House addresses COVID-19 vaccine mandates
Committees met frequently in the Mississippi House of Representatives during the fourth week of the legislative session, as next Tuesday’s deadline to have House Bills out of their corresponding committees quickly approaches.
After Tuesday, Feb. 1, no additional general bills will be added to the House calendar for consideration. Members will also meet in session for longer periods to discuss the bills that make it out of their respective committees. Close to 200 House bills have made it out of committee thus far, and this number should increase before the deadline.
One of the bills that reached the House floor last week was House Bill 1509. The bill would prohibit state and local officials from imposing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. After much debate, HB 1509 passed the House by a vote of 75-41. The bill was then held on a motion to reconsider.
House Bill 607, or Parker’s Law, would create the crime of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance that results in death. In the original bill, a person who sells a controlled substance that directly leads to the user’s death could be charged with first-degree murder. An amendment was brought forth changing all of the mentions of “controlled substances” to “fentanyl,” and Amendment 2 passed overwhelmingly by voice vote.