In a
recent editorial for a local news station, I had the chance to reflect on the 2020 Legislative Session. While COVID disrupted some of our plans, we also enacted positive, conservative legislation to help move Mississippi forward.
To increase efficiency and eliminate waste, we abolished two government entities. We retooled driver’s services and instituted a fee reduction for long wait times.
We recreated the State’s primary workforce board, requiring small business representation, and beefing up responsibility and accountability. The state’s new workforce “czar” will be responsible for maximizing the impact of every dollar we spend on training citizens for higher wage jobs.
In education, we eliminated major barriers to teacher licensure which will clear the way for hundreds of students to enter teacher education programs in colleges and universities.
We addressed problems in our mental health system, providing a coordinator with the authority to review the availability of current services and establish procedures to increase access and raise standards.
Additionally, we passed legislation protecting the rights of the unborn and championed various COVID bills including freezing the unemployment insurance contribution rates for businesses already struggling financially.
Although we have more we want to accomplish in the coming years, we balanced the budget and built a solid foundation for positive change. All of this is part of the path to our ultimate objective: making Mississippi an even better place for your children and grandchildren.
