Legislative Update 45

February 08, 2009

Dear Friends,

Pardon Bill on its Way to the Senate

Tuesday was a big day for those of us who want to see convicted murderers and rapists serve out their full sentences. On the floor of the House, I amended House Bill 2, a bill to reauthorize the Parole Board, to include a provision that would require the Parole Board to make and up or down decision on all pardon requests before a governor grants those requests. You can read the text of my amendment here.

I want to thank the friends and family members of Adrienne Klasky who have been a constant source of information and support in this endeavor. I also want to thank the countless victims, survivors, shelters, and activists who have contacted legislators, helped draft bills, and welcomed me to their meetings. I also want to thank those of you from Pascagoula who have offered your prayers and support since this issue began grabbing headlines in the summer. This was OUR bill and Tuesday was a victory for all of us.

Because the House passed the amendment and the bill, it will now be considered in the Senate. I’ll continue to work on this issue until we get a law passed that gives us some assurance that no Mississippi community will have to deal with the premature release of a violent felon. I know you’ll do your part.

Tuesday marked the deadline for bills brought in the House and Senate to be passed out of committee. I was fortunate to have 9 bills survive this first deadline. Two of those bills have already passed out of the House and will now be considered by the Senate. The first of these measures is a bicycle safety law that will help encourage more people to be active and enjoy the natural beauty our state has to offer. The second bill would exempt those people who are permanently disabled from jury duty.

In addition to bills I have sponsored, I was pleased to see that a bill containing voter identification passed out of the Apportionment and Election Committee. Hopefully this means that we are moving closer to a voter identification law. This issue continues to be a priority for me and I’ll be sure to let you know what happens.

Of course, there were far more bills that died in committee than were passed. Hopefully, the best of these measures will be reconsidered in future sessions or inserted into existing bills in the form of an amendment.

I want to thank those of you who brought bills to my attention during this process. Many of you provided key information that helped me make decisions in committee. Please continue to let me know when issues are important to you or your business. For those of you who haven’t contacted me, please remember that this is your process and your feedback is always welcome.

House Web Casting

Don’t forget that you can follow floor debates by going to www.mpbonline.org and clicking on “House video”.

How to Contact Me

If you have any questions or concerns, I invite you to call me on my cell phone at 228-326-7649 or e-mail me at bjones@house.ms.gov. Please feel free to forward this report to folks in our district and let me know if I need to add someone to my list.

I will also be posting my updates and House related news on my campaign website at www.electbrandonjones.com.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve.

Brandon