Mississippi House advances multiple bills; House, Senate differences reconciled on several measures

The Mississippi House took a series of procedural and final votes during its floor session, moving several measures forward and recording roll-call results on multiple items.

The House voted to concur in House Bill 724 after the chamber and the Senate resolved a key difference over whether the offense should be classified as a felony or a misdemeanor. The clerk recorded the final vote as 112 yeas, 3 nays. The change in criminal classification was described on the floor as the primary difference between the House and Senate versions of the measure; the House adopted the Senate wording and completed final passage.

Members also approved a cigarette and vape product registry measure (House Bill 916) with two changes accepted by the House: a $15,000 cap on fees any company would pay into the registry and a provision that would allow the registry to be conformed to future federal law changes. The clerk announced the motion prevailed with 119 recorded ayes.

The House moved to not concur but invite conference on House Bill 1102 and voted to invite conference on House Bill 293; those motions were approved on the floor.

The chamber reconsidered and further amended a Senate bill (listed on the calendar as Senate Bill 2450). Members removed a presumption provision, added language requiring a professional medical evaluation when determining whether an individual who reached majority is disabled, and otherwise adjusted language tied to existing law. The discussion cited existing statute Section 43-19-33 as related precedent for court authority in similar cases. The clerk recorded final passage of that amended Senate bill as 105 yeas, 4 nays.

Earlier in the session the House adopted an amendment that expanded the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officer Scholarship Fund’s survivor eligibility to include first responders; the clerk recorded that passage 116 yeas, 0 nays. The House also adopted a substitute amendment to an amendment that supplied a legal description for the location referenced in a building-approval provision.

Several motions related to the motion-to-reconsider calendar were acted on, including a motion to table an item on that calendar which passed. Members used unanimous-consent requests at multiple points to change recorded votes to "present" or otherwise adjust prior tallies as permitted by chamber practice.

The House concluded the day’s business and agreed to stand adjourned until 9 a.m. the following day.