The number of bills the Mississippi Legislature will work with during the remainder of the 2020 Legislative Session decreased drastically after Tuesday, the deadline for bills to pass out of committee.
Originally, the House had 1,590 bills and the Senate had 907 bills. The House now has 465 live bills and the Senate has 327 live bills. Among those live bills are the following:
- HB 576 – The House Judiciary A Committee passed HB 576, the Livestock Liability Law supported by the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation and the Mississippi Cattlemen’s Association, but included a reverse repealer, meaning the full House will have to do work on the legislation for the bill to be effective.
- HB 1027 – The full House of Representatives passed HB 1027, which would increase the amount of funding issued by the Mississippi Development Authority’s Emerging Crop Loans.
- HB 1208 – The House Drug Policy Committee passed HB 1208, also known as the Mississippi Hemp Cultivation Act, on Tuesday. The full House of Representatives then passed the bill on Wednesday.
- SB 2272 – The full Senate passed SB 2272, which serves as a repealer extending a portion of the Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation program.
- SB 2328 – The full Senate passed SB 2328, which would increase the amount of funding issued by the Mississippi Development Authority’s Emerging Crop Loans.
- SB 2553 – The Senate Judiciary A Committee passed SB 2553, also known as the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act.
This week, both the House and Senate made it a priority to work on legislation that would improve the Mississippi Department of Public Safety’s driver’s license process.
In other news:
- The Catfish Institute and the United States Catfish Association hosted a legislative lunch for everyone working at the Capitol on Wednesday.
- Mississippi State University’s Contemporary Agricultural Issues class visited with Commissioner of Agriculture & Commerce Andy Gipson and other legislative agricultural leaders from the House and Senate.