Week of January 12, 2015 The top priority of the legislative session is to get bills written and begin the process of deciding which will become law. The week began with Representatives making sure their constituents concerns were heard. The deadline to request bills and constitutional amendments was on January 14. Monday, January 19, marks the deadline to introduce those measures. Members did not hesitate to address big issues early on this week. After adjournment on Monday, members of the Constitution committee met and adopted House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 9 . It was debated Tuesday morning for more than two hours on the House floor before being adopted by a vote of 65-56. HCR9 is a legislative alternative to ballot Initiative 42 (I-42). Some have questioned the need for an alternative. The education community wanted us to believe that the initiative was the best thing for our state. The initiative received more than 116,000 signatures and had more than necessary to be placed on the ballot in November. Those who signed the initiative believed their effort would focus on funding to educate our children. None were shown the actual wording of the constitutional amendment. Better Schools Better Jobs sounds wonderful. Who would not sign such a petition? The following two paragraphs explain my decision to vote to include the legislative alternative on the November ballet. Supporters of HCR9 say this legislation focuses on three factors: (1) keeping the decision of school operations and funding in the hands of the voters, not a judge for whom they cannot vote; (2) preserving the integrity of the Constitution by maintaining the separation of powers between the legislature and the judiciary, not putting one third of the total budget and almost 60 percent of the Mississippi tax dollars in the hands of a judge who would legislate from the bench (one problem we have with our federal government); and (3) focusing on educational outputs and accomplishments, instead of funding as the measure of success. Supporters of HCR9 believe I-42 violates those factors and removes the voice of the people. Even if the judge’s ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court, according to our lawyers, the Court would rule on the process of the judgment (legal or not), not to change the ruling, even if they disagreed with the appropriation. One of my concerns would be the unrestricted ability of the judge to set the amount of funding. There is nothing in I-42 to restrict the judicial authority from ruling more or less money for schools or closing smaller schools. Reducing the budget amount would cause either a slashing of government programs or a harsh tax increase. There is no phase-in as purported by some supporters of I-42. The Senate adopted the resolution Wednesday afternoon by a vote of 30-20. HCR9 will appear on the ballot alongside I-42 on November 3. If proponents were careful in explaining I-42 and the people support it, then I-42 will be on the ballot (untouched by the Legislature) for their vote. Voters will have the choice to vote for I-42, for the alternative measure presented by HCR9 or against any constitutional change at all. This week sub-committee members of the Appropriations Committee heard from numerous state agencies that came forward to submit their funding requests for Fiscal Year (FY) 16. The Mississippi Division of Medicaid was among the agencies that prepared presentations for the committee. Even with no expansion of Medicaid, the rolls gained 90,000 people due to the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). He is expecting a nearly $100 million deficit request which will bring total state support of Medicaid close to $1 billion. The Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) of Mississippi briefed members about the status of the retirement system. PERS was established by the Mississippi Legislature in 1952 to provide the state’s public workforce with basic retirement coverage for life. Members pay mandatory contributions to help fund their retirement. Employers contribute about 15 percent, while nine percent is taken from members’ salaries. This year, funding is at 61 percent. State Economist Darrin Webb and Treasurer Lynn Fitch presented their annual economic briefing. Webb confirmed the US economy is growing gradually, with the Mississippi economy in a similar pattern. Lower gas prices are assisting the increased momentum and encouraging consumer spending. Income growth is beginning to improve. Consumers and businesses are relatively upbeat. He expects Mississippi to make both the FY15 and FY16 growth estimates. I am working hard to protect the people of District 19 and to support a reasonable approach to funding education. When I arrived, I was told that MAEP was underfunded by $350 million plus, it is within $250 million now. We had a budget that had $577 million of one-time money plugged into a reoccurring expense budget and the bonding companies were threating to lower our bond rating (raising interest payments). There is no one-time money in the budget now and our bond rating is steady. Our “rainy day fund” was empty, now it is full. This year, I believe there will be extra money, (not because it is an election year, but because of good budgeting) for education. Thank you for entrusting me with this challenge. I am there to serve you and keep you informed. Pray for God’s leadership to continue the progress and make a better Mississippi for our children and grandchildren. God bless, Randy
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 04:29:15 +0000
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