2024 Legislator Business & Jobs Report Card
voted for business/jobs position
voted against business/jobs position
NV = Not Voting
EA = Excused Absence
P = Present
= High Priority Vote
voted against business/jobs position
NV = Not Voting
EA = Excused Absence
P = Present
= High Priority Vote
* Points were not deducted for those voting Present (P) or for those with a Excused Absence (EA). Points were deducted for those Not Voting.
Senators / Representatives
| Grade | Office Holder | Party | District | HB 1647This was a high priority vote House Bill 1647 authorizes the Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance to establish and operate a state-based healthcare insurance exchange. The legislation intends to increase the availability of affordable health insurance. The goal is to provide savings to the state while increasing participation from health insurance companies, giving Mississippians more options. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 1265This was a high priority vote House Bill 1265 restricted pharmacy benefit management (PBM) methods to get lower prescription prices for employer health plans. Many business groups opposed HB1265 after the Senate added restrictions that the business community opposed. The legislation ultimately died in a conference committee. The pro-jobs & business vote was AGAINST the legislation. | SB 2649This was a high priority vote Senate Bill 2649 allows the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to enter contracts to seek help with reviewing and processing permit and certification applications. SB 2649 will enable companies to pay the costs associated with their required permits voluntarily. Contracting out some of this permitting work will relieve stress on the MDEQ staff and help clear any permitting backlogs. It is critical for economic development in the state that industry gets its permits promptly. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | SB 2486This was a high priority vote Senate Bill 2486 eliminates the requirement for blind scoring in public procurements. Blind scoring can often be demanding for respondents and public entities and has frequently been a common reason for costly procurement protests and cancellations, resulting in emergency contracts. Eliminating this practice will allow respondents to showcase their qualifications and experience while providing public entities with a clearer insight into the services they buy. Eliminating the requirement for blind scoring in public procurements is one step forward in reforming Mississippi's procurement laws. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | SB 2519Senate Bill 2519 is the "Foreign Land Ownership Act." Under its provisions, the secretary of state's office would notify any majority interest holder of agricultural land from adversarial countries that they could be subject to hefty fines and even result in the state's seizure of the land. SB 2519 also clarifies that business professionals involved in the transaction shall not have a duty to investigate whether a party to a transaction is a foreign adversary, nor shall any such person be liable for failing to identify that a party to the transaction is a foreign adversary. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | SB 2174Senate Bill 2174 makes it a felony to steal another person's vehicle or vehicles from businesses where the sale, storage, or rental of vehicles is part of their business model. The new law now makes the theft, regardless of its age or value, a felony. Other properties covered in the legislation include farm machinery, construction equipment, and all-terrain and off-road vehicles. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | SB 2140Senate Bill 2140 requires insurance companies to respond to urgent and non-urgent medical care requests within a specific time frame. For non-urgent issues, it allows the insurer up to seven days to approve a physician's request; that period is 48 hours for urgent matters. The legislation also requires the creation of an online web portal where requests and appeal applications can be submitted. The new law places the Mississippi Department of Insurance as the overseeing agency of the proposed web portal. It also includes the state's health plan within the prior authorization process. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 1725House Bill 1725. During the 2024 Legislative Session, the House and Senate negotiated House Bill 1725, the Healthy Mississippi Works program, to address the importance of providing access to healthcare for working Mississippians who can't afford health insurance. Access to healthcare means a healthier population, workforce, and an improved quality of life, all of which contribute to a more vital Mississippi. While House and Senate Conferees worked to find a compromise, the bill ultimately died in conference. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | SB 2059Senate Bill 2059 defines biomass as bioenergy feedstocks from manufacturing forest products, including harvested trees or parts of trees, bio waste, downed trees, and use of wood products, among other wastes. It also declares that bioenergy produced from biomass is considered renewable and carbon neutral. When the bioenergy produced from biomass is paired with bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, the bioenergy is carbon negative." The same is stated about bioenergy from "agricultural harvesting." The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | SB 3099Senate Bill 3099 enacted legislation creating an income tax credit for employers who sponsor employee skills training. "Skills training" is any training that enhances skills that improve job performance, including pre-employment training. Employer-sponsored skills training must be provided by or approved by the appropriate community or junior college in the district where the employer is located to qualify for credit. The credit is 50% of the employer's qualified training expenses, up to $2,500 per employee and $1 million in total per year, not to exceed 50% of the employer's income tax liability. Qualified training expenses include those related to instructors, instructional materials and equipment, and the construction and maintenance of training facilities.
The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation.
| SB 2851Senate Bill 2851 allows Mississippi to become one of seven states to exempt non-profit agricultural membership organizations from specific insurance regulations. The legislation covers healthcare benefits or services for its members and their families under contracts between members and the organization or its affiliates. The goal is to offer savings to the organization's members. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 1764House Bill 1764 eliminates the 3.5% Mississippi contractor's tax for drilling, redrilling, completing, or working over an oil or gas well. The bill also changed the sales tax on services provided in an oil or gas field from the regular 7% rate to a new 4.5% sales tax rate. The new 4.5% rate applies to services involving geophysical surveying, exploring, developing, drilling, redrilling, completing, working over, producing, distributing, or testing oil, gas, and other mineral resources. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 438House Bill 438 states that a person convicted of shoplifting merchandise or even those who aid and abet and assist with the crime — if the amount stolen is more than $1,000 — the perpetrator and those who assisted will be guilty of a felony. Under Mississippi's current statute, it allows someone to shoplift up to $1,000 as a misdemeanor. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 624House Bill 624 reenacts the credit for qualified railroad reconstruction or replacement expenditures and qualified new rail infrastructure expenditures. Qualified railroad reconstruction or replacement expenditures mean gross expenditures for the maintenance, reconstruction, or replacement of railroad infrastructure, including tracks, roadbeds, bridges, and track-related structures. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 1583House Bill 1583 creates the "Consumer Freedom of Choice in Appliances Act." This legislation prohibits local governments from restricting the types of appliances that home consumers or businesses may choose to install based on the kind of utility service required, preventing consumers from selecting the source of energy generation used to operate the appliance. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 1984House Bill 1984 provides an ad valorem property tax credit for oil, gas, or petroleum product refiners. The credit is available to a person, firm, or corporation that operates an oil and gas or petroleum products refinery and owns oil, gas, or petroleum products, whether produced within or outside Mississippi. The tax credit amount allowed is all ad valorem taxes payable by the person, firm, or corporation attributable to such oil, gas, or petroleum products. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. |
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| Grade | Office Holder | Party | District | HB 1647This was a high priority vote House Bill 1647 authorizes the Mississippi Commissioner of Insurance to establish and operate a state-based healthcare insurance exchange. The legislation intends to increase the availability of affordable health insurance. The goal is to provide savings to the state while increasing participation from health insurance companies, giving Mississippians more options. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 1265This was a high priority vote House Bill 1265 restricted pharmacy benefit management (PBM) methods to get lower prescription prices for employer health plans. Many business groups opposed HB1265 after the Senate added restrictions that the business community opposed. The legislation ultimately died in a conference committee. The pro-jobs & business vote was AGAINST the legislation. | SB 2649This was a high priority vote Senate Bill 2649 allows the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to enter contracts to seek help with reviewing and processing permit and certification applications. SB 2649 will enable companies to pay the costs associated with their required permits voluntarily. Contracting out some of this permitting work will relieve stress on the MDEQ staff and help clear any permitting backlogs. It is critical for economic development in the state that industry gets its permits promptly. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | SB 2486This was a high priority vote Senate Bill 2486 eliminates the requirement for blind scoring in public procurements. Blind scoring can often be demanding for respondents and public entities and has frequently been a common reason for costly procurement protests and cancellations, resulting in emergency contracts. Eliminating this practice will allow respondents to showcase their qualifications and experience while providing public entities with a clearer insight into the services they buy. Eliminating the requirement for blind scoring in public procurements is one step forward in reforming Mississippi's procurement laws. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | SB 2519Senate Bill 2519 is the "Foreign Land Ownership Act." Under its provisions, the secretary of state's office would notify any majority interest holder of agricultural land from adversarial countries that they could be subject to hefty fines and even result in the state's seizure of the land. SB 2519 also clarifies that business professionals involved in the transaction shall not have a duty to investigate whether a party to a transaction is a foreign adversary, nor shall any such person be liable for failing to identify that a party to the transaction is a foreign adversary. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | SB 2174Senate Bill 2174 makes it a felony to steal another person's vehicle or vehicles from businesses where the sale, storage, or rental of vehicles is part of their business model. The new law now makes the theft, regardless of its age or value, a felony. Other properties covered in the legislation include farm machinery, construction equipment, and all-terrain and off-road vehicles. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | SB 2140Senate Bill 2140 requires insurance companies to respond to urgent and non-urgent medical care requests within a specific time frame. For non-urgent issues, it allows the insurer up to seven days to approve a physician's request; that period is 48 hours for urgent matters. The legislation also requires the creation of an online web portal where requests and appeal applications can be submitted. The new law places the Mississippi Department of Insurance as the overseeing agency of the proposed web portal. It also includes the state's health plan within the prior authorization process. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 1725House Bill 1725. During the 2024 Legislative Session, the House and Senate negotiated House Bill 1725, the Healthy Mississippi Works program, to address the importance of providing access to healthcare for working Mississippians who can't afford health insurance. Access to healthcare means a healthier population, workforce, and an improved quality of life, all of which contribute to a more vital Mississippi. While House and Senate Conferees worked to find a compromise, the bill ultimately died in conference. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | SB 2059Senate Bill 2059 defines biomass as bioenergy feedstocks from manufacturing forest products, including harvested trees or parts of trees, bio waste, downed trees, and use of wood products, among other wastes. It also declares that bioenergy produced from biomass is considered renewable and carbon neutral. When the bioenergy produced from biomass is paired with bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, the bioenergy is carbon negative." The same is stated about bioenergy from "agricultural harvesting." The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | SB 3099Senate Bill 3099 enacted legislation creating an income tax credit for employers who sponsor employee skills training. "Skills training" is any training that enhances skills that improve job performance, including pre-employment training. Employer-sponsored skills training must be provided by or approved by the appropriate community or junior college in the district where the employer is located to qualify for credit. The credit is 50% of the employer's qualified training expenses, up to $2,500 per employee and $1 million in total per year, not to exceed 50% of the employer's income tax liability. Qualified training expenses include those related to instructors, instructional materials and equipment, and the construction and maintenance of training facilities.
The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation.
| SB 2851Senate Bill 2851 allows Mississippi to become one of seven states to exempt non-profit agricultural membership organizations from specific insurance regulations. The legislation covers healthcare benefits or services for its members and their families under contracts between members and the organization or its affiliates. The goal is to offer savings to the organization's members. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 1764House Bill 1764 eliminates the 3.5% Mississippi contractor's tax for drilling, redrilling, completing, or working over an oil or gas well. The bill also changed the sales tax on services provided in an oil or gas field from the regular 7% rate to a new 4.5% sales tax rate. The new 4.5% rate applies to services involving geophysical surveying, exploring, developing, drilling, redrilling, completing, working over, producing, distributing, or testing oil, gas, and other mineral resources. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 438House Bill 438 states that a person convicted of shoplifting merchandise or even those who aid and abet and assist with the crime — if the amount stolen is more than $1,000 — the perpetrator and those who assisted will be guilty of a felony. Under Mississippi's current statute, it allows someone to shoplift up to $1,000 as a misdemeanor. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 624House Bill 624 reenacts the credit for qualified railroad reconstruction or replacement expenditures and qualified new rail infrastructure expenditures. Qualified railroad reconstruction or replacement expenditures mean gross expenditures for the maintenance, reconstruction, or replacement of railroad infrastructure, including tracks, roadbeds, bridges, and track-related structures. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 1583House Bill 1583 creates the "Consumer Freedom of Choice in Appliances Act." This legislation prohibits local governments from restricting the types of appliances that home consumers or businesses may choose to install based on the kind of utility service required, preventing consumers from selecting the source of energy generation used to operate the appliance. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. | HB 1984House Bill 1984 provides an ad valorem property tax credit for oil, gas, or petroleum product refiners. The credit is available to a person, firm, or corporation that operates an oil and gas or petroleum products refinery and owns oil, gas, or petroleum products, whether produced within or outside Mississippi. The tax credit amount allowed is all ad valorem taxes payable by the person, firm, or corporation attributable to such oil, gas, or petroleum products. The pro-jobs & business vote was for the legislation. |
| Kevin Blackwell | Rep | 19 | |||||||||||||||||
| Nicole Boyd | Rep | 9 | |||||||||||||||||
| Joel R. Carter | Rep | 49 | |||||||||||||||||
| Dennis DeBar | Rep | 43 | |||||||||||||||||
| Scott DeLano | Rep | 50 | |||||||||||||||||
| Jeremy England | Rep | 51 | |||||||||||||||||
| Josh Harkins | Rep | 20 | |||||||||||||||||
| W. Briggs Hopson | Rep | 23 | |||||||||||||||||
| Dean Kirby | Rep | 30 | |||||||||||||||||
| Robin Robinson | Rep | 42 | |||||||||||||||||
| Mike Thompson | Rep | 48 | |||||||||||||||||
| Charles Younger | Rep | 17 | |||||||||||||||||
| Juan Barnett | Dem | 34 | |||||||||||||||||
| Jason Barrett | Rep | 39 | |||||||||||||||||
| Andy Berry | Rep | 35 | |||||||||||||||||
| Bradford Blackmon | Dem | 21 | |||||||||||||||||
| David Blount | Dem | 29 | |||||||||||||||||
| Jenifer B. Branning | Rep | 18 | |||||||||||||||||
| Hob Bryan | Dem | 7 | |||||||||||||||||
| Lydia Graves Chassaniol | Rep | 14 | |||||||||||||||||
| Joey Fillingane | Rep | 41 | |||||||||||||||||
| Chris Johnson | Rep | 45 | |||||||||||||||||
| Philman Ladner | Rep | 46 | |||||||||||||||||
| Tyler McCaughn | Rep | 31 | |||||||||||||||||
| Michael McLendon | Rep | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| Chad McMahan | Rep | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
| J. Walter Michel | Rep | 25 | |||||||||||||||||
| David Parker | Rep | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Rita Potts Parks | Rep | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| John A. Polk | Rep | 44 | |||||||||||||||||
| Brian Rhodes | Rep | 36 | |||||||||||||||||
| Joseph M. Seymour | Rep | 47 | |||||||||||||||||
| Daniel H. Sparks | Rep | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| Benjamin Suber | Rep | 8 | |||||||||||||||||
| Jeff Tate | Rep | 33 | |||||||||||||||||
| Angela Turner-Ford | Dem | 16 | |||||||||||||||||
| Neil S. Whaley | Rep | 10 | |||||||||||||||||
| Brice Wiggins | Rep | 52 | |||||||||||||||||
| Bart Williams | Rep | 15 | |||||||||||||||||
| Gary Brumfield | Dem | 38 | |||||||||||||||||
| Albert Butler | Dem | 37 | |||||||||||||||||
| Kathy L. Chism | Rep | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Hillman Terome Frazier | Dem | 27 | |||||||||||||||||
| Rod Hickman | Dem | 32 | |||||||||||||||||
| Angela Burks Hill | Rep | 40 | |||||||||||||||||
| John Horhn | Dem | 26 | |||||||||||||||||
| Reginald Jackson | Dem | 11 | |||||||||||||||||
| David Jordan | Dem | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sollie B. Norwood | Dem | 28 | |||||||||||||||||
| Derrick T. Simmons | Dem | 12 | |||||||||||||||||
| Sarita Simmons | Dem | 13 | |||||||||||||||||
| Joseph Thomas | Dem | 22 |