YP Daily Roundup 3/12/21

YP – Mississippi Governor signs Fairness Act into law barring biological men participating in women, girls’ sports

Surrounded by Republican lawmakers, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed the Fairness Act into law Thursday morning at a signing event held at the state Capitol.

The Mississippi Fairness Act, SB 2536, bars biological men from competing in women and girls’ sports public schools and universities in the state.  It was authored by State Senator Angela Hill and moved through the House with the aid of State Representative Becky Currie, among others.

Governor Reeves called the signing of the Fairness Act an important day for women and girls in Mississippi.

YP – Mississippi Students Surpass the Nation with Record-Breaking Graduation Rate

Mississippi high school students achieved a record-breaking graduation rate of 87.7% in 2019-20, surpassing the most recent national rate of 85%.

School- and district-level graduation rates can be found in the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) report released today, District Graduation and Dropout Rates for the 2021 Accountability System…

…The 2019-20 graduation report supports the significant academic gains Mississippi students have been making since the state fully implemented higher academic standards in 2014.

YP – Dr. Arthur Laffer, Reagan Advisor and “Father of Supply-Side Economics,” Endorses HB1439

Dr. Arthur Laffer, Reagan Advisor and “Father of Supply-Side Economics,” Endorses HB1439 Jackson, Miss. – Today Dr. Arthur Laffer, former Chief Economist at the Office of Management and Budget and key member of President Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board, endorsed HB1439, the Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2021:

“For decades, I’ve worked with state legislators to eliminate the tax that is the single greatest threat to state economic growth and prosperity—the income tax,” said Dr. Laffer. “My hat goes off to Mississippi Speaker of the House Philip Gunn and his colleagues for their bold plan to make Mississippi more prosperous through income tax elimination and fiscal discipline. America is watching. Mississippi has a once in a generation opportunity to re-position itself for economic growth.”

Lt. Gov. Hosemann holds press conference

YP – Commissioner Gipson Announces Inaugural Mississippi Mudbug Festival

Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson announced the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce will host the inaugural Mississippi Mudbug Festival on Wednesday, April 7, through Sunday, April 11, at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds.

“I am excited to host the first-ever Mississippi Mudbug Festival right here in Jackson,” said Commissioner Gipson. “This event will include a large crawfish boil, musical performances and over 20 carnival rides. All events will take place across the 105-acre Fairgrounds complex, and I want to invite the public to come out with their families and enjoy some good, Southern-style crawfish at this open-air, outdoor event.”

MSDH daily COVID-19 reporting

Today MSDH is reporting 679 more cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi, 19 deaths, and 47 ongoing outbreaks in long-term care facilities. The total of #covid19 cases for the year is now 299,124, with 6,864 deaths. Case details and prevention guidance at https://t.co/YCv9xPQkuS pic.twitter.com/uyP5hmEKo1

— Mississippi State Department of Health (@msdh) March 11, 2021

YP – CORDER: Let’s play “what if” on Jackson’s water crisis

The City of Jackson is truly in crisis – for more reasons than just water – and the national media has started to take notice. 

The Mississippi National Guard has been ordered to assist in water delivery.  Nonprofit groups have stepped up to help residents in their time of need.  Sympathy abounds for the thousands of residents impacted.

It is true that tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars are needed to repair and replace the Capital City’s failing infrastructure, funds that are not immediately available from any source.  The fact remains that the City of Jackson’s problems are the City of Jackson’s problems, and the state via the Legislature should not do anymore for it, outside the Capitol complex area, than it would do for any other municipality in Mississippi.

YP – Empower MS weighs in on legislation for universal occupational licensing

The Mississippi Legislature has passed occupational licensing reform aimed at providing for recognition of out-of-state licenses, helping get people to work faster when they move into the state. The bill, HB 1263, was authored by Rep. Currie. It is now headed back to the House for further work.

Russ Latino with Empower Mississippi joined Y’all Politics on Thursday to talk about why this change is important for families and the state as a whole.

YP – Wicker, Hyde-Smith Introduce Bill to Protect Faith-Based Foster Care Providers

U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., this week joined their colleagues in introducing the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act to protect child welfare providers from being discriminated against for acting in accordance with their deeply held religious beliefs.

“Faith-based adoption and foster care providers do incredible work finding loving homes for our nation’s orphans,” Wicker said. “It is deeply disturbing that certain states are seeking to drive these providers out of the marketplace because of their religious and moral beliefs, leaving children to pay the price. This legislation would protect federally-funded child welfare providers from discrimination based on their beliefs, allowing them to continue serving children in need.”

“Our nation is entering into a precarious time when religious liberties can be so easily trampled,” Hyde-Smith said.

Congressman Thompson backs gun control bill

H.R.8, the gun background check bill is long overdue and critical to gun violence prevention. This bill would extends the requirement of a background check for every gun sale or transfer with few well defined exceptions. #GunControl

— Bennie G. Thompson (@BennieGThompson) March 11, 2021

YP – Hyde-Smith, Gosar introduce legislation to block state gun registries

U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and U.S. Representative Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (R-Ariz.) today introduced the Gun-owner Registration Information Protection Act (GRIP Act) to prohibit states, localities, or any other organization from using federal funding to maintain gun registries.

The GRIP Act would clarify existing law that prohibits the use of any federal funding by states or local entities to store or list sensitive, personal information related to the legal ownership or possession of firearms.  The legislation is in response to states that in recent years enacted statutes requiring gun owners to register their handguns.

Congressman Guest against Democrat gun control efforts

Congressman @RepMichaelGuest Stands Up for Second Amendment #ms03 READ MORE>> https://t.co/JCTI5wZYGi

— Magnolia Tribune (@magnoliatribune) March 11, 2021

YP – Wicker, Casey, Garamendi, Wittman Reintroduce the Energizing American Shipbuilding Act

U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today joined Senator Bob Casey, D-Penn., in reintroducing the Energizing American Shipbuilding Act. Reps. John Garamendi, D-Calif., who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, and Rob Wittman, R-Va., Ranking Member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, introduced the companion bill in the House of Representatives.

The legislation would support American shipbuilding by requiring a portion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil exports to be transported on U.S.-built, U.S.-crewed vessels.

WLOX – New circuit court judge sworn in for 2nd District