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Senate votes: disaster trust fund, Main Street grants, medical cannabis, and other bills pass
Summary
The Senate passed a package of bills including increases to MEMA disaster draw limits, capital and local‑project transfers, a petition route for ‘right to try’ medical cannabis, and several administrative and public‑safety measures. Many measures passed on morning roll calls after brief sponsor explanations.
The Mississippi Senate handled a broad set of bills on Thursday, moving a number of bills by morning roll call after short floor explanations and, in some cases, brief amendments.
Key outcomes at a glance
- House Bill 1646 (Disaster Trust Fund): Increased the amount MEMA/DFA may draw under governor‑declared disasters (higher per‑occurrence and annual limits) and adjusted non‑declaration authority by amendment; the strike‑all and bill passed.
- House Bill 1649 (Capital Expense Fund transfers / Main Street grants): Expanded a Main Street revitalization grant list and authorized an updated appropriation total; strike‑all adopted and bill passed.
- House Bill 1653 (Local improvements / IHL capital projects): Revised project appropriations and included reverse‑repealer language for future reallocation; bill passed on roll call.
- House Bill 1152 (Right‑to‑Try Medical Cannabis): Adopted a petition‑based pathway for patients with non‑qualifying conditions, giving the state health officer rulemaking authority and requiring annual reporting; Senate adopted the strike‑all and passed the bill.
- House Bill 669 (Alcoholic beverages): Allowed corkage for wine on licensed premises and adjusted wine‑shipment reporting; strike‑all passed and final passage approved.
- House Bill 1612 (DPS consolidation): Sponsor presented an omnibus consolidation of department offices into four divisions, fee adjustments for certain services, and a reverse‑repealer so conference work can continue; strike‑all adopted.
- House Bill 1664 / HB1625 (Virtual currency kiosks / video franchise items): Bills addressing virtual‑currency kiosk regulation and a statewide cable franchise/system for broadband deployment moved with strike‑alls or reverse‑repealers for conference and passed.
What this means
Most bills passed on voice or morning roll calls after sponsor explanations and limited floor questions. A handful of larger measures — notably the PBM reform substitute (separately covered) — drew extended debate and fiscal scrutiny. A number of strike‑alls included reverse‑repealers to permit continued negotiation in conference.
Provenance: This article summarizes a series of floor actions recorded across the Senate session beginning with early calendar items (topicintro SEG 219) and covering passage of many bills through late‑morning votes (topfinish SEG 593).
