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The Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees wants to hire a new president at Delta State University by summer 2023 or sooner.

The interim president, E.E. Butch Caston, who IHL appointed last July, had said he would stay in the position for a year. The 22-page profile recently finalized by Academic Search, the headhunting firm that IHL is contracting for the search, gives some clues to the type of president trustees want to take over after Caston. 

While the regional college in Cleveland, a small town in the Mississippi Delta, is contending with plummeting enrollment and shaky finances — problems that are widespread in higher education — potential applicants do not need experience working in university administration, so long as they’re successful in their field and have a “deep knowledge” of higher education, according to the profile.

IHL prefers candidates with a terminal degree, but the profile does not say it is required. 

The profile makes clear that despite the challenges facing Delta State, IHL wants candidates with ambition that match the university’s vision to become “the best regional university in America as it combines a heritage of academic strength with a robust commitment to serving people and communities, particularly in the Mississippi Delta.” 

Delta State opened as a teachers college in 1924. The profile touts the university’s small student-to-teacher ratio; efforts to increase diversity, equity and inclusion like the annual “Winning the Race” conference; and its estimated $175 million annual economic impact on the Mississippi Delta. 

The next president will be expected to increase enrollment, both graduate and undergraduate, and retention across all classes, according to the profile. This is a significant challenge, as Delta State has lost enrollment faster than any other public university in recent years. Headcount has dropped 29% percent since 2014, with just 2,556 students enrolled this year.

Another challenge that IHL wants the next president to tackle is growing the university’s annual fund and modest $30 million endowment by reaching out to alumni, community members and regional employers. State appropriations, once the school’s most significant source of funds, have plummeted in recent years. 

Adjusted for inflation, Delta State receives less money from the state than it did in 2000. The university’s cash on hand was less than half of IHL’s recommended reserve of 90 days in 2020.

At Delta State, the enrollment and financial challenges are reciprocal. The lack of funding over the last decade has led the administration to slash scholarships and raise tuition and that in turn has made the university less affordable to students. 

In 2014, tuition at Delta State cost $6,012 a year before room and board. This year, it’s up to $8,435, a quarter of the median household income in Bolivar County. 

Most students receive Pell Grants — federal financial aid for students from low-income families — and are from Mississippi. Though the university has long, and still does, serve one of the highest percentages of Black students of any public university in the state, its demographics don’t line up with the Delta’s. In 2020, 33% of students at Delta State were Black and 55% were white, according to federal data — a near inversion of the demographics of Bolivar County, which is 65% Black and 33% white. 

IHL wants the next president to “demonstrate a lived commitment” to diversity, equity and inclusion and to work well with faculty and staff by hewing to the “the principles of shared governance.” 

On behalf of the board, Academic Search will take confidential applications until the position is filled but prefers candidates submit by January 31. Presidential searches are secret in Mississippi. 

Candidates must submit a cover letter, a “written philosophy” of diversity, equity and inclusion, a resume and five professional references. 

The post IHL wants a new president at Delta State by summer 2023  appeared first on Mississippi Today.

As the 2023 session of the Mississippi Legislature gets underway this week, lawmakers face the specter of a federal lawsuit.

Various groups have joined together to file a lawsuit on behalf of the NAACP and other Mississippians claiming that the newly drawn legislative districts dilute the voting strength of African Americans.

Republicans, who enjoy supermajorities in both the House and Senate, drew and passed the new legislative districts in 2022 session. The lawsuit asks that the districts be declared unconstitutional and that new districts be drawn.

Carroll Rhodes of Hazlehurst, a long-time civil rights attorney who is involved in the lawsuit, has said in the past the new legislative districts violate federal law and the U.S. Constitution by “packing” Black voters in a smaller number of districts to dilute their strength.

Rhodes and others claim that a new redistricting plan could generate more Black majority districts in addition to increasing the number of African Americans in other districts to provide them more impact in non-minority majority districts.

“Mississippi’s newest maps are a continuation of the state’s long history of disenfranchising Black voters. Black voices were not heard in the redistricting process and these districts, which break up Black communities and limit their electoral voice, are the result,” said Janette McCarthy, general counsel with the NAACP. “If our elections are to be just, equitable and fair, it is imperative that all Mississippians have a fair opportunity to elect candidates that reflect their communities and are responsive to their needs.”

READ MORE: Civil rights attorney signals possible lawsuit over new legislative districts that dilute Black votes

The 174 members of the Mississippi Legislature (52 senators and 122 House members) face a Feb. 1 deadline to qualify to run for reelection. So the federal lawsuit will play out against the backdrop of the 2023 campaign.

Under the plan approved by the Legislature and facing the federal lawsuit, 29% of the Senate districts are majority African American while 34% of the House districts are. Based on the 2020 Census, the state’s African American or partially African American population is 38%, while the white population is 59%.

Under the current maps, there are 42 Black majority districts in the House and 15 in the Senate. But the number of districts where Black voters can have an influence, such as a district with an African American population of more than 35%, has been significantly reduced over the past two redistricting cycles.

Redistricting normally occurs every 10 years after the U.S. Census. Legislative districts across the country must be redrawn to match population shifts found by the census.

Those involved in the lawsuit include both the national and state chapter of the NAACP, state and national chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the law firm of Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, the Mississippi Center for Justice, and others.

A three-judge panel has been convened to hear the lawsuit. The federal panel consists of Circuit Judge Leslie Southwick, Chief Judge Daniel Jordan of the Southern District of Mississippi and Judge Sol Ozerden of the Southern District.

The post Lawmakers face redistricting lawsuit as 2023 session and election cycle start appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Jackson officials said they’re still working to put more pressure into the city’s drinking water system before being able to lift the boil water notice.

Ted Henifin, the city’s third-party manager, said that the city got through Monday night without many challenges, and that the hope was to lift the boil water notice for all residents on Wednesday.

Officials had not released any further updates Wednesday morning.

“We continue to make progress restoring the system pressures,” Henifin said. “However, we still have to put more water into the system than is used on typical days. That’s because we have to account for the tremendous losses due to the deep freeze.”

He added that the city is continuing to ask residents to conserve water where possible.

“This will help us get pressure and water to those that have suffered without any water since Christmas Eve,” Henifin said.

Most of the city has been under a boil water notice for the past 10 days, since Christmas morning, after below-freezing temperatures once again wrecked the city’s distribution system. On Friday, after getting clean water samples, officials lifted the boil water notice for Jackson’s well system customers as well as residents in the 39211 zip code, the corner of the city closest to the O.B. Curtis water treatment plant.

Henifin initially said on Friday that, barring an “unforeseen issue cropping up,” pressure should be restored by Monday.

To lift the boil water notice, the city has to see pressure restored and then conduct tests to make sure the water is clean of bacteria. It takes a day to get the results from those samples.

Meanwhile, Jackson State University is asking students to delay their move-in because of the city’s low water pressure.

The city is distributing water at the following locations:

2 p.m.

Metro Center Mall near old Dillards Loading Dock

Flushing Water & Drinking Water

Elderly or disabled residents seeking water delivery should call 311 or 601-960-1111. 

The city also provided details for getting water in Spanish below:

2 p.m.

Metro Center Mall cerca del antiguo muelle de carga de Dillards

Agua de descarga y agua potable

Área de aparcamiento detrás de Forest Hill High School, Jackson, MS

Agua  potable

Si no puede viajar a un sitio de distribución, llame al 311 o al 601.960.1111

The post Jackson officials push back lifting boil water notice as pressure remains low appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Legislative leaders hope to override Gov. Tate Reeves’ line-item vetoes of projects lawmakers approved last year, including $13 million to rejuvenate a golf course and build a nature trail at LeFleur’s Bluff State Park in Jackson.

“We are looking into overriding it,” House Speaker Philip Gunn said on Tuesday. “That’s because of the precedence it sets — no matter who is governor. It’s the executive branch trying to usurp the power of the legislative branch. We are having discussions now.”

Lawmakers say that besides killing projects approved by the Legislature, Reeves’ action was an overreach of executive power. The Mississippi Constitution says a governor may veto or approve parts of any appropriations bill. But it does not give the chief executive line-item veto power on general bills. They can either veto the whole bill or let it pass into law.

While House Bill 1353 last year included $223 million for dozens of projects across the state, it was technically a general bill — a “transfer” bill that shifted money from one account to another — and not an appropriations bill. Reeves vetoed 10 projects, about $27 million worth, of the bill. His vetoes appeared selective, and the city of Jackson bore the brunt, with four projects nixed by the governor, including upgrades to the city’s planetarium and convention center parking lot.

READ MORE: Gov. Tate Reeves blocks state funding for major Jackson park improvement, planetarium

Overriding a governor’s veto — a rare occurrence in Mississippi — requires a two-thirds vote from both the House and Senate. That’s a heavy lift, and the clock is ticking. Lawmakers have three days from official receipt of Reeves’ veto notice on Tuesday to take the vote. Lawmakers successfully overrode a Reeves veto of education funding in his first year. Before that, no governor’s veto had been overturned since 2002, with then-Gov. Ronnie Musgrove.

When he vetoed 10 of the hundreds of capital projects lawmakers passed last year, Reeves called them “wasteful” spending. He said spending on “golf courses, private pools … city and county office buildings” and $7.5 million earmarked for three private companies without going through the state’s incentives vetting process were untenable and “bad expenditures are bad expenditures.”

Reeves also said Jackson has too many problems such as crime and failing water infrastructure for the state to be spending money on such projects. But he approved scores of other projects across the state. Multiple county courthouses received funds for renovations as did various museums and other projects.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, said on Tuesday as the 2023 legislative session started that he also wants to discuss an override with Gunn and other legislative leaders.

“I thought the governor’s veto of those items in a general bill was improper,” Hosemann said. “We have a few options. One, obviously, we could override his veto. Second, we could reappropriate those funds. Then, if he vetoed it a second time, we could try to override it then.”

Hosemann said he supports the projects Reeves vetoed for Jackson and does not consider them wasteful spending.

“While I realize the many needs Jackson has, such as water, the federal government just approved $600 million for it. We put up another $100 million … The question is whether or not we will support cultural attractions so our young men and women will come live and work here. LeFleur’s Bluff is a jewel for Jackson and for the state, and we need to treat it as such.”

Hosemann continued: “We could spend our entire budget on fixing water, but we don’t need to ignore other needs. The planetarium, LeFleur’s Bluff, Thalia Mara Hall — those are attractions for the whole state and region. We can’t ignore things like crime in Jackson, and we are not. We are spending tens of millions of dollars on combatting crime. But we can’t ignore the cultural parts of this state.”

State Rep. Christopher Bell, a Democrat representing Jackson, said: “Personally, I believe every veto the governor signed should be subject to a veto override. The governor has always displayed his hate for the city of Jackson. I wasn’t surprised by hearing the majority of the projects in the city of Jackson were vetoed.”

If Reeves’ line item vetoes of a general bill stand, it would mark another expansion of executive branch power in Mississippi.

In 2020, the Mississippi Supreme Court expanded the governor’s authority when it upheld two partial vetoes despite multiple Supreme Court cases dating back to the 1890s that had greatly limited that authority.

The post Legislative leaders want to override several of Gov. Tate Reeves’ vetoes appeared first on Mississippi Today.

We had enjoyed a stupendously entertaining holiday weekend of football. On Saturday, the NCAA semifinal games were both down-to-the wire classics with TCU upsetting Michigan and Georgia surviving Ohio State on Saturday. Then, Monday, Mississippi State won one for The Pirate, before Tulane shocked the football world, overcoming a 15-point fourth quarter deficit to stun Southern Cal and its Heisman Trophy quarterback.

All were perfect examples of why so many of us love the sport of football so much – such passion, so much drama, so many heroics. But that was enough football for me until the social media alerts prompted a check-in to the NFL Monday night game, which had been suspended because of a dreadful injury. As this is written, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin remains in critical condition from a freakish injury suffered just seven minutes into the game. Hamlin’s heart stopped beating after he tackled Cincinnati receiver Tee Higgins.

Higgins’ helmet hit Hamlin in his chest. Hamlin went to the ground, rose to his feet and then just keeled over to the ground unconscious and stopped breathing. CPR was administered on the field as players on both teams cried and comforted one another. It was shocking scene, a sober reminder that this sport many of us love so much is so inherently dangerous.

And here’s the deal: In all that football we watched over the weekend, there were scores of collisions that appeared far, far more hazardous than the one that severely injured Hamlin. His was clearly a freakish injury.

For many of us in Mississippi, it was a reminder of a scene 33 years ago at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium when Chucky Mullins slammed into Vanderbilt receiver Brad Gaines and fell to the earth never to rise on his feet again. The collision shattered four vertebrae and paralyzed Mullins from the neck down instantly. Approximately 19 months later, Mullins was stricken with a pulmonary embolism and died on May 6, 1991.

What happened to Mullins changed the way at least this one sports writer has viewed the sport. Always before, my reaction to such a collision was, “Wow! What a great hit!” Ever since, my reaction to the same sort of hit has been: “Please, get up.”

In more recent years, as we have learned more and more about the long-term effects of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), every collision and every resulting concussion rekindle the fear for the safety of those who compete. Indeed, five years ago, I did a series of stories about Mississippi football players who, years after retirement from football, suffered the dreadful effects of CTE. The families of Bobby Crespino, Doug Cunningham, and Willie Daniel donated their brains to CTE Center at Boston University. There are four stages of CTE. Crespino, Cunningham and Daniel all were in the fourth and most dire stage.

I have spoken with many, many former college and professional players, still living, who live in fear that will face similar issues. Wesley Walls, the former Ole Miss and NFL star, may have put it best. “I worry, man, I worry,” Walls told me. “It’s the biggest worry of my life because I see what it has done to other guys, guys I played with and against. I was taken off the field three times for concussions. I probably had at least four more.”

Leaders at every level of football have changed the rules to try and make the sport more safe. Targeting (a helmet-to-helmet hit) has been outlawed. Blindside blocks are now penalized. Equipment, helmets especially, have been upgraded. But there’s just no getting around the fact that these are huge, fast men running into one another. Rule changes and equipment improvements will never eliminate the inherent danger of serious injury. That’s just fact.

And this is nothing new. In the early 1900s President Theodore Roosevelt led the crusade for radical rule changes in hopes of saving the sport. Those rule changes lessened the danger and reduced deaths.

But the danger remains. And it will remain.

In the end it is up to each individual to decide whether or not to participate or, for that matter, whether even to watch.

The post A splendid football weekend was halted by reminder of the sport’s inherent danger appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Ty Pinkins, the Army veteran and Delta advocate who fought against racist pay for Mississippi farm workers, announced Tuesday he will run against incumbent Sen. Roger Wicker for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 2024 as a Democrat.

Formerly a lawyer with the Mississippi Center for Justice, Pinkins spent much of the last two years aiding Black farmer workers in the Delta who were being paid less money for their work than white visa workers from South Africa doing the same jobs. 

Pinkins, 48, said he’s alarmed that the state’s local and federal representation hasn’t responded to workers’ plights in the Delta — even after Pinkins testified before Congress in July on the topic. 

“For the last two-and-a-half years, I’ve been working with local farmers,” he told Mississippi Today. “It was uncovered that local workers were not only being underpaid but underpaid in violation of federal law.” 

A Mississippi Today investigation — and investigations by the Department of Labor — found several Mississippi farms were paying local Black workers less money per hour than visa workers, primarily white men from South Africa. Pinkins has helped Black workers get more than $1 million back in lost wages through lawsuits, according to the Mississippi Center for Justice. 

Despite U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh’s visit to the Delta to learn about racist pay and hiring practices, Pinkins said he hasn’t “heard a peep” from any elected officials in Mississippi outside Congressman Bennie Thompson. 

“You’re in that job to make sure the people of Mississippi are being treated fairly,” he said. “I’m frustrated that’s not happening.” 

Pinkins acknowledged the challenge of running against Wicker, a Republican who has held his seat in the U.S. Senate since 2007.

He said he wants to be the voice of Mississippians, adopting the campaign motto of “You talk. I listen. We do.”

Pinkins grew up in the Delta. He said he chopped cotton as a boy in Rolling Fork as his family struggled in poverty, often living in run-down homes without bathrooms. He served in the U.S. Army for 21 years and went on to receive his law degree from Georgetown. 

He now lives with his wife and two children in Vicksburg. 

Pinkins said he wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, protect women’s reproductive rights and grow access to both education and health care, including Medicaid expansion.

 “I am excited to announce my candidacy for the U.S. Senate. I am running because I am concerned about the direction in which our country is going,” Pinkins said in a statement. “My educational, military, and professional qualifications are perfectly suited to meet this precarious moment our state and our country faces, and ensure that our democratic ideals endure and prevail for future generations.” 

The post Ty Pinkins, Army veteran and Delta advocate, announces U.S. Senate run  appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Bill Waller Jr., the former chief justice of the Supreme Court and son of a former governor, is “strongly considering” challenging Gov. Tate Reeves in the 2023 Republican primary.

Waller’s entrance into the governor’s race would rattle the state’s political environment and set up a dramatic rematch of the 2019 Republican gubernatorial primary, which Reeves won by eight points after a bitter runoff election with the former justice.

Waller told Mississippi Today on Tuesday he’s been weighing a run for several weeks, talking with family, friends and political advisers. He’s ruled out running as an independent, which several politicos have suggested he do, and would instead run in the August Republican Party primary.

“I’m praying about it, I’m looking at who else might be in the race and what else might happen, but I think there’s a critical need for a change of leadership at the top,” Waller said. “In a lot of ways, the issues I ran on in 2019 are more dire, more pronounced now. So many people in this state are hurting or frustrated, and the response (from the governor) just isn’t there. It’s undermining the fabric of this state.”

Reeves, beginning the final year in his first term as governor, on Tuesday signed qualifying papers for reelection and held a press conference at Mississippi GOP headquarters.

Reeves said he had not heard Waller is considering another challenge, but appeared nonplussed when asked about it, noting that in America “anybody can run for any office they want to.” He said he is proud of his record as governor and has notched “historic successes” despite challenges of multiple natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I will continue to fight for conservative beliefs and will continue to fight for the conservative values Mississippians believe in,” Reeves said. He repeated the old political adage that there are only two ways to run for office, “scared or unopposed.”

“There’s a reason I’m 0 for 12 on running unopposed,” Reeves said. “That’s because I’m not scared to take on big things and do big things for the people of our state. When you stand up for what’s right and stand up for what you believe in, there are those on the left that don’t necessarily like the conservative direction we’ve taken Mississippi in the last few years. I’m certain we will have opposition, and whoever that might be, we will talk about our record and that’s a record I’m proud to stand on.”

Candidates for statewide office face a Feb. 1 deadline to qualify for the 2023 election.

The potential GOP primary rematch will turn heads across the state. Waller, who announced his 2019 bid in the eleventh hour and battled a name ID deficiency outside the Jackson metro area, forced a runoff with Reeves in the August GOP primary. Waller lost that runoff by 8 points, but he won 17 counties — including most of the state’s metropolitan and suburban counties packed with more educated Republican voters.

Waller also forced Reeves to spend more than $7 million to win the primary — a staggering figure that made Reeves’ general election bid against formidable Democratic nominee Jim Hood more difficult. That history looms large as whoever wins the 2023 Republican primary could likely face another strong Democratic challenger, longtime Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley, who is also considering running for governor this year.

“I can tell you this, whatever I do next in my career will continue to be focused on improving the lives of average Mississippians who can’t write a $1,000 campaign check, and who need state officials with some real backbone to stand up for them, their families and their communities,” Presley said Tuesday when asked of his 2023 plans.

Reeves spent much of the 2019 primary blistering Waller as “too liberal” for Mississippi. But Waller, a longtime Republican voter, earned the endorsement in 2019 of several former Mississippi Republican Party leaders.

READ MORE: ‘I think he’s more electable than Tate’: Four past GOP chairmen endorsed Waller over Reeves

Waller supports Medicaid expansion, which economists say would provide health care for poor, working Mississippians and help struggling hospitals keep their doors open. Reeves vehemently opposes the measure and reiterates, without evidence or research backing, that the state cannot afford it.

Waller also talked openly about wanting to greatly increase teacher pay and said he would consider raising the state’s second-oldest-in-the-nation gas tax to help fund needed repairs to roads and bridges. Reeves blocked several efforts in his eight years as lieutenant governor to raise the gas tax.

In the Jan. 3 interview with Mississippi Today, Waller brought up another key issue that he said would be a focus in a potential 2023 bid: the state’s sprawling welfare scandal. Reeves has been implicated in pieces of the scandal, and he faced a barrage of criticism from voters after his office abruptly fired the attorney who was investigating the breadth of the misspending.

“Corruption is so apparent and out of control, and most Mississippians I know are sick of it,” Waller said. “Money intended for poverty-stricken children and others being diverted to cronies and personal friends is outrageous.”

READ MORE: Gov. Tate Reeves inspired welfare payment targeted in civil suit, texts show

Reeves has long touted his focus on economic development and other fiscal gains he says the state has made under his decades of leadership. He’s said his focus on conservative spending and tax policy has been a success for the state.

But Waller on Tuesday said more needs to be done.

“We’ve got the steel mill in Lowndes County, and that was a great announcement,” Waller said. “But unfortunately, the great majority of the state has been ignored for a decade or more. A lot of people in most regions of the state can’t remember the last time they got the benefits of an economic announcement like that.”

READ MORE: Bill Waller did not endorse Tate Reeves in 2019 governor’s race

The post Bill Waller Jr. ‘strongly considering’ a primary challenge of Gov. Tate Reeves appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Citing low water pressure due to broken pipes near campus, Jackson State University sent an email Monday morning asking students to wait to move into dorms until later this week or this weekend.

Residence halls are scheduled to open tomorrow, Jan. 4, at 4 p.m. 

The request comes after freezing temperatures strained Jackson’s ailing water system over the holiday, causing water line breaks throughout the city and near JSU’s campus. 

“As an update, the City of Jackson continues to make repairs to broken water pipes near campus,” the university wrote. “While we anticipate these repairs should be completed before classes begin on January 9th, our water pressure on campus remains low at this time. For your convenience, students who can are encouraged to arrive in the latter part of the week or weekend.” 

This is the second consecutive semester that JSU has asked students to delay moving into dorms due to water issues on campus. Last fall, in the weeks leading up to the citywide water crisis, JSU postponed move-in for 750 students for two days, citing “unprecedented water pressure issues” affecting water flow on the upper floors of student housing. 

Many students went home during the water crisis last year. Students who stayed on campus had to use portable showers and toilets, and there was no laundry service. 

The city’s water issues have caused periods of low to no water pressure at JSU as far back as 2010. The campus, west of downtown and far from the water treatment plants, relies on some of the oldest pipes in the capital city. 

In recent years, the Jackson State and the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees have explored moving the campus off the city’s water system, which currently supports heating, cooling, potable and non-potable water, and fire protection systems.

These efforts have, so far, seen little to no success. 

During last year’s legislative session, IHL requested more than $17 million in funds for water-related projects on JSU’s campus. The Legislature did not fulfill those requests.

JSU has requested federal pandemic dollars to pay for a plan to build its own water system, but the state has said the award is not guaranteed. A spokesperson for the Department of Finance and Administration said it has not yet awarded these funds. 

A bill proposed last session by Rep. Angela Cockerham, I-Magnolia, sought $8 million for JSU for costs associated with building a separate water system. It died in committee.

Four Mississippi universities have their own water systems, according to the Institutions of Higher Learning. They include Alcorn State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Mississippi State University, and the University of Mississippi. 

The University of Mississippi Medical Center uses its own water source for about 90% of campus with the remaining coming from the city, IHL’s spokesperson, Caron Blanton, wrote in an email earlier this year.

Correction 1/3/22: This story has been updated to reflect the email sent by JSU was sent on Monday, not Tuesday.

The post JSU asks students to delay move-in due to city water pressure issues, again appeared first on Mississippi Today.

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Mississippi lawmakers, traveling to Jackson from every county and corner of the state, convened the 2023 legislative session on Jan. 3 at noon.

No matter how you strike it, what lawmakers accomplish over the next 90 days could impact the state for years to come. It’s not hyperbole to say that generational transformation is possible for our state this session. Mississippi Today journalists will be in the halls of the Capitol every single day, asking tough but fair questions of our elected officials and letting you know what happens.

For all the problems the state faces, lawmakers are sitting on a revenue surplus of about $4 billion — more unencumbered money than the state has ever had on hand to spend. Legislators have broad flexibility on how to spend it, and many leaders disagree vehemently on specifics. This certainly sets up dramatic debate and a wild few weeks at the Capitol.

PODCAST: What to watch for in 2023 legislative session

We already know this is Speaker of the House Philip Gunn’s final legislative session after serving three full terms, and there are already signals that his long-held power may already be waning. On the Senate side, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann faces some political crosswinds from within his own party that will play out between now and Feb. 1, the deadline to qualify for 2023 elections. With the strength of leadership in question in both chambers, we’ll keep an eye on how policy making might be affected.

Here are some other key issues, among many others, we’re watching closely this session:

• Mississippi is in a health care crisis. Dozens of rural hospitals across the state are on the verge of closing or significantly cutting back health services, and hundreds of thousands of residents cannot afford basic health care. One potential solution that is gaining momentum in recent weeks is expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, as 39 other states have done. For more than 10 years, legislative leaders have rejected the program that would flow tens of millions more federal dollars into the state coffers and provide health care to working, poor Mississippians.

• Several cities and counties are struggling to keep water flowing to residents. Jackson, the state capital, in particular, has been at the center of national media coverage as residents of the state’s largest city continue to not have reliable water services at home or businesses.

• All the while, several key legislative leaders want to completely eliminate the state income tax, which accounts for more than one-third of the revenue the state collects. Opponents of the move, including several Republicans, say the state cannot afford to lose that much annually with so many government services already underfunded. Some who oppose the tax cut want to instead send tax rebate checks directly to Mississippians.

• A broad coalition of Mississippi voters want but still do not have a ballot initiative process after the state Supreme Court struck it down in 2021. The process, which residents in most states have, allows voters to circumvent lawmakers in passing specific laws or policies.

To devote special attention to this potentially historic legislative session, we’re launching our annual special section called the Mississippi Legislative Guide. There, you’ll find the basics like how a bill becomes law, key legislative deadlines and how to find and contact your lawmakers. The centerpiece of the guide, of course, will be our newsroom’s comprehensive coverage of the 2023 legislative session.

We hope this will be a helpful resource as you navigate these next few weeks, but we want to know how it could be improved. If you have questions or suggestions for us, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you, as always, for reading. We appreciate your support as ever.

The post The eagerly anticipated 2023 legislative session begins appeared first on Mississippi Today.