The 2021 session of the Mississippi Legislature is scheduled to start next week amid an ongoing pandemic that sidelined several issues and sickened dozens of members last year.
Reps. Kabir Karriem (D-Columbus) and Rob Roberson (R-Starkville) were among the 49 state legislators to contract COVID-19 last summer during a special session in Jackson. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann told reporters throughout the state in a virtual press conference Tuesday that he would prefer to postpone the session in order to prevent another outbreak. The Legislature would meet briefly next week to deal with some pressing matters, such as formally putting the new state flag into law, and then reconvene in March.
Hosemann said he would discuss his proposal with House Speaker Philip Gunn on Tuesday afternoon. Some Golden Triangle legislators agree with the suggestion, while others said they would prefer the Legislature meet as planned.
Sen. Angela Turner-Ford (D-West Point) said she “wholeheartedly” agrees with Hosemann.
“I’m not exactly sure what the timeline is regarding the (distribution of a) vaccine, but I think we would have a better idea of who would have priority and how individuals would access receiving it by March,” Turner-Ford said.
Rep. Cheikh Taylor (D-Starkville) sees the proposal from a different perspective.
“Going forward, there’s no way that the effects of COVID-19 and the damages done to our communities can be ignored any longer,” Taylor said. “I don’t think delaying the session is an option at this point.”
The Golden Triangle delegation also includes Sens. Bart Williams (R-Starkville) and Chuck Younger (R-Columbus) and Reps. Dana McLean (R-Columbus) and Lynn Wright (R-Columbus).
Williams and Wright are both freshman legislators succeeding former Sen. Gary Jackson (R-French Camp) and Rep. Gary Chism (R-Columbus), respectively, who both retired earlier this year. The September special elections led to Williams’ and Wright’s victories in runoffs in October.
Each legislator spoke to The Dispatch about what they expect to be the most prominent topics of discussion during the coming session, including the state budget, criminal justice reform and the distribution of COVID relief funding.
Rep. Kabir Karriem
Gov. Tate Reeves vetoed criminal justice reform legislation last year, including a bill with bipartisan support that would have allowed people convicted of nonviolent offenses to be eligible for parole after serving 25 percent of their sentence. Karriem said he hopes the Legislature revisits the discussion this year.
He also said the Legislature should take a look at last year’s COVID-19 relief efforts to ensure that financial aid did what it was supposed to do.
“We set aside so many millions of dollars for minority business owners to help them, and we need to find out how many were helped and how much of that money went back to the general fund,” Karriem said.
After surviving a severe case of COVID-19 last year, Karriem said he is concerned about the potential spread of the virus during the new session. However, some legislators have already made living arrangements in Jackson.
“I wouldn’t have a problem with it, but I think it’s kind of late (to reschedule),” he said.
Rep. Dana McLean
A bill that would have implemented pay raises for Mississippi teachers died in the Legislature last year after the pandemic hit. McLean said she still supports this initiative and hopes it is up for discussion again this year.
“My main focus will be education and looking at what we can do as far as making sure that our schools are able to safely open and able to forge ahead,” she said.
She also supports criminal justice reform legislation and said the state could be “in dire straits” if the issue goes unaddressed.
Postponing the session should depend on positive case data throughout the state, she said.
“I think probably it would be best to go ahead and meet and see how things are before we make a determination,” McLean said.
Rep. Rob Roberson
Roberson anticipates the state budget process being more difficult than usual this year, with state sales tax collections still uncertain due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think the budget itself will be taxing, to say the least, because of the question marks we have out there,” he said.
He also expects the implementation of medical marijuana, legalized in a referendum in November, to be a topic of discussion.
Roberson hopes the session schedule does not change, partly because there is no guarantee that Mississippi will see fewer cases of the virus by March, he said.
“I would prefer to get done what we need to get done like we normally do,” he said. “Otherwise it’s going to be kind of hard for other people to prepare their budgets, (such as) school districts.”
Rep. Cheikh Taylor
Like Karriem, Taylor hopes criminal justice reform and the rights of the incarcerated will be back up for discussion this year.
“We want to make sure that we’re presenting a bill that actually has real teeth,” he said. “The bill that was vetoed was to make sure the parole board did exactly what it was designed to do, and that’s making sure that people who are eligible get back in front of it.”
The Starkville board of aldermen agreed in October to ask the Legislature for funding for potential projects in the city, including the relocation of the Starkville-Oktibbeha County Public Library and the extension of Stark and Hospital roads to connect them to state highways. Taylor said he looks forward to pursuing these options in Jackson.
He said he understands Hosemann’s concerns about legislators’ safety and hopes this remains a priority, but he also agreed with Roberson that the Legislature should stick to its existing schedule and get to work.
Sen. Angela Turner-Ford
Turner-Ford anticipates discussion of a variety of issues, from teacher pay to Medicaid to the state budget.
“I hope to be briefed on the budget within the next two weeks, and I’ll be in a position to speak definitively on the numbers at that point,” she said.
In addition to pay raises for teachers, access to broadband internet in rural areas is a pressing issue related to education, since schools had to turn to online learning during the pandemic, Turner-Ford said.
One reason she supports postponing the session is the fact that some legislators are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 due to age and pre-existing health issues, she said.
“Just as a general public safety concern, I think we should all be mindful of what we’ll have to do to be able to meet in the Legislature and conduct business,” she said.
Sen. Bart Williams
Williams doesn’t plan on filing any bills this year, he said, but will acclimate himself to the legislative process so he can do so next year. He has been assigned to a number of committees, including Universities and Colleges because Mississippi State University is partially in his district.
“In the committee meetings I’ve been in, there are some areas I think there’s going to be a lot of passion and emotion around, such as Medicaid,” he said.
He is particularly looking forward to discussing how to help people and businesses recover economically from the pandemic, he said.
Williams is “ready to get on with” the legislative session as long as it’s safe to do so, he said.
“We want a safe environment to work in, and we definitely don’t want to be a center of COVID, but I think we (should) try to do our social distancing measures,” he said.
Rep. Lynn Wright
Wright visited Jackson on Monday and said he is ready to get down to business.
“I’m looking forward to hearing the discussions of what all is going on and what the concerns are, and trying to gather as much information as possible and see how it affects our district, where I can make the most informed decisions possible in the way I vote,” Wright said.
He agreed with Karriem that postponing the legislative session would be difficult at this point since some legislators have already made plans to live in Jackson temporarily.
“Whatever (leadership) determines is the safest thing to do… we’d rather be safe than sorry,” Wright said.
Sen. Chuck Younger
Younger and Karriem will both meet with Cherie Labat, superintendent for the Columbus Municipal School District, on Thursday to discuss issues pertaining to education, and Younger said he plans to meet with Lowndes County School District Superintendent Sam Allison to do the same.
The state budget is also an issue of concern for him, he said.
“I think we’re looking mainly to see what kind of revenue we’re going to be getting, so we can appropriate money where it needs to go,” he said.
Younger said he would not be surprised if the Legislature has to recess and then reconvene due to spikes in COVID-19 cases, and he would not be opposed to postponing the session.
“If the COVID numbers keep going up, I believe that would be a wise decision,” he said.
Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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