The Mississippi Senate will add Room 409, the second largest committee room, to its webcasted spaces during the 2021 Legislative Session.
In May, the Senate began webcasting meetings in Room 216, the former Mississippi Supreme Court chambers where most committee business is conducted on the Senate side of the Capitol. The COVID pandemic accelerated the timeline for bringing committee rooms online.
“Increasing our webcasting capabilities always been a priority because Mississippians should have access to the business going on in their Capitol, no matter where they are located in the State,” Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann said. “With the pandemic, we also have concerns about social distancing during the Session. Bringing our committee rooms up to speed technology-wise will help us spread out and reduce the possibility of infection while being as transparent as possible.”
Hosemann said he will also continue to encourage committee chairs to post their agendas for meetings online at least 24 hours in advance of their meetings. For the first time last year, the Senate posted agendas on the Legislature’s website: Senate Committee Agenda | MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE (ms.gov).
“We appreciate the Legislative Budget Office’s technology staff and Mississippi Public Broadcasting for helping us in this effort,” Hosemann said.
Committee meetings in Rooms 216 and 409 can be viewed on the Legislature’s YouTube channel: Mississippi Legislature – YouTube. The channel will host both live and archived footage. The Mississippi Legislature convenes the 2021 Session at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, January 5, 2021.
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Release from Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann.
Magnolia Tribune
