Mississippi’s newest laws will take effect July 1. Those laws include tax cuts, medical marijuana, teacher pay raises and changes to methods for the death penalty. Here’s a closer look at some of the most noteworthy laws to take effect:Teacher pay raisesThe raise outlined in House Bill 530 will be the largest ever increase for Mississippi teachers with the minimum salary for teachers increasing an average of $5,100. Tax cutsHouse Bill 531 brings the largest tax cut in Mississippi history. Under this new law, the state’s income tax will gradually be reduced to a 4% flat tax on income over $5,000. Starting July 1, taxes on that amount will drop from 5% to 4.7%. In 2025 it will drop again to 4.4% and then in 2026, it will reach 4%.The bill fell short of Gov. Tate Reeves’ proposal to eliminate the state’s income tax entirely. Medical MarijuanaThe Department of Revenue will begin reviewing applications for businesses to operate as dispensaries on July 1. More than two dozen conditions and symptoms will allow Mississippians to qualify for a medical marijuana card. Those conditions include cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, autism and seizures. The state Department of Health began accepting applications for medical marijuana cards June 1. Department officials believe it will likely take months before businesses are licensed to sell marijuana. Those businesses still need time to grow and test their products. Buddy’s LawSenate Bill 2245, otherwise known as “Buddy’s Law”, is an animal cruelty law named after a dog that survived being set on fire. The law requires mandatory counseling sessions for both adults and juveniles who intentionally inflict harm on domestic animals. The law is named after Buddy, who was severely burned in April 2021 by a 12-year-old boy. Parker’s LawHouse Bill 607 will explicitly list “fentanyl delivery resulting in death” as a crime punishable by 20 years to life in prison. The law is named after Parker Rodenbaugh, a former Madison Central High School and Mississippi State University student who died in 2014 after taking a synthetic drug laced with fentanyl. The man who supplied Rodenbaugh with the drugs that killed him was initially convicted of drug trafficking and second-degree murder, but the murder conviction was later dismissed during appeals. COVID-19 vaccine mandate banHouse Bill 1509 prohibits any government entity, including public colleges and universities from requiring vaccination against COVID-19. Health care facilities are exempt from the law if a vaccine mandate is recommended or required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or in order to receive Medicare and Medicaid funding. Change to death penalty methodsHouse Bill 1479 changes the methods by which convicts can be executed. The previous law, approved in 2017, laid out specific requirements for a lethal injection and then gave alternatives to lethal injection in sequential order of preference. The new changes remove those requirements for the injection and the preference order for alternatives. Lethal injection remains the state’s preferred method but in the event that method is not possible, the Department of Corrections will decide the alternative method of execution. Those methods include electrocution and firing squad. New official state song”Go Mississippi” will be replaced by “One Mississippi” after 60 years as the official state song. “Go Mississippi” had been criticized for its ties to former Gov. Ross Barnett, an ardent segregationist. The song had different words but borrowed the tune from the former Governor’s campaign song.The new song, “One Mississippi” was written by Greenville native Steve Azar as the bicentennial song for the state. It will officially be designated as the “contemporary” state song, while the newly established state songs study committee considers additional state songs from various eras and genres.
Mississippi’s newest laws will take effect July 1. Those laws include tax cuts, medical marijuana, teacher pay raises and changes to methods for the death penalty.
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Here’s a closer look at some of the most noteworthy laws to take effect:
Teacher pay raises
The raise outlined in House Bill 530 will be the largest ever increase for Mississippi teachers with the minimum salary for teachers increasing an average of $5,100.
Tax cuts
House Bill 531 brings the largest tax cut in Mississippi history. Under this new law, the state’s income tax will gradually be reduced to a 4% flat tax on income over $5,000. Starting July 1, taxes on that amount will drop from 5% to 4.7%. In 2025 it will drop again to 4.4% and then in 2026, it will reach 4%.
The bill fell short of Gov. Tate Reeves’ proposal to eliminate the state’s income tax entirely.
Medical Marijuana
The Department of Revenue will begin reviewing applications for businesses to operate as dispensaries on July 1. More than two dozen conditions and symptoms will allow Mississippians to qualify for a medical marijuana card. Those conditions include cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, autism and seizures. The state Department of Health began accepting applications for medical marijuana cards June 1. Department officials believe it will likely take months before businesses are licensed to sell marijuana. Those businesses still need time to grow and test their products.
Buddy’s Law
Senate Bill 2245, otherwise known as “Buddy’s Law”, is an animal cruelty law named after a dog that survived being set on fire. The law requires mandatory counseling sessions for both adults and juveniles who intentionally inflict harm on domestic animals. The law is named after Buddy, who was severely burned in April 2021 by a 12-year-old boy.
Parker’s Law
House Bill 607 will explicitly list “fentanyl delivery resulting in death” as a crime punishable by 20 years to life in prison. The law is named after Parker Rodenbaugh, a former Madison Central High School and Mississippi State University student who died in 2014 after taking a synthetic drug laced with fentanyl. The man who supplied Rodenbaugh with the drugs that killed him was initially convicted of drug trafficking and second-degree murder, but the murder conviction was later dismissed during appeals.
COVID-19 vaccine mandate ban
House Bill 1509 prohibits any government entity, including public colleges and universities from requiring vaccination against COVID-19. Health care facilities are exempt from the law if a vaccine mandate is recommended or required by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or in order to receive Medicare and Medicaid funding.
Change to death penalty methods
House Bill 1479 changes the methods by which convicts can be executed. The previous law, approved in 2017, laid out specific requirements for a lethal injection and then gave alternatives to lethal injection in sequential order of preference. The new changes remove those requirements for the injection and the preference order for alternatives. Lethal injection remains the state’s preferred method but in the event that method is not possible, the Department of Corrections will decide the alternative method of execution. Those methods include electrocution and firing squad.
New official state song
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“Go Mississippi” will be replaced by “One Mississippi” after 60 years as the official state song. “Go Mississippi” had been criticized for its ties to former Gov. Ross Barnett, an ardent segregationist. The song had different words but borrowed the tune from the former Governor’s campaign song.
The new song, “One Mississippi” was written by Greenville native Steve Azar as the bicentennial song for the state. It will officially be designated as the “contemporary” state song, while the newly established state songs study committee considers additional state songs from various eras and genres.
