Lawmakers on Sunday night passed much of the state’s budget for next fiscal year, planning to spend nearly $7.4 billion, $225 million more than the current year, or about a 3% increase.

Although lawmakers by late last week said they had reached agreement on most major spending, they still have some details to hash out and pass on to the governor for his consideration. Legislative leaders said they hope to finish work and end the 2026 regular session as early as Wednesday.

Lawmakers appeared to reach agreement through the weekend on two major spending items – the K-12 education budget, including a teacher pay raise, and how much extra to pump into Medicaid, hoping to avoid a shortfall in the coming year after agency leaders warned them federal pandemic funds that had helped keep the agency afloat have been depleted.

Lawmakers announced Friday they had reached an agreement on a teacher pay raise of $2,000, far short of the $5,000 the House had proffered and $6,000 the Senate had approved. Legislative leaders said the expected Medicaid shortfall and other fiscal issues forced them to reduce the proposed raise. The Senate on Sunday night passed the $3.3-billion education budget, but the House did not. Some lawmakers and education advocates said they are holding out hope that lawmakers might increase the raise with some last-minute negotiations, albeit doubtful.

For Medicaid, lawmakers increased the agency’s spending by about $200 million, with a $35 million “deficit appropriation” to cover the remainder of this fiscal year through June, and an increase of $165 million for the coming budget year.

Lawmakers have a deadline Monday night for filing agreements on general bills and constitutional amendments.

Some major agency budget agreements lawmakers announced over the weekend:

Quote of the Week

In Brief

Charter school bills dead

Even though there were a handful of charter school bills on the table when the session began, most have died as the session comes to a close.

House Bill 1395, which now contains the Senate’s teacher pay raise proposal, includes a provision that would make it easier for school districts to get rid of unused buildings and clarifies the process that gives charter schools first dibs.

It’s the only major charter school bill still in play, aside from the K-12 appropriations bill that gives the charter authorizer board its annual allocation, according to the board’s executive director Lisa Karmacharya.

The board’s main request — which would have allowed charters to expand into areas beyond those with failing districts — is dead.

In the months leading up to the legislative session, Senate leaders made clear their disappointment in the performance of the state’s charter schools. Most of Mississippi’s few charter schools are considered “failing” by the state Department of Education. – Devna Bose

Prison health reforms killed again

Senate Corrections Committee Vice Chairwoman Lydia Chassaniol, a Republican from Winona, has again killed a vehicle for prison health care reforms.

Chassaniol, who has been running the committee while Chairman Juan Barnett, a Democrat from Heidelberg, is out with an illness, declined to either concur with House’s changes or invite more negotiation on SB 2041. House Corrections Chairwoman Rep. Becky Currie, a Republican from Brookhaven, had the House insert her proposals into the measure after Chassaniol killed them with an earlier committee deadline.

The proposals in the now-dead Senate bill included a policy requiring the creation of a hepatitis C program and an HIV program aimed at improving the treatment of prisoners and taking the power to award health contracts away from the Department of Corrections. But the later proposal is still alive through the budget process lawmakers are aiming to finish up this week. Lawmakers could spend over $480 million on the Department of Corrections over the next fiscal year, and Currie hopes to condition some of the spending on the implementation of reforms. – Michael Goldberg

New law defines artificial intelligence

Gov. Tate Reeves signed into law a bill to create a state definition for artificial intelligence.

HB 1723 defines AI as a “machine-based system that can, for a given set of human-defined objectives, make predictions, recommendations or decisions influencing real or virtual environments.”

This is now the third state law enacted to deal with AI. The other two deal with deepfakes in political attack ads and sexually explicit deepfakes of children. There were other bills attempting to regulate AI this session but they all appear to be dead. – Katherine Lin

Supreme Court redistricting heads to final negotiations

House and Senate negotiators are haggling over legislation to redraw the Mississippi Supreme Court districts.

House Speaker Jason White named Republican Rep. Kevin Horan of Grenada, Republican Rep. Jansen Owen of Poplarville and Republican Rep. Joey Hood of Ackerman as the House negotiators.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann named Republican Sen. Brice Wiggins of Pascagoula, Republican Sen. Joey Fillingane of Sumrall and Republican Sen. Dean Kirby of Pearl as the Senate negotiators.

A federal judge ruled that one of Mississippi’s Supreme Court districts violates the federal Voting Rights Act because it does not give Black voters a fair shot at electing a candidate of their choice. The judge gave the Legislature a chance to adopt a new map during the 2026 session.

Lawmakers have not yet unveiled a new map for the three districts, and legislative leaders have said they’re waiting to see if the U.S. Supreme Court’s pending ruling in the Louisiana v. Callais decision will impact.

Negotiators have until Monday to file their initial compromise proposal. – Taylor Vance

Reeves vetoes medical marijuana bills

Gov. Tate Reeves has vetoed two bills authored by Rep. Lee Yancey, a Republican from Brandon, that would have eased some regulations on medical marijuana in Mississippi.

The first, HB 895, would have removed the requirement for patients to have a follow-up visit with their doctor six-months after obtaining access to cannabis, would have extended the length of validity of registry ID cards and would have lifted the limit on potency for tinctures, oils and concentrates. In his veto message, Reeves wrote that the legislations would erode safeguards “to minimize the potential diversion of medical marijuana for recreational purposes.”

The second bill, HB 1152, would have created new pathways for patients who suffer chronic, progressive, severely disabling or terminal illnesses that do not meet the current qualifying conditions under Mississippi’s Medical Cannabis Act to access the drugs, including people from other states. Reeves said he agreed with the original intent of the bill, but opposed amendments that would have extended the right to try medical cannabis “to every person on the planet” and posed “an unreasonable risk of pushing the medical marijuana program in the direction of facilitating recreational use.” – Michael Goldberg

By the Numbers

$108 million a year

Total cost of the teacher pay raise compromise lawmakers reported reaching over the weekend.

More Legislative Coverage

Lawmakers strike deal on lower, $2,000 teacher pay raise. Educators say they ‘desperately need’ more

At one point weeks ago, dueling offers of raises from the Senate and House had reached $6,000. Read the story.

After House kills pharmacy benefit manager reform, speaker asks governor to call a special session

The lone remaining bill intended to enhance the regulation and transparency of pharmacy benefit managers died Thursday after the Mississippi House of Representatives chose not to advance the Senate’s versions of the bill or pursue further negotiations on an issue that has long divided the chambers and lawmakers within them. Read the story.

Lawmakers revive ice storm relief after governor’s veto

After Gov. Tate Reeves vetoed a bill that attempted to provide low-interest loans to local governments impacted by Winter Storm Fern, lawmakers on Wednesday night revived the program in another piece of legislation. Read the story.