Here’s a look at some of the bills that are in conference this weekend.
With less than a week left in the 2022 Mississippi Legislative session, lawmakers face a deadline on Saturday at 8 p.m. to file conference reports on Appropriations and Revenue bills. Other general bills are also in conference between the two chambers.
Below are some of those bills to watch as the remaining deadlines approach:
Income Tax
- H. B. No. 531– Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2022; create.
- S. B. No. 3164- Taxation; cut grocery tax by 2%, phase out 4% income tax bracket, cut General Fund portion of car tag fees, and give rebate.
Equal Pay
Law enforcement and fire fighters
- H. B. No. 1408- Sheriffs’ salaries; increase.
- S. B. No. 2803- Sheriffs; increase annual salaries of.
- H. B. No. 1542- Appropriation; additional to DPS for providing premium pay to law enforcement officers and firefighters.
- H. B. No. 1427- Law enforcement officers and fire fighters; provide premium pay to.
- H. B. No. 842- Rural Fire Truck Acquisition Assistance Program; authorize two additional rounds for counties and municipalities.
Tourism
- S. B. No. 3050- Appropriation; Department of Tourism.
- H. B. No. 453- Mississippi Tourism Recovery Fund – Round 2 and Mississippi Destination Development Fund; create.
Education
- H. B. No. 881- University-based programs of education for children with developmental disabilities; revise certain provisions.
- H. B. No. 1068- Mississippi Intercollegiate Athletics Compensation Rights Act; bring forward.
- H. B. No 1168- Gifted education; require school districts to provide for students in Grades 7 and 8.
- S. B. No. 2887- School Boards; allow to purchase electric vehicles for student transportation.
Public health and welfare, medicine, drugs, etc.
- H. B. No. 1005- Nursing Education Incentive Program; create.
- H. B. No. 679- Mississippi Pill Press Act of 2022; create.
- H. B. No. 607- “Parker’s Law”; create crime of “fentanyl delivery resulting in death”.
Infrastructure
- S. B. No. 2822- “Mississippi Water Infrastructure Grant Program Act of 2022”; establish.
Alcoholic beverages
- H. B. No. 512- Alcoholic beverages; remove DOR from being wholesale distributor, authorize issuance of wholesaler’s permits.
- H. B. No. 918- Alcoholic beverages; authorize issuance of food truck permit.
- S. B. No. 2063- Alcoholic beverages; revise definition of “qualified resort area” under the Local Option Alcoholic Beverage Control Law.
- S. B. No. 2844- Alcoholic Beverage Control Division; authorize construction of new warehouse and contracting for operations.
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
- H. B. No. 1421- ARPA Rural Water Associations Infrastructure Grant Programs; establish under Department of Health.
- H. B. No. 1425- ARPA Wastewater and Drinking Water Infrastructure Grant Programs; establish under DEQ and Department of Health.
- H. B. No. 1537- Appropriation; DEQ for ARPA Wastewater Infrastructure Grant Program.
- H. B. No. 1538- Appropriation; Department of Health for ARPA Drinking Water and Rural Water Associations Infrastructure Grant Programs.
- S. B. No. 2862– Appropriation; Child Protective Services, Department of-ARPA funds.
- S. B. No. 2863- Appropriation; Mississippi Emergency Management Agency-ARPA funds.
- S. B. No. 2864- Appropriation; National Guard-ARPA funds.
- S. B. No. 2865- Appropriation; Mental Health, Department of-ARPA funds.
- S. B. No. 3056- Appropriation; additional to Environmental Quality for the MS Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act-ARPA funds.
- S. B. No. 3057- Appropriation; additional to Accelerate MS for the ARPA Nurse/Health Science Workforce Programs-ARPA funds.
- S. B. No. 3059- Appropriation; additional to DFA for the COVID-19 DMO Grant Program, -ARPA.
- S. B. No. 3060- Appropriation; additional to Health Department for the Covid-19 Hospital Capacity Program and operations-ARPA funds.
- S. B. No. 3062- Appropriation; additional to DFA-Bureau of Building-ARPA Funds.
- S. B. No. 3064- Appropriation; additional to DFA for the MAICU Grant Program, -ARPA funds.
- H. B. No. 1537- Appropriation; DEQ for ARPA Wastewater Infrastructure Grant Program.
- H. B. No. 1538- Appropriation; Department of Health for ARPA Drinking Water and Rural Water Associations Infrastructure Grant Programs.
Broadband
Foster Care
- H. B. No. 1313- “Fostering Access and Inspiring True Hope (FAITH) Scholarship Program Act”; create to provide postsecondary financial assistance to foster children.
General
- H. B. No. 1487- State song; designate “One Mississippi” as official.
- H. B. No. 1509- COVID-19 vaccine mandate; prohibit state and local government from imposing.
- S. B. No. 2007- Honey; revise definition of for purposes of labeling requirements enforced by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture.
- S. B. No. 2879- Mississippi Voting Modernization Act; enact.
Constitutional Amendment
- HCR 39- Constitution; amend to provide that people have the right to propose new statutes and to amend or repeal existing statutes.
**Contributions by Sarah Ulmer, Capitol Correspondent**
