Blog

Friends,

This week at the Legislature was a busy one, with lots of committee work. The deadline for committees to pass bills is only a few days away on Tuesday, February 23^rd. Many of my committees met this week to consider important legislation, including committees on Education, Corrections, Medicaid, Judiciary B, and Drug Policy. Each of these committees passed a number of bills which will now head to the House floor for consideration by the full body. As bills are passed out of committee, they are placed on the House Calendar. You can view the House Calendar here to see which bills the House will vote on in the coming weeks.

Today I was happy to welcome a group of 9^th graders from Rosa Scott High School to the State Capitol. The visiting class is currently studying careers in law and government. They spent some time in the gallery observing the House discuss several bills this morning. I was glad to help welcome them to their State Capitol. If you plan on visiting the Capitol soon, or if you would like to arrange a group visit, please let me know. I would love to help you arrange a visit to your state capitol!

The majority of this week’s work was done in individual committees, however we did consider a number of bills on the House floor. You can see a full report of each vote we took this week, along with an explanation and vote count, on my website here. Here are a few notable bills that the House passed this week:

• The “Mississippi Church Protection Act,” which provides legal protection to churches and houses of worship that choose to utilize their own private security teams. More info here.
• A bill that further provides an adequate defense for those with little means by authorizing Youth Court judges to appoint counsel for indigent parents. More info here.
• A bill that expands speech rights by removing a prohibition against advertising for alcoholic products in a dry area. More info here.
• The “Protecting Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination Act,” which protects free exercise of religion and freedom of association. The bill protects individuals from legal action should they choose not to participate in a particular ceremony based on a religious belief. More info here.
• You can view all bills considered by the House this week, along with descriptions and vote totals, on my website here.

After Tuesday’s deadline, all committees will have passed the general bills we will consider this session. At that point, we will have a definite list of all general bills the House will vote on, and those will be placed on the House calendar. Revenue bills are subject to a later deadline, so we could still see new introductions of bills dealing with taxes and spending later this session.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions, concerns or requests. It’s an honor to represent you.

God Bless,

Joel