The Legislative Report Header
April 1, 2022
The Legislative Report
The final regular week of the 2022 Mississippi Legislative Session continued after a busy weekend. Legislators worked to meet the remaining deadlines. On Sunday, March 27, legislators finalized and approved the conference report for HB 531, the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2022. Eliminating the income tax has been one of the most highly debated topics between the House and Senate since last year’s session. Both sides could not come to an agreement during the 2021 session, but this year multiple versions of a tax cut plan were proposed. Conferees met over the weekend to agree upon the final plan in which the highlights are listed below:
 
  • The 4% tax bracket will be eliminated starting in 2023.
  • The 5% tax bracket will be cut by fractions of a percent yearly before reaching 4% by 2026.
  • Mississippi will have the fifth-lowest marginal tax rate for states that have income tax.
  • The plan will remove $525 million from the General Fund by 2026.
 
Though there were talks of other adjustments such as cutting car tags in half, temporary suspension of the gasoline tax, and the reduction of the grocery tax. None of those provisions made it into the new plan under HB 531. Language in the bill also calls for legislators to reexamine the plan in 2026 to look at a complete elimination of the personal income tax at that time. HB 531 is expected to be signed by the Governor by April 5th.
 
On Monday, March 28, both Speaker Gunn and Lt. Governor Hosemann said that the session would need to be extended. HC 89 was put forth by the House and approved on Tuesday by each chamber, which will extend the 2022 session. The resolution will extend the session by 30 days; however, both chambers have stated that the purpose for the extension is to handle remaining appropriation and revenue bills. They do not intend for the session to extend longer than a few days. Under the resolution, the new target SINE DIE date is April 6th.
 
Though the extension is mainly for budgetary bills, there are a few education bills that will be discussed. Those bills are:
 
  • HB 1168 – Requires school districts to provide gifted education for grades 7 and 8.
  • HB 1240 – Allows for additional training for school attendance officers.
  • HB 1313 – Provides financial assistance for children in foster care.
  • SB 2422 – Revises deadlines for teacher procurement cards.
Teacher Pay Raise Bill
Signed Into Law
Many bills have been sent to Governor Reeves’ desk for his signature, but one of the more important bills that has now been signed into law is HB 530, the teacher pay raise bill. On Wednesday, March 30, the Governor signed HB 530, ushering in a needed pay raise for the teachers and assistant teachers of Mississippi. This $246 million commitment by the legislature is the largest pay raise for teachers in Mississippi’s history and will take effect during the 2022-23 school year.
Deadlines
  • Sunday, April 3, 2022 — Original SINE DIE
  • Wednesday, April 6, 2022 — Expected SINE DIE after extension
Day at the Capitol
MSBA’s Day at the Capitol has been postponed until further notice.
Questions?
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austin gilbert
Austin Gilbert, Esq.
MSBA Policy & Legislative Services Manager
601-924-2001