Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn will not seek reelection in 2023, setting an end to his nearly 20-year legislative career and 12-year speakership. The Clinton, Miss., Republican announced his retirement from the Legislature at a House GOP Caucus meeting on Nov. 9, and will continue to serve as speaker through the 2023 legislative session.
Lawmakers at a swift Wednesday special session of the Mississippi Legislature took less than a day to approve an incentives package worth roughly $247 million for a planned aluminum mill in Northeast Mississippi. The company behind the mill is Steel Dynamics, Inc., which is based in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Gov. Tate Reeves has called a special session of the Mississippi State Legislature for Wednesday morning, seeking support for an “economic development project” in the state’s Golden Triangle region, which includes the northeastern cities of Columbus, Starkville and West Pointe.
After a bruising fight between Mississippi’s House and Senate, the Legislature passed a significant income tax-reduction bill on Sunday, doing away with the state’s lower tax bracket and shearing 1% off of the top bracket. The total cut to revenue will amount to $524 million after the plan fully phases in by 2026.
House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, has called for a hold on the spending of federal American Rescue Plan money until the Mississippi Legislature passes a bill abolishing the income tax, a shot across the bow of the Senate and its more modest reform plan only two weeks before a key deadline for many spending bills.
The Mississippi Senate has unveiled its income-tax plan, challenging the House’s charge toward full elimination of the State’s income tax. As Senate Finance Committee leadership previously hinted, the Senate bill’s aim is to eliminate the 4% income-tax bracket, while leaving the top income-tax bracket of 5% intact.
Rapid action on the part of the Mississippi House of Representatives is no guarantee that the tax-reform plan will become law any time soon. The Senate has its own plan on the way—and key leadership have indicated priorities that may differ from the architects of the House bill.
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