Saturday evening is the deadline for Mississippi lawmakers to submit their conference committee reports so the House and Senate can vote on pending legislation. The parliamentary session is scheduled to end on May 5th, and time is limited.
Some of the most important bills lawmakers are finalizing this week include Medicaid expansion, online sports betting, possible limits on the state's retirement system, state agency budgets, and spending for cities and counties. is included.
Similarly, Senate Education Committee Chairman Dennis Dever (R-Leakesville) has until Wednesday to agree to changes to Senate Bill 2693, which became the INSPIRE Act, the House K-12 education funding model. There is a need.
The bill previously failed after an earlier deadline for the House bill to pass the Senate. At the time, Dever moved not to convene the meeting to continue discussions about reforming how the state funds K-12 education, which is currently being done through the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.
Read more about the education funding debateMississippi lawmakers have yet to agree on a way to fund K-12 education.House reintroduces own plan
What is a conference committee?
A conference committee will convene after both chambers advance the bill, which has undergone changes since it passed the first chamber. The first group of legislators to pass a bill will have the opportunity to send it to the governor or attend a conference. When the conference committee convenes, the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House appoint three members to represent the Legislature's position and develop a compromise solution.
When it comes to detailed items on lawmakers' agendas, education, Medicaid, the state's retirement system and even online gambling are just a few of the more than 200 bills the state Legislature is currently considering. .
Medicaid debate
Earlier this month, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hoseman and House Speaker Jason White made appointments to negotiate a compromise between the House and Senate plans to expand Medicaid in Mississippi.
Under the House plan, states would pay nothing for at least two years and receive up to $1 billion a year to expand Medicaid to 138% of the federal poverty line, or about $20,000 per person per year. Additionally, people between the ages of 19 and 64 will be required to work 20 hours a week. People who currently have private health insurance will also have to wait a year before becoming eligible for Medicaid. Research firm Hilltop Institute estimated that about 200,000 people could become eligible for Medicaid under the previous expansion.
Under the Senate plan, Mississippi's Medicaid sector would expand to up to 99% of the federal poverty line, or about $15,000 per person per year. It would require people between the ages of 19 and 64 to work at least 30 hours a week, with the exception of full-time students and those caring for young children, to name a few. Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, told reporters that up to about 80,000 people could be eligible, but he expected only about 40,000 to actually register. . The federal government has no intention of committing additional support funds.
Rep. Sam Creekmore (R-New Albany) told the Clarion-Ledger last week that he had received indications that Medicaid could be one of the last things resolved this Congress.
Read more about Medicaid participantsSee which MS Representatives and Senators were chosen to develop the Medicaid expansion plan
State retirement plan bill in session
Earlier this month, senators revived the Mississippi Commission's effort to control the public employee retirement system, inserting language into another bill that would eliminate the commission's 2% increase in public employee contribution rates starting in July.
The bill also includes language that prohibits the PERS board from announcing future rate increases without Congressional approval. The PERS board previously proposed rate hikes for public employers, including cities, counties and school districts, to address the state pension system's $25 billion in debt.
After Government Structures Committee Chairman Chris Johnson (R-Hattiesburg) killed a House member by saying he thought lawmakers needed more time to make changes to the state's retirement system. , an effort this year to introduce more legislative oversight to the PERS board failed in the Senate. Bill 1590.
PERS status detailsMS Senate revives efforts to tighten control over PERS board
online sports gambling
The Senate last week voted to convene a conference on House Bill 1774, which seeks to establish a way to enable online sports betting.
The bill, which initially passed the House, would allow online sports betting companies to partner with brick-and-mortar casinos.
However, Senate GAMIM Committee Chairman David Blunt (D-Jackson) removed all language from the bill and called a meeting.
National budget
According to the Legislature's website, the Legislature typically deals with issues of funding for state agencies, local projects and initiatives, as well as setting the statewide budget, which follows most other legislation.
In the 2023 session, lawmakers did not finalize the state budget until nearly 2 a.m. on the last day of session.
Agencies such as the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Mississippi Department of Health are expected to have their fiscal year budgets posted by the end of the session. The state's fiscal year runs from July 1st to June 30th.
What happens next?
The 2024 session ends on Sunday, May 5th. By then, lawmakers have until Saturday evening, April 27, to submit their meeting report, and both chambers have until May 3 to submit their reports.
Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at gmcLaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.