SC 518 Mississippi Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Constitution; amend to provide that the people have the right to propose new statutes and amend or repeal existing statutes.

This bill proposes a constitutional amendment to give Mississippi voters the direct power to propose new laws or amend/repeal existing laws through citizen initiatives. It would require petitions signed by 10% of active registered voters (with limits on signatures per congressional district) and mandate that sponsors identify funding sources to cover implementation costs without reducing state funding. The initiative process would be restricted from affecting constitutional amendments, life rights, retirement systems, or local laws, and would require fiscal analysis to appear on ballots. If approved by voters, it would allow citizens to bypass the legislature on specific policy changes, with up to three initiatives per ballot and a 90-day notice rule for election placement.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Jan 2026
Senate Passage
Feb 2026
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 19, 2026 Last action Feb 11, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

As Introduced Current version · 3 edits
MINOR
This bill adds a committee substitute version of a constitutional amendment proposal that establishes an initiative process, allowing Mississippi voters to propose and vote on laws independently of the legislature. The text was reformatted from a simple resolution format to a structured committee substitute with page breaks and official markings, while the substantive policy content regarding initiative procedures remains consistent with the original version.
Scope change
No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; the content remains the same but is now formatted as a committee substitute document with official legislative markings and page numbering.
TECHNICAL

The document format changed from a simple resolution layout to a committee substitute format with official page headers, footers, and line numbering for legislative tracking purposes.

Removed the original title page header and replaced it with committee substitute markings including bill number, session information, and official status indicators.

Reorganized the text structure by adding numbered paragraphs and subsections to clarify the initiative process provisions while maintaining identical substantive content.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
3
Key actions
1
Committee
1
Feb 3, 2026
Upper · Passed
Title Suff Adopted Comm Sub
upper
Jan 19, 2026
Committee
Referred To Elections
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Jeremy England
Jeremy England
RRepublican
MS
51