Crime
Human Trafficking: Unseen and Unaddressed
Victims of human trafficking need a place to go in Mississippi. The Center for Violence Prevention in Pearl has an emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence, and Executive Director …
LGBT
Governor Will Join Multi-State Transgender Bathroom Lawsuit Even If State Won't
Attorney General Jim Hood said he will not add the State of Mississippi to the Texas lawsuit against the federal government over President Barack Obama's directive to public schools, telling …
Politics
Democrats to State Leadership: 'Return to Fiscal Sanity'
Legislative Democratic leaders decried budget cuts to the state health department on Wednesday outside agency offices, calling on Gov. Phil Bryant to take action and call a special session to …
Crime
Juvy Intervention Programs Losing Federal Funds
Pre-intervention programs are vital in the state's criminal-justice system and have the power to prevent young people from entering the criminal-justice system in the first place.
Jacksonian
Katherine Day
Katherine Day came home to Jackson on a train last fall; it had been six years since she had last lived in the city. Day grew up in Jackson, but …
City & County
Facility for Children with Special Needs Set to Open in Jackson Metro
Children with special needs in the Jackson metro area will have a new option for community-based care due to the coordination between state agencies, private care and state agencies.
LGBT
Ride Against Fear: From Memphis to Jackson in Protest of HB 1523
Benjamin Morris is biking the length of the state of Mississippi in protest of House Bill 1523.
State
UPDATED: Foster-Care System Avoids Receivership ... For Now
The state's foster-care system has avoided federal receivership—for now. On Friday, May 13, Gov. Phil Bryant signed a law to officially separate the state's foster-care system from the Mississippi Department …
State
Testing Solar in Mississippi
Last spring, Entergy announced it would invest $4.5 million into three solar plants in Mississippi. Entergy mainly serves the western half of the state.
Politics
'We Are In Crisis': Mental Health Staff, Services Reducing Due to Budget Cuts
Overnight chemical-dependency services for men in Mississippi state hospitals will end as a result of budget cuts in fiscal-year 2017, the Mississippi Department of Mental Health said in a statement …
Personhood
Governor Signs Bill Prohibiting Medicaid Reimbursements for Planned Parenthood
Gov. Phil Bryant signed Senate Bill 2238 on Tuesday, a law that blocks the state's Medicaid division from paying for "costs of care and services" at providers who also offer …
Politics
Legislative Summer School: All About Performance
The Mississippi Department of Corrections is ending a paramilitary inmate program due to a state law and legislative efforts to enforce performance-based budgeting for all state agencies.
Politics
Infant Mortality Prevention, Social Service Jobs on Budget Chop Block
Efforts to reduce the state's infant mortality rate—the highest in the country—will go on the chopping block if Gov. Phil Bryant signs the Legislature's version of the state budget into …
Justice
Due to HB 1523, Plaintiffs, Kaplan Seek to Reopen Same-Sex Marriage Lawsuit
The Campaign for Southern Equality and Roberta Kaplan, the New York-based attorney who won same-sex marriage and adoption cases in Mississippi, have filed a motion to reopen the Campaign for …
LGBT
ACLU Files First Lawsuit Against HB 1523: 'Separate But Unequal'
The ACLU has filed the first federal lawsuit contesting House Bill 1523. The lawsuit names the Mississippi State Registrar of Vital Records as the defendant because that state office would …
State
State's Foster Care System Awarded Surplus Funding; May Court Date Pushed Back
With surplus funding to comply with a 12-year-old lawsuit, the state's foster care system is on track to avoid federal receivership, and the state will not have to go to …
Politics
The Problems with a Supermajority
The 2016 session marked a turning point in the political landscape of the state. After a contested election resulted in the removal of former Rep. Bo Eaton, a Democrat from …
LGBT
Hundreds Rally to Repeal HB 1523, State Faces Deadline Today Before Lawsuit
Hundreds of protesters, from around Mississippi and even out of the state, marched alongside several state lawmakers from the Capitol to the governor's mansion on Sunday afternoon, waving flags and …
Politics
Sanders, Gibbs Join Green in Seeking District 72 Seat Campbell Is Vacating
Corinthian Sanders and Debra Hendricks Gibbs are running for the Mississippi House seat in District 72, which Rep. Kimberly Campbell is leaving.
Health Care
Mississippi's Premature Birth Rate Leading to High Infant Mortality, State Offers Solutions
Working to reduce the state's high infant mortality rate without addressing premature birth rates is a bit like putting the cart before the horse.
Politics
The Curious Case of What the #MSLeg Passed, What It Didn’t
With their right to spend their campaign donations on mortgages, automobiles, clothing, tuition payments or non-documented loans still firmly in place, state lawmakers closed up shop early and skipped town …
Business
State Green Lights Uber, Overrides Local Control, Regulations
Uber has the green light to operate statewide, after a bill implementing statewide regulations soared through the Legislature this session largely uncontested.
Politics
State Treasurer Laments 'Missing $31 Million' in Coffers, Lt. Governor Says She's 'Wrong'
State Treasurer Lynn Fitch sent a letter to legislative leadership last Wednesday expressing concerns over the state's debt service, after the Legislature passed a bond bill in the final days …
State
Firing Squads Out, But ‘Spice’ Regs, Execution Secrecy, Planned Parenthood Limits Headed to Governor
The state’s one Planned Parenthood clinic will lose Medicaid reimbursements if Gov. Phil Bryant signs a bill headed to his desk.
Domestic Violence
Sine Death for Divorce, Campaign-finance Reform After Lawmakers Go Home Early
An abused Mississippi spouse still can't use domestic violence as grounds for divorce, and lawmakers can continue to spend campaign donations on mortgages, automobiles, clothing, tuition payments or non-documented loans …
City & County
Airport ‘Takeover’ Bill Leaves 'Toxic Climate' of Legislature, Headed to Governor’s Desk
The Jackson airport “takeover” bill is en route to the governor’s desk after the Mississippi Senate tabled the motion to reconsider on Senate Bill 2162 this morning.
Civil Rights
Running Out of Venues to Change the State Flag
From ballot initiatives to rallies, the Mississippi state flag has gained a lot of attention lately in-state and then nationally following the shootings in Charleston, S.C., a debate exacerbated by …
Politics
The Final Stretch: Budget Cuts, Tax Breaks and Bills Becoming Law
Late into Monday night, Mississippi lawmakers managed to pass a strained budget, a $415 million tax cut and $250 million in bonds before midnight to meet Monday's deadline for budget …
Politics
Mississippi Lawmakers Pass a Slim Budget, Substantial Tax Cut, Slash Social Services
Late into Monday night, Mississippi lawmakers managed to pass a strained budget, a $415 million tax cut and $250 million in bonds before midnight to meet today's deadline for budget …
Business
Legislature Moves to Control All Sales of Jackson Airport Land
The Mississippi Legislature would control the sale of all Jackson airport land under changes the Senate approved today.
Politics
Politicians for Sale? Tate Reeves' Million-Dollar Election
While some lawmakers are attempting to take aim at personal-use spending with campaign-finance funds, little is said about who is funding whom when it comes to candidates.
Politics
Budget, Tax and Infrastructure Woes
Despite Republican supermajorities in both the House and the Senate, there seems to be little agreement across the chambers on tax legislation and budget proposals this year.
LGBT
HB 1523: Half ‘Redundant,’ Half ‘Unconstitutional’
The controversial House Bill 1523, with its long list of protections for people who discriminate against LGBT people and others, will become law in July unless one of two things …
LGBT
The Last Stand Against HB 1523: Repeal Effort 'Second Chance' for Mississippi?
Rep. Jay Hughes, D-Oxford, and other Mississippi House and Senate Democrats called on the Legislature's leadership to repeal House Bill 1523 this morning.
Health Care
Poll: Majority in State Support Medicaid Expansion, But the Legislature Doesn't
Despite the Mississippi Legislature's inaction with Medicaid expansion this session, a new poll shows that more than 50 percent of Mississippians support expanding Medicaid, which could provide health-care coverage to …
Business
U.S. Rep. Thompson at Nissan: If HB 1523 Not Repealed, Must Seek Federal, Legal Recourse
Standing near a huge Nissan Titan truck at the automaker's Gluckstadt plant, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson reiterated today that House Bill 1523 is harmful to Mississippi's reputation and economic future, …
Politics
Parental Rights, Representation Get a Capitol Spotlight
House Bill 772 addresses parental representation and clarifies which state offices are responsible for providing counsel to parents in danger of losing their rights.
LGBT
Governor Signs HB1523, ‘Unconstitutional’ Abortion Bill Heads to His Desk
An anti-abortion bill that has already been ruled unconstitutional by courts in Kansas and Oklahoma is on its way to Gov. Phil Bryant.
LGBT
'Total Infringement': Governor Signs HB 1523 Over Protests of Business Leaders, Citizens
Gov. Phil Bryant signed House Bill 1523 into law today, which will allow businesses, circuit clerks and medical professionals to recuse themselves from offering services based on a religious belief …
LGBT
Conservative Policy Center, Lobbyists Fund Poll Question on HB 1523
Within 36 hours after the Mississippi Senate passed House Bill 1523, co-sponsor Rep. Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, took up the bill first thing Friday morning, telling the House that reporting about …
LGBT
UPDATED: Anti-LGBT 'Conscience' Bill Includes Judges and Clerks, Makes It Harder to Seek Damages
The Senate passed House Bill 1523, the "Freedom of Conscience from Government Discrimination" bill," last night after over two hours of debate, including an amendment that makes it harder for …
LGBT
Trafficking, Anti-Terrorism Bills Still Alive; LGBT Rights Under Fire, Again
Mississippi has a human-trafficking problem that gets far too little law-enforcement and medical attention, but a bill is still alive in the Mississippi Legislature that would provide more resources to …
Film
Human Rights Work Through Film: Lessons from a German Filmmaker
Johanna Richter was not looking for awards with her documentary; she was looking to bring about actual, tangible change in a country she could not quite call her own.
Politics
Politicians for Sale? Mississippi Economic Council Knows How to Throw a Party
Funding for the state's crumbling infrastructure didn't exactly top priorities for legislators on their first round of revenue bill deadlines, and Senate Bill 2921 made it over to the House …
Abortion
In Surprise Move, State's Abortion Clinic Added to Bill Restricting Planned Parenthood Funding
In a surprise move Tuesday, the Mississippi House targeted Medicaid funding for the state’s only abortion clinic in addition to the state’s sole Planned Parenthood clinic. The bill would prohibit …
Politics
Campaign-finance Reform Scaled Back, Will Be Studied Instead
The momentum to bring campaign-finance reform to Mississippi slowed this week, turning into a study to consider whether the reform is needed after the House of Representatives amended a bill …
Politics
Secret Execution Team, Firing Squads, Restricted Media Included in House Bill
Death by firing squad could become an option for administering the death penalty if Senate Bill 2237, which passed by the Mississippi House of Representatives on Friday and held on …
Business
Airport Bill Passes After Filibuster, Accusations Against House Speaker
Despite a massive filibuster, accusations of a deal gone awry and quoting of Bible verses, the Mississippi House of Representatives today passed the controversial airport “takeover” bill today to give …
Cover
Politicians for Sale? State’s Consumer Finance Association PAC Spends Big on State Officials
Payday and small business lenders are not always welcome business development on the municipal level, in no small part because of the cycles of poverty easy-to-obtain, high-interest loans can feed.
Business
Amended Airport Bill Increases Jackson's Representation, Sort Of
The City of Jackson might get more representatives on its airport commission, and that board would not have the authority to sell airport property, but could still lease it, under …
