This week’s legislative report covers both the seventh and eighth weeks of the legislative session. The seventh week marked the half way point of the 2022 Mississippi legislative session and saw one deadline pass and two others quickly approach. Monday, February 14 was the deadline to dispose of motions to reconsider general bills and constitutional amendments originating in each chamber’s own house. Both the House and Senate worked hard to consider floor action on appropriation bills as the deadline for original action on those bills originating in each chamber’s own house was Wednesday, February 23.
The eighth week of the session saw a heated but healthy debate on the Senate floor regarding
SB 3164, which is the Senate’s version of the tax cut bill. The Senate’s plan is not a full elimination of the state’s individual income tax. The plan also does not raise the sales tax or any other excise tax but will phase out the 4 percent income tax bracket over the next four years will cut the sales tax on groceries from 7 percent to 5 percent, and will eliminate the state’s fee for car tags. Some citizens may also receive reimbursements under the Senate’s plan. The bill passed by a vote of 40 to 11 and will now be sent to the House. Both the House and the Senate have passed their own versions of a tax cut bill. These bills will likely end up in conference where an agreement will need to be reached between both sides.
Committee meetings also began to reoccur during the eighth week of the session, as both the House and Senate have until March 1 to consider and pass general bills that originated in the other chamber. Both the Senate and House Education Committees met to discuss a variety of bills that were double referred to both their respective education and appropriation committees. The bills taken up by the Senate Education Committee were:
-
HB 832 is the Mental Awareness Program for School Act which would require mental awareness and trauma-informed approaches in educator preparation programs.
-
HB 879 is the Education Enhancement fund which involves teacher procurement cards. The committee passed a strike all in order to replace the bill with the Senate’s version which states that the cards are to be received by September 1 and allows the cards to be used through April 1. This version also gives a digital option for easier use of the cards.
-
HB 881 aims to help alleviate an instructor shortage at the DuBard School at the University of Southern Mississippi. A reverse repealer was added to the bill.
-
HB 884 is the Accelerate Mississippi Scholarship Program which would provide students with financial assistance for dual-enrollment and dual-credit options.
-
HB 1246 aims to revise the funding for the Early Learning Collaboratives in the state. The bill would increase full time student funding from $2,150 to $2,500 per student and part time student funding from $1,075 to $1,250.
-
HB 1312 would provide funding for school districts to refurbish or replace district devices that were granted under the Equity in Distance Learning Act. The committee adopted a strike all that would mirror the language of SB 2844.
A bill not taken up by the Senate Education Committee was
HB 530, which is the House’s version of the teacher pay raise. The House Education Committee also did not take up the Senate’s version of the teacher pay raise which is
SB 2444. If neither of these bills are taken up by the March 1 deadline, then
SB 2443 will be the only vehicle alive for the teacher pay raise. Below are a few additional bills that we are watching closely:
-
SB 2105 which seeks to increase board member pay by a minimum of $4,000 but could be even more depending on the student enrollment of each district.
-
SB 2415 which brings forward the Mississippi code sections for the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP) for possible amendment.
-
SB 2087 which will require all regular and special board meetings to be broadcast via livestream on the front page of the official website of the public body or on a designated government channel.
-
SB 2083 which provides that if a public body enters into executive session, that body must invite any member of the legislature that is present to stay during the executive session.
