The 2018 Mississippi legislative session is at the halfway mark. The House spent most of the week considering several Appropriation and a few Ways and Means Committee bills. This activity was in preparation for the February 21 deadline to send those measures to the Senate. Appropriation bills determine how much money is given to various state organizations. Ways and Means legislation is important because this is the avenue that bond bills originate. 

The House was responsible for looking at the preliminary budgets of 51 state agencies, including the Departments of Transportation, Public Health, Medicaid, and Public Safety.  The bulk of state agency appropriations are reduced from the previous fiscal year allocations. This has been the case since a trend toward slashing revenue began several years ago. Also, budgets included reverse repealers. This is a clause which ensures a bill cannot become law before going to a conference committee for further revisions. Because reverse repealers were in place, most appropriations bills were voted on in a block to help speed up the process.

 

Members were eager to consider a slate of bond bills that will enable various local governments, state agencies and other public concerns to address infrastructure and construction needs. Furthermore, it helps to enhance their ability to provide services to Mississippians. During floor debate, it was noted that no bond bills have been approved by the legislature during the past two sessions due to the inability of the House and Senate to reach agreement. 

 

Among the bills that passed the House were HB1217 and HB1557. Both of these bills support of programs to help small businesses and others who are working to revitalize municipalities.

 

The House also passed HB1559, which will provide bonds necessary for construction of buildings and infrastructure at Camp Kamassa in Copiah County. This project will benefit seriously ill children who will be able to experience all of the adventures of summer camp despite their illnesses. It passed 114-4.

The drastic revenue cuts that have been championed by legislative leadership have not only left the coffers too low to accomplish the necessary tasks of governing, but have hurt public education by funding schools at only a "C" level. HB1592 provides that the State Department of Education's funding will be level. This means that the vital service of public education will receive no more money this fiscal year than last year. As I have reported in previously newsletters, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program is over $200 million short of full-funding for the current fiscal year. This has been the case each year since 2010. Many members have advocated a slow-down of the funding drain that has been caused by corporate tax cuts and which will increase this year when the 2016 "tax-cut" bills come into play.

Education and State Test

The State Department of Education recently released its latest graduation rate statistics which show an increase in the percentage of Mississippi public school seniors who are graduating from high school. I applaud this increase. The higher graduation rate may be due in part to the fact that since 2014 some seniors are no longer required to pass each of the four state exit exams. It is my opinion that these exit exams are not valid measures of a student's potential success in college or in life. Administering these tests has created a stifled teaching atmosphere as well as an expense that the already-strapped public schools cannot afford. Representative Tom Miles offered an amendment to the State Department of Education's appropriation bill to eliminate state exit exams passage as a requirement of graduation. The amendment to  HB1592 passed 113-2 with broad bipartisan support.

 

Brain Drain Bill

A recent article by The Hill (CLICK HERE to read full article) reports that e conomists, demographers, and political leaders are increasingly concerned that the next generation of  workers won't be ready to fill millions of new jobs across the country . Hence, Mississippi needs to keep all of its best and brightest instead of losing them to other states .

Since I have been in the legislature, there have been few bills that have excited me like HB1550.  This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Representative John Thomas "Trey" Lamar, would allow recent college graduates to file for a tax deduction within one year of graduating from a four-year college or university.  These graduates would be entitled to this deduction for up to three consecutive years if they maintain residence in Mississippi and have employment in Mississippi. Also, they can get an additional two years of tax deductions if they purchase property in the state for residential or commercial use. I am hoping this will offer some incentive for our smart young people to stay in Mississippi.

Felony Disenfranchisement

State felony disenfranchisement laws in 48 states and the District of Columbia prevent  6.1 million American citizens from voting for a specified period of time because of their  criminal record.

Nearly 10% of Mississippians are disenfranchised due to a felony conviction. 

An estimated 218,181 people in Mississippi were disenfranchised as of 2016. Of this total, only 7 percent are incarcerated. The remaining 93 percent are living in the community either under probation or parole supervision, or have completed their criminal sentence. The number of African American residents disenfranchised in Mississippi numbered 127,130 in 2016 or nearly 16% of the black electorate. Please CLICK HERE this link to learn more about Mississippi's rights restoration activity.

Visit, Call, or Email

I look forward to welcoming Mississippians to their State Capitol. I encourage you to come to the House gallery to watch your State Representatives in action. Want to contact a House Member? You can call the Capitol switchboard at 601-359-3770 to leave a message for a legislator. Also, you can mail your Representatives and Senators via group email at the following addresses: [email protected] and [email protected]. Each Representative and Senator will receive the email. Your voice matters!!!