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The post Marshall Ramsey: High Praise appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Mississippi lawmakers are working to revise the state’s eviction law after a federal judge recently ruled it unconstitutional.

Rep. Nick Bain, R-Corinth, authored the new bill — which gives tenants a seven-day grace period after a judge orders their removal — to rectify issues with the current statute.

The bill also allows tenants who are being evicted because they are behind on rent to stay in their home if they pay all past due rent and fees by the court-ordered move out date, something that was not guaranteed in the existing law.

Currently, Mississippi’s law offers no grace period to tenants, which means that a renter may be forced out of their home on the day they lose in court, but also that a landlord may immediately seize all their belongings.

“If we don’t pass it, we will not have a constitutional eviction statute in Mississippi,” Bain said. “So it attempts to do that, puts a Band-Aid, and I think there’s going to be, maybe next session, a broader bill to address landlord-tenant altogether.”

Bain’s bill has passed the House and is awaiting full Senate approval.

U.S. District Judge Michael Mills ruled the law unconstitutional in November after a landlord in north Mississippi used it to justify taking everything Samantha Conner, a low-income single mom, owned.

READ MORE: ‘All of this is mine’: In Mississippi, landlords legally snatch all belongings from tenants during an eviction

Mills put a stay on his decision to give lawmakers time to revise the law before it would be struck down altogether.

“It’s something we’ve got to do or nobody’s going to be getting evicted,” Bain said.

Mississippi has some of the highest eviction rates in the nation. In Jackson, the capital city, between seven and eight families are evicted from their homes every day, according to 2016 data, the most recent available, gathered by the Princeton University-based research group the Eviction Lab. Of all large cities in the nation, Jackson had the fifth highest eviction rate that year.

In 2019, the Legislature revised the law to give even fewer protections to tenants facing an eviction, making the Mississippi’s Landlord-Tenant Act the harshest in the nation.

The revisions came with what Judge Mills called “unpredictable and absurd results” because of some landlords’ severe interpretation of the law.

The law reads, “If the judge grants possession of this premises to the landlord and you do not remove your personal property, including any manufactured home, from the premises before the date and time ordered by the judge, then the landlord may dispose of your personal property.”

Many states Landlord-Tenant statutes across the country spell out what landlords may do with a renter’s left-behind belongings, a necessary legal guideline in the case of abandoned property. But Conner’s apartment manager, Kevin Casteel, used the law to prevent Conner from taking her belongings as she left her apartment on the day of her removal.

“That’s a common occurrence with a lot of the laws that we pass, is you have these bad actors who unfortunately sometimes cause the whole state to pay the price, or innocent people to pay the price,” Bain said.

Conner’s lawsuit, which asks the judge to award her damages considering all that she lost, including family photos and keepsakes that cannot be replaced, is still pending. But knowing that her efforts resulted in changes to state law is part of her victory, Conner said.

“I think that this is going to enable people and may give other people the courage to be able to go forward and maybe seek out some justice,” Conner told Mississippi Today in December. “… They can use this law now to say that, ‘Hey, you cannot do this to people.’ People matter. We have feelings.”

Bain said the Legislature may look at a bigger overhaul of Mississippi’s complex, hodge-podge eviction statute next year. The law is supposed to provide a consistent framework for how renter removals work across the state: How many days after a missed rent due date a landlord may file an eviction, notice requirements, and how long after a court judgement a landlord can file a warrant of removal.

But tenants, landlords and judges have faced confusion about Mississippi’s law, and differing interpretations have caused varying outcomes for renters across the state.

“It’s a cumbersome, a very clunky, for lack of a better word, clunky statute,” Bain said.

READ MORE: Federal judge finds Mississippi eviction law unconstitutional after ‘Kafkaesque nightmare’ removal

The post Lawmakers working to fix unconstitutional eviction law by reinstating grace period appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Note: This analysis first published in Mississippi Today’s weekly legislative newsletter. Subscribe to our free newsletter for exclusive early access to weekly analyses.

The two legislative Republicans who defended the anti-critical race theory bill on the Senate and House floors said it all: Out-of-state conservative media inspired the Mississippi bill, it would do little to change or limit any public school teaching, and its passing was largely a symbolic gesture to Republican voters ahead of the 2023 election year.

If you missed the eight total hours of floor debate of the bill, that’s the short of it, according to the bill’s author Sen. Mike McLendon and his House counterpart Rep. Joey Hood. Both Republicans appeared grossly unprepared to answer basic questions about what, exactly, the three-page bill would do.

Every Black lawmaker in both the Senate and House voted against the bill, which now sits on Gov. Tate Reeves’ desk for signature or veto. Black senators were so upset about the bill that they walked out in protest during the final vote — an inevitably successful one, given the Republicans’ supermajority. In Mississippi’s history, a legislative walkout like that had never been done before.

READ MORE: Despite objection from every Black Mississippi lawmaker, anti-critical race theory bill passed to governor

McLendon, the bill’s official “author,” struggled to answer basic questions about the bill from fellow senators on Jan. 21.

He said he heard from many of his constituents who had learned of critical race theory “on the national news” and wanted to ensure it would not be taught in Mississippi. That, he said, is the reason he “sponsored” the bill, the text of which was provided to him by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, which often gets draft language from out-of-state interest groups.

McLendon said all his bill does is “prohibit a child or a student from being told they are inferior or superior to another.”

Likewise, Hood struggled to answer basic questions from his House colleagues during floor debate on March 3. Under constant questioning, he conceded he had not studied the origins of critical race theory.

“A lot of people have a lot of different definitions of what critical race is,” Hood said.

He repeatedly said all the bill would do is say no university, community college or public school “shall direct or compel students to affirm that any sex, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin is inherently superior or that individuals should be adversely treated based on such characteristics.”

“History in Mississippi can be taught under this legislation,” Hood repeatedly said from the well of the chamber when he couldn’t provide answers to specific questions about the bill.

When pressed by colleagues about whether the bill’s passage was more of a symbolic gesture to Republican voters than anything, neither McLendon nor Hood offered any counter to the question.

“This bill is only before us so that some of you can go back home and have something to campaign on,” Rep. Willie Bailey, D-Greenville, said during the House debate. Hood did not offer any rebuttal.

Speaker of the House Philip Gunn appeared to concede that point himself shortly after the final House vote. He led the House in prayer from the speaker’s dais, saying: “Lord, we face difficult things in this body. We all represent a constituency. We all have voters for whom issues are important. Sometimes those issues are difficult. Today is one of those days, Lord. We pray for healing, we pray that you would not allow this to create division, not only within this body but within this state.”

READ MORE: Every Black Mississippi senator walked out as white colleagues voted to ban critical race theory

Critical race theory is not taught in any K-12 public school in Mississippi. The only public entity teaching a CRT course is University of Mississippi Law School, Mississippi Today found. And even a Republican in that class says that state lawmakers completely misrepresented the actual teachings of the course.

The term “critical race theory” is not mentioned once in the three-page bill, meaning it’s very unlikely that the term will make it into the state code books.

While Republicans limped through the House and Senate floor debates without real answers, some opponents said they feared that even if the language of the bill is innocuous, it will have a chilling effect on the teaching of history — particularly Mississippi’s dark, racist history — and lead to censorship in the state’s classrooms.

“The language means something to me,” Rep. Zakiya Summers said during House floor debate. “… You cannot pass a bill like this and continue the rhetoric that we can all work together.”

READ MORE: Lawmakers spent hours on a bill to ban critical race theory. But does it?

The post What will the anti-CRT bill do? Not much, other than provide election year cover to Republicans. appeared first on Mississippi Today.

In November, attorneys from the Department of Justice reached out to staff at Mississippi’s Community Mental Health Centers, which serve as regional hubs for mental health resources and treatment. A federal judge had recently approved a remedial plan calling for the Department to oversee the state’s efforts to expand mental health services at the local level, years after the Department first sued Mississippi over its practice of institutionalizing people with mental illnesses.

In an email to one of the CMHC executive directors, DOJ attorney Patrick Holkins wrote that he and colleagues were “reengaging with key stakeholders in Mississippi” to discuss the plan.

“We are also interested in hearing directly from stakeholders regarding their experiences providing and receiving adult mental health services in the state,” he wrote. 

The executive director responded enthusiastically, saying she and her team would be glad to meet with the federal lawyers.

But then the state of Mississippi intervened. Mississippi lawyers claimed a rule of professional conduct for attorneys prevents the DOJ from communicating directly with the CMHCs, according to documents filed by the Justice Department in federal court. 

The Justice Department says Mississippi has never before made that claim in more than five years of litigation. It’s asking a federal judge to rule that the state can’t intercede in its communications with community mental health staff, who are neither employed nor represented by the state. 

To mental health advocates in Mississippi, the dispute is another example in what they see as a pattern of avoiding scrutiny and transparency. In November, the non-profit oversight group Disability Rights Mississippi sued DMH for refusing to turn over incident reports from state hospitals.

In court, the state argues it has already sufficiently expanded community mental health services. Because the CMHCs are the main providers of local mental health services in Mississippi, talking to them could be a way to find out what’s going on at the local level. 

“It really begs the question of what do they not want people to know,” said Joy Hogge, executive director of the nonprofit Families As Allies, which advocates for children with behavioral health challenges and their families. 

The state’s 13 Community Mental Health Centers are the primary provider of mental health services at the local level in Mississippi. Funded through Medicaid, state and federal grants and county contributions, they are also receiving an increasing share of DMH’s budget.

They operate mobile response teams and intensive outpatient services, and they’re supposed to help prevent people from ending up in a mental health crisis that requires hospitalization. 

How well they are actually doing all of that remains the question at the heart of the federal lawsuit. Mississippi argues services are already in place in its appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 

But advocates and the court’s special monitor, Dr. Michael Hogan, have said it’s too early to make that claim. 

Mississippi has not filed its response to the DOJ’s motion. The rule it cited, Rule 4.2, prevents attorneys from communicating directly with someone they know is represented by another attorney in the same matter. It’s intended to protect people who may not understand the risks of talking to a lawyer on the other side of a dispute.

Mississippi’s invocation of Rule 4.2 is based on a 2018 order by Southern District Magistrate Judge F. Keith Ball. Asked to weigh in on when Rule 4.2 prevented federal lawyers from communicating directly with current and former state employees, Ball determined that the rule applied to “any person whose act or omission in connection with the claims and allegations of the Complaint may be imputed to the State of Mississippi for purposes of civil or criminal liability”— in other words, someone who could be considered to be speaking on behalf of the state.

Michelle Williams, chief of staff for the attorney general, said state lawyers concluded that includes CMHC managerial staff. 

In his 2019 order finding that Mississippi had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by institutionalizing people with mental illnesses, U.S. District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves noted that CMHCs would be key to moving the state away from that practice.

“It is ultimately DMH’s responsibility to manage the expansion of community-based services at CMHCs,” he wrote. 

DOJ says Ball’s order addressed only current and former state employees and has no bearing on the CMHCs.

“During more than five years of litigation, the State has never asserted that it represents the CMHCs or that the United States cannot communicate with CMHC staff,” DOJ argues.

The DOJ sued the state of Mississippi, not the CMHCs, for violating individuals’ civil rights through its mental health practices. But now the CMHCs are responsible for implementing much of the remedial plan. The federal lawyers could want to talk with them to make sure they’re aware of what the plan entails and to find out what’s going on day to day, Hogge said.

“The CMHCs know who the people are who are receiving the services, and that voice has never been at the table,” Hogge said.

To add another layer of oversight, the legislature created the position of coordinator of mental health accessibility in 2020. The first coordinator, Bill Rosamond, has so far produced two quarterly reports on the CMHCs. 

The most recent report, released in late December, focused on the financially struggling Region 11, which serves nine counties in southwest Mississippi.

Rosamond concluded that “this Region does not have sufficient operational funds to sustain the required mental health services and that the delivery of mental health services is inconsistent in the nine county region.”

In an email to Mississippi Today, DMH communications director Adam Moore said the department doesn’t have information about the Rule 4.2 dispute and referred questions about the ongoing litigation to the attorney general’s office. 

He said the department is continuing to expand community-based services. Its proposal for funding from the American Rescue Plan Act would add 60 beds at crisis stabilization units and fund additional mobile crisis response teams that would work with the 988 system, the new three-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, launching this July. 

“DMH is also adding an Office of Utilization Review to be responsible for tracking and analysis of the utilization of behavioral health services for state operated programs and key community-based services,” he wrote. 

Mississippi may file a response to the Justice Department’s motion before the judge issues an order allowing or prohibiting DOJ from communicating with staff at these mental health centers.. 

Williams told Mississippi Today the attorney general’s office is evaluating options for its next steps. 

The post State moves to block communication between feds and local mental health staff appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Mississippi Today’s Geoff Pender and Bobby Harrison discuss a “crazy” deadline week for the Mississippi Legislature that included a six-hour debate on critical race theory, a stare-down between House and Senate leaders on teacher pay and the constant undercurrent caused by Speaker Philip Gunn’s obsession with eliminating the personal income tax.

Listen to more episodes of The Other Side here.

The post Podcast: Tax cut fight remains top legislative issue appeared first on Mississippi Today.

In this episode of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-At-Large Marshall Ramsey talks to Neil Woodall, Jr. about his recovery from opioid pain pills.

Woodall had the world going his way. A successful student athlete at Millsaps college, little did he know how his life would change due to a freak hunting accident. Shot in the face and chest, Woodall dealt with a painful recovery. Part of the recovery involved opioid pain pills. After his recovery and healing, he discovered that the pills also helped mute a deeper pain he was experiencing — fear and lack of self esteem. Soon the substance that helped ease his pain began causing it. Woodall shares his motivational journey — from his fall to his triumphant recovery and a new life based on his faith.

Watch Marshall’s previous interview with John.

The post Mississippi Stories: Neil Woodall, Jr. appeared first on Mississippi Today.

People reading controversial Senate Bill 2113, which all 54 African American members of the Mississippi Legislature voted against, will not find the money phrase banning critical race theory until the very bottom of the final page of the bill.

In nondescript type, running along the bottom of the page is “ST: Critical Race Theory: prohibit.” That is the only mention of CRT.

The phrase cannot be found in the summary at the top of the legislation. It is not in the text of the three-page bill.

Because of the unusual way in which the legislation was crafted, there is a real chance that the phrase “Critical Race Theory: prohibit” will not be placed in Mississippi’s legal code. Or put another way, there is a possibility that the teaching of critical race theory will not be banned at all even after Gov. Tate Reeves does what is expected and signs the bill into law.

“You can teach critical race theory because it is not in the text of this bill,” proclaimed Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, the House minority leader, who is also an attorney.

READ MORE: Despite objection from every Black Mississippi lawmaker, anti-critical race theory bill passed to governor

Each year the publisher of Mississippi’s code (or laws) includes new laws passed by the Legislature. That updating process is far from exact. There is a joint legislative committee that oversees the code, but the members seldom meet, normally leaving the work of crafting the updates to the editors and legal staff.

Perhaps the editors will seek out the short title — “Critical Race Theory: prohibit” — and incorporate those words in the code. But based on precedent, there is a good chance they will not.

Incorporated into the code might just be what the bill actually says, which is no university, community college or public school “shall direct of compel students to affirm that any sex, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin is inherently superior or that individuals should be adversely treated based on such characteristics.”

Supporters of critical race theory say that is not what critical race theory does. Instead, CRT explores the impact of racism on the nation, especially on the legal system.

Rep. Joey Hood, R-Ackerman, who presented the bill last week to the House during more than six hours of sometimes emotional debate that exposed old and current racial wounds, said that the teaching of critical race theory would be prohibited if the teaching adhered to the tenets spelled out in the bill of making someone feel inferior or superior.

When asked if the only critical race theory class in the state at the University of Mississippi Law School would have to be canceled if the bill became law, Hood said, “That will be up to Ole Miss.”

The presenters of the bill in both the House and Senate left more questions unanswered than answered during debate.

Sen. Michael McLendon, R-Hernando, the primary author of the legislation, said he heard from many of his constituents who had learned of critical race theory “on the national news” and wanted to ensure it would not be taught in Mississippi.

So if the bill does so little or at the least is exceedingly vague, why did Black House members spend such an inordinate amount of time trying to kill it last week? Why did all 14 African American senators walk out in an unprecedented move before the vote on the bill earlier this session?

READ MORE: Every Black Mississippi senator walked out as white colleagues voted to ban critical race theory

Black legislators argued the bill sent the wrong message, perhaps even causing teachers to be hesitant to teach the state’s history that is ripe with racial strife. When Black members tried to amend the bill to ensure the continued teaching of the state’s history, including all its warts, the white majority blocked those efforts.

Perhaps the more appropriate question is why did legislative leaders spend so much time and energy passing such a vague bill that might not accomplish the stated goal?

Some say it is politics. Anti-CRT sentiment has been a big talking point in the conservative media.

Both House Speaker Philip Gunn and Reeves, who could be squaring off next year in a Republican gubernatorial primary, spoke of the evils of critical race theory last year during the Neshoba County Fair.

“This bill is only before us so that some of you can go back home and have something to campaign on,” said Rep. Willie Bailey, D-Greenville.

While it might be questionable whether the critical race theory ban will be in the legal code, the language still could be found on the screens in the House and Senate as the proposal was debated. The language also was on the legislative calendar and in the legislative computer system.

So legislators could say they were voting to ban critical race theory even if the state’s legal code never reflects that vote.

READ MORE: Inside Mississippi’s only class on critical race theory

The post Lawmakers spent hours on a bill to ban critical race theory. But does it? appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Starbucks employees in Oxford want to unionize, writing in a letter to the company they’re not only overworked but dealing with homophobia, transphobia and racism at the workplace. 

Ten employees from the store on Jackson Avenue signed the letter, addressed to CEO Kevin Johnson, on Thursday. Starbucks Workers United posted a copy of the letter to social media on Friday. 

“Since COVID-19, this store has suffered ordeal after ordeal, from inconsistent management to understaffed shifts working well beyond what they are compensated for,” the Oxford workers wrote. “Starbucks claims to protect and value its baristas first but we have yet to feel this in our daily efforts.” 

This is the first location in Mississippi to announce plans to organize. More than 100 stores nationwide have petitioned to hold elections of their own. 

Buffalo Starbucks workers first began their union campaign — eventually voting in favor of a union — in 2021. The growing movement has been a major challenge to the Seattle-based chain, which has said its workers are given some of the best pay and benefits in the retail industry.

The Mississippi location’s letter detailed issues beyond understaffed and uncompensated work. It also said employees have had to “endure homophobia, racism and transphobia on a near-daily basis” from both customers and management. The employees also say they have received no updates regarding an internal investigation of their current manager. 

“We feel as though the company is not fulfilling its promises of inclusivity and support,” the letter said. 

A Starbucks spokesperson told Mississippi Today the chain takes the allegations made in the letter seriously and denounce discrimination of any kind.

“We are listening and learning from the partners in these stores,” the spokesperson said, referring the dozens of ongoing union campaigns.

Starbucks has said repeatedly throughout the last year that while it does not think its workers need unions, it respects their right to organize.

One of the chain’s early union leaders has a direct tie to Mississippi. Jaz Brisack, a University of Mississippi graduate and Rhodes scholar, is credited with beginning union talks among her Starbucks coworkers in Buffalo. She moved to Western New York to work on union campaigns with an organizer she met while helping with the failed attempt unionize the Nissan plant in Canton.

The momentum has continued since the campaign began in Buffalo.  A store in Arizona became the third Starbucks in the United States to win a union vote just three weeks ago. 

Mississippi is a right-to-work state, meaning workers are not required pay dues or join an established union. While uncommon, workers in Mississippi can still unionize.

The National Labor Review Board will hold an election if at least 30% of workers sign cards or a petition saying they want a union. If a majority of those who vote choose to unionize, the union is certified and can bargain on behalf of the employees.

“Change can happen,” Starbucks United Workers of Oxford posted as their first-ever tweet. “Even in MS, progress takes form. This is just the beginning.” 

The post Mississippi Starbucks workers want a union in Oxford appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The Japanese car manufacturer Nissan announced last month it will spend half a billion dollars to upgrade its facility and workforce at its Canton plant, with the goal of building two new all-electric models by 2025.

“For nearly two decades, Mississippians have kept our state at the forefront of the world’s automotive industry,” Gov. Tate Reeves said. “The announcement that Nissan Canton is shifting some production to EVs (electric vehicles) further positions Mississippi as a leader in this crucial economic sector.”

But it’s less likely Mississippians will be driving those cars compared to drivers in the rest of the country. Mississippi has, per capita, the lowest number of electric cars registered of any state, according to U.S. Census and Department of Energy data. 

Policymakers and businesses around the U.S. are trying to jolt the electric car industry, with the hopes of emitting less carbon into an already warming atmosphere. The transportation sector accounts for the largest share of greenhouse gas emissions in the country — about 30%, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. 

In Mississippi, one of a few states that doesn’t require emissions testing for vehicles, only about 3 out of every 10,000 people own an electric vehicle. For the country as a whole, there were about 1.8 million EVs registered in 2020, or about 55 per 10,000 people. 

The state’s charging supply is also low compared to the rest of the country, ranking second to last, ahead of only Louisiana, in electric charging ports per capita. 

New federal dollars coming to the state will soon change that. Mississippi is set to receive $50 million from the Infrastructure Bill that would pay for charging stations and establishing corridors across the state for electric car drivers to use. The state has until August to submit a spending plan, according to a spokesperson from the Mississippi Department of Transportation, after which it can receive the money. 

While electric cars are getting cheaper, they’re still about $10,000 more than the average car. The federal government offers a tax credit worth up to $7,500 for EV purchases. 

Thirty-one states offer incentives, such as a tax credit or rebate, for purchasing an EV. Mississippi doesn’t have such a program, although the state’s largest power company, Entergy MS, does offer a $250 rebate for customers who buy a charger, which costs about $2,000.     

Other than that rebate, the state hasn’t done much to encourage drivers to make the switch. In 2018, the Legislature passed a bill that charges electric car owners to pay an $150 annual fee, and $75 if they own a hybrid, although the fees have increased since with inflation. 

While some electric car owners and advocates in the state scoffed at the law when it went into effect, most of the country has a similar policy.

Rep. Charles Busby, R-Pascagoula, who wrote the bill, argued that the fees are fair because the state relies on gas taxes to pay for roads and bridges. 

“If they’re going to travel on those roads and bridges they need to make a contribution,” said Busby, who chairs the House Transportation Committee. 

Busby added that he didn’t see a need yet to give customers an incentive for buying EVs, and that the market should dictate what cars people buy.

“Obviously if we transition towards electric vehicles, I want that to be supported in the state of Mississippi,” Busby said. “So I am for that, but I don’t think that we ought to be in the business of promoting one over the other. It needs to compete on the free market by itself.”

Failed attempts to encourage EVs in the state include a bill last year that would have given up to $30 million in tax credits for businesses that build charging stations, as well as several attempts to repeal the 2018 annual fee. 

In addition to the $500 million Nissan is investing in the operation, the Mississippi Development Authority is also spending $50 million through grants on the project, an agency spokesperson told Mississippi Today. 

The money will go towards building improvements, installing new equipment, and upskilling 2,000 of the 5,000 workers at the plant. 

Mississippi Today reporter Sara DiNatale contributed to this story. 

The post Nissan will build new electric vehicles in Mississippi, the state where they’re the least popular to own appeared first on Mississippi Today.