The 2022 Regular Session of the Mississippi Legislature is nearly two thirds complete. On Friday, members completed day 53 of this 90-day session. The next deadline of Tuesday, March 1 is for committees to pass general bills and constitutional amendments that originated in the opposite chamber. Members then will have until Wednesday, March 9 to consider those same bills on the floor.

This week, the State of Mississippi’s citizens finally were able see the Senate’s tax plan. The bill seeks to gradually eliminate the four percent bracket on state income tax, reduce the sales tax on groceries, and provide a one-time rebate for all tax filers. After a spirited debate on the Senate floor, Senate Bill 3164 passed from the full chamber on Wednesday by a vote of 40-11. Senator Josh Harkins (R – Flowood) led the floor debate. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for further debate and consideration. It has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. While the fate of an income tax bill remains unclear, each chamber has staked out a position that attempts to reduce the income tax burden on Mississippians.

Also on Wednesday, the Senate passed SB 3167 with 52 yeas and zero nays. SB 3167 would appropriate capital expense funds to the Mississippi Department of Transportation for the Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Fund. The bill would appropriate $300 million to help shore up the fund. The Mississippi Legislature initially established the Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Fund in 2018 and was funded with $250 million in bonds. The Legislature added an additional $89 million during the 2021 Legislative Session. According to the 2020 ERBF Annual Report, MDOT had 690 applications for funding requests adding up to $970 million. As of February 2020, the ERBRF had awarded 168 projects addressing 207 bridges across the state. With infrastructure being one of the main issues facing Mississippi, the addition of $300 million to the fund certainly would help address the infrastructure needs across the state. Should the measure pass both chambers and be signed into law by Governor Tate Reeves, it would take effect July 1, 2022.

SB 2899 unanimously passed out of the House Public Health and Welfare Committee on Thursday. The bill, authored by Sen. Nicole Boyd (R-Oxford), provides that a health insurance policy, plan, or program regulated by the state cannot deny a community mental health center the right to participate as a contract provider where the CMHC has agreed to provide mental health services that meet the requirements of the insurer.  It also requires that mental health providers with proper certification or licensure by the Board of Mental Health shall be recognized by the insurer and shall not be used to deny a provider the right to participate as a provider. The bill now moves to the House floor for further debate and vote.

Earlier in this Session, the Senate passed the Mississippi Voting Modernization Act with a vote of 51 yeas and zero nays. SB2879 would attempt to upgrade voting machines, ballot scanners, ballot markers, and tabulation servers in an attempt to stop the use of pre-scored punch card ballots. The bill also creates a grant program administered by the Department of Finance to reimburse counties for the purchase of modern voting systems. This bill was received in the house on February 15 and passed the House Apportionment and Elections committee on February 24.

Both chambers continue to review appropriations and revenue bills. Wednesday, February 23 was the deadline for original floor action of those bills in their chambers of origin. Tuesday, March 15 is the deadline for original floor action in the opposite chamber for those same bills.