Brandon Jones - House District 111

Dear Friend,

Thursday was another deadline day in Jackson as bills that survived the committee process had to pass on the floor of their original chamber by midnight or die. The House and Senate frantically worked to meet the deadline as a cold weather system closed in on most of the state. After meeting this deadline, both the House and Senate adjourned for the weekend around 3 o’clock Thursday afternoon.

House Passes Insurance Policyholder’s Bill of Rights for Second Time in Three Years

On Wednesday, the House overwhelmingly approved a modified version of the Policyholder’s Bill of Rights that passed in 2008. This bill would require insurance companies to include a copy of the Department of Insurance’s Bill of Rights with each insurance policy sold in the state, would require companies to give thirty days notice before raising premiums by more than 10%, and would require that similarly situated policyholder’s be treated equally. The bill also codified various court rulings which place the initial burden of proof on insurance companies in cases involving all-perils or all-risk policies.

As a co-author of both the 2008 and 2010 Bill of Rights, I can say that the bill we passed this week is a step in the right direction. Including the Department’s list of rights with each policy will give consumers a better idea of what they are buying and prevent confusion when disaster strikes. The provisions requiring notice of premium increases and equal treatment of policyholders are common sense protections that should have been adopted a long time ago.

I encourage you to contact your senator and urge them to support this bill in the Senate.

Domestic Violence Bills Move to the Senate

Several measures to address domestic violence passed the House with broad bi-partisan support. House Bill 1309, a bill that would strengthen Mississippi’s stalking laws and House Bill 769, a bill that would include children under our domestic violence laws and require a 24 hour cooling off period, both passed the House overwhelmingly and are now on their way to the Senate. Same goes for House Bill 1359, a bill that seeks to protect people who are being threatened or harassed at the workplace.

On a related note, our bill to require the Parole Board to make an up or down recommendation before a Governor grants a pardon (HB 155) passed the House by a vote of 115 to 4.

There is no way we would have had this success without men and women across the state voicing their concern about what is going on in the homes and courthouses of Mississippi. Thanks.

School Start Date

I have heard from many of you who are concerned about the amendment that was added to House Bill 624 that would mandate a September 1 school start date. This bill was killed in the House Education Committee only to be revived this week on the floor during an unrelated Education debate.

While I am open to any discussion about ways to improve education, I voted against the amendment because of the concerns I have heard from educators and parents who are worried that a mandated start time would shorten the time students and teachers are allowed for holidays and have a negative impact on some of our advanced programs and extra-curricular activities. Another major concern of mine is that a mandated calendar takes flexibility away from local school districts.

Those who share my opinion were unable to defeat the bill in the House and the bill now goes to the Senate Education Committee for consideration.

How To Contact Me

I invite you to call me on my cell phone at 228-326-7649 or e-mail me at bjones@house.ms.gov. For real time updates, you can also follow me on Twitter under the user name "brandoncjones". If you haven't heard of Twitter, you can check out my page at http://twitter.com/brandoncjones or by following the link on my website. 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. You can follow legislative proceedings by going to www.ls.state.ms.us.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve,

Brandon