| Bill Number | Bill Description | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |
SB 2075 Neutral |
State parks; change name of Natchez State Park to 'Bob M. Dearing Natchez State Park.' | |||
| Analysis: | |||||
| 2. |
HB 512 Bad Policy |
ABC agents/inspectors; revise certain provisions regarding powers of. | |||
| Analysis: This bill seeks to expand the power of ABC agents by removing code wording that explicitly states that nothing in the section shall be construed as granting agents and inspectors of the alcoholic beverage control division general police powers. The current actions of ABC are already wildly beyond the intended scope of government and thus deserves to be curtailed not expanded. | |||||
| 3. |
SB 2149 Neutral |
MAEP; Department of Education required to hold harmless school district from calculating 2020-2021 average daily attendance. | |||
| Analysis: This bill prevents school districts from losing money due to reduced attendance during COVID. The bigger problem is that Miss. uses an outdated method for counting students: Average Daily Attendance (ADA). Instead of putting off the inevitable need to replace Average Daily Attendance with a better way of counting – and funding -- students, lawmakers should explore replacing ADA with a formula based on enrollment counts. This would result in more equitable and accurate funding decisions. | |||||
| 4. |
HB 518 Bad Policy |
Department of Revenue; authorize to create wholesale to retail accountability program. | |||
| Analysis: This bill expands the power of the Department of Revenue and forces individuals to spend more time cataloging and recording information about sales of candy, food, and nonalcoholic beverages to the DoR. In a time when small businesses are struggling, why would the state attempt to place additional burdens on individuals? Ultimately, as with so much of the legislature's focus, this is an effort to ensure that the government is taking as much money from private citizens as it can. | |||||
| 5. |
HB 508 Neutral |
Department of Revenue; allow retiring law enforcement officer of to retain issued sidearm. | |||
| Analysis: | |||||
| 6. |
HB 510 Neutral |
Motor vehicle certificate of title; limit period for which Department of Revenue must retain. | |||
| Analysis: While the intent of this bill seeks to decrease the amount of time the Department of Revenue is required to keep Certificate of Titles on file, the potential unintended consequences could result in decreased government efficiency involving applications to transfer one’s existing vehicle title to an Antique Auto tag which requires vehicles be at least 20 years old. When making changes to existing statute it is imperative that specific amounts of time referenced do not conflict with other section of applicable code and/or administrative rules. | |||||
| 7. |
HB 425 Good Policy |
Ad valorem tax; revise certain provisions regarding when an application for change of property assessment may be made. | |||
| Analysis: Allows assessors the ability to use knowledge of unique property circumstances to change, cancel, or decrease the tax assessment. This bill allows greater flexibility for ensuring taxes are assessed correctly. *This bill brings forward numerous code sections. This action requires greater scrutiny of this bill as it moves through the legislative process. Code sections “brought forward" are opened up for amending. Significant deviations from this bill's initial intent due to language changes made at any time during the legislative process may result in its policy rating being changed if such deviations violate the principles of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. | |||||
| 8. |
HB 514 Good Policy |
Sales tax; exempt sales of tangible personal property or services to DeafBlind Community of Mississippi, Inc. | |||
| Analysis: This bill gives sales tax exemptions to the DeafBlind Community of Mississippi. Ideally, all Mississippi citizens would be given similar tax reductions, but this is a fine move that marginally reduces the tax authority of the state. | |||||
| 9. |
HB 509 Good Policy |
Unemployment compensation; allow withholding of state income tax. | |||
| Analysis: While it would probably be in the best interest of the taxpayers to not have unemployment compensation be subject to further taxes, this bill allows for the tax deduction to be made on the front end of the payment. | |||||
| 10. |
HB 516 Bad Policy |
Department of Revenue; allow department appraisers to receive certain pay increases upon completing certain training. | |||
| Analysis: This is a back door attempt to approve mass pay increase for county tax assessors and their employees. | |||||
| 11. |
HB 519 Good Policy |
Motor vehicle license tags; remove requirement for apportioned vehicles to have decal with expiration month/year on tag. | |||
| Analysis: This bill eliminates the requirement to physically place new decals on apportioned vehicles every year. The government should continually find new ways to reduce waste and unnecessary requirements placed on businesses and individuals. | |||||
| 12. |
HB 511 Bad Policy |
Amusement ride operating permit decal; revise period for issuance. | |||
| Analysis: This bill amends the issuing period for amusement ride decals in a way that adds unnecessary restrictions to business operations. In addition, the specific changes are in direct conflict with existing language in the statute which could potentially result in increased government inefficiency. *See lines 11-12 & lines 30-32 in the Strike-Through version of the bill | |||||
| 13. |
SB 2267 Good Policy |
Teacher license; allow reciprocity if teacher possesses standard license from other state and passes background check. | |||
| Analysis: This bill builds upon the idea of interstate licensure reciprocity. It eliminates unnecessary criteria when granting reciprocity to out of state license holders thereby increasing government efficiency in filling vacant teacher positions. This bill also increases government accountability by establishing a specific timeframe for responsive action by MDE while maintaining the safety of our public education students. | |||||
| 14. |
SB 2270 Neutral |
Autopsies; provide for confidentiality of photographs and recordings of. | |||
| Analysis: | |||||
| 15. |
HB 374 Neutral |
Distinctive motor vehicle license tag; authorize issuance to supporters of Mississippi Theatre Association, Inc. | |||
| Analysis: | |||||
| 16. |
SB 2106 Bad Policy |
Off-duty law enforcement officers; authorized to use public vehicles for private security duty. | |||
| Analysis: This bill allows taxpayer purchased law enforcement vehicles to be used for private security activities by off-duty law enforcement. This is a misuse of public resources. Utilization of law enforcement vehicles for off-duty activities contributes to depreciation and increases the likelihood of mechanical problems. The cost of both would ultimately fall on the taxpayers of Mississippi. | |||||
| 17. |
SB 2020 Neutral |
Tribal identification cards; recognize as legal means of personal identification. | |||
| Analysis: | |||||
| 18. |
SB 2263 Good Policy |
Cemeteries and burial grounds; make misleading filings unlawful. | |||
| Analysis: This bill enables the government to more effectively perform one of its primary functions, public safety. The bill provides a statutory mechanism to insure those entrusted with the most sacred of duties, honoring our past loved ones, are held accountable in the event they betray the public trust through either false or misleading statements or omissions that lead to the representation of false or misleading information. | |||||
| 19. |
SB 2307 Neutral |
Dyslexia Awareness Training Program; require teachers to complete two hours of training for. | |||
| Analysis: |