The Mississippi Legislature ended its 2025 session without settling on a budget for the next fiscal year and lawmakers were back in Jackson this week trying to hammer out a budget before the July 1 deadline.
A DeSoto County state senator believes that a budget will be agreed on well before the deadline as state Sen. Kevin Blackwell (R-Southaven) recently wrote on his social media page.
Blackwell, who serves as a subcommittee chairman for Appropriations, said negotiations have been going on this past week in Jackson to resolve differences and agree on a budget that would be presented in a special session of the state Legislature. It’s a $7 billion budget with about 100 budget bills to provide funding for essential government operations and services. Blackwell hopes the proactive initiative of doing the negotiations now will help quickly resolve the differences when the special session is called.
State Sen. Kevin Blackwell (R-Southaven)
“I’m pleased to report that after this week’s meetings, the budget is now 95 percent complete,” Blackwell said. “It includes funding for state agencies, institutions of higher learning, and other critical public services that directly impact Mississippians.”
Blackwell is confident differences will be settled well ahead of Gov. Tate Reeves’ call for that special session. If no agreement is reached by July 1, Mississippi could be facing a government shutdown.
Differences between Republican leaders in the House and Senate were largely blamed for the lack of a budget bill when the regular session ended April 3. The disagreements were particularly over the approach to income tax elimination. The House passed a version of the tax cut bill that accelerated the elimination timeline, a move the Senate viewed as politically opportunistic, leading to a breakdown in budget negotiations.
Gov. Tate Reeves is confident that a budget bill will be settled before July 1, but had wanted something done by April 30. That obviously has not happened.
With the discussions apparently moving the process forward, Blackwell expects settlement soon so Reeves can call the special session and put next year’s state budget in motion.
“By law, we have until July 1 to pass a final budget—but I’m confident we’ll finish well before that deadline,” Blackwell said.
Meanwhile, the delay in finalizing the budget creates uncertainty for state agencies, colleges, universities, and local school districts moving forward past June as they try to plan for the upcoming fiscal year.
