MS Legislature caps off 2024 session: See what happened in final hours

The 124-day 2024 Mississippi legislative session is finally over.

The last thing lawmakers did before gaveling out before 9:30 Saturday morning was to pass a nearly $7.9 billion budget Friday, outlining funds for state agencies, departments and also providing many local projects throughout the state, as well as returning voting rights to someone previously convicted of a felony.

As lawmakers were preparing to pack their bags, brief cases and even a few tokens from this year's session, Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, presented one final bill on the floor to restore voting rights to an individual, closing the session by giving a person who was previously convicted of a felony back their suffrage.

The man, from Fillingane's district in Walthall County, had been convicted of grand larceny in 1977.

In the House, Rep. Charles Young, D-Meridian, gave an unexpected speech to his fellow lawmakers. In his own words, he said that while the day was one filled with joy, it was also a sad occasion for lawmakers as they went their separate ways.

"Today is the day that all of us always look forward to, but today is the day that all of us dread because the person sitting next to you, and the people sitting around you have become your family. And today is the day that we part," Young said.

More on FY24-25 budget MS Legislature approves nearly $7.9 billion budget. How does that compare to last year?

Here is a look back at the 2024 legislative session:

Few priorities make the cut in 2024 session

Of the many mainline priorities legislative leadership had hoped to pass this year, only a handful made it through both chambers and on to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves's desk. Those items included presumptive Medicaid eligibility for pregnant women, changes to the state retirement system and a complete rewrite of the state's funding formula for K-12 schools.

Presumptive eligibility passed in February with few lawmakers voting against the move to allow pregnant women access to Medicaid.

Specifics on presumptive eligibility Mississippi Legislature sends presumptive Medicaid eligibility bill to governor desk

One priority for legislative leadership was passing reforms onto the Public Employment Retirement System of Mississippi. That change originally took the shape of stripping the PERS board elected members with political appointments and removing the board's ability to raise public employer contribution rates to address $25 billion debt.

After the legislature killed that bill, lawmakers reintroduced legislation to remove a rate increase on employers set to take effect in July, and it also made sure any rate change in the future would need to be approved by lawmakers. That bill passed in April.

More on PERS situation MS Senate revives effort to exert control over PERS board

Toward the end of the session, lawmakers also passed the Mississippi Student Funding Formula, which will funnel $2.95 billion toward K-12 education in the state. The new funding formula replaces the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.

Read about MSFF MS Legislature passes historic education funding model, sends to governor's desk

Items left on the table this year included Medicaid expansion, which could have given state-funded health insurance to potentially 200,000 people, restoration of voting rights for people who lost them after being convicted of non-violent felonies and returning ballot initiatives to Mississippi.

Medicaid expansion made for some of the hottest debates this year, but after House Democrats vowed not to vote for Medicaid expansion plan with a work requirement, Senate leadership said it lost momentum to whip votes.

Read about the death of Medicaid Medicaid expansion dies in Mississippi Legislature

Lawmakers in the Senate also failed to pass through several House initiatives when they let the restoration of ballot initiatives die on a motion to reconsider and when Constitution Chairwoman Sen. Angela Hill, R-Picayune, decided not to bring up a bill to restore voting rights to those who had lost them because of felony convictions.

More on ballot initiatives Ballot initiative reform dies in Mississippi Senate Monday

More on voter suffrage Voting bill, which would have helped non-violent felons, dies in MS Senate

Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi Legislature completes 2024 session after passing budget