Legislative leaders on Wednesday night were still haggling out final details of a so-called “Christmas tree” spending bill to fund dozens of lawmakers’ special projects across the state, hoping to conclude their regular legislative session on Thursday. 

Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins, a Republican from Flowood, told Mississippi Today that he and House leaders were still working through the particulars, but that lawmakers would likely settle on a list of projects sometime Wednesday night. 

A $200 million to $400 million projects bill is typically one of the final items that legislators vote on before they end a session. For the last several years, lawmakers have funded the projects with cash, though they have borrowed money in lean years. 

Earlier this week, legislators approved the budget for the Department of Finance and Administration, the state agency that disburses the money for projects. The budget bill authorized the agency to spend up to $253 million on projects, though the final Christmas tree bill could spend less than that. 

These bills are used for projects in cities and counties, such as park renovations and road repairs. But Christmas tree bills are often used as a political spoils system for lawmakers, with legislative leaders using approval or denial of lawmakers’ requested projects as a carrot or a stick on votes on other issues. Lawmakers did not pass a project last year due to political bickering between Republican leaders of the House and Senate.

Here are some highlights from the session on Wednesday: 

Governor signs SHIELD Act voting restrictions into law

Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Wednesday that he had signed the Safeguard Honesty Integrity in Elections for Lasting Democracy,  or SHIELD, Act into law. 

The measure requires local election officials to verify voters’ citizenship using a federal immigration database and to audit voter rolls for potential noncitizens. Supporters say the measure will boost confidence in election results. Critics say it will suppress some U.S. citizens’ votes.

“This is another win for election integrity in Mississippi (and America),” Reeves said in a statement on social media. “We will continue to do everything in our power to make it infinitely harder – with a goal to make it impossible – to cheat in our elections!”

The legislation drew vocal opposition from Democrats, who said it would make voting more time-consuming and could even function as a “poll tax” because people might end up having to pay for extra documents, such as birth certificates, to prove their citizenship. Reeves, in turn, accused Democrats on Wednesday of trying to “outsource the management of our country to those who shouldn’t be here.”

There is no evidence that noncitizens are voting in large numbers in Mississippi or across the U.S. But Republicans said the bill is a simple proposal that adds another layer of verification to the state’s process for ensuring only citizens vote.

Reeves signed the bill into law as the Trump administration pushes to “nationalize” elections with a federal bill that could potentially prevent millions of people from casting ballots. 

Both chambers of the Mississippi Legislature also sent bills to the governor on Tuesday  aiming to crack down on immigration, despite some lawmakers raising concerns that the federal government is responsible for enforcement and that the proposals could inadvertently harm U.S. citizens.

Bill taxing immigrant worker wire transfers likely dead

A bill that would have taxed wire transfers of money from Mississippi to other countries is likely dead after lawmakers from both sides of the aisle raised concerns about unintended consequences and constitutionality.

SB 2828, the “Money Transfer Modernization Act,” was aimed at collecting money from undocumented workers who are not paying taxes when they send money to their home countries, proponents said. 

It would have created a fee of $7.50 for wire transfers of up to $500, and 1.5% of the transfer for amounts over $500. People could receive a refund of the charges by going through an appeal process and proving they pay income taxes.

“We need to capture some of that money back for people who are here illegally and using our services,” said Rep. Angela Hill, a Republican from Picayune. 

But as the Senate prepared to take a final vote that would have sent the measure on to the governor on Wednesday, other lawmakers had questions about whether the charges are constitutional, and whether they would overburden banks or other institutions with new regulations and tasks. 

The Senate voted to recommit the bill for further discussion and possible changes. As lawmakers look to end their 2026 session as early as Thursday, it likely killed the measure for this year.

After big promises, lawmakers land on smaller teacher pay raise

Both chambers on Wednesday passed a teacher pay raise, much smaller than what each chamber had proposed earlier in the session. 

The House and the Senate have gone back and forth for months, presenting dueling pay raise proposals. The House wanted to give teachers $5,000 more per year, while the Senate started at $2,000 and eventually upped its plan to a $6,000 raise rolled out over three years. 

In the end, though, the Senate’s original $2,000 pay raise won out, disappointing teachers across the state. 

House Education Chairman Rob Roberson, a Republican from Starkville, had stern words for critics of the smaller raise on the floor Wednesday morning.

“Protest it. Don’t take it,” he said. “We have attempted to give our teachers pay raises over the years. When you roll out here and you meet another state employee, the guy that works on the side of the road for the state, ask him how many pay raises he’s gotten. You know what the answer is? None. We are trying our best to do what we can.”

Lawmakers said the state couldn’t afford to give teachers any more money this year because of other expenses, but have promised to return to the issue in 2027. 

“I’m going to fight very hard for our teachers in the future — don’t doubt that — but I’m not going to apologize for an increase, not whenever we have so many others that didn’t get one,” Roberson said. 

Legislators also approved a number of education initiatives that would be administered by the Mississippi Department of Education, including extending the literacy act that boosted reading rates into higher grades, creating a similar statewide math program and requiring financial literacy courses. 

The Legislature sent the Mississippi Department of Education’s budget to the governor earlier this week, which provides funding for all of these initiatives and the pay raise. 

After the final education bill was adopted Wednesday afternoon, Senate Education Committee Chairman Dennis DeBar, a Republican from Leakesville, gave lawmakers a pat on the back for the policies they passed this session.

“The Senate and the Legislature accomplished a lot this year on education despite the rocky start we had with school choice issues, and you should all be proud of what you’ve done this year,” he said.

House adjourns without taking up youth court bill 

Senate Bill 2728, which included sweeping changes to Mississippi’s beleaguered youth court system, died on Wednesday’s deadline, even before its author Sen. Brice Wiggins, a Republican fromPascagoula, began introducing it to his colleagues. 

Mississippi’s youth courts handle child abuse and neglect cases as well as juvenile delinquency. These courts are closed to the public, their records held confidential, and operate under different kinds of judges from county to county, leading to inconsistent outcomes for families. Court officials, lawmakers and policy experts have discussed for years the need for Mississippi to bring uniformity to the courts. 

Both the Senate and the House had passed versions of the bill earlier in the session and a handful of lawmakers had reached a compromise, called a conference report, filed Monday. 

“A youth court system statewide has been discussed in this building for over a decade. We are at this point where we can make something positive for our children in a system that does not serve them,” Wiggins said while introducing the conference report to his colleagues Wednesday afternoon.

But the House had already adjourned for Wednesday, a deadline for the bill, without taking it up for a vote.

Changes in the bill, which wouldn’t have taken effect until 2028, included doing away with the referee system, in which private attorneys are appointed part time to hear youth court cases in chancery courts. It also would have opened court proceedings in child abuse and neglect cases, except in cases in which the judge felt there was a need to close the courtroom, and would have allowed the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services to file petitions in child welfare matters.

“The state is 22 years into the Olivia Y litigation with a price tag of roughly $95 million. Without systemic changes, the state cannot exit this litigation, and it risks inviting additional litigation,” Wiggins said to the Senate.