House Republicans Try to Force Bills to the Floor

A deadline to get legislation out of committee had some Mississippi lawmakers butting heads on the House floor. MPB’s Stephen Koranda reports.

Members of the House Republican Conference attempted to force 4 bills out of committee and on to the floor yesterday. The legislation included a voter ID bill, and a bill to require certain officials to report suspected sexual abuse. Republican Representative Philip Gunn of Clinton believes the issues were being blocked.

“There’s absolutely no reason why these issues have not been dealt with to this point, other than pure politics,” says Gunn. “Our constituents expect us to come up here, vote on these issues that are important to them, and go home.”

The bill regarding sexual abuse stalled after negations failed. House Judiciary A Committee Chairman Edward Blackmon of Canton wanted abuse reporting requirements removed for doctors and clergy, who he said have protected confidentiality under law. The House Speaker used the gavel to stop a heated debate between Blackmon and Republican Alex Monsour of Vicksburg, who was trying to force the bill to the floor.

House Majority Leader, Democrat Tyrone Ellis of Starkville, says the sexual abuse bill didn't make it to the floor because lawmakers couldn't come to an agreement.

“You can’t get everybody to agree all the time. The Chair made a conscious decision that this was a deal-breaker,” says Ellis. “We wanted to keep the minister and the doctor exempt from this rule. Other than that, we’ll pass the bill, and they didn’t want to do it.”

Yesterday's deadline killed any general bills that didn't make it out of committee Appropriations and revenue bills face a deadline later this month.