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Committee advances batch of local repealer extensions, court fees and local measures
Summary
A legislative committee reported out a package of local 'repealer' extensions for tourism- and hotel-related sales taxes, several court-cost assessments (including a $25 fee and $50 DUI surcharge), and local contributions totaling $10,500 to food pantries; most items were passed with minimal discussion.
A legislative committee advanced a bundle of local measures Wednesday, reporting most bills out of committee for further consideration. The package included extensions of temporary local sales-tax repealers for multiple cities, proposals to add court-assessment fees, authorization for a local referendum on a 1% hotel/restaurant tax, and a $10,500 contribution to area food pantries.
Speaker 1 introduced the bills in rapid succession, calling up measures that would extend local sales-tax repealers for hotels, motels and restaurants in municipalities including the City of Brookhaven, Greenwood, Louisville, Byram and Olive Branch. Many bills set limits "not to exceed" either 2% or 3% for tourism, parks and recreation taxes. Most carried title‑sufficient motions and were reported out without substantive questions or amendments.
The committee also approved bills authorizing court-cost assessments: one measure would add a $25 court cost for justice- and circuit-court convictions and an additional $50 fee for DUI-related actions; another would assess court fees to fund courthouse renovations and upkeep. On the courthouse assessment bills, Speaker 1 said the fees were intended to support renovation and repair work.
Among local-finance items, the committee approved a request to make a $10,500 contribution to several local food pantries and charities — Hearts and Hands, Feeding Hearts, and Davis Temple Church of the Living God — intended to support operating food pantry services.
Water Valley received committee approval to place a 1% sales-tax question before local voters to fund tourism, parks and recreation; Speaker 1 said that authorization would include a standard four‑year repealer. Several items were referred to committee subgroups for technical cleanup, including a measure clarifying parcel language tied to an 88‑acre conveyance to Singing River Mall.
The committee recorded one explicit amendment during the session: on the Bridal tourism/parks repealer bill, Speaker 1 noted an error in the bill title and moved to amend the repealer date from 2026 to 2030; the amendment was adopted before the bill was reported out.
No roll-call tallies were recorded in the transcript; members indicated approval verbally with "Aye" or "All ayes have it," and chairs announced that bills would be "reported out." The committee scheduled another meeting to process incoming house bills.
The measures advanced by the committee will next go to the full chamber (or subsequent committee) per standard legislative procedure; no final policy enactments were recorded in this session.
