2022 Year in Review: Mississippi politics

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Mississippi political headlines ran the gamut of subjects in 2022.

Lawmakers made fast work of dealing with laws to get a medical marijuana program up and working.

“It’s not an ideal invoice however we’ve tried to be conservative,” stated the writer of SB 2095, Sen. Kevin Blackwell in January. “We tried to take initiative 65, the intent of 65, and preserve that inside this framework.”

They handed the ultimate model with the Governor signing it into legislation on February 2. It was step one in direction of aid for households who’ve been ready for different medication.

“We’re very desperate to attempt to get one thing in place that’s going to supply some aid to him,” famous Christine Loftin about her son.

One other level of settlement was that academics deserved a increase. Every chamber had its personal concepts on how a lot. In the end, they’re getting a median pay increase of $5,140 for academics and $2,000 for assistant academics.

Revenue taxes had been the supply of GOP in-fighting with some lobbying for full elimination of the tax whereas others supported solely a minimize. Ultimately, they agreed to a minimize.

“For an individual making 40,000 bucks a 12 months, that’s a tax financial savings of about $425 a 12 months,” famous Speaker Professional Tempore Jason White. “For a married couple submitting collectively making as much as 80, it’s a tax minimize of over $800 a 12 months.”

The Senate handed a invoice to increase postpartum Medicaid protection for a 12 months after giving delivery. The Speaker stated he didn’t need something that may seem like a broader growth of Medicaid.

“These are reside kids which might be right here which have been born right here,” stated Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann on the finish of the session relating to his disappointment within the laws dying. “We have to refocus ourselves. We’re higher than that.”

American Rescue Plan Act or ARPA {dollars} had been additionally divvied up.

“We’re strengthening our roads, we’re bolstering our bridges, and we’re growing entry to scrub ingesting water,” stated Governor Tate Reeves. “These new items of laws have the potential to massively impression of us’ high quality of life.”

And midway by the 12 months, the U.S. Supreme Courtroom dominated to overturn Roe versus Wade, placing the state’s solely remaining abortion clinic on a brief timetable.

The clinic sued the state, arguing that the STATE structure contains the precise to privateness – not particularly abortion – however says it’s coated underneath “the precise to autonomous bodily integrity.”

In the end, the Jackson Ladies’s Well being Group closed on July 6.

And after some shock main runoffs, three of the state’s 4 Congressmen maintained their seats with Mike Ezell defeating incumbent Steven Palazzo within the 4th district.

An undone merchandise this 12 months that we anticipate to see one other push for in 2023 is the restoration of a poll initiative course of. Voters haven’t had that possibility for the reason that state supreme court docket overturned the method in 2021.

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