House Begins Budget Process – Legislative Update
This week the Mississippi House of Representatives began to focus on the state’s budget. A number of revenue bills were brought before the House, including appropriations bills that will ultimately decide how the state’s revenue is spent, and bond bills which authorize the state to borrow money for specific projects. These bills are primarily handled in the Appropriations and Ways and Means committees.
The House approved 52 appropriations bills on Wednesday that will determine the budgets for state agencies for the next year. As currently written, these bills will be repealed and cannot become law. This vote simply allows the bills to move to conference so the House and Senate can determine the actual appropriation amounts. The amounts are currently set at the state’s Legislative Budget Recommendation. These bills are procedural in nature and cannot appropriate any funds. You can view my votes for each day this week here: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
Next week I will host two pages at the Capitol. This program brings students from each district in the state to work as a page for the House of Representatives for a week. It’s a great learning experience that allows some of our brightest young leaders to see how their state legislature works. I’m happy to welcome Olivia Johnson and Hudson Durfield as the two pages from District 58!
Every week, the House passes a number of resolutions honoring various Mississippians for their accomplishments. This week, we passed a resolution honoring Mr. Don Triplett of Forest as Autism’s First Child. Mr. Triplett was the first person in the world to be diagnosed with autism, and his story is an inspiring one of perseverance and happiness in the face of adversity. You can read more about him and his story here.
Next week, we will continue the budget process and work to consider revenue bills before Wednesday’s deadline. Our committees will also begin meeting to consider bills passed by the Senate. If you have any questions or concerns about particular legislation, please let me know!
It’s an honor and a privilege to represent you.
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