Ballot initiative reform dies in Mississippi Senate Monday
A push to bring back ballot initiatives, albeit in a more restrictive and cumbersome way than its original process, died in the Senate on Monday when Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee Chair Sen. David Parker, R-Olive Branch, allowed it to fall on a motion to reconsider.
The ballot bills, Senate Bill 2770 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 527, passed through the Senate on a slight majority Thursday afternoon, but were pushed back onto the Senate calendar. Over the weekend, Parker was informed that some further support he garnered for the bill last week, coupled with opposition from Democrats and Senate Republicans alike, had been lost, Parker told the Clarion Ledger.
"Some Democrats voted against it and change their vote, so we just barely had a majority vote (initially)," Parker said. "Over the weekend when I got word that there were no changes and not enough votes to even get close to two thirds vote... We'll see what we can do about it in the future."
Many Republicans in the Senate also voted against both the resolution and the general bill. Parker said those actions from fellow GOP members told him the bills needs even more work before GOP members will be open to it.
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2024/03/18/mississippi-senate-kills-ballot-initiative-reforms/73022978007/
