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Greetings from the State Capitol! The 2015 Legislative Session is halfway over, as Thursday, February 19th marked the mid-point of the 90 day Session which is scheduled to end April 5th. The Legislature meets for 90 days each year, with the exception of the year following statewide elections which is a 120 day session.
By this point most of the approximately 2,500 bills that were introduced in both chambers are “dead.” The vast majority died in the committees to which they were referred on committee deadline day, February 3rd. The House committees sent roughly 250 bills to the full House for consideration, and the Senate committees reported about half that number. The deadline for consideration of these bills by each chamber was February 12th.
On the House side, a considerable number of motor vehicle bills were passed. Bills to raise the speed limit to 75 on interstate highways, to eliminate inspection stickers, and to ban texting while driving were adopted and sent to the Senate for their consideration. With regard to public safety, as chair of Judiciary B committee I was tasked with handling and passing a bill to preserve the death penalty in Mississippi from attacks by the ACLU. Another bill that passed the House was a measure to ban “powdered alcohol,” a newly created 65% alcohol substance recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration which poses a threat due to possible abuse and overdose, especially by children. A number of states have already banned powdered alcohol.
Other items of interest: legislation to curtail Common Core in public schools was adopted by each of the House and Senate, each with different approaches in ways to phase out this curriculum. The House and Senate also passed bills to reduce fees for concealed carry permits. Other legislation was passed to study implementation of “constitutional” concealed carry, to eliminate the requirement for a permit for law-abiding gunowners.
No bill can become law unless both chambers agree on the exact language, transmit a bill to the governor, and the governor approves (doesn’t veto it).
One item that was finalized was a legislative alternative to Initiative 42, the so-called “MAEP Full Funding Initiative.” Initiative 42 will appear on the ballot in November, 2015 because of a successful petition effort over the last year by the organizaton “Better Schools Better Jobs.” It has since been learned that Better Schools Better Jobs was founded and funded by out-of-state organizations.
Much to the surprise of many people, the actual proposed constitutional language of Initiative 42 would place the educational system in the hands of a chancery court with no legislative or public oversight, most likely the Hinds County Chancery Court. In response to this possibility, the Legislature has proposed an alternative known as Initiative 42-A. Initiative 42-A will also be on the ballot in November and gives the people the choice to keep the educational system out of the hands of the courts. Initiative 42-A also provides language in the constitution requiring an effective system of public schools to be implemented by the Legislature. The thought being that what parents and children deserve is not just an “adequate” education, but a truly effective one – an education that meets actual goals or benchmarks, such as reading skills. More to come on this important issue.
If you have questions or need any information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for allowing me to serve as your State Representative.
Sincerely,
Andy Gipson 
