Mississippi Today
With bipartisan majority, House passes bill to restore voting rights to people convicted of nonviolent crimes
A large majority of House members voted on Thursday to approve a plan that creates a process for people previously convicted of some nonviolent felony offenses to have their voting rights restored โ the first of such a vote in Mississippi in more than a decade.ย
The House voted 96-11 to pass House Bill 1609, a bipartisan proposal to automatically restore suffrage to people convicted of nonviolent disenfranchising felonies after they’ve completed the terms of their sentence.
โIt lets folks, five years after they’ve finished their sentence and satisfied all conditions, restore their rights โฆ for folks that have cleaned their life up and gone straight,โ House Speaker Jason White, R-West, told Mississippi Today. โIt’s not about rewarding that, but it’s about recognizing it and placing them on that better path.โ
Under the Mississippi Constitution, people convicted of any of 10 types of felonies lose their voting rights for life. Various opinions from the Mississippi Attorney General‘s Office expanded the list of disenfranchising felonies to 23.
White, the first-term speaker, tasked House Constitution Committee Chairman Price Wallace, R-Mendenhall, and House Judiciary B Chairman Kevin Horan, R-Grenada, with coming up with a feasible plan to restore suffrage to some people convicted of nonviolent felons.
The House measure would allow people convicted of nonviolent offenses such as bad check writing, perjury and theft to regain their suffrage if they have not been convicted of another felony for five years after completing their sentence and paying any outstanding fines.
But people convicted of murder, arson, armed robbery, carjacking, embezzling more than $5,000, rape, statutory rape, bribery, perjury, human trafficking and voter fraud would still lose their voting rights for life.
Rep. Kabir Karriem, D-Columbus, has filed legislation for years to restore voting rights to people convicted of felony offenses, but it never gained major traction at the Capitol. Karriem called the bill’s passage a โhistoric momentโ and thanked Republican leaders for working with him on the proposal.
โI think this bill restores hope as it makes its way through the process,โ Karriem said. โIt gives folks who have walked around with a scarlet letter on their chest for so long who have paid their debt to society a sense of hope.โ
About 37,900 names are on the Secretary of State’s voter disenfranchisement list as of Jan. 29. The list, provided to Mississippi Today through a public records request, goes back to 1992 for felony convictions in state court.
That number, however, may not be fully accurate because no state agency tracks people once they are struck for the voter rolls. Studies commissioned by civil rights organizations in 2018 estimated between 44,000 and 50,000 Mississippians were disenfranchised.
The practice of stripping voting rights away for life from people originated in the 1890 Constitution, when white supremacist leaders intentionally tried to disenfranchise Black Mississippians or keep them out of elected office. With a justice system fully on their side, the white leaders at the time chose to include crimes they believed Black people were more likely to commit.
Rep. Cheikh Taylor, D-Starkville, who is also the current chairman of the Mississippi Democratic Party, said that while the practice has racist roots, he believes the bill’s passage debunks the notion that only Democrats and people of color are convicted felons.
โPeople suffer from these conditions in every village and hamlet in the state of Mississippi in all of our districts โ and not just minority districts,โ Taylor said.ย ย
The current process to have someone’s suffrage restored is burdensome. It requires a lawmaker to introduce a bill on an individual’s behalf, and two-thirds of lawmakers in both legislative chambers must agree. A person can also seek a gubernatorial pardon, though no executive pardon has been handed down since Gov. Haley Barbour’s final days in office in 2011.
The bill now heads to the Republican-majority Senate, where it may receive a frosty reception. The 52-member Senate on Wednesday voted 29-23 to reject a separate bill that would restore Second Amendment rights to people previously convicted of nonviolent felony offenses.
Senate Bill 2626 did not address voting rights, but it could serve as a barometer for how the Capitol’s upper chamber will address the House’s suffrage restoration proposal.
Sen. Jeremy England, R-Vancleave, said he voted against the proposal because he didn’t know enough information about the legislation, but he was open to reconsidering his vote.
โI’m sure even I have constituents who served their time โฆ and would like to have this right restored,โ England said.
Senators held the bill on a procedural motion, meaning they could debate the issue again at a later time and change their minds.
Senate Judiciary B Chairman Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, and Sen. Rod Hickman, D-Macon, told Mississippi Today that they plan on working with their colleagues to address their concerns and reiterate what the legislation aims to accomplish.
โI think some people just didn’t understand what the bill was trying to actually do,โ Fillingane said. โIf you’ve completed the terms of your sentence, it was nonviolent, you haven’t committed another crime for five years, then what’s the problem?โย
READ MORE: Lawmakers consider restoring suffrage, gun rights to those convicted of some nonviolent crimes
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Mississippi Today
Senate panel weighs how much โ or whether โ to cut state taxes
A group of state senators on Monday grappled with how much to slash state taxes or if they should cut them at all, portending a major policy debate at the Capitol for next year’s legislative session.
The Senate Fiscal Policy Study Group solicited testimony from the state government’s leading experts on budget, economic and tax policies to prepare for an almost certain intense debate in January over how much they should trim state taxes while balancing the need to fund government services.ย
Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins, a Republican from Flowood whose committee has jurisdiction over tax policy, told Mississippi Today that he wanted senators to have basic facts in front of them before they help decide next year if Mississippi should cut taxes.
โWe’re getting a tax cut the next two years whether we do anything or not,โ Harkins said. โI just want to make sure we have all the facts in front of people to understand we have a clear picture of how much revenue we’re bringing in.โ
Mississippi is already phasing in a major tax cut. After a raucous debate in 2022, lawmakers agreed to phase in an income tax cut. In two years it will leave Mississippi with a flat 4% tax on income over $10,000, one of the lowest rates in the nation.
However, the top two legislative leaders, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann who oversees the Senate and House Speaker Jason White, have both recently said they want legislators to consider new tax cut policies.
Hosemann, the Republican leader of the Senate, has publicly said he would like to see the state’s grocery tax, the highest of its kind in the nation, reduced, though he hasn’t specified how much of a reduction or how long it would take for the cut to be implemented.
White, a Republican from West, said last week that he would like to see the state’s 4% income tax phased out and have the state’s 7% grocery tax cut in half over time.
โWe are hoping to construct a tax system that, yes, prioritizes certain needs in our state, but it also protects and rewards taxpayers,โ White said last week.
But it’s difficult to collect accurate data on the state’s grocery tax, and state lawmakers must grapple with a laundry list of spending needs and obligations based on testimony from state agency leaders on Monday.
Mississippi currently has a 7% sales tax, which is applied to groceries. The state collects the tax but remits 18.5% back to cities. For many municipalities, the sales tax is a significant source of revenue.
If state lawmakers want to reduce the grocery tax without impacting cities, they could pass a new law to change the diversion amounts or appropriate enough money to make the municipalities whole.
State Revenue Commissioner Chris Graham said the Mississippi Department of Revenue, the agency in charge of collecting state taxes, does not have a mechanism in place for accurately capturing how much money cities collect in grocery taxes. This is because the tax on groceries is the same as non-grocery items.
However, Graham estimates that the state collects roughly $540 million in taxes from grocery items.
The other problem lawmakers would have in implementing significant tax cuts is a growing list of spending needs in Mississippi, a state with abject poverty, water and sewer and other infrastructure woes and some of the worst health metrics in the nation.
Representatives from the Legislative Budget Office, the group that advises lawmakers on tax and spending policy, told senators that lawmakers will also be faced with rising costs in the public employee retirement system, the Medicaid budget, public education, state employee health insurance, and state infrastructure projects.
State agencies, including the employee retirement system, also requested $751 million more for the coming budget year.
โThat’s the billion dollar question, I guess,โ Senate Appropriations Chairman Briggs Hopson, a Republican from Vicksburg, said. โHow we’re able to fund basic government services?โ
Harkins and Hopson said the committee would likely meet again before the Legislature convenes for its 2025 session on January 7.
A House committee on tax cuts has also been holding hearings, and White in September held a summit on tax policy.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Already dire lack of affordable housing for low-income Mississippians on verge of worsening
In Mississippi, where there’s already a dearth of 50,000 or more affordable homes for extremely low-income residents, that number could grow in the next five years.
Housing units available under the federal Low Income Tax Credit program could lose their affordability by 2030 โa number estimated nationwide to be 350,000 with 2,917 in Mississippi, alone; 496 in the state already have.
The federal program responsible for most of the nation’s affordable housing is expiring.
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit, introduced as part of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, provides for developers to buy, build and restore low-income housing units. Under the deal, the housing only needs to stay low-rent for 30 years. Construction began in the early 1990s.
Some LIHTC housing will remain affordable due to other subsidies, nonprofits, state law and individual landlords.
โI think the low-income housing tax credit has done everything that it can to address the need for affordable housing around the state,โ said Scott Spivey, executive director of the Mississippi Housing Corporation, a state office that administers the program and works with the state government and those in the affordable housing industry to create and support affordable housing
Spivey supports the proposed Affordable Housing Credit and Improvement Act, a federal bill that would expand upon the low-income housing tax credit in several ways, including giving developers more credit for certain projects for low-income households and changing tenant eligibility rules.
The bill was introduced in the House and the Senate last session, and is co-sponsored by Mississippi Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker and in the House by Reps. Mike Ezell, and Michael Guest. As of this spring, both bills are in committee.
While housing has become a major issue for Americans, getting legislation passed has been challenging. โEverybody knows that housing is an issue, but it gets caught up with everything elseโฆand it kind of gets lost in the shuffle,โ said Spivey.
This issue is especially important in Mississippi, where demand for housing is high across all incomes.
โAll the market studies that we see that come with the applications tell us that there’s a huge need for affordable housing across the state at all the income bandsโ said Spivey.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, almost a third of Mississippi renters are extremely low income; 65% of them are severely cost burdened, meaning they spent more than half their income on rent. The majority of these households are seniors, disabled people, single caregivers of young children, people enrolled in school, or other.
Director of Housing Law at the Mississippi Center for Justice, Ashley Richardson said housing problems worsened after Mississippi stopped participating in the federal rental assistance program in 2022.
MCJ’s work on housing includes a statewide eviction hotline, investigating instances of housing discrimination, and more.
Richardson praised the LIHTC program, but echoed Spivey’s concerns. โEven with the affordable housing we do have in Mississippi, we are still at a lack,โ she said.
The National Housing Preservation Database estimates Mississippi is short 52,421 affordable and available rental homes for low-income people. The National Low Income Housing Coalition puts the figure at 49,478.
Richardson wants the state to deal with issues like providing more tenant protections and rental assistance. There’s also a need to improve homes that are rundown or in poor condition, and many housing nonprofits are running out of funding.
Spivey said people should talk to their property managers and learn about their rights. MHC’s website has resources for homebuyers and renters.
As the housing crisis goes on, there are options for people struggling to find and keep affordable housing and an effort to take action at the federal and state levels.
Some aspiring low-income homeowners may qualify for Habitat for Humanity, a program that builds homes for families in need. Families who qualify work on the homes alongside volunteers, pay an affordable mortgage and receive financial literacy education.
New applicants must meet the qualifications, including a good debt-income ratio, 125 hours of sweat equity and taking classes on financial literacy, home repairs, and being a good neighbor.
Merrill McKewen, executive director for Habitat for Humanity Mississippi Capital Area, emphasized the importance of housing to individuals and communities.
โThere are untold studies that have been done that, you’ve gotta have a safe, decent, affordable place to live. The children are better students, the parents are better employeesโฆit grounds you to a community that you can contribute to and be a part of. It is the American dream, to own a home, which is what we’re all about,โ she said.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Mississippi Election 2024: What will be on Tuesdayโs ballot?
Mississippians will go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5, to elect federal and state judicial posts and some local offices, such as for election commissioners and school board members.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. To find your polling place, use the secretary of state’s locator, or call your local county circuit clerk.
READ MORE: View the Mississippi sample ballot.
The following is a list of the candidates for federal and judicial posts with brief bios:
President
- Kamala Harris, current vice president and Democratic nominee for president. Her running mate is Tim Walz.
- Donald Trump, former president and current Republican nominee. His running mate is J.D. Vance.
- Robert Kennedy Jr. remains on the ballot in Mississippi even though he has endorsed Trump. His running mate is Nicole Shanahan.
- Jill Stein is the Green Party candidate. Her running mate is Rudolph Ware.
- Five other candidates will be on the Mississippi ballot for president. For a complete list of presidential candidates, see the sample ballot.
U.S. Senate
- Ty Pinkins is the Democratic nominee. He is a Rolling Fork native and attorney, representing, among other clients, those alleging unfair working conditions. He served 21 years in the U.S. Army, including combat stints, other overseas deployment and posts in the White House,
- Roger Wicker is the Republican incumbent senator. He resides in Tupelo and has served in the U.S. Senate since late 2007 after first being appointed to fill a vacancy by then-Gov. Haley Barbour. He was elected to the post in 2008. He previously served in the U.S. House and as a state senator. He is an attorney and served in the United States Air Force.
House District 1
- Dianne Black is the Democratic nominee. She is a small business owner in Olive Branch in DeSoto County.
- Trent Kelly is the Republican incumbent. He was elected to the post in a special election in 2015. He previously served as a district attorney and before then as a prosecuting attorney for the city of Tupelo. He is a major general in the Mississippi Army National Guard.
House District 2
- Bennie Thompson is the Democratic incumbent. He was first elected to the post in 1993. Before then, he served as a Hinds County supervisor and as alderman and then as mayor of Bolton.
- Ronald Eller is the Republican nominee. He grew up in West Virginia and moved to central Mississippi after retiring from the military. He is a physician assistant and business owner.
House District 3
- Michael Guest is the Republican incumbent and is unopposed.
House District 4
- Mike Ezell is the Republican incumbent first being elected in 2022. He previously served as Jackson County sheriff.
- Craig Raybon is the Democratic nominee. Raybon is from Gulfport and began a nonprofit โfocused on helping out the community as a whole.โ
Central District Supreme Court
- Jenifer Branning currently serves as a member of the state Senate from Neshoba County.
- Byron Carter is a Hinds County attorney and previously served as a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Armis Hawkins.
- James Kitchens is the incumbent. He has served on the state’s highest court since 2008.
- Ceola James previously served on the Court of Appeals.
- Abby Gale Robinson is a Jackson attorney. She previously was a commercial builder.
Southern District Supreme Court
- Dawn Beam is the incumbent, having been first appointed in 2016 by then-Gov. Phil Bryant and later winning election to the post. She is a former chancellor for the Hattiesburg area.
- David Sullivan is an attorney in Harrison County and has been a municipal judge in D’Iberville since 2019. His father, Michael, previously served on the state Supreme Court.
Northern District Supreme Court seats
- Robert Chamberlin of DeSoto County is unopposed.
- James Maxwell of Lafayette County is unopposed.
Court of Appeals 5th District seat
- Ian Baker is an assistant district attorney in Harrison County.
- Jennifer Schloegel is a Chancery Court judge for Harrison, Hancock and Stone counties.
- Amy St. Pe is a Municipal Court judge in Gautier.
Court of Appeals District 2
- Incumbent Latrice Westbrooks is unopposed.
Court of Appeals District 3
- Incumbent Jack Wilson is unopposed.ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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