The focus of the 2026 Mississippi legislative session so far has been the gulf between Republican House and Senate leaders over school choice, or, more pointedly, the House proposal to spend millions of tax dollars on private schooling.

Senate leaders vow opposition to the omnibus House Bill 2 because of this facet. But House Bill 2 is a kitchen-sink measure, with many other education proposals thrown in. And, it would appear, the Senate leadership is open to many of these. Its education panel passed a slew of them in separate bills on to the full Senate last week, and several more have been filed. Those passed include measures to expand the state’s successful literacy into higher grades and create a similar math program and to require financial literacy curriculum in order to graduate high schools. Both chambers appear onboard with allowing public school students to switch schools or districts more easily. And other bills pending before the Senate committee include promoting prayer in school and allowing homeschooled children to play in public school sports, mirrors of House legislation in HB 2.

But will the standoff over private-school vouchers prevent agreement on other measures? A full-court political press is on. Local governments and school officials continue to lobby against HB2, while some apparently well-funded and organized proponents are sending out robo-texts to constituents in home districts of Republican lawmakers who oppose the measure. Even the White House has been applying pressure on Mississippi Republicans for passage of the voucher measure.

Otherwise, lawmakers face a busy couple of weeks, with key deadlines approaching. Importantly, a first major “killing deadline,” one that will likely weed out hundreds of bills, is Feb. 3, the deadline for committees to pass or kill bills from their own chamber.

Other major debates to watch this session are:

• Ballot initiative. This has become a perennial issue since the state Supreme Court nullified this right for Mississippi voters in 2021. Lawmakers can’t seem to get together on the particulars, although many proclaim they want to restore voters’ ability to sidestep the Legislature and put measures to a statewide vote. The 2027 state elections loom, and lawmakers face pressure to resolve this before reelection time.

• Online sports betting. This is a major House initiative, and its leaders have tried to sweeten the pot for a reluctant Senate, proposing to earmark tax revenue from mobile gambling to shore up the state’s government employee retirement system.

• Campaign-finance reform. Another perennial issue facing more urgency with the 2027 elections looming, the state’s lax, confusing, conflicting and often unenforced campaign-finance laws leave our elections open to an unchecked flow of dark money and special interest influence. But it appears two main players in potential reform, the secretary of state and attorney general, are getting on the same page.

Quote of the Week

“I do have a little problem, Mr. House Speaker. In fact, I’ve got three problems … I’ve got a problem with my woman, with my girlfriend and with my wife …” — famed blues musician Bobby Rush, who gave an impromptu singing and harmonica performance on the House floor on Tuesday.

In Brief

Prison health reform proposed

A slate of bills from House Corrections Chair Becky Currie, a Republican from Brookhaven, would revamp the delivery of health care in state prisons.

The proposals come after Mississippi Today’s “Behind Bars, Beyond Care” series, which has documented the alleged routine denial of health care in state prisons and deadly outcomes.

Currie’s bills would establish a corrections ombudsman to investigate health care complaints, establish hepatitis C and HIV treatment programs, provide kiosks for prisoners to request medical attention and require correctional officers to wear body cameras. But most of the bills have been double-referred, meaning they would have to pass through two committees. That’s sometimes a sign that a bill doesn’t have the support of a chamber’s leadership. – Michael Goldberg

Bill would provide benefits for gig workers

A growing number of Americans are working as independent contractors and “gig” workers.

They often do not receive employer-provided benefits such as health care and retirement.

House Bill 1072, the “Voluntary Portable Benefit Plan,” aims to help these workers access benefits. Authored by Rep. Lee Yancey, a Republican from Brandon, the bill would create a separate type of benefit that follows workers across jobs. A hiring firm could make tax-deductible contributions to the account and it would not be counted as taxable income for the worker. Similar portable-benefit accounts have been created in other states, such as Alabama and Tennessee. – Katherine Lin

Gov. Reeves to deliver State of the State address

Gov. Tate Reeves will deliver his State of the State Address to a joint session of the Mississippi Legislature on Tuesday.

The address, which will be aired live by Mississippi Public Broadcasting, will be delivered at 5 p.m. in the second-floor rotunda at the state Capitol. Read a transcript of Reeves’ 2025 address here. – Mississippi Today

DeSoto board wants power to remove member

HERNANDO — Some DeSoto County School Board members want a legal process by which an elected school board member could be ousted for concerns including malfeasance and abuse of power. They passed a resolution in November formally asking lawmakers to consider granting that authority in the current legislative session.

Sen. Kevin Blackwell, a Republican from Southaven, has filed Senate Bill 2068, which would allow a school district’s local governing authority, by majority vote, to remove a school board member for breach of public trust, neglect of duty and abuse of authority. The school board would first have to vote on a recommendation.

Rep. Kimberly Remak, a Republican from Olive Branch, is the primary author of House Bill 573, the House mirror of Blackwell’s bill.  – Leonardo Bevilacqua

Earlier teacher procurement cards proposed

The Senate Education Committee on Thursday passed a bill that would distribute procurement cards, which teachers use to pay for classroom supplies, in July instead of August.

A report from the state Auditor’s office last summer showed that the card is activated too late to be useful, and that many teachers are forced to spend their own money on supplies.

The cards provide every teacher $748.

Sen. Scott DeLano, a Republican from Biloxi, said the new date would be tight, given that the state’s fiscal year starts in July. But he said the change is necessary because school districts are starting earlier and earlier. – Devna Bose

Bill would prohibit secret government settlements

Sen. Angela Hill, a Republican from Picayune, filed a bill that would prohibit government bodies from entering into private settlements and ban judges from sealing settlements, especially if they involve tax money. 

Hill told Mississippi Today that the legislation is about promoting transparency and allowing the public to know if taxpayer dollars are paying settlements. She said government bodies can redact the identities of people involved, if necessary. 

“We’re not talking about making private identities public — this is talking about tax dollars,” Hill said.  – Taylor Vance

Truancy officers would see pay raise

A bill pending before the Senate would give truancy officers a significant pay increase.

School attendance officers, under current law, are paid at least $24,000 a year. The new bill would raise the minimum by $10,000.

The bill also expands the responsibilities of attendance officers to dropout prevention and establishes a more robust framework to combat absenteeism, an issue that Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has said is one of his top priorities.

Chronic absenteeism, or missing at least 10% of a school year, has more than doubled in Mississippi since 2018. – Devna Bose

Boyd wants local governments to livestream

The Senate Government Structure Committee last week advanced a bill that would require all government bodies in the state to livestream meetings and post agendas on their website. 

Sen. Nicole Boyd, a Republican from Oxford, filed the legislation and told Mississippi Today that requiring public bodies to do this would not cost them a significant amount of money and should not be a significant burden on them because several agencies and local governments already do this. 

“It’s important for everyday citizens to find out what’s going on in our local boards and commissions,” Boyd said. – Taylor Vance

By the Numbers

$100 million

Amount the University of Mississippi Medical Center is asking the Legislature to provide for what hospital officials hope will become a “gold standard” cancer center. UMMC has already raised $90 million of the estimated $250 million total cost.

More Legislative Coverage

Gov. Reeves says Mississippi will participate in federal school-choice tax credits

The federal tax-credit program, created by President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” allows Mississippians to contribute up to $1,700 to an organization that awards scholarships to private-school students, starting in federal tax year 2027. Donors will be given a break on their taxes equal to the amount they contribute. Read the story.

State lawmakers push for protections as Supreme Court considers dismantling Voting Rights Act

As the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a case that could further weaken the federal Voting Rights Act, some Mississippi lawmakers are moving to write their own version. Read the story.

Mississippi bills would put repeat domestic abusers on a public registry

A handful of bills pending in the Mississippi Legislature propose creating a public online system displaying information about people convicted of two or more domestic violence offenses, including misdemeanors and felonies. Read the story.

Correction: An earlier version of this story has been corrected to show what legislation the Senate Education Committee has passed on to the full Senate and what measures are pending before the committee.