Miss. Lawmakers Have Busy Agenda in Final Week

Mississippi lawmakers are scheduled to finish their three-month session the end of this week, and they have plenty of work left to do.

One unresolved issue is a religious-practices bill that has sparked concerns about anti-gay discrimination. Republican Gov. Phil Bryant says Monday that he will sign Senate Bill 2681 (http://bit.ly/1hheTXI ) if it ends up being similar to religious-practices laws in about 18 other states. Arizona's Republican governor, Jan Brewer, vetoed a bill earlier this year after business groups said it could hurt the economy.

Another proposal awaiting debate is House Bill 1400 (http://bit.ly/1guNDDZ ), which would ban abortion at about the midpoint of a full-term pregnancy.

House Bill 765 (http://bit.ly/1gUu1fd ) proposes creating a special-education voucher program, giving parents $6,000 to spend on private school tuition or private tutoring.