Rep. Jeffery Harness

Maddy summaryHB 1002 revises how payments from nuclear generating plants (exempt from local property taxes) are distributed. Instead of paying county or municipal taxes, these plants pay a portion of their assessed value to the state, with specific annual amounts directed to Claiborne County and Port Gibson. Starting in 1991, $3.04 million annually goes to Claiborne County for any authorized county purpose (subject to maintaining emergency plan support), and $160,000 annually goes to Port Gibson for municipal purposes. The bill ensures these payments are separate from ad valorem tax revenue limits and includes conditions tied to emergency planning commitments.

Maddy summaryHB 1222 would increase Mississippi's film production incentives by raising the base rebate from 25% to 40% of a production's investment and adding a 10% rebate for films featuring Mississippi landmarks like Civil Rights history sites or the Mississippi River. It removes annual caps on rebates for individual productions and total yearly disbursements, while defining eligible expenses to include in-state labor, equipment rentals, and local services. The bill directly affects motion picture production companies filming in Mississippi, offering expanded financial support for both general production costs and landmark-focused projects. However, the bill died in committee on February 4, 2025, and did not become law.

Maddy summaryHB 1319 creates a special "Claiborne County Risk Compensation Fund" in the state treasury, funded by 15% of nuclear in lieu tax revenue (per amended Section 27-35-309) and annual contributions from electrical utilities benefiting from the Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Plant ($0.02 per kWh and a percentage of the plant's assessed value). The fund must support safety, healthcare, education, and infrastructure projects directly benefiting Claiborne County residents. An advisory committee - comprising county officials, an Entergy representative, and a public member - oversees fund disbursements, while the Department of Revenue administers the fund and requires triennial independent audits. This bill specifically targets Claiborne County, the host community of the Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Plant, to address local risks tied to the facility's operations.

Maddy summaryHB 1318 revises how Mississippi allocates payments from the Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Plant’s "nuclear in lieu tax" (a tax paid instead of property taxes). It prioritizes Claiborne County, which hosts the plant and bears associated risks, by requiring the Department of Revenue to adjust annual distributions based on economic impact studies and environmental risk factors. The bill mandates an annual report on collected revenue and sets an expiration date of July 1, 2031. This directly affects Claiborne County’s funding and the Department of Revenue’s administrative process for distributing these payments.

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes amending Mississippi's constitution to adjust the signature requirements for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments. It directly affects individuals or groups gathering signatures to place constitutional initiatives on the ballot. The key change updates Section 273 to require that signatures from any single congressional district cannot exceed the total required signatures divided by the *current* number of congressional districts at the time the petition is filed. This ensures the signature quota per district automatically aligns with the actual number of districts, avoiding outdated calculations from past redistricting.

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 1234 requires Mississippi's State Board of Education to create a mandatory civics curriculum for all public middle and high schools, to be implemented by the 2026-2027 school year. The curriculum must cover five key areas: foundational U.S. government, civic knowledge, critical thinking skills, citizenship responsibilities (like voting and jury duty), and respectful participation in democracy. It specifically mandates teaching constitutional principles, how citizens engage with government, and skills for informed civic action. The bill died in committee on February 4, 2025, so it has not become law.

Maddy summaryThis bill is a concurrent resolution that asks the Library of Congress to replace two existing statues in the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection with new ones honoring Senator Hiram Revels and civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer. Currently, Mississippi's contribution to the collection features statues of Jefferson Davis and James Zachariah George, which the bill proposes to remove to better reflect the state's modern values. The resolution does not change any laws or budgets but serves as a formal request to update the historical figures represented in the Capitol. If approved, the state of Mississippi would officially swap its current statues for these new ones to celebrate the achievements of Revels and Hamer.