Hire Heroes Legislation Passes
Share Page
Legislators Approve Bills to Help Mississippi Heroes Get Jobs
JACKSON, Miss. — Legislators approved two bills that assist Mississippi Heroes and their families get jobs. HB 391, introduced by Representative Wanda Jennings, Chairman of the House Committee on Military Affairs, and SB 2419, introduced by Senator Haskins Montgomery, cleared their chambers today.
In January Gov. Phil Bryant and the Mississippi Department of Employment Security announced, "Hire Mississippi Heroes," a year-long campaign to encourage employers to hire Mississippi veterans. As part of that effort, Governor Bryant proposed legislation to require state licensing agencies to consider military training to satisfy educational requirements for professional licenses for veterans and to grant temporary occupational licenses to qualified military spouses.
HB 391 and SB 2419 will enable veterans and military spouses to get good jobs in Mississippi by putting their military training and experience to work. Each bill now goes to the other chamber of the Legislature for further consideration.
In addition to Rep. Jennings, HB 391 was authored by Representatives Gene Alday, Mark Baker, Richard Bennett, Larry Byrd, Carolyn Crawford, Scott DeLano, Jeffrey S. Guice, Eugene Forrest Hamilton, Mac Huddleston, Alex Monsour, Pat Nelson, Randall Patterson, John Read, Margaret Rogers, Ray Rogers, Tom Weathersby, Henry Zuber III, Brent Powell and Dennis DeBar.
In addition to Sen. Montgomery, SB 2419 was authored by Senators Joey Filligane, David Blount, and Philip Moran.
"The passage of HB 391 and SB 2419 will make it easier for returning veterans and their spouses to get professional certifications that lead to good-paying jobs in the state, and it expands the pool of qualified applicants for employers trying to fill those positions," said Mark Henry, Executive Director of Mississippi Department of Employment Security. MDES is the state agency that assists people looking for jobs and employers hiring for open positions.
