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KILN — Mississippi is preparing to launch a new Rare Disease Task Force as families across the state continue to make difficult decisions about where to find care, how far to travel and how to pay for treatment when specialists are not close to home. 

For families dealing with rare diseases, those decisions can mean leaving Mississippi for appointments, missing work, paying for travel or waiting for referrals to specialists trained to diagnose and treat uncommon conditions. 

To offset those burdens, Gov. Tate Reeves approved Senate Bill 2474 on April 8, creating the seven-member task force within the Mississippi Rare Disease Advisory Council. The group is expected to study gaps in care access, insurance coverage, funding and treatment options, then advise state leaders on ways to improve rare disease care in Mississippi. 

For 6-year-old Ava Maie’s family in Kiln, those barriers are already part of daily life. 

Ava Maie was diagnosed in mid-April with retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer that begins in the retina and most often affects young children.  

The diagnosis followed what first appeared to be an eye injury. Ava Maie’s mother, Crysta Bacon, said grease splashed into Ava Maie’s eye in November 2025, leading to urgent care, an eye exam and the discovery of a large mass behind her right eye. 

“As a parent, that’s some hard news to get, especially when it runs in your family and you’ve had family that has died from it, and it’s always spread for them,” Bacon said. “It’s just one of your worries.” 

They now travel from Hancock County to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, for urgent care and appointments since Mississippi’s rare disease care is limited by the small number of specialists trained to diagnose and manage uncommon conditions. 

Dr. Paulo Borjas, a metabolic geneticist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, said most rare disease referrals in Mississippi go through the center. 

“We are also aware that many of these primary care providers might be unaware or might not see these conditions very often, so there is an important need for education so they can recognize them and refer patients to the proper specialist,” Borjas said. 

Because rare disease diagnoses often depend on referrals to specialists, Borjas said many patients are forced out of state for care.

“Some of these diseases are so rare and uncommon that there truly is one or two or a handful of people who are actually experts,” said Laura Hendon, a genetic counselor at UMMC. 

For Bacon, getting care also means finding ways to pay for travel, appointments and missed work. 

“Being a single parent, I’ve had to let jobs go because of it,” Bacon said. “Even when she was diagnosed with heart failure. It’s hard to find stuff to work around your job when stuff like this is going on.” 

Borjas said transportation and financial barriers are common for rare disease patients in Mississippi, especially in rural areas. 

Insurance coverage can also determine how quickly patients get evaluations, testing and specialty care, Borjas said. Medicaid has helped some patients access laboratory testing, genetic testing and other evaluations, but not all patients qualify. 

Those are the kinds of barriers the new Rare Disease Task Force is expected to study. 

The task force is designed to bring health care workers, researchers, patients, caregivers and other experts together to examine rare disease care in Mississippi. Under the law, the group will advise policymakers and submit annual reports to state leaders. 

Health care workers said Mississippi also faces broader workforce challenges, including recruiting and retaining specialists trained in rare diseases. 

Hendon said the task force could help connect medical experts, researchers, patients and policymakers who do not always work in the same space. 

For families like Bacon’s, the issue is already urgent. Ava Maie’s care now depends on treatment outside Mississippi and continued community support at home. 

Jackson State University alum Tramell Tillman, an Emmy Award winner, is joining the cast of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.”

It is not yet clear what role he will play. The film is set for release on July 31.

The Maryland native got his bachelor’s in mass communications from JSU, where he was involved in the MADDRAMA Performance Troupe, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the Student Government Association and the National Association of Black Journalists.

Tillman spoke to Mississippi Today in 2020 after making his Broadway debut in “The Great Society.”

After graduating from college, he was unhappily working at a nonprofit when a conversation with Mark Henderson, founding director of MADDRAMA and chair of the Department of Speech Communication and Theatre at JSU, inspired him to pursue acting as a full-time career.

“For me, it’s been a love affair since I walked away from it, and then jumped back into it, and then walked away from it because I was scared again, or it’s hurtful,” he said back in 2020.

“But, I love what I do, and I love that I’m able to present a story for people, and they’re changed when they leave.

In a news release, Henderson praised Tramell, saying “his achievements inspire current students and validate our program’s ability to prepare artists for the highest levels of performance.”

JSU President Denise Jones Gregory said, “We are incredibly proud to see one of our own step into a role of this scale, continuing to bring his work to a global audience.” 

“From his time with MADDRAMA to this moment on the big screen, his journey demonstrates what is possible when talent is paired with the training he received here and the opportunity to grow as an artist,” the Jackson State president added.

Tillman spoke at JSU’s recent spring 2026 undergraduate commencement ceremony.

Tillman is best known for his role as Seth Milchick on the television drama “Severance.” He earned a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actor for the role in 2025, becoming the first Black and first openly gay actor to win in that category. He also played Captain Jack Bledsoe in “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.”

GREENVILLE — Greenville Public School District has until Tuesday to return roughly $4 million in pandemic relief money if leaders can’t account for how it was spent. 

The Mississippi Department of Education says it needs additional documentation to ensure the federal grant was spent the way it was intended. The school district can request an extension as it gathers paperwork.

The district faces a similar demand from the Internal Revenue Service for $500,000. Regulators found that information on taxes withheld from employee salaries was not submitted properly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

District leaders discussed both demand letters, as well as current and future financial challenges, at an April 30 school board meeting. While the district has over $6 million dedicated to diminishing short-term debt, Superintendent llean Richards expressed a desire to keep that money available for disasters.

The demand letters come as district leaders are also addressing a $1.5 million deficit as of April 30, two months before the end of the budget year. Board President Antoinette Williams said she expects tax collections due in May and June to cover that shortfall. 

“We’ve got to stay afloat financially,” Richards said. “I’m presenting this to the board for them to understand why I’m asking you to do certain things.”

“It’s my understanding they asked for that before I came here, but they never received that. So now they’ve given us the second chance,” said Richards, who was appointed superintendent in January 2025. 

Richards said she’s also concerned that the district regularly gets notices about debt the district owes — large amounts.

“They’re not talking about $500, all these millions of dollars,” Richards said. “And we’ve got to get this stuff cleaned up, hopefully by the new year.”

The district faces challenges that could impact future budgets, such as declining enrollment that could decrease its state funding allocation and inflation that has increased the cost of fuel for buses 

Board members also discussed rising costs for school construction projects, which were jump-started with pandemic relief funding. Work on the Greenville Technical Center is over 452 days late and possibly $200,000 more expensive.

Bad weather days and supply shortages for materials are driving up the costs, said Greg Durrell, the architect overseeing those projects. Aging infrastructure at district buildings required more extensive rewiring, he said.

The district struggled to account for its construction-related purchases, according to its 2024 financial audit. Former district leaders struggled to keep track of what the district owed construction teams. Also, the district’s ledger did not always accurately reflect purchases.

“We’ve got to look at the fact that there was poor leadership and some things were not done well, and that is why we’re in the situation that we may be facing,” said Allison Washington, secretary of the school board.

Despite many challenges that lie ahead for the district, school board members, contractors and alumni say they are optimistic. Richards has expressed an interest in solving each issue with meticulous research, they say.

“I’m inheriting this, and I’m trying to justify to you why we need to make a change to stay afloat financially,” Richards said during a recent meeting ahead of a June budget hearing. “I’m not saying that you all haven’t discussed it, but you didn’t discuss it with me.”

Richards was hired in part because of her experience working in other Mississippi Delta school districts in school districts in Leflore, Leland and Coahoma County.

Richards cited poor prior fiscal management and higher-than-expected health insurance costs as some reasons district spending exceeded the budget this school year. 

Staff absences are another problem, she said, with the district spending roughly $136,000 on substitute teachers since August. About 900 staff absences have occurred so far this school year, with roughly 12 at Greenville High School on one day. Richard tied those absences to the district’s academic performance.

“We are not going to be a C or a B or an A if teachers are not here to teach,” Richards said. “On any given day at our high school, they can’t even have class when 10 or 12 people are out there because they don’t have anybody to keep the children, and that’s unacceptable.” 

A budget hearing is scheduled for June 17 at the Manning Curriculum Complex. Board member Drew Newsom said staff cuts and school consolidations could be solutions to balance a future budget.

Correction 5/11/26: This story has been updated with the correct name of the Manning Curriculum Complex.

Gov. Tate Reeves and Child Protection Services Commissioner Andrea Sanders on Monday asked a federal judge to dismiss a decades-long lawsuit against the state over its historically neglectful foster care system. 

If the state is successful in its effort to finally rid itself of the litigation, it would be an end to the Olivia Y. v. Barbour lawsuit that has spanned three governors and multiple CPS commissioners and cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. 

The state’s motion was accompanied by a 35-page affidavit from Sanders, who said CPS has improved services for children through a series of new state laws, increased state funding, more agency staffing and technology upgrades. 

Alex Gibert, the agency’s communications director, declined to comment on the latest motion, saying the agency does not comment on pending litigation. 

In its motion to dismiss, Mississippi said the most recent update to the settlement agreement from 2018 is outdated. In 2021, plaintiff and defendant lawyers agreed that the state didn’t have the capacity to meet the agreement’s requirements, and U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden paused parts of the requirements to give Mississippi about two years to do so. 

That rebuilding period lasted two years longer than originally expected, until 2025. During that time, foster kids in the state’s custody continued to experience abuse and neglect at high rates, according to independent reports from a court-ordered monitor.

Marcia Lowry, executive director of the legal nonprofit A Better Childhood and the lawsuit’s lead plaintiff lawyer, told Mississippi Today it was a big surprise that CPS filed Monday’s motion. She said she and lawyers for the state have a meeting scheduled in the coming weeks to discuss the settlement agreement, but none of the defendant lawyers had brought up this action. 

“We had no warning about it,” Lowry said. 

She said she and the plaintiffs’ lawyers worked throughout the four-year rebuilding period to negotiate a new settlement agreement, but attorneys for Mississippi didn’t cooperate with them.

“It looks like this is going to be serious litigation,” she said. 

The lawsuit’s 2024 independent court monitoring report found that Mississippi had improved its caseload per CPS worker. But abuse rates for children in the state’s custody continued to be high, and CPS employees often misreported these cases. 

Lowrey said she expects the neutral monitor to publish its 2025 report soon, and that will inform what the plaintiff lawyers do next.

“Increasing the workload is an important thing to do,” she said. “They seem to have done that, good for them. But there are many, many other provisions in the settlement.”

The plaintiffs have not yet responded to the state’s motion, but Lowry said they would in the next few weeks. Afterward, Ozerden will decide whether to conduct a hearing or bench trial on the matter. 

The litigation started in 2004 when six children in foster care sued the state of Mississippi for failing to provide for children in state custody adequately. Olivia Y., a 3-year-old whose identity was protected, was so severely neglected by her foster family that by the time the state intervened, she weighed only 22 pounds.

In 2008, U.S. District Judge Tom Lee approved a plan that tried to address many of the plaintiffs’ concerns. He ordered Mississippi’s Department of Human Services, then the state agency responsible for foster care, to make major reforms to the child welfare system. 

Since then, the state has entered into two agreements with the plaintiffs and has designated foster care responsibilities to its own agency, CPS. But monitoring reports indicate that Mississippi has frequently not met either of the settlements’ terms. 

Brice Wiggins, a Republican from Pascagoula who leads the Senate Judiciary A Committee, told Mississippi Today that he is not surprised by the motion, and he would be glad if the judge dismissed the lawsuit because the Legislature has worked to improve the state’s foster care system. 

“We’ll see what happens, but it sounds like CPS is being proactive by filing this in court,” Wiggins said. 

Wiggins has worked for years to improve the state’s youth court system and the foster care system. Even if the judge grants the state’s request, Wiggins stressed that the Legislature needs to continue improving the youth court. 

Seven tornadoes, including an EF3, landed in Mississippi’s Pine Belt region between May 6 and May 7, state officials reported on Friday.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency in an update on Sunday said 26 people in the state suffered injuries from the storms. Most of those, 22, were in Lincoln County, with injuries in Lamar and Franklin counties, as well.

Over 1,000 people in the state were without power as of Sunday, down from a high of about 20,100, MEMA said. The agency is still assessing the number of properties damaged, and said there are no outstanding resource requests from local officials. Groups including The American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, Samaritan’s Purse, MS Baptist Relief and Temple Baptist are assisting recovery efforts.

Initially, Gov. Tate Reeves last week said the storm damaged 275 homes and 50 apartment units in Lamar County, as well as over 200 homes in Lincoln County. MEMA said its assessments are ongoing, but on Saturday provided a breakdown of residential damages so far: 18 homes were destroyed, 22 received major damage, 32 received minor damage and 29 were affected. Two businesses were also destroyed, and another six received major damage.

Eight roads in Lincoln County were still unpassable as of Sunday, MEMA added. A donation intake center opened at the Lincoln County School District Building at 702 Saints Trail NW in Brookhaven.

Shortly after the storm hit Mississippi, a Trump administration panel released a report recommending the federal government shift its role in disaster recovery from “leading to supporting” local and state efforts. Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant is a vice chair of the FEMA Review Council, which authored the report.

In addition to recommending a more “lean” FEMA that “puts Americans first,” the council also called for accelerating and streamlining disaster assistance funding.

Elon Musk’s data center company, xAI, has more than doubled the number of unchecked natural gas generators at its Southaven facility since coming to Mississippi last summer.

The company uses the turbines to power its two data centers just across the state line in Memphis, and is also planning to build another large center in Southaven. XAI now has 46 “temporary-mobile” turbines at its Mississippi facility, according to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, up from 18 turbines when it first arrived last year.

The NAACP, which filed a lawsuit against xAI last month over the turbines’ lack of permits, last week requested an injunction after learning xAI had increased the number of temporary-mobile turbines to 33. MDEQ later confirmed to Mississippi Today that the actual number was 46.

Because the state considers them “mobile” turbines — they’re attached to flatbed trailers — MDEQ allows xAI to run the generators without an air permit for up to a year. But Southaven residents and advocates have pushed back, expressing concerns over unchecked air emissions and constant noise from the generators. Without permits, the state has no way to measure the toxic releases coming from the facility.

Lawyers from the Southern Environmental Law Center, representing the NAACP in its lawsuit, argue Mississippi is misinterpreting the federal Clean Air Act by allowing xAI to bypass the permit process. Language from the law appears to support their argument that the turbines should be considered “stationary,” and thus subject to permit requirements. It defines a stationary turbine as “not self-propelled or intended to be propelled while performing its function. It may, however, be mounted on a vehicle for portability.”

MDEQ said xAI added 19 temporary-mobile turbines between March 25 and May 2. MDEQ told Mississippi Today on May 6 that xAI notified the agency of the additions “this week,” but also said xAI is not required to tell the agency when it brings on more such generators.

When asked if there is any concern about the combined emissions from the growing cluster of turbines, MDEQ said it is monitoring the development.

“As indicated by the facility, all portable/temporary turbines are equipped with control technology to minimize emissions,” agency spokesperson Jan Schaefer said via e-mail. “MDEQ is evaluating the situation and will make the facility aware as to when it can no longer bring additional portable/temporary turbines on-site.”

In a press release last week, the Southern Environment Law Center said the turbines have the potential to “emit a staggering amount of toxic air pollution.”

“Toxic emissions from the facility threaten to do long-lasting harm to nearby communities,” the release said. “Pollution from gas turbines includes smog-forming nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter and hazardous chemicals like formaldehyde. These pollutants are tied to increases in asthma, respiratory diseases, heart problems and certain cancers.”

In addition to the temporary-mobile turbines, the state permit board in March approved air permits for 41 permanent gas generators at xAI’s Southaven operation. The SELC appealed the decision last month, requesting a hearing on the matter.

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.

Lawmakers sent a bill that makes 50-50 joint custody the legal standard for divorce cases in Mississippi to Gov. Tate Reeves Wednesday. 

If Reeves signs the bill into law, chancery court judges, or chancellors, would be required to favor equal parenting time in custody cases. Parents could present evidence showing why that’s not in the best interest of their children. The legislation also exempts parents who agree on a different custody arrangement outside of court. The law would go into effect in July.

Proponents say the legislation will create equal opportunities for fathers who have suffered from courts’ bias that mothers are more worthy of custody. Critics say the bill feigns equality but will be less equitable for vulnerable women and children, including infants who are breastfeeding and mothers who are in domestic violence situations. 

In fighting for gender equality, people shouldn’t ignore that mothers develop a special bond with babies during pregnancy, argued Rep. Omeria Scott, a Democrat from Laurel. She was one of eight House members who voted against the legislation Tuesday. 

“This is just another situation where women lose in Mississippi,” Scott told Mississippi Today. 

Rep. Dana McLean, a Republican from Columbus, pleaded with her colleagues on the floor Tuesday to reconsider the legislation. McLean said it was problematic that breastfeeding infants would also be subject to a presumption that being separated from their mother half the time was best for them. 

“We’re talking about breastfeeding babies just coming home from the hospital,” McLean said on the floor. “And I know that the best interest of an infant would be to be with their mother initially.”

Judges would still have authority to override the presumption, responded Rep. Joey Hood, a Republican from Ackerman and chairman of the House Judiciary A Committee where the bill originated. 

The proposed legislation does not preclude chancellors  “from doing what is in the best interest of the child,” Hood said. 

But McLean and Scott disagree. 

Judges currently award custody on a case-by-case basis using the Albright factors, a rubric that includes caregiving history, emotional ties and the age of the child. 

While the bill was on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. Brice Wiggins, a Republican from Pascagoula and chairman of the Senate Judiciary A Committee, said that other states have already adopted a presumption of joint custody. 

Sen. Hob Bryan, a Democrat from Amory and one of 10 senators who voted against the bill, asked Wiggins how many other states are doing this. Wiggins answered, “four or five.”

“Then, it sounds like 40-some-odd other states don’t have this law,” Bryan said.

Wiggins responded that “it’s a good thing” if Mississippi is on the front end of this legislation. 

In 2017, Kentucky became the first of five states to adopt a joint custody presumption law. Since then, instances have arisen where women and children have suffered abuse because the law compelled them to interact with violent ex-spouses and caregivers, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Mississippi’s proposed legislation specifies that the presumption of joint custody will not apply if the court finds a history of violence with one of the parents. However, that would require a “preponderance of evidence” — attorneys have to prove it is more likely than not that violence occurred.  

Sen. Bradford Blackmon, a Democrat from Canton, voted for the bill in March. He changed his vote on Wednesday after hearing from several chancery court judges who were against the bill. Blackmon said the chancellors told him they need to be able to look at all the factors and don’t want to be boxed into a specific custody ruling. 

“I don’t know why I, as a legislator that does not practice in that area … would try to override their expertise,” Blackmon told Mississippi Today. 

Eight family attorneys and chancery court judges told Mississippi Today they believe the current custody system is the most fair, and the new legislation would set a dangerous legal precedent. 

If mothers are awarded custody more often than fathers, it’s not because of an inherent bias but rather a history of being the primary caregiver and fostering emotional closeness, said Kelly Williams, a Ridgeland-based attorney and a child welfare law specialist certified by the National Association of Counsel for Children. 

“I’ve been in courts all over the state, and men are not getting an unfair shake,” Williams said. 

After nearly two decades of paralysis on the issue, Mississippi officials are inching closer to establishing a state home mitigation program to protect residents from natural disasters. Storm preparation experts say such a program is vital to building resilience as the dangers from climate change continue to grow.

Senate Bill 2409, which would create the Strengthen Mississippi Homes Program, heads to Gov. Tate Reeves for his consideration after both chambers approved the measure on Wednesday.

In a three-part series last year, Mississippi Today reported on the immense vulnerability the state faces to climate change, which some researchers argued is greater than anywhere else in the country.

The program would offer grants of up to $10,000 to allow homeowners to retrofit their property to better protect them from hurricane, tornado, hail and other windstorm damage. The money would go towards upgrading roofs to meet the FORTIFIED standards set by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.

Alabama, which leads the nation in FORTIFIED homes, released a study last year showing a significant reduction in losses from mitigated houses versus others after Hurricane Sally in 2020. In addition to making homes safer, the grant has also helped reduce home insurance costs. Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Mississippians, especially on the Coast, have seen skyrocketing premiums as insurance companies account for the risk of natural disasters.

“I would like to thank the (lawmakers) for their work in coming together on a mitigation program that puts us on a level playing field with other coastal states that have successful mitigation programs such as Alabama and Louisiana,” state Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney said in a statement Wednesday, adding that his office is committed to “improve long-term resilience for Mississippi homeowners.”

Single-family, primary residence homes anywhere in Mississippi would be eligible for the grants. The home must have windstorm insurance and, if in a flood zone, flood insurance as well. The Mississippi Department of Insurance, which would administer the program, would fund the grants through fees collected from insurance agents. The department’s appropriation bill, which is being considered by the governor, allows them to spend up to $15 million for the program from the fees collected.

State officials first developed the program in 2007 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. But due to a lack of political will and infighting among state officials, it took until 2024 for the Legislature to fund the program. That approval was limited to a pilot program, though, and lawmakers declined to re-up the funding in 2025.

A main point of contention was whether to allow the Insurance Department to run the program or to put it in the hands of a separate, nonprofit authority. The distrust between lawmakers and Chaney traced back to a 2016 scandal over funding the state couldn’t account for, which went through a different state agency, Mississippi Today reported.

Yet while arguing the Insurance Department shouldn’t run the program, lawmakers also pointed to Alabama’s mitigation program as a shining example. Alabama runs its program through its state insurance department, and experts, such as those at Smart Home America and Habitat for Humanity of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, said the program largely mirrored what Chaney pushed for.

Sen. Scott DeLano, a Republican from Biloxi who’s led the Legislature’s work on the issue, repeatedly called out Chaney last year over a lack of information and concerns with the Insurance Department running the grant fund. Leading up to this legislative session, though, the two were able to work through their differences, DeLano said.

“I’ve got to commend the commissioner for the work he’s done,” the senator told his colleagues on the floor Wednesday.

Sen. Walter Michel, a Republican from Ridgeland, introduced the measure.

“For too, too long we have played hurricane roulette with the mitigation work,” Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said after the Senate passed the proposal. “So many homes all across Mississippi will need what you did today.”

The proposal would also create an advisory committee that would meet with the Insurance Department about the program three times a year. The committee would be comprised of three appointees from the Senate, three from the House, and the executive director of the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriters Association.