Session Outlook: Lawmakers focusing on water and sewer, law, education issues during 2022 legislative session - Northside Sun
District 73 Representative Jill Ford’s top priorities will always be to protect law enforcement and public school education – priorities that were seen in the bills she pushed in last year’s legislative session and will be seen through her top bills this year in 2022 as well.
In the 2021 session, Ford is proud that she was able to secure $2 million in tax credits and a $300,000 increase in the overall budget for the Magnolia Speech School, which is building a new building in Madison after many years in Jackson. Also in education, she is very excited about C-Spire, which is located in her district, contributing $1 million to provide a computer science curriculum in grades K-12.
“I’m very proud of them and, because they’re in my district, I want to make sure to give them a shout out,” Ford said.
One thing that was a top priority for many Madison County residents that Ford was able to secure was a bill that would prohibit a third landfill ever opening in a Mississippi County without an election process.
“That was huge,” Ford said. “It is something I couldn’t do just for Madison County. I was able to protect the whole state in making sure no third landfill will ever be able to open without an election. The governor came to Ridgeland in the new city hall and signed the bill there. There was so much energy in the room that day. It was a really big deal that I got that passed.”
Other bills that Ford saw as a priority to get passed this past year, even if her name wasn’t listed as an author on all of them, were the House Bill 1139 that eliminates the June prepayment of sales tax for businesses with liabilities of at least $50,000, such as car dealerships; the Fairness Act, which ensures young women will not compete alongside biological males in sports in the state; and Christian’s Law, which will require medical examiners to release the autopsy report to family members only and ensure no parent sees their child’s autopsy pictures for the first time on Facebook. Additionally, after six years of not going through, it became law that revenge porn is illegal, which means no one can expose intimate visual material of anyone but yourself.
Ford and the rest of the Madison delegation was able to secure over $11 million through bond money and appropriations in the previous session, including $5 million for Bozeman Road starting at 463, $2 million for Ridgeland Connector Road, $750,000 for the intersection at 463 and Stribling, $750,000 for a new fire Truck for the Madison Super Site, $700,000 to Pearl River Valley Water Supply District to assist in dredging, $500,000 for Madison’s road through the new “City Center”, and $100,000 for maintenance on the Ridgeland Craft Center.
“Myself and Walter have been able to get Madison County within the last two years almost $20 million,” Ford said. “It is incredible. Madison County is one of the fastest growing districts in the state of Mississippi, and so we pay more tax money to the state so, really, we are due this money back – for roads and bridges.”
One bill that Ford was unable to get passed in the last session and will represent in 2022 is JT Williamson’s Hands Free bill. Williamson was a radio host on SuperTalk for around 20 years, and Ford led the LifeGroup class he and his wife attended on Sunday mornings. Right before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Williamson was diagnosed with cancer. He spent his last two years on the radio advocating for a texting and driving bill that would “have some teeth to it.” The current bill warrants a $100 fine if caught texting and driving. The proposed bill will up the fine to $500. Wiliamson passed away this summer, and Ford named the bill after him because of his passion for the bill.
”I remember him saying it would take the right person’s child to die before everyone got serious,” Ford said. “I kept thinking I didn’t want it to be mine. I’ll get serious, JT. I tried to get it passed while he was still alive, but I couldn’t. Hopefully, this year we will be able to put some teeth in that bill.”
Ford has three bills that are her top priority to pass this upcoming legislative session. The first that she said she is probably most excited about and should be a “no-brainer” is the Seizure Safe Schools Act. She said since one in ten people will have a seizure at some point in their lives, it is vital for people, especially educators, to be able to know how to recognize and respond to different types of seizures.
“Ultimately, the bill that I will be introducing in the upcoming session is about saving lives for those who may experience life-threatening and/or prolonged seizures in school settings, especially due to new rescue medications now available,” Ford said. “Legislation has now passed in 12 states, in a matter of two to three years, and I’m excited and hopeful that we will make this a reality for Mississippi students.”
The second piece of legislation Ford will present that she said is long overdue in Mississippi is holding drug dealers accountable.
“A tidal wave of illicit narcotics are entering the United States through Biden’s open border policy,” Ford said. “We are unfortunately finding them being trafficked right here in Mississippi. I am tired of being told that another child has died of a laced and lethal drug overdose. My bill proposes to hold any person eighteen years of age or older that unlawfully sells, barters, transfers, manufactures, distributes or dispenses any substance, or mixture of any substances that causes the death of another person to be guilty of manslaughter.”
The bill she is most proud to present to legislation is the Law Enforcement Supplemental Pay Program providing for full-time certified law enforcement officers who have completed five or more years of service to be paid extra compensation in the amount of $2,000 per year.
“It is time for those who devote his or her life to enforcing the law to be recognized and appreciated by our state,” Ford said.
While these are her top three priorities heading into the session, Ford said Mississipians can expect to see some others she will be proposing as well that she is still working on.
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source: https://www.northsidesun.com/local-content-top-stories/session-outlook-lawmakers-focusing-water-and-sewer-law-education-issues-0
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