Blog

My First Two Weeks in the State Legislature

  |   Uncategorized

joel oathIMG_163

Happy New Year! Last Tuesday, I took the oath of office and was officially sworn in as State Representative for District 58 with my family by my side. My oath of office binds me to support the constitutions of Mississippi and of the United States. I take this oath seriously, and I will always vote consistent with my principles to advance freedom and liberty and move our state forward.

One of our first orders of business was to nominate a Speaker of the House. Speaker Philip Gunn was nominated and elected unanimously. He has done a fantastic job championing conservative policy solutions and I applaud his commitment to reducing the size of government. Speaker Gunn urged all members of the House to work together for the good of our state and I look forward to his continued leadership this session. We also voted to re-elect Greg Snowden as Speaker Pro-Tempore and Andrew Ketchings as Clerk of the House. We have a great leadership team in place and I look forward to working with my colleagues to help advance conservative policies for our county and our state.

In the coming weeks, we expect to receive our committee assignments. These assignments will help shape the work that we will focus on for the next four years. This session, we expect to hear more about school choice and tax reform. Governor Bryant spoke in support of both of these efforts during his inaugural address on Tuesday. I stand committed to improving our education system and lowering the tax burden on everyday Mississippians. With new Republican majorities, the tax burden on Mississippians should be lower next year than it was on January 1st.

voting buttons

You might have seen this picture of our voting buttons I shared last week. Serving as a representative of the people is a great honor and a duty. I pledge to fulfill that duty by casting principled votes and doing the job you elected me to do. I also plan to keep you updated about what we are voting on and how it will affect our state.

Here are the votes that we have taken so far:
  • Voted Yes to appoint a joint committee arranging the inauguration of Governor Bryant. See more details here.
  • Voted Yes to provide for a joint session to hear the inauguration of Governor Bryant. See more details here.
  • Voted Yes to call a joint session to hear the Governor’s State of the State Address. See more details here.
  • Voted Yes to call a joint session to inaugurate the Lieutenant Governor and state officials. See more details here.
  • Voted Yes to mourn the passing of Mississippi Gospel/Soul Artist Otis Clay of Bolivar County. See more details here.

I humbly ask for your prayers as we make decisions to protect our liberty and help Mississippians prosper.

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement!

For updates throughout the session, please like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.