Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith

Maddy summaryThe Main Street Tax Certainty Act permanently extends the 20% tax deduction for qualified business income (QBI), which currently applies to owners of pass-through businesses like sole proprietorships, partnerships, and S corporations. The bill achieves this by amending the tax code to remove an expiration date (via striking subsection (i) of Section 199A of the Internal Revenue Code). This change directly affects small business owners who rely on the QBI deduction to reduce their taxable income. The key provision eliminates uncertainty about the deduction’s future, ensuring continued eligibility without requiring future legislative action.

American Infrastructure Bonds Act of 2023 This bill allows the issuer of an American infrastructure bond a tax credit for 28% of the interest payable under such bond.

Maddy summaryThis bill bars federal funding for state or local databases that track lawfully owned firearms or their owners. It directly affects states and local governments maintaining such databases, preventing them from using federal money to create or maintain these records. The law includes an exception allowing funding for databases tracking lost or stolen firearms and their owners. The key provision is a federal funding prohibition targeting databases of legal gun ownership, not the databases themselves.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires K-12 schools receiving federal funds to obtain parental consent before accommodating a student's gender identity (e.g., changing names/pronouns or facilitating gender transition) or withholding such information from parents. It prohibits schools from pressuring families toward gender transition, hiding details about a student's gender identity, or facilitating social transitions (like using gendered facilities) without parental knowledge. Schools must publicly post policies ensuring compliance and face potential loss of federal funding or lawsuits if they violate these rules. The bill directly affects all elementary and secondary schools receiving federal education funding, focusing on parental involvement in decisions about students' gender identity.

Maddy summaryThe Reforming Disaster Recovery Act establishes a Long-Term Disaster Recovery Fund to provide grants for long-term recovery after major disasters, primarily benefiting low- and moderate-income households in communities most impacted by disasters. It creates a new Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program that requires grantees to allocate at least 70% of funds to help low- and moderate-income people, with funds distributed based on unmet needs for housing, economic revitalization, and infrastructure. The bill mandates detailed planning with public input before funds are distributed, requires grantees to prioritize mitigation activities in hazard-prone areas, and includes provisions for preliminary funding to speed up recovery before final assessments are complete. It also requires annual reporting on fund usage to ensure transparency and accountability, while coordinating with FEMA and other agencies to prevent duplication of benefits.

Maddy summaryThe Forest Data Modernization Act of 2023 requires the USDA Forest Service to update how it collects and reports forest data, particularly focusing on forest carbon and land use. It mandates new data collection methods like timber product studies and nationwide woodland owner surveys, and adds specific requirements for tracking forest carbon (including soil carbon) and improving data consistency across reports. The bill also requires the Secretary to submit updated strategic plans every 5 years, detailing plans to integrate remote sensing technology, expand data collection for carbon stocks at multiple levels, and improve transparency. All collected data must remain publicly accessible while protecting confidential information about plot locations and individual woodland owners.

Maddy summaryThis resolution designates the week of May 14-20, 2023, as "National Police Week" to honor law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty. It recognizes 444 officers killed in 2022 (including specific names listed in the resolution) and acknowledges 32 officers killed in 2023, while expressing support for law enforcement personnel. The resolution encourages the public to observe this week by honoring law enforcement officers and promoting awareness of their essential service. As a ceremonial resolution, it does not create new policy or alter existing laws.

Maddy summaryThe Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act amends the law governing the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), allowing the federal government to use grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements for its operation instead of only contracts. It clarifies that the OPTN’s management must be separate from the entity supporting its board of directors. The bill also mandates a two-year review by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) of the OPTN’s historical financing - including how registration fees were used - and requires a report to Congress with recommendations. These changes directly affect the OPTN, its operating entities, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

Maddy summaryS 1641, the USPS Act, requires the Comptroller General to investigate nationwide mail and postal property theft annually for five years. The reports must detail current Postal Service security measures and offer recommendations for improving theft prevention, submitted to the House Oversight Committee and Senate Homeland Security Committee. This bill directly affects the U.S. Postal Service and Congress by mandating regular, detailed oversight of theft patterns. It does not create new security policies but establishes a reporting mechanism to inform future decisions. The focus is on transparency and data collection, not on immediate operational changes.

Maddy summaryS 1627, the PRECEPT Nurses Act, creates a $2,000 annual tax credit for eligible nurse preceptors who provide at least 200 hours of clinical training to nursing students or newly hired nurses (within their first six months) in designated health professional shortage areas. To qualify, preceptors must obtain certification from their academic institution or clinical site verifying their hours, and the credit applies to taxable years beginning after December 2023 through 2030. The bill requires the Treasury Department to report annually on credit usage and evaluate the program's effectiveness by 2031. This policy directly affects licensed nurses in underserved communities by providing a financial incentive to mentor nursing students and new nurses.