2020 Legislative Update
Monday, February 24th, 2020 | Week 7
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7th Week of Mississippi Legislative Session
Last week, I got to discuss upcoming bills with colleagues. It’s always good to hear what issues other legislators present. Whether I agree with it or not, I am always willing to attentively listen and pose questions. Sometimes I state my support, opposition, or exercise my right to decide at a later date about how to vote on a bill. Either way, we agree on much more than we disagree. However, it’s the items we disagree about that typically gets the bulk of the attention. I am hopeful that we can continue to improve education, corrections, transportation, and job creation. To me, they appear to be the primary issues Mississippi is faced with solving.

Last week, legislators had a full schedule during the seventh week of the 2020 Legislative Session. The deadline for introducing bills was on Monday night, so the calendar quickly became full of bills and resolutions to discuss. Although most work is still happening in committees, several pieces of legislation reached the House floor.

After being held on a motion to reconsider last week, House Bill 756 came before the House again. The bill would require the Department of Finance and Administration to ascertain cost estimates of repairs at the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility. Amendment 1 to House Bill 756 was introduced and passed on a voice vote. The bill passed as amended and has been sent to the Senate for consideration.  

House Bill 851 was another bill discussed both in committee and before the House this week. The bill adds an additional member appointed by the governor to the Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force. The new member will act as an advocate for offenders and families who have been directly affected by the criminal justice system. The bill passed with a bipartisan vote of 117-1 and has been transmitted to the Senate.

Another uncontested bill was House Bill 412.  The bill would authorize the State Veterans Affairs Board to sell or dispose of surplus property of veterans’ nursing homes and cemeteries. House Bill 412 passed unanimously in the House and has been sent to the Senate.

One bill that received much attention this week was House Bill 97 . If enacted, this bill would prohibit the selling, transferring or marketing of urine, most notably used for manipulating drug tests. The bill passed on a vote of 108-8, and it has been held on a motion to reconsider.

Visitors at the Capitol this week included the Madison County Business League, the Mississippi Aquarium, the Epilepsy Foundation of Mississippi, the Mississippi Chapter of Links, Inc., the Stennis Space Center, Future Farmers of America students, the Mississippi Poultry Association and the Mississippi Egg Marketing Board.
This was a rainy night in the Capitol City (Jackson, Mississippi),
Life Sentenced Population Exceeds Entire Prison Population in 1970

Nationwide there are more people serving life sentences today (206,000) than the entire prison population in 1970 (196,000), according to a new fact sheet released by The Sentencing Project’s Campaign to End Life Imprisonment. 

Starting in the 1970s, the United States’ prison population began its steady upward climb to the vastly overcrowded system we have today. While recent reforms have decreased the overall prison population by 0.5% between 2003 and 2016, there has been a 30% increase in life sentences during this period. The expansion of life imprisonment is a key component in the structure of mass incarceration.

In 24 states, there are more people serving life sentences than the state’s entire prison population in 1970, found Senior Research Analyst Ashley Nellis. In an additional nine states, the life imprisonment total is within 100 people of those states 1970 prison population. In particular, Nevada and Utah have life-sentenced populations more than four times the states’ entire prison population in 1970. The next two most dramatic shifts are in Louisiana and Alaska, where the life-sentenced populations are more than double their overall prison populations in 1970.

Life sentences have been shown to have little effect on crime rates since people "age out" of crime—meaning that we're spending a fortune on geriatric care to keep people in prison who pose little threat to public safety. As states pass more reforms to address 40 years of prison expansion, it is clearly important to adopt sentencing reforms to dramatically reduce the scale of punishment for people serving life sentences. 

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Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance
Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance visited the Capitol last week to discuss legislation that matters to them. I was happy to go out and listen to their concerns. Patricia Ice, Bill Chandler, and Loida Ventura all represented the organization. If you or your organization is ever in the Capitol, please text me at 662-522-1400 . If I am available, I'll always take the time to engage.
Chat with Mississippi State University Football Head Coach Mike Leech
Mississippi State University’s Head Football Coach, Mike Leech, recently came under scrutiny for some of his social media comments. At a recent event in Jackson, MS, I got a chance to discuss the incident with him. I appreciate him for taking the time to candidly talk. With that in the past, I am hopeful we can refocus on playing competitive football and training young men.
Photos of the Week
In this photo, I am with two youth pages, Logan Coley and Will Collins.
Mississippi Public Broadcasting does an excellent job of offering programming that tells the story of Mississippians. I enjoyed a recent event that they sponsored at the old Capitol building in Jackson, Mississippi.
One week ago, I got to speak with Bolivar County farmers at 7:30 am for a early morning breakfast to share and listen. If you have an activity and I am able to attend, I will always make my best effort. CLICK HERE for more photos.
On Saturday, I attended a meeting in Rosedale to address the West Bolivar Consolidated School District​’s “potential merger". In this photo, Superintendent John Taylor addressed the crowd. If you missed the meeting, here are the options. It’s not too late to share your opinion!!!
In this photo, I was attending the Mississippi Apartment Association and Mississippi Association of Affordable Housing Joint Reception. Housing is a vital component to ensure people lead quality lives.
Jobs for Mississippi Graduates is a valuable organization that supports potential careers for many Mississippi youth. Here, I am photographed with students from the Sunflower consolidated School District Program along with Representative Tracey Rosebud.
Please listen to a few of my comments about prison reform at a recent MS Legislative Black Caucus Meeting that members of the Links of Mississippi attended. CLICK HERE to hear the video.
The Mississippi State Extension Center sponsored the Sunflower County 4-H group on a visit to the Capitol.
Corey Hollingsworth, Merry Barnes, and I briefly chatted at the Mississippi Museum of Arts Black History night. It was cool to see the various visual artist, business owners, and art patrons. Merry is the Director of School Programming at the museum.
I am thankful to have gotten the chance to be the guest speaker for Black History Month at the Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church in Shelby, MS on February 16th. The church is a stone's throw away from my home so I walked to the service.
Thanks to Rosemary Craven Lamb for stopping by to chat about Mississippi Delta Community College. She has known me since I was in Junior High School, and it's great to see her as equally as committed to education as she was when I first met her.
On Saturday, my neighbor (Don Stapleton) was buried. He was the first person I met when I moved to Shelby, MS. He will be greatly missed.
Formerly Incarcerated Men
Sheldon Gooch is a former inmate who has made the most out of a second opportunity. CLICK HERE to read more about his fascinating story and how he is helping others to charter new paths after being incarcerated.
This Saturday at the Clergy for Prison Reform Rally in Cleveland, Mississippi, I met Maurice Clifton Sr . He was incarcerated for aiding and abetting the sale of 6.4 grams of cocaine, and money laundering of 2,500 dollars where he respectively received 400 months and 240 months. He was incarcerated on January 15, 1997, and released on January 10th, 2020 due to section 404, under the FIRST STEP ACT which was recently enacted in 2019. He was born and raised in the Mississippi Delta in the town of Mound Bayou. 
Caught My Attention...
Black History Month
The 1955 massacre of Emmet Till in Mississippi sparked the modern-day Civil Rights Movement here in the United States. People were outraged by the unnecessary brutality in the death of this teenager. Black History Month is a time to reflect on where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. CLICK HERE to read more about this unfathomable story that continues to create dialogue.