A Look Ahead At The Upcoming Legislative Session

TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi lawmakers are preparing to start a new legislative session that promises to have a full agenda.

It has been three decades since the Mississippi Legislature passed the long range highway bill. Now, many roads and bridges are in need of upgrades or repairs.

Representative Steve Holland believes a gasoline tax is a fair way to fund the road program.

“It’s interesting to me, some of my colleagues say, my people don’t want this. Well, I’ve yet to find a soul that has spoken to me who didn’t want good roads and a good transportation system. Some of them say, don’t tax me to get it. I say, then you don’t really want good roads because you’re not a realistic and practical person,” Rep. Holland said.

State Senator Chad McMahan says there is a need for more transportation funding, but he believes voters will decide the fate of any gas tax to pay for the road and bridge program.

“We’ve invested 31 billion dollars in transportation since 1987. It’s very conservative to take care of the things we’ve built. You wouldn’t build a house and never put a roof on it, or take time to maintenance your home. The people of Mississippi will be able to vote in November whether they want to raise taxes on fuel to support roads and bridges,” said Sen. McMahan.

Lawmakers say the tax reform bill signed by President Donald Trump, will impact Mississippi, because of the provision to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act. Representative Holland is hopeful Medicaid, which is up for review this year, and covers about 1 in every four residents, will not be cut further.

“It grieves my soul to see a person be sick and cannot get treatment simply because they have no insurance base, and no money. I don’t like that and I don’t like a two tiered healthcare system. Healthcare should be the same for everybody,” Holland said.

Senator McMahan says it’s best to let consumers have more options when it comes to health insurance.

“We should be considering free market solutions to healthcare. Everyday folks are paying a premium for healthcare now. Healthcare costs have exploded in the last eight years because of the Affordable Care Act, and we need to find ways to drive down costs, make it more efficient and help folks have access to health care,” said McMahan.

Lawmakers get to work January 2nd.

Republicans will hold a super majority in both chambers.

Meaning, Republicans can pass revenue bills without any Democratic support if they all vote together.