[Release] Conference Committee Fully Funds MAEP
From Nancy Loome of the Parents’ Campaign:
I have received word that the Conference Committee has filed its conference report on House Bill 238. The really great news is that our major initiative for this year - full funding of the MAEP - is accomplished! Thanks to your incredible efforts, our schools will finally be funded as is called for in Mississippi law! What a wonderful victory for our children! The even-better news is that the additional hold-harmless funding is also included, as is a $100,000 increase in funding for existing dyslexia programs. The bill is currently being printed, and we have not yet seen the official version. We will provide you the final “official” word once we have seen the details of the bill.
Posted by admin at 11:14 AM on 03/28/07. Discuss (0)
[Release] Gov to Act on Wind Pool Bill
[Verbatim]GOVERNOR BARBOUR TO ACT ON WIND POOL BILL - Governor Haley Barbour will be joined by legislators and other officials as he acts on the wind pool bill (HB 1500, Mississippi Growth and Redevelopment Act of 2007) in a public ceremony and press conference on Thursday, March 22, 2007, at 11 a.m. in Room 216 of the New Capitol.
Posted by admin at 08:42 AM on 03/22/07. Discuss (0)
[Release] Ross Rolls Out ‘Conservative’ Radio Spots
[Verbatim] LT. GOVERNOR CANDIDATE CHARLIE ROSS LAUNCHES THE MISSISSIPPI CONSERVATIVE MINUTE - Senator Charlie Ross, a Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor, is taking his common sense, conservative message to the voters through a slate of radio spots now being aired statewide.
“It is important that the people of Mississippi stay informed as to the issues that affect them,” Senator Ross said. “By taking our message to the airwaves, we hope all Mississippians will see that our conservative policies are having a great positive impact on our great State.”
Posted by admin at 07:44 AM on 03/22/07. Discuss (1)
[Release] Barbour Signs New Film Incentives Into Law
[verbatim Release] GOVERNOR BARBOUR SIGNS LEGISLATION TO IMPROVE FILM INDUSTRY INCENTIVES
(Jackson, Mississippi)-Governor Haley Barbour today signed Senate Bill 2997 to provide additional and improved incentives for the film industry. The bill was unanimously passed by the Mississippi Legislature during its 122nd Session.
“Mississippi has a long history of cooperation and support for the film industry,” Governor Barbour said. “This legislation will help us remain competitive in the attraction of movie production to our state, while also creating opportunities for Mississippi filmmakers.”
Posted by admin at 11:45 AM on 03/14/07. Discuss (3)
Cig Bill Supporters Mulling Options
by Adam Lynch
March 14, 2007
Proponents of the cigarette tax bill are considering other methods for getting the embattled bill out of the Senate Finance Committee after Finance Chair Tommy Robertson said he would kill the bill.
Robertson stayed true to his promises today, ignoring HB 247 as it sat in his committee on the day of the deadline. Robertson also exited the Senate chambers without a word as Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck, a supporter of the bill, asked senators to submit any last minute items for consideration.
Posted by Brian C. Johnson at 09:27 AM on 03/14/07. Discuss (1)
[S-H] MS Guardsman May Head Back To Iraq
From the Sun-Herald this weekend:
Still recovering from Hurricane Katrina and a previous stint in Iraq, the Mississippi Guard is among a flock of ill-equipped units. But ready or not, some of the state’s guardsmen have been told to align personal affairs and begin girding for possibly another trip to Iraq.
According to the Sun-Herald, the 890th engineering batallion, headquartered in Gulfport, was ordered to leave behind its equipment when it left Fallujah in 2004. When Katrina hit in 2005, the unit was pressed into service in storm recovery, despite a lack of equipment.
“The 890th really rode to our rescue after the storm,” said U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor. “They went to Iraq with the first part of the invasion and they were ordered to leave every bit of equipment, which was not necessarily a bad decision, but what was bad was not replenishing it when they returned.”
Posted by admin at 11:55 AM on 03/12/07. Discuss (0)
Renick Announces for Governor
Bill Renick, former state senator and, most recently, chief of staff to Governor Ronnie Musgrove, announced his candidacy for Mississippi Governor today. Renick announced in Ashland, Miss., and posted a web site at www.billrenick.com, including a video download of his announcement speech.
“As your Governor, I will not only support...but I will help pass the current legislation to lower our taxes on groceries...and swap it with higher taxes on cigarettes! It’s what the people of Mississippi want...it’s what the people of Mississippi deserve...and as Governor, I’ll ask the legislature to pass the bill and I’ll sign it into law within the first 100 hours the legislature is in session.”
His kick-off speech also discussed health care costs, public education funding and economic development. Rennick said that his experience in local and state goverment has “strengthened my commitment to reverse the practice of putting big corporate interests ahead of Mississippians and to stand firm in my plan to put Mississippi first.”
Posted by admin at 11:38 AM on 03/12/07. Discuss (1)
[C-L] Senate Passes Immigrant Worker Bill
The Clarion-Ledger is reporting that the Mississippi Senate passed the “Mississippi Employment Protection Act,” a bill that targets companies in Mississippi that hire illegal workers.
The amended version would penalize companies that get lucrative incentives to do business in Mississippi by stripping a prorated share of their incentives for one year, said Sen. Ralph Doxey, R-Holly Springs.
Detractors complain that the bill doesn’t task a Mississippi agency with enforcing the measure; penalties would piggy-back on Federal enforcement of immigration laws. Others have said that it unfairly targets Hispanics with a toothless measure designed for election year rhetoric.
Rep. Willie Bailey, D-Greenville, said during debate in February that supporters of the legislation were only trying to rally voters in a state election year.
?There are people supporting this bill because they?re scared they?re not getting back here,? Bailey said at the time. ?You need to go home because you have no guts. You have no glory.?
Posted by admin at 08:03 PM on 03/06/07. Discuss (1)
[S-H] Dale Orders State Farm ‘Slab’ Cases Re-opened
Insurance Commissioner George Dale has ordered State Farm to re-open cases and pay damages in all cases where Katrina left only “slabs,” where water or wind damage could not be determined, according to the Sun-Herald.
Dale said he notified the company it must do so in a letter March 6. He said he ordered State Farm to identify all cases where Katrina left only slabs, believed to be in the hundreds. State Farm must specify the amount paid and within 30 days report to him any “additional action” the company is willing to take on each slab claim.
Posted by admin at 07:45 PM on 03/06/07. Discuss (0)
[Release] Senate announces Education Bill Conferees
From Nancy Loome:
The Senate has named its conferees for HB 238, the education funding bill. Senators Gordon, Chaney and Burton will negotiate a compromise with the House conferees, Representatives Brown, Stringer and Myers.
While both the House and Senate versions of the funding bill fully fund the MAEP component, the House bill provides additional funding to hold harmless districts that would receive less funding next year than they received this year. It also provides additional resources for children at risk of failure in all school districts. This funding will be significant in helping districts improve student achievement which will, in turn, improve your school’s test scores and accountability rating.
Posted by admin at 07:43 PM on 03/06/07. Discuss (0)
[Release] Justice Kay Cobb to Retire
[Verbatim statement]
Mississippi Supreme Court Presiding Justice Kay B. Cobb announced today that she will retire, effective May 1, 2007. Justice Cobb, of Oxford, is retiring after eight years on the court. Her term is scheduled to expire in January 2009. Gov. Haley Barbour will appoint someone to serve out the remainder of the term. Justice Cobb in a March 2 letter informing Gov. Barbour of her retirement said, ?It has been an extraordinary honor to serve in this highest judicial office, and I leave with complete trust and belief that the Court is in good hands. Under the leadership of Chief Justice Jim Smith and Presiding Justice Bill Waller, and the other dedicated justices who have worked diligently to make timely, fair, accurate, and just decisions, this Court has attained a level of excellence which should continue for years to come.?
Posted by ladd at 10:32 AM on 03/05/07. Discuss (0)
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