Gov. Reeves should Veto the Anti-Tesla Bill

UPDATE - Gov. Reeves betrayed conservative principles and signed this anti-competition bill in favor of big money donors.

House Bill 401, which has been deemed the “Anti-Tesla Bill”, has now passed both chambers and is headed to the Governor’s desk for signature. The bill isn’t only Anti-Tesla, but also Anti-Free Market, Anti-Conservative, and in complete opposition to our Republican Party Platform. The bill is nothing more than a protectionist bill.

Send Gov. Reeves a message – VETO anti-conservative, anti-Republican HB 401

Protectionism, of course, is the act of using the government to protect your business or industry from competition. Instead of actually providing the best product or service at the best price, to contend in the marketplace, many businesses and industries pay to play by hiring lobbyists and turning to the power of the government to control their competition.

Real conservatives know that competition in the market place is a good thing. Competition pushes businesses to cut costs, advances innovation, drives development of new processes and products, and it allows manufacturers to bring products to the consumer at a lower cost. Competition in the market place is good for everyone, except, of course, those businesses that don’t want to compete in a free market.

Let’s go to the platform and see what it says about Free Markets. The MS GOP platform, which we as MS Republicans are supposed to believe in, says:

Preamble

“The Mississippi Republican Party fundamentally believes in the conservative principles of individual freedom, personal responsibility, and free market economic policies…”

Economic Prosperity

“We believe that free enterprise will thrive, flourish and benefit more people through a framework of low taxes and sensible but not overburdening regulations, which both encourages the expansion of existing businesses while also attracts new companies to locate in Mississippi.”

Taxes

“Mississippi Republicans believe that people, not government, know best how to spend their own money. When people keep more of their hard-earned money, jobs and economic growth will flourish in the free market system.”

Healthcare:

“We can have an affordable, accessible and quality health care system by empowering individuals and families, promoting free-market competition and embracing the benefits of technology, innovation…”

Energy

“Continued technological developments will increase their economic viability in the free market.”

Five different times, it says in the platform that we believe in free markets, meaning we want less government in the market place. The MS GOP platform also references competition three different times in a positive way, illustrating that we as Republicans believe in letting business compete in a free market.

Yet only 9 Republicans in the House and 11 Republicans in the Senate, out of the 112 Republicans in both chambers, voted against this anti-free market bill. This bill doesn’t “level the playing field”, it only continues to spread anti-competitive legislation to new businesses, like Tesla, and prevents them from opening new dealerships in the state. 

If HB 401 becomes law in the State of Mississippi, electric vehicles from manufacturers like Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid will be banned from operating dealerships in the Magnolia State.

We urge you to contact Governor Tate Reeves to tell him to VETO this anti-conservative, anti-Republican legislation!