Panhandling, loitering and squatting.
Rep. Shanda Yates said those are issues that “99 percent” of the constituents she runs into at the grocery store and many business owners in her district would like to see her do something about.
“That’s the top of the list to address,” said Yates, an Independent who represents District 64, which includes Hinds and Madison counties.
Yates plans to introduce legislation during the 2025 session, which opens on Jan. 7, that would prohibit an individual from soliciting while standing in a public roadway unless a permit is obtained.
“It wouldn’t be targeted at one particular group,” she said. “It’s not just homeless people but it would apply to a group of high school kids holding up a sign about a carwash. They wouldn’t be able to do that without a permit. It would apply to firefighters who carry boots and accept donations. They wouldn’t be able to do that without a permit.”
The legislation would be useful throughout the state, she said. “We see a lot of these problems come to a head in Jackson because it’s a large city, but a lot of smaller cities deal with the same issue.”
Yates also plans to propose legislation that would make it illegal for an individual to enter a residential or commercial property and live there without permission from the owner.
It’s not too early for the Legislature to consider who will operate the city of Jackson’s drinking water and sewer system after Ted Henefin, who took over Jackson’s water system in November 2022 as part of a federal court order and later the sewer system, leaves, said Yates, who educated herself about Jackson’s water system when it was failing under the city’s control.
“We know that Ted Henefin is not going to be here forever,” she said. “What does that look like after he leaves? How does the state play a role?”
“We anticipate that Ted will be gone some time in 2027. With that time frame in mind, we need to work toward a solution to make sure things don’t fall apart after he is gone. There’ s been a ton of improvement since JXN Water was formed and Ted has been
here, and we don’t want to see that fall by the wayside.”
Co-chair of the House Select Committee on Capital and Metro Revitalization, Yates plans to address issues that the committee meetings brought out.
“Our first hearing dealt with blighted properties, specifically state-owned blighted properties,” she said. “The state statutes have some issues with how these properties are sold and resold and resold at tax sales, which cause the properties to just sit so no one can do anything about them. We’re working to fix that.”
Legislation is also needed that would give state government the ability to contract for the cleanup of state-owned, tax-forfeited properties.
“Right now, under the current law, the state owns the property, but it can only wait for the city or county to clean up the properties and then the city or county asks for reimbursement,” Yates said. “That’s a problem not just in Jackson or Hinds County but all across the state. This would be something that would impact the whole state.”
Yates expects the Legislature to consider eliminating or lowering the grocery tax, which is 7 percent on essential food items, and state income tax.
“I think everybody would love the idea of paying less tax,” she said. “It comes down to math, especially with the grocery tax. We’ve heard from smaller municipalities that have only a grocery store or convenience store. If you reduce or eliminate the grocery tax, that would cut in half or take away the municipality’s revenue stream.
“How do we compensate for that so we’re not cutting off these tiny towns? I think that’s one of the problems we’re going to see in reducing the grocery tax.
Reducing the state income tax would also have an impact. “If we take that revenue stream away, do we cut spending? And, if so, from where or do we raise taxes elsewhere and what impact does that have?”
School choice could also be an issue the Legislature will face.
“I don’t know the extent to which that will come up this year,” Yates said. “I do think it will come up in some way fashion or form. It’s also referred to as vouchers, but school choice is the term used now.
Yates said the question is: Can state dollars fund private schools in any shape or form? Our state constitution says no state dollars can be used for private or religious schools. That would require a constitutional amendment, which is the belief of some.
“Others argue as long as the state does not give the money directly to the school, that’s not violating the constitution. Some say if we give the money to the students via the parents and let them decide, then that doesn’t violate the constitution.
“I don’t personally know the answer.”
On top of the potential constitutional issues for school choice is the potential cost.
“Some people will say, ‘We’re already funding public schools, and there’s no additional cost,’” she said. “You have to consider the students who attend private schools, and if we start giving them money then that’s an additional cost.
“Do we open (vouchers) up to everyone, including those in private schools? If not, how do decide who qualifies and who doesn’t? Some people suggest we only consider it for failing public school districts. There aren’t that many failing school districts in the state. Jackson Public Schools is not a failing school district. There are lots of C-rated districts but those wouldn’t’ qualify.”
The expansion of Medicare will also be an issue for legislators to consider, although Yates said she’s not sure how much traction it will get.
Never actively involved in politics until she was asked to run for office in 2019, Yates said she did so because she lives in Jackson and she and her husband practice law in Jackson and are raising their son in Jackson.
“I want to be able to tell my son I tried to do something to improve things other than just complain on Facebook,” she said.
During the session from January through March, Yates said her husband takes over some of her legal work as needed so she can devote time to the necessary meetings.
Even when the Legislature isn’t in session, Yates will receive calls from constituents who need help navigating state government or want to bring issues to her attention. “It’s very time consuming being a legislator,” she said.
A graduate of Hinds Community College, the University of Southern Mississippi and Mississippi College School of Law, Yates is vice chair of the Judiciary A Committee and a member of the Apportionment and Elections Committee, the Conservation and Water Resources Committee, the Constitution Committee and the State Affairs Committee.
