All of the Mississippi laws going into effect today
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Several new Mississippi laws are going into effect on July 1 of 2024.
These are laws that were passed during the 2024 regular legislative session.
Here are a few of the most notable ones:
Expansion of the CCID
Effective today, the boundaries of the CCID will be expanded from Meadowbrook Road to East Northside Drive in the north, and to I-20 in the south.
In the north, it will run east to west from the Pearl River to the Illinois Central rail line, and its new boundaries will include I-20 from the Stack, and portions of Raymond Road, Ellis Avenue, Lynch Street, Prentiss Street, and Bailey Avenue.
The expansion comes from the controversial House Bill 1020 that was signed into law last year.
Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade said that the expansion is welcomed.
Pay Raise for State Troopers
The starting salary for troopers and Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agents will increase from $50,000 to $54,000 a year.
The raise represents the second bump in pay for starting salaries since 2020 when Sean Tindell was appointed commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
Right now, starting salaries for troopers in Arkansas is $54,000, while troopers starting out in Alabama earn $55,615 a year, and $65,004 for troopers starting the training academy in Tennessee.
New Additions to the Schedule 1 Controlled Substances List
There are seven new additions to the Schedule 1 controlled substances list in Mississippi.
Those seven drugs are:
• Brorphine
• Metonitazene
• Zipeprol
• Eutylone
• Amineptine
• Mesocarb
• Methiopropamine
Hunters Wear Pink
Mississippi hunters can now wear solid fluorescent pink as an alternative to solid unbroken fluorescent orange when hunting deer and wild hogs during any gun season on deer.
Walker Montgomery Protecting Children Online Act
Named after Walker Montgomery, who committed suicide after falling victim to a sextortion scam, this law would require sites to include age verification and parental consent while limiting targeted ads.
It would also restrict how much information they could collect and share about the minor.
New Curriculum for Sign Language
The State Board of Education will now develop a curriculum related to the study of sign language.
The developed class will count as an academic credit for foreign languages for the purposes of high school graduation.
New State Turtle and Horse
The American Quarter Horse is now the official state horse, and the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is the official state turtle of Mississippi.
The “Mississippi Student Funding Formula”
This new “formula” includes weights based on student needs.
This means districts will be given extra money for students, like those living in poverty, with special needs or learning English as a second language.
There will also be changes to the Public Employees’ Retirement System - known as PERS.
The legislation will stop the planned 2% employer contribution increase. It will replace it with a 0.5% increase each year through 2028.
The Mississippi Association of Educators says they’re hopeful about the simplified formula.
For a complete list of new laws, click here.
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