From Your Capitol - March 6, 2020
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
After over a year of working on this issue Industrial Hemp is finally making its way through the legislature. Soon Mississippi farmers will have another crop to grow. The use of hemp for natural medicinal purposes and the fiber from the hemp plant has continuted to increase over the past several years. It is time government got out of the way and let farmers in Mississippi participate in this money making venture.
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. House Adopted Yea