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Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Children's Promise Act dies in MS Senate, thanks in part to Republicans. See why
If anyone was wondering where the Mississippi Senate, as a body, stood on expanding school choice, the chamber may have tipped its hand toward any future votes on expanding public funding for private education. On Tuesday and Wednesday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers defeated House Bill 1902, which could be the last legislation standing from a volley of school-choice-related bills that previously passed the House but died in the Senate. "The only issue that I've heard from other senators, Democrats and Republicans, is that this is a program that allows people to instead of paying their taxes, to donate money to private schools with almost no oversight whatsoever," said Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, who spoke against the bill. HB 1902 was first voted on by the Senate on Tuesday before a vote to consider Senate leadership's tax reform package, which among other things, would seek to fully eliminate the state income tax. Some senators who voted against HB 1902 said that was part of the reason for voting against the measure, citing it would be in poor taste to pass one bill raising state spending and another cutting state funding. The bill was first defeated Tuesday 26-23 but held on a motion to reconsider. On Wednesday, when Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins, R-Flowood, tried to bring the bill back up, it was defeated by an even larger margin. "We were just trying to make it more available for people to allow them to donate funds to (certain tax credit programs in the bill) and that was really the effort there," Harkins said. "We will have to work on it next year." The bill, which featured the Children's Promise Act, has been tied to school choice, a loaded term for legislation seeking to expand education options for students in both the public and private sector. School choice: Mississippi House kills bill to allow students to more easily move between school districts This year, that effort has taken the shape of establishing programs to put public money directly into private schools, allowing students to more easily move between school districts, expanding charter schools and via the Children's Promise Act, a tax credit program that already puts some public dollars toward private education. All of those efforts have been killed this year. The state also already has another school-choice program, an Education Savings Account program for disabled children. There was previously an effort in both the House and Senate to expand that program, but it died by a deadline. If passed, HB 1902 would have likely gone up for further negotiation with the House, known as conference, where House negotiators would have pushed to increase funding for the Children's Promise Act tax credit program. That program allows people to donate funds to private schools and have half of it taken off of their property taxes. The program also allows people to receive tax credits for donating to foster care facilities, and the program's funding, $18 million, can only go to certain "charitable organizations" such as those listed above. School choice bills: School choice in MS House lives by in-house rule, not Democratic principle. See details Only half of that funding can go toward private schools, which have to be approved of by the Mississippi Department of Revenue based on criteria such as enrolling students with certain disabilities and having been accredited by a state-recognized firm. Once that certification is given, schools need not reapply for seven years, and the state has no method to ensure those schools are either spending "donations" on education, or if the school even enrolls those students that make the institution eligible for the program beyond the accreditor's initial findings, which includes an audit. House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, told the Clarion Ledger his goal was to increase the program's fundings because it is annually maxed out, and he thinks the program, despite political opposition to it, serves to help some of the state's most needy children. Lamar also accused Jackson-based The Parents Campaign, a nonprofit lead by Nancy Loome, of spreading lies about HB 1902 being a school-choice bill and that it would send public education dollars toward private education. "I think it has been extremely popular, and that it doesn't hurt public education at all," Lamar said. "There's no reason we can't have great public schools and great independent schools across our state, and the Children's Promise Act recognizes that." Loome told the Clarion Ledger she never tried to communicate the bill as anything but a tax-credit program that sends public dollars toward private schools with no oversight and little guardrails in place to ensure those tax dollars were being spent appropriately. "We have never said that the Children's Promise Act is a school-choice bill, because it isn't," Loome said. "It has nothing to do with anybody choosing or enrolling their child in a different school. This is simply money going to private schools. It's not tied to tuition or a child moving from one place to another, but it has the same effect financially as a voucher in that it moves public money into private schools." Several high-ranking Senate Republicans told the Clarion Ledger they either voted against the measure because constituents called asking them to vote it down, they did not support school-choice-related legislation or thought it was poor timing. Of the Senate Republicans, at least nine voted against the Children's Promise Act. Two voted "present." "I had more constituents call me and ask me not to support it," Sen. Chad McMahan, R-Tupelo, said. "We are currently providing public funds to private individuals in terms of ESA for special needs education, and there are some students in the state that have such specialized needs that some public schools are unable to secure the expertise to meet their needs." Two of them, Sens. Nicole Boyd of Oxford and Sen. Walter Michel of Ridgeland, declined to comment. Sens. Mike McLendon of Hernando and Daniel Sparks of Belmont both noted that sending public dollars toward private education is unconstitutional in Mississippi. Sparks also said he had other questions related to the running of the program and did not feel comfortable voting on it. "I think public tax dollars should be spent on public education, and (if) a person has the ability to go to a private school, then so be it," McLendon said. "I just believe that public money should go to public." Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature and state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@ or 972-571-2335. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: School choice-related bill dies in MS Senate
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill seeks to bolster 2019 law expanding Mississippi workforce
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – A Mississippi Senate Bill seeks to expand the scope of a 2019 law that has struggled to expand job opportunities to Mississippians. That 2019 law, Mississippi Senate Bill 2781, sought to bar criminal convictions from being a barrier to employment for jobs requiring licensed certification. However, proponents soon argued that shortcomings related to the bill's applicability and scope meant that stronger legislation was necessary. The legislature's latest attempt to reinforce the Fresh Start Act in recent years passed in the Mississippi Senate. Mississippi bill requiring rape kits for hospitals dies The 2025 bill is 470 pages longer than the six-page law passed in 2019; still, the two bills cover many of the same things. However, SB 2248 better illustrates how the Fresh Start Act impacts Mississippi law. It also reiterates that the 2019 law supersedes any conflicting laws. This clarity would, in theory, make the original goals of the Fresh Start Act easier to enforce. Among other things, SB 2248 reemphasizes that licensing authorities cannot use ambiguous terms like 'moral turpitude' or 'good character' when setting qualifications for licensure. Additionally, such authorities must apply a clear and convincing standard of proof when determining if a person with a criminal record is disqualified from licensure. The provisions of SB 2248 or the original Fresh Start Act do not apply to those convicted of crimes seeking to practice law, nursing or similar professions in Mississippi. One convicted of felonies other than manslaughter or a violation of the Internal Revenue Code would still be unable to practice law in Mississippi if SB 2248 passes. Senator Daniel Sparks (R-District 5) and David Blount (D-District 29) authored the 2025 legislation. Blount helped to author the 2019 law. The Mississippi House received SB 2248 on February 14. If passed, the law would go into effect on July 1. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MS Senate, House advance election, campaign finance reforms by deadline. See what happened
A push for campaign finance and election reforms in the Mississippi Senate and House have passed through the first of many hurdles. But there are more hurdles to come. If the opposition seen in the Senate committee that many of the bills passed out of on Tuesday was any sign, it will surely be slog before the state will see election and campaign finance reforms. By Tuesday evening, the Senate committee, albeit against some opposition, advanced legislation to establish a 15-day early voting period, several bills to amend and add enforcement to campaign finance laws and even a bill to require online filing of campaign finances. The House Apportions and Elections Committee also advanced its own campaign finance law legislation earlier in the session. Municipal elections: When is the 2025 municipal election? See key dates In Mississippi, campaign finance laws are antiquated and, in some cases, even contradictory of each other. Efforts to reform some of the "mess" of legal codes regarding elections was attempted in the 2024 session, but the legislation died by a legislative deadline. Here is a look at some of the bills: On Tuesday, the Senate committee advanced a bill that would, if passed, establish an online filing system through the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office. The bill, Senate Bill 2650, would designate the creation of the platform and also require candidates both at the state and local levels to submit online campaign finance reports. In Mississippi, candidates currently submit campaign finances to the Mississippi Secretary of State via an online platform, but they are submitted as pdfs or even mailed in. Often, reports are handwritten and sometimes are illegible. The new system would allow viewers to search for individual donors and find other information quickly, much like the Federal Election Commission's campaign finance website. Before the bill passed out of committee, it faced some opposition from members and Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, who questioned whether it would be a good idea to ask non-state level candidates to file those types of reports. Elections Chairman Sen. Jeremy England, R-Ocean Springs, offered an amendment of a reverse repealer, which means if the bill passes it would be repealed upon becoming active, as a way to continue discussions before a vote on the Senate floor is had. The committee also advanced SB 2608, which would give the Secretary of State more power to investigate and claw back corporate campaign donations from candidates who receive more than $1,000 in donations from corporations. Those funds would then go into the state's Election Support Fund. Early voting: Mississippi is one of three states without early in-person voting. See efforts to alter that Currently, it would be up to the Attorney General to claw back those dollars and prosecute those who receive and send illegal campaign donations. Attorney General Lynn Fitch has not prosecuted a campaign finance violation case. The bill would also give the AG more time to determine if her office can bring forth a case against violators. Another piece of legislation, SB 2649, would restrict foreign nationals from donating to campaigns related to ballot initiatives and ballot referendums. Last week, the Senate committee also advanced a bill to establish a 15-day early voting period. The bill would eliminate the 45-day in person absentee voting period and replace with the 15-day early in-person voting at the local circuit clerk's office. The bill also faced some opposition from committee members, but passed out of the committee with only one opposition vote. The bills would now head to the Senate floor, and England will have until Feb. 13 to get them passed onto the House for even further consideration. Grant McLaughlin covers the Legislature and state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@ or 972-571-2335. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi Senate advances campaign finance reform and early voting
