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Good morning Jack,

Yesterday was one of those days at the Capitol that quietly reshapes the rest of the legislative session.

It was the final day for committees to report general bills originating in their own chamber, a deadline that determines which ideas move forward and which ones are effectively ended for the year. And yesterday, we saw both outcomes play out in stark contrast.

Here’s what happened — and why it matters.


** Committee Deadline Day — Where Bills Live or Die
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By February 3, committees must vote on bills that originated in their own chamber. If a bill does not pass out of committee by that deadline, it is done for the year.

This is not a procedural footnote — it is one of the most consequential moments of the session.

Committee chairs control the agenda. If a bill is not brought up, not debated, or not voted out, it never reaches the full Senate or House for consideration. For many proposals, this is where momentum either materializes — or disappears entirely.

Yesterday was that moment for several major bills.


** Education Reform Update: HB2 Dies in Senate Committee
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Yesterday afternoon, the Senate Education Committee met and took up HB2, the Mississippi Educational Freedom Program Act.

The bill was gaveled up late in the day, on deadline day. The chairman asked whether there was any discussion. There was none. He then asked if there were any votes in favor. There were none. Finally, he asked for votes against — and the committee voted unanimously to kill the bill.

The entire process took less than a minute.

With that vote, HB2 is dead for this legislative session.

This matters — not just because of the outcome, but because of what it represents.

HB 2 passed the House after full debate. It was one of the most closely watched education proposals of the session. But it never received discussion, amendment, or debate in the Senate committee charged with reviewing it.

That is how committee power works — and why this stage of session is so decisive.

While this is a significant setback for education reform this year, the underlying issues that HB2 sought to address have not gone away. We’ll continue tracking where the conversation goes next and what lessons lawmakers — and the public — take from how this unfolded.


** A Win for Healthcare Reform: HB3 Heads to the Governor
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Yesterday also brought a very different outcome on healthcare reform.

HB3 passed the Legislature and has been sent to the Governor’s desk.

HB3 makes targeted reforms to Mississippi’s Certificate of Need (CON) laws — rules that control when hospitals and medical providers can expand, add services, or make major investments. These regulations have long been criticized for slowing growth, limiting competition, and making it harder for providers to respond to patient needs.

While HB3 does not fully repeal the CON system — something we continue to believe Mississippi should do — it represents a meaningful step in the right direction. The bill raises cost thresholds that trigger government approval, creates limited exemptions, and begins modernizing a regulatory framework that has not kept pace with today’s healthcare realities.

Importantly, HB3 passed before the committee deadline — meaning these reforms are no longer theoretical. If signed by the Governor, they will take effect.

Progress does not always come all at once. Sometimes it comes in hard-won steps. This is one of them.


** What Comes Next
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With committee deadlines now behind us, the shape of the rest of the session is clearer.

The bills still alive are the ones that cleared their first major hurdle. The ones that didn’t — like HB2 — will shape future conversations, even if they are no longer moving this year.

I’ll continue watching:
* the Governor’s action on HB3
* how lawmakers respond to the education committee’s decision
* and which remaining bills advance as crossover deadlines approach

As always, I’ll keep breaking it all down in plain language — no jargon, no spin.


** Track Legislation in Real Time
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If you’d like to follow along as bills move through the process, you can track key legislation throughout the session using the Mississippi Center for Public Policy’s bill tracker.
Track Bills at the Capitol ([link removed])
Thanks for staying engaged and informed. I’ll be back next week with another update from under the dome — and as always, I’ll keep breaking things down in plain language as the session continues.

Until next time,

Anika Page
Director of Operations

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