MISSISSIPPI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Jackson, Mississippi
House
Information Office
Contact:
Mac Gordon,
601-359-3323
April
23, 2007
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2007 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
Measures
to completely fund the state's K-12 public education program, provide a $293
million package of incentives to bring a Toyota manufacturing plant to the
state and revamp the State Board of Health highlighted the 2007 session of the
Mississippi Legislature.
Oddly
enough, another measure that did not gain passage -- to reduce grocery taxes
and raise tobacco taxes -- garnered almost as much attention as those that
received final approval.
For
the second time since its inception, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program
-- MAEP -- received full funding in an appropriation of $2.2 billion for the
2007-2008 school year -- $118.2 million above the current year. The legislation
provides a 3-percent across-the-board teacher pay raise, bringing the average
salary for a public school teacher in Mississippi to nearly $43,000 a year, and
an increase for assistant teachers, along with funds for a hold harmless
provision ensuring that districts do not get less than previously received and
extra dollars to high growth districts across the state.
Community
colleges will receive a 20.5% increase in state funding while
universities get a 14.3% increase, and teaching personnel and other staff
members at the various campuses were awarded pay increases.
Funding
of the various public education programs is a major headline-grabber at every
session of the Legislature, but this year three other matters competed strongly
for attention -- the coming of Toyota, the future direction of the Board of
Health and the fight to cut grocery taxes.
TOYOTA'S
DECISION TO PLACE its eighth vehicle
manufacturing plant in Mississippi on a site where Lee, Pontotoc and Union
counties converge was a well-kept secret. Almost up until the company's
announcement that it had chosen the Mississippi site, auto industry observers
were predicting it would go to either Arkansas or Tennessee.
Swift
action by the Legislature to pass SB 3215 in a one-day period proved lawmakers'
commitment to economic development in the state, especially in a region whose
economy has been hurt by the loss of thousands of jobs in the upholstered
furniture industry. The $1.3 billion Toyota plant at picturesque Blue Springs
in Union County will provide up to 2,000 construction jobs and will employ a
similar number of workers when production begins in late 2009 or early 2010 to
build the company's "Highlander" sports utility vehicle,
With
the arrival of Toyota and the continuing expansion of the Nissan plant in
Madison County, Mississippi has been forever stamped as a place where corporate
giants find it comfortable to do business. Mississippi is one of only a few
states where the automotive manufacturing industry is marked by two such
plants.
THE
BOARD OF HEALTH'S FUTURE first came
up for heavy discussion in the summer of 2006 when the State Senate held a
series of hearings about alleged failures of duty at the State Department of
Health. Criticism was also leveled at the important health regulatory agency in
a series of articles in the state's largest newspaper.
Gov.
Barbour on March 30 signed the bill into law and put the state health officer
on notice that his job would end by June 30, unless he is fired or resigns
before that date. The bill also revamps the agency-governing State Board of
Health into an 11-person board, with the requirement that at least five members
are physicians and the remaining six are in health-related fields. The new law
requires that the board chairman must be a physician.
Another
major function of the new health board and agency will be to implement a new
tobacco control and cessation program that is to be operated in much the same
manner as the now-defunct Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi. The new Office
of Tobacco Control will be funded at the $20 million level annually -- as was
the Partnership -- and is directed to develop policies and procedures for tobacco
education, prevention and cessation programs.
SB
2764 also grants a certificate of need for a new 25-bed hospital in Kemper
County to be named for the late U.S. Sen. John Stennis, who hailed from that
county.
ANOTHER
MAJOR HEALTH-RELATED BILL emerging
was HB 528, the annual "technical amendments" to the Governor's
Division of Medicaid, which oversees the health-care insurance program for the
needy, infirmed and aged. About one-fourth of all citizens of Mississippi
qualify for Medicaid coverage.
A
key provision this year created a fee schedule for dental services, Many
dentists in the state have been reluctant to serve Medicaid patients due to a
low reimbursement rate, but the new fee setup will help alleviate that problem.
It also will likely provide for an annual increase in dentists' fees.
The
Medicaid bill also establishes the "money follows the person" concept
providing that eligible persons in long-term nursing facilities may transfer to
independent-living types of home and community-based settings. Another part of
the bill directs an evaluation of non-emergency transportation services
provided under the Medicaid program.
On
other health-related matters, we passed SB 2391 to ban most abortions in if the
federal Roe v. Wade law allowing abortions is overturned by the U.S. Supreme
Court; we passed several bills to encourage the construction of a burn
treatment center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, but we did
not provide the funds this year and you can expect it to be a top issue in the
2008 session; we provided $3 million to the Regional Medical Center in Memphis
to help cover the cost of Mississippians treated there; and we decided to
review the state's trauma care system. Lawmakers also passed a bill to continue
transportation for dialysis services for some Medicaid patients. The Legislature
also passed HB 1465 to provide grants for medical school students who would
upon graduation work in a rural or medically underserved area of the state.
THE
MOVE TO REDUCE TAXES on groceries and
to raise taxes on cigarettes was in the news from day one of the session and
discussion of it continued throughout the 90-day meeting. In the end, however,
the issue remain unresolved after the State Senate's refusal to consider the
measure.
The
House of Representatives passed HB 247 in such a large manner (91 for, 27
against) that it would easily have overridden any veto that was threatened by
Gov. Haley Barbour. Under the bill, Mississippi's per-pack excise tax on
cigarettes would have risen from 18-cents per pack to $1 per pack on July 1 and
the state's highest-in-the-nation 7 percent tax on groceries would have been
cut in half to 3-1/2 percent. Municipalities would have been "made
whole" by increasing the sales tax diversion back to them from 18.5 percent
to 37 percent. It was noted that the House had passed this same bill in 2006
and had voted positively on this issue about 10 times over the past few years.
Discussion
of the issue included a report from the Stennis Institute of Government at
Mississippi State University on the problems caused by tobacco. It said there
is "robust support" statewide for the notion that increasing
cigarette taxes is an effective way to motivate smokers to quit. An astounding
figure is that an estimated 4,400 state high school students start smoking each
year.
During
the session, it was noted after adjournment, the State Senate had three
opportunities to help reduce poverty in Mississippi. A startling new survey
showing that 40 percent of all Mississippi residents live in poverty had just
been released. The House not only passed the bill to reduce grocery taxes, but
it also voted to raise the state's minimum wage and to increase the weekly
unemployment compensation -- only to see each measure fail in the Senate with
little or no discussion.
K-12
PUBLIC EDUCATION issues remain the
top priority of the Mississippi House of Representatives. With that in mind,
following is a review of some other education bills that passed the 2007
session:
HOUSE
BILL 238 – K-12
appropriations bill fully funds MAEP and provides funding for the following key
areas: a 3% across-the-board teacher pay raise; $500 raise for assistant
teachers from $12,000 to $12,500; hold harmless funding for any district that
would receive less funding in FY 08 than FY 07. The bill creates an 11-member task force to evaluate
programs, services and funding for at-risk students. The bill requires the Department to evaluate the costs and
needs for expanding the Mississippi Virtual Public School to encompass all grades
from K-12 and report to the Legislature on such expansion by January 2, 2008.
HOUSE
BILL 554 – extends to July
1, 2009, the repealer on procedures
for a local public school to petition for charter school status to the State
Board of Education.
HOUSE
BILL 1058 – requires that, beginning
with the 2008-2009 school year and subject to appropriations, the State
Department of Education will select early literacy and numeracy screening
instrument(s) to be used by school districts in the screening of students in
kindergarten through third grade.
The bill prohibits districts from using literacy or numeracy screening
to determine student promotion.
HOUSE
BILL 1132 – provides for the Public
School Nurse Act of 2007 to be administered by the Department of Education
through the Office of Healthy Schools, which will be responsible for the
administration and supervision of the school nurse program. The bill requires the Department to
develop standards, procedures and criteria for the school nurse programs in
kindergarten through grade 12.
HOUSE
BILL 1267 – creates an
Autism Task Force to study and make recommendations to the Legislature by
December 1, 2007, on autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), how to
identify and treat ASD, and ways to improve delivery of services. Membership of
the Task Force shall be composed of the following:
SENATE BILL 2324 – extends
the code sections regarding the plan for habitually disruptive students to be
based on evidence-based practices and be implemented two weeks following the
act. The bill deletes reference to
a child being under the age of 13 for a psychological evaluation to be
performed after the childŐs second act of disruptive behavior. The bill also
requires the Department of Education to provide conflict resolution and
mediation materials based on evidence-based practices and positive behavioral
intervention supports to districts prior to the 2007-2008 school year.
SENATE
BILL 2345 – authorizes the
State Board of Education to develop and pilot a program to redesign secondary
schools in Mississippi to function as curriculum and educational entities as
well as workforce development centers. Contingent upon appropriations, a
minimum of 15 sites will be selected for implementation during the 2007-2008
school year.
SENATE
BILL 2667 – implements a
voluntary early child care and education grant program to be a collaboration
for providing prekindergarten programs. The bill allows for applications for
funds to pay the cost of additional teaching staff, materials and equipment,
and improve the quality of educational experiences to four-year-old children in
existing licensed early care and education programs. The bill requires
enrollment in the preschool or prekindergarten program to be coordinated with
the Head Start agencies in the local areas and to not cause a reduction in
children served by the Head Start program.
SENATE BILL 2818 – requires a juvenile detention center to notify the
school district officials on the first school day following a student's
placement in the detention facility. The bill also requires a school district,
which is in the county where the detention center is located and is designated
by the judge as the sponsoring school district, to provide a certified teacher
to offer educational services to detainees. The bill allows a private provider to offer these educational
services if agreed upon by the judge and sponsoring school district.
HOUSE
BILL 1185 – authorizes the
Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) on behalf of the Department of
Education to lease the land at the ŇSchool for the BlindÓ for a period not to
exceed 60 years with an option to renew not to exceed 20 years. The bill authorizes the lease of the
property in a manner not to interfere with the operation of the Mississippi
School for the Blind or the Mississippi School for the Deaf.
HOUSE
BILL 1696 – appropriates
$2.5 million of the $20 million from the Tobacco Control Program Fund to the
Department of Education for the school nurse program.
While
fully funding the MAEP formula, the Legislature also moved to strengthen the
financial picture at the eight state universities and the two-year system.
State universities will receive $85 million more funding in '08 than they did
in '07 and community colleges will draw $35 million more. System-wide pay
increases were also authorized.
The
higher education system will also receive $122.5 million in general obligation
bond issue proceeds for additions, improvements and repair and renovation to
campus facilities. The annual "big bond bill" also includes $221.1
million in issues for state agency facilities.
State
employees will receive a $1,500 pay raise or realignment, whichever is greater.
State troopers will draw a $2,500 pay raise, while nursing professors will earn
a $6,000 annual pay increase to help alleviate a severe nursing shortage in the
state.
IF
YOU ARE A SEX OFFENDER, Mississippi
is not a good place to live after the Legislature continued to batten down the
hatches on such individuals. HB 1015 amends our laws to conform to the federal
Adam Walsh Act. The bill requires
a sex offender to submit a driverŐs license or state identification card
number, which may be electronically accessed by the Department of Public
Safety, to also submit palm prints, and any online identity. The bill requires
an offender, upon change of employment or name change, to personally appear at
a driverŐs license station. It requires sex offenders to obtain a new driverŐs
license, renewal or duplicate driverŐs license, temporary permit, intermediate
license or commercial driverŐs license or nondriverŐs identification card that
identifies that individual as a sex offender. A first-time offender, aged 14 or older and who is
adjudicated a delinquent in a youth court for the crime of rape or sexual
battery, is subject to lifetime registration.
MISSISSIPPI CONTINUES TO REBOUND from the effects of Hurricane Katrina that hit the
Coast and many counties northward on August 29, 2005. The Legislature heard
reports during the session that a homeowners grant program administered by the
Governor's Office had finally gained momentum after a stumbling start. At last
report about 10,000 affected homes had been approved for the grants of up to
$150,000, minus any insurance or other payments received.
Strengthening
of the so-called "wind pool," an insurance plan of last resort that
is administered by the state, was a paramount issue during the session. HB 1500
strengthened the program with a $20 million annual infusion of cash for the
next four years and after the session the state received $30 million in
additional federal funds to further bolster the program. HB 1500 passed during
the session seeks to insure market viability with an insurance premium
surcharge in the event of another major natural disaster. The wind pool insures
the property of about 33,000 policyholders, which is almost twice as many pre-Katrina.
Another
Katrina-related bill, HB 753, creates a mitigation program that could offer
grants to encourage single-family, site-built, owner-occupied, residential
property owners or commercial property owners to retrofit their properties to
make them less vulnerable to hurricane damage. It also states that members of
the Building Codes Council must be state residents.
AMONG
THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT measures in addition
to luring Toyota to Mississippi that passed the Legislature were HB 1142
enhancing a state tourism sales tax incentives program; SB 2997 enhancing the
state's movie production industry; HB 351 authorizing toll roads; SB 3199
bolstering the struggling dairy industry; and a variety of bills allowing loans
or grants to small cities and counties and measures that offer tax incentives,
credits and exemptions to a variety of businesses. Mississippi is getting heavy
into peanut production and a bill was passed to create a promotion board for
that farm product.
Included
in the large bond issue (SB 3201) were these projects: $500,000 to preplan a
civil rights museum in Mississippi, which was the epicenter for the movement
during the "Long, Hot Summer of 1964"; $20 million for a statewide
wireless communications system; $4 million for an access road at the Grand Gulf
Nuclear Power Station; $4.1 million for new mental health facilities; $3
million requiring matching public funds for a Mississippi Children's Museum;
$20 million for the local bridge replacement fund; $5 million for the small
city and county economic development fund; $10.2 million for a new state
technology services center; and various projects at the university and two-year
college campuses.
Mississippi's
military personnel came in for some positive attention of the Legislature
during the session. Among the bills positively affecting both active and
retired personnel were: SB 2494 appropriating an additional $1.7 million in FY
2007 for the veterans' nursing homes; HB 1076 exempting personnel on leave from
duty in the war on terrorism from hunting and fishing licenses; HB 617
authorizing the state to pay tuition, room and board for any active duty Guard
member who is in the officer-producing program; and SB 2117 protecting
professional licenses of active duty Guard or Reserve members from expiration
while serving on federal active duty.
IN
THE LAW ARENA, SEVERAL measures passed to
enact new statutes or to clarify existing ones. Here is a look at some of the
"judicial" type legislation:
HB
898 enhances penalties against employers who willfully refuse to withhold child
support payments from employees; SB 2454 requires completion of the state's
alcohol safety program before you can get a driver's license reinstated after a
DUI arrest; HB 1271 increases the fine for taking the property of vulnerable
adults; SB 2688 increases the death benefit from $40,000 to $65,000 for fallen
law officers and firefighters; SB 2582 mandating that persons on house arrest
may not leave the state except for approved medical emergencies; SB 2760
providing city police officers with due process rights prior to termination or
suspension; SB 3015 providing expanded jurisdiction up to 500 feet of campus
for law officers at college campuses;
HB 134 providing criminal penalties for anyone obtaining an unauthorized
motor vehicle accident report; HB 432 making it a criminal act to endanger a
corrections officer with bodily substances; HB 882 strengthening penalties for
carrying a concealed weapon; SB 2264 imposing a duty on all health-care
providers and law officers to notify the State Bureau of Narcotics whenever a
death occurs due to a drug overdose; HB 1522 making various revisions in the
state's victim compensation law including that in cases of statutory rape at
the victim's request, a test for HIV must be given the accused/defendant within
48 hours; HB 1184 increasing fines for the grossly negligent preparation of tax
return; SB 3036 revising the protective order process for domestic violence
cases; SB 2459 increasing to 10 years the sentence for a felon who uses a firearm
during commission of a felony offense; and SB 2470 increasing the fine for a
convicted felon who possesses a firearm.
TWO
ISSUES THAT BROUGHT a bevy of attention during
the session were:
>
SB 2056 preventing a single candidate from seeking more than one office on any
election day. This came in the wake of a candidate's intention to seek several
statewide and local offices on the same general election date in Mississippi
this year.
>
HB 423 directing the State Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks to
create and regulate a pilot program for deer hunting over grain.
The
session included the passage of a wide variety of resolutions and commendations
affecting either issues, policies or individuals. One such matter was SB 2069
declaring August 29 will be forever known in Mississippi as "Katrina Day
of Remembrance" to honor those who lost their lives and property on Aug.
29, 2005 when Katrina came ashore on the Mississippi Coast.
Mississippians
this year will participate in the state's quadrennial election cycle. Party
primary elections are set for August 7 and the general election for November 6.
Most offices except those for municipal government will be decided.
The
2008 regular session of the Legislature will begin on Jan. 8 and is scheduled
to run for 125 days due to the beginning of the new four-year term for
officeholders.