Sen. Kevin Blackwell

Maddy summarySB 2010, a proposed Mississippi bill, requires health insurance plans to establish a clear, transparent process for patients or doctors to request exceptions to step therapy protocols for CRF-COPD (chronic respiratory failure due to COPD). It mandates that insurers respond to standard exception requests within 72 hours and urgent life-threatening cases within one business day, covering treatments when criteria like treatment ineffectiveness, harm, or risk of irreversible consequences are met. The bill also requires insurers to publish this process online and limit documentation requests to only necessary medical information. The bill died in committee on February 3, 2026, and never became law.

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes amending the Mississippi Constitution to require all elected officials to be natural-born citizens of the United States. It would add this requirement to existing qualifications for positions including the governor, legislators, state auditors, judges (all levels), secretary of state, attorney general, and justice court judges. The bill specifically amends constitutional sections governing eligibility for these offices, replacing or adding "natural born citizen" where currently unspecified. If passed, this would change the citizenship requirement for all these elected roles, though it does not apply to appointed positions. The proposal was referred to committee but died there in 2026.

Maddy summarySB 2008 would have prohibited Mississippi health insurers and managed-care companies from discriminating against accredited durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers, such as those providing wheelchairs or oxygen equipment. It required these insurers to reimburse DME suppliers at least at the state Medicaid rate for the full duration of a patient's valid prescription, paid monthly without interruption. The bill directly affected DME suppliers, patients needing ongoing equipment, and insurers by setting a minimum reimbursement standard. However, the bill died in committee on February 3, 2026, and never became law.

Maddy summarySB 2009 would require an elected official to resign their current position if they qualify as a candidate for another public office whose term begins during their existing term. This applies directly to state or local elected officials seeking a new office with overlapping terms. The bill's key mechanism is automatically treating candidacy as a resignation, creating a vacancy that would be filled per existing laws. The bill died in committee in February 2026 and would have taken effect July 1, 2026, if enacted.

Maddy summarySB 2020 would require Mississippi counties to keep any money paid above the taxes owed when selling land at tax sales, depositing it into the county general fund. Landowners who lose property to tax sale would be prohibited from requesting this excess money back, even if they later redeem the property. The bill, which died in committee in February 2026, aimed to change how counties handle overbids in tax sales but did not become law. It directly affects landowners facing tax sale proceedings and counties managing tax sale proceeds.

Maddy summarySB 2033 would restore Medicaid reimbursement for inpatient hospital services provided to children under 21 at a specific border city university-affiliated pediatric teaching hospital. It deletes a 2024 repeal that had ended this payment requirement, ensuring the hospital continues to receive state Medicaid funds for eligible pediatric care. This change directly affects the designated hospital and its patients, maintaining existing coverage without altering broader Medicaid rules. The bill died in committee on February 3, 2026, and would not have changed other Medicaid reimbursement structures.

Maddy summarySB 2078 removes the standard two-year statute of limitations for prosecuting sexual battery in Mississippi, meaning prosecutors can file charges at any time regardless of when the crime occurred. This directly affects victims of sexual battery, prosecutors, and defendants in such cases, particularly when the accused's identity is later discovered through DNA evidence from biological samples. The bill amends Mississippi Code § 99-1-5 to explicitly exempt sexual battery from the general two-year limitation period, aligning it with other serious offenses like murder and rape. The bill died in committee on February 3, 2026, and was never enacted.

Maddy summarySB 2090 establishes a standardized 7-day in-person early voting period for all elections (primary, general, runoff, special, municipal) in Mississippi, starting the Monday one week before the election and ending at 5:00 p.m. on the Monday before election day. It requires voting to occur only at the county election office during regular business hours and on one Saturday, mandates public notice of voting hours in three locations 8 days in advance, and maintains the same voting procedures as election day. The bill affects all registered voters in Mississippi by changing when and where they can vote early in person, and county election offices by standardizing their early voting operations. The bill died in committee on February 3, 2026, and was never enacted.

Maddy summarySB 2025 would have required Mississippi Medicaid and health insurers to ensure equal coverage for nonopioid pain medications compared to opioids. Specifically, it mandated that nonopioid drugs approved by the FDA for pain treatment could not be listed as "less covered" than opioids on preferred drug lists, and insurers must develop and submit plans covering at least two nonopioid drug options and three non-drug pain treatment alternatives (like physical therapy). Insurers would also need to publicly share these plans and avoid stricter prior authorization rules for nonopioid treatments than for opioids. However, the bill died in committee on February 3, 2026, and never took effect.

Maddy summarySB 2091 would move Mississippi's primary election date for statewide, legislative, county, and county district offices from its current timing to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June. It amends Mississippi Code sections 23-15-191 (governing primaries) and 21-9-17 (governing municipal elections) to implement this change, requiring primaries to be held no later than 160 days before general elections. The bill was introduced in 2026 but died in committee on February 3, 2026, and did not advance to become law.