1. Make Memphis Pay Act
DeSoto County is paying the price for Memphis’s failure to enforce the law. Soft-on-crime judges and prosecutors in Memphis are turning repeat offenders loose, and DeSoto residents are bearing the financial and safety burden when that crime spills across the state line. That’s why McLendon will introduce legislation to create a DeSoto County Border Enforcement Division and enhance acquisitions of felony plate readers at all major entry points to track and intercept stolen vehicles and wanted offenders before they reach our streets. The legislation will also propose a formal partnership with the Tennessee Legislature to address Memphis’s prosecutorial failures and recover shared costs of cross-border crime. If Memphis won’t control its crime, we’ll make them pay for the mess they send our way.

2. The Child Predator Accountability Act
No more playing games with predators. McLendon’s bill will impose the harshest possible penalties on those who commit sexual crimes against minors. This bill would make chemical castration a mandatory condition of parole or early release for individuals convicted of certain heinous child sex offenses. It also strengthens sentencing minimums and limits the ability of judges to issue lenient or alternative punishments in these cases. If you harm a child, you’re not walking free — and you’re never doing it again.

3. The Lame Duck Spending Reform Act
When elected officials lose an election, they shouldn’t get one last chance to jam through big projects or sweetheart deals. McLendon’s Lame Duck Reform Act will block local governments from approving major developments or spending between a primary or general election and the seating of new members. Too often, outgoing officials push through apartment complexes, subdivisions, or commercial projects that radically change the makeup of a community—after the voters have made it clear they want change. If the voters speak, the government doesn’t get to act like they didn’t.

4. Local Training, Lasting Force Act
Senator McLendon knows public safety starts with strong, local law enforcement — and he’s making sure Mississippi leads the way. The Train Local, Back the Badge Act will fund a full-scale law enforcement training facility right here in DeSoto County, so we stop sending officers hours away for basic training. It’ll boost recruitment, improve readiness, and keep our officers in the communities they serve. But it doesn’t stop there. The bill also delivers retention bonuses, tuition forgiveness, and salary match programs to help departments attract and keep the best on the force. And for those already on the front lines, it invests in the mental health support they need and deserve. While other states defund police, McLendon is doubling down — training local, backing the badge, and putting law and order first.

5. The Open Government Accountability Act
Good government happens in the open, not behind closed doors. McLendon’s Open Government Accountability Act will require any group of public officials that makes decisions on policy, development or spending to open their meetings, post agendas, and keep minutes. If they make decisions that affect taxpayers, then taxpayers deserve to see how those decisions are made.

6. Teach Here, Stay Here Act
We can’t afford to lose Mississippi’s best teachers to Alabama or Tennessee just because they pay more. After the 2022 pay raise, McLendon says we can’t wait another decade to act. The Keep Teachers Home Act will require annual pay reviews tied to regional averages, so we stay competitive and keep great educators in our schools. Mississippi is leading the nation in reading gains — they’re calling it the Mississippi Miracle — and McLendon knows it wouldn’t be possible without our teachers. If we want that success to continue, we have to make sure they stay right here at home.

7. The Keep Our Promise to Retirees Act
PERS isn’t optional — it’s a promise. Senator McLendon is committed to fully funding the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), as he always has been, without forcing the state to choose between paving roads or honoring retirements. His bill will secure dedicated state-level funding support and protect the promise to our retirees. “We’re not going to pit infrastructure against the heroes and teachers who serve our state,” McLendon said. “We can do both — and we will.”