Some toplines from the Mississippi legislative session this week:
School choice appears dead Ice storm aid hangs in the balance House-Senate GOP leadership relationship is historically icySchool choice: Going into the 2026 legislative session, school choice – using tax dollars for private schooling – was the big bugaboo issue. House Speaker Jason White and Gov. Tate Reeves deemed it issue No. 1. Senate leaders didn’t want it, but had a more modest proposal to make it easier for students to switch public school districts. But heading into the final month or so of the session, each chamber has snuffed out the other’s proposals. The only related item still kicking is a House-passed plan to double tax credits available for private school scholarships to $20 million over the next few years. Its fate in the Senate is unclear.
Ice storm aid: There are several proposals pending – $20 million in direct spending for MEMA, a recovery loan program and the state loaning Entergy $200 million for utility damages to prevent customer rate hikes. But there appears to be some disagreement on how the state can best help Mississippians and communities recover. Lawmakers heard from the state insurance commissioner that private claims for damages have topped $107 million and will grow.
House-Senate feuding: It’s something of a tradition for lawmakers and Capitol observers to proclaim nearly every session that House and Senate relations are “the worst we’ve ever seen.” But given the current state of affairs between the Republican administrations running the chambers since 2024, that may be on point. The two chambers, as has become the new custom, have killed most of each other’s major initiatives so far this session. Some lawmakers and observers are questioning whether Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Speaker Jason White are communicating at all, and whether the Legislature can set a budget by deadline.
Quote of the Week
“If you’re going to run for office and say that you are capable of running any level of government, you need to know how to use the damn internet.” – Rep. Shanda Yates of Jackson, discussing a bill that would require Mississippi candidates to file their campaign finance reports online.
In Brief
Education bills set to die
House Education Committee Chairman Rob Roberson, a Republican from Starkville, announced last week that the panel of representatives would not meet again this session.
That means, aside from two Senate education bills passed on Feb. 18, a handful of other measures are set to die. These include bills that would have given teachers money for classroom supplies earlier, required school boards to adopt policies restricting or banning cell phones in classrooms and ramped up initiatives to combat absenteeism.
There are no House bills still alive that address these issues.
The Senate Education Committee met and passed three House bills, including one that’s intended to make it easier for school districts to sell unused buildings. More than a dozen House education bills are still pending, but it’s not clear if the Senate committee will meet again, either.
The committee chairmen have until Tuesday to call meetings. – Devna Bose
State loans could stave off Entergy rate hikes
A bill passed the House last week would allow the state to issue bonds to loan Entergy money to repair its system after Winter Storm Fern, an effort to prevent rate hikes for customers from the damages.
Similar borrowing was provided for Mississippi Power Company after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
HB 4069 would give Entergy better rates on the borrowing than it could get on the commercial market. It’s estimated the company had $200 million to $250 million in damages from the storm. – Katherine Lin
Proposal would provide resource officers to private schools
A bill that would fund school resource officers at private and public schools with state dollars has passed the House.
HB 4065, authored by Republican Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar of Senatobia, would establish the Mississippi School Resource Officers School Safety Act. Under the proposed legislation, any school in the state can apply for the Department of Public Safety to pay part of the salary, up to $55,000, for one school resource officer.
The measure, which would cost $5 million for the first year, awaits consideration in the Senate. – Devna Bose
Bill would allow black bear hunting in MS
Lawmakers have advanced a bill during the legislative session that allows the Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Commission to create regulations for a bear hunting season that could begin during the 2027 hunting season.
SB 2436 allows the commission to establish a lottery system for issuing black bear hunting tags. The commission would determine how many tags to issue based on the current bear population. To participate, hunters would have to purchase a Mississippi hunting license and apply for a harvest tag through the lottery system.
Black bears were once nearly extinct in Mississippi and hunting them is currently prohibited.
The measure passed the Senate 49-3, and the House Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Committee passed it. The full House must vote to approve it before it can head to the governor for consideration. – Taylor Vance
Another online sports betting measure advanced
A bill passed by the Ways and Means committee last week would tax all gross revenue from mobile sports betting at 22%, up from the 18.5% rate that has been proposed in other legalization measures. That would boost the overall revenue Mississippi would generate through mobile sports betting to $100 million, said House Gaming Chairman Casey Eure. Estimates for previous legalization bills that would tax at a lower rate range from $30 million to $80 million. The bill would also lower the state’s regular gambling tax rate from 8% to 6%, which would amount to a $48 million tax cut for brick-and-mortar casinos, Eure said.
The House already passed a separate measure to legalize mobile sports betting in early February. Both proposals would direct gambling revenue to the Public Employees’ Retirement System. Eure said the House plans to keep as many options alive to win over a skeptical Senate, where mobile sports betting legalization has died without a vote. – Michael Goldberg
By the Numbers
$0
Amount Mississippians would have to pay to get an associate degree or professional credentials in qualifying fields at Mississippi community colleges under SB 2522, a “last-dollar” scholarship program proposal. The scholarships would cover the remaining balance for a student once they’ve exhausted all other financial aid, essentially free education. The measure is modeled after programs in other states, and similar bills have been unsuccessfully proposed in the Mississippi Legislature in recent years.
More Legislative Coverage
Advocates call for funding, collaboration as more Mississippians are expected to struggle with food insecurity
Mississippi’s three main food banks last year handed out 40 million meals across all 82 counties and had their largest-ever distribution of produce as a result of a new collaborative effort, food bank leaders said Wednesday at the Capitol. Read the story.
Mississippi lawmakers are looking to regulate AI after the technology is misused
Mississippi currently has two laws dealing with AI, and three more are being proposed. One current law criminalizes creating political deepfakes meant to damage a candidate. The other classifies AI-generated images of children performing sexual acts as child exploitation. Read the story.
Mississippi House wants to increase public school oversight
A House bill aimed at increasing public school accountability in Mississippi awaits consideration in the Senate. Read the story.
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