[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.
Republican Rep. Noel Atkins of Oxford and Democrat Warren McBride of Courtland believe that the state?s parks division, which has experienced revenue drops, can stay viable with the help of private companies?which, naturally, get to make a buck or two in the process.
The bill passed after animated argument, with some black representatives warning that such development would inevitably lead to exclusive patronage to whites or the wealthy.
The bill got held on a motion to reconsider by the end of the morning session.
With autism rates increasing across the country and in Mississippi, the House voted to establish a committee to study the growing disability and make recommendations to the Legislature on how to handle the problem.
The task force, called the Caring for Mississippi Individuals with Autism Task Force (nobody said representatives were good at producing catchy names) will hold its first hearing no later than April 1, 2007, and is charged with reviewing how other states, Mississippi?s school system and other agencies are handling the burgeoning autism numbers, as well as the availability of early screening in the state.
The Senate had its own fish to fry, passing a flurry of bills during the morning session. Some of the bills dealt with the justice system and state law, such as SB 2772, which makes it mandatory to have a permit in order to carry a stun gun. One of the other bills the Senate passed is a relaxing of state law making it possible for a first time drug offender to be eligible for parole. SB 2804 provides for first time offenders?so long as they are guilty of selling only a small quantity of a controlled substance?to be eligibile for parole if he or she maintains good conduct while incarcerated.
Posted by Brian C. Johnson at 09:39 AM in Legislature, Overview | Email this entry
Comments:
The bill passed after animated argument, with some black representatives warning that such development would inevitably lead to exclusive patronage to whites or the wealthy.
*sigh* Can’t we just agree it’s a dumb idea?
Posted by on 02/09 at 09:32 PM | #
I wouldn’t use the word “inevitably” myself, but I can certainly see the danger these representatives are talking about.
Cheers,
TH
Posted by Tom Head on 02/10 at 04:42 AM | #
I wouldn’t use it either. First time it happens, someone complains, the Feds/Courts come in, and it all goes back to normal.
Simple!
Posted by on 02/11 at 12:48 PM | #
I think it’s a safe bet that if it happened, the people doing it would be smart enough to do it in a way that wouldn’t violate civil rights law. Don’t kid yourself--segregation is still a very real everyday reality, and if you use a velvet glove approach, it’s incredibly easy to effect. I can understand the black legislators’ POV very easily. If the intent is really there to make these white venues, they will probably become white venues. The question is whether the intent is there.
Cheers,
TH
Posted by Tom Head on 02/13 at 02:28 PM | #
Segregation died at bayonet point in the south. It’s not making a return from the grave. I don’t care how much those people in the legislature kid themselves, if it became a “whites only” venue, it’d get stomped on so fast it’d violate the laws of physics.
I do notice no one cares if the poor can’t get in.
Posted by on 02/15 at 10:25 PM | #
