In this photograph, I am presenting a corrections bill.  I was responding to some friendly questions by other legislative colleagues.

Please scroll to the  bottom  to
read my  newsletter  from the ninth week of the 2018 Mississippi Legislative session. Also, you can forward the newsletter to others
 who might want to be better informed about the political process. Thanks for your engagement. In the email, I have included the following:

*Photojournal
*Education-House Bill 957
*Vagrants & Tramps-House Bill 668
Cannabidiol-Senate Bill 2892
*New Weight Axle Tolerance-Senate Bill 2418
*Public Utility Claims-Senate Bill 2295
*Other Bills

If you click on the blue hyperlinks in the newsletter, you will be directed to a bill or article.

Attorney Chaka Smith and Judge Hunter Nowell visited the Capitol last week. I am thankful they asked me to stop by a morning presentation entitled "Three Branch Government Convening on Parent Representation." The meeting focused on parents whose kids have been taken by the state. I discovered there are many people there to protect the rights of children, but there are few who advocate on behalf of deserving parents. It's not right for parents to go to court without a voice to speak up for them. Ultimately, the groups goal is to strengthen families. 

*When a child is in protective custody, it cost the state between $600 to $5,000 per month for each child depending on the situation.

*There are almost 6,000 children in foster care in Mississippi. This is a 62% increase in just 5 years. 

If you are traveling through the Mississippi Delta, please make sure you stop in Cleveland, Mississippi at the Mississippi Grammy Museum ( http://www.grammymuseumms.org). This month, the Supremes exhibit opened and it will close on September 3rd. This museum is one of the many treasures House District 29 has to offer. 


Thank you to Chiquita Fountain and other members of the Bolivar County Parents for Public Schools. There were several other groups who filled the Capitol halls last week to protest House Bill 957. Please never forget your voice, your presence, and your passion make a difference. In 2019 during statewide elections, you can gain respect with your vote.

I was glad to see two Bolivar County farmers at the Capitol this week. Here, I am pictured with Luke Andrews and Charles Danna. During our brief time together, we discussed a couple issues; Axle weights for commercial heavy hauling vehicles and proposed Senate road & bridge funding bill were among the topics. 

I was speedily walking through the 1st floor of the Capitol and I recognized a fellow University of Southern Mississippi Alum. Please meet Shanderia K. Posey who is the Public Relations Specialist at the Mississippi Public Broadcasting. I, for one, enjoy and appreciate the programming that they offer. In my opinion, it is a good use of public dollars.

The Mississippi Museum of Art is not only beautiful on the outside, but the featured works thru July 9th, 2018 are outstanding. If you are into art, there is an Andy Warhol piece featured. It is the famous three Elvis painting. Please Click Here to view the link to the Clarion Ledger article to read more about museum activities.


Dr. Michael O. Minor was the guest speaker for the Good Food Revolution farm to kitchen dinner in Mound Bayou, Mississippi this past Saturday night. Most of the food consumed was from local farmers. I enjoyed sharing a few words at the event and connecting with constituents.  I am most excited about their future efforts to offer more healthy food options in House District 29 (Bolivar and Sunflower Counties).
  Representative Kevin Ford is a newly elected freshman legislator who represents Warren, Issaquena, and Yazoo Counties. In this photo, he was showing some of the kids from his district around. I always love to see students in the chamber. They bring renewed life and vigor to the House floor whenever they visit. 
  The Mississippi Physical Therapy Association board, supporters, & students from across the state gathered at the Mississippi State Capitol to represent the physical therapy (PT) profession. The group's aim is to tackle issues for reimbursement, access to care, & alternatives to opioid use and addiction.  

*The rate of painkillers prescriptions is 6th highest per capita among the 50 states, with 120 prescriptions per even 100 people.

*Prescription opioid deaths have quadrupled since 1999.
  The chamber bid a colleague farewell as he announced his retirement effective February 28. Rep. Robert Huddleston of Sumner served 23 years in the House of Representatives as an effective and thoughtful member whose votes always reflected his respect for his fellow Mississippians and the Mississippi Delta. We will miss his quiet, sturdy presence at the Capitol, and we wish him well in accomplishing whatever new goals he has set for himself. He can surely leave the marble halls knowing he did a worthy job as a faithful public servant. Governor Phil Bryant will determine when a special election for House District 30 will be held at a later date.
2018 Mississippi Legislative 
Session  (Week 9)


Education Formula House-Bill 957
My Twitter feed was active on Thursday while House Bill 957 was on the Senate Floor. In a bipartisan effort (27-21), the Senate voted to recommit the the proposed new education formula. Since the deadline for bills to come out of committee has passed, it is for all practical purposes safe to say it is dead. Click Here to read what the Parent's Campaign had to say about the House bill dying in the Senate. Senators we appreciate your stand!!! 


Vagrants & Tramps-House Bill 668
Though Representative Dana Criswell and I don't yet agree about the Mississippi State Flag, we agree that there were some inhumane things done to Black people in Mississippi. Also, we agree that we should do our part to make sure some of those things never happen again. Representative Criswell and I worked on a bill together this session that overwhelming passed both the House and the Senate. House Bill 668 takes some of the Mississippi Black Codes off the books. Their aim, and I quote, was to control the labor supply, to protect the freedman from his own "vices," and to ensure the superior position of whites in southern life. The bill itself  is very short, but you should read this short excerpt about the Mississippi Black Codes. Click Here to read article.


Cannabidiol-Senate Bill 2892
Sometimes bills get amended when they go from one chamber to the other. Senate Bill 2892 was amended by the House. The amendment was on  line 154 of the bill. After the word "Marijuana," this will be inserted: 

"Cannabidiol contained in a legend drug product approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration or obtained under Section 41-29-136 is exempt under Schedule I." 

This is good news for those who are interested in the decriminalization of marijuana. At least we are taking about the benefits of marijuana oil for kids versus sending someone to jail for possession. This might be the start to a long overdue criminal justice reform for marijuana. I certainly hope so.

This is not the first time this type policy has been brought before the two chambers. It is important to note that back in 2014 we passed an extract bill that has seen very little activity as it relates to providing assistance to the families of kids who have seizures and other similar disorders. Last year legislation was passed to give additional pharmacies the authorization to sell. However, we are not moving fast enough to get kids and families the relief they need. I hope this bill speeds up the process.

New Weight Axle Tolerance-Senate Bill 2418
Senate Bill 2418 has not come to the House floor yet. However, I debated this bill in committee because it would allow for a new weight axle tolerance on commercial heavy hauling vehicles. Thus, it would allow 10% more weight on trucks hauling product. The Mississippi Association of Supervisors and the  Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) are against this bill. According to MDOT, if the bill passes, every bridge in the state will have to be reanalyzed for the new weight allowance to be in compliance with federal regulations. The estimated cost for this analysis is $28.5 million with the largest burden placed on counties.  In my opinion, we should invest in our current infrastructure before we put any additional stress on the roads and bridges. (This bill has not yet hit the House floor.)


Public Utility Claims-Senate Bill 2295
There was much discussion about this Senate Bill 2295 . The Attorney General (AG) position is that the rate payers for utility services could lose vital remedies for violations of the Mississippi Consumer Protection Act, state antitrust laws, criminal laws, and common law. Another argument was that AG wanted to protect against companies that may be rendered harmless as it relates to rates, customer bills, or the reliability of information submitted to the Mississippi Public Service (MPS). Opposition wants the MPS to be the buffer for wrongdoing.   The bill passed the Senate 51-1 and passed the House 90-26; meaning that MPS will continue play a significant part of the corporate watch dog efforts in Mississippi.


Other Bills
After passing a major deadline on Tuesday, House members worked through the calendar to debate and vote on the Senate measures. Any Senate bills that did not make it out of these committees died. We agreed with the Senate on a number of notable measures, and declined to approve others. Representatives passed a number of Senate bills, including the following:

"Katie's Law" would be enacted with the passage of Senate Bill 2568, which provides that DNA samples may be destroyed by the Mississippi Forensics Lab only under certain conditions. It is important to preserve this type of evidence as long and as well as possible. I know that the innocent as well as the guilty can be affected by the examination of evidence sometimes decades old.

In an effort to clarify what constitutes eligibility to run for office, the House passed Senate Bill 2178. Under this measure, Candidate hopefuls would have to meet a residency requirement if seeking the office of Highway Commissioner, Department of Agriculture Commissioner or District Attorney. These individuals would have to be a resident of the state district in question for five years before running for the position.

We passed Senate Bill 2459 in an effort to expand reemployment protections for military servicemen and veterans. This bill ensures that a service member or veteran will be restored to his or her previous position after returning from training with the Armed Forces in another state. 

White the passage of Senate Bill 2588, Municipalities that have voted to permit the sale and consumption of alcohol would be able to establish leisure and recreation districts. Leisure and recreation districts would allow consumers to walk from place to place with alcohol within a designated area.

We hope to encourage reporting of bad practices with the passage of Senate Bill 2527, which provides that no civil liability could be imposed against a person or entity for providing information about insurance fraud to any law enforcement, insurer or statutory residual market plan.

Visit, Call, or Email

I look forward to welcoming Mississippians to their State Capitol. I encourage you to come to the House gallery to watch your State Representatives in action. Want to contact a House Member? You can call the Capitol switchboard at 601-359-3770 to leave a message for a legislator. Also, you can mail your Representatives and Senators via group email at the following addresses: Representatives@house.ms.gov and Senators@senate.ms.gov. Each Representative and Senator will receive the email. Your voice matters!!!

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    Representative Abe M. Hudson, Jr. | 662-522-1400www.abemhudsonjr.com

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