Senate advises and consents to nominations for Emergency Communications Authority and state boards

The Mississippi State Senate advised and consented to a broad slate of nominations to the Mississippi Emergency Communications Authority and several other state advisory boards during its floor session. The clerk read nominations en bloc, and the body approved them by use of the morning roll call.

Senator Williams framed the slate in the context of the state's earlier NG9-1-1 legislation and recommended the nominees, saying the individuals interviewed in committee had cleared peer review. "Each of these individuals we interviewed Wednesday in, in the hearing, beneath us. And none of the individuals are precluded from being able to serve in the capacity that they've been asked to serve. The peer reports came back clean on everyone," he said.

The nominations read by the clerk included Deanna Michelle Diaz (initial three-year term to the Mississippi Emergency Communications Authority, term listed as effective 12/04/2025 and ending 06/30/2028 representing the Mississippi chapter of the National Emergency Number Association), Chief Chad Norman Dorn (initial two-year term effective 12/04/2025 ending 06/30/2027 representing Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police), Eric Hollingsworth (initial two-year term representing ceasefire Mississippi/telecommunications industry), Paul Gerald Sheffield (initial three-year term representing the Mississippi 9-1-1 Coordinators Association), and multiple other advisory-board appointees and reappointments read on the floor.

Senator McClendon asked who had nominated the individuals, whether a single agency nominated them or different offices. Senator Williams replied that, to his understanding, seven of the nominations were made by the governor and six by the lieutenant governor; he offered to provide specific nominators for any senator who wished that information.

Several board reappointments were also read on the calendar. When asked about a particular nomination (item 204), the clerk read Senator nomination number 41 — Thomas Allen Wicker for the Information Technology Services Authority — a five-year reappointment with a term noted as effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2030; Senator Williams described Wicker as bringing institutional knowledge to the ITS board and moved advise and consent by morning roll call.

The Senate's on-floor record indicates the measures were passed by use of the morning roll call. Specific roll-call tallies are not provided in the transcript excerpt; a small number of individual 'no' votes were recorded elsewhere on separate items earlier in the session.