What do state legislators do after the session is done? Curious Mississippi answers

Editor's note: This is the latest edition of Curious Mississippi, a service to the readers of the Clarion Ledger and Hattiesburg American. Other questions answered by Curious Mississippi included potholes , cicadas and the international nature of the Jackson airport . Recently, we answered the question of why Mississippi roads are brown . Last week, we looked at where riders can travel by train from Jackson. Readers can submit questions by email to CuriousMississippi@ClarionLedger.com and editors will pick out the best and reporters will answer them in an upcoming edition.

With just three months having passed since the 2024 Legislative Session, state lawmakers and legislative leaders haven't sat on the victories or defeats.

As for how state lawmakers engage with state government in the off season, House and Senate leadership have established several task force committees to study topics for consideration in the 2025 Session.

Some of those studies and recommendations produced by these committees could very well become bills filed in either chamber or serious initiatives put forth and sponsored by Senate leader Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Jason White, R-West.

Curious Mississippi takes a look at what off-season committees have been formed this year, what purpose they serve and what they hope to accomplish.

What is a taskforce committee?

A taskforce committee is a group of state lawmakers, which can be made up of House members, Senators or a combination of the two, which meet to study ideas and topics to then report back to the Legislature with possible recommendations.

So far this year, White and Hosemann have created nine study committees. One of them is a joint effort between the two chambers.

What are House lawmakers studying?

Early into the off season, White announced taskforce committee appointments to study tax reform, health policy, prescription drugs and a committee to study the Legislature's performance.

White said in a press release issued in May that it is his hope the committees will provide helpful insights for new initiatives and policies in the future. His biggest among them is a plan to restructure the state tax code with the goal of eliminating the personal income tax and cut the grocery tax in half.

Read about tax plan MS lawmakers looking to pass income tax changes, Medicaid expansion in 2025. See why

“With the appointments made to these Committees, I feel confident that the Mississippi House of Representatives will thoroughly study current state laws and tax structures to make informed recommendations for the 2025 Legislative Session," White said. "The House will continue its pursuit of bold initiatives and policies to improve our great state, focusing on the betterment of Mississippi and all of her citizens."

On July 1, White also announced a committee to study ways to improve the Jackson Metro Area, though White did not specify exactly what those lawmakers would be studying. The chairs for the committee, Democrat Shanda Yates and Republican Clay Mansell, both serve in the Jackson area.

"The Select Committee on Capital and Metro Revitalization is comprised of House members that are passionate and dedicated to improving Mississippi’s Capital City for the betterment of the Jackson Metro Area and our entire state," White said. "I look forward to this Committee’s work as they seek strategic and innovative ways to improve and partner with the citizens and leadership of the Metro Area, recognizing the unique importance a vibrant Capital City means for all Mississippians."

In the 2024 Session, lawmakers approved millions spent on projects in the Jackson area for the first time in several years. The Senate also passed a bill to divert control of the Jackson Water System to a non-profit water authority controlled mostly by politically appointed board members in the near future. However, that bill died in a House committee.

House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, R-Senatobia, even proposed a bill, albeit facing many legal issues upon arrival, to establish an incentive package for a casino project to locate in Jackson on the Pearl River. That bill also died before ever leaving Lamar's committee due to a lack of support from the House Republican Caucus.

More on casino bill Does Jackson casino project have support it needs in MS House?

Click here to see who will serve on that committee.

Senate committees and study groups

Hosemann has created several groups since the end of the session as well.

Most notably, he established a taskforce to study ways to improve the state's dismal labor force participation rate, which he touted as a priority throughout the 2024 Session.

Hosemann also created the Women, Children, and Families Study Group, which seeks to address concerns with the foster care system, family needs, children who are under the care of the state and adoption.

That group was initially created in the 2022 off season to study the same topic, and Hosemann said this one will receive updates on those initial reports.

Hosemann in a press release issued on July 2 said he plans to propose legislation next year that will address chronic absenteeism in K-12 schools.

Chronic absenteeism is when someone misses school more than 18 days of the school year for any reason including excused absences, unexcused absences and suspensions. Mississippi’s chronic absenteeism rate for the 2022-2023 school year was 23.9%, according to figures in that press release.

"If students are not in the classroom, they are not learning. We need to drill down into this data and see where our biggest opportunities for driving up the rate are, particularly regarding unexcused absences,” Hosemann wrote.

Hosemann also said he wants to address several other areas of public education, such as cellphone use in schools, moving Mississippi Department of Education staff positions to the school districts and encouraging low-academically performing schools to try out modified calendars.

Over the last several years, several school districts in Mississippi have transitioned from traditional school years to modified calendars.

Joint Mental Health Taskforce

There is also a joint committee to study mental health and propose related legislation for the 2025 Session.

Right now, that committee is asking the public to submit feedback to the Legislature about how it can address mental health in minors throughout the state and provide greater resources to address it.

“We need to establish a foundation on which the Task Force can build its recommendations,” Committee Co-Chair Sen. David Parker, R-Olive Branch, said. “I look forward to examining where Mississippi stands in terms of the mental health of our young people in comparison to the rest of the nation.”

Those interested in providing feedback for that committee can do so by contacting MHTF@peer.ms.gov .

Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: What do state legislators do after the session is done? Curious Mississippi answers