JACKSON, Mississippi (WLBT) – Political headlines in Mississippi cover all topics for 2022.
Legislators quickly tackled legislation to get medical marijuana programs up and running.
“It’s not a perfect bill, but we’re trying to be conservative,” Sen. Kevin Blackwell, the author of SB 2095, said in January. “We’re trying to take the initiative65,65 intent and keep it within that framework.”
They passed the final version, which was signed into law by the Governor on February 2. This is the first step in relieving families who have been waiting for alternative medicines.
“We were very eager to try and do something to ease his burden,” Christine Loftin said of her son.
Another consensus is that teachers should get a raise. Every chamber of commerce has its own ideas. In the end, their teachers received an average raise of $5,140 and assistant teachers an average of $2,000.
The income tax is a source of infighting in the Republican Party, with some lobbying to eliminate the tax entirely while others support only cuts. In the end, they agreed to cut production.
“For a person earning $40,000 a year, that’s about $425 in tax savings per year,” noted Interim Speaker Jason White. “For couples filing jointly up to $80, the tax deduction is more than $800 per year.”
The Senate passed a bill that would extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for a year after childbirth. The speaker said he didn’t want anything that looked like a broader expansion of Medicaid.
“These are living children who were born here,” Lieutenant Gov. Delbert Horsman said of his disappointment at the death of the legislation at the conclusion of the meeting. “We need to refocus ourselves. We’re better than that.”
American Rescue Plan Act or ARPA dollars are also allocated.
“We’re strengthening our roads, we’re strengthening our bridges, we’re increasing access to clean drinking water,” Gov. Tet Reeves said. “These new legislation have the potential to have a huge impact on people’s quality of life.”
In mid-year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled overturning Roe v. Wade, putting the state’s last remaining abortion clinics at risk.
The clinic sued the state, arguing that the state constitution includes a right to privacy — not specifically the right to abortion — but saying it is included in the “right to autonomous bodily integrity.”
Ultimately, Jackson Women’s Health closed on July 6.
Three of the state’s four congressmen retained their seats after some surprise primary runoffs, with Mike Ezer defeating incumbent Steven Palazzo in the 4th district.
What we expect to push again in 2023 is the recovery ballot initiative process that was left unfinished this year. Voters haven’t had that option since the state Supreme Court struck down the process in 2021.
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