Members of the Mississippi Legislature passed significant pieces of legislation during the 2023 Mississippi Legislative Session that will impact the lives of farmers, ranchers and rural Mississippians for years to come. Below is a list of the key pieces of legislation Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation focused on throughout the session.

Ballot Initiative Process. The only piece of legislation that would revive the state’s ballot initiative process died on the calendar due to disagreements between the chambers about how many signatures would be required to place an issue on the ballot.

Boll Weevil Management. Lawmakers deleted a provision of law requiring the Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation to submit the annual audit of its accounts to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce no later than Nov. 15.

Contractor Permitting. During the 2021 Legislative Session, a bill was passed to reform the permitting of contractors and the inspection of work at the local level. After hearing from members about the problems this would create in rural counties, the Legislature took action to relieve concerns by rolling back some of those regulations. Gov. Tate Reeves vetoed the bill.

Foreign Ownership of Agriculture Land. Numerous bills regarding this issue were introduced during the 2023 Mississippi Legislative Session. The Legislature formed a study committee to research the issue and formulate the best legislation to enact during the 2024 Mississippi Legislative Session.

Forestry and Logging. Lawmakers passed two bills regarding forestry and logging in Mississippi. One created the Mississippi Forestry Grant Fund and Program and the other clarified provisions for making length restrictions on semitrailers and trailers the same for day and night.

Harvest Permit. Beginning July 1, 2023, Harvest Permit fines will increase, but the weight tolerance will increase to 88,000 pounds. This effort was accomplished during the 2021 Legislative Session but members will reap the success of it starting this year.

Infrastructure. Lawmakers passed multiple bills, investing more than $600 million in the state’s infrastructure.

Land Grant Institution Funding. Lawmakers increased funding for Mississippi State University and Alcorn State University and their research units.

Mississippi Board of Animal Health Funding. Due to avian influenza outbreaks in Lawrence County in Nov. 2022 and Leake County in Feb. 2023, the Mississippi Board of Animal Health faced unfunded costs for the control measures and clean-up of these outbreaks. Lawmakers approved deficit funding in the current budget and a 9.8% increase for the 2024 Fiscal Year.

Pecan Theft. Lawmakers passed a bill to revise the criminal and civil penalties for violating the provisions of the pecan harvesting law, which spans from Sept. 1 to Jan. 31.

Sale of White-Tailed Deer. Two pieces of legislation presented to prohibit the purchasing and selling of whitetail deer in Mississippi died in committee.

Software Tax. Lawmakers passed legislation preserving the state’s historical approach to taxing remote software and related services based on physical location while also addressing many important ancillary and compliance issues.

State Fruit. Lawmakers adopted the blueberry as the Mississippi state fruit.

Volunteer Firefighter Award Program. Lawmakers passed a bill to develop the Mississippi Length of Service Award Program to incentivize volunteer firefighter recruitment throughout the state.

2024 FY Budget. Lawmakers passed a budget of $7.6 billion, the largest in state history.

To learn more about these pieces of legislation, visit msfb.org.

Taylor McNair is the Public Policy Coordinator at the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation.