Two Mississippi state senators have announced their resignations effective June 30.

Sen. Tammy Witherspoon of District 38 has resigned to serve as the newly elected mayor of Magnolia, whose term began July 1.

Additionally, Sen. Sampson Jackson of District 32 has decided to retire after serving 30 years in the Legislature.

Gov. Reeves is expected to announce special elections to fill the vacancies in the coming days.

The 2021 session of the Mississippi Legislature adjourned sine die on April 4.

The session was mostly uneventful with most of the notable bills failing to pass including a proposal to overhaul the state tax system.

Among the measures that did pass were bills granting pay raises to teachers and an update to the state’s parole rules, which await the governor’s consideration.

This does affect lobbying reporting dates.

An end-of-session report is due on April 14, 10 days following adjournment sine die of the Legislature.

The Mississippi Legislature met for the final time in the extended 2020 session on October 2 after passing several measures related to COVID-19 and the distribution of CARES Act funding.

The session will officially end when the Legislature adjourns sine die on October 10.

This does affect lobbyist dates reporting.

An end-of-session report is due on October 20, 10 days following adjournment sine die of the Legislature.

The Mississippi Legislature passed a resolution extending the legislative session to adjourn sine die on October 10 to consider matters concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

This extension pushes back the due date for the Lobbyist End-of-Session Report due 10 days after adjournment sine die to October 20, unless the Legislature votes to adjourn earlier.

The Mississippi Legislature plans to reconvene its session on August 10.

The legislature’s return will focus on the recent vetoes by Gov. Tate Reeves, as well as legislation concerning the Department of Marine Resources and education budgets.

The Mississippi Legislature has adopted a resolution to once again extend the legislative session.

The resolution initially called for the session to be extended until December 31.

However, a Senate amendment was passed setting the date for adjournment sine die on October 10.

The resolution calls for the Legislature to now reconvene for six days in October.

The Legislature will consider matters regarding any additional funds appropriated by the U.S Congress to the state for the COVID-19 pandemic.

The session was previously extended from May 10 to July 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After 17 years of service representing District 15, Sen. Gary Jackson has announced his resignation effective June 30, citing growing health concerns.

Jackson was met with a standing ovation following his announcement on the Senate Floor.

Furthermore, a special election to fill Jackson’s seat for the remainder of his term ending in 2024 will be scheduled.

Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Speaker of the House Philip Gunn have announced the Legislature will reconvene the 2020 Legislative Session at 1:00 p.m. on May 1.

In addition, the end-of-session report will be due 10 days after the adjournment sine die of the regular legislative session.

The expected adjournment date was extended to June 9 when the session was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has announced the special election to fill House District 87 will be held on November 3.

A runoff election is set for November 24 if needed.

The seat was vacated when Billy Andrews resigned in March.

The resignation, like Ramona Blackledge’s resignation in January, was due to House leadership ruling members could not collect state government pension while receiving legislative pay.

Gov. Tate Reeves has ordered the special election for House District 88 set for April 21 be postponed until June 23.

The seat was vacated when Ramona Blackledge resigned in January.

Due to the House leadership ruling members could not collect legislative pay while also receiving state retirement funds.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Speaker of the House Philip Gunn have agreed to delay reconvening the 2020 legislative session.

Pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 65, the Legislature will not convene on April 1 as initial scheduled.

Instead, the Legislature will reconvene on an unspecified date in the future, due to concerns about COVID-19.

The session, when reconvened, is not to exceed the limit of 125 days allotted for by the Mississippi Constitution.

The Legislature has announced the legislative session will be suspended.

The Senate met March 18 to pass House Bill 1647.

House Bill 1647 provides administrative leave to local government and school district employees in response to the effects of COVID-19.

The Senate also agreed to House Concurrent Resolution 65, suspending the session until April 1.

The resolution also extended the legislative session until June 9 and provided for a potential further extension until July 9.

The additional extension is needed if the Legislature is unable to reconvene in time for the June 9 deadline.

This does affect lobbyist reporting.

The end of session report due 10 days after the Legislature adjourns sine die will now be due on June 19 unless an additional extension of the session occurs.

Gov. Phil Bryant announced a special election on November 5 for Senate District 50.

A special judge for Harrison County Circuit Court vacated the August 6 primary results due to possible voter irregularities.

Five of the district’s 16 precincts will be allowed to re-vote during the special election to conclude the Republican primary.

No Democratic candidates ran for the vacant seat during the Democratic primary.

The winner of the special election will serve the full term for Senate District 50.

The Mississippi Legislature adjourned sine die on March 29.

House Bill 1205 was passed, prohibiting public agencies from requiring 501(c) entities to provide the public agency with the personal information of its members, supporters, volunteers or donors.

While the bill has been negatively characterized as allowing dark money contributions, it does not affect any provision of the state’s campaign finance statutes.

An end-of-session report is due 10 days following adjournment sine die of the Legislature.

However, the Secretary of State’s Office has not yet announced a revision to the April 17 due date.