Rep. Orlando Paden

Maddy summaryHB 478 amends Mississippi's legal holiday schedule to create an extra holiday day when existing legal holidays fall on a Tuesday. Specifically, if a holiday listed in the law (like Independence Day or Christmas) lands on a Tuesday, the preceding Monday automatically becomes a legal holiday. This adjustment affects state employees, public services, and businesses operating under state holiday schedules. The change applies only to holidays already designated as legal in Mississippi law and does not create new holidays.

Maddy summaryHB 338 requires Mississippi public schools to include age-appropriate instruction about mental illness and mental health in health education classes starting in the 2025-2026 school year. The bill mandates that this instruction cover five specific objectives: understanding mental health myths, reducing stigma, recognizing symptoms, using stress-coping techniques, and accessing local mental health resources. It also requires all licensed school employees to complete in-service training on identifying mental illness symptoms, developed with the State Department of Mental Health. The law applies to all public schools and takes effect July 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryHB 590 would include school resource officers (SROs) in Mississippi's law enforcement death benefits program. The bill amends the legal definition of "law enforcement officer" to explicitly cover SROs who die while performing their duties. This change would make SROs eligible for the $100,000 death benefit payment to survivors, which currently applies to other sworn law enforcement officers. The policy change extends existing benefits to SROs without altering the benefit amount or eligibility criteria.

Maddy summaryHB 1082 would have increased the daily payment for Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee Board commissioners from $67 to $200 per day for work related to their duties, with a limit of 36 days per fiscal year. This change would directly affect the board members (excluding the president) who serve on the levee board responsible for managing flood protection in the Delta region. The bill also maintained existing provisions for mileage and expenses under Section 25-3-41. The bill died in committee in February 2025 and did not become law.

Maddy summaryHB 345 establishes Mississippi's Secure Choice Savings Program, a state-sponsored retirement savings plan for private-sector employees. It requires eligible employers (those with fewer than 25 employees that don’t offer retirement plans) to automatically enroll workers in a payroll-deducted Roth IRA starting in 2027, with full enrollment mandated by 2029. The program creates a dedicated fund for employee contributions, an administrative fund for board costs, and a board to manage investments and employer communications. The state explicitly states it bears no liability for retirement benefits, and employers face penalties for non-compliance, enforced by the Department of Revenue.

Maddy summaryHB 344 requires all public universities and colleges in Mississippi to place epinephrine auto-injectors and AEDs (defibrillators that restart hearts) in every educational building, administrative office, dormitory, and cafeteria on campus. It mandates that institutions create policies for maintaining, storing, and using this equipment, and specifies that only trained campus staff or licensed medical professionals can administer epinephrine or operate AEDs during emergencies like severe allergic reactions or cardiac arrest. The bill also requires the State Department of Health to establish guidelines for these policies and equipment maintenance. This directly affects all 15 public four-year and two-year institutions in Mississippi, ensuring immediate access to life-saving equipment across all campus locations.

Maddy summaryHB 346 requires all Mississippi public schools to have an epinephrine auto-injector and an automated external defibrillator (AED) in every educational building, central administrative office, and cafeteria, stored securely but accessibly. It directly affects all public elementary and secondary schools across the state, mandating that school districts adopt policies for device maintenance, storage, training, and emergency use. The law specifies that only licensed medical professionals or school staff trained by them may administer epinephrine or use AEDs during anaphylaxis or cardiac emergencies. The State Department of Health must establish guidelines for these policies, and school districts must designate a licensed medical professional to oversee training in emergency procedures.

Maddy summaryHB 769 would have removed a specific segment of U.S. Highway 61 (from its intersection with U.S. Highways 49/61 to Friars Point's eastern city limits) from Mississippi's state highway system. This procedural bill aimed to revise the legal designation of the Coahoma County Highway by deleting that segment from the state-maintained system. If passed, the affected road segment would no longer be under the Mississippi Transportation Commission's jurisdiction for maintenance. The bill died in committee on February 4, 2025, and did not become law.

Maddy summaryHB 474 authorizes Mississippi's Department of Corrections to create a Reentry Housing Program (RHP) for individuals on probation or parole who lack stable housing. The program provides short-term housing and food access through certified providers for up to six months, targeting people recently released from prison/jail or participating in accountability courts (like drug or mental health courts). Participants must be monitored by parole officers to ensure compliance with supervision terms. The goal is to stabilize reentry into the community and support crime-free living. The program becomes effective July 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryThis bill restores the right to vote to Mattie Hardiman of DeSoto County, Mississippi, who had previously lost her voting rights due to a 2009 conviction for false pretense. The legislation acknowledges that her five-year probation sentence ended in 2014 and notes that she has since lived as a law-abiding citizen. By passing this act, the state officially removes the legal barrier preventing her from participating in elections.