More bills died in the House and Senate this week because each chamber had to vote on bills from the other chamber by Wednesday, March 11, for those bills to stay alive and move ahead. Bills that survived the deadline will now return to the originating chamber in their current versions for legislators to vote on.
If the House and Senate disagree on the current versions of a bill, that bill will likely go to a conference committee. If so, Lt. Governor Hosemann will appoint three senators, and Speaker White will appoint three representatives to craft an acceptable bill for both sides. Rule 23A in the Joint Rules of the Senate and House states that conference committee meetings are open to the public.
Families as Allies is following these bills. One bill that is going to conference and already has House conferees is Senate Bill 2726, Mississippi Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Council; bring forward provisions related to. We know many of you are following this issue. If you have feedback about how the committee that advises the legislature about how to spend opioid settlement funds should function, we encourage you to contact the conferees. Here is their contact information:
- Representative Sam Creekmore (662) 534-9280 screekmore@house.ms.gov
- Representative Kevin Felsher (228) 365-0904 kfelsher@house.ms.gov
- Representative Clay DeWeese (601) 359-3497 cdeweese@house.ms.gov
