Category: Legislature
[C-L] Public and private colleges in Mississippi increase tuition
The Clarion Ledger reports that colleges in the Jackson area such as Millsaps, Tougaloo and Belhaven are increasing their tuition anywhere from 1.7 percent to 6 percent. Mississippi’s eight public universities are raising tuition an average of 6 percent. College tuitions are being raised to keep up with the increasing cost of campus utilities.
Posted by kate at 10:45 AM on 05/22/07. Discuss (0)
[Release] Barbour Declares ‘Emergency’ for Jeff Davis County Schools
Via verbatim release:
Governor Haley Barbour today declared a state of emergency exists in the Jefferson Davis County School District,
authorizing the state Department of Education to take immediate corrective action.
“After reviewing documentation provided by the state Department of Education, I am convinced that existing conditions in the Jefferson Davis County School District jeopardize the educational interests of the children enrolled there. My declaration of an emergency will give the department the authority to take immediate steps, including appointing a conservator, so the district can begin to recover from serious leadership and management deficiencies, Governor Barbour said.
Posted by ladd at 12:16 PM on 05/21/07. Discuss (4)
[S-H] Jamie Franks: I’m Conservative on Social Issues
The Associated Press is reporting that Democrat Jaimie Franks is saying that he is conservative on social issues such as abortionbut that his campaign will focus on economic issues:
State Rep. Jamie Franks, the only Democrat running for lieutenant governor this year, says that on social issues such as banning abortion and same-sex marriage, he’s at least as conservative as the two Republicans in the race. “The real issues that we are going to talk about once you set those aside, are economics, education and things of that nature that affect the everyday lives of the people of this state,” Franks, 34, said during a news conference Tuesday at the Capitol.
“You can count on Jamie Franks, when it comes to social issues, to be on the conservative side,” he said.
Posted by ladd at 11:47 AM on 05/16/07. Discuss (1)
[Blog] MSU’s Playboy Bunny Coverage Spotlighted
The Mississippi Press Association’s blog is linking stories about The Reflector’s coverage of Playboy auditions on the Mississippi State campusincluding a story by a French Christian newspaper (now, there’s news to some local France haters!).
We dig this line: Charged with covering the story, this reporter was dismayed to find Starkville was relatively smut-free.
Posted by ladd at 07:25 PM on 04/05/07. Discuss (3)
[Analysis] Abortion Still Legal in Mississippi--No Kidding
Charlie Mitchell of The Vicksburg Post explains to Mississippians that abortion is still legal in Mississippi even after the Legislature spent so much time supposedly outlawing it. Surely to goodness people knew this was just a political stunt, right? It’s not like we have other important issues they need to be dealing with, like the state of foster care or mistreatment of kids in training schools they should be spending their taxpayer-funded time on.
Sigh.
Posted by ladd at 06:18 PM on 04/05/07. Discuss (3)
[S-H] Lott Ready for Insurance Battle
The Sun-Herald is reporting:
[Lott] said insurers assumed they could mistreat Mississippians after Hurricane Katrina, as they have done to customers in Florida and Alabama.
“You may try it and you may get away with it, but you’re going to go through the wringer before you get there because we’re not going to take it,” Lott said as Rotarians applauded. He decried record industry profits and an 82 percent pay increase for State Farm CEO Edward Rust Jr. while the industry denies claims, cuts back on coverage and raises rates.
“We’re not looking for war,” he said. “We’re looking for peace and a solution. But sometimes, to get a good result, you have to be prepared to take on the fight and take some of the flak that comes with it. In Washington, if you take on the insurance industry, you better bring your lunch. I’ve got mine.”
Posted by ladd at 05:31 PM on 04/05/07. Discuss (0)
[AG] Legislation Establishes Partnership to Benefit Abused Children
[Verbatim] Abused and neglected children in Mississippi will benefit when a Senate Bill is signed into law. Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood applauded state lawmakers for working together on Senate Bill 3024. The measure, which passed the House and Senate last week, establishes and funds a Center of Excellence at the Blair E. Batson Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi.
General Hood explained, “A Center for Excellence is a step forward in our criminal justice system; it creates a collaboration among state agencies and other entities which provide services to abused and
neglected children. The Center for Excellence will provide non-traumatic medical and physical services as well as examinations from experts who specialize in child maltreatment for child victims of abuse or neglect. This collaborative effort will blend tough prosecution with compassionate care.”
Posted by ladd at 04:56 PM on 04/04/07. Discuss (0)
[Release] Wind Pool Receives $30 Million in Federal Funds
Jackson, MS/Verbatim - Governor Haley Barbour and Commissioner of Insurance George Dale announced today that the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association (MWUA or Wind Pool) has received $30 million in Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. This announcement, coupled with the $20 million in state funds that came about with last week’s signing of the Wind Pool Bill, will allow the state’s insurer of last resort to slash commercial rates from 268% to 142%, resulting in millions of dollars in savings to policyholders. The premium reductions for commercial policies could begin as soon as next week.
Posted by ladd at 07:21 PM on 04/03/07. Discuss (2)
[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)
[Desk] Barbour to Make Tupelo Eco-Devo Announcement—Toyota???
A press alert just came from Gov. Haley Barbour:
(Jackson, Miss.) Governor Haley Barbour will make a major economic development announcement at a news conference on Tuesday, February 27, 2007, in Tupelo, Miss. The news conference will begin at 9 a.m. at Tupelo High School’s Performing Arts Center, 4125 Cliff Gookin.
Speculation is that this is he is going to announce the luring of a Toyota plant. This is great news, especially considering that Toyota is America’s No. 1 car producer now over GM.
Posted by ladd at 06:50 PM on 02/26/07. Discuss (0)
[Desk] Lott Vows to ‘Bring Down’ State Farm, Industry
"The Corner” at National Review Online reported Feb. 23 that Sen. Trent Lott made a courtesy call to Chuck Chamness, the CEO of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, to let the insurance industry know what train was headed their way. Chamness later summed up the conversation in a letter back to Lott:
The key passage: “Your comment that you will dedicate your next term of office to ‘bringing down State Farm and the industry’ through all means available to you, including legislation designed to harm the property/casualty insurance industry, was very unsettling, to say the least.”
Posted by ladd at 06:27 PM on 02/26/07. Discuss (0)
[Analysis] Abortion Bills Motivated by Politics?
The Associated Press is analyzing last week’s abortion bills by quoting Sen. Gloria Williamson saying that it was all about getting votes in an election year.
When the Mississippi House debated a bill to ban most abortions in the state, 16 of the 121 members eventually voted no, but none of them stood up to argue against the plan. Some lawmakers say it was no coincidence that the contentious issue came up for debate just a week before candidates’ qualifying deadline for this year’s elections.
“I think this was done in a political year for political reasons,” Sen. Gloria Williamson, D-Philadelphia, said the day after the bill passed the House. Thursday is the final day for candidates to file qualifying papers for a host of offices in Mississippi, from governor to county supervisor.
Posted by ladd at 06:17 PM on 02/26/07. Discuss (0)
[Desk] Legislative Roundup, Feb. 8
by Adam Lynch
Feb. 8
With deadlines looming, the Mississippi Legislature traditionally moves like the Tasmanian Devil during this part of the session, and Thursday was no exception.
The House passed HB 1492, a controversial bill that could prove to be the first real step in a statewide opening of parks to development.
Representatives voted 84 to 34 that six parks and some additional public territory in the state should be open for private development?as a means of providing revenue to the state parks division.
Posted by Brian C. Johnson at 09:39 AM on 02/09/07. Discuss (5)
[Release] Mississippi Senate May Reduce MAEP
Nancy Loome of the Parent Campaign sent this e-mail around this morning:
The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet acted on House Bill 238, the education funding bill. Some Senators have indicated that the Senate will introduce its own education funding bill rather than taking action on the House bill.
Any education funding bill will need to address several issues if our children are to be afforded an adequate education. Your legislators have heard your call to “fully fund the MAEP” and I believe most Senators will vote to fully fund that piece of the funding puzzle. Certainly the MAEP formula is the most significant - and the largest - piece of that puzzle. It is not, however, the only important piece, and this year is looks as though the other pieces are the ones we need to keep an eye on in the Senate.
Posted by ladd at 10:27 AM on 02/08/07. Discuss (2)
[News] ‘Two Lake’ Developer McGowan Against Eminent-Domain Limits
The Northside Sun has a story about developer John McGowan’s opposition to the eminent-domain bill before the Mississippi Legislature, that would limit the government’s ability to take private land for use by private developers:
According to McGowan over 100 people own land that would be affected by the LeFleur Lakes project, and if a stricter eminent domain amendment or bill is passed, just one landowner, owning even the smallest piece of land in that area, could stop the project from being built by refusing to go along with the project.
?If we go in there and we get everyone but one person ? and we want to build an island and a downtown park and do it privately ? the way this law reads that?s impossible,? McGowan said. ?One person could fold his arms and say, ?I?m going to shut this whole thing down,? and there isn?t a thing a judge can do about it the way that law is written.?
Posted by ladd at 01:33 PM on 01/27/07. Discuss (13)
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