Archive for March 2021
Approaching the home stretch
Today is the 60th day of the 2021 Mississippi legislative session, and there is encouraging progress happening in the realm of criminal justice reform in our state. The topic of criminal justice has continued to rank highly among policy priorities. Legislators, state officials, and many other interest parties have made a consorted effort to persist…
Read MoreMississippi’s regulations lead to fewer jobs, more poverty
New data shows that federal regulations have led to more people living in poverty, greater income inequality, fewer businesses, less jobs, and higher prices for consumers in Mississippi. According to the research from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Mississippi has experienced the following regressive effects: 86,135 more people living in poverty Using the…
Read MoreFull practice authority for nurse practitioners died. The need remains.
A measure to grant nurse practitioners full practice authority is dead after the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee opted against taking up a bill that passed the House earlier in the session. Under House Bill 1303, experienced nurse practitioners would have been able to dispense primary care without costly collaborative agreements that require physician…
Read MoreNow is the time to adopt universal licensing
Mississippi has the chance to become the first state in the south to ease the burdensome licensing restrictions for those moving to the Magnolia State. Moving is already a difficult process; we don’t need laws making it even more difficult. The state’s population has been shrinking since 2015. At the same time, most of the…
Read MoreThe business of grace
Heath Ferguson is in the business of offering grace. Why? Because grace is what helped him change his life. Ferguson serves as the Chaplain and Director of Pastoral Care and Faith Relations at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center. To look at Ferguson one might not see the former drug addict who found himself crossing the border…
Read More2021 session moving quickly: What’s alive?
The 2021 legislative session is moving quickly, with another important deadline yesterday. Entering the home stretch, several efforts championed by Empower remain alive across our Education, Work, and Justice initiatives. Here are some of Empower’s remaining priorities. Education: Empower believes that every child in Mississippi should have access to a good education that prepares them…
Read MoreHB 551: Provisional driver’s license when ex-offenders leave prison
House Bill 551, sponsored by Rep. Nick Bain, seeks to provide a provisional driver’s license to formerly incarcerated individuals. In a 2018 report, the Prison Policy Initiative showed that pre-and-post-release employment services are crucial factors in the successful reintegration of reentering citizens as the unemployment rate is the highest within the first two years of…
Read MoreEmpower leads conservative coalition calling for reforms to Mississippi’s justice system
Empower Mississippi led a state and national coalition of conservative organizations calling for reforms to Mississippi’s justice system that ensure the public is protected, taxpayer resources are not wasted, and rehabilitated individuals can earn a second chance. The letter, which was sent to Gov. Tate Reeves, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, Speaker Philip Gunn, and members…
Read MoreSenate committee advances universal recognition
A committee in the Senate has advanced legislation that will require licensing boards to recognize occupational licenses obtained in another state when an individual moves to Mississippi. House Bill 1263, sponsored by Rep. Becky Currie, cleared the Senate Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency committee in advance of Tuesday’s committee deadline. Under the proposal, individuals who move to…
Read MoreLegislature could okay out of state licenses for teachers
Senate Bill 2267 would establish a 14-day timeline for teachers holding valid, out-of-state licenses to receive a license in Mississippi. For years, the number of Mississippians licensed to teach has been declining. Between 2011 and 2019, completers of licensure programs dropped by nearly 30 percent. A recent national survey found 27 percent of teachers were…
Read MorePushing Income Tax Elimination Uphill
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was doomed to an eternity of pushing a boulder uphill. Modern proponents of state-based tax reform can relate. A failed experiment in Kansas has served as a cautionary tale for legislators considering changes to the tax code. Only Kansas’ hill is a mirage—an obstacle of misperception, not of substance. In 2012,…
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