To be clear, many Mississippi lawmakers believe millions of dollars of special-interest, dark money flowing in to influence an election here is terrible, and they won’t stand for it.

That is, it’s terrible if its flowing into an election for something voters put directly on a ballot, sidestepping the Legislature.

But millions of dollars of such money flowing practically unchecked into politicians’ campaigns and, according to federal prosecutors, pockets – well, apparently that’s not so bad.

The Senate last week killed a measure to reinstate voters’ right to put something directly on a ballot. Opponents’ main reason voiced for killing it was that special interests with deep pockets could too easily influence Mississippi voters on such issues.

But both the Senate and House – with a rare show of bipartisanship – also killed measures aimed at regulating and reporting to the public the flow of special-interest and dark money into Mississippi campaigns for political office.

It appears the state is on track to continue to have some of the weakest, least enforced campaign finance laws and disclosure. It’s also on track to not reinstate voters’ right to put issues on a ballot that they had until five years ago when a court invalidated it over technical issues.

Some highlights from a busy week that included a deadline for floor passage of bills:

• A bill to force more Mississippi governments and law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities drew fierce debate before passing the House on a mostly party-line vote.

• The House passed two major alcohol-related bills. One would allow direct shipment of liquor to Mississippians’ homes, and another that would allow local governments to pass ordinances allowing the sale of alcohol on Sundays.

• With some constituents still without power three weeks after Winter Storm Fern, some lawmakers blasted the state’s response to the disaster during debate over a measure to create a disaster recovery loan program.

Quote of the Week

“Gentleman, I’m not chasing, I’m not going down that rabbit hole with you and we’re not going to hop around that. You’re dancing, but you ain’t got a dance partner.” – Rep. Joey Hood of Ackerman, responding to Rep. Jeffery Harness of Fayette, who asked Hood, “What kind of coward walks around with a mask on and makes arrests?” Hood was presenting a bill to prevent any Mississippi government or law enforcement agency from interfering with federal ICE agents.

In Brief

Closed primaries amendment thwarted

Sen. Kathy Chism, a Republican from New Albany, has for several years unsuccessfully pushed legislation to have closed party primaries in Mississippi, with her measures typically dying without a committee vote.

Last week, Chism attempted to force a vote on the issue with an amendment to another elections bill. But Sen. Derrick Simmons, a Democrat from Greenville, successfully challenged the amendment as not germane to the bill. Some states have closed primaries, where only people registered with a political party can vote for its nominees. There has been debate over closing Mississippi primaries for years.

“Closed primaries are not only wanted, but needed in Mississippi,” Chism said. “With closed primaries, each party would control its choice of candidate without interference from the other party in the primary election.” – Geoff Pender

Lawmakers: Proposed public records exemptions overly broad

Lawmakers realized a House bill that could allow more information to be withheld from public records requests is “overly broad,” said Rep. Daryl Porter, a Democrat and Vice Chairman of the House Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency committee.

Porter amended House Bill 1468 on the floor to require more scrutiny of the bill before it could be passed into law and said lawmakers plan to change it.

The bill from Republican Rep. Brent Anderson of Bay St. Louis adds broad definitions of “personally identifiable” and “protected” information to the Mississippi Public Records Act. The bill covers any information that could identify an individual alone or when combined with other information and explicitly requires government agencies to conduct a case-by-case assessment on records requests. – Michael Goldberg

Chambers pass apprenticeship bills

The House and Senate passed two nearly identical bills that would give the state direct oversight of workforce apprenticeship programs.

Under the measures, the state would create its own Office of Apprenticeship within the Mississippi Department of Employment Security. The office would take over approval and oversight of registered apprenticeship programs. Currently, the U.S. Department of Labor is responsible.

The framework of the bills is very similar, although there are slight differences, including, the number of people on an advisory board and the deadline for registering the state office with the federal government. Gov. Tate Reeves proposed this transition in his 2027 executive budget recommendations. He wrote that this change would, “reduce federal bureaucracy and improve employer and stakeholder engagement.” – Katherine Lin

Education measures die with deadline

A number of education bills died with a Thursday deadline, including legislation that would have impacted teachers and school board members. 

One House bill authored by Rep. Jansen Owen, a Republican from Poplarville, would have prohibited teachers who have sex with students from resigning, instead requiring their termination. 

Another bill would have removed appointed school board member positions. All school board members, under the bill, would be elected. Owen said the legislation aimed to address parent sentiment that school boards are not held accountable. 

A Senate bill that died would have also kept a closer eye on school board members. Senate Bill 2306 would have tasked a commission with governing the conduct of school board members and created a framework for sanctioning school members found to be in violation. 

Most charter school teachers would have no longer been exempt from the state’s educational qualification requirements under another Senate bill that didn’t make it off the floor. Some senators have been publicly critical of the state’s charter schools, most of which are rated “D” or “F.” – Devna Bose

Bills address unused school buildings

A couple of bills passed by both chambers could make it easier for districts to get rid of unused school buildings. 

It’s a problem particularly pronounced in Democratic Sen. David Blount’s district, which includes Jackson. 

Jackson Public Schools has closed a handful of school buildings in recent years due to declining enrollment. However, state law has made it difficult to sell them, Blount said, because if the building is used for a purpose other than a school, ownership reverts back to the school district. 

Senate Bill 2515 allows for alternative use of the buildings and establishes a timeline for charter schools to make a decision about building purchases.

“I’m not a fan of charter schools, but if you have a closed school building, it makes sense to look at it first as a school,” Blount said. “Current law does not have an end date on when that right may be exercised. This simply puts a termination date on that right of refusal.”

A similar bill, House Bill 1395, has also passed that chamber.  – Devna Bose

Proposal would take casino winnings for child support

Mississippi lawmakers are considering taking casino jackpots from parents who owe child support.

Similar bills from the House and Senate would have casinos withhold winnings from deadbeat parents — Senate Bill 2369 and House Bill 520. The proposals would require casinos to check a state database of people in arears on child support before paying out jackpots. – Mississippi Today

By the Numbers

$50 million

Amount lawmakers said they plan to request to fund a disaster recovery emergency loan program to aid Mississippi counties included in the recent federal disaster declaration from Winter Storm Fern.

More Legislative Coverage

Prison health care reform measures clear the House

The Mississippi House passed several bills this week aimed at improving the quality of medical care in Mississippi prisons and developing stronger oversight of health care delivery. Read the story.

School consolidation bill dies without a vote in Mississippi Senate

Senate Bill 2486 would’ve tasked a committee within the Mississippi Department of Education with recommending school district consolidations and established a framework for future mergers. Read the story.

Pro tem Kirby says ‘We couldn’t find anybody who supported it’ when school choice bill got to Senate

Senate President Pro tem Dean Kirby, a Republican from Pearl, gives an update on school choice, state support for areas devastated by the winter storm, and serving in the position known as “the senators’ senator.” Listen to the podcast.