School funding and ballot initiatives are among issues surviving in Mississippi Legislature

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi legislators are considering proposals to rewrite the funding formula for public schools. Senate Bill 2332 would revise the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, the formula that has been fully funded only twice since it became law in 1997. House Bill 1453 would set a new formula that would send more money to poorer districts.

Tuesday was the deadline for House and Senate committees to consider general bills and constitutional amendments that originated in their own chamber. Bills that survived will move to the full House and Senate for more debate. Budget and revenue bills have later deadlines.

Here is the status of some general bills:

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BALLOT INITIATIVE — House Concurrent Resolution 11, Senate Bill 2770 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 527 would revive an initiative process, allowing people to petition to put many issues on the statewide ballot. The state Supreme Court ruled in 2021 the ballot initiative process was invalid. The House and Senate both have proposals that would prohibit changes to abortion laws through a statewide election. Republicans have said abortion restrictions should be off-limits because of the Legislature’s role in laying the groundwork for the U.S. Supreme Court to upend abortion rights nationwide.

MEDICAID EXPANSION — House Bill 1725 would expand Medicaid benefits to hundreds of thousands more residents in one of the poorest states in the U.S. The House passed the bill on a bipartisan vote of 98-20, following years of opposition from Republicans, including Gov. Tate Reeves, who is still against the policy. That bill heads to the Senate, which has its own proposal, Senate Bill 2735, that will serve as a foundation for further negotiations. If lawmakers in