SB 2364: Expand the Fresh Start Act

Senate Bill 2364, sponsored by Senator Angela Turner-Ford, expands the provisions of the Fresh Start Act in order to make it more applicable to all Mississippians in search of joining the workforce. In 2019, Mississippi passed the Fresh Start Act geared towards the prevention of using criminal conviction history to deny approval of occupational licenses…

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SB 2342/ SB 2343: Expand hairstyling and cosmetology freedom

Senate Bills 2342 and 2343, both sponsored by Sen. Jeremy England, would exempt hair arranging, threading, and extending eyelashes from the state’s cosmetology licensing laws. Each of these practices are extremely safe and do not involve cutting, coloring, or chemically treating hair. Hair arranging, or hairstyling businesses, which are known as “blow dry bars” generally…

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But how will we fund government without income taxes?

One of the primary concerns around eliminating the income tax in Mississippi revolves around the impact on state revenue. More to the point, how will government pay for core functions and services that citizens have come to rely on? Fortunately, there are nine income tax free states with varying revenue models that can be looked…

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NFIB Director: Eliminate state income tax

Eliminating the state’s income tax would serve as a springboard to economic growth according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses. “One thing that would help encourage job growth in Mississippi in the coming year would be for lawmakers to approve a plan to eliminate the state income tax,” NFIB State Director Dawn Starns said.…

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Property forfeiture too easy in Mississippi

A new report has been released that gives Mississippi a bad grade on its civil asset forfeiture laws. The report, Policing for Profit, was released by the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public-interest law firm. The report examined civil asset forfeiture laws in all 50 states and graded state on how well their laws protect…

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SB 2019: Ban The Box for public employers

Senate Bill 2019, sponsored by Sen. Tammy Witherspoon, would prohibit public employers from using an applicant’s criminal history as an initial barrier to employment. Birthed in 2004 through the work of All of Us or None, the Ban the Box campaign has been focused on allowing skills and qualifications to be the preliminary deciding factors…

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The 2021 legislative session begins

The Mississippi legislature returned on Tuesday to gavel in the 2021 session. Though talks of delaying the session amidst the COVID-19 pandemic have been rumored, no changes to the calendar have been made at this time. Instead, numerous new safety measures are in place. The first major deadline of the year will be the deadline…

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The need to reform habitual sentences in Mississippi

Mississippi’s sentencing laws include a habitual enhancement which can subject individuals to long sentences for relatively minor offenses if they have previous convictions on their record. These “enhancements” stack additional prison time on top of that standard sentence for a criminal offense. This “three strikes” provision was implemented in the 1990s when the Clinton Administration…

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SB 2048: Regulatory reduction pilot program

Senate Bill 2048, sponsored by Sen. Kevin Blackwell, would require five state agencies to begin a regulatory reduction program over the next three years. Economists have estimated that if regulations had been frozen at 1980s levels, the U.S. economy would be over $4 trillion larger than it currently is. That’s over $13,000 for every man, woman,…

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We’re Hiring!

Director of New Schools Empower Mississippi Foundation Ridgeland, Ms or Virtual Office   https://talentmarket.org/dnsem/ About Empower Mississippi: Founded in 2014, Empower Mississippi Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Ridgeland, Mississippi, and is affiliated with Empower Mississippi, 501(c)(4). Our mission is to help every Mississippian rise by removing barriers to opportunity. We focus our…

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