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H. B. No. 596 *HR43/R1586* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
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To: Public Health and Human
Services
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representative Summers
HOUSE BILL NO. 596
AN ACT TO CREATE THE MISSISSIPPI CHILD POVERTY TASK FORCE; TO 1
PROVIDE FOR THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE TASK FORCE; TO PROVIDE THE 2
DUTIES OF THE TASK FORCE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 4
SECTION 1. (1) There is created the Mississippi Child 5
Poverty Task Force to review and make recommendations on how to 6
reduce overall child poverty in Mississippi and how to reduce the 7
number of Mississippi households that are asset limited, income 8
constrained, employed. 9
(2) The task force shall be composed of the following 10
members: 11
(a) Two (2) members of the Senate, to be appointed by 12
the Lieutenant Governor, with one (1) such member being a Democrat 13
and one (1) being a Republican; 14
(b) Two (2) members of the House of Representatives to 15
be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with 16
one (1) such member being a Democrat and one (1) being a 17
Republican; 18
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(c) One (1) representative from the Children's 19
Foundation of Mississippi; 20
(d) One (1) representative from Springboard to 21
Opportunities; 22
(e) One (1) representative from the United Way; 23
(f) The Executive Director of the Mississippi 24
Development Authority, or his or her designee; and 25
(g) The Executive Director of Accelerate Mississippi, 26
or his or her designee. 27
(3) The duties of the task force shall include the 28
following: 29
(a) Identifying and evaluating poverty's root causes 30
and contributing factors in Mississippi, the needs of those in 31
poverty in Mississippi, and the effectiveness of efforts on all 32
levels that have been undertaken or are currently being undertaken 33
to address poverty; and developing strategies for supporting or 34
otherwise improving the efficacy of those efforts, including 35
programmatic effectiveness and administrative efficiencies; 36
(b) Identifying and evaluating the nature and scope of 37
poverty's impact on various locations and communities throughout 38
Mississippi and what response actions would be most effective in 39
helping each of those impacted areas, and developing strategies 40
for implementing those response actions; 41
(c) Identifying and evaluating what financial and other 42
resources are available on all levels to combat poverty in 43
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Mississippi, and developing strategies for securing, coordinating, 44
augmenting, and deploying those resources; 45
(d) Identifying and evaluating key barriers to upward 46
mobility among populations in poverty in Mississippi, and 47
developing strategies for overcoming these barriers, focusing on 48
improved economic development and opportunities for upward 49
mobility among families and individuals experiencing poverty in 50
Mississippi; 51
(e) Developing strategies for increasing public 52
awareness of poverty in Mississippi, its causes and effects, the 53
resources available to those impacted by it, and the actions that 54
can be taken to combat it; 55
(f) Developing routine communication and 56
information-sharing protocols between members of the task force 57
and stakeholders on all levels; 58
(g) Identifying key stakeholders in impacted areas and 59
performing outreach to ensure stakeholders are informed, educated, 60
and empowered. Stakeholder outreach will include, but is not 61
limited to, community leaders, partner organizations, tribal 62
governments, local government officials, and other elected 63
officials representing the impacted areas; 64
(h) Performing outreach to the general public regarding 65
poverty in Mississippi and the work of the task force; 66
(i) Creating measurable goals and objectives along an 67
established timeline; 68
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(j) Recommending changes in Mississippi law and 69
policy-related changes that can be implemented by governmental and 70
nongovernmental agencies, relevant to fighting poverty in 71
Mississippi; 72
(k) Examining proposals to create, expand or strengthen 73
tax proposals that have an impact on children; and 74
(l) Meeting with Alluvial Collective officials to offer 75
strategies to acknowledge and address inequalities in policy 76
decision-making. 77
(4) (a) Appointments to the task force shall be made within 78
thirty (30) days after the effective date of this act. Within 79
fifteen (15) days thereafter on a day to be designated jointly by 80
the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Lieutenant 81
Governor, the task force shall meet and organize by selecting from 82
its membership a chair and a vice chair. The vice chair shall 83
also serve as secretary and shall be responsible for keeping all 84
records of the task force. A majority of the members of the task 85
force shall constitute a quorum. In the selection of its officers 86
and the adoption of rules, resolutions and reports, an affirmative 87
vote of a majority of the task force shall be required. All 88
members shall be notified in writing of all meetings, and those 89
notices shall be mailed at least fifteen (15) days before the date 90
on which a meeting is to be held. 91
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ST: Mississippi Child Poverty Task Force;
create.
(b) The task force shall meet at least once quarterly 92
and provide quarterly reports to the Legislature on its 93
activities. 94
(c) The task force shall make a final report of its 95
findings and recommendations, including any recommended 96
legislation, to the Legislature not later than July 1, 2027, at 97
which time the task force will be dissolved. 98
(5) Members of the task force shall receive no compensation 99
for their service on the task force, but may receive reimbursement 100
for mileage and actual expenses as provided in Section 25-3-41, 101
Mississippi Code of 1972, to the extent that funds are available 102
for that purpose. 103
(6) The Mississippi Development Authority shall provide the 104
staff and other support necessary for the task force to perform 105
its duties. 106
(7) To effectuate the purposes of this act, any department, 107
division, board, bureau, committee, institution or agency of the 108
state, or any political subdivision thereof, shall, at the request 109
of the chairman of the task force, provide the facilities, 110
assistance, information and data needed to enable the task force 111
to carry out its duties. 112
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 113
and after its passage. 114