State Senator Mike Thompson discusses Special Session
JACKSON, Miss. (WXXV)- There will be a flurry of activity up at the state capitol in Jackson on Tuesday. Governor Reeves has called lawmakers back for a special session.…
Legislature
Governor Reeves announces special session
JACKSON, Miss- It looks like Mississippi lawmakers will be heading back to Jackson next week for a special session. Governor Tate Reeves made that announcement on his Facebook page late this afternoon. The regular session adjourned before a budget was…
What bills did Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves veto? See the list
By TAYLOR VANCE/Mississippi Today Updated 10:07 AM CDT, April 29, 2025 Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves vetoed eight bills that lawmakers sent to his desk during the 2025 legislative session. Legislators, during their next regular session, could override the vetoes if…
Early voting proposal killed on last day of Mississippi legislative session
By TAYLOR VANCE/Mississippi Today Updated 10:26 AM CDT, April 4, 2025 JACKSON, Miss. (AP)- Mississippi will remain one of only three states without no-excuse early voting or no-excuse absentee voting. Senate leaders, on the last day of their regular 2025 session,…
Mississippi Senate passes DEI ban, setting up negotiation with House
By MICHAEL GOLDBERG/Mississippi Today The Mississippi Senate passed a bill Thursday that would eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs from the state’s universities, a priority elevated by Republican President Donald Trump. Senate Republicans passed the bill with a party line 34-14…
Speaking with Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann about upcoming legislation
WXXV News 25 is continuing to follow the Mississippi Legislature as it debates issues of importance to Mississippi and the Coast. Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann presides over…
Mississippi governor intent on income tax cut even if states receive less federal money
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Wednesday that he will continue pushing lawmakers to phase out the state income tax, even with the possibility of federal spending cuts that could affect states after Donald…
Mississippi legislative leaders advocate Medicaid expansion, heading to conflict with the governor
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi’s Republican legislative leaders said Thursday that they plan to push for Medicaid expansion to cover working people who earn too little to afford private insurance — a position that business groups have advocated but…
Mississippi House panel starts study that could lead to tax cuts
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi lawmakers could consider a comprehensive proposal next year to make the state’s tax system fairer and more efficient, a state House leader said Wednesday. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Trey Lamar said…
Mississippi must move quickly on a court-ordered redistricting, say voting rights attorneys
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi should work quickly to fulfill the court-ordered redrawing of some legislative districts to ensure more equitable representation for Black residents, attorneys for voting rights groups said in a new court filing Friday. The attorneys also said it’s…
Federal court orders some of Mississippi’s state legislative maps to be redrawn
A federal court has ordered Mississippi to redraw its 2022 state legislative maps in several areas after concluding those maps unlawfully dilute the voting strength of Black Mississippians. The ruling was issued Tuesday night and requires the creation of new…
Medicaid expansion effort collapses in Mississippi Legislature
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Updated 8:19 PM CDT, May 2, 2024 JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Medicaid expansion efforts fizzled and died Thursday in Mississippi because top lawmakers could not agree on a final proposal to send to the House and Senate. This…
WXXV’s Ethan Krauss reports from Jackson on the state legislative session
A few bills are still alive in the state legislature ahead of today’s adjournment. WXXV’s Ethan Krauss has the story from Jackson. Watch the video…
Medicaid expansion discussions could fall apart Mississippi
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Updated 8:16 AM CDT, May 2, 2024 JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The first serious effort by Mississippi’s Legislature to expand Medicaid appeared to be crumbling Thursday as leaders argued over whether to let voters decide the issue.…
News 25 heads to Jackson ahead of state legislature's adjournment
News 25's Ethan Krauss brings us the latest from the Capitol ahead of the state legislature's adjournment.
Mississippi Medicaid expansion plan could struggle for bipartisan support, Democratic leader says
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Medicaid expansion plan endorsed by leaders in the Republican-led Mississippi Legislature could struggle for bipartisan support because it includes a work requirement that is unlikely to receive federal approval, the state House Democratic leader…
Bill to allow online sports betting dies in Legislature
A bill that would have allowed online sports betting in Mississippi has died in conference. House Bill 774, authored by Rep. Casey Eure, R-Harrison, would have made online race books and online sports pools legal in Mississippi. The measure passed…
Mississippi Senate agrees to a new school funding formula, sending plan to the governor
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi would ditch a complex school funding formula that legislators have largely ignored since it became law a generation ago and replace it with a new plan that some lawmakers say is simpler…
Bill to establish Purple Alert for missing with cognitive disabilities passes
A bill that will establish a Purple Alert for missing people with cognitive disabilities has passed the Legislature. House Bill 873 passed the House 121-0 with one person absent and passed the Senate 50-2 with two absent on Monday. Once…
Mississippi Senate Republicans push Medicaid expansion ‘lite’ proposal that would cover fewer people
BY MICHAEL GOLDBERG JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A proposal to expand Medicaid to tens of thousands of residents in one of the poorest states in the U.S. is still alive in the Mississippi Legislature . But Senate Republicans changed the plan…
Bill introduced Monday night would provide state support for casino project in Jackson
A state legislator from Senatobia filed a bill Monday that would provide state support to develop a casino property on the Pearl River in Jackson. Rep. Trey Lamar, who represents Lafayette and Tate counties and who is the chair of…
School funding and ballot initiatives are among issues surviving in Mississippi Legislature
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS AND MICHAEL GOLDBERG JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi legislators are considering proposals to rewrite the funding formula for public schools. Senate Bill 2332 would revise the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the formula that has been fully funded only twice…
The first Black woman in the Mississippi Legislature now has her portrait in the state Capitol
BY EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Former Rep. Alyce Clarke was the first Black woman elected to the Mississippi Legislature, and now she is the first Black person — and first woman — to have a portrait on display in the…