First, let me say what a privilege it is to work with Senator Walter Michel. It is nice to have a colleague on the other end of the hall that has the same passion as I do to help Madison County succeed. Your Madison delegation was able to secure over $11 million dollars through bond money and appropriations during the Legislative 2021 session :
$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 Firetruck for the Madison Super Site
$700,000 to Pearl River Valley Water Supply District to assist in dredging
$500,000 for The City of Madison’s road through the new “City Center”
$100,000 for maintenance on the Ridgeland Craft Center
Some of you may not know that Magnolia Speech School has chosen Madison County as its new home, and to help them with the transition, we were able to secure $2 million dollars in tax credits plus a $300,000 increase in their overall budget.
I am overjoyed that those in leadership at the Capitol realize how important Madison County is to our State and are always willing to listen to our financial requests.
My campaign slogan was simple: "As a Realtor for the last almost 30 years now, I know the 3 most important things about real estate are location, location, location. Madison County is the perfect location because of our law enforcement, schools, and infrastructure.
Now here is a quick recap of how we addressed these 3 areas in the 2021 Legislative session.
In terms of Law Enforcement:
I am happy to report that I co-authored HB886 which will exempt full-time officers from paying concealed carry permit fees. Additionally, officers will no longer be required to participate in the 8-hour training course to receive an enhanced carry permit.
HB508 will allow retired law enforcement officers to retain their sidearm.
Also, the motorcycle road-show on I-55 and Lakeland will no longer be an embarrassment to our Capital city because we are allowing the Highway Patrol to use their radar on highways inside municipalities with a population above 15,000.
In regards to public schools:
We passed several education bills that will help Madison County teachers and students:
We added $102 million dollars to the education budget;
We secured a much needed teacher pay raise and approved a loan repayment program for new teachers;
We allocated more money to the Teacher’s School Supply Fund;
We improved dyslexia services for students;
And we invested heavily in early learning by doubling pre-K slots statewide;
Also, I would like to give a huge thank you to C-Spire (which is located in my district) for their dedication and financial contribution of $1 million dollars so we can offer computer science coding curriculum in K through 12.
And then thirdly, in terms of infrastructure:
For those of you who don’t know what to call me, just call me the “garbage girl” because who knew that one of the biggest fights I would have would be to keep a third dump out of Madison County. The Governor signed HB949 into law giving local citizens a voice if a third landfill is proposed. During the fight, I was able to negotiate with a multi-million dollar company to drop THREE pending lawsuits.
Another huge pro-business piece of legislation we passed was HB1139 which eliminates the June prepayment of sales taxes for businesses with liabilities of at least $50,000.
There were several other bills I strongly supported that will be extremely important for all Mississippians:
The Governor signed “The Fairness Act” which will protect young ladies from being forced to compete with biological males in athletics – to all you parents of daughters, you better believe I will do everything in my power to protect our little girls!
Also, for those of you who might be familiar with the podcast about the death of a young man from Meridian named Chrisian Androcieo … Christian’s Law will now require medical examiners to release autopsy reports to family members only – this will stop parents from ever seeing their child’s autopsy pics for the first time on Facebook.
A bill that has failed for the last 6 years and was important to our Attorney General has finally become law, SB2121 will now make it illegal to disclose intimate visual material of someone besides yourself. This means “revenge porn” will soon be a thing of the past.
Last but not least, most of you are aware of the House efforts to eliminate the state income tax for Mississippians. The bill failed in the Senate, but I hope the leadership from both chambers will study the issue this summer and come back with a plan that everyone can get behind. Because I want another opportunity to vote on a piece of legislation that can truly impact the financial future of my children and grandchildren.
I want y’all to know that when someone asks me where I am from, I am so very proud to say I represent Madison County. I love serving you! Please contact me if I can do anything for you, Jill
