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Rep. Noah Sanford
The dozens of House committees—from Education to Elections and Agriculture to Appropriations—have spent the last few weeks in meetings, making a mad rush to get through all the bills that the chairmen wish to see survive. The vast majority of the more than 2,000 filed will die in committee, as a chairman can refuse to bring them up for a vote. All bills must have made it out of committee by Tuesday, January 31, at midnight. Only a few hundred have. A few bills of interest:
Drug Policy Committee has passed a bill which would enhance penalties for those who are caught selling illegal drugs within a certain proximity of rehab facilities.
Public Health Committee has passed a bill dubbed the “Save the Rural Hospital Act.” Rural hospitals would be able to apply for grants from the Mississippi State Department of Health that then could be used to help the hospital transition itself into more acute care. One example of such a transition, for example, is a small hospital in South Mississippi that found success when it moved from a more general hospital to specializing in the treatment of mental illness. The bill is intended to prevent rural hospitals from closing.
Judiciary B has passed a bill that would enhance criminal penalties for those who would murder officers, firemen, EMS personnel, or utility employees while those workers are working in their official capacities.
You have likely heard of a proposal to revamp the education funding formula. The company that made the proposal, EdBuild, put forth a plan that would replace the current funding formula (known as MAEP). There has been a great deal of speculation, but the truth is that none of us know exactly the effect it would have on individual school districts until we know the proposed total amount to spend on education as well as whether the legislature decides to accept all parts of EdBuild’s proposal, or just pick and choose which parts to accept. We will wait to see a hard proposal.
I will keep you abreast of these issues and others as they arise. Again, I appreciate your giving me the opportunity to serve. If I can be of assistance, please contact me at nsanford@house.ms.gov or at 601-517-6622.
Rep. Noah Sanford represents parts of Covington, Simpson, and Jefferson Davis Counties in the Mississippi House of Representatives.
