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Read. Follow. Verify.Mississippi Legislature considers statewide minimum wage law phased in to $15 per hour by 2027 and 2029
Last action · February 3, 2026: 02/03 (S) Died In CommitteeSponsor: Derrick Simmons
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What This Bill Proposed
Mississippi Senate Bill 2277 establishes a state minimum wage of $12.00 per hour beginning January 1, 2027, and $15.00 per hour beginning January 1, 2029, with enforcement managed by the Mississippi Department of Employment Security.
The measure establishes a mandatory baseline pay rate for non-exempt workers across the state, overriding local wage regulations while providing criminal penalties and civil remedies for employer non-compliance.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Workers in Mississippi
Workers covered by the act become entitled to a guaranteed state minimum wage of $12.00 per hour starting in 2027 and $15.00 per hour starting in 2029, along with overtime protections.
Employers in Mississippi
Non-exempt employers must pay statutory minimum wages, maintain detailed payroll records for at least three years, post act summaries, and face potential fines or criminal penalties for non-compliance.
Mississippi Department of Employment Security
The department is empowered to administer, investigate, enact administrative regulations, and enforce the provisions of the minimum wage law.
Municipal and county governing authorities
Local governments are prohibited from establishing mandatory minimum living wage rates lower than the state rate.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are all businesses required to pay this minimum wage?
Can local cities or counties set their own minimum wages?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died in committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Feb 3, 2026Senate02/03 (S) Died In Committee
- Jan 14, 2026SenateCommittee01/14 (S) Referred To Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
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Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Introduction of State-Level Minimum Wage
The bill shifts Mississippi from having no general state-mandated minimum wage to establishing phased minimum wage rates reaching $15 per hour.
Connected Entities
Sources
billstatus.ls.state.ms.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy80Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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