The Mississippi legislature has a clear conservative mandate yet sometimes struggles to get things done. Why?
State Governor Tate Reeves clearly has a vision for Mississippi. He wants to promote economic growth and eliminate the state income tax. He’s also pretty big on law & order, efforts to improve the education system and work force development. Agree with him or not, it’s undeniable that he has a plan for our state. So, too, does the Speaker of the House, Jason White. He’s made an income tax elimination bill his number one goal for this session. Under Speaker White’s leadership the House has also passed bills to extend school choice and reduce the red tape that restricts healthcare. The House is moving forward with purpose. But what about the Senate? What’s their plan? Two months into a three-month session, it remains a mystery. Instead, the Senate leadership has spent much of the session saying “no” to nearly every proposal on the table. School choice? (Almost) killed in committee. Restoring the ballot initiative? Denied. Income tax elimination? Don’t hold your breath. The Senate leadership has blocked conservative reforms at every turn—without offering any ideas of their own. This is baffling. Mississippians have overwhelmingly elected conservative leaders to every statewide office. Yet here we are, watching the Senate leadership stall policies that align with the values voters supported, all while failing to present an alternative path forward. Normally at this stage of a session, if the House and Senate were gridlocked, you would expect a negotiation. How can the House negotiate with a Senate leadership that struggles to even articulate what it wants? This isn’t a one-off. We’re seeing a pattern emerge.
First, the House signals its intent for reform—think Speaker White’s focus on income tax elimination and school choice this year, or school funding reform last year. Then, the Senate responds with silence—no counterproposals, no vision. Finally, when the House sends its bills over, Senate leadership works to kill them, often without a serious alternative. Is this really the best we can do Contrast this with Washington. In just over a month since President Trump began his second term, we’ve seen a flurry of bold initiatives. He’s accomplished more in weeks than some Mississippi leaders have in years. Our taxpayers deserve better than a legislature that can’t agree on basic conservative priorities like empowering parents in education or cutting taxes. For too long, the process in Jackson has been shrouded in mystery. Bills “die in committee” with no explanation, no accountability, and no recorded votes. We’re told the support isn’t there—yet no one sees the tally. It’s time for transparency. That’s why the Mississippi Center for Public Policy (MCPP) is stepping up. We have four clear goals for this session: Public-to-public school choice, Income tax elimination, Anti-DEI legislation and Certificate of Need repeal. Bills addressing each of these priorities have been drafted. By session’s end, every lawmaker will have had the chance to support them. Soon, we’ll launch an online tool for our 80,000 subscribers statewide, showing which Senators, Representatives, and statewide officials earn a “Trump approval”—and which one’s side with the progressive agenda. Mississippians deserve to know who’s delivering and who’s dodging. The roadblocks to good conservative policy must be exposed. With your support, we’re shining a spotlight on the legislature and holding our leaders accountable. Douglas Carswell is the President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy and author of this post. MCPP sponsored this post.
14 comments:
D the Democrat
Aaaaand, that is why we have a bicameral legislature. The Senate of which, serving longer terms, understands the concept of the long view and having to live with their decisions.
I'm as conservative as anyone that has ever posted on this site. Doing away with state income tax and reducing the grocery tax sounds great and makes for good politics.
But, beware of the bait and switch. You can't cut this much revenue without making it up somewhere else and the Dept of Revenue is already working on it. You will see property tax increases and all sorts of increases to fees a lot of folks don't even realize they are paying. At the end of the day the people that have been carrying the load will carry an even bigger load.
I'd say Reeves has less of a vision for the state and more of one for himself as he likely will run for Wicker's seat in the Senate. The income tax repeal would be his "legacy".
The flurry of action you've seen on the federal side has been executive orders by Trump with no congressional approval allegedly required. We will see how many of them hold up over time.
But to your point there seems to be some Republican stand off even if it's not public. If people want their Senators to take action, they should reach out to them specifically. However, the House and Senate are under no obligation to do anything just because Reeves or Trump want it.
Aaaaand, the Mississippi Senate has the exact same term length as the Mississippi House.
School choice is a horrific resistribution of wealth, and the tax plan is all bait and switch. Liars. They should just support Tater. No changes to anything but income tax, and cut all you can.
Because they are mostly RINOs and/or their palms haven't been greased.
Well Dougie, the Senate does have an alternative to income tax elimination. You just aren't honest enough to acknowledge that fact.
Also, just because Tater has a plan does not mean it is a good plan.
11:03 Mississippi Senators serve 4 year terms just like Representative. Six year terms for senators and 2 years for representatives is on the federal level.
Individual income tax makes up roughly 28% of general fund revenue. If individual income tax is eliminated, the remaining portion of revenue has to grow by 39% to make up for that lost revenue PLUS grow 4% annually to meet current income projections.
Tater wants a legacy to run on for the Senate and doesn't care what harm or mess he leaves behind.
Haveany bills been about eliminating property tax? I'm sick of demorat supervisors raising my taxes to pay salaries in absolute garbage filled counties
I have seen a few recent articles about some states working to eliminate property taxes. It will be interesting to see how this plays out since the revenue will have to be replaced somehow. Maybe the clowns in our legislature should evaluate this option.
I would Love to work for DOGE in my county......
Why does the Legislature struggle to pass conservative policy? Perhaps it is because the Legislature has half a brain and realizes that a lot of conservative policies are full of nothing but lies and hatred.
The answer is simple: They are Not conservatives.
The author confuses being Republican with being Conservative. They are very different categorizations.
I would posit that todays run of the mill conservatives can't find common ground with anyone or anything except for hatred & pandering of fears. One can't build or fix anything if one only lives to tear down everything.
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