      
   
   |
**************************************************** Dueling
budgets Last week the House of Representatives adopted their own budget proposal – one that differs significantly from Barbour’s. The House plan exceeds spending outlined in the LBR by $673.9 million, including an extra $170.3 million for K-12 education spending. Barbour proposed giving state employees more options on their health insurance to address a growing deficit in the program. The current one-size fits all plan is expected to rise by up to 23 percent next year. As part of Barbour’s package, state employees could pick the plan that best suits their needs, but would have to pay for part of their insurance premiums. The House plan contains $55 million to fund the state health insurance program, keeping the current system intact. While Barbour makes his gains by reducing state spending, the House makes up the budget gap largely on the revenue side of the ledger. In one fell swoop, the House generates an extra $60 million by raising the state’s revenue estimate to 3.3 percent. Increasing fees on everything from specialty car tags to environmental permits would generate another $17.6 million. Meridian Star ED: Pie in the sky 2/29
McCoy is dancing with the ones that brung him. He’s adamant about protecting state employees and teachers. McCoy sought to rally his troops by painting Barbour as attempting to cut education spending, though Barbour had simply adopted the LBR which McCoy helped draft. The Senate has yet to offer a plan of its own. After the House passed their plan early Thursday, the Senate held a rare afternoon meeting to pick apart the House plan. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jack Gordon gave members a several page letter detailing the shortcomings of the House plan. Gordon’s letter concluded “the House proposal is strategically flawed and structurally inadequate.” He called their financing “a veritable house of cards” that includes “tax increases labeled as fees” and “unprecedented utilization of borrowed funds to support recurring expenses.” Senators were also handed copies of a letter from State Treasurer Tate Reeves that is critical of the House plan. Reeves called the upward revision of the state’s revenue estimate “irresponsible,” pointing out that the state is $9 million behind last year’s estimate for the first seven months of this fiscal year. He said the proposal to convert fixed rate bonds to variable rate bonds carries a “high degree of risk for the taxpayers.” McCoy showed some adeptness at garnering votes from House members for his plan. It sailed through the House by a vote of 94 to 28, a total which includes 20 of Barbour’s fellow Republicans in the yes column. Only 2 Democrats dissented: Reps. Warner McBride and Mary Ann Stevens. McCoy’s move to cut off debate and not allow amendments to the bill caused some consternation on the House floor. Sun Herald correspondent Geoff Pender reported that some House members compared the early days of McCoy’s tenure to that of Speaker Buddy Newman who “ruled the House and the state’s legislation with an iron fist.” The move to cut off
debate on the House floor passed by a vote of 78 – 42, with one
legislator skipping the vote and another voting present. Twelve Republicans
voted with McCoy to not allow amendments: Jim Barnett (Brookhaven), Lee
Jarrell Davis (Hattiesburg), Forrest Hamilton (Olive Branch), Bobby Howell
(Kilmichael), Wanda Jennings (Southaven), Eric Robinson (Quitman), Ray
Rogers (Pearl) Tom Weathersby (Florence), Tommy Woods (Byhalia) and Hank
Zuber (Ocean Springs). Notables on the Democrat side who voted against
the Speaker were Charlie Capps (Cleveland), Bobby Moody (Louisville) and
Bobby Shows (Ellisville). Who’s
quacking now? If fees are the equivalent of taxes, several of the House members have already broken pledges they made last year in the campaign. The following, who all voted for the $17.6 million in new fees in the House budget, promised voters not to vote for a tax increase when they signed the American’s for Tax Reform “Taxpayer Protection Pledge”: Democrats Republicans Who
is most likely to challenge Haley Barbour in 2007? Which
statewide elected official has the brightest future? Haley
Barbour’s budget balances the state budget within two years without
a tax increase. Do you believe the state budget should be balanced by: Does
Governor Barbour have enough diversity in his administration?
Two Democrats, Rep. Bobby Moody of Louisville and Rep. Bobby Shows of Ellisville, broke with their leadership by not voting for the legislation. Twenty-one Republicans broke with a majority of their membership in the House to vote for it. Republicans voting for campaign finance reform were: Larry
Baker – Senatobia Big
trouble for Little Thurston
is the older brother of President Pro Temporae Travis Little who is Lt.
Governor Amy Tuck's closest confidant. Last August Tuck revealed that
Thurston's company, North Mississippi Supply Company, loaned her $20,000
for personal living expenses during the 1999 campaign. Columnist Sid Salter
wrote this week that Little's guilty plea turns Tuck's loan into a "Full
fledged political nightmare."
Congressman Chip Pickering has added Commander Mike Lipski of Long Beach to his Washington DC staff as Military Legislative Assistant and Special Projects Director. Lipski comes to the office with two decades of service in the US Navy at sea, on bases around the world and at the Pentagon. Lipski's legislative service includes service as Navy Legislative Fellow on the National Security Staff of then Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. Lipski will handle military and homeland security issues for Pickering as well as direct the efforts at protecting the Naval Air Station in Meridian from the next round of base closures (BRAC). Mick
Bullock has been named Director of Public Relations for State
Auditor Phil Bryant. Bullock's background includes work with the Columbian
Progress and he has worked with several Republican officials and campaigns. The Senate bill, which has been sent to the House, will likely get a chilly reception among the House leadership. Speaker Billy McCoy has been coy on his stance on tort reform, but if anyone ever wondered where he stood, those questions were answered when he named Rep. Ed Blackmon to chair Judiciary A in the House. Blackmon sports around Jackson in a $200,000 Bentley, paid for by his winnings as one of the most successful plaintiffs’ attorneys in the state. He’s not likely to let the bill see the light of day. If tort reform ever gets to the floor of the House, it stands a good shot of passing. Fifty-nine members of the 122-person body signed on to House legislation, HB 1579, that reforms the civil justice system in Mississippi. Governor Barbour’s political skills are legendary among political junkies. Tuck’s aren’t bad either. Both will need all they have if they are to have a chance at getting the House to agree on additional tort reform.
Kerry
- Edwards visits? With Edwards exit from the presidential race, it’s likely Kerry will be a no-show in Mississippi. Thirty-three Democratic delegates from Mississippi are up for grabs on March 9th. Gutsy
call or politically obtuse? Bush
bettered rival Al Gore by nearly 17 percentage points in Mississippi in
the 2000 election. No Democrat has carried the state since Southerner
Jimmy Carter carried the state in 1976. The last time a Bush ran for president
against a socially liberal Massachusetts elected official, George Bush
beat Michael Dukakis 60 to 39 percent in Mississippi. We’re guessing
Rep. Whittington doesn’t plan on running statewide anytime soon.
Pickering
to Vice-Chair Energy and Commerce Committee
The measure would affect several lobbyist-consultants in the state. However, it is apparently aimed directly at the nephews of Gov. Haley Barbour, who headed into lobbying after working on Barbour's campaign last year. Reps. Bo Eaton, Steve Holland, Bobby Moak and Percy Watson are also listed on Pierce's legislation. Think it’s good government instead of a political move. Consider this? Former Speaker of the House Tim Ford, though not a registered lobbyist with the Secretary of State’s office, is making calls on behalf of clients. Ex-Senator Crowell Armstrong and former House members Will Green Poindexter, Tom Wallace (who was defeated last November), Willie Bozeman and Bob Montgomery are currently registered lobbyist. So is Gary Anderson who resigned as head of the Department of Finance Administration to run for Treasurer last year. Over the years, many members of the House, Senate and the executive branch have left state government and immediately began lobbying careers. If it’s good for the goose, it’s good for the gander. No word yet when Pierce, Eaton, Holland, Moak and Watson are going add themselves and their colleagues to their “good government” legislation. We won’t hold our breath for them to correct their oversight. State Rep. Eric Flemming, who probably introduces more bills than any other member of the House, has outdone himself this time. HB 221, authored by Flemming, would authorize the state to issue distinctive car tags featuring cartoon characters from Disney, Looney Tunes and Warner Brothers.
"If you are not making $200,000 a year, you ought to be voting Democrat...You are cutting off your nose to spite your face." - AG Jim Hood "I have very good feelings about Jackson — a city with significant accomplishments in civil rights," - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder
|
|
A
few weeks ago, Governor Haley Barbour unveiled 
If
it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck –
so says those who contend that all fees are taxes. Others argue that voluntary
fees like the extra cost of a vanity car tag aren’t really taxes,
but compulsory fees, such as environmental permits, are. The broad definition
is that a tax is a “charge against a citizen’s person or property
or activity for the support of government.” 
Corinth
businessman, Thurston Little, pled guilty last week to consipiracy and
money laundering charges. The charges stem from Little's involvemnt with
financeer 
