Mississippi State News

Higher Electricity Bills Coming

Customers of Mississippi’s two private electric utilities will see higher bills in February as they pass through rebounding natural gas costs. The Mississippi Public Service Commission voted today to approve higher fuel costs for both Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power.…

Edbuild To Present Recommendations Monday

Private firm Edbuild has concluded their analysis of the Mississippi public school system and will give their funding recommendations to state lawmakers on Monday. Edbuild was hired over the summer to examine the Mississippi Adequate Education Program and see how…

First Step To Repeal Obamacare Passes

Senate Republicans have kick started efforts to repeal and replace President Obama’s landmark Affordable Care Act. After an overnight marathon, they approved a budget blueprint with a 51 to 48 vote around 1 a.m. Thursday morning. While Republicans insisted the…

Mississippi Democratic Caucus

Democrats in the Mississippi Senate have decided who will lead their caucus. Bill Stone of Holly Springs was chosen as their Caucus chairman and Derrick Simmons of Greenville as their vice chairman. Sen. John Horhn of Jackson had been Caucus…

Mississippi Medicaid Asks For $75 Million

Mississippi Medicaid officials are requesting an additional $75 million to get through the final six months of the budget year and the program's director says the reasons why are clear. David Dzielak argues legislators didn't put enough money into Medicaid…

Making Insurance Mandatory For Car Tags House Bill 319

A bill that would require Mississippians to prove they have vehicle liability insurance before they could renew their auto tags has cleared committee and heads to the full House. An estimated 25 to 30 percent of Mississippi motorists drive uninsured.…

Legislator Pushes for State Flag Law

One Coast legislator wants to make sure the Mississippi State Flag is flown over the state's colleges. Senator Joseph Seymour of Vancleave filed a bill that would require all governmental entities that receive state funds, namely public colleges and universities,…

Governor Signs Executive Order

While many bills sit on the desk for Governor Phil Bryant to sign, today he signed an executive order in hopes of keeping men and women safe in the work place. Executive order 1392 requires all state agencies to complete…

First Bill Passed Heads to Governor

We're not yet a week into the 2017 legislative session, but a bill is already sitting on Governor Phil Bryant's desk for signature. House Bill 32 is on track to be the first law passed in the new session. The…

Tweaking How Merit Pay Is Distributed

Mississippi teachers might see merit pay next year under the state's school recognition program, but a proposed house bill would change how the pay is determined. The current program would provide up to 100 dollars per student for schools that…

Former Gov. William Winter Is Improving After Falling

Former Mississippi Gov. William Winter is improving as he remains hospitalized with head injuries. Winter's condition was upgraded from serious to fair on Sunday, according to Alana Bowman, spokeswoman for the University Of Mississippi Medical Center. The 93 year-old winter…

Governor Bryant to Deliver Address

Governor Phil Bryant will give his state of the state address during the third week of the legislative session. Spokesman clay chandler confirms the speech is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. January 17th at the capitol. It will be carried live…

Gov. Bryant on MAEP Formula

Governor Phil Bryant says it's time to update Mississippi’s School Funding Formula saying the current "Mississippi Adequate Education Program" is outdated. Bryant made the remarks at an event Thursday saying the current formula is a "1992 model"....arguing the state wouldn't…

Palazzo Looks To Create Term Limits

How long should a member of the House or Senate be able to hold their seat? If you ask Congressman Steven Palazzo, it should be no longer than 12 years. Today, Congressman Palazzo reintroduced legislation that would limit members of…

Lottery Legislation Filed At Session

One State legislator is looking to hit the jackpot by bringing the lottery to Mississippi. Democratic Representative Alyce Clark of Jackson filed two lottery bills. One of those bills would create the Mississippi Lottery for Education and have it administered…

Trump's "Thank You Tour"

The thank you tour for Donald Trump is heading to the coast. The trump/pence campaign bus will be at the dock with Thursday January 12th from 12 until 1:30 p.m. in Gulfport. The tour's trek in Mississippi kicks off on…

Funding Infrastructure to Top 2017 Legislative Session Agenda

Mississippi's infrastructure is crumbling and lawmakers are trying to figure out how to fix it. In South Mississippi, many of our roads had to be redone after Katrina, but that's not the case statewide. This summer, legislators toured the state…

Eight Tornadoes Hit Mississippi on Monday

The National Weather Service counts at least eight tornadoes that hit Mississippi on Monday. Survey teams conclude storm damage was caused by twisters in Claiborne, Copiah, Covington, Forrest, Jefferson, Lamar, Lincoln, Pike, Simpson, and Walthall counties. The strongest storm, rated…

2017 Legislative Session Opens

The 2017 Mississippi Legislative Session is officially underway in Jackson. The session opened at noon Tuesday,a day that was more ceremonial. Official work will begin later in the week. Among the topics expected to command lawmakers attention were allocating BP…

Replacing Elected Superintendents

Mississippi lawmakers are considering a measure that would let school boards appoint replacements for elected school superintendents who resign in the next three years. In 2016, the legislature enacted a law making all 55 elected superintendents appointed, beginning in 2020.…

2017 Legislative Session Opens Today

The new year means it’s time for state lawmakers to head back to Jackson for the new legislative session. This session is set to be an important one for Coast residents. News 25’s Katarina Luketich has our report from Jackson.…

PayPal & Amazon Scams

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood warns PayPal and Amazon users about scams intended to gather personal information or to spread viruses. One scam involves an email with a link alerting the receiver their PayPal account has been limited for security…

2017 Legislative Session Opens Today

The 2017 legislative session has officially begun in Jackson with a number of topics important to the Coast on the agenda. News 25's Katarina Luketich joins us from the state capitol.

Possible Tornado Touchdown

A possible tornado moved through Mississippi Monday afternoon, damaging several buildings. You can see not much remains of these buildings near Mount Olive. A major highway through the town was temporarily shut down after some trees fell over, blocking the…