Sen. Charles Younger, R-Columbus, introduced a bill that would "clarify that religious leaders are not required to perform same-sex marriages" last week. The bill does not change any part of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act but instead adds the definition of a "religious leader" and clarifies that the government shall not substantially burden a religious leader's exercise of religion "by requiring him to perform or solemnize any marriage inconsistent with a sincerely held religious belief that marriage is the union of one man and one woman."

Rob Hill, director of the Human Rights Campaign Mississippi and a former Methodist pastor in Jackson, said these types of bills are called "pastor protection bills" aimed at "protecting" clergy from performing same-sex marriage ceremonies. Hill said such a bill isn't necessary, however, because the First Amendment protects any pastor or religious leader from performing a ritual he or she does not want to perform.

"When you think about what we have on the Legislature's plate this year with the fiscal shortfall, issues like this should be low on their list of things to do," Hill said. "Certainly elevating this stigma that already exists for LGBT people in Mississippi is unnecessary, and it's not right."

Hill said the bill is clearly targeting the LGBT community in Mississippi, and he said he hopes the lawmakers will not even bring the bill to a vote.

Foster Care Funds

Mississippi Children's Home Services visited the Capitol last week to advocate for full funding of the new Mississippi Division of Family and Children's Services. MCHS operates in all 84 counties in the state, working oftentimes directly with state departments. MCHS Executive Director John Damon, said giving the new division, which controls the state's foster care system, $34 million is a huge first step closer to raising Mississippi's bar of excellence in child care.

"We want to make sure that this year children are a priority in Mississippi," Damon told the Jackson Free Press. "This is our one moment in time to get this right."

The initial funding for the Division of Family and Children's Services will help create the infrastructure that the state's system lacks. At Jackson State University's Mississippi Child Welfare Institute Conference in January, Executive Director David Chandler said the state may not meet a court-ordered deadline to improve conditions without more funding and more than 200 new staff members. A federal judge set the latest deadline for review in the ongoing "Olivia Y" case, a class-action lawsuit brought in 2004 on behalf of the children in the system, for May 15, 2016.

With increased funding from the Legislature, Chandler said he will be able to begin to hire the necessary case workers and social workers—246 positions in total—to get the division back on track.

Fiscal-year 2015 data show that 7,557 children are in the state's foster-care system, and the number of Mississippi kids in foster care has steadily grown since 2011.

Damon said that infrastructure needs to be in place with the division before it can attract and retain the staff required to keep the system going.

"We don't want to be the first state in the union that has to go into federal receivership," Damon said. "So this particular window in time is critical for people to realize that investing in our kids, investing in our system (is important)."

Legislature Approves $274 Million in Bonds for Large-Scale Projects

With little debate or protest from either political party, the Mississippi Senate and House of Representatives passed $274 million in bonds alone to help two large-scale developments in the state during a one-day special session last Thursday. Gov. Phil Bryant signed the bill into law on Monday.

One of those projects is a Continental Tire factory in western Hinds County. The other project is a shipyard in Gulfport. Together, the two would create 3,500 jobs. In Hinds County it would mean 2,500 jobs by 2022. The Gulfport shipyard project would create 1,000 jobs by the end of 2018. The average annual salary of the jobs created will be $40,000.

The two projects would cost Mississippi taxpayers $78,285.71 for each job the projects would create.

Gov. Phil Bryant called for a special session of the Legislature on Feb. 3, and the bill, which started in the House Ways and Means Committee, sailed through the Legislature by 3 p.m. Thursday.

The chairman of the committee, Rep. Jeff Smith, R-Columbus, told his committee that timing on passing the legislation is important because contracts needed to be signed with the companies on Monday.

Rep. Deborah Dixon, D-Raymond, whose district includes the Hinds County tire factory, said she was involved in talks for the past two years. "I appreciate getting it in my district because, overall, I have never had anything in my district," Dixon told the Jackson Free Press. "I need jobs in my area."

The governor and the Mississippi Development Authority have all been in secret discussions with the companies since 2014, House Ways and Means Chairman Jeff Smith, R-Columbus, said today.

Before approving it, the committee amended the bill to include provisions for local contractors and "Disadvantaged Business Enterprises" to bid on construction work for the tire plant in Hinds County.

The 196-page bill passed the House 118-3. Rep. Joel Bomgar, R-Madison, was among three Republicans who voted no on the measure. "As a chamber, are we willing to give that exact same deal to a small business who's willing to do this, too?" he asked.

Chairman Smith's response to Bomgar was (somewhat) biblical, saying: "You have not because you ask not."

The bill states the Hinds County project must create 500 jobs by 2019; otherwise, the state can void the contract and get all the money back, Smith told the House. In the Ways and Means Committee meeting, Smith said the plant's workforce would reflect Hinds County demographics and employ a majority of "minority" workers.

On Jan. 18, the Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted to rezone 264 acres to increase the buffer zone between the site and homes. Under the agreement, $20 million would go back to the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, and the Clinton Public School District would receive $951,000 for their land loss.

The Associated Press reported that the head of Continental AG's North American tire business says the company is likely to make a mix of heavy truck and passenger vehicle tires at the $1.45 billion factory it plans near Clinton.

Gov. Phil Bryant welcomed Edison Chouest Offshore, the company that will run the Gulfport project which plans to invest $68 million to build a 1,000-worker shipyard, the Associated Press reported.

For more coverage of the Mississippi Legislature visit jfp.ms/msleg.