Cellphone Ban Stalled by GOP Power Struggle | Hattiesburg News

Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann is pushing hard for a cellphone ban in schools, citing that 42 other states have similar rules and three neighboring states forbid phone use during school hours. But his bill keeps getting stalled — last year it passed the Senate unanimously but never got a hearing in the House. The real culprit? A bitter power struggle between Hosemann and House Speaker Jason White. Their feud has led to legislative retaliation: when the Senate blocked a private school voucher bill the House backed, the House then killed key Senate education bills, including the cellphone ban. This cycle dates back to a tax dispute where the Senate’s flawed bill ended up achieving what the House wanted — now the Senate is getting its revenge. While lawmakers still get things done — like passing the state budget — good ideas keep getting caught in the crossfire until these leaders reconcile or new leadership takes over by 2028. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/d4e7c17d7f461a8d