The Mississippi Free Press asked a court on Monday to hold that Mississippi House Republican Caucus meetings must be open to the public under the Open Meetings Act. Last year, the full Mississippi Ethics Commission rejected the Mississippi Free Press’ argument and declared that the Legislature is not a “public body” under the law.
An “overwhelming” bi-partisan majority of likely Mississippi voters want the Legislature to restore the ability of voters to put issues on the ballot and vote on them through ballot initiatives, a new survey shows.
Mississippi Free Press’ attorney Rob McDuff said in a May 2022 statement that the Mississippi Open Meetings Act requires that other meetings of legislators, like the Republican Caucus, be open to the public when they constitute a quorum and are discussing public business.”
The Mississippi Free Press will appeal the Mississippi Ethics Commission’s determination that the State Legislature is not a public body under the Open Meetings Act. That decision, which the commission finalized today, allows the House Republican Caucus to gather a full quorum of the Mississippi House of Representatives and deliberate on legislation in secret.
The Mississippi Ethics Commission held its likely final discussion on the Mississippi Free Press’ complaint against the State House of Representatives today, restating their disagreements over the commission’s decision to declare the Mississippi Legislature not a public body under the Open Meetings Act.
A majority on the Mississippi Ethics Commission has rejected its staff’s recommendation to affirm that the Mississippi House of Representatives is a “public body” that is subject to the Mississippi Open Meetings Act in a 5-3 vote.
Speaker Gunn’s denial of access to House Republican caucus meetings, and position that the gatherings of a majority of House members are not subject to the state’s Open Meetings Act—is part of a long-held strategy of keeping the deliberations of the House GOP outside the view of the press and the public.
Mississippi’s Joint Redistricting Committee has released its recommendations for the state’s four new congressional districts, and the result could be a sprawling District 2 for the only Democratic and only Black representative, Bennie Thompson, in a state that is 38% Black.
Mississippi Journalism and Education Group is a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit media organization (EIN 85-1403937) for the state, devoted to going beyond partisanship and publishing solutions journalism for the Magnolia State and all of its people.
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The Mississippi Free Press is a project of the Mississippi Journalism and Education Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit journalism organization (EIN 85-1403937).
