Mississippi lawmakers ended the 2023 legislative session this weekend amid impassioned speeches around House Bill 1020. The Senate finalized the bill on Thursday, though House lawmakers did not take up the measure until Friday morning. House Democrats spoke against the bill at length, saying it has racially prejudiced undertones. Republican Representative Trey Lamar of Senatobia chairs the House Ways and Means Committee. He spoke in favor of the bill on the floor, saying it’s the right thing to do for Jackson residents.
Rep. Lamar says “And let me tell you what gentleman. You talked about being offended. I’m offended as well. And I have that right, because my heart bleeds red just like yours. That’s the only color that should matter in this building. If I have to stand here and listen to being called a racist because I’m trying to do the right thing, we’re going to talk about the color that matters. And that’s the red that flows in my veins and yours alike.”
Several points of order were raised during the floor debate, delaying further action on the bill by three hours.
Following the passage of the bill, Democrats from both chambers joined in the capitol rotunda to further denounce House Bill 1020, as well as other bills that were filed this year targeting the City of Jackson. House Minority Leader Robert Johnson says HB 1020 was a distraction from the other policy issues facing Mississippi.
Rep. Johnson says “We have a $4 billion surplus and we wouldn’t even walk out and fully fund MAEP (Mississippi Adequate Education Program), give people money for hospitals, and provide the kind of support for Jackson that it needs. But instead what we do is pass a piece of local legislation that puts 18% tax already on Jackson, and then another 9% tax, totaling 27% tax on the people of Jackson so they can have a city within a city.”
Lawmakers were unable to complete all items of the legislative calendar before Friday’s deadline. After gaveling in at Midnight on Saturday, they continued until all bills were adopted later that morning.
