JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Efforts to restore the Mississippi ballot initiative this Legislative Session have officially died.

This is the third Legislative Session in a row where measures to restore the initiative have failed.

Last week, the Mississippi Senate had a very close vote on a Senate bill to restore the ballot initiative process that soured the whole body from moving forward. Their bill barely passed in a 26-21 vote.

The Senate still had to pass a resolution to amend the constitution, which requires a two-thirds vote.

State Senator David Parker (R-District 2), the author of the bill, opted not to bring the measure up due to the overwhelming lack of support.

It’s another frustrating reality at what is now the third attempt to revive the initiative process in as many years.

“There were a lot of questions, a lot of concerns from both sides. The Democratic party felt that the bill as presented was a little bit maybe too strong. I think the Republicans on the bill that I presented maybe felt that it didn’t go quite strong enough. When that bill came back up, I chose not to take it off the table because the provision in the other bill required a two-thirds vote for passage, and we were nowhere near the threshold needed to get the changing constitution bill passed. Sometimes things live, and sometimes they don’t make it to the finish line. And so, this one unfortunately did not,” said Parker.

He does not plant to bring up the House resolution to restore the initiative process passed in January 2024.