Senators David Blount and Walter Michel expect the establishment of a school choice program to be a major focus of the Legislature when it convenes in January.
School choice allows public education funds to follow students in kindergarten through twelfth grade to the schools or services that best fit their needs —whether that’s to a public school, private school, charter school, home school or any other learning environment families choose.
While the topic of school choice may get top press, it will not be the only issue legislators concern themselves with.
A Democrat who represents District 29 (Hinds County) and a longtime supporter of public education, Blount plans to work to expand the Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program, which is designed to help teachers repay their postsecondary student loans, so it applies to teacher assistants. “That’s a logical place to enter the workforce,” he said.
Currently, all full-time public or charter school teachers (not just new teachers) with a valid five-year license (traditional or alternate route) who have outstanding undergraduate or graduate student loans can apply for loan forgiveness through the Winter-Reed Teacher Loan Repayment Program.
Blount said he and Rep. Shanda Yates, an Independent who represents District 64 (Hinds and Madison counties), plan to introduce legislation that will make it less cumbersome for a school district to repurpose or sell buildings no longer needed.
“Jackson Public Schools has been forced to close a number of schools (due to declining enrollment), and they’re working to repurpose or sell those,” he said. “What a school district can do with a building that used to be a school and requirements put on the buyer need to be changed. This legislation has been requested by JPS.”
Optimistic the city of Jackson is moving forward because there is new leadership in place, Blount said he’s on board with voting for projects that would benefit the city.
“I support the governor who has called for more money for Capitol Police,” he said. ‘I agree with him on that.”
Blount plans to continue efforts to move state agencies that are leasing privately owned offices outside of downtown Jackson back into that area. “That’s the seat of government and it will save money and revitalize downtown,” he said.
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate have committees that have studied issues related to Jackson and the city’s revitalization.
“The plan is for the two committees to meet together in December and look at the things that have been considered on each side and get on the same page,” he said. “I think Rep. (Shanda) Yates and Sen. Michel, who chair the committees, are doing a good thing.”
The state needs Jackson because it is the capital to succeed, and the state can help the city do that, he said.
Blount said the 2025 legislative session proved challenging.
“The Legislature passed two major changes, both of which I opposed,” he said. “One was to eliminate the state income tax, and the second one was to end a real pension for public employees hired after March 1, 2026. I think that’s going to have long-term effects on the workforce and the ability to attract and retain good people whether firefighters or teachers.”
He is optimistic that the Legislature will pass a spending bill during this session unlike the 2025 session when it adjourned without approving one. The bill provides funds for cities and states for projects.
“Given the state’s financial situation today and the fact there wasn’t a bill last year, I’m hopeful,” he said. “There are needs across the state. I hope we can do that this year and that decisions will be based on merit and need and not politics.
Head of the Senate Gaming Committee, Blount expects a bill will be introduced that would result in cracking down on illegal internet gaming activities; a bill was introduced last year but didn’t pass in the House.
He also expects a bill will be introduced that would allow winnings at a casino to be garnished from state residents who owes back child support; such a bill passed in the Senate during the last session but died in the House.
Also expected to be introduced again this year is a bill that will clarify legal gaming sites on the Mississippi Gulf Coast; last year, such a bill passed in the Senate but not in the House.
Michel, a Republican who represents District 25 (Hinds and Madison counties), said a top priority of his is to obtain funding for the widening of I-55 from the Madison interchange to the Gluckstadt interchange.
“It’s going to need at least $175 million,” he said. “We’re hoping to get all of the funding at one time.”
The bridge over I-55 that joins Reunion Parkway with Highway 51 was completed earlier this year, but there are no ramps onto I-55. “The Department of Transportation will not allow the ramps until I-55 is widened,” he said.
To take the politics out of funding for road projects, the Mississippi Department of Transportation provides Legislature with a list of the most critical road projects.
“Two years ago, we funded a project in DeSoto County and then the widening of Highway 7 in Oxford,” he said. “The next project in line is the widening of I-55 between Madison and Gluckstadt.”
Chair of the Senate Health Insurance Study Committee, Michel expects there will be 40 bills introduced having to do with insurance during the upcoming session.
“We had hearings all summer long on health insurance,” he said. “We’re going to get the committee together in the middle of December for a summary meeting.”
Prior authorization, reimbursement rates for some medical procedures, issues that are driving health care costs up and weight loss drugs have been issues the committee has learned more about.
Mississippi is the most obese state in the country, Michel said, and the committee learned that the state health insurance plan covers a weight loss drug for patients who have heart disease, sleep apnea or fatty liver disease.
“I can’t guarantee there will be legislation (about weight loss drugs and the state health insurance plan), but we spent a lot of time in our study committee,” he said.
Mississippi has a high number of drivers who do not have the required car insurance, and he plans to look into increasing the penalty for that.
Mississippi, drivers must carry at least $25,000 in bodily injury liability per person and $50,000 per accident, along with $25,000 in property damage liability per accident. That is the minimum required liability coverage, which only covers damage a driver causes to others, not to a driver’s own vehicle or medical expenses.
“I’ve been sideswiped by someone without any insurance, and a fellow worker got hit by someone driving an expensive SUV without insurance,” Michel said.
Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney brought to the attention of the insurance committee that Mississippi is one of a few states that lack a program that homeowners could rely on to make improvements to their residences so they would withstand hurricanes or tornadoes, Michel said.
A bill was introduced in the Senate last year that would have helped homeowners pay for improvements, which would have been funded by a fee on insurance companies, but it did not pass, he said.
Last year, Michel was successful in getting a bill passed that made it possible for Mississippians to buy from an out-of-state, boutique winery that obtains a permit from the state. The 2025 session was the eighth one that Michel tried to get such a bill passed.
He does not plan to introduce any bills about wine during the 2026 session because he believes the bill passed last year opened a way for additional wine to come into the state.
In other legislative years, Michel has also introduced a bill that would allow Mississippi grocery stores to sell wine with a higher alcohol content than what’s currently permitted. Grocery stores can sell wine with an alcohol content of 6 percent or less while only liquor stores and wine shops are permitted to sell wine with a higher alcohol content.
