Sen. Albert Butler

Maddy summaryThis resolution formally recognizes the Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band from Coldwater, Mississippi, as the 2025 recipient of the Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Traditional Arts. It honors their 90-year preservation of Mississippi's fife and drum musical tradition - rooted in African American cultural history - and their community work educating youth through performances and recordings like their 2023 album *Evolution of Fife and Drum*. The resolution is purely ceremonial, with no policy changes or direct effects on constituents or government operations. It serves as a symbolic tribute to the band's cultural contributions, as adopted by the Mississippi Senate on January 30, 2025.

Maddy summaryThis resolution (SR 15) formally recognizes Jackson, Mississippi musician Eddie Cotton, Jr., as the 2025 recipient of the Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Music. It acknowledges his career as a Gospel-blues artist, his Mississippi roots, and his national and international performances. The resolution serves solely as a ceremonial tribute from the Mississippi Senate, with no new policies or funding attached. It honors Cotton's contributions to music and Mississippi's cultural heritage through official Senate recognition.

Maddy summaryThis Senate resolution (SR 16) formally recognizes Robert Poore, a Mississippi landscape architect with a 36-year career, as the recipient of the 2025 Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Visual Arts and Landscape Architecture. It honors his work designing notable projects like the Crosby Arboretum and Mississippi Art Garden, as well as his contributions to landscape architecture in Mississippi. The resolution serves as a ceremonial tribute from the Mississippi Senate to Poore's professional achievements and community impact.

Maddy summaryThis is a ceremonial resolution (SR 18), not a policy bill. It formally recognizes filmmaker Tate Taylor of Natchez, Mississippi, as the 2025 recipient of the Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Motion Picture. The resolution commends Taylor for his film work (including *The Help* and *Get On Up*), his economic impact on Mississippi through filming locations and job creation, and his community contributions like restoring historic sites and supporting local businesses. It has no legal effect or policy changes - it simply offers official Senate recognition.

Maddy summaryThis is a concurrent resolution (not a bill with policy changes), adopted by the Mississippi legislature to honor the centennial birthdays of two Mississippi icons. It formally recognizes the legacies of blues musician B.B. King and civil rights leader Medgar Evers on what would have been their 100th birthdays. The resolution directs that it be presented to their surviving descendants, museums, and historical institutions, including the B.B. King Museum and Medgar Evers Home National Monument. As a symbolic gesture, it has no binding effect or direct impact on any laws or individuals.

Maddy summaryThis bill seeks to restore the right to vote to Edward Carter, Sr., a resident of Claiborne County, Mississippi, who had lost his voting rights due to a 1998 embezzlement conviction. The legislation states that Carter has served his sentence and has behaved as a law-abiding citizen since his release in 1999. If passed, the act would officially reinstate his eligibility to participate in elections. The bill has not yet become law as it died in committee in May 2024.

Maddy summaryThis bill seeks to restore the right to vote to Stanley Barnes, a resident of Claiborne County who was previously disqualified from voting due to a 1990 murder conviction. The legislation notes that Barnes has been on unsupervised parole since 2000 and has since behaved as a law-abiding citizen. If passed, the act would officially reinstate his eligibility to cast ballots in elections. The bill did not advance beyond the committee stage and is not currently active.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates the Mississippi Adequate Education Program by changing how the base cost of educating a student is calculated and how funds are distributed to school districts. It requires the base student cost to increase annually by 25% of the previous year's cost, adjusted for inflation, while also mandating that 90% of state contributions be spent on teacher salaries and classroom resources rather than administrative roles. The legislation sets specific rules for funding charter schools, requiring them to return prorated funds if students return to their home districts, and ensures that no district receives less state funding in 2025 than it did in 2024. Ultimately, the bill aims to standardize the formula used to determine the amount of money each school district receives to support its students.

Maddy summaryThis bill appropriates state funds to support the Mississippi Office of Student Financial Aid for the 2025 fiscal year, covering scholarships, loans, and grants for eligible students. It establishes specific funding priorities, such as reserving money for new optometry students and ensuring that the FAITH Scholarship Program receives a designated portion of federal and special source funds. The legislation also sets rules for fund allocation, including a preference for the Mississippi Industries for the Blind in purchasing equipment and a limit preventing students from receiving aid from multiple undergraduate grant programs simultaneously. Additionally, the bill requires the agency to submit detailed annual reports on award amounts and recipient data while mandating that official transcripts cannot be issued to students with unpaid loan balances.

Maddy summaryThis Mississippi bill appropriates $20 million from the state's Capital Expense Fund to support the construction and renovation of the CARES Center, a facility for children and youth psychiatric treatment. The funds are designated for a subgrant to Canopy Children's Solutions, which must agree to reserve at least 33 beds for patients under state care and meet specific health regulatory standards. To protect state investment, the legislation requires Canopy to provide a financial security interest in the facility and allows the state to recoup the funds if the facility fails to meet standards for three consecutive months or ceases operations. Additionally, the bill explicitly prohibits using these funds to pay employee premium payments and releases the state from any future obligation to maintain the center if the agreement is breached.