@ISSUE

The final week of the legislative session is upon us. Analysts Brandon Jones and Rebekah Staples join host Wilson Stribling to discuss the state’s $7.4 billion budget agreement, a smaller-than-hoped-for teacher pay raise, and the SHIELD Act, designed to ensure all voters are U.S. citizens. They also look at Governor Tate Reeves’ veto of a winter storm relief measure, and the confusion caused by a wording error in that bill.

Analysts Rebekah Staples and Brandon Jones join host Wilson Stribling for a look at multiple bills, almost all of which are now in conference committees. Highlights include a proposed amendment to the Children’s Promise Act creating new tax credits for special needs education, an explanation of Local & Private bills, and a look at the Jackson water system bill, and what it might mean for other municipalities.

House Education Committee chairman Rob Roberson (R-Starkville) sits down with host Wilson Stribling to look at the competing teacher pay raise bills and reflect on a difficult 2026 session. Then, analysts Brandon Jones and Rebekah Staples discuss the House and Senate teacher bills, the likelihood of a special session, and MDOC Commissioner Burl Cain’s contentious meeting last week with the Legislative Black Caucus.

The House unanimously passed a substantial education bill Friday, raising teacher and staff pay, and making changes to the Public Employees Retirement System. Analysts Rebekah Staples and Brandon Jones join host Wilson Stribling to look at the strategies in play, and the continued friction between House and Senate leadership. Wilson also sits down with Senator David Blount (D-Jackson) to discuss this session’s political gamesmanship.

Senator Bradford Blackmon (D-Canton) joins host Wilson Stribling to discuss his two artificial intelligence bills. One would require political ads using artificial intelligence to acknowledge the use of AI. The other would protect Mississippians from having their names, images, and voices used without permission. Then, analysts Rebekah Staples and Brandon Jones look at the legislative calendar, the upcoming deadlines for bills to survive or die, and the process for passing the State’s annual budget.

House Bill 2 is dead, but a special session on school choice may be ahead. Analysts Brandon Jones and Rebekah Staples join host Wilson Stribling to discuss the prospect of a special session and recall how former Governor Hailey Barbour used special sessions strategically. Wilson also interviews House Minority Leader Robert Johnson (D-Natchez), getting the veteran lawmaker’s perspective on the current session. In the week’s news, we look at the proposed infant mortality review board, problems with the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control system, and bills addressing the use of opioid settlement funds.

A major legislative deadline last week saw thousands of bills die while hundreds of others survived. Among those still alive are bills dealing with school prayer, immigration enforcement, abortion-inducing drugs, school attendance officers, literacy intervention, and prison health care. Senator Jeremy England (R-Van Cleave) and host Wilson Stribling discuss the challenges to reviving the ballot initiative in Mississippi. Roundtable regulars Rebekah Staples and Brandon Jones then join Wilson for a spirited debate about the pros and cons of the ballot initiative process.

The Senate Education Committee unanimously votes down House Bill 2, the omnibus education package. And Rep. Becky Currie takes on the Department of Corrections with multiple prison reform bills. Analysts Brandon Jones and Rebekah Staples join host Wilson Stribling to review these and other actions at the Mississippi legislature. In this week's interview, Senate Minority Leader Derrick Simmons talks with MPB's Elise Gregg about the Senate Democratic agenda