Senate Medicaid Committee Chairman Sen. Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, right, confers with Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, during debate over a proposal to expand Medicaid benefits before the Senate at the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, March 28, 2024. Senators debated …JACKSON, Miss. —
Mississippi lawmakers will try to reach a compromise on expanding Medicaid in one of the poorest states in the U.S. after the Senate voted for a vastly different plan than one proposed by the House. The Senate proposal would insure fewer people and bring less federal money to the state than the version approved by the House. The Senate’s approach also includes a tougher work requirement and measures to prevent a wider expansion of Medicaid benefits in the future.
House Bill 774 would legalize mobile sports betting. Thirty other states already allow the practice. Republican Rep. Casey Eure of Saucier, the bill’s prime sponsor, said Mississippi could bring in $25 million to $35 million a year in tax revenue. Sports wagering has been legal in the state for years, but online betting has remained illegal amid fears it could financially harm Mississippi casinos.
For the second year, a bill to create a state-appointed regional board to govern the water system in the capital city of Jackson has died. Under Senate Bill 2628, the board would have taken over after a federally appointed independent administrator leaves Jackson. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the bill was an example of the majority-white and Republican-led Legislature trying to seize control from a majority-Black city. Republican Sen.