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Senate committee advances bill to create entertainment industry workforce task force
Summary
The Senate committee voted to report out Senate Bill 2424, which would create a task force to study growth of the entertainment and creative economy and workforce development in Mississippi. Tourism officials expressed support and outlined a music-focused branding campaign.
Senate Bill 2424, which would create an entertainment industry and workforce development task force to study ways to grow Mississippi’s creative economy, was reported out of committee following a voice vote.
The bill “will create the entertainment industry and workforce development task force to determine the methods by which we might grow our state in the creative economy and to increase revenue for both entertainment and from [the] entertainment industry,” Senator Robinson said on behalf of the measure. The committee voted by voice; the transcript records an affirmative “Aye” and a statement that the bill would be reported out.
The task force, as described during committee discussion, would examine workforce-development strategies and other methods to grow revenue tied to the entertainment sector. The discussion cited national industry figures to indicate the size of the creative economy: “The music industry's contribution to their, GDP is over $7,000,000,000 … Florida is over $9,000,000,000 and Texas is over $8,000,000,000,” a presenter said, and workforce counts for those states were cited during discussion.
Rochelle Hicks, a Visit Mississippi official, told the committee the tourism department has adopted the brand “My Perfect American Music” and is promoting Mississippi’s musical heritage through television advertising, a Parade float and a video project with the global music group Playing for Change. “We started … with our float and rose parade honoring our 2 iconic kings, and then we are continuing that. We have a … new TV commercial that's out. It's all about music,” Hicks said.
Senator Wiggins asked whether the bill’s focus would include the Gulf Coast’s music and culture; Wiggins was told the campaign would encompass the coast as well. Senator Norwood cited local blues legend Bobby Rush and expressed support while raising a concern about protecting performers from risks posed by artificial intelligence.
No formal membership, deadlines or specific funding for the task force were laid out in the committee discussion recorded in the transcript. The committee’s voice vote and the clerk’s announcement that the bill “will be reported out” were the only formal actions recorded for this item.
The bill will next proceed through the Senate process where its membership, scope and any funding details would be established if the text does so.
