The 2022 Regular Session of the Mississippi Legislature adjourned sine die on Tuesday, April 5. In the third year of the current four-year term, members extended the Legislative Session by several days to complete the necessary tasks and responsibilities. Tuesday was the 92 day of a planned 90-day session. Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives passed major legislation during this session that affected many entities across the state.

In addition to the previously reported information on income tax cuts, teacher pay raises, and eminent domain, Senators and Representatives  also passed bills that supported telemedicine, broadband efforts, and fire truck programs. Institutions of Higher Learning received $56 million in allocations. The state’s land grant institutions received significant increases in their separately budgeted agriculture units that service a large portion of Mississippians through many programs.

An issue that garnered much conversation before the session (but was not acted on) was the ballot measure initiative process.  After the state Supreme Court ruled that the initiative process was invalid, legislators rejected the old means of adding language to the state constitution in favor of codifying statutory language.  However, the Legislature could not reach an agreement on the details and did not provide any avenue for referendum.

One of the final acts of the session was to pass the 2023 Fiscal Year budget. MS received $1.8 billion from the federal Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) as a part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). These funds of $350 billion were sent to municipal, state, and tribal governments across the United States as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the needs that arose as a result of it. Of the funds distributed to MS, $1,511,065,500 has been appropriated and $295,307,846 remains to be distributed prior to December 31, 2024.

Further information on legislation that completed the process can be found at http://www.legislature.ms.gov/. The 2023 Legislative Session will convene on Tuesday, January 3, 2023.