3/6/26 Legislative Update

The MPE office has received several requests for the votes on the teacher pay raise bills that died with Tuesday night’s deadline. As neither bill was considered in the other chamber’s committee, a vote was not taken on either HB 1126 or SB 2001. Lt. Governor Hosemann sent a message to MPE and other education associations Tuesday evening regarding several key Senate bills, including SB 2001, dying on the calendar in the House.

We have also received several inquiries as to what mechanisms could be utilized to pass a pay raise bill this session. Options include the following:

• Both chambers could agree to a suspension resolution that would allow one of the pay raise bills to be reconsidered. House Education Chairman Rob Roberson has suggested this as one possibility following Tuesday night’s deadline.
• Senate Education Chairman Dennis Debar has stated he is going to include a pay raise in HB 1935, MDE’s FY 27 appropriation bill. Without an accompanying general bill that revises the teacher salary schedule, this would be a one-time raise for FY 27 rather than a permanent change to the teacher salary schedule. Legislation would have to be passed during next year’s legislative session to permanently incorporate any such raise into the salary schedule.
• The governor could call a special session and include a pay raise in the call for the special session. There is a real concern that he would also include school choice in the call for a special session so any pay raise could be held hostage to school choice. 

Please continue to contact your representative and senator to urge them to put politics aside and pass a pay raise for teachers and assistant teachers. You may contact the legislative leadership at the following:

• Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann – 601-359-3200
• Speaker of the House Jason White – 601-359-3300
• Leave a message for any legislator with the capitol switchboard – 601-359-3770

As reflected on this week's bill tracking spreadsheet, most of the education bills we have been tracking died Tuesday night. HB 1944, which increases tax credits the state may award via the Children’s Promise Act for donations to private schools, remains alive and has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee. Such tax credits are a form of vouchers and reduce the amount of state revenues available to fund critical state services, including education. You may contact your senator with your thoughts on the bill. You may leave a message for Senator Josh Harkins, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, at 601-359-2395. It is MPE’s hope that Senate Finance will not pass a bill that diverts state resources to unaccountable private schools, especially in light of the death of the teacher pay raise bills!

Next Wednesday, March 11, is the floor deadline for each chamber to act on general bills that originated in the other chamber and survived Tuesday night’s committee deadline. General bills will then head back to their chamber of origin for that chamber to either agree with any amendments made to the bill by the other chamber or to invite conference on the bill.