Leaders' priorities, major issues for 2016 Mississippi Legislature - first session Tuesday
Geoff Pender
Jackson, MS
Tax cuts for businesses and tax hikes for road work, anemic revenue and a tight budget, ever growing needs for public education and health care and controversies such as the state flag — the 2016Mississippi Legislature will face many difficult issues. Lawmakers — including many new ones — gavel in on Tuesday, the first session of a new four-year term.
Here are some priorities of the state’s top three leaders and major issues expected to be tackled by the 174-member Legislature.
Gov. Phil Bryant
Bryant said he’ll push a suite of education reforms, “Education Works, Second Edition,” as a followup to those he championed in his first term. He said this will include a “comprehensive school choice” plan to give parents more options and because “we want schools competing for students.” He said he’ll also ask for more support and funding to continue to increase the number of national board certified teachers and funding for the Jobs for American Graduates program, of which he is the national chairman. He said he’ll continue to support appointed, rather than elected, superintendents.
Some other Legislative priorities Bryant outlined:
Workforce training
Bryant plans again to push for a workforce training program, using $50 million in unencumbered employment trust fund money. His proposal had business community and House support last year, but was killed by some hardball politicking in the Senate.
Tax credits and cuts
Bryant said he will continue to support phasing out the corporate franchise tax and will likely renew his proposal for a modest tax break for families making up to $52,000 a year — with budget safeguards tying credits to revenue growth and a full rainy day fund. Bryant said the only way he might support tax increases being proposed for road work was if it were tied to “some offsetting tax cuts for the working families who in large part will absorb any tax on fuel or sales taxes.”
Foster care reform
Bryant said the state must fix its troubled foster care program and implement federally mandated reforms and increase spending. “I’m not one to just yield to the power of the federal courts, but this is not only the smart thing to do, it’s the right thing.”
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves
Reeves said he expects numerous past education reform items, including school district consolidation and appointed, rather than elected, superintendents and changes to the Mississippi Adequate Education Program funding formula will be on the table. He noted the Republican-led Senate has passed many such items in recent years only to see them stall in the House. He noted this could change with a potential new GOP supermajority in the House.
Reeves said he will unveil a detailed legislative agenda in the early weeks of the session, but outlined some of his major priorities. They include:
Eliminate franchise tax
Reeves again will push to eliminate the corporate franchise tax of $2.50 per each $1,000 of a corporation’s net worth of business capital and property. Mississippi is one of few states to levy such a tax and the only one among neighboring states. Reeves calls the tax “an investment penalty on businesses” and said it puts the state at a disadvantage in recruiting jobs and investment. Reeves would phase out the tax, which brings in about $242 million a year, over a decade.
BP oil disaster settlement
Reeves said it’s unclear whether the Legislature will receive its first payment — $150 million — for the BP oil disaster. But he said he supports spending a majority of the settlement on South Mississippi, and says the money should be spent on one-time projects, not recurring expenses.
Expanding school choice
Reeves said he will push for a change in the state’s charter school laws to allow students to cross district lines to attend them. Reeves has said numerous times, “It should not matter what a kid’s ZIP code is” for educational opportunity.
Speaker Philip Gunn
Gunn caused a stir over the summer when he became the first state Republican elected official to publicly call for the removal of the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag (others have since followed suit). Gunn more recently said, “I stand by it,” and predicted legislation will be proposed this session.
Gunn is expected to be easily re-elected House speaker and was unanimously endorsed by the majority Republican Caucus. Gunn declined to list a detailed legislative agenda until after his formal reinstatement. But he said his priorities include:
Education reform
This includes, Gunn said, “a new funding formula that will give schools more certainty in the amount of money they receive so they can better plan and budget.”
Job creation
Gunn said job creation and workforce development are his focus because “jobs are ultimately the only way Mississippi can meet its full potential and experience prosperity.”
Responsible spending
Gunn said state government “will continue to live within our means” and the Legislature will continue implementing “performance-based budgeting.”
ISSUES
Some of the major issues lawmakers are expected to face in the 2016 session:
The budget
Setting a roughly $6 billion state budget will be difficult. A projected $64 million revenue shortfall for the current fiscal year could force the governor or lawmakers to make end-of-year cuts. State Medicaid officials have warned of a $70 million deficit — which would have to be dealt with both for the current year and fiscal 2017.
Tax cuts
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, Gov. Phil Bryant and others will push phasing out the franchise tax on businesses, which brings in about $245 million a year. But some leaders say the budget can’t sustain such tax cuts without major spending cuts elsewhere. More than $300 million in tax credits and breaks over the last four years appears to have added to a revenue crunch. For the coming year, a phased-in reduction in the business inventory tax is reducing state revenue by $126 million. “Any tax cut needs to be tied to some cut in the size of government,” said House Appropriations Chairman Herb Frierson.
Tax increases for road work
The Mississippi Economic Council, the state’s chamber of commerce, is pushing for lawmakers to raise taxes to provide $375 million more a year to fix and maintain the state’s crumbling roads and bridges. The business leaders didn’t specify which taxes or fees to raise but offered a “menu” of options that includes raising the fuel tax, increasing car tag fees and a general sales tax increase. The state’s GOP leadership has been loathe to even discuss tax increases in recent years. Bryant said the only way he’d go along with any tax increases is if they were tied to corresponding cuts.
Education
Numerous reform measures pushed by GOP leaders in the past are likely to resurface — district consolidation, appointing rather than electing superintendents and more “school choice” such as charter school expansion. But education spending as always will be a major issue. GOP leaders helped fend off a ballot initiative in November that would have usurped legislative control of education spending. But the move showed a widespread desire statewide for more spending on K-12 public education. However, this will be difficult in the coming year’s budget.
The state flag
There are renewed calls for Mississippi — the last state in the nation to include the Confederate battle emblem on its state flag — to change its banner. Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn this summer made such a call for change and said he expects there to be legislation on it this session. Gov. Phil Bryant has suggested voters should decide the issue — as they did in 2001 when voting to keep the current flag — and that the 2016 presidential election would be a good time to put it to a vote. House Speaker Pro tem Greg Snowden, R-Meridian, has suggested the state adopt an alternative flag without banning the current one.
Foster care reform/spending
Mississippi has for years failed to budget for and enact mandated foster care reforms. Bryant said recently he’s convinced the federal court is fed up and ready to take over the troubled system if the state doesn’t enact reforms. Bryant said he will ask the Legislature for $37 million to enact reforms. “If we don’t do it, the federal court is going to make us do it,” Bryant said.
Contested races
A first order of business will be for lawmakers to decide three contested races — two in the House and one in the Senate. Republican challenger Mark Tullos has appealed his loss — via drawing straws to break a tie — to incumbent Rep. Bo Eaton, D-Taylorsville. Democratic challenger Tasha Dillon is contesting her loss to incumbent Rep. David Myers, D-McComb. Incumbent Sen. Melanie Sojourner, R-Natchez, is appealing her loss to former Democratic Sen. Bob Dearing. Five-member committees appointed by the lieutenant governor and speaker will hear the challenges, then make recommendations to their respective chambers. The full House and Senate will have the final say, respectively, on who is seated. In the House, a GOP 3/5 supermajority hangs in the balance on the Eaton-Tullos race.