YP Daily Roundup 9/17/21

Stay up-to-date on what’s in the news with the Y’all Politics Daily Roundup.

YP – Lawmakers find teacher pay isn’t the only issue in the shortage nationwide

The Senate Education Committee held a hearing on Wednesday to hear from experts across the board on the reality of a teacher pay raise in Mississippi.

The committee heard from the Mississippi Department of Education, Department of Finance and Administration, Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), University Research Center, and the Southern Regional Education Board…

…The Department of Finance and Administration went over the current health and life insurance premiums that are provided to teachers across the state. An extreme increase for family coverage was noted for Mississippi teachers compared to neighboring states.

State Sen. Brice Wiggins (R) asked why that was the case and pointed out that there might be some policy regarding insurance that may need to be addressed to help increase teacher take home pay.

In the state’s plan, employees cover 65% while the state covers 35% for families even though the individual coverage is vastly lower than most others in the region.

Reeves responds to Biden criticism

Mississippi Governor @tatereeves responds to criticism from @POTUS Biden… https://t.co/dmeEvsvljN

— Magnolia Tribune (@magnoliatribune) September 16, 2021

YP – Mississippi Ranks 35th in the Nation for K-12 Achievement in Quality Counts National Report

Mississippi ranks 35th in the nation for K-12 achievement in 2021, climbing from 50th in 2013, according to the latest Quality Counts report published in Education Week.

The report examines achievement in school systems from prekindergarten through grade 12 and socioeconomic factors leading to success in adulthood.

Mississippi earned an overall grade of C-minus (70.8 out of 100 points), close to the nation’s overall grade of C (76.2 out of 100 points).

MSDH COVID-19 Reporting

Today MSDH is reporting 2,594 more cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi, 65 deaths, and 113 ongoing outbreaks in long-term care facilities. State #covid19 totals: 471,092 cases, 9,165 deaths, and 1,254,522 persons fully vaccinated. Full information: https://t.co/YCv9xPyJDk pic.twitter.com/UNgWJGrUPC

— Mississippi State Department of Health (@msdh) September 16, 2021

YP – Governor Reeves announces launch of anti-human trafficking website

The Mississippi Department of Health website states that human trafficking affects 12 to 27 million men, women and children worldwide who are held in slavery. It is both a worldwide issue and a local issue. “Human trafficking is happening in Mississippi, with Mississippians as victims.”

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation Human Trafficking/Special Victims Unit, a division of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, recently launched a newly designed website dedicated to combatting human trafficking.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation Human Trafficking / Special Victims Unit (MBI HT / SVU) is comprised of the statewide human trafficking coordinator, a supervisory special agent, four regional human trafficking special agents, and a human trafficking intelligence analyst.

YP – Mississippi 1 of 23 states threatening lawsuit over Democrats’ voting bill

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) joined 22 of her colleagues in other states in sending a letter to Congressional leaders threatening to sue should H.R. 4, the “John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act” becomes law.

The attorneys general addressed the letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D), Senator Chuck Schumer (D), Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R), and Senator Mitch McConnell (R), calling the bill a “reckless piece of legislation.”

The state AGs say the bill would allow the United States Department of Justice to usurp the authority states rightly possess over their own elections, essentially federalizing the election system. It would also reestablish federal preclearance for state election law changes, among other actions intended to curb states from strengthening its voting processes.

YP – AG Lynn Fitch Calls on Biden Administration to Reverse Course on Vaccine Mandates Or Face Legal Action

Attorney General Lynn Fitch and 23 State Attorneys General wrote President Biden in strong opposition to his announced plans to institute vaccine mandates expected to impact nearly 100 million Americans.

“Forcing Americans to be vaccinated or face job loss is the sort of heavy-handed, government-knows-best approach we have come to expect from this Administration,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “I encourage people to be vaccinated, but they need to decide for themselves when they are ready. They do not need the White House to decide for them.”

YP – Senators Wicker, Hyde-Smith demand Google stop silencing pro-life views and reverse unjust censorship

On Tuesday, pro-life group Live Action claimed that Google abruptly removed pro-life ads pushing a treatment to reverse the abortion pill, a treatment that the pro-life group claims has saved the lives of thousands of unborn babies.

Today, Mississippi U.S. Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith are among 11 lawmakers who signed a letter that demands reversal of Google ban on pro-life ads as well as ask Google CEO Sundar Pichai to justify Google’s double standard in censoring advertisements for a pro-life Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) hotline while continuing to allow ads for deadly abortion pills.

YP – Auditor’s office given high marks in review by the National State Auditors Association (NSAA)

The National State Auditors Association (NSAA) conducted peer reviews in late August and examined independent auditors from around the country. Today, State Auditor Shad White announced that his office received the highest possible rating for the period of August 2020 to July 2021.

“The team of auditors in our office has once again proven they are doing top notch work on behalf of the taxpayers,” said Auditor White. “I’m grateful for their commitment to accuracy and professionalism in the work we do, and clearly these outside peer reviewers saw that as well.”