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The post Marshall Ramsey: Ted’s New Adventure appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The possibility of temporarily pausing or reducing the annual 3% cost of leaving increase Mississippi’s state and local government retirees receive was discussed recently by legislative leaders.

The discussions came during a recent meeting the 14 members of the Legislative Budget Committee held with Ray Higgins, the executive director of the Public Employee Retirement System. After the meeting, legislators indicated that they do not favor limiting or changing the annual 3% cost of living increase, though the fact it was discussed highlights the trouble legislators face grappling with ensuring the financial viability of the public employee retirement system.

Some key legislative leaders indicated that they are reluctant to allow taxpayer funds to be pumped into the public pension program at the level members of the governing board say may be needed to ensure its long-term financial viability.

Sen. Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, asked if suspending the annual 3% cost of living increase for three years would solve the financial woes facing PERS, which provides pensions for most state and local government employees, including educators.

“I wouldn’t use the phrase solve all the problems, but it definitely would have a major impact,” said Higgins. “… Something like that has a direct impact on the unfunded liability.”

Afterwards, Kirby said he was only gathering information, but said that any such suspension, “I don’t think is on the table,” and that he personally would not support it.

Making any changes to reduce or suspend the annual 3% cost of living increase most likely would create an uproar among current employees and retirees. Many of the retirees take the annual 3% increase as a so-called “13th check” at the end of the calendar year.

READ MORE: PERS will ask Legislature for cash, consider changes to ’13th check’

The 10-member board of trustees of the Public Employee Retirement System has voted to increase the amount the state and local governments contribute to employees’ paychecks for retirement from 17.4% to 19.4% beginning on July 1, with another planned 2% increase. The board left open the possibility of increasing the amount the governmental entities contribute to each paycheck for retirement to 27% over a period of time.

Various legislative leaders said the increases could be difficult for the government entities to sustain, particularly local governments. They predict local governments would have to lay off employees and cut services to sustain such an increase in the amount they contribute to employees’ retirement.

House Pro Tem Jason White, R-West, said other options much be considered. White also asked had the Board looked at some type of reduction in the annual cost of living increases.

“I think there has been a commitment at least around the coffee pot … that we (legislators) want to fix this long term and we want your board to be part of the solution,” White told Higgins“… For myself, I would say we are not going to just increase it (the amount of government money put into the plan) 5%, 10% and hope it gets better.”

After the meeting, White told Mississippi Today: “I am not advocating for any specific change to PERS. My concern is for its long-term sustainability. We’ve had good conversations with Ray Higgins. He understands our cities and counties cannot afford a 50% increase in their employer contribution. Also, taxpayers are asking lots of questions on the subject during the campaign season so it’s a hot topic as you already know.”

In recent years, efforts have been made to improve the system’s financial viability that has been negatively impacted by multiple factors, including a decrease in the number of government employees. A reduction in the public sector workforce means less funds for the system.

Higgins stressed that PERS does not face immediate financial woes, but that the governing board has “a fiduciary responsibility” to ensure the pension plan remains solvent. He said the longer officials wait to address financial issues with the system, the more difficult it will be to do so.

The PERS board has also advocated for an annual payment into the system in state funds in addition to the payment contributed to each employee paycheck. Kirby said he was not enamored with the possibility of an “infusion” of additional state funds into the system. Kirby also said he understands the concerns expressed by the board about the possible financial stress facing PERS, but he questioned whether the issues facing the system are as dire as some believe they are.

PERS is providing or will provide benefits to about 325,000 members, including current employees, retirees and others who used to work in the public sector but no longer do.

The system’s current funding ratio is about 61%, meaning it has the assets to pay the benefits of 61% of all the people in the system, ranging from the newest hires to those already retired. Of course, all of the people in the system will not retire at once. Theoretically, though, it is recommended that retirement systems have a funding ratio of 80% or more.

The system is underfunded by roughly $20 billion.

While legislators expressed concern about pumping a large sum of additional funds into the retirement plan, they also indicated they understand the importance of the system that impacts roughly 10% of the state’s population.

“This is a state obligation, and we are damn well going to fund it,” said Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who is chair of the Legislative Budget Committee.

White said, “My parents are retired Mississippi educators. My wife also is a state retiree. I understand and appreciate the retirees and the duty we owe them. However, we cannot ignore the $19 billion hole that exists. My comments are pointed toward all stakeholders having an adult conversation on this issue and trying to collectively put PERS on a path to viability and sustainability. No other motivation.”

The PERS board plans to recommend to the Legislature changing the benefits for new hires, including even limiting cost of living increases at times based on the financial condition of the plan.

But it is not clear whether legislators could change the cost of living increases that the governmental entities committed to for current employees and retirees.

Rep. Percy Watson, D-Hattiesburg, asked if the state could legally make a change in the cost of living increases for current employees and retirees.

“Historically, the legal comment generally speaking no you cannot make changes,” Higgins said. “… Other states have made changes to current benefits. The landscape might have changed. But the prevailing and historical comment is you cannot make those changes.”

There have been court decisions, including in Mississippi, ruling that to make changes in benefits for current employees and retirees would be breaking a contractual commitment.

Higgins stressed, “anytime we (PERS Board members) have … analyzed the COLA always (it has been) in the context only if needed to maintain the fiscal integrity of the plan.”

The post Legislative leaders ask about suspending PERS ’13th check’ increases, though they say it’s unlikely appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The Mississippi Department of Health has approved nearly 1,800 religious vaccine exemptions as of Sept. 23, with the number of requests slowing in recent weeks.

In April, a federal judge ruled that parents can opt out of vaccinating their children for school on account of religious beliefs. U.S. District Judge Halil Sul Ozerden of the Southern District of Mississippi issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit, filed last year by parents who said the vaccination requirement violated their First Amendment rights.

Under the newly created process, which went into effect July 17, parents must complete the form on the Mississippi Department of Health’s website and make an appointment with their county health department to submit it. At the appointment, parents are shown an educational video about vaccination and are informed that if an outbreak occurs, their child will not be able to attend school or day care until it is resolved. The form is then processed by the health department.

Prior to the court ruling, Mississippi led the nation in childhood vaccinations as one of six states without a religious exemption for vaccines. It’s unclear exactly what impact this new exemption will have, but researchers have generally found a decline in childhood vaccination rates when a religious or personal exemption is added.

Dr. Jana Shaw, a childhood vaccination researcher and professor at SUNY Upstate Medical University, said unvaccinated children are often clumped together in specific communities, not evenly distributed across the state, making it easier for them to “start and fuel outbreaks.”

Data from the first few weeks of exemption requests showed Jackson, George, Pike, Lincoln, and Madison counties had the highest number of parents submitting requests.

The Health Department has continued to emphasize the importance of childhood vaccinations and encouraged parents to vaccinate their children, including hosting a series of walk-in vaccination clinics at county health departments.

The post State approved 1,800 religious vaccine exemptions for schoolchildren as of September appeared first on Mississippi Today.

St. Dominic Memorial Hospital has a new leader. 

Jeremy Tinnerello will serve as the hospital’s Jackson Market President starting next month, the health system said in a press release Oct. 4. 

The announcement comes after the previous market president and CEO Scott Kashman resigned in June.

As hospitals across the country continue to recuperate from losses incurred during the pandemic, according to one study, hospital CEO turnover hit a record high in September. 

Tinnerello was previously at Glenwood Regional Medical Center in West Monroe, Louisiana, where he served in several administrative capacities since his tenure began in 1992. Most recently, Tinnerello was the health system’s CEO for seven years. 

Dr. Richard Vath, CEO of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, the Baton Rouge-based nonprofit that has owned St. Dominic since 2019, described Tinnerello as an “authentic and committed leader” in a statement.

Tinnerello joins the 571-bed hospital at a tumultuous time — St. Dominic announced layoffs and the closure of its behavioral health services unit in June, blaming “substantial financial challenges” and losses of several million dollars in recent years. 

The layoffs affected 5.5% of its total workforce, or 157 employees. In the weeks following the closure of the hospital’s 83 psychiatric beds, Jackson-area hospitals reported that their psychiatric beds were full. 

A hospital spokesperson previously claimed that Kashman’s departure was unrelated to the layoffs or closure of the behavioral services unit. 

The post Louisiana health care executive selected to lead St. Dominic appeared first on Mississippi Today.

An error made in the Senate Appropriations Committee and passed into law earlier this year is keeping most Mississippi hospitals from accessing $103 million intended to help keep their doors open.

The Mississippi Hospital Sustainability Grant program, part of a package of plans championed by Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann to stem Mississippi’s health care crisis, was supposed to quickly send millions to hospitals to help them survive the year. One report puts nearly half of rural hospitals in danger of closing because of budget concerns.

But now, months later, that money hasn’t gone out and only a few hospitals can qualify because lawmakers funded the program with federal pandemic money.

The problem, according to health care officials, is that lawmakers designated the funding for the program to come from federal COVID-19 relief funds. Because of federal restrictions about how those funds can be administered, most hospitals do not qualify to receive them. Had lawmakers funded the program with state dollars instead of federal dollars, hospitals likely could draw the funds without issue.

Here’s how the legislative process unfolded, and how lawmakers changed the funding source over time:

• House Bill 271 was authored by Republican Rep. Sam Mims of McComb and originally sought to fund the program with federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.
• House leaders during the committee process amended the bill to instead be funded by state dollars via the Capital Expense Fund, where the Legislature’s excess revenue from prior fiscal years are housed. The House passed that version of the bill on February 16 and sent it to the Senate for consideration.
• In the Senate Appropriations Committee on March 9, before the bill reached the Senate floor, leaders amended the bill to change the funding source to federal funds once more — despite a record state revenue surplus of about $3.6 billion.
• That amended bill featuring the federal funding was later passed by the entire Senate on March 9.
• The House sent the amended bill to a conference committee, where three leaders from both the House and the Senate met to hash out differences. The bill that made it through the conference committee process kept the federal funding source intact, and the total hospital grant program featured in the bill was upped to $103 million. 
• Both chambers of the Legislature passed that final version on March 31, and Gov. Tate Reeves signed the bill into law on April 17.

It’s not exactly clear which senator pushed for the change to the program’s funding from state to federal. While subcommittee meetings are open, closed door meetings, where major legislative proposals are often made, are common in the Legislature. The state budgeting process, in particular, routinely operates outside public view.

Sen. Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, presented House Bill 271 as the first piece of legislation the Senate Appropriations Committee discussed on March 9.

Blackwell said in that committee meeting that the bill’s funding would likely need to be increased. Sen. Briggs Hopson, R-Vicksburg, who chairs the powerful committee, then explained that additional funds might have to come from another source outside of the federal COVID-19 funds before the bill passed the committee.

A recording of the March 9 meeting shows that discussion about the bill was brief, and the amendment to the funding’s source was unanimously passed by the committee members. 

Blackwell, Hopson, and Sen. John Polk, a Republican from Hattiesburg and the vice chair of the committee, did not answer calls or return requests for comment. 

Hosemann, who wields great influence over the legislative process as the president of the Senate, did not say when it became clear to him the federal funding was causing problems in the program, but he was at least aware of the issue in May when Mississippi Today reached out to him and published a story about how the federal funding was impacting hospitals’ ability to access the money.

“The intent of the Legislature was to provide $103 million to hospitals and Lt. Gov. Hosemann has committed to ensuring they receive it, even if the program or appropriation source has to be changed,” said Leah Smith, Hosemann’s deputy chief of staff.

Though the error was made in the Senate committee, there were multiple opportunities over several weeks and votes for legislative leaders, members of both the Senate and House, and Gov. Reeves to catch the problem.

In the months that have followed, it’s become clear how much the program — and hospitals — have been impacted by that error.

State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney told legislators on Sept. 29 at a Joint Legislative Budget Committee meeting that just two-thirds of Mississippi hospitals have applied so far, and only half of them are eligible for the money. That’s because they’ve already received federal pandemic relief funds.

“You can’t double dip,” Edney explained to Mississippi Today earlier this week.

Edney told Mississippi Today on Oct. 4 that the health department had been “given some possible hope that a workaround we had previously hoped for might be possible after all.” It’s not clear what that workaround is.

“We’re all still working on the problem,” he said. 

Even though the $103 million was much less than hospital leaders said they needed, they agreed any amount would help the state’s hospitals. 

Edney said the health department raised concerns about the funding’s source during the session, but it appeared at the Sept. 29 meeting that lawmakers had previously been unaware of how widespread the accessibility issues were, and that the health department needed legislative direction before doling out the funds.

He made clear at the meeting that the health department, which was awarded $700,000 to disburse the funds, needs instruction from elected officials about what to do with the money — either send out the $103 million to a portion of hospitals now, or wait and fix the program in January.

It’s not clear how long some hospitals can hold on.

At least one hospital has closed this year, and several others have applied for a federal designation that slashes services but increases reimbursements and monthly federal payments. Others, Edney said, have been forced to reduce or cut the services they offer.

The post A legislative error derailed a plan that should’ve sent millions to struggling hospitals. Who messed up? appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The Jackson Public School District introduced a plan Tuesday night to close 16 schools due to declining enrollment.

The district lost about 8,500 students between the 2015-16 and 2022-23 school years, nearly a third of the district population. The district has previous consolidated schools multiple times. 

JPS Superintendent Errick Greene told the board this plan was brought forward to be good stewards of the resources the district receives, since the fewer students in a building, the more money it costs per student to operate the building. 

The following buildings are on the proposed closure list: 

• Clausell Elementary School
• Dawson Elementary School
• G. N. Smith Elementary School
• Green Elementary School
• Key Elementary School
• Lake Elementary School
• Lester Elementary School
• Oak Forest Elementary School
• Obama IB Elementary
• Raines Elementary School
• Shirley Elementary School
• Sykes Elementary School
• Wells APAC Elementary
• Chastain Middle School
• Whitten Middle School
• Wingfield High School

Greene gave several reasons that these school consolidations would be beneficial to the district, citing declining enrollment, the investment to maintain aging buildings, decreasing reliance on emergency certification teachers, freeing up funding to invest in specialized school programs, and decreasing insurance costs by selling or demolishing buildings that are not in use. 

Board President Ed Sivak questioned closing eight schools that just received A ratings, to which Greene responded that buildings are not A-rated, staff and children are. He acknowledged that school culture does play a role in success and said efforts will be made to keep staff from a consolidated school together, but reiterated that the physical buildings were not key to the success. 

“It’s our job as leaders to help people to see that you are a star wherever you go, and there are opportunities for you to be a star in a building where the bathrooms and the air conditioning and other stuff work,” Greene said. 

Greene also said reducing central office staff will be among the next steps in “optimizing” the district.

The school district’s student decline tracks with overall population declines in the city of Jackson. U.S. Census data released earlier this year shows that Jackson’s population now stands at 145,995 — a drop of 3,766 from 2021 to 2022. That 2.5% year-over-year decline makes Jackson the fastest-shrinking city with at least 50,000 residents in the United States.

George Stewart, president of the Jackson Association of Educators, empathized with teachers in these schools. 

“I’ve been an educator in Jackson Public Schools for almost 10 years,” he said on Wednesday. “I’ve seen a lot of changes in that time. Change is tough, especially when you serve in one of these schools. I have no doubt JPS, with the city behind it, will meet this challenge and succeed.” 

The district will be holding four community meetings to gauge reactions to the plan, with the first scheduled for next Monday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. at Forest Hill High School. 

A final plan is expected to be presented to the board for a vote at the Dec. 5 meeting. 

See the graphic below for the proposed new feeder patterns: 

The post Jackson Public School District recommends closing 16 schools appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Five days ago, 23-year-old Swede Ludvig Aberg (pronounced oh-bear for reasons only Scandinavians would understand) was in Rome, playing Ryder Cup golf in front of the world. He and teammate Victor Hovland needed only nine holes to shockingly bury world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and five-time major champion Brooks Koepka 9 and 7 in a foursomes match, the most one-sided in Ryder Cup history.

Sunday night and well into daylight Monday morning, Aberg, the youngest golfer in the Ryder Cup, was still in Rome celebrating Europe’s lopsided victory.

Yes, and two days later, on Wednesday morning, at 8:17 a.m., there jet-lagged Aberg was, long and lanky and with piercing blue eyes, on the first tee of the Country Club of Jackson about to tee off in the Sanderson Farms Championship pro-am. He will begin play in the 72-hole championship Thursday afternoon at 1:50 p.m.

The obvious question was: Why? Why would the guy many experts deem golf’s next big superstar play here so soon after what he had helped accomplish more than 5,000 miles away. He was asked that in the media tent after completing his nine holes in the Wednesday’s pro-am.

“I was committed to play in this tournament before Rome,” Aberg answered. “I wanted to honor my commitment. I know it’s good for me. For me to get all these experiences on different golf courses, different tournaments, play as much as I can I know it’s good for me.”

Yes, but the jet lag? The fatigue?

“I’d like to think that I am still young and can handle it,” he answered.

There’s not much Aberg hasn’t been able to handle where golf is concerned. Before turning pro, he was No. 1 in world amateur rankings. At Texas Tech, he was a two-time winner of the Ben Hogan Award as the best collegiate player in the nation. A month ago, he won the Omega European Masters, making four birdies in the last five holes for a two-shot victory and his first victory as a pro. 

Get this: Four months into his professional career, he is the betting favorite to win the Sanderson Farms Championship with 10-to-1 odds. Compare that to defending champion MacKenzie Hughes, who will go off at 45-to-1. Hattiesburg native Davis Riley, already winner of more than $6 million on tour, will go off at 55-to-1. Clearly, expectations for Aberg are off the charts.

Greenwood’s Jim Gallagher Jr., who knows a thing or two about Ryder Cup hero status, is blown away by Aberg’s potential. Gallagher covered Aberg both in college golf and last week in Rome.

“We do a lot of college golf on TV now, so I watched him a lot at Texas Tech,” said Gallagher, here in Jackson this week to provide color commentary for The Golf Channel. “His college coach described him as a once-in-a-lifetime talent, and I see nothing about him that says otherwise. Think about it: Four months ago, he’s carrying his own golf bag in college tournaments, and this past weekend he’s winning the Ryder Cup.

“His golf swing is impeccable. He hits it so far and makes it look effortless. He stays on an even keel. He’s it. He’s got it. And he’s such a nice person, he’s really easy to pull for.”

Listening to Aberg speak — and he speaks impeccable English — you realize he is determined to become the best golfer he can be, which may well be No. 1 in the world at some point. And that point could come soon.

“I was able to test the waters a little bit playing in the Ryder Cup and being around those guys,” Aberg said. “So for me to have those experiences and knowing what it takes to be the best player in the world and to create relationships with those guys and hang out with them was unbelievable. Hopefully that’s something that I’ll be able to use to my advantage the rest of this year and then also for the rest of my career.”

What did he learn from playing with — and against — the best of the best?

“They’re very good at handling and managing their own game,” Aberg answered. “It doesn’t matter what the situation is, they know what it takes, and they know their own capabilities. It sounds maybe cheesy to say, but they really are the masters of it, and that’s what I am trying to strive towards. That’s what I am trying to get to.”

What Aberg also surely learned, although he wouldn’t say it, is that he belongs with the best. The pressure of the Ryder Cup was by no means too big for him even though, as he said, “I was shaking on that first tee.”

If the Sanderson Farms Championship were a football game, Aberg’s coach probably would warn him against an emotional letdown. Think about it: He goes from playing in and winning one of golf’s biggest, most pressure-packed events before tens of thousands, to playing in a much more low-key tournament in front of hundreds. Aberg says he doesn’t look at it that way.

“I am going to be nervous Thursday morning no matter what,” he said. “I’m going to view it as the most important thing in the world as I’m standing on the tee box … Obviously last week was an incredible experience, but it’s also in the past. I am here this week. That’s where my focus is.”

As it should be.

The post From Rome and Ryder Cup to Jackson, Ludvig Aberg makes a quick turnaround appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The post Marshall Ramsey: Spittake appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Months after the Legislature passed a law directing millions to Mississippi’s struggling hospitals, not one has received that money, and far fewer than predicted will receive any money at all. 

That’s because lawmakers erred in writing the statute, according to State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney.

Legislators in February established the Mississippi Hospital Sustainability Grant Program, which was supposed to disseminate $103 million in grant money to hospitals via the state Health Department. Despite a record state budget surplus, it was millions less than the state hospital association had asked for, but hospital leaders agreed it would help keep them afloat. 

However, somewhere in the legislative process, the source of the funds was changed from the state’s general fund to federal COVID-19 relief dollars, which come with regulations. Because many of the state’s hospitals have already claimed some form of pandemic relief funds, those hospitals are ineligible for the money – an issue that lawmakers apparently did not consider. 

“Unfortunately, you picked the wrong pot of money,” Edney told legislators at a Joint Legislative Budget Committee meeting on Sept. 29. 

But lawmakers are placing the blame back on the Health Department, which was awarded $700,000 to disburse the money. 

“Effectively you’re cutting out two-thirds of the hospitals,” Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said. 

“I’m not cutting out any,” Edney refuted. “The program is cutting out two-thirds.”

A spokesperson for the Mississippi State Health Department confirmed to Mississippi Today that 75 hospitals, about two-thirds of the state’s hospitals, have applied for the money. 

Edney said at the meeting that only half of those facilities will receive anything. 

Rep. Trey Lamar, a Republican from Senatobia, asked for a list of hospitals eligible to receive the money. Edney said it was “at the office,” before clarifying a few minutes later that he’d asked agency auditors and accountants to make an official document explaining the program and its challenges and would soon provide that to lawmakers. 

When asked by Mississippi Today about the previously referenced “list,” Edney would not provide it and said it was still “fluid.”

“Let me be clear: Are you announcing to the public today that the hospitals, as it stands now, are not going to be awarded these funds we put in place?” Lamar asked. “Do the hospitals know this yet?”

Edney replied that he has been talking to hospital CEOs “one by one.”

Paul Black, the recently retired CEO of Winston Medical Center in Louisville, told Mississippi Today in May that he was disappointed in the failures of the grant program’s appropriations bill.

“Most everybody knows the challenge,” he said. 

The challenges of the program apparently came as news to the legislators, though.

Lamar, the chairman of the powerful House committee that deals with tax policy, and Hosemann, who announced a broad plan during this year’s session to help the state’s failing rural hospitals that included this grant program, appeared especially frustrated.  

“As recently as a month or two (after the session), I contacted your office and it was 85% (of hospitals) were gonna qualify,” Hosemann said. “So this has been some administrative change that we were not aware of either during the session or shortly thereafter.”

Lamar, too, questioned why these issues were coming up months after the program’s inception. The governor signed the bill in April. 

“There was no secret what we were working on,” he said. 

Edney maintained that the Health Department brought up concerns about the source of the money during the legislative process.

“Believe me, Mr. Chairman, I’m extremely frustrated with this,” Edney told Lamar. 

Edney gave the lawmakers a few options. 

They could wait to distribute funds after fixing the program when the 2024 Legislative session starts in January, or they could activate the program now and send out the money to the roughly 38 hospitals that qualify. Edney also claimed there was a way to get the federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to all hospitals, but the current statute would have to be changed to do that. 

Hosemann previously told Mississippi Today that he would support legislation at the beginning of the next session to make up the difference between what hospitals were supposed to get and what they actually got from the program. 

Edney’s recommendation at the meeting was to dole out the money to the hospitals that are eligible because of the state’s dire health crisis. Those hospitals report losses upwards of half a billion dollars, he said. 

One report puts nearly half of the state’s rural hospitals at risk of closure. At least one hospital has already closed this year, and several have applied for a federal designation that would slash services in order for more money. He said many more hospitals are reducing the services they offer to cut costs.

But Edney was adamant that he could not make the final call.

“Y’all need to make that decision,” he said. “I need to be given direction.

“The heartburn for me is I know activating the program as it stands is not what y’all intended,” Edney told the committee, before Hosemann cut him off, asking for data from the agency to make an informed decision about what to do next. 

Edney still hasn’t been told what to do, he said in an interview with Mississippi Today on Tuesday.

“I know that (the Legislature’s) desire is to get funding to hospitals the quickest way that they can,” he said. “The options are before them and they’ll decide. They’re still evaluating information being given.”

The post Legislators passed a bill that promised millions to hospitals. Months later, apparently only a third qualify. appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Incumbent Republican Secretary of State Michael Watson said he’s cut red tape for businesses, worked with lawmakers to make elections more secure and will push for major campaign finance reform if reelected.

Democratic challenger Ty Pinkins said Mississippi’s economy trails most of the rest of the country, and Watson had many years as a state senator before his four as secretary of state to champion campaign finance reform but didn’t.

The two candidates spoke and fielded questions at the Stennis Institute of Government’s Capitol Press Corps Luncheon on Monday. The forum was billed as “non-debate format,” and the candidates took the podium and spoke and answered questions in turns.

“I think Mississippi deserves a better choice on the ballot this November,” said Pinkins, a late entry into the race, replacing the former Democratic nominee who dropped out for health reasons. “… I’m running for secretary of state because I’ve been all over this state and people in Mississippi are ready for someone to lead. The problem is we have the wrong people in some of these offices … Mississippi is still near last economically because of the failed policies implemented by Republicans.”

Watson itemized numerous accomplishments in his first term, including registration of more than 250,000 new voters, working with lawmakers to prevent “ballot harvesting” and making voting machines more secure. He said his office has streamlined business services and cut red tape.

“Despite what you may hear from some of my (media) friends here today, it’s a great time to be a voter in Mississippi,” Watson said.

Both candidates vow to reform Mississippi’s weak, often unenforced campaign finance laws and reporting.

Watson said his office has a request for proposals out on a new computer system, and will work with the Legislature to create a publicly searchable campaign finance data system like most other states have. He has said he would push for his office to take over enforcement of campaign finance violations since no one else appears interested and said he has already been meeting with legislative leaders on other reforms.

Pinkins said he also would work to make campaign finance reports transparent and searchable.

“Our campaign finance reporting system is broken, and it didn’t just break last week, it’s been broken a long, long time,” Pinkins said. He said he also would push for online voter registration, no-excuse early voting and same-day voter registration on election day.

Both candidates are attorneys.

Watson, 45, from Pascagoula, served in the state Senate from 2008 to 2020. He ran his own law firm, focusing on business, construction and probate law.

Pinkins, 49, from Vicksburg, is a decorated U.S. Army veteran who served three combat tours, a former White House communications aide and former lawyer with the Mississippi Center for Justice.

The post Secretary of state candidates outline platforms at forum appeared first on Mississippi Today.