The Mississippi Legislature will return to the Capitol on Thursday at 10:00 a.m.
State Senator Scott DeLano sat down with Y’all Politics to discuss what members anticipate will be on the agenda.
Senator DeLano said that the Legislature plans to wrap everything up by Friday for Sine Die of the 2020 session.
“We’ve got about three or four bills that we’re going to need to handle, to take care of the last minute CARES Act numbers we’re going to be working with and the dollars that are left over from the bills that we passed a couple of months ago,” said DeLano.
He said while the Legislature did its best to get the money where it needed to go throughout the state, out of the $1.25 billion the state had to spend some money has not yet been spent. DeLano said those funds will be plugged into the areas needed with a portion going to the employment security trust fund.
Federal regulations require that CARES Act dollars be spent before the end of 2020. Because session was extended this year, lawmakers are able to come back in to redistribute any funds that have not yet been spent before that deadline.
However, DeLano said he doesn’t expect this style of session to continue into 2021.
The Mississippi Constitution allows the Legislature to meet for 90 days beginning in January. On election years, they have 120 days.
“While it’s probably too soon to tell, I think every single Legislator that you talk to will tell you that they’ve got other jobs that they’ve got to do and they have families that they need to take care of,” said DeLano.
He said they are currently in unprecedented times, which is why this session has been like no other.
Sarah Ulmer
