000. The bill will now head back to the House.

The current deadlines for legislation are:

MSBA’s Day at the Capitol has been cancelled this year.