By John Corley 

At this point in the session, a majority of bills have either been sent to the governor to be signed into law or are being discussed in conference.

Conference on a bill occurs when further discussion is needed by members of both the House and Senate to reach the best solution. A conference consists of three representatives and three senators who work together to finalize a bill.

Once a bill is out of conference, it must go to both the House and Senate for a vote before being sent to the governor.

Along with the conferences that were held, the House did meet as a whole to discuss and pass local and private bills, and honor special guests in the chamber.

Some discussion occurred with the introduction of House Concurrent Resolution 56, which calls for the state to submit an application to request a convention of states under Article V of the U.S. Constitution. In order for this to happen, 34 states must submit an application. Proponents of the bill say this would allow for a few helpful amendments to be made to the constitution.

Several members opposed the resolution saying that a meeting to amend the constitution would open the doors for more changes than would be helpful or necessary.

With only one week left in the 2018 legislative session, lawmakers remain in Jackson to work throughout the weekend.

Deadline for bills to come out of conference and pass the House and Senate occurs during the final week. Any bills that are passed will be sent to the governor to be signed into law.

Visitors to the Capitol this week included the Mississippi Headstart Association, NASA’s Stennis Space Center, the Mississippi Home Educators Association, the Veterans Affairs Board and the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence.