Mississippi requires licenses for 66 of the 102 professions that do not require a traditional 4-year college degree. From 1993 to 2012, Mississippi added licensing requirements for 49 professions, which was 18 above the national average. This ranks Mississippi as the 15th most widely licensed state.

Around 19 percent of workers in the state are required to obtain a license in order to work. The average licensed worker in Mississippi in these 66 professions pay an average of $130 in fees, spend 160 days in education, and take two exams, which is better than the average state.

Occupational licensing laws present significant costs for Mississippi residents. Because of the barriers to entry created by licensing requirements, economists have estimated that licensing reduces the number of jobs in Mississippi by 12,942. This helps contribute to Mississippi’s second-lowest labor force participation rate in the country.

Because of the reduced supply of workers offering their services, wage cost increases of 12 percent associated with licensing are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Because licensing reduces the supply of workers and increases prices for the services that consumers receive, it results in less of the services being consumed.

Economists refer to the cost of the lost transactions that do not occur as deadweight loss. They estimate that the total deadweight loss from licensing laws in the state of Mississippi is $37 million.

Unfortunately, the total economic cost of licensing is even greater. Not only do some customers forego the more expensive services, licensing also causes a misallocation of resources between industries. For instance, people spend more money than necessary on education, go into professions that they are not best suited for, and lobby for increased requirements instead of productive activities as a result of licensing.

The total cost of misallocated resources from licensing in Mississippi is around $1.2 billion.

You can help reform occupational regulations. Please sign the petition below.

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The Mississippi Department of Corrections recently promoted their efforts to offer job training to people incarcerated in the state through a mobile welding program. A bill passed by the legislature this year aims to expand these offerings as well by creating a pilot work initiative at the state’s largest prison.

These programs represent a broader effort underway in the state to help people incarcerated gain job skills to increase the chances they will succeed upon release. This topic has been a focus of policymakers as well, who have considered multiple pieces of legislation aimed at smoothing the reentry process.

Over 95 percent of people incarcerated in the state will be released at some point, so ensuring they have a way to work and support themselves should be a critical goal for the state’s criminal justice system.

Equipping incarcerated people with needed skills is important. But training alone is not enough to ensure success.

Upon release, formerly incarcerated people face hundreds of legal barriers that can make it harder to succeed. Many of these barriers make it harder to work. An examination of Mississippi’s occupational licensing laws found that the state requires occupational licenses for 43 entry-level to middle-income professions, and 40 of those include restrictions related to criminal convictions.

These occupational licensing restrictions can make it impossible for people with a conviction in their past to pursue the career of their choice. National interest groups like the Institute for Justice have noted how occupational licensing restrictions limit economic opportunity, and these impacts are even greater for people with lower incomes or a criminal conviction on their record.

Grading Justice is a project of Empower Mississippi that scores the state’s criminal justice system across 15 different areas. When examining the state’s laws related to an individual’s right to earn a living, Mississippi receives a grade of D. This low score is attributable to the state’s broad occupational licensing restrictions which can make it harder for people to work in a licensed field.

Mississippi could improve work prospects for people leaving prison by removing these barriers to work. Other states have adopted a Fresh Start provision, which prevents an unrelated criminal conviction from disqualifying people from obtaining a license to work.

The Mississippi legislature has considered Fresh Start provisions in recent sessions, but these bills failed to gain approval due to concerns from licensing boards. Most objections were related to the public safety impacts of allowing people with criminal convictions to obtain an occupational license. These concerns can be addressed by ensuring that convictions directly related to the occupation at hand may be considered in the licensing process.

Having a job is one of the best ways to ensure a formerly incarcerated person doesn’t return to prison. Promoting skills training within prisons is necessary, but these efforts must be coupled with reforms that lift barriers to success in the community as well.

We want to continue to build our newsroom with reporting that is reflective of — and responsive to — the complex and diverse needs of Mississippi. The best way to pursue this growth is by first listening to our fellow Mississippians and building relationships with our readers.

Whether it’s navigating COVID-19, following Mississippi’s welfare scandal, keeping up with government officials or staying informed on access to health care, we want to know what readers care most about.

We hope you’ll take a few minutes to share what issues are on your mind by taking the survey below:

Our culture of listening has created opportunities, such as our COVID Community Town Hall, reader resources, guides and texting events with reporters. Hearing from you — knowing what issues you care about and what information you need — allows us to share news and information that truly represents the communities we’re covering. It’s imperative that we, as a statewide public service news organization, seek input from Mississippians to uncover the issues that are affecting everyday people across the state.

Here’s how this will work: For the next few months, we will be doubling down on our community listening project, MT Listens, by sharing surveys across all of our platforms and creating various opportunities for people to share what’s on their minds. Your responses will inform our work and allow us to continue to build a foundation of listening while putting the information needs of our fellow Mississippians at the center of our work. We hope you will join the conversation and offer your valued input so we can continue to amplify diverse voices across the state.

We continue to keep Mississippians informed because we – like you – love Mississippi.

Support this work and start a recurring donation today in celebration of our Spring Membership Drive to help us continue important work like this story.

Yes, I love Mississippi! >>

The post What’s on your mind? We’re listening. appeared first on Mississippi Today.

CLEVELAND — As a speech pathologist, Corrine Hegwood has been asking children what they like to read about for a long time. 

But it’s a question she’s been asking more often recently, since she co-founded Reading at the Park with her husband and other community members. On Saturday, they hosted their sixth event at Sterling-Anderson Park in Cleveland, giving away books, diapers, and pizza to the families in attendance. 

When she lived in Chattanooga, Corrine Hegwood noticed that children she worked with in low-income areas always gravitated towards books as a reward rather than toys. She started taking trunks full of books to her students and their friends, and Reading at the Park grew out of that project and the need she saw in Mississippi.

In Mississippi, 32% of children tested kindergarten ready when they started school. According to the Department of Education, research shows that if a child tests as kindergarten ready when they start school, they will be proficient in reading by the end of third grade. 

Research has also demonstrated that children living in higher poverty households are less likely to have access to age-appropriate books or have a family member read to them, which has been shown to lead to improved school performance.  

“What I’m finding is that (children who struggle to read) are the ones sitting in the principal’s office, because they are communicating in a different way,” Corrine Hegwood said. 

Margaret Katembe, a librarian at Delta State, ran the check-in table, registering children and explaining the event to parents. She met the Hegwoods through their sons becoming friends and realized they had a shared passion for literacy which was cultivated into the Reading at the Park program. 

Katembe said that turnout varies based on the size of the community they visit, but that overall she was pleased with the number of children that have attended each event. She also noted the collaborations with other groups have been helpful in attracting visitors. 

“Today I can see diapers have been a big hit, and when they come for the diapers they leave with books,” Katembe said. 

Once children are registered, volunteers walk with them to the book table for their age group and help them pick out books, which they take to a blanket to read together. Corrine Hegwood emphasized this process is about trying to help children find books that excite them and make them want to practice reading on their own. 

At the event last Saturday, they registered over 60 children and had 30 volunteers. Since they started, they’ve given away about 1,500 books.  So far, they’ve mostly been reaching older children, something they are trying to shift by partnering with the Diaper Bank of the Delta. 

“Zero to five, that’s the time, that’s the window, that’s the most important time for brain development,” Corrine Hegwood said. “What they get in those first five years is an indicator of what kind of reader they are going to be.”

Les Hegwood, the priest at Calvary Episcopal Church in Cleveland, saw the need for more direct service opportunities in the church. He said the congregation has been enthusiastic in their support for the Reading in the Park program, both in terms of volunteers and funding The program has also received funding from the Barksdale Reading Institute.

Les Hegwood explained that they have been intentional about developing a book list to buy from that is representative of the community they are serving in the Delta.

“(The list) features a lot of books that have African American characters in them, which are scarce unfortunately on library walls and in schools,” Les Hegwood said. They wanted books that “help foster a sense that ‘I am, and should be, the hero of these stories and myths that are being made in my little imagination.’” 

Katembe and the Hegwoods emphasized the importance of parents and children where they are, which is why they chose to focus on neighborhood parks. They are hoping to eventually get a retired shipping truck donated that they could turn into a “bookmobile” to drive the books to different communities. 

Tracy Jones said she came with her children because she lives across the street from the park and wanted to see what was going on. Her son, who is in second grade, likes to read about sports. She reads mostly picture books with her almost two-year-old daughter, and said the diapers were particularly useful as they can be so expensive.

“We got ‘Snuggle Puppy’, one about the zoo, and ‘Lola Goes to the Library’,” Jones said. “I have to get the hard ones or she’ll tear them up.” 

Kierre Rimmer, another co-founder of Reading at the Park, was introduced to the Hegwoods through his work as the founder of FLY Zone, a local youth empowerment organization that has been working with middle and high school students since 2013. 

Rimmer said he’s seen a number of people he recognized from his work at the events, as well as a lot of new faces. 

“Once they see me they get more relaxed when they come to events like this,” Rimmer said. “Les and his wife are still new, so I guess you could say I’m the gel or the liaison.” 

Corrine Hegwood said for the children she meets, it’s often not a lack of interest, but a lack of access that prevents them from becoming stronger readers. She recalled a recent visit to Mound Bayou, where she was knocking on doors and met a sixth-grader.

“I said ‘well what do you want to read about?’ and she said ‘I want to read about everything.’ I just thought, ‘I want you to be able to read about everything too.’”

Editor’s note: Jim Barksdale, founder of the Barksdale Reading Institute, serves on Mississippi Today’s board of directors.

The post How one community program is helping Delta kids learn to love reading appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Booming natural gas prices, along with retiring coal plants and limited oil production, mean electric bills will likely go up across the country this summer.

That includes Mississippi, where both energy consumption and the inability to pay for electric bills rank among the highest of any state. 

Earlier this month, the Energy Information Administration projected that electric bills nationwide will go up 4% on average this summer compared to 2021. EIA projects a 3% increase in the East South Central region, comprising Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi.

Generally, homes in southeastern states consume more electricity than those in the rest of the country. In 2020, the average Mississippi residence was using more electricity than only two other states, Louisiana and Tennessee. 

“A lot of that is due to the climate,” said Central District Public Service Commissioner Brent Bailey. “But we also have older housing stock, many (homes) that have not gotten extensive upgrades, retrofits or weatherization.”

Bailey also said Mississippi has a lot of manufactured homes, which tend to be less energy efficient. 

Even though the retail cost of energy in Mississippi is cheaper than the national average, paying energy bills is relatively challenging because the state consumes so much power and has by far the lowest median household income. 

For low-income residents, the “energy burden” – how much of a person’s income goes to paying their power bill – is higher in Mississippi at 12% than in any other state, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. 

Catherine Lee, who coordinates house health and safety programs for the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative in Jackson, explained that high utility bills force difficult budgeting decisions for homeowners.

“People will very often take care of rent and utilities first before they’re taking care of other health and food needs,” she said. “It is a common issue that a lot of the families we work with have to think about, and will have to figure out how to deal with payment plans if they get behind and, if they experience a shutoff, have to pay the fees to get things turned back on.” 

Both Entergy Mississippi and Mississippi Power raised retail rates in response to the natural gas price hike, increasing the average monthly bill $7.81 and $5.27, respectively, WLBT reported. 

Bailey and Lee both called for improving the state’s energy efficiency standards to reduce people’s power bills. 

“As far as a statewide basis, we don’t have a minimum construction code built around efficient construction in housing, which is something I think needs strong consideration,” Bailey said. 

While some cities have their own measures, Mississippi has no uniform energy efficiency standards for construction like many states do, he explained. He added that landlords lack incentives to make those changes. 

“What is the motivation of a landlord to invest in weatherization upgrades if they’re still getting the same price for that rental?” he said.

The PSC-regulated utilities, such as Entergy Mississippi, Mississippi Power, and Atmos, all offer programs to encourage efficiency, such as rebates for replacing old appliances or in-person audits to check for things like insulation.  

Lee said those measures have a limited reach. 

“The way that the programs are currently administered don’t have any energy reduction targets for utilities,” she said. “There’s no metrics to track how they’re improving efficiency overall.”

A scorecard of energy efficiency policies, put together by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, ranked Mississippi 48th in the country in 2020.

Even after accounting for the differences in weather, home age and home size, low-income homes in Mississippi, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Arkansas use 36% more electricity than those in other states, according to the DOE.

“That’s to me showing that our housing stock has a significant need for upgrades that they’re not getting because we’re not investing in it enough,” Lee said. 

As part of new funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Mississippi received over $28 million to help implement its Weatherization Assistance Program, which provides funding for installing insulation, updating appliances and other efficiency measures through the Mississippi Department of Human Services. 

The post High energy burden for Mississippians expected to get worse this summer appeared first on Mississippi Today.

I was a senior at Ole Miss when University of Mississippi Police Officer Robert Langley was dragged to his death while attempting to pull over a student. To say it sent shockwaves through a close-knit college community that is often isolated from matters like this would be an understatement.

I vividly remember buckets being passed around Vaught Hemmingway Stadium the next Saturday to raise money for Langley’s family. I remember black ribbons on columns of fraternity and sorority houses. For a moment, time stood still.

Langley was in his fourth year with UPD when he was killed in 2006. He spent 14 months in Afghanistan with the 114th Battalion from New Albany. He left behind a wife and four children.

While most students today at Ole Miss would have been just toddlers at the time of Langley’s death, his memory still lives on in Oxford. It is also a good reminder for all of us of the sacrifices law enforcement officers make every day. They know every time they put on the uniform they are potentially putting their life on the line. They know every time they kiss their spouse goodbye, that might be the last time they see them.

His memory is also one of the reasons we celebrate National Police Week. To date, 324 officers in Mississippi have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Langley was killed on October 21, 2006.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy declared this week ‘National Police Week,’ in honor of those officers who paid the ultimate price in the line of duty.

There are many who deserve that honor in Mississippi. As a state, we have experienced 324 law enforcement deaths in the line of duty since records have been collected. There are likely more that evaded historians.

Behind each of these numbers is the name of a fallen officer.

Patrolmen Benjamin Deen and Liquori Tate of the Hattiesburg Police Department were both shot and killed after a routine traffic stop turned violent on May 9, 2015.

Biloxi Police Officer Robert Stanton McKeithen, a 24-year veteran of the force who was planning retirement, was killed in the parking lot of a police station. A man simply walked up to him, with no provocation, and shot him multiple times on May 5, 2019.

Then there is James Harold Blair, a Deputy Sheriff in Simpson County and beloved community figure. Deputy Sheriff Blair had been in service for 50 years. He was shot and killed when a psychiatric patient he was transporting wrestled his gun away.

Not all officer deaths are the result of intentional acts of violence. In 2021, State Trooper John Martin Harris, a 24-year veteran, was struck and killed by a semi-truck while performing a traffic stop in Madison County. In January of this year, Lee County Officer John Patterson was run over while directing traffic outside of Shannon Primary School.

Some of these men were officers for a short time, others a lifetime, but they all served their communities honorably. They put themselves in danger for the wellbeing of others, in some cases knowingly rushing into the breach. Each left behind family—wives, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and grandchildren.

Over the last few years, law enforcement has come under intense public scrutiny. The deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd all sparked outrage and led to serious questions about training, race relations and accountability. As protests started to unfurl across the country, extremists seized the moment to demand that communities “defund the police.”

Police officers are people, which means they make mistakes and sometimes even do bad things. Imbued with the power of life and death, they carry a heavy responsibility to use it in a way that maintains public trust. But it is important not to exploit these incidents to impugn the integrity of an entire profession.

For every one tragic officer-involved incident, there are thousands of positive interactions that receive no attention. There are men and women in blue who stop to change a tire and who perform wellness checks on elderly citizens. They respond when something has been stolen or when there is a bump in the night. And every time they get dressed to go to work, they know they might not be coming home. This is an apprehension most of us do not carry to work.

As we honor the sacrifice of brave law enforcement this week, it is worth mentioning that we can do so all year round. As a matter of public policy, lawmakers should be aware that every time they create a new law that the police must enforce, they raise the risk of conflict that puts officers in danger. The state should be careful not to overtask officers by over-criminalizing, allowing officers to focus on criminal activity that represents the biggest threat to public safety.

The state should also ensure that the police have what they need to successfully enforce the laws. This not only includes resources to departments, but also includes ensuring that if an offense occurs there is a timely effort to prosecute if the case warrants it. Otherwise, officers can be left feeling like their work is in vain. Speaking of culture, citizens can do a better job in not treating high profile, tragic exceptions as if they are the rule.

At Empower, we believe that our criminal justice system can be made fairer, that we can decrease both justice system involvement and crime rates with better education, more job opportunities and smarter criminal justice policy. These goals are not mutually exclusive, but complementary. We can make our streets safer. We owe it to officers Deen, Tate, McKeithen, Blair, Harris and Patterson, as well as so many more, to try.