PASCAGOULA, MISSISSIPPI November 4, 2021 – It’s become clear from President Biden’s actions today, that his administration’s only answer will ever be “more government.” Once again, he’s continued his administration’s disregard for individuals’ personal healthcare decisions. Through my own legal research, it has become clear to me that Article 7 of the Mississippi Constitution establishes and governs corporations in this state. Section 191 of Article 7 states:
The legislature shall provide for the protection of the employees of all corporations doing business in this state from interference with their social, civil, or political rights by said corporations, their agents or employees.
As a lawyer, my initial reading of this Constitutional provision is that corporations operating in Mississippi that are being forced to comply with the Biden vaccine mandates are inherently infringing on their employees’ “social, civil, or political rights.” Further, this provision makes it clear that the state is duty-bound via the legislature to protect employees’ “social, civil, or political rights” from corporate encroachment.
Therefore, today, I have directed Senate attorneys to research the law surrounding this Constitutional provision in preparation for a bill for this upcoming session, which begins January 4, 2022. As this is a substantive legal issue, it is my expectation that the bill will be referred to the Judiciary A Committee where I serve as Chairman to be handled accordingly.
It is clear to me this provision was written into the Constitution for a reason: to give Mississippi’s workers a fighting chance against corporate and government power. It is the legislature that is tasked with doing that. As it pertains to federal vaccine mandates, Mississippi’s corporations (and their subcontractors) which provide a great service to the defense and operations of our country, like Ingalls, NASA, Halter Marine, Keesler Air Force Base, to name a few, have been put in this situation because of the Biden Administration’s overreach. In the case of Ingalls, we are talking 12,000+ jobs with approximately 5,000 new hires with a multi-million dollar economic impact in South Mississippi.
At this time, I do not know what the legislation will look like, but once I have reviewed the analysis with the attorneys, we’ll move forward accordingly with the legislative process. In the meantime, I will continue to explore all legal ways to ensure that the rights of Mississippi’s employees are protected and defended while considering the economics of any decision.