[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6343353,"mediaKeyId","2252399-20fe93f3e0f45774f3618cf84af56fef","parentId",2252399,"title","Senate approves higher pay, limited freelance rules for court reporters","audioSeconds",429,"startMs",7131000,"endMs",7560000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2252399-20fe93f3e0f45774f3618cf84af56fef&start=7131&end=7560","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2252399-20fe93f3e0f45774f3618cf84af56fef/thumbnail_7131000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6343353/Mississippi/Senate-approves-higher-pay-limited-freelance-rules-for-court-reporters","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6343353-465757ab410e62f696a013419b847a8c/orig.mp4?Expires=1773745113&Signature=J4mkHB62YliQrsfJ8bcL2qaY~xSEZzRadDZtA~gEv1~E6u3jwbg9txyc76IL5rvWMnAhmWQ9m-~mRr3Z2KSoCOE07Kph5RD-zT6GQNXf6NZ3u~NibJoWnXS1zP9UGXfiStPiGxrYQR~XcxrnlmsyMI-~0ZyAEZNQ9MBMMSNQQlmR3BJHEsZflb462zYBjFw9zXLeFJr~fgGJDCnh09WbJy5PsF2ALh0WWUkM0QHdSGwyvHLuAtjGv2zugGZ9BmLC15umEgICibWfvGpLAGJsDGfHYcKPRTp1M8NYuPjoE-VQzzKLpzrc7ADz9N6zliM3kfUx9-PXWvb0LetN513ahA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Mississippi Legislature","date","2025-02-06T00:00:00Z","article","The Mississippi State Senate adopted a bill that raises the maximum authorized salaries for official circuit and chancery court reporters and includes an amendment to permit limited freelance reporting under narrowly prescribed conditions.

Sponsor and committee members described the bill as an effort to address a longstanding shortage of court reporters across the state and to make official reporting a more viable career. The adopted salary schedule sets progressive maximums tied to experience; sponsors said the increases are intended to be paid locally through the administrative office process that funnels local funds to the reporters (the bill retains the existing prohibition on using the state general fund to pay those amounts).

Floor debate also focused on a committee amendment that clarified two points: (1) counties and the Administrative Office of Courts (AOC) have an implementation role and must not use state general funds to pay the increases; and (2) professional court reporters may undertake freelance transcription work only when it does not conflict with assigned official duties and when an institutional need does not exist (for example, if the reporter is not scheduled to be in court and has no pending official duty that day). The amendment initially included a reverse repealer tied to supervisor approval; the Senate removed the reverse-repealer language on the floor and kept the freelance provision with guardrails.

Senators who support the measure said higher authorized salaries and carefully defined freelance allowances will make reporting careers more competitive and help fill gaps that are preventing court proceedings and appeals from moving forward in some jurisdictions. Opponents raised concerns about unfunded mandates for counties and asked the AOC and counties to develop an implementation plan and confirm funding sources; supporters said counties and AOC will have to coordinate implementation and the bill specifically retains local funding responsibility.

The Senate passed the committee substitute and the freelance amendment; the measure advanced with instructions for the AOC to prepare a salary-implementation plan and for counties to work with AOC on funding details.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","MS Senate Floor - 6 February, 2025; 10:00 AM","oneSentenceSummary","The Senate passed a bill raising the authorized maximum salaries for official circuit and chancery court reporters and accepted an amendment allowing limited freelance reporting under specified conditions. The measure includes implementation steps and a requirement that salary increases not be paid from the state general fund.","taxTitle","Senate, Committees, Legislative, Mississippi","taxId",29102,"location","Mississippi","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6343357,"Senate roundup: bills passed on finance, workforce, courts, and health; votes at a glance",21020,3818000,24838000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2252399-20fe93f3e0f45774f3618cf84af56fef&start=3818&end=24838","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2252399-20fe93f3e0f45774f3618cf84af56fef/thumbnail_3818000.jpg","/articles/6343357/Mississippi/Senate-roundup-bills-passed-on-finance-workforce-courts-and-health-votes-at-a-glance","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6343357-3d33d441770a9b8eae5158375f7c032d/orig.mp4?Expires=1773745114&Signature=d0fUDZTnU3VrjmdwO7NOvRmepkYsfVOuYtfM00pVvZz9FNxjCav232cCV~8DUOUwxQQTIKva2BB6651potZrculoBH0msQcOgW2jIVv-a9qy6gno-UREnWbY1mXRF2GUHt71PFILrtvgNSNypQws3syLY55k~GzTrGiKbRELC66drNXzTZEEzcHrgQPKWJxH6Ntw~wNHaAmcWM1tKuA2xw~ybyL-4BBaINd4foKwrtnsDFlQtXHspGHEThn8S6dVHbTWXEYI56EVFSdSUJUv0uG9rcJR~Jd~BEuDbdACOZIWECh97MmCYx5JLpTDYCDOgzbUnb0dCvhLEQJ2ZaOuFA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Mississippi State Senate completed votes on a broad set of bills covering state finance, retirement saving, corrections, education policy and other matters. Below are key outcomes and brief context from floor action during the session.

Votes at a glance (selected items recorded on the floor):
- Real estate commission fees (agency fee change): Senate moved to reduce a real-estate licensing application fee (sponsor explained fee cut to $100) and passed by roll call; action taken to lower license costs for brokers and agents.
- ARPA unspent funds for MDOT maintenance: Bill clarifying that residual ARPA funds flow to the MDOT maintenance project fund passed by roll call.
- Rainy day fund increase: Legislation to increase the rainy day (budget reserve) cap from 10% to 15% passed by roll call; sponsor estimated roughly an additional $350 million moved to reserves.
- State agency pooled cash authority: Bill directing state agencies' idle cash to be pooled under the treasurer for higher returns passed by roll call.
- Retirement savings program (SB 2861 committee substitute): A statewide, treasurer-run auto-IRA program for small-business employees (voluntary for employers and employees) passed the Senate; the bill removes employer fines and makes participation voluntary; final passage recorded.
- ‘‘Parker's law’’ (fentanyl delivery penalties): The Senate approved an adjustment that adds a financial penalty option to an existing fentanyl-delivery statute and removed the sunset/repealer; bill passed by roll call.
- Hemp-derived ingestible products: Bill restating the 2020 exemption for hemp products approved by the Food and Drug Administration passed by roll call.
- Court reporter compensation (SB 2899): The Senate passed a bill and committee amendment raising authorized salaries for official court reporters and allowing certain freelance reporting under conditions; the measure included a phased salary schedule and implementation steps.
- Probation/parole functions move to DPS (SB 2235 committee substitute): The Senate approved language directing the transfer of parole and probation functions from the Department of Corrections to the Department of Public Safety with a staged transition plan and reporting deadlines.
- School cell-phone policies: A bill requiring every school district to adopt and submit a policy restricting or banning student cell-phone possession/use during class (with listed exceptions such as medical necessity and IEPs) passed the Senate; districts retain local choice on the content and enforcement.
- Student funding formula technical changes: A committee substitute adjusting MAEP/student funding formula weights (including adding CTE-weighting for 7th and 8th graders) passed by roll call.
- Mental health and school navigation: The Senate passed a bill implementing several task-force recommendations for better state coordination of K-12 and postsecondary mental-health resources, including a requirement that districts post mental-health resources publicly and that an interagency body maintain a statewide resource guide.
- Local and housekeeping measures: Numerous local bills, signage requests, and agency technical repealers passed on voice or roll-call votes.

How votes were decided and next steps: Most measures passed by use of the morning roll call or by recorded roll-call votes on the Senate floor; bill sponsors and committee chairs moved final passage. Several bills include follow-up implementation tasks for agencies (for example, MDOT and treasurer actions, IHL and community-college reporting, or Department of Public Safety transition planning). The bills now proceed along the legislative calendar to the other chamber or to conference as required.

Why this matters: The package touches budget reserves, workforce programs, corrections administration and higher education policy; several bills formalize ongoing departmental practices (cash pooling, MDOT ARPA reallocations) while others (retirement auto-IRA, probation/parole move, court-reporter pay) change how services are delivered or funded. The DEI/higher-education measure passed in the same session (see separate article) and will have wide consequences for college governance and campus programming.

Detailed actions, recorded by the clerk on the floor, are available in the Senate journal and in the transcript from today's floor session. Reporters and stakeholders should expect agency rulemaking, implementation memos and board actions tied to the bills that establish new reporting or compliance deadlines.","The Mississippi State Senate passed a bundle of bills on fiscal policy, workforce and retirement savings, corrections administration, school policy and other measures. This roundup lists key bills that reached final passage during the floor session and short notes on each outcome.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6343363,"Senate approves measure restricting campus DEI programs while launching university efficiency review",23464,1334000,24798000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2252399-20fe93f3e0f45774f3618cf84af56fef&start=1334&end=24798","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2252399-20fe93f3e0f45774f3618cf84af56fef/thumbnail_1334000.jpg","/articles/6343363/Mississippi/Senate-approves-measure-restricting-campus-DEI-programs-while-launching-university-efficiency-review","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6343363-3c4293871b71c61242124f1116f73725/orig.mp4?Expires=1773745113&Signature=O5iJFlO4RnQSxolIZtaSAc~73sCgFenxgsD-mWhjLAal4fIOVKYdcT59Ic~cM6KfrJm2wrm0o0g-U1XR-ZwZhLK5qvyLGj10OIGjNDdy1SW4NrtK5rfaobb6mptrp59SKoXXfBz-kYAkDLALDaevrKGjndImYCjruDf2Dgj-D82ye~EJfoInpPxhLRrpAa-EXNklshj-L41G0k2ryaa~x2MwccKcrF97QvX6CMKQ63v-PuWSd8X5DSZPK705sk5DAh6X3JWRDrkWCSn5JhfIGpWFJOkwFNPFrsUiHQfw-rCS~zb2w2AkDqMasNr8HqzejiBBAfGK1cYJ9JiDUiYGeQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Mississippi State Senate approved legislation that prohibits a range of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and offices at public colleges and universities and directs a new task force to study efficiency and completion across the state's public universities. The measure passed after extended debate and a roll-call vote.

Supporters said the bill restores a merit-based approach to admissions and hiring while creating a University System Efficiency Task Force to examine student completion and institutional performance. The task force will include legislative leaders, higher-education officials and appointees representing regional and research universities; it must deliver recommendations for boosting enrollments and graduation rates.

Opponents said the measure removes supports that help first-generation and historically underrepresented students enroll, stay and graduate, and that it risks reversing progress on campus diversity and student success. Several senators argued the state should instead study which programs are effective before taking broad prohibitions.

The bill contains two distinct parts: (1) a charge to create a multi-member, cross-branch task force to analyze efficiency and student completion across the public university system; and (2) statutory language that defines and limits campus DEI offices, training and policies that give or seek race-, gender- or orientation-based preferences. The measure lists exceptions (for veteran or disability accommodations, scholarly research, certain student organizations and activities that do not provide preferential treatment) and requires the university boards to adopt investigative and compliance procedures.

Senators debating the measure described it as a policy reset. Senator Brent McMahon, sponsor and chair of the universities committee, said the efficiency review is aimed at helping institutions enroll and graduate more Mississippians and to prepare for demographic shifts. Several other proponents said the ban on certain DEI practices is intended to ensure admission and hiring decisions are determined by neutral academic and merit criteria.

Dissenting senators warned the bill would dismantle campus programs that provide wrap-around supports for students who are the first in their families to attend college, and that it would chill on-campus programming and advising intended to improve retention and graduation rates. Senator Derrick Simmons urged colleagues to reject the measure, saying the state should build on programs that have improved outcomes and not eliminate them.

The Senate adopted the bill and recorded final passage by a roll-call vote (34 yeas, 14 nays).

Votes at the end of the Senate day showed the measure passed and will proceed to the next stage of the legislative process. The statute also requires the boards that govern the institutions to adopt complaint and compliance processes and to report annually on any investigations or enforcement actions under the new law.","The Mississippi State Senate voted to bar certain diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices and activities at public colleges and universities while creating a task force to review university efficiency and student completion. The bill drew heated debate before passing on a recorded vote.","actionData","errors"]

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Senate approves higher pay, limited freelance rules for court reporters

Senate roundup: bills passed on finance, workforce, courts, and health; votes at a glance

Senate approves measure restricting campus DEI programs while launching university efficiency review