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Week of March 1, 2021
By Representative Price Wallace
This was the ninth week of the 2021 Legislative Session. The deadline for House committees to report general bills originating from the Senate occurred Tuesday at 8 p.m. Any Senate bills that did not make it out of committees died. The House began working on these Senate bills on the House floor, and the deadline for these bills to be passed is next Wednesday, March 10.
Senate Bill 2536, known as the Mississippi Fairness Act, would require schools to designate sports teams based on biological sex. This would not include teams that are already classified as “co-ed.” The language is similar to an amendment added to House Bill 1030 earlier in the session. After little debate, the bill passed the House by a vote of 81-28, and it has been returned to the Senate.
Several other Senate bills passed the House floor including a bill that would create the Mississippi Dementia Care Program to provide assistance to caregivers for those with Alzheimer’s Disease or another form of dementia (SB 2221); a bill that would establish the Mississippi Historic Site Preservation Fund Grant Program within the Department of Archives and History (SB 2834); and a bill that would extend the repealer on the State Board of Funeral Services (SB 2098).
The House will continue to work on bills originating from the Senate until the deadline on Wednesday. All Senate bills approved by the House will be sent back with changes to the Senate for concurrence or to invite conference.
As a reminder, visiting the Capitol is a little different this year than in years past. All guided tours are still suspended, and the Capitol Gift Shop is closed. However, Mississippians are more than welcome to visit the Capitol and participate in self-guided tours as long as they follow the proper guidelines. For more information, visit the Legislature website.
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