Clarke R. Wise

Very proud of our team and especially our Chief @ClarkeWise as he is being recognized for his leading role in keeping us between the ditches and the trains on time.

Grateful to work with such a talented team in Speaker @JasonWhiteMS’s office! Thanks to @MSTop100 for the honor!

We are excited to announce the formation of six new House Select Committees to study key issues facing Mississippi and develop policy recommendations ahead of the 2027 Legislative Session. The newly established committees will focus on Government Efficiency, Property Taxes, Redistricting, Judicial Operations, Consolidation, and Specialty Schools. The Mississippi House of Representatives has consistently demonstrated a willingness to take on complex issues with thoughtful study, serious discussion, and deliberate action. Our Select Committee process allows members to engage stakeholders, examine policy from every angle, and build informed, conservative solutions that serve the people of Mississippi. As we prepare for the next legislative session, these six committees will focus on some of the most important structural and policy matters facing our state. Whether it is ensuring government operates more efficiently, evaluating our tax structure, strengthening our judicial system, or improving how specialized educational institutions serve Mississippi families, these committees will help shape meaningful legislation that reflects our commitment to responsible governance. Following the success of previous Select Committees, which produced substantial legislation and meaningful reforms, the House is once again taking a proactive approach to governing. By beginning this work now, we will enter the next legislative session with clear priorities, well-developed policy solutions, and a continued focus on advancing commonsense conservative leadership for Mississippi.

For the third consecutive year, the House has tried to provide relief for independent pharmacists with PBM reform. However, the Senate has repeatedly taken this legislation too far, placing the cost burden on the shoulders of Mississippi’s patients. The House’s original bill, and the only PBM reform bill that was before the legislature this Session, would have given independent pharmacists 90% of what they have been advocating for the past three years. Unfortunately, the hang-up continues to point to a mandated prescription fee that would have increased annual healthcare expenses by millions for plan sponsors and higher insurance premiums for hardworking Mississippians. The Governor has been working diligently with all interested parties to find an agreement. Lobbyists for the independent pharmacists have been offered numerous compromises but have so far been unwilling to negotiate. Based on these conversations, the Governor has indicated he would be unlikely to sign House Bill 1665 into law in its current form. With the deadline to Concur or Invite Conference today, HB 1665, as amended by the Senate, is dead. To continue the legislature’s efforts on this issue, the House is requesting Governor @tatereeves call a Special Session within this Regular Session to address PBM reform. The House has consistently made efforts to ease the concerns of our local pharmacists, and we are committed to doing so without harming businesses and Mississippians. The House will remain focused on doing the right thing for all Mississippians. We anticipate further negotiations among all parties to reach a solution that is agreeable within the next few days. It is the Mississippi House of Representatives’ goal to consider and pass a bill that takes into account our state’s patients and businesses, in addition to independent pharmacists.

Fixed it.

Today, the House stood firm to revive a teacher pay raise that our hardworking educators deserve. With a unanimous House vote this morning, Senate Bill 2103 was amended to include the House’s original teacher pay proposal of $5,000. Now let me be abundantly clear as there has been a lot of misinformation about the other components that were in House Bill 1126, our original teacher pay bill. Yes, there are additional measures in this bill and those measures include exactly this:

The Mississippi Federation of Republican Women is an absolute force, and their support and voice on issues lead to commonsense, conservative legislation. Today, I was proud to speak to them and remind them their Republican House is doing Republican things! ✅ Open to Religion Act ✅ The SHIELD Act ✅ Ban on the shipment of abortion inducing drugs ✅ Require local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE ✅ Mississippi Fair Banking Act ✅ Foster Youth Earned Benefits Protection for Success Act ✅ Mississippi Keeping Kids Safe Online Act ✅ AND education reforms that reflect the Republican Party’s core values of freedom, opportunity, and accountability

Today, the House passed all House-originating state budget bills. The subcommittee structure of the Appropriations process in the House provides full transparency and budget vetting, allowing members to know exactly what they are voting for. Despite what some media outlets continue to report, all 51 budget bills were double-referred and managed to make their way through the legislative process just fine, and now head to the Senate for consideration. I applaud our Appropriations Chairmen for their thorough evaluation of our state’s budget. We will repeat this process when we receive the remaining half of the budget bills originating in the Senate. Included in today’s budget bills was the K-12 education budget, which includes the Mississippi Student Funding Formula. For the third year in a row, since the creation of the new funding formula, public education has been fully funded. In just three years, the Mississippi Student Funding Formula has now been fully funded more times than the MAEP formula was funded in its 20+ year history. This is the direct result of prioritizing students over systems. As education remains a top priority in the House, Senate Bill 2294 was amended to include the Mississippi Math Act, Literacy Program Expansion, and Financial Literacy — three components from HB 2 that directly build on our education success. The Mississippi Math Act establishes a statewide framework for mathematics instruction, implements screening and intervention tools to improve student math proficiency, and aligns student math skills with college- and career-readiness standards. The Literacy Program Expansion builds on the success of the Literacy Based Promotion Act (3rd-grade reading gate), commonly known as the Mississippi Miracle, by creating a similar program for 4th through 8th grade to maintain and expand students' reading skills. Lastly, the bill requires that Financial Literacy be added to the curriculum as an option for public school students in grades 6 – 8. For 9th–12th grade, a single half-credit in Financial Literacy must be completed before graduation. When it comes to education or our state budget, the House will not accept the current way of doing things just because that’s the way it has always been done. We all know, when nothing changes, nothing changes. We will continue to seek opportunities that build on our education gains, prioritizing the potential of the next generation of Mississippians.

Three key pieces of legislation have passed the House floor and are heading to the Senate for consideration: Teacher Pay Raise and PERS Tier 5 Corrections, Mobile Sports Betting and PERS Funding, and PBM Reform. The House will continue to listen to constituents and pursue purposeful legislation that prioritizes Mississippians. We have two months left in this Legislation Session, and much more to accomplish.

Thank you, Governor @tatereeves !

The recent winter storm has had a sweeping impact across our state, with North to Central Mississippi taking the greatest hit. Many are without power, and numerous roads are blocked, but crews are working diligently. Thank you to these crews that have been working tirelessly. Also, please pray for the two lives we learned to have lost as of the Governor’s most recent update. Mississippi is no stranger to severe weather, and every time we have been impacted, we have proven to come together and build our communities back stronger than before. Please pray for Mississippi.

Mornings with Richard Cross; Guest Host Dave Hughes Monday Lineup… 7:20am- Scott Simmons Chief Communications Officer MEMA @MSEMA 7:35am- Richard Cross Host Mornings with Richard Cross @MorningsCross 8:05am- Julia Wise Senior Strategic Communicator Tennessee Valley Authority @TVA_Julia @TVANews 8:35am- Kelly Bennett Multimedia Journalist SuperTalk MS News @KellyBe23045808 @SuperTalkNews 📻- @supertalk 📺- bit.ly/3RsQqr1 📱- apple.co/3RceQ7Y

@supertalk @MSEMA @MorningsCross All-Star lineup this morning! @TVA_Julia

It's School Choice Week. But the education establishment doesn’t like private run education. Union VP Janelle Hinds asks, “do we need more choice?” We do! Government-run schools fail kids. Competition inspires schools like @SuccessCharters to do better.

HB 2 has taken its first major step in the legislative process by passing out of the House Education Committee! I am proud of our committee members who voted in favor of giving Mississippi families real education options. The Mississippi Education Freedom Act will next head to the House floor where we will debate prioritizing a child’s education needs. Mississippi is one step closer to joining 17 other states that promote parent power and bolster future generations.

Thank you @EDSecMcMahon and @realDonaldTrump for taking notice of HB 2. We are making big strides in Mississippi. The House is proud to have your support for the Mississippi Education Freedom Act. @POTUS @WhiteHouse

Over the last decade, our state has demonstrated that thoughtful, student-focused reform can deliver real results. Once ranked near the bottom nationally, Mississippi now leads the nation in reading gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a transformation widely referred to as the Mississippi Miracle. The Mississippi Education Freedom Act builds on that success. It expands opportunity, uses proven instructional strategies, and empowers parents to decide what is best for their children. This legislation prioritizes freedom, results, and Mississippi’s future workforce. Parents understand their children’s needs better than any system ever could. For that reason, HB 2 establishes Magnolia Student Accounts, enabling families to access private schools, specialized instruction, therapies, and other educational services that best fit their child’s needs. HB 2 ensures that all Mississippi families, regardless of income or zip code, have real choices and the freedom to pursue what works best for their children, while prioritizing low- and middle-income families.  HB 2 also expands educational opportunities by removing barriers to high-quality public school options while fully preserving local school boards' decision-making power to accept students who want to transfer from other districts. Education policy should be judged by results: whether students graduate ready for careers, college, or military service. The Mississippi Education Freedom Act strengthens financial literacy and expands career-focused learning. HB 2 supports leadership development, responsibility, and preparation for military and civilian careers. These reforms are a long-term investment in Mississippi’s economic future. Common-sense, conservative education policy coupled with the hard work of educators has led to the recent successes we now enjoy. HB 2 continues this momentum by expanding freedom, building on success, and investing in Mississippi’s future.

This is the year for school choice in Mississippi. Let’s get it done!

Barbour, Bryant, Duff headline broad coalition of business leaders in support of universal school choice - Magnolia Tribune magnoliatribune.com/2026/01/07/bar…

Due to the House's priority to rewrite the public school funding formula in 2024 and retire the archaic MAEP formula, the Mississippi Legislature has fully funded the state’s public education funding formula for two years in a row. Over the last 10 years, lawmakers have increased public education spending by almost $1 billion, even as public school enrollment has decreased. Consequently, per student spending has grown more than 10% even when adjusted for inflation. The only way a public school district loses money with school choice is if a student willfully chooses to leave their school and instead attend a private school or public school in another district, in which case that district has one less student to serve. This is similar to a student’s family physically moving to a different district, except that under school choice, the district retains the local funding associated with that student’s education. Competition should drive public schools to improve so that they can retain students and the state funding that comes with them.