JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The 2023 Legislative Session has come to an end.

Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R-Miss.) and House Speaker Philip Gunn (R-Miss.) both provided their assessments of the session.

According to Hosemann, the past four years have been the best the Mississippi Legislature has ever had. He cited many bills passed this year, including a $620 million investment into roads and bridges, an extra $100 million in general funding for Mississippi’s schools and a grant program for rural hospitals.

Hosemann also commented on the controversial House Bill 1020 and how the intense debates clouded what was accomplished this session.

“However, this was messaged or however we got crossways on this issue. It is temporary because they’re not funded forever. This is not a circuit court forever kind of thing. We didn’t do that, so we think that as we go through this process where everybody, cooler heads prevail and we get back to remembering the great things we did here in this legislative session, I think those will come back together. Those people were friends before last Friday, and they’re going to be friends after last Friday,” he stated.

Gunn pointed to accomplishments made in the House, specifically bills that came out of the Commission on Life following the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The House Speaker will not seek re-election. He said the most notable accomplishment of his tenure was passing the bill that ultimately led to the overturning of the Roe v. Wade.

“I don’t know that there’s anything bigger, and I told my members this. I don’t know that there’s anything bigger that they will ever accomplish in their political lives than passing the bill that led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. It not only made Mississippi history, but it made national and international news, and we changed the course of history with that bill,” said Gunn.

The House Speaker said he has not dismissed the possibility of running for public office again.