Jackson Free Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — People are getting another way to watch Mississippi legislators as they conduct public business.

The state Senate will start webcasting meetings from a second committee room during the 2021 session, which begins Jan. 5.

The Senate began webcasting meetings from its largest committee room this year because of social distancing suggestions during the coronavirus pandemic. That was Room 216, also known as the old Supreme Court chamber.

The Senate's second-largest committee space is Room 409, and that is being added to the webcasts.

Meetings of the full Mississippi House or Mississippi Senate have been available to watch online for years. Until this year, that option had not been available for committee meetings, which is where much of the important legislative work is done.

“Increasing our webcasting capabilities always been a priority because Mississippians should have access to the business going on in their Capitol, no matter where they are located in the State,” Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said in a statement Wednesday.

He said legislative leaders have concerns about social distancing, and webcasting "will help us spread out and reduce the possibility of infection while being as transparent as possible.”

Meetings from the two committee rooms can be seen on the Mississippi Legislature channel on YouTube.