The second week of the 2022 legislative session closed with both chambers bringing forth new ideas to further the concerns of our citizens. House Bill 384 was taken up by the Mississippi Senate and passed on a party line vote. This bill is the first step in the redistricting process as it redraws Mississippi’s four congressional districts.
The greatest changes came to the 2nd and 3rd Congressional Districts. Our district is the third Congressional District which was able to condense to a limited amount. The measure, which passed on a 33-18 vote, geographically enlarges District 2 by 42 miles. Each district was drawn to represent one fourth of the state’s population. Each district contains slightly more than 740,000 residents, making up Mississippi’s 2.9 million population.
Hearings were held and much time put into the deliberations as the bill aims to balance the population losses and gains of areas throughout the state. These districts will go to the Governor and will likely face a judicial challenge before the final lines are set.
The Senate took up Senate Bill 2095, the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act on Thursday after much debate in committee. The bill was amended from the initial version to allow a lower daily limit of product for the medical consumer. The program will allow patients with a prescription to receive up to 3.5 grams of medical marijuana daily for chronic health conditions. It was held on a motion to reconsider so certain language can be clarified before being transmitted to the House for consideration.
The program further includes a partnership between The Mississippi Department of Health and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture, which will oversee cultivation, and the Mississippi Department of Revenue which will run the program. A 5 percent excise tax and a 7 percent sales tax will be collected for the substance. Once operational fine tuning of the program will be required along the way, lawmakers said.
Also passed and placed on motion to reconsider was Senate Bill 2097, which would require the Mississippi Real Estate Commission to use staff lawyers from the Mississippi Attorney General’s office as hearing officers when dealing with certain complaints. A similar bill was passed in 2021 but vetoed by the governor. This year’s effort passed the Senate with one nay and is expected to face little opposition as it is transmitted to the House for consideration.
In other action, the filing deadline for bills passed on Monday and the Senate now faces a committee deadline on February 1st. The next two weeks will be busy as legislation is considered by committee, language is clarified, and final bills are passed through the process.
Continue to keep you legislators in your thoughts and prayers as we move through this session. As always, thank you for allowing me to serve you.
