From Your Capitol - Week of February 1, 2021

The fifth week of the 2021 Legislative Session proved to be the busiest thus far. Committee meetings to discuss House bills wrapped up early in the week because of Tuesday’s general bills deadline. The House convened in person on Wednesday for the first time in two weeks to discuss the legislation that made it to the calendar. The bills that were considered dealt with a variety of topics.

House Bill 997 would remove the Department of Revenue from being a wholesale distributor of alcoholic beverages within the state and allow for wholesale permits to be issued to private companies. The Department of Revenue currently operates the Alcoholic Beverage Control warehouse in Gluckstadt.

Another bill that would change alcohol laws wasHouse Bill 1135. The bill would create a delivery service permit to allow the holder to contract for the delivery of alcoholic beverages from a licensed retailer to a consumer.

One greatly debated bill was House Bill 1315. The bill would repeal occupational licenses for art therapists, auctioneers, interior designers, funeral home directors and wigologists. Proponents of the bill noted that these professions pose no real threat to public safety and have no need for state regulation, while those opposed argued that this repeal would lead to a lack of oversight in these industries.

House Bill 1302 was another source of much debate among House members. The bill would authorize optometrists who have passed educational requirements and have professional experience to perform certain procedures to treat eye diseases. Proponents of the bill stated that the proposed procedures are already being taught in optometry schools and are allowed in neighboring states. Opponents of the bill debated that these procedures should be performed by licensed physicians who specialize in ophthalmology.

House Bill 1303 would allow advance practice registered nurses, or nurse practitioners, who have met certain experience requirements to practice primary care without a collaborative agreement with a licensed physician.

Bill

Bill Name

Vote Date

My Vote

HB3 Outdoor advertisement signs; revise height requirements for. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB6 University and colleges anti-hazing policy; require Board of Trustees of IHL to develop policy against hazing and prescribe penalties. House Passed 02/04/2021 Nay HB8 UMMC property; revise leasing authority by removing certain minimum requirements of improvements to development. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB9 MS Law Enforcement Officers' Training Academy; name firing range as the "Lieutenant Colonel Pat Cronin Firing Range." House Passed As Amended 02/04/2021 Yea HB70 Autopsies; provide for confidentiality of photographs and video and audio recordings with exceptions. House Passed As Amended 02/04/2021 Yea HB73 Chiropractors; extend repealer on licensure law. House Passed 02/03/2021 Nay HB74 Emergency Telecommunications Services (911); extend repealer on. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB82 Community or junior colleges; authorize to administer construction contracts of $1,000,000.00 or less, and exempt certain oversight. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB95 Nursing home administrators; delete repealer on licensure requirements for and authorize board to conduct background checks. House Passed As Amended 02/03/2021 Nay HB104 Board of Supervisors of Hancock County; revise salary of attorney hired to prosecute cases for county. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB109 Budget process; update various sections relating to. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB113 Community College Boards of Trustees; revise composition of Northeast Mississippi and Coahoma Community Colleges. House Passed As Amended 02/04/2021 Yea HB119 Harper's Grace Law; extend repealer on authority to research and dispense cannabidiol (CBD oil) for medical purposes. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB122 Expungement; authorize up to three felony convictions to be expunged after 15 years. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB136 Individual bond; require for public officers and employees handling or having the custody of public funds. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB160 State Department of Health and State Board of Health; extend repealer on. House Passed 02/03/2021 Nay HB162 Public contracts of energy efficiency services; extend repealer on authority and certain requirements for. House Passed 02/04/2021 Nay HB186 Claims by veterans under consumer protection law; Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board offers service free of charge. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB187 County veteran service officers; revise certain qualifications and requirements. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB189 Mississippi Persian Gulf War Memorial; authorize MSVA to move to another appropriate location. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB200 Remote patient monitoring services; delete requirement of 2 recent hospitalizations to qualify for. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB202 Mississippi Development Authority; bring forward various sections of law relating to. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB208 Psychologists; extend repealer on licensure law and remove postdoctoral training requirements for licensure. House Passed 02/03/2021 Nay HB211 Insurance Department; remove from the provisions of the Mississippi Budget Transparency and Simplification Act. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB212 State Fire Marshal and Fire Academy; remove from the provisions of the Mississippi Budget Transparency and Simplification Act. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB213 DFA; authorize Office of Surplus Property to administer the Federal Donation Program. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB219 Local governments; prohibit from imposing penalties or fines on security companies when false security alarm occurs. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB274 Law enforcement officers; allow certain use of uniform, weapon, vehicle and equipment for disaster relief when off-duty. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB294 Hospices; delete repealer on authority for prescribing certain drugs without in-person visit with a patient. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB296 Hospice licensure; extend moratorium on and authorize issuance of 2 pediatric palliative care licenses. House Passed 02/03/2021 Nay HB307 Health department; authorize certain charges for services with other agencies for operation of medical marijuana program. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB312 Central Market Board; abolish and transfer functions of to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB319 DPS; make revision to gun permit residency requirement and certain driver's license petitions for review. House Passed As Amended 02/04/2021 Yea HB320 Perpetual care cemeteries; authorize counties and cities to clean property of those not properly maintained. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB341 Motor carrier safety improvements; prohibit consideration of deployment of in determining an individual's employment status with motor carrier. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB350 Certificate of rehabilitation; authorize those convicted in another state to apply for a. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB357 Bonding requirement for county purchase clerk; increase. House Passed 02/04/2021 Nay HB358 Bonding requirement for school purchasing agents; increase. House Passed 02/04/2021 Nay HB374 Distinctive motor vehicle license tag; authorize issuance to supporters of Mississippi Theatre Association, Inc. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB425 Ad valorem tax; revise certain provisions regarding when an application for change of property assessment may be made. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB453 Law enforcement officers; allow off-duty use of official vehicles while performing certain volunteer services in off-duty hours. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB464 Parole board; revise notification time frame given to offender's victim for offender release and remove certain prohibition. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB479 Pseudoephedrine and ephedrine; authorize sales and purchase of certain products containing without a prescription. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB499 Qualified equity investment tax credits; extend authority of Mississippi Development Authority to allocate. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB500 Mississippi Home Corporation; extend reverter on authority to issue a certain amount of bonds. House Passed 02/03/2021 Nay HB508 Department of Revenue; allow retiring law enforcement officer of to retain issued sidearm. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB509 Unemployment compensation; allow withholding of state income tax. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB510 Motor vehicle certificate of title; limit period for which Department of Revenue must retain. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB511 Amusement ride operating permit decal; revise period for issuance. House Passed 02/03/2021 Nay HB512 ABC agents/inspectors; revise certain provisions regarding powers of. House Passed 02/03/2021 Nay HB516 Department of Revenue; allow department appraisers to receive certain pay increases upon completing certain training. House Passed 02/03/2021 Nay HB519 Motor vehicle license tags; remove requirement for apportioned vehicles to have decal with expiration month/year on tag. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB520 Use tax; revise certain provisions regarding funds distributed to municipalities/counties for road improvements. House Passed 02/03/2021 Nay HB539 Career and technical education; revise curriculum, instructor license requirements and certain assessments. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB550 Intermediate driver's license; delete all references to. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB556 16th Section lands; authorize local school boards to enter into public or private contracts for sale of forestry products grown on. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB557 Nonadjudication; authorize completion of workforce training or similar training as an option for. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB572 Alcoholic beverages; revise definition of "qualified resort area" under the Local Option Alcoholic Beverage Control Law. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB573 Bridges and culverts; revise laws regarding. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB579 Motor carrier regulation; update and streamline. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB594 Coastal Wetlands Protection Act; revise definitions to include "ordinary high water mark". House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB609 Public purchasing law; exempt procurement of certain aircraft by state institutions of higher learning from. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB615 DUI suspension; clarify how the 120 days are counted. House Passed As Amended 02/04/2021 Yea HB632 "All Fuels Act of 2021"; establish. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB638 Alcoholic beverages; revise various provisions relating to distilleries. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB667 Alcoholic beverages; delete requirement for immediate permit revocation for certain prohibited sales. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB718 Campaign finance reports; require those filed by all candidates to be available online. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB740 State identification card; require commissioner of DPS to establish one that does not require proof of domicile. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB747 Work release program; authorize courts and sheriffs to assign certain convicted offenders to while confined in jail. House Passed As Amended 02/04/2021 Yea HB750 Deputy Secretaries of State; authorize creation of. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB762 Bonds; revise purposes for which bonds authorized for Town of Wesson may be used. House Passed 02/03/2021 Nay HB849 State Workforce Investment Board; revise membership of. House Passed 02/03/2021 Nay HB877 Alcoholic beverages; revise definition of "qualified resort area" under the Local Option Alcoholic Beverage Control Law. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB886 Law enforcement officers; exempt from concealed firearms permit fees and renewal fees. House Passed As Amended 02/03/2021 Yea HB928 Commissioner of Corrections and community corrections; bring forward various sections relating to. House Passed As Amended 02/04/2021 Yea HB945 Light wine, beer and light spirit product; revise number of qualified electors required to petition for election to prohibit or authorize. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB955 Abandoned mobile homes; establish a procedure to dispose of. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB997 Alcoholic beverages; remove DOR from being wholesale distributor, authorize issuance of wholesaler's permits. House Passed As Amended 02/03/2021 Yea HB1034 Uniform Controlled Substances Act; revise schedules. House Passed 02/04/2021 Nay HB1036 Driver's license; exempt active duty military, spouse and dependent children if they have valid license from their home state. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB1037 Mississippi Geologic Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide Act; enact. House Passed 02/04/2021 Nay HB1063 Transformative renewable energy projects; authorize boards of supervisors to designate as such for certain tax purposes. House Passed As Amended 02/04/2021 Yea HB1135 Alcoholic beverages; create delivery service permit. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB1137 Ad valorem tax; revise certain provisions regarding the determination of true value of land used for agricultural purposes. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB1174 Department of Corrections; authorize to provide for hospice care services to inmates with a terminal illness. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB1177 General laws and journals of legislative sessions; copies of not provided to certain recipients of unless specifically requested. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea HB1195 Electric bicycles; regulate. House Passed 02/03/2021 Nay HB1197 Dual-phase design-build method of construction contracting; revise certain provisions of. House Passed As Amended 02/03/2021 Yea HB1211 Administrative hearing procedures for Commission on Marine Resources; revise to authorize executive director of Department of Marine Resources to make final decisions during. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB1213 State Personnel Board; require exempted agencies' reports to include quantifiable data and to be sent to SPB, PEER and LBO. House Passed 02/04/2021 Yea HB1230 Mississippi Development Authority; allow businesses located on tribal lands to be eligible for certain discretionary programs. House Passed 02/03/2021 Nay HB1245 MDOT; require maintenance of rights-of-way of state highways inside municipal limits with 10,000 or less population. House Passed As Amended 02/04/2021 Yea HC10 Arthur James Anderson, Sr.; commend the life, legacy and contributions upon his passing. House Adopted 02/03/2021 Yea HC11 Magee High School Football Team; commend upon winning MHSAA Class 3A State Championship. House Adopted 02/03/2021 Yea HC20 Former Representative Nolan Mettetal; mourn loss and commemorate laudable legislative career upon his passing. House Adopted 02/03/2021 Yea HC22 Barabbas Leasy; commend contributions throughout many years of service in education. House Adopted 02/03/2021 Yea HC25 Former Representative Nolan "Ray" R. Rogers; mourn loss and commemorate laudable legislative career upon his passing. House Adopted 02/03/2021 Yea HC27 Mississippi Highway Patrol Lt. Troy Morris; commend life and legacy upon his passing. House Adopted 02/03/2021 Yea HC30 2020 MHSAA Mr. Football Award recipients; commend and congratulate. House Adopted 02/03/2021 Yea SB2021 Coordinator of Mental Health Accessibility; house position under DFA, exempt contracts from rules of contract review board. House Passed 02/03/2021 Yea