Archive for January 2021
SB 2674 & HB 1254: Regulatory relief for public school districts
Senate Bill 2674 and House Bill 1254, sponsored by Sen. Rita Potts Parks and Rep. Nick Bain, would create a taskforce to identify barriers to innovation and effectiveness within the public school system and make recommendations for legislative and administrative action within the year. The stated purpose of the bills is to: Remove excessive and…
Read MoreHB 1303: Expand the scope of practice for nurse practitioners
House Bill 1303, sponsored by Rep. Donnie Scoggin, would expand the scope of practice for nurse practitioners in Mississippi. Currently, a nurse practitioner is required to enter into a collaborative agreement with a physician. This would exempt nurse practitioners from that requirement after 3,600 hours of practice. Mississippi, like the country as a whole, is…
Read MoreBills would expand freedom for barbers and cosmetologists
A South Mississippi barber hoped to open a mobile barber shop two years ago to fend off the increasing costs of his store but was stopped by government regulations before he ever opened. Steve McGill had been a barber for nearly 30 years in Columbia when he built a mobile barber shop. He went to…
Read MoreRethink Education
HB 562: Allow cottage food operators to sell products online
House Bill 562, sponsored by Rep. Shanda Yates, would expand cottage food operations in Mississippi by repealing the prohibition on internet sales. Cottage food operators can sell certain allowable non-perishable foods they make in their own kitchen without government inspections while labeling the product as such. Last year, the legislature expanded the sales cap for…
Read MoreNurses Can Help Eliminate Mississippi Health Care Deserts
Within a decade, the U.S. health care system is projected to face a shortage of more than 100,000 doctors. The existing supply of medical providers is already insufficient to meet demand for care, and as our nation’s population ages, that demand will only grow—increasing cost and decreasing access. If America is plagued by growing health…
Read MoreGovernor Reeves declares Jan. 24-30 School Choice Week
Gov. Tate Reeves has proclaimed January 24-30, 2021 as “School Choice Week” in the state of Mississippi. He joins other governors and mayors and county leaders nationwide in issuing proclamations. More than 40,000 events have been independently organized across the country for National School Choice Week. This year’s National School Choice Week will be America’s…
Read MoreHow might Mississippi lawmakers approach the elimination of the income tax?
If Mississippi became the 10th state to not charge an income tax, where would lawmakers turn for revenue? That is a question many have, and will continue, to ask. Obviously, there is a lot we can learn from the states that already operate without income taxes, but there is a great multitude of differences between…
Read MoreHB 196: Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act
House Bill 196, sponsored by Representative Nick Bain, seeks to establish various levels of care as it pertains to pregnant women that are incarcerated. The “Dignity for Incarcerated Women” movement has been widespread, and several southern states like South Carolina, Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas have accepted the charge to pass legislation centered on the…
Read MoreSB 2187: Universal recognition of occupational licenses
Senate Bill 2187, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Blackwell, would require the state to recognize occupational licenses obtained in another state. Under the proposal, licensing boards would be required to issue occupational licenses without new testing or classroom training if an individual held a license in good standing from another state for at least one year. Licensing…
Read MoreMississippians Control Their Own Destiny
A degree of turmoil following November’s contentious elections was expected. The extent of the unrest surpassed anything fathomed, culminating in a full-fledged attack on the U.S. Capitol. Distrust and antipathy toward “the other side” is at an all-time high. But if the election of 2020 should teach us anything, it is to not put our…
Read MoreMississippi’s job recovery better than most states
Nearly ten months after the first reported case of COVID-19 in Mississippi, the state is doing better than most states at recovering jobs lost because of the pandemic and related economic restrictions. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows just a 2.2% decline in payrolls in Mississippi between January 2020 and November. To see…
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