This week at your Mississippi Senate proved to be a busy one as we moved through the committee deadline on Tuesday directly into floor action. This phase of the process will last through February 11. In legislation, Senate Bill 2429 was passed which would create a study committee to look at how state vehicles are used and managed. Three senators and three representatives will review inventory, uses and agency needs of vehicles, which could result in cost savings transferring unused or little used vehicles to agencies that need them, freeing up the state from making certain purchases.
by Tyler McCaughn
Other legislation passed includes the following bills:
• Senate Bill 2068 would lower the age of prosecution for voyeurism from 21 to 18.
• Senate Bill 2759 would increase by $90 per month the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, (TANF), benefits paid to those who are among the state’s poorest residents. It represents the first increase under the program in 21 years and will be paid from federal funds. No state funds are used.
• Senate Bill 2119 would allow the purchase of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine without a prescription. It would allow allergy sufferers to purchase certain medications containing a decongestant. This program would require that a person be entered into a federal program for tracking and would limit the dosage received each month.
• Senate Bill 2552 would prohibit the participation in pretrial intervention programs for those charged with public embezzlement of $10,000 or more.
• Senate Bill 2561, the “Empower Reentry Through Licensing Act,” would provide a six month provisional driver’s license to released prison inmates so they can travel back and forth to jobs, parole meetings, church, and other things.
• Senate Bill 2252 would establish a Special Care Facility for Paroled Inmates where frail, critically ill inmates could be housed. It would allow the federal government to contribute toward the cost of operation and save the state a large sum of the $80 million a year it spends on healthcare for inmates.
• Senate Bill 2574 would create a pilot reentry court program to help inmates’ transition from prison to normal life.
• Senate Bill 2270 would provide for stricter confidentiality of photographs and recordings of autopsy proceedings.
• Senate Bill 2569 would make the sale of clean urine or chemical urine substitutes a crime. Clean urine is used by some persons to deceptively pass drug tests.
• Senate Bill 2434 would transfer control of the Capitol Police force from the Department of Finance and Administration to the Department of Public Safety.
• Senate Bill 2035, which would allow air guns, air bows and pre-charged pneumatic weapons for hunting and authorize a special season for collection of Chronic Wasting Disease samples.
• Senate Bill 2815 would issue digital decals for apportioned motor vehicles, which could save the state about $13 million a year.
• Senate Bill 2811 further clarified the process for disposing of abandoned manufactured or mobile homes and ensures fees owed on them or accumulated in the process of disposal, can be collected.
• Senate Bill 2834 would create the Mississippi Historic Site Preservation Fund Grant Program within the Department of Archives and History and give them $500,000 in seed money to start it up.
• Senate Bill 2728 would allow retiring officers under the Department of Revenue to keep one of their issued sidearms. A companion bill, Senate Bill 2828, would clarify that Alcoholic Beverage Control officers have the same law enforcement authority as other police officers.
• Senate Bill 2807 would clarify that sales of alcoholic beverages in areas deemed dry as still illegal, though possession in those areas was decriminalized.
• Senate Bill 2267 would allow teachers licensed in other states to transfer into and teach in Mississippi if they pass a background check.
• Senate Bill 2305 would create the William F. Winter and Jack Reed Sr. Teachers Loan Repayment Program designed to pay back over three years; a portion of student load debt carried by newly recruited Mississippi teachers.
• Senate Bill 2282 would raise the minimum age for youth detention or commitment to the state training school from 10 to 12.
• Senate Bill 2189 would allow counties and municipalities to offer Medicare eligible employees supplemental compensation if the employee secured Medicare.
• Senate Bill 2072 sets misdemeanor and felony penalties for taking of pecans from private property.
• Senate Bill 2205 would allow an adoptee to obtain a certified copy of their original birth certificate after turning 18.
• Senate Bill 2486 would create a study committee to review the usage of state parks, their leasing/management arrangements and give lawmakers a detailed analysis of how best to utilize them. Five senators appointed by the Lt. Governor and five representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House would comprise the committee.
With these bills’ passage on the Senate side, these now move to the House for consideration. There remain some hundred bills on the Senate calendar.
In community news, there were some 372,000 vaccinations given as of February 6th. Of those, 3,173 people in Scott County, 2,201 people in Newton County, and 7,695 in Lauderdale County have received doses. I am an advocate for the local pharmacies and the local hospitals to distribute this vaccine. The state and federal government have relied on the commercial chain pharmacies to administer the vaccine and they have failed miserably. The latest announcement of shifting vaccines to the largest retailer in the nation is even more disturbing. Our local pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals have a vested interest in the people that they regularly care for. They should be more involved in the distribution of this vaccine. I will continue to fight for those who care for our communities. As always, I thank you for allowing me to serve you.
Tyler McCaughn represents Newton County in Senate District 32. He can be reached at TMcCaughn@senate.ms.gov
