3/28/22 -4/5/22 Weekly Sessions Recap
Week of March 28, 2022
This was the thirteenth week of the 2022 Legislative Session. Legislators worked through the weekend
to finalize the state budget and other bills. Most of the budget was not completed by Monday’s
deadline, so the legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution 89 extending the session by a few days
and suspending the deadlines for certain bills.
Though the hours at the Capitol were long, legislators worked extremely hard. The House adopted more
than 80 conference reports on the floor.
Both the House and Senate redistricting plans, JR 1 and JR 202 respectively, were also publicly unveiled
this week. Joint Resolution 1 was introduced on Tuesday, and only one amendment was adopted.
Amendment 1 to JR 1 by Representative Zakiya Summers (D – Hinds) swaps some precincts in House
Districts 67 and 68. JR 1 passed as amended 81-38 before being sent to the Senate. Joint Resolution
202 was taken up on Thursday. The resolution passed with little debate by a vote of 68-49. Both maps
can be viewed on the MARIS website.
By the end of the week, it became clear that work on the state budget was not complete. The House
passed House Concurrent Resolution 90, which further extends the date of adjourning sine die (the last
day of the legislative session). This was done to ensure that the budget is finalized before session
concludes. The original date of sine die was Sunday, April 3; per HCR 90, it has been pushed to Sunday,
April 10 at midnight. Legislators hope to wrap up business by the beginning of next week.
Week of April 4, 2022
This was the final week of the 2022 Legislative Session. Legislators completed the last day on Tuesday,
April 5, after working past the initial deadlines to negotiate the more than $7 billion state budget. Many
monumental pieces of legislation made it through the process this year. Bills are either awaiting the
governor’s signature or have already been signed.
The largest tax cut in state history will be realized thanks to the House’s Mississippi Tax Freedom Act.
Each year, $525 million will be cut until 2026. By that time, Mississippi will have the fifth best marginal
tax rate of states with a personal income tax. This legislation provides a path for total elimination of the
income tax.
Mississippi teachers will be getting their largest pay raise in state history under the House’s START Act.
The average pay raise for teachers is $5,140, and teacher assistants will get a bump of $2,000. Starting
salary for Mississippi teachers is now well above both the regional and national averages.
The Legislature appropriated $1.5 billion in federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
(ARPA) to water, sewer, broadband, healthcare and other needs.
Under the Mississippi Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, no employer can pay women less for doing the
same amount of work as a man. Before this session, Mississippi did not have any equal pay laws on the
books.
New lines were drawn for Congressional, State Senate and State House districts, which uphold the “one
person, one vote” principle. Each State House district contains approximately 24,000 people.
The Pregnancy Resource Act provides a $3.5 million tax credit to nonprofits that operate as a crisis
pregnancy center.
Under Parker’s Law, a person giving or selling fentanyl that leads to the recipient’s death could serve 20
years to life behind bars.
The Broadband Accessibility Act will expand coverage to Mississippians with little to no internet access.
The Bill Kinkade FAITH Scholarship Program will provide financial assistance for postsecondary education
to all current and former foster children who entered the program on or after age 13.
Mississippians will now have a new state song. “One Mississippi” by country artist and Greenville native
Steve Azar will be Mississippi’s contemporary state song. The law also creates the Mississippi State
Songs Study Committee, which will decide on official state songs in other genres.
Passed early in the session, the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act outlines a medical marijuana program
that will treat conditions such as cancer, Parkinson’s, ALS and epilepsy, to name a few.
Proposed legislation that did not make it through the bill-making process includes restoring the ballot
initiative process, expanding postpartum Medicaid coverage and privatizing liquor sales in the state.
The House adjourned sine die on Tuesday evening. This concluded the 2022 Legislative Session, which
was the third session in the four-year term.
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