2023 LEGISLATIVE SESSION UPDATES

2/24/23 Update

The eighth week of the 2023 Legislative Session has concluded.

Wednesday, Feb. 22 marked the deadline for original floor action on House appropriations and revenue bills. Most of these bills were taken up last week, but a few were discussed before Wednesday’s deadline.

House Committees also began to meet again this week to discuss general bills originating in the Senate. Before the deadline on Tuesday, Feb. 28, Senate bills will come out of House committees and onto the House floor for discussion. While the deadline to pass these Senate general bills on the floor is a few weeks away, more than 30 Senate bills were discussed this week.

House & Senate Bills of Note that passed this week:
  • HB 1671, which seeks to provide tax credits for businesses and individuals for making contributions to crisis pregnancy centers.
  • HBl 1721, which seeks to appropriate funding to the Department of Health to provide funding to Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in Jackson to establish a burn center.
  • HB 1715, which seeks to appropriate funds to the Department of Health to fund the ARPA Rural Water Associations Infrastructure Grant Program.
  • SB 2562, which would allow public and private partnerships to establish electric vehicle charging stations and would allow the Mississippi Transportation Commission to provide grants to companies that provide electric vehicle charging stations.
  • SB 2569, which would allow and regulate autonomous vehicles in the state.
  • SB 2853, would prohibit the state from purchasing drones made in China and would require that small, unmanned aircrafts only be purchased and serviced from American companies.
  • SB 2433, which would exempt eligible homeowner associations from regulation of public utilities if the neighborhood has access to a well and can provide its own water to residents.
Please refer to the attachment for a list of bills we are currently monitoring on behalf of your organization, bills that have died in committee have now been removed from your list. 

Tracking List

2/17/23 Update

The seventh week of the 2023 Legislative Session has concluded.

On Tuesday Speaker Philip Gunn swore in the newest member of the House, Rep. Perry Bailey (District 23). The only remaining vacant House seat is District 72 at this time.

On Wednesday, a group of transgender youth/supporters met in front of the Capitol Building to express their opposition to HB 1125, The REAP Act, (REAP) Act, which would ban MS doctors from performing gender-confirmation surgery or prescribing related drugs to those under age 18.

This week, collectively, House representatives worked on appropriations and revenue bills. All general bills were addressed as of last week.

The mentioned appropriations bills will determine the amount of state funding to be directed to each state agency. The House is also responsible for looking at the anticipated budgets of nearly 50 state agencies. These bills represent half of the state’s budget, the other half is currently being considered by the Senate and will be sent to the House for consideration in the weeks to come.

Budget bills include reverse repealers, a measure that ensures that each bill can’t become law without going to a conference committee for further revisions. With reverse repealers in place, many appropriations bills were grouped together and voted on in a “block” to help speed up the process.

The FY23 budgets for state agencies are recommended by the Legislative Budget Office. Budgets will not be finalized until the conference deadline of Saturday, March 25.

At yesterday’s press conference, Governor Tate Reeves announced $57 million in new funding to develop project-ready sites for future economic development. This proposed infrastructure investment represents nearly $1.3 billion in transportation capacity project funding. Included in the funding is an additional investment of $100 million for the Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Program, all 300 municipalities and 82 counties across Mississippi are eligible to apply for.

Bills of Note that passed this week:

  • House Bill 1648, which seeks to increase the amount of tax credits that can be allocated under the Mississippi Small Business Investment Company Act.

The deadline for House appropriations and revenue bills is next Wednesday, February 22nd. After the deadline House committees will start considering general bills that passed through the Senate.

2/3/2023 Update

The fifth week of the 2023 Legislative Session has concluded.

On Monday, Governor Reeve’s State of the Union speech highlighted many accomplishments across the state, including: an all-time high graduation rate, an all-time low unemployment rate, and record business investments.

On Tuesday Committee meetings discussing House bills concluded due to the general bills deadline. Rep. Alyce Clarke (D – Jackson) also announced to the House floor that after 38 years of service, she will not be seeking re-election this November. First elected in March 1985, Clarke was the first African American woman to serve in the Mississippi Legislature.

This week House Members met for longer periods of time to discuss over 100 bills that made it out of Committees and onto the calendar.

Bills of note that passed this week include:

  • House Bill 1168, which seeks to mandate allocations of the one percent sales tax in Jackson (which generates $15mill annually) to go directly into repairing the city water system. Currently, this revenue goes to water, sewer, roads and bridges. This was the most debated bill of the week, and after an hour of debate and two failed amendments, HB 1168 passed, then was held on a motion to reconsider;
  • House Bill 1365, which seeks to ensure assistant teachers will receive their pay raises from last year, and a new salary minimum of $20,000;
  • House Bill 1369, which seeks to adjust the funding formula of MAEP from being based on average student attendance to student enrollment;
  • House Bill 1373, which seeks to allow school boards to permit students who wish to participate in religious activities during the school day be excused with parental consent. These activities would not take place on school premises and allows parents to take a child to a religious activity for one hour a week without repercussions;
  • House Bill 989, which would remove Child Protection Services from the Department of Human Services and make it a separate agency;
  • House Bill 1167, which would revise the residential builder and remodeler license examination requirements for certain applicants. Currently, builders must pass an exam to obtain a license. This bill provides an alternative pathway by removing the exam requirement if the applicant has been working for over 5 years and has 3 letters of recommendation;
  • House Bill 1392, which seeks to require the Department of Human Services to establish and maintain the Mississippi Vulnerable Persons Abuse Registry;
  • House Bill 384, which seeks to allow local authorities to permit package retail sales on Sundays from 1-6 p.m. This would only apply to wet counties and municipalities under the Local Option Beverage Control Law;
  • House Bill 735, would give retail store owners a tax break by not collecting state and local taxes on the 2.5% interchange fee owed to banks and credit card companies when a customer uses a credit card;
  • House Bill 1318, which would revise provisions related to baby drop-off and safe haven laws. The maximum age of the infant would be changed to 90 days, and municipalities and counties would be able to sponsor a baby safety device, or “baby box”;
  • House Bill 1315, which would regulate pornographic media exposure to minors by requiring commercial entities to conduct age verification of the consumer;
  • House Bill 1371, which would make it a felony for therapists to have sexual contact with current patients or former patients after up to twelve months of receiving services. The bill passed and was then held on a motion to reconsider;

Bills of note that passed unanimously:

  • House Bill 1170, which would authorize the Department of Revenue to issue electronic titles and liens for motor vehicles and manufactured homes;
  • House Bill 1293, which seeks to mandate state agencies giving preference to Mississippi-made drones, and drones made in China would be prohibited;

General bills will continue to be debated on the floors until the Feb. 9 deadline. After that discussion will move to appropriations and revenue bills, and bills originating in the Senate. Please refer to the attachment for a list of bills we are currently monitoring on behalf of your organization, bills that have died in committee have now been removed from your list. Thank you for choosing Ten One Strategies!

1/27/2023 Update

The fourth week of the 2023 Legislative Session has concluded.

The House passed House Concurrent Resolution 31 which authorizes a joint session of the Legislature this Monday evening to hear Governor Tate Reeves’s annual State of the State address. The address will take place on the south steps of the Capitol, or in the case of inclement weather, in the House Chamber.

Other bills of note that passed this week include:

  • HB 626, which seeks to authorize county boards of supervisors to expend certain funds in the last six months of their term in office if the county has a project funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to meet the federal spending deadline in 2026;
  • HB 858, The Mississippi Regional Preneed Disaster Clean Up Act, which seeks to authorize county boards or governing bodies of municipalities to enter into joint bid agreements for disaster clean-up to prepare for disaster-related events;
  • Appropriations bills HBl 603 & HB 1088 both related to the state budget. They were necessary to authorize work on the budget, and will be finalized towards the end of session;
  • HCR 10 was introduced and passed on Wednesday. The concurrent resolution honors the late Representative Noal Akins who passed away in October. He served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 2004 to 2012. Representative Akins is the father of Senator Nicole Akins Boyd (R – Oxford).

Again, committees will meet even more frequently as the Legislature approaches the next deadline on this Tuesday, January 31st. After next week, no additional bills will be added to the House calendar for consideration. More than 150 bills have made it out of committee so far, and you can expect several more to report out of committees Monday and Tuesday.

After Tuesday, members will begin to meet in session for longer periods to discuss the bills that made it out of their respective committees.

Bills must be passed out of committee before they are considered by each chamber of the legislature. Please refer to the attachment for a list of bills we are currently monitoring on behalf of your organization.

1/20/2023 Update

The third week of the 2023 Legislative Session has concluded.

On January 16th the deadline for introducing general bills and amendments passed, and committees will now meet to discuss these bills.

Although most work is still happening in committees, several pieces of legislation reached the House floor this week. House Bill 1125, the Regulate Experimental Adolescent Procedures (REAP) Act, would regulate transgender procedures and surgeries on children under age 18. Proponents of the bill said that this would prevent children from making permanent decisions they could regret later, while opponents argued that this was a step back for transgender rights. After lengthy debate, the bill passed by a vote of 78-28 and has been sent to the Senate.

Other bills discussed this week include:
  • HB 722, which seeks to exclude fentanyl testing materials from definition of “paraphernalia” under controlled substances;
  • HB 516, which seeks to decrease the minimum number of years of law enforcement experience required to be a conservation officer;
  • HB 423, which seeks to authorize the Department of Finance and Administration to purchase the old First Christian Church building in the Capitol Complex Improvement District;
  • HB 366, which seeks to name the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Central Office as the Sam G. Polles State Office Building.
On Thursday, the House was visited by the Louisville High School Football Team. Coach Tyrone Shorter and the team were honored with House Resolution 16, which commends them upon winning the 2022 MHSAA Class 4A State Championship.

Next week, committees will meet even more frequently as the Legislature approaches the next deadline on January 31st. After Tuesday, Jan. 31, no additional bills will be added to the House calendar for consideration, and members will meet in session to discuss the bills that have made it out of committees. Bills must be passed out of committee before they are considered by each chamber of the legislature. Please refer to the attachment for a list of bills we are currently monitoring on behalf of your organization.

01/13/2023 Update

The second week of the 2023 Legislative Session has concluded.

This week Governor Reeves sent a letter to all MS agencies issuing a ban on TikTok for all state-issued phones and other devices, mandating the application’s removal no later than January 31, 2023.

Though early in the session, several bills were discussed on the House floor.

On Wednesday House Bill 370 was introduced by Rep. Shanda Yates, and garnered much debate. The bill seeks to authorize removal of municipal elected officials using the same process of removal of county elected officers. To remove a municipal official under HB 370, 30 % of eligible voters would sign a petition that would then be sent to the governor. The governor would then appoint a panel of three judges to determine the validity of the petition. If granted, an election would be held for voters to decide on removal. Proponents of HB 370 stated that it is another form of checks and balances on municipal officials that all other elected officials in the state are subject to. Opponents argued that 30 percent of voters is not a majority, and elections every four years are the way to hold officials accountable. The bill was laid on the table subject to call.

House Bill 266 would name the Department of Public Safety Headquarters office in honor of the late Commissioner David R. Huggins, who also served as chief of the Mississippi Highway Patrol. During the floor action on the bill, Amendment 1 was introduced naming the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory in Pearl after Representative Tom Weathersby (R – Florence). The bill passed as amended on Thursday by a unanimous vote of 116-0, and Representative Weathersby received a standing ovation from his fellow House members.

On Thursday two bills from the Ways and Means Committee were introduced. House Bill 390,  which seeks to change provisions regarding the historic property income tax credit, and House Bill 401, which seeks to revise the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Commission Law relating to a manufacturer’s ownership of a motor vehicle dealership. Both bills passed the House by a large majority.

While some bills have been assigned to committee, most are still waiting on assignment. The deadline for the introduction of general bills and constitutional amendments is Monday, January 16, so many committees are waiting until all bills are filed to hold meetings.  Floor action will continue to pick up next week as bills are brought out of committee.  Bills must be passed out of committee before they are considered by each chamber of the legislature. Please refer to the attachment for a list of bills we are currently monitoring on behalf of your organization.

01/06/2023 Update

This week the MS Legislature commenced the 2023 Legislative session on Tuesday, January 3rd. The House and Senate will work for roughly 90 days and establish policy impacting Mississippians.

This week the Republican Legislative Leadership led an attempt to override Governor Reeves’ 2022 line item vetoes, but a vote was never called due to lack of a two-thirds majority support in the Senate, although the House did have majority to override. 

Speaker of the House Phillip Gunn has previously announced that he will not be seeking re-election this year.

Legislators spent the week qualifying for reelection such as Governor Tate Reeves and Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann.

Over the last few months, lawmakers have held hearings on different policy issues that will be debated this session.

Speaker Pro Tempore Jason White has stated that tax cuts, health care issues such as Postpartum Medicaid coverage, and improving state water/sewage systems will all likely be main topics of discussion this session.

On Tuesday, January 3rd, Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn addressed his stance on tax reduction. Speaker Gunn stated he's open to discussions on how to lower state taxes and help Mississippi tax payers retain more of their income, in addition to discussions on reducing the top income tax bracket to 3.75% or 3.5%, if total elimination of the tax is not possible.

While some bills have been assigned to committee, most are still waiting on assignment. The deadline for the introduction of general bills and constitutional amendments is Monday, January 27, so many committees are waiting until all bills are filed to hold meetings.  Floor action will pick up next week as bills are brought out of committee.  Bills must be passed out of committee before they are considered by each chamber of the legislature. Please refer to the attachment for a list of bills we are currently monitoring on behalf of your organization.