Committees met frequently during the fourth week of the 2017 legislative session, as next Tuesday’s deadline to have House Bills out of their corresponding committees quickly approaches. After Tuesday, Jan. 31, no additional bills will be added to the House calendar for consideration, and members of the House will begin meeting as a whole for longer hours to discuss the bills that made it out of committees. While most work was done in committee meetings this week, a few bills were introduced to the House floor on Tuesday and Wednesday for discussion. House Bill 555, which initially failed last week by a vote of 58-60, was reintroduced to the floor after a motion to reconsider kept the bill o
The state legislature had a full schedule during the third week of the 2017 legislative session, which began Monday with a joint Education and Appropriations committee meeting, where the consulting group, EdBuild presented their recommendations to revamp the state’s education funding formula. First and foremost, EdBuild suggested increasing the base student cost, or the amount of money used to educate the average student, with weights added for students with specific needs. Weights would be included for Low-Income students, English Language Learners, Special Education students, gifted students, students in the lowest and highest grade levels and students in rural or sparse school districts.
Several committees held their first meeting of the 2017 Regular Legislative Session this week, and four bills made their way to the House floor for discussion. On Wednesday, the Rules Committee introduced http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us…/pdf/history/HB/HB0479.xml House Bill 479, which defines and outlines usage guidelines for campaign contributions by any elected official or candidate. The bill prohibits the personal use of campaign contributions and provides acceptable options for how to use leftover money at the conclusion of an elected official or candidate’s service or campaign. Enforcement of this legislation would be overseen by the Mississippi Ethics Commission (MSEC). The bill passe
On January 3, 2017, the 132nd Mississippi State Legislature began the second session in the four-year term. This was a familiar week for many, but some newcomers joined the House of Representatives as a result of special elections. Abe Hudson, D-Shelby; Debra Gibbs, D-Jackson; Donnie Scoggin, R-Ellisville and John Glen Corley, R-Lumberton joined the ranks of representatives for the 2017 Regular Session. The year promises to be a special one for the state as Mississippi celebrates its 200th year of statehood on December 10, 2017. The Speaker of the House and Lieutenant Governor held a joint press conference on Tuesday to kick off Mississippi’s Bicentennial Celebration, which will occur throug
