The Senate began the week by passing appropriation and revenue bills while assigning others to conference where details will be worked out between Senate and House conferees. Moving forward, the Senate adopted the conference report on House Bill 530 creating the “Strategically Accelerating the Recruitment and Retention of Teachers (START) Act of 2022,” a $246 million teacher pay plan that will boost the average teacher’s pay by $5,140. Teacher assistant salaries would see an increase of $2,000, rising from $15,000 to $17,000.
Under the START Act of 2022, a Class A teacher with a baccalaureate degree would start at $41,500. Teachers would receive annual step increases of between $400 and $600 at most every year, including in the first three years of teaching. At pivotal five-year marks in a teacher’s career up to year 20, teachers would receive a larger increase between $1,200 and $1,350 based on their certification. At Year 25, a teacher would receive a $2,500 increase.
In additional business, the Senate took up House Bill 531 which creates the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2022. This bill includes no tax increases or growth triggers and would be fully implemented in eight years. The proposal includes:
• An immediate reduction in the grocery tax from 7 percent to 5 percent, at a cost of about $118.4 million.
• A 2022 rebate of up to $1,000 for all citizens with tax liability, which totals about $130 million.
• A reduction of the 5 percent tax bracket over the next four years at a cost of $136 million.
• The elimination of the 4 percent tax bracket over four years after the reduction of the 5 percent bracket is finally implemented, at a cost of $185 million.
The greatest addition to this bill is the suspension of the state’s portion of the fuel tax on each gallon of gas or diesel purchased. That would equate to an 18.4 cent savings per gallon. If implemented, the Senate’s plan would eliminate about $439.4 million in recurring revenue from the budget by 2030 and would be the largest tax cut in Mississippi history. In 2016, the Legislature passed a bill phasing out the 3 percent tax bracket by 2022.
The Senate moved further with crucial legislation by taking up Senate Concurrent Resolution 583, which suspends legislative deadlines to clear the path for legislation that would codify Article 3, Section 17A of the Mississippi Constitution. This Amendment is more commonly known as the eminent domain amendment. It would prohibit state or local governments from taking private property through eminent domain and conveying it to private entities for 10-years. Exemptions are provided for levee facilities, roads, bridges, ports, airports, common carriers, drainage facilities and utilities. Though the state has an amendment in place, there are questions as to whether the amendment would stand up to supreme court review. To solidify the rights of citizens against private takings, I believe that it is crucial that we codify the amendment. I was honored to be the lead author of this resolution and will continue to fight to move it forward. It was assigned to House Rules Committee.
Other bills passed included:
• House Bill 1685 creates the Pregnancy Resource Act, which allows the state Department of Revenue to give back 50-percent of a Mississippian’s charitable contribution to an agency that helps women in crisis pregnancy situations, helps foster parental care of children, seeks to keep children from becoming part of the foster care system, and does not support abortion. It intends to create “permanency for children through adoption.” It provides $3.5 million for state tax reimbursement of taxpayers who participate.
• Senate Bill 2769 exempts university foundations from ad valorem taxes on land and real property. It awaits the governor’s consideration.
• Senate Concurrent Resolution 563 condemns the invasion of Ukraine and severs all connections with the Russian Federation. It was assigned to House Rules Committee.
In floor presentations, Senator Sarita Simmons honored 9-year-old author Braylen Rimmer from Cleveland with a proclamation saluting his writing success for “The Phoenix Son: The Saga Begins.”
The Legislature is now entering the final stretch in the process with the “Conference Weekend” upcoming. Both bodies will work through weekends until the session is finally concluded. There are many bills in conference and the legislators will continue to be busy negotiating the specifics of each bill. As always, I thank you for allowing me to serve you.
