Legislative Session 2019

Opponents of HB 1205 say that passage of this bill will be a blow to transparency, especially when it comes to campaigns. But HB 1205 doesn’t affect the state’s campaign finance law or make it possible for candidates to skirt the requirements.

Cake makers and other food service entrepreneurs who bake from home and who want to expand their businesses won’t be able to do it in Mississippi, at least for another year.

Some of the motion picture production incentives offered by Mississippi taxpayers were allowed to lapse in 2017 in an intelligent move by the Legislature. Some of these lapsed incentives for out-of-state companies might be coming back if a bill becomes law.

The 2019 Legislative Session, apparently by design, has been relatively uneventful compared to previous years, with few highly controversial bills being passed out of committee. Now more than halfway through the session, the House and Senate have passed the deadline for approving bills that originated in their own chambers. They are now considering bills approved by the other chamber. Except where noted, the following bills are still alive.

Mississippi taxpayers already owe more than $5.8 billion in bond debt alone and the Mississippi House wants to add to that debt in a big way.The House passed a $173 million bond bill last Tuesday, on top of $45 million for a bond that would be a handout to Huntington Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula.