Mississippi Legislature prepares policy agenda for 2026 session

State legislators will tackle education reform, public pension changes and opioid settlement spending when the 2026 session begins in January, according to committees established by House and Senate leadership. The agenda also includes proposed revisions to voter rights and election laws, economic development initiatives for the Jackson metro area, and family welfare policies addressing the state’s infant mortality crisis.

Education policy

The House has established a select committee on education freedom, indicating legislators plan to pursue school choice initiatives. The committee’s formation suggests potential legislation around student transfers and possibly voucher or scholarship support programs.

The issue of allowing public school students to transfer between public districts has been raised by legislative leadership and appears likely to be on the agenda during the upcoming session. Current Mississippi law generally requires students to attend schools in the district where they reside, with limited exceptions for certain circumstances.

School choice proposals have generated debate in previous legislative sessions, with supporters arguing families should have more options for their children’s education and critics raising concerns about the impact on neighborhood schools and district funding stability.

Public Employees Retirement System

Lawmakers formed a select committee focused on reviewing and proposing reforms for the state’s public employee retirement system, known as PERS. The committee will examine the retirement system that covers state and local government workers throughout Mississippi.

PERS has faced discussions about its long-term financial sustainability in recent years. The system provides retirement benefits for teachers, state employees, law enforcement officers, firefighters and other public workers. Any proposed changes would need to balance the system’s fiscal health with the retirement security of current and future public employees.

The committee’s work comes as other states grapple with similar questions about pension system reforms and the transition between traditional defined-benefit plans and other retirement models.

Ballot Initiative Process

Lawmakers are expected to consider restoring Mississippi’s ballot initiative process, which has been inoperative since the state Supreme Court struck it down in 2021 due to a technicality. State Sen. Jeremy England has indicated he plans to introduce legislation that would allow citizens to propose constitutional amendments or laws directly to voters.

Mississippi voters had the right to ballot initiative starting in 1992, but the state Supreme Court nullified the process on a technical issue in a lawsuit over a medical marijuana initiative. The court ruled the initiative process was inoperative because it required gathering signatures from five congressional districts, but Mississippi lost a congressional district in 2001 due to population decline.

Since then, lawmakers have debated various proposals to restore the process, disagreeing over signature requirements, what topics should be eligible for initiatives, and the percentage of votes needed for measures to pass. A House Select Committee on Voter Rights has held hearings on the issue.

England’s proposed legislation would establish stricter criteria than the previous process to ensure measures have genuine grassroots support rather than being driven by well-funded online campaigns. The proposal is expected to require a higher number of signatures and may include restrictions on certain topics, such as the state’s abortion laws.

Voter rights and election laws

The legislature has signaled interest in revising policies related to voter rights and election procedures through a dedicated select committee established for the 2026 session.

The committee’s scope and specific areas of focus have not been detailed but could address issues ranging from voter registration processes to election administration procedures. Mississippi’s election laws have been subject to ongoing legal and legislative attention, particularly following federal court rulings on redistricting and voting access.

Capital and Jackson metro revitalization

A recurring select committee on capital and metro revitalization will continue its work, suggesting lawmakers may advance infrastructure, economic development or urban area revitalization legislation.

The committee has previously examined challenges facing the Jackson metropolitan area, including infrastructure needs, economic development opportunities and regional coordination between local governments. The capital city continues to face water infrastructure challenges and other municipal service issues that have drawn state-level attention.

Family and social welfare issues

The Senate Women, Children, and Families Study Committee recently held hearings that will inform legislative proposals addressing mental health services, childcare access, infant mortality, juvenile justice and broader family support policies.

Mississippi continues to have one of the highest state rankings for infant mortality, a persistent public health challenge that lawmakers have identified as a priority area. The state also faces ongoing concerns about access to mental health services, particularly in rural areas, and the availability of affordable childcare for working families.

The committee’s hearings brought together testimony from healthcare providers, child welfare advocates and state agency officials to identify potential legislative solutions for the upcoming session.

Opioid settlement fund allocation

The Mississippi Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Council has completed final recommendations for how to allocate funds during the 2026 session. The recommendations include funding proposals for expanded drug court programs, addiction treatment including medication-based care and a wastewater surveillance program. Lawmakers will review these proposals when the session convenes.

Mississippi is receiving settlement funds as part of national agreements with pharmaceutical companies and distributors related to the opioid crisis. The state must decide how to allocate these resources between prevention, treatment, recovery support and harm-reduction programs.

Drug courts, which offer treatment and supervision as an alternative to incarceration for non-violent offenders with substance use disorders, have shown success in other states but remain limited in availability across Mississippi. Medication-assisted treatment, which uses FDA-approved medications alongside counseling for opioid addiction, has also faced barriers to widespread implementation.

The wastewater surveillance program would track opioid use patterns through testing of municipal wastewater, providing public health officials with data about drug use trends in communities.

What to watch

The success of these proposals will depend partly on how the legislature’s composition has shifted following court-ordered redistricting and recent special elections that narrowed the Republican supermajority in the Senate.

Republicans will maintain control of both chambers when the 2026 session begins, but the reduced Senate supermajority means Democrats will have more leverage on certain legislative priorities. The GOP retains the three-fifths majority needed for budget and revenue bills but no longer has the two-thirds threshold required to override gubernatorial vetoes without Democratic support.

Education freedom and school choice legislation has repeatedly divided Mississippi lawmakers along ideological and geographic lines. Rural legislators have sometimes expressed concerns about the impact of choice programs on small school districts that serve as community anchors and major employers. Urban and suburban lawmakers may view such programs differently based on their constituents’ school options.

Public school transfer policies would directly affect enrollment patterns and funding formulas in districts across the state. Since Mississippi funds public schools based partly on enrollment, any policy allowing easier transfers between districts could shift resources and create winners and losers among school systems.

Any changes to PERS would affect approximately 350,000 current and retired public employees, including teachers, first responders and state workers. Previous attempts at retirement system reforms have faced resistance from public employee groups concerned about benefit reductions or changes to cost-of-living adjustments.

The system’s funded ratio—the percentage of future obligations covered by current assets—and assumptions about investment returns will likely be central to any reform debate. Some states have moved toward hybrid retirement plans or increased employee contribution requirements as ways to address pension funding challenges.

The opioid settlement represents one of the largest influxes of designated health funding in recent state history. How lawmakers allocate these resources will shape Mississippi’s response to addiction and overdose deaths for years to come. The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics reported 392 suspected overdose deaths in 2023, with 300 of those involving opioids.

Competing priorities for the settlement funds include immediate crisis response, long-term prevention and education programs, expansion of treatment capacity, and support for families affected by addiction. Some advocates have pushed for significant investment in medication-assisted treatment access, while others emphasize the need for drug court expansion and recovery housing.