Democrat Rep. Rickey Thompson says school choice, PERS and health insurance reform are priorities for upcoming session
Mississippi lawmakers start 2026 session next week
TUPELO, MISS. (WCBI) – As he prepares for his fifth legislative session, District 16 Representative Rickey Thompson believes school choice will be front and center.
Representative Thompson said public school districts stand to lose a lot if tax dollars can be diverted to help pay for private school vouchers.
“What you got to look at is when you take tax dollars and send them to private school, that is a no-no; when you go to private school, you should be able to pay your way anyway. If you can go to a private school, fine, but don’t take tax dollars and fund someone else to go to a private school,” Rep. Thompson said.
Thompson said improving health insurance access and affordability will also be a top priority.
“When you look at the way the health insurance is, we having a lot of people with new, big ugly bill, it will make it where they have to pay more for health insurance so it will mean more uninsured people so when you look at rural hospitals, it affects them, if you don’t have insurance, you have a lot of uncompensated care. You have to look at both sides of the issue to see how it works for the state,” Thompson said.
Regarding the state retirement system, known as PERS, Thompson said some changes are in order. During the last session, lawmakers overhauled PERS, requiring 35 years of service for full retirement benefits.
“When you look at the stress and everything, it is a lot on the body and a lot to deal with. We need to make it so that when they come into the profession, they are taken care of, so putting in extra time is not a good thing. We need to make it better for everyone who chooses to go into those fields,” he said.
Another big change, for the first time in 13 years, Republicans won’t have a super majority in the Senate. Representative Thompson said it will help with negotiations.
“We have a little edge to get something done, hopefully we will work across the aisle and make things happen for the state of Mississippi,” Rep. Thompson said.
Representative Thompson is also hopeful lawmakers will look at another increase in teacher pay, a boost in funding for infrastructure maintenance, and restoring the ballot initiative for voters.
