KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

Back to Mississippi

SB2921 • 2026

Ballot initiative; require legislature to honor the intent and substance of citizen initative.

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 23-17-29, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE THE STATE LEGISLATURE TO HONOR THE INTENT AND SUBSTANCE OF BALLOT INITIATIVES PROPOSED BY CITIZENS WHEN DRAFTING AN ALTERNATIVE INITIATIVE TO APPEAR CONCURRENTLY ON THE BALLOT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

Elections
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
DeBar
Last action
2026-02-03
Official status
Dead
Effective date
** See Tex

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details about specific voting requirements beyond honoring the intent and substance of ballot initiatives when drafting alternatives.

Ballot Initiative; Honoring Citizen Proposals

This bill requires the Mississippi Legislature to respect and follow the main ideas of citizen-proposed ballot initiatives when creating their own versions for voters to consider.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the legislature to honor the original intent and substance of a citizen-initiated ballot proposal when drafting an alternative version.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Citizens who propose ballot initiatives
  • The Mississippi State Legislature

Terms To Know

Ballot initiative
A proposal that citizens can put on a ballot to change laws or the constitution.
Legislative alternative
An official version of a citizen-proposed ballot initiative created by the state legislature.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass and was not signed into law.
  • It is unclear how this would affect existing laws or future initiatives.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-03 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    02/03 (S) Died In Committee

  2. 2026-01-19 Mississippi Legislative Bill Status System

    01/19 (S) Referred To Elections

Official Summary Text

Ballot initiative; require legislature to honor the intent and substance of citizen initative.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
S. B. No. 2921 *SS26/R826* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
26/SS26/R826
PAGE 1 (ab\tb)

To: Elections
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) DeBar

SENATE BILL NO. 2921

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 23-17-29, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO REQUIRE THE STATE LEGISLATURE TO HONOR THE INTENT AND SUBSTANCE 2
OF BALLOT INITIATIVES PROPOSED BY CITIZENS WHEN DRAFTING AN 3
ALTERNATIVE INITIATIVE TO APPEAR CONCURRENTLY ON THE BALLOT; AND 4
FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 6
SECTION 1. Section 23-17-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 7
amended as follows: 8
23-17-29. The Secretary of State shall file with the Clerk 9
of the House and the Secretary of the Senate on the first day of 10
the regular legislative session the complete text of each 11
initiative for which a petition has been certified and filed with 12
him. A constitutional initiative may be adopted or amended by a 13
majority vote of each house of the Legislature. If the initiative 14
is adopted, amended or rejected by the Legislature; or if no 15
action is taken within four (4) months of the date that the 16
initiative is filed with the Legislature, the Secretary of State 17
shall place the initiative on the ballot for the next statewide 18
general election. If the Legislature amends an initiative, the 19
S. B. No. 2921 *SS26/R826* ~ OFFICIAL ~
26/SS26/R826
PAGE 2 (ab\tb)
ST: Ballot initiative; require legislature to
honor the intent and substance of citizen
initative.
amended version and the original initiative shall be submitted to 20
the electors. The amended version shall honor the intent and 21
substance of the original initiative. An initiative or 22
legislative alternative must receive a majority of the votes 23
thereon and not less than forty percent (40%) of the total votes 24
cast at the election at which the measure was submitted to be 25
approved. If conflicting initiatives or legislative alternatives 26
are approved at the same election, the initiative or legislative 27
alternative receiving the highest number of affirmative votes 28
shall prevail. 29
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 30
and after July 1 in the year following the year in which the 31
Secretary of State certifies the passage of the constitutional 32
amendment proposed in "Senate Concurrent Resolution No. __," 2026 33
Regular Session. 34