March 14, 2022

TO THE MISSISSIPPI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

GOVERNOR’S VETO MESSAGE FOR HOUSE BILL 980

I am returning House Bill 980: "AN ACT TO CREATE A NEW SECTION WITHIN ARTICLE 3, CHAPTER 29, TITLE 41, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE AN AUTOMATIC DEFENSE TO PROSECUTION FOR ANY CHARGE THAT IS BROUGHT WITHIN TWO YEARS OF A FEDERAL DECLASSIFICATION OF A CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE THAT IS THE SUBJECT OF THE OFFENSE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES."

House Bill 980 adopts a new section of the Mississippi Code to create an automatic defense and bar to criminal prosecution for any violation of Mississippi’s controlled substances laws upon the Federal government declassifying the substance that is the subject of the criminal charge. Specifically, House Bill 980 provides in relevant part at lines 22-29: "If a charge is brought under [Mississippi’s Uniform Controlled Substances Law] within two years from the date of declassification of a controlled substance. . . and that federally declassified controlled substance is the subject of the offense, there shall be an automatic defense to prosecution. The defense shall be raised sua sponte by the court or by any party to the proceeding and shall bar the prosecution of the charge." (emphasis added).

The State of Mississippi enjoys exclusive police powers to protect the health, welfare and safety of its citizens. In furtherance of its police powers, Mississippi has adopted a Uniform Controlled Substances Law that both regulates substances and provides criminal penalties for violations of such regulations. While Mississippi’s five controlled substances schedules, codified at Miss. Code §§ 41-29-113 through 121, largely mirror the federal schedules, such schedules are not coextensive. Most notably, earlier this session the Mississippi Legislature passed and I signed into law Senate Bill 2095 creating a medical marijuana program that authorizes the use of medical marijuana and decriminalizes the cultivation, processing and possession of medical marijuana despite the fact that marijuana remains a controlled substance under federal law and subject to criminal penalties. Additionally, this week I signed into law House Bill 232 that makes numerous additions to Mississippi’s five controlled substances schedules, including scheduling twenty fentanyl-related substances. Such actions were consistent with Mississippi’s exclusive police powers.

House Bill 980 imprudently abdicates to the federal government the police powers of the state to regulate substances and impose criminal penalties for violations of Mississippi Controlled Substances Act. In some Democrat-controlled states, there is a disturbing trend toward deregulating and decriminalizing such hard street drugs as cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. While thankfully this trend has not yet spread to Congress, I am unwilling to gamble with the health, welfare and safety of Mississippians. If the past fifteen months have taught us anything, it is that we must jealously guard state’s rights and powers and not cede any authority to the federal government.

In some instances, it may be appropriate to amend Mississippi’s controlled substances schedules to mirror changes in the federal schedules, while also amending Mississippi’s criminal laws to account for such changes. In other instances, it may be appropriate for Mississippi to decline to declassify a controlled substance and instead exercise its police powers to regulate it and impose criminal penalties for violation of such regulations. In either case, the decision of what substances should be regulated and what criminal penalties should be imposed for violations of such regulations should be made by the Mississippi Legislature on a case-by-case basis not the federal government. For these reasons, I am vetoing House Bill 980.

Respectfully submitted,

TATE REEVES

GOVERNOR