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our young people for the changing workplace. One of those measures was Senate Bill 2534 that extends the time frame in which certain employers can claim tax credits for providing job skills training for their employees. It gives those employers an incentive to upgrade the skills of their workforce and helps the state to remain competitive by having workers whose skills are sufficient to lure in more companies that are willing to pay our people premium wages. We also increased to $7 million, the amount of money that teachers will receive for purchasing classroom supplies. In the current Fiscal Year $6.2 million was appropriated. We tried to get this number up to roughly $20 million in the education committee, but were unable to do so. I believe it is very important to make sure our dollars are spent in the classrooms and not on bureaucracy.
Additionally, we passed a bill aimed at retaining our experienced teachers by giving salary increases to teachers who have 25 to 30 years experience. If approved by the governor, the increase would be phased in over two years, costing more than $9 million starting July 1. I feel it is extremely important to keep our best teachers in the classrooms as long as possible for two reasons, the benefit of the children they are teaching and to act as role models for our younger teachers. The Senate also increased the amount of money going toward student financial aid at the college level. Our Fiscal 2009 appropriation will be $30.3 million, compared to $29.8 million allocated in the current year. We must make sure college is accessible to as many children as possible. Our commitment to community and junior colleges grew by $15.2 million.
As our budget prioritized education, we decreased by $2 million, the amount of money that we spend on prisons.
We also approved a $551.9 million appropriation for Medicaid and are working on a solution for the $90 million Medicaid shortfall. Questions remain about long-term solutions to Medicaid, but in a busy week that saw us working long hours trying to fund Medicaid we made sure that education was a priority.
We were able to forge a balanced budget without pre-planned deficits. It is one that does not take money from special funds, masking the sources of funding. For the first time we have filled our reserve fund, a smart financial move considering the volatility of the national economy and the ever-rising cost of consumer goods. There were several fields requesting raises this year, but we had to say no to most all of them. With that in mind, we refused to support an effort to raise the salaries of lawmakers during these tough financial times. And we refused to raises taxes.
We passed legislation that further protects our citizens by ensuring that crimes like copper theft, which have affected too many of us, will carry tougher penalties by establishing a paper trail that will give police the tools to work with in catching criminals. We also passed a bill that seeks increased accountability from public officials to our constituents. If approved, our ethics reform measure will seek stiff sanctions against those violate the public trust.
It was a long session in which we passed and debated many worthy measures. And it is questionable whether we will be called back by the governor for a special session. However, I will stick to the budget highlights for this week’s report and fill you in on other highlights of the session in coming weeks.
It is my pleasure to continue to serve you and look after your best interests.
Please contact me at mwatson@senate.ms.gov
April 11, 2008
In our next to last week, we in the Mississippi Senate authorized $40 million in bond funding for upgrades and repairs at colleges, universities and community colleges. In his State of the State Governor Barbour stressed the importance of cutting our bond indebtedness and insisted we only issued bonds for economic development. I am a firm believer in our colleges, universities and community colleges and believe they are a huge part of our future success as we continue
to shape a new Mississippi. Despite slower than expected economic growth, we have maintained our commitments to institutions of higher learning. The following amounts of bond money are part of what we approved for educational facilities based upon recommendations from the Department of Finance and Administration. DFA performed physical inspections of each building on the campuses to determine what level of funding was needed in order to maintain the properties. Below is a breakdown of those funds:
- Alcorn State University, $2 million.
- Delta State University, $2.75 million.
- Jackson State University, $3 million.
- Mississippi University for Women, $1 million.
- Mississippi State University, $4 million –MSU Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine $3 million. MSU operates research facilities in those areas.
- Mississippi Valley State University, $2 million.
- University of Mississippi, $5 million.
- University of Southern Mississippi, $4 million – University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Campus, $500,000.
- Institutions of Higher Learning Education and Research Center, $500,000.
- University of Mississippi Medical Center, $2 million.
- Community colleges received $10.25 million.
- On Monday we anticipate the release of the state budget for fiscal 2009 that will recommend filling the “Rainy Day Fund,” to remain fiscally conservative. The reserve fund should ideally be 7.5 percent of the estimated $5 billion budget. That would equal about $375 million to be used for emergencies or to shore up state coffers if projections fall short. About $270 million is currently in reserve - $105 million shy of our goal.
Additionally, we have not yet agreed with the House of Representatives on how best to fund Medicaid, which faces a $90 million shortfall this fiscal year. In fiscal year 2009, the program will require more than $160 million over what we spent in 2008. More debate on that matter will occur before our April 19, deadline. The House Medicaid Committee has proposed hiking the cigarette tax by $1 per pack and adding a 1-percent sales tax on alcohol, which senate leadership has vowed not to support. While I believe we should raise the cigarette tax, I think we should top it off at the regional average. We have not given up on thoughts of solving the Medicaid issue by using an assessment and reimbursement formula being promoted by the Mississippi Hospital Association. I recently spent a couple of hours with Mr. Chris Anderson, the CEO of Singing River Hospital System, in trying to gain an understanding of the Medicaid issue and how it will affect us in Jackson County. First, let me say how impressed I am with Mr. Anderson, SRHS is in great hands. Do not be surprised when we become the best hospital in the State over the next few years. In speaking with Mr. Anderson, I believe he and the other leaders in the MHA have met with a group that has a short term answer to the Medicaid issue which will give us time to figure the long term answer.
With the April 19, Sine Die deadline approaching, approval of the budget and other appropriation matters remain priority for us. Additional new numbers could soon be generated as more conference reports are filed. Our focus last week was been on the big picture, getting our revenue numbers in line. It is predicted that financial revenues will only grow by 2.1 percent – not tremendous, but below original projections. Thanks so much for allowing me to serve. Be looking for my end of the year report within the next couple of weeks to see the overall picture of what we were able to accomplish this week. God Bless, Michael
April 4, 2008
A number of bills were placed in conference to work out differences between the Senate and the House of Representatives. Among the bills in conference committee is SB 2712 – “Miss Breland’s Law” - that seeks to increase by 5-years the prison term of persons convicted of using financial information or other documents obtained from a crime victim. The House amendment seeks to lessen the sentence. Other bills include SB 2751 (a bill that will fund 8 Assitant Distirct Attorneys in the Coastal Counties), SB 2188 (a bill requiring "Sunshine"
on outside attorneys hired by the AG's office), SB 2709 (a bill that creates an Address Confidentiality program), as well as many others.
We also saw some victories when the governor signed several measures including Senate Bill 2246 that encourages municipalities to increase the number of drug courts, a move that could help lower the amount of money the state spends on incarcerating inmates, and Senate Bill 2124 that makes lawyers in the future disclose that their legal services do not constitute debt management, which consumers might assume when dealing with certain attorneys during bankruptcy proceedings.
We are still in negotiation over how to fully fund Medicaid and are in conference on S.B. 3051, which gives the Senate’s desired breakdown of spending for that division. But the financial forecast is tough, as The Revenue Estimating Group recommended lowering the state’s fiscal year 2009 general fund revenue estimate by $18.9 million, dropping it from $5,076,000,000 to $5,057,100,000.
Medicaid faces an almost $100 million shortfall this fiscal year, and will need more than $160 million for fiscal year 2009. Several of us met over the weekend in conference to figure out the best way to fund it. We are confident we will figure out the best solution and have heard rumors of a plan that will accomplish just that.
In the spirit of recognizing community leaders, deserving citizens and unsung heroes, the Senate presented SCR 628 that commended the many sworn officers and other personnel of the Department of Public Safety who have served in the United States Armed Services. As I have said before, I don't think we can ever honor our soldiers, policeman, firefighters and others who put their lives on the line for our safety enough. I pray that we always remain thankful for those brave individuals.
Thanks again for allowing me to serve. Please feel free to let me know when and how I can help. God Bless, Michael
March 28, 2008
In a split vote this week, we passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 624, which seeks permission to draft a new Voter ID bill that would give poll workers the right to ask for photo identification of persons casting ballots if they were not known to poll workers. The bill also would allow certain convicted felons to regain their rights to vote after a two-year period of good behavior and of satisfying the court requirements associated with their release. Felons convicted of murder, rape or other violent crimes would not qualify. This is an incredibly important piece of legislation
that will help protect the integrity of our election process. There is an exemption for persons born on or before June 30, 1944, from having to show identification before voting. Some Senators argued the measure was not necessary because there had been no problems with voter fraud within the state. However, when dead people are voting, I think there is a problem. This measure next goes to the House of Representatives for approval or rejection.
With deadlines soon approaching, the Senate has assigned a number of bills to conference, where senators and members of the House of Representatives will have discussions and seek compromises on the changes that each side seeks in order to keep a bill alive so that it goes to the governor where it could be signed into law. Among the bills to be debated in conference is S.B. 3051, which outlines the proposed use of $39 million for the Department of Mental Health and gives a breakdown for the spending of millions of dollars for the Division of Medicaid, which lawmakers still struggle to adequately fund. Medicaid remains one of the toughest issues we have left to tackle, but I believe we will be successful in finding a solution.
Other measures that are scheduled for conference include, but are not limited to the following:
- S.B. 2149: It seeks to have school board members elected across the state and have superintendents in underperforming districts to be chosen by appointment.
- S.B. 2985: This bill would give the Commissioner of Insurance the authority to contract with a third-party agency to assist in the regulation of foreign insurance companies that wrote policies within the state.
- S.B. 2602: The bill seeks to expand the time frame in which police can investigate claims of elderly abuse in cases where the victim is not in immediate danger.
- S.B. 2176: Seeks to increase teacher pay for longevity in the school system as a means of retaining quality instructors and as a recruitment mechanism.
Thanks again for allowing me to serve. Please feel free to let me know if I can ever help. God bless, Michael
Michael Watson
Mississippi State Senate
District 51 - Jackson County
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