Mississippi
MS House passes income tax cut after nearly 2-hour debate. Will Senate pass it next?
Democrats concerned about impact of raising taxes on local populations
Mississippi House passes bill to cut income and sales tax
Rep. Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, House Ways and Means chairman, presents the Build Up Mississippi Act to cut income and sales taxes.
The Mississippi House of Representatives passed a $1.1 billion tax cut bill on Thursday after nearly two hours of debate, sending it on to the Senate where leadership is considering a starkly different approach, and thus is unlikely to pass the House version.
House leadership after the vote said there really isn’t much room for compromise, but there is hope that because Senate leadership wants to cut taxes, both sides can hopefully come to an agreement.
“I’m encouraged by the fact that that (Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann) is talking about cutting taxes, I think that’s a good place to start, as opposed to somebody who wouldn’t,” House Speaker Jason White,R-West, said. “Now maybe we’ll figure out the best way to get there in this process.”
House Bill No. 1, dubbed the Build Up Mississippi Act, passed with 88 votes. Of them, at least nine were Democrats and two were independents. There were 24 no votes, consisting only of Democrats.
“It’s bipartisan to some extent. And you saw a lot of people, maybe they didn’t vote yes, they didn’t vote no, either,” White told reporters after the vote. “I’m proud of my Republicans for speaking as one, as a caucus, that this is important to them and to their constituency. It’s a good, strong vote for us, and it’ll be a strong position for me as speaker to advocate for its passage and advancement on the other end of the building.”
If passes both chambers as is, the bill would:
- Eliminate $2.2 billion in income tax revenues over 10 years. The cut would become active once the state’s income tax is phased down to 4% by Fiscal Year 2027.
- Reduce state sales tax on groceries from 7% to 2.5% while adjusting tax structure on other items to offset the costs.
- Removes state sales tax diversions to municipalities and replaces it with a local-option 1.5% local sales tax. Cities will have the option to opt-out of this tax structure. Lamar said this will result in local tax revenue increases across the state.
- Sales tax collected at 1.5% in counties will be diverted to road and bridge infrastructure needs at the county level.
- Add a fuel sales tax of 5% on retail sale of gasoline. This would be in addition to the state fuel tax already imposed. Lamar said this would add $400 million to the state budget, and all of those additional funds would go to the Mississippi Department of Transportation for road and bridge projects.
- The $80 million that was going to MDOT per year from gambling revenue will now be headed toward the Public Employee Retirement Systems of Mississippi to address a $25 billion deficit in future retirement benefits.
- Establishes a “budget stabilization fund” that will act as a secondary rainy-day fund.
“This is all about 10 years later, we’re finally at a place where we can tell the hard-working people of Mississippi that we are going to eliminate the tax on work for you, your children, your grandchildren and all future generations,” House Ways and Means Chairman and bill sponsor Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, said.
The bill, however, will not include an income tax cut for sex workers in Mississippi, who will be taxed at 5% of their income once the tax cut is fully phased in.
Before voting on the bill, several Democrats questioned whether the tax package would actually end up costing the state more money down the road and causing revenue shortfalls. They also questioned whether moving to a consumption-based economy would result in poorer people paying more money out of pockets because of increases in costs due to the new gas tax and sales tax model.
Others pointed out growing needs to repair and replace existing government structures such as schools and offices.
“Has any thought been given, or was any thought given about not only for schools, but the age of infrastructure of all of the state buildings across the state?” asked Rep. Bryant Clark, D-Lexington.
Rep. Omeria Scott, D-Laurel, offered an amendment to just cut the sales tax immediately, calling on Republicans to not wait for the end of the 10-year phase-in of the tax cuts as proposed in the bill, but it was defeated.
After 2016 when the state passed several tax cuts, revenue shortfalls ensued, causing former Gov. Phil Bryant to make emergency budget cuts several times. Numerous county Mississippi State Department of Health County offices closed and state grant matches for federally funded infrastructure projects were put at risk.
Under the House plan, sales taxes excluding groceries would essentially amount to 8.5%, which still puts Mississippi at a lower sales tax than its neighbors.
House Speaker Jason White told reporters after the vote that he is optimistic about working with the Senate leadership, but he said he does not intend to compromise on fully eliminating the income tax or establishing infrastructure revenue streams.
Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.
Wicker: Mississippi powered Artemis II
Published 4:00 pm Monday, April 20, 2026
For nine days this month, space travel captivated the world. Families gathered around their screens as four astronauts strapped into the Integrity spacecraft docked at the Kennedy Space Center. As the launch countdown ended, four Mississippi-tested RS-45 engines ignited, and the ground shook. Seven seconds later, the Integrity had liftoff. For six intense minutes, the RS-45 engines rocketed the crew into high Earth orbit, sending them on their historic lunar flyby mission.
Mississippi should take a bow. The four RS-45 engines were tested at our very own Stennis Space Center, where Mississippians have been ensuring the quality of rocket engines since the Apollo program. For eight years, engineers, safety managers, and logistics specialists from the state have tested the engines that powered the Integrity and will power future Artemis launches. Their work paid off, and the launch was a marvel of engineering. NASA leadership made special mention of the rocket engine burn, calling it “flawless.”
One Mississippian in particular helped make the mission a success. Hernando native Matthew Ramsey handled a great deal of responsibility as the mission manager for Artemis II. The Mississippi State University graduate helped set the focus for the mission and equip the astronauts and staff for the job. Matthew also served as the deputy of the Mission Management Team, the group of NASA staff that comes together just days before a launch. The team assumes the risks of the mission ahead, and they make tough calls during flight if challenges arise.
As the Artemis II journey progressed, the world could not stop watching. Our social media feeds were full of photos and videos beamed down from the heavens. They captured humorous situations, such as the astronauts adjusting to life without gravity or testing their plumbing skills.
We also witnessed moments of majesty. On the fifth day, the Integrity began using the Moon’s gravity to slingshot our astronauts back home. That trajectory led the crew around the Moon, farther from Earth than any humans have ever gone. As the explorers looked upon outer space, they captured stunning images. Among the most remarkable is Earthset, in which Commander Reid Wiseman photographed Earth as it appeared to fall below the horizon of the moon.
When their spacecraft returned to Earth’s atmosphere, the crew was traveling nearly 35 times faster than the speed of sound. Ten minutes later, a series of parachutes began opening. Eventually, the spacecraft’s speed fell to 20 miles per hour, and the crew splashed down into the Pacific Ocean.
Mississippi was once again there to assist. The astronauts were greeted by the USS John P. Murtha, a U.S. military vessel built in the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula. The ship’s amphibious design was suited to welcome the space travelers home—equipped with a helicopter pad, medical facilities, and the communications system needed to locate and recover the astronauts safely. Crucially, the USS Murtha was built with a well deck, a sea-based garage that stored the Integrity on the journey to shore.
Artemis II was a resounding success, paving the way for planned future flights. When the Artemis program returns humans to the moon, Mississippi will be there every step of the way.
Mississippi
D1Baseball rankings: Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss surge after big weekends – SuperTalk Mississippi
Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss have surged in the rankings after a big weekend on the diamond.
The Bulldogs (30-10, 10-8 SEC) jumped two spots to No. 15 in the latest poll from D1Baseball following a strong bounce back. Brian O’ Connor’s club, after having been on the wrong side of SEC sweeps in back-to-back series, earned a 10-rule win over Samford on Tuesday, then took care of business with a sweep at South Carolina.
Next up for Mississippi State is a midweek home matchup versus Memphis on Tuesday before LSU heads to Dudy Noble Field for Super Bulldog Weekend.
The Rebels (29-12, 10-8 SEC) took the biggest leap in the rankings, making an eight-spot jump to No. 17 despite not budging in the top 25 a week ago after sweeping LSU. Once Mike Bianco’s club took the first two games at Tennessee in the most recent series, D1Baseball co-owner Kendall Rogers made note that Ole Miss fans could expect to see their team catapult in his outlet’s poll. Come Monday, though the red and blue lost the series finale, D1Baseball stuck to its word.
“What a weekend so far for [Ole Miss baseball]. Cade Townsend carried a no hitter into the sixth in an 8-1 win over Tennessee to take the series,” Rogers wrote on X. “Rebs are on a heater. Safe to say they’ll be much higher than 25 on Monday.”
Next up for the red-hot Rebels is a home midweek outing versus Murray State, the team that knocked the Rebels out of the postseason last year, before No. 5 Georgia travels to Swayze Field for Double Decker weekend.
The Golden Eagles (28-12, 11-7 Sun Belt) made a four-spot jump to No. 18 after securing a much needed conference sweep to keep hopes of hosting an NCAA Tournament regional alive. Christian Ostrander’s club defended home turf over the weekend, taking all three games from a solid Texas State club.
Next up for the black and gold is a Tuesday midweek battle versus former conference foe Tulane, before making an hour and a half drive to South Alabama for the weekend.
The full top 25 can be found below:
- UCLA
- North Carolina
- Georgia Tech
- Texas
- Georgia
- Oregon State
- Texas A&M
- Florida State
- Coastal Carolina
- Virginia
- Auburn
- West Virginia
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Mississippi State
- Kansas
- Ole Miss
- Southern Miss
- Oregon
- Nebraska
- Florida
- Boston College
- USC
- Arkansas
- Arizona State
Odds of winning the Powerball and Mega Millions are NOT in your favor
Odds of hitting the jackpot in Mega Millions or Powerball are around 1-in-292 million. Here are things that you’re more likely to land than big bucks.
The Mississippi Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at April 19, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Mississippi Match 5 numbers from April 19 drawing
01-07-11-30-34
Check Mississippi Match 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 3 numbers from April 19 drawing
Midday: 7-4-6, FB: 5
Evening: 3-3-0, FB: 8
Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash 4 numbers from April 19 drawing
Midday: 3-4-8-9, FB: 5
Evening: 6-2-0-4, FB: 8
Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from April 19 drawing
Midday: 10
Evening: 08
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Story continues below gallery.
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
Winnings of $599 or less can be claimed at any authorized Mississippi Lottery retailer.
Prizes between $600 and $99,999, may be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters or by mail. Mississippi Lottery Winner Claim form, proper identification (ID) and the original ticket must be provided for all claims of $600 or more. If mailing, send required documentation to:
Mississippi Lottery Corporation
P.O. Box 321462
Flowood, MS
39232
If your prize is $100,000 or more, the claim must be made in person at the Mississippi Lottery headquarters. Please bring identification, such as a government-issued photo ID and a Social Security card to verify your identity. Winners of large prizes may also have the option of setting up electronic funds transfer (EFT) for direct deposits into a bank account.
Mississippi Lottery Headquarters
1080 River Oaks Drive, Bldg. B-100
Flowood, MS
39232
Mississippi Lottery prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing date. For detailed instructions and necessary forms, please visit the Mississippi Lottery claim page.
When are the Mississippi Lottery drawings held?
- Cash 3: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
- Cash 4: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
- Match 5: Daily at 9:30 p.m. CT.
- Cash Pop: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Mississippi editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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