Will Stribling

1 month ago | mpbonline.org | Will Stribling

The Senate's latest proposal includes what House leaders have been requesting for months: a path to eliminating the state income tax. That path involves triggering further tax cuts over a number of years when state revenue collections exceed budgeted spending. House Speaker Jason White says he’s encouraged by the Senate making that concession and he's open to including growth triggers in a final bill. However, White doesn’t want state spending to be part of that equation.

1 month ago | mpbonline.org | Will Stribling

Twenty three counties across Mississippi are reporting damage from the severe weather that began Friday night and pummeled the state through Saturday. During a Sunday press conference, Stephen McRaney, Director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, or MEMA, said a deadly tornado that struck Walthall County tracked for 70 miles, leaving major damage in its path. “Major telephone poles gone, everything else,” McRaney said. “You're talking 25 to 35 feet up, pine trees were snapped.

1 month ago | mpbonline.org | Will Stribling

Over the four hours Clark's coffin lay in the Capitol Rotunda under the guard of state troopers, dozens of people cycled through the room. All of them came to honor a man who endured racist ostracism when he first entered the Capitol in 1968, but rose to become one of the most revered lawmakers in Mississippi history. Austin Wiley,  a 77-year-old farmer from Lexington, was overcome with emotion while reflecting on Clark’s life.

2 months ago | mpbonline.org | Will Stribling

If enacted, Senate Bill 3095 would lower Mississippi’s income tax from 4% to 2.99% by 2030 and cut the sales tax on groceries from 7% to 5% in July 2026. It would also increase the gasoline tax by nine cents per gallon over three years to fund road and bridge maintenance. Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins says the plan is a responsible way for the legislature to continue cutting taxes while also providing much-needed infrastructure funding.

2 months ago | mpbonline.org | Will Stribling

In gas stations and vape shops across Mississippi you can find dozens of hemp-based products that promise a “legal high” by mimicking the psychoactive effects of cannabis. Unlike medical cannabis sold in the state, these products are not required to be tested. During a Senate Public Health Committee  hearing, cannabis researchers and health officials told lawmakers that independent testing of these products has shown that many of them pose a public health risk.