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Last week was a busy week in the Mississippi legislature, committees met frequently as Tuesday’s deadline to have House Bills out of their corresponding committees quickly approached.
After Tuesday, March 3, no additional general bills could be added to the House calendar for consideration. Your legislature will meet in session for longer periods of time to discuss the bills that have made it out of their respective committees.
American Conservative Union
I was honored to receive an invitation to the American Conservative Union’s (ACU) yearly conference, CPAC, in Washington DC this past week. Saturday evening I received the Award for Conservative Excellence for my voting record during the 2019 legislative session. Steve Hopkins, Chris Brown, Joel Bomgar and I were the only 4 of 172 members of the Mississippi legislature to receive recognition from the ACU for a conservative voting record.
The average American Conservative Union score in the Mississippi House of Representatives was only 59%. There were lots of questions about how our state can have a Republican majority yet score so low on a conservative score card. Learn more about the ACU score card Here.
Industrial Hemp Passes the House
Let Them Live
At CPAC I learned of a new organization with a mission to help mom’s who choose to give birth instead of killing their unborn child. The mission of Let Them Live is to save one life at a time by supporting women in crisis pregnancies. I was very impressed with their passion and dedication to saving lives and helping moms. I encourage you to check them out at LetThemLive.org.
My Voting Record
|
Bill Number |
Description |
Passed/Failed |
My Vote |
|
|
Tourism project sales tax incentive program; revise definition of “tourism project,” extend authority of MDA to approve participants. |
House Passed |
Nay |
||
|
State Fire Academy; designate as an authorized medical first responder training program. |
House Passed |
Yea |
||
|
Income tax; authorize proprietary schools and similar entities to collect certain debts by setoff against a debtor’s income tax refund. |
House Failed |
Nay |
||
|
State Auditor; authorize to examine tax returns necessary for auditing certain federal benefits. |
House Passed As Amended |
Yea |
||
|
Career and technical education; revise curriculum, instructor license requirements and certain assessments. |
House Passed |
Yea |
||
|
School attendance officers; clarify salaries off. |
House Passed |
Nay |
||
|
Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol officers and Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics officers; clarify salaries off. |
House Passed |
Nay |
||
|
Mississippi Marketplace Facilitator Act of 2020; create. |
House Passed As Amended |
Nay |
||
|
Bonds; revise purposes for which bonds authorized for Town of Wesson may be used. |
House Passed |
Nay |
||
|
Disaster Assistance Trust Fund; expand uses of and increase maximum amount that may be transferred too. |
House Passed |
Nay |
||
|
ABC Division officers; compensation shall be determined by special plan approved by Personnel Board. |
House Passed |
Yea |
| HB1175 | Chancery court clerk fees; revise those charged for recording oil and gas assignments. | House Passed As Amended | Yea |
| HB1255 | National board certification annual salary supplement; remove cap on number of nurses and speech-language pathologists eligible for. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1480 | Community or junior college; require to include source of funds used to advertise certain workforce development courses and training. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB150 | Dentists; provide immunity for providing charitable and emergency services. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1573 | MS Law Enforcement Officers’ Training Academy; name firing range as the “Lieutenant Colonel Pat Cronin Firing Range.” | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1577 | Hunter safety course; authorize school districts to offer as part of their curriculum. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB229 | MS Accountability and Transparency Act; revise to include certain counties and municipalities. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB234 | Distinctive motor vehicle license tag; authorize issuance to Cold War veterans. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB360 | Memorial highway; designate segment of U.S. Highway 50 in Lowndes County as “Senator William ‘Bill’ Canon Memorial Highway.” | House Passed | Yea |
| HB450 | Chronic wasting disease; Department of Wildlife may require annual testing of white-tailed deer harvested within an enclosure. | House Passed | Nay |
| HB1016 | Unused ballots; provide for the retention and destruction of. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1027 | Emerging Crops Fund; increase maximum loan amount and total bonding authority under. | House Passed | Nay |
| HB1040 | Agencies, departments and institutions; require to report workforce monies received and how those monies were spent to the SWIB each year. | House Passed As Amended | Yea |
| HB1058 | Trust fund; authorize hospitals to maintain fund consisting of commingled funds of other hospitals for necessary expenses. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1063 | Certificate of educational recognition for tax assessors; authorize Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service to issue. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1130 | State Domestic Violence Fund; remove match requirement. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1162 | Uniform Control Substance Act; revise schedule to add certain substances. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB117 | Water well contractor’s license; remove requirement that applicant must present three affidavits to the DEQ examining committee. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1173 | Secure detention; raise minimum age for youth who may be held in. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1208 | “Mississippi Hemp Cultivation Act”; enact to provide for regulation of hemp. | House Passed As Amended | Yea |
| HB1243 | Critical infrastructure; define crimes of impeding and trespassing against. | House Passed | Nay |
| HB1266 | Dept. of Agriculture; clarify use of security personnel to provide security services in state buildings under contract with DFA. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB127 | Budget process; bring forward various sections relating to. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1378 | Mississippi S.A.F.E. Mortgage Act; remove repealer, clarify record keeping requirements and estimate of costs provided to borrower. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1386 | Advocate Confidentiality Law; establish procedures for disclosure. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1415 | Public Service Commission; remove from the provisions of the Mississippi Budget Transparency and Simplification Act. | House Passed As Amended | Nay |
| HB1434 | Part-time law enforcement officers; revise salary threshold determination. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1439 | Sixteenth section lands; revise provisions relating to reports and copies of leases to Secretary of State. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1510 | Occupational licenses; revise provisions regarding licensing for certain military applicants. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB1561 | Public Service Commission; extend repealers and make certain revisions to. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB265 | Elected state officers; salaries shall not be more than average of salaries of equivalent officials in adjacent states. | House Passed | Nay |
| HB273 | Municipal judges; authorize to hold court outside municipal boundaries that is more than within a one-mile radius of municipality to accept pleas. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB282 | Golf carts and low-speed vehicles; allow municipalities to authorize operation on municipal streets. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB322 | Veterans; establish a permissive preference in private employment for certain veterans. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB336 | Mississippi Workforce Development Study Committee; create. | House Passed As Amended | Yea |
| HB373 | Conditional medical release; prohibit offenders convicted of capital murder from receiving. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB414 | Anatomical gifts; prohibit discrimination against recipient based on disability. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB415 | Counties; authorize boards of supervisors to pay county employees every two weeks. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB531 | Counties and municipalities; encourage to exchange information with military installations relating to land use and development. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB547 | MS Workers’ Compensation Commission; return to a special fund agency. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB636 | Homeowners’ associations; regulate managing agents of and require financial reviews and fidelity bonds. | House Passed As Amended | Nay |
| HB667 | Public special purpose schools; clarify provision related to administrative and licensed instructional personnel of. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB672 | State Department of Education; permit to receive various contributions from public or private donors. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB679 | State Board of Health; extend repealer on authority to charge fees for services based on cost of service. | House Passed As Amended | Yea |
| HB685 | State offenders; extend repealer on authority to house in county jails when state space is unavailable. | House Passed As Amended | Yea |
| HB686 | Patient’s Right to Informed Health Care Choices Act & prohibitions against deceptive advertising by providers; extend repealers on. | House Passed As Amended | Yea |
| HB688 | MS Pharmacy Practice Act; extend repealer on. | House Passed As Amended | Yea |
| HB708 | Pharmacy Benefit Prompt Pay Act; revise various provisions of. | House Passed As Amended | Yea |
| HB730 | Municipalities; authorize those of certain size to conduct special elections at one polling place. | House Passed As Amended | Yea |
| HB736 | Counties; authorize to offer Medicare eligible county employees supplemental benefits if employees secure Medicare in lieu of using county insurance. | House Passed As Amended | Nay |
| HB744 | Insurance premium discount for hurricane or windstorm damage mitigation; include commercial property. | House Passed | Nay |
| HB758 | State judges; provide for increase in the annual salaries of. | House Passed | Nay |
| HB777 | Counselors; revise certain provisions of licensing laws. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB782 | Certificate of rehabilitation; authorize those convicted in another state to apply for a. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB824 | Election commissioners; authorize per diem for primary and runoff election days in addition to general and special election days. | House Passed | Nay |
| HB888 | Student club funds; clarify use and accounting practices by school districts. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB94 | Center for Rural Health Innovation; establish to provide services and resources to rural hospitals. | House Passed | Nay |
| HB940 | Financial institutions; authorize to delay a transaction upon good-faith belief that eligible person will be exploited. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB96 | Emergency medical services provider; include fire stations and ambulances in definition under Baby Drop-off Law. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB978 | Hazing; increase penalties for. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB984 | Mississippi Board of Nursing; revise the notice required for special meeting of. | House Passed | Yea |
| HB993 | Elections; provide penalties for persons who publish campaign materials without certain identifying information. | House Passed | Nay |
| HB994 | Teacher licensure; revise qualifications for candidates to enter an approved teacher education program. | House Passed As Amended | Yea |
| HC52 | Jobs for Mississippi Graduates; commend and congratulate students’ success at JAG National Student Leadership Academy. | House Adopted | Yea |
| HC53 | Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College; commend for winning the NJCAA football championship. | House Adopted | Yea |
| HC54 | Zeita Merchant; commend upon promotion to rank of Captain in United States Coast Guard. | House Adopted | Yea |
| HC55 | Mr. Ken Spears; commend upon the occasion of his retirement. |
