Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Friday that he intends to call a special legislative session next week for lawmakers to pass a state budget.
The move comes after House Speaker Jason White and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, both Republicans, said separately that they had reached a handshake deal on a $7 billion state budget, which was supposed to have been passed earlier this year in regular session.
Reeves, a Republican, said he informed Hosemann and White on Friday that he intends to call a special session for the middle of next week.
“The proposed budget does not materially increase state spending, is fiscally conservative, and will help us to continue Mississippi’s historic economic momentum,” Reeves said in a statement posted on social media. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done to reach this agreement. I’d like to thank Mississippi’s legislative appropriators for working diligently throughout the budget negotiation process. I’m excited to get the special session completed and look forward to quickly passing the budget.”
Multiple legislators told Mississippi Today that House Speaker Jason White’s office notified them that the special session would begin on Wednesday morning, though the governor has not yet publicly said when it will begin.
Mississippi lawmakers must return for a special session because they adjourned their 2025 regular session earlier this year without passing a budget. Lawmakers were mired in political infighting over tax reform and capital projects, including many lawmakers’ pet projects in their districts.
The Senate wanted to spend only on projects for state agencies, universities and colleges. The House believed there was enough money to fund projects in counties and municipalities around the state, in addition to the state projects.
The political reality is that legislative leadership tightly controls the bulk of the local projects in what’s often referred to as the “Christmas Tree bill.” Leadership can use these projects to reward people who buy into their agenda and punish members who buck the leadership.
Such special projects for back home are often a key focus of rank-and-file lawmakers who don’t have prominent leadership roles at the Capitol.
Legislators must return to the Capitol to pass a budget in special session before the new budget year begins July 1. Failure to pass a new state budget by the end of June could result in some agencies shutting down until they are funded.
