Tuesday, January 5 is the first committee deadline day of the 2019 Legislative Session. Bills that do not get out of committee by today, will come to an end among legislators.
Among the dead bills are:
HB 1104 – the civil administrative forfeiture bill
The bill was highly contested among lawmakers, but received a loud endorsement from Governor Bryant. However, the bill was left to die in Chairman Baker’s committee, similar to what happened to the laws reverse repealer last year.
HB 529 – Bill to prohibit abortion after fetal heartbeat is detectable.
This bill was authored by Representative Robert Foster and would prohibit any abortions performed after a heartbeat is detected. It would require all physicians to check for a fetal heartbeat before the procedure was undergone. (not to be confused with the similar HB 732).
The Senate suffrage bill (would restore voting rights to some felons) was passed over during the Judiciary B committee on Tuesday. The bill, SB 2508, was authored by Sen. Derek Simmons. In the meeting he urged Senators to allow for these voting rights to be restored to the felons mentioned in the piece of legislation. The bill was left to die.
This bill would have ensured that incarcerated adults be given a standard examination. In the event they did not pass, that person would then receive individualized instruction and attend remedial classes until the examination can be successfully completed.
HB 15 – Commission to redesign the state flag
There will be no changes to the Mississippi state flag this year. The bill that would have allowed for a redesign died in committee on Tuesday.
** For a list of all the bills click HERE**
Those that survived include:
Somewhat surprisingly the House and Senate Public Health committees each passed “heartbeat bills” of their own. The Senate passed SB 2116 and the House HB 732.
Each bill would prevent an abortion after a heartbeat is detected, which is typically between six to eight weeks. There are medical exemptions from the bill, such as a risk to the mothers life if the pregnancy is not terminated.
HB 1283 – the creation of the “The Mississippi School Safety Act of 2019”
The bill passed through the committee on Thursday the week before and will now head to the full House. It would require safety inspections and twice-yearly active shooter drills at public schools. The bill would also create a reporting mechanism that is to be monitored by DPS.
HB 1285 – The creation of GAP (Guard and Protect vulnerable children and adults) Act.
The bill authored by Rep. Baker would revise guardianship and conservator laws. The bill revises several pieces of code section on the statutes.
Complimentary bills from the House (HB 337) and Senate (SB 2901) that both create the “Landowners Protection Act.”
The bills essentially do the same thing. That is to protect any business leaser, owner, or operator (or their employees) from civil liability of an individual who is injured while on their property due to their own negligence or the negligence of a third party.
This bill would clarify the reproductions for individuals who are involved in human labor or sex trafficking. The law would reflect that those people be punished and reprimanded to the custody of the Department of Corrections for no less than two years, but no more than 20 years. They could also be fined up to $100,000. It would also clarify that a victim of trafficking not be held liable by any court for involvement in delinquent activity.
House bill 816, which would authorize deduction for certain income earned by recent college graduates.
This bill makes it’s own attempt to stop the “brain drain” by providing that the gross income of any recent graduate of a four year college or university in the state of Mississippi, or outside of Mississippi, that has sought employment in the state be allowed as a deduction from gross income under state tax law. This provision could be allowed for up to three years after graduation.
SB 2704 – Courts may issue order to suspend service from carriers on contraband cell phones.
In the event an inmate is able to get a contraband cell phone into their living quarters, this bill would give the cell phone providers the right to suspend service to the phone. These devices are banned from inmate use at all state correctional facilities.
It looks like Mississippi is missing some of that movie industry revenue. The House Ways and Means Committee passed HB 1128 out of committee before the deadline. The bill would revive the 25 percent cash rebate for any motion picture company payroll for out-of-state case and crews until 2024. The incentives were allowed to expire back in 2017.
** For a list of all the bills click HERE**
Sarah Ulmer
