Lawmakers finish, but will return

Special to Wesson News

The 2025 Mississippi regular legislative session has come and gone, but Governor Tate Reeves will be calling lawmakers back to the Capitol to finalize the state’s $7 billion Fiscal Year 2026 budget, after deliberations between the House and Senate broke down in the waning days of the session.

The lingering question is whether Reeves will add other policy items to the special session call, namely legislation aimed at expanding education freedom, all of which died in the regular session, or reducing the regulatory burden on the state’s healthcare system by way of further certificate of need reforms.

Here is a look back at some of the most talked about headlines from the 2025 regular legislative session: 

1. Governor Reeves signed the most significant tax reform legislation in state history. 

   
   

   The flat income tax rate in the state will drop from 4.4 percent this year to 3 percent in 2030 (an annualized cut of $647 million).  Additional cuts to the income tax rate down to 0 percent will occur beginning in 2031 based on the state meeting revenue growth triggers.  The sales tax applied to grocery purchases drops from 7 percent to 5 percent on July 1, 2025 (an annualized cut of $127 million).

   
   

   Approximately $200 million in additional revenue for roads and bridges will be produced through a 9-cent increase in the fuel excise tax over a 3-year phase-in period.  A Tier 5 in the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) for newly hired government workers is created based on recommendations from the PERS Board (does not impact existing workers or retirees).

   
   

2. A new law will prevent universities, community colleges, public schools, and charter schools from using Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices when selecting faculty, providing academic opportunities, and offering student engagement.

   
   

3. Three measures to increase education options for families in the Magnolia State died without a vote in the Senate.  One would have made a process already in Mississippi law for a child to transfer between public schools slightly easier by removing the veto power of the school the child wants to leave.  The Tim Tebow Act would have allowed homeschool students to participate in extracurricular activities at the public school where they live.  Another one sought to expand where public charter schools could be opened in C-rated districts.

   
   

4. An early voting proposal was not well received by Governor Reeves, resulting in a social media battle that carried over into the Capitol.  After Reeves expressed his displeasure with England’s 15-day, no excuse proposal, the House decided to back away and offer their own tweaks to absentee voting.

   
   

5. The Governor vetoed a bill that would have raised the threshold for a medical facility to seek a Certificate of Need (CON) when purchasing medical equipment and tasked the Mississippi Department of Health with conducting a study to see what other changes may need to be made to CON laws, particularly as they relate to small hospital dialysis units, geriatric psychiatric units, and acute adult psychiatric units.

   
   

6. State consumers using e-cigarettes will now have to buy exclusively from only three manufacturers, and virtually all flavored vaping products have been banned.

   
   

7. Mississippi residents are now allowed to receive direct shipments of wine. Mississippi was one of only three states that prohibited this.

   
   

8. Governor Reeves vetoed a bill that would have modified several provisions within Mississippi’s Medicaid program.  Reeves said the Medicaid Technical Amendments Bill essentially expanded Medicaid, something he has adamantly opposed and repeatedly spoken against.  In his veto message, Reeves said that the bill would have incurred additional recurring costs of $40 million to the overall annual Medicaid budget, of which the state would have to fund 24 percent. 

   
   

9. Legislation meant to conform Mississippi’s Medicaid provisions regarding presumptive eligibility for pregnant women to federal regulations has gone into law without the signature of Governor Reeves. Presumptive eligibility refers to the process of granting Medicaid services to those who may qualify before their eligibility is verified by the program.

   
   

10. Each chamber of the Legislature has now adopted the other’s redistricting plans, setting up special elections for House and Senate seats later this year.

    
    

11. Lawmakers have agreed to form a task force to study workforce and social service reform in Mississippi towards improving the state’s labor force participation rate and raise the earning capacity of working Mississippians. The ultimate goal is to integrate social safety nets and workforce development in a manner that moves people off of welfare and into a sustainable job through a one-stop-shop holistic approach.

    
    

12. State employees will now be eligible for paid parental leave through a law that will provide a state employee who is the primary caregiver of a newborn with six weeks of paid leave.

    
    

13. Mississippi lawmakers have agreed to deal with kratom by taxing products containing the opioid-like substance at a higher rate.

    
    

14. Lawmakers agreed to outlaw camping on any sidewalks, streets, sports fields, sports complexes, highways, alleys, roads, passageways or any other public property, except a public property that is otherwise designated for camping by a municipality, county, political subdivision or state, or by state law.