Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office is appealing a recent court decision which declared giving federal money to private schools is unconstitutional, according to new documents filed Tuesday.
The Legislature gave $10 million to private schools at the end of the 2022 session in early April, a move that frustrated some advocates and legislators. The funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which gave the Mississippi Legislature $1.8 billion to spend on pandemic response, government services, and infrastructure improvements to water, sewer, and broadband.
The Mississippi chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Democracy Forward, and the Mississippi Center for Justice brought a lawsuit challenging this allocation on behalf of Parents for Public Schools, a Jackson-based national nonprofit.
The decision, which a Hinds County judge handed down last month, found that the allocation violated section 208 of the Mississippi Constitution, which prohibits giving any public funds to private schools.
Attorneys for the state argued that because the Legislature appropriated the money to the Department of Finance and Administration to run a grant program for private schools, instead of directly to those private schools, these laws did not violate the state constitution.
The decision from Hinds County Chancery Court Judge Crystal Wise Martin rebukes this argument, pointing out that the prohibition on allocating public money to private schools is not limited to any specific government body.
“The state cannot avoid compliance with our Constitution simply by delegating the power to disburse appropriated funds to an executive agency,” the order reads.
Will Bardwell, an attorney with Democracy Forward, said he was not surprised by the appeal.
“Judge Martin’s decision is thorough and well reasoned,” said Bardwell. “We feel very comfortable defending that decision at the Supreme Court.”
The judge separately rejected the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools’ (MAIS) attempt to intervene in the lawsuit. Since private schools had to be a member of MAIS to be eligible for this money, the group sought to become a party to the lawsuit in order to defend the interests of their member schools, but both the state and the attorneys for Parents for Public Schools said MAIS was introducing new legal issues that were not relevant to the case.
MAIS also filed an appeal, challenging both the denial of its attempt to intervene and the overall decision.
The attorney general’s office confirmed their intent to appeal to Mississippi Today. The Supreme Court will now review the case and make further determinations.
Hundreds of thousands of Mississippians fall within what’s called the “coverage gap” — they work lower-paying jobs that do not offer health insurance, but they also do not qualify for traditional Medicaid coverage.
About 12% of Mississippians are uninsured, meaning they cannot afford basic health care, let alone cover the costs of emergency care.
Hospitals, dozens of which are in financial crisis across the state, must provide care to uninsured patients and cover the costs themselves. This has forced several hospitals to close in recent years, and the state’s top health leaders say at least a dozen more are in imminent danger of closing.
Numerous studies have shown that expanding Medicaid — lawmakers choosing to opt into an expanded version of the federal-state health coverage program — would guarantee health care for at least 200,000 primarily working Mississippians who don’t currently have it.
But a handful of state political leaders have rejected expansion for more than a decade, ignoring the nonpartisan, reputable experts who have thoroughly studied the effects of expansion.
Below is an interactive, county-by-county map showing the Mississippi adults who would qualify for Medicaid if state leaders chose to expand.
The high school football playoffs are in full swing as we head into the second round for most of classifications. The Cleveland boys discuss this week’s biggest matchups, and toss around ideas on the 10 Conerly Trophy nominees. Plus, for some reason, they keep bringing up the Saints.
Mississippi’s only burn center has closed. The Delta’s only neonatal intensive care unit has closed. A Jackson hospital that serves vulnerable populations is gutting key services to balance its budget. One of the state’s largest hospitals is months, if not weeks, from shutting its doors for good.
Mississippi hospitals are in crisis, struggling to keep up with rising industry costs and cover care for the sixth-most uninsured population in America. Six hospitals have closed across the state since 2005, and countless more have reduced services and staff.
Even more sobering, the state’s top health care leaders warn that a dozen more hospitals across the state are in imminent danger of closing.
“Things are getting worse, not better,” Dr. Dan Edney, the state’s health officer, said in an October Board of Health meeting. “We know of 10-12 hospitals statewide that may not even be here one year from now … Those of us who are watching this in health care leadership statewide have a lot of concern.”
As the Mississippi health care crisis worsens, the state’s political leaders are facing growing pressure from health care professionals to do something they’ve refused for 12 years: expand Medicaid. Doing so, as 38 states have done, would provide immediate financial relief to the state’s hospitals that are struggling to stay alive, countless economic and health care experts have said.
About 12% of Mississippians are uninsured, leaving hospitals with little to no way to recoup the costs of care administered to some of the nation’s poorest and unhealthiest patients. Hospitals are required to provide life-saving care to everyone, regardless of whether they’re insured. In many cases, those costs are bringing hospitals — including Greenwood Leflore Hospital in the Mississippi Delta — to the brink of closing.
Studies, including one from the state economist, have shown Medicaid expansion would provide health care coverage for at least 200,000 primarily working Mississippians who don’t currently have it. More than $1 billion per year would flow to the state after expansion, and hospitals would directly receive hundreds of millions to cover rising costs. The study also showed Medicaid expansion would create more than 11,000 jobs per year from 2022 to 2027.
“When you have major hospital systems in this state that have lost a quarter billion dollars last year, hospitals that have never had losses having them now and others budgeting for major losses for next year — the number of hospitals close to the brink is the most it’s ever been,” said Tim Moore, president of the Mississippi Hospital Association, an organization that has for years lobbied for Medicaid expansion.
But Gov. Tate Reeves, Speaker of the House Philip Gunn and several powerful political brokers in Jackson have stood firm against even the suggestion of expansion, ignoring the dozens of economic experts who say the state can afford it and that hospitals would be much better off.
“No, I don’t support expanding Medicaid in Mississippi,” Reeves told a Mississippi Today reporter last week during a hospital event in Ocean Springs. “I made, very clear, my position when I was running for governor in 2019. What we’ve got to do in Mississippi is we’ve got to continue to focus on economic development, job creation, bringing better and higher paying jobs to our state.”
The health care landscape in Mississippi — and nationwide — has changed dramatically since Reeves first made that campaign promise. The stresses of the pandemic widened the cracks in already struggling hospital systems. Labor and supplies costs have surged, making even traditionally profitable hospitals reassess their budgets and services.
Reeves recently pushed legislation giving $246 million in state-funded incentives to a steel mill promising 1,000 new jobs in 10 years. It is private sector jobs, Reeves said, that will most benefit the state’s health care.
“People who work in the private sector that have private insurance have typically far better coverage,” he said.
But the state’s leaders have repeated that refrain for many years, and little has budged with either job creation or health care outcomes. Meanwhile, hospitals across the state are scrambling to make up for lost revenue.
One of the state’s largest hospitals, North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, is having to manage higher operating costs while caring for uninsured patients. State Sen. Chad McMahan, a Republican who represents the hospital and surrounding area, stops short of advocating for Medicaid expansion. But unlike many of his GOP colleagues in the Legislature, he wants to debate its merits.
The main reason he’s publicly bucked his party leaders, McMahan says: His local hospital would benefit.
“I’ll tell you how large the hospital is,” McMahan told Mississippi Today. “The hospital is so large that if it were to close, we’d have to have seven Toyota-sized manufacturing plants to replace the economic value and salaries (of the hospital), which means it would never happen in our lifetime. Values of homes would drop 15% overnight. You better believe I’m for health care. I’m for health care because it’s the right thing to do for Mississippians … It’ll sustain our communities, cities and counties.”
Gulfport Memorial Hospital, another major institution whose CEO is a major political donor to Reeves, reported operating costs going up nearly 18% in 2021. They hit operating losses just shy of $67 million for the last fiscal year.
To Gulfport’s east, the Singing River Health System’s CEO is searching for a larger system to buy its publicly-owned Gulf Coast hospitals. The system is not in dire financial straits, but leadership says they’re trying to be proactive before they hit a crisis point.
In his recent announcement of the tax incentives for the steel mill, Reeves did not mention the 600-plus current jobs that are in jeopardy at Greenwood Leflore Hospital. But the major hospital in the Delta could close imminently, leaders warn. They hoped to strike a deal with the state’s only academic hospital – Jackson’s University of Mississippi Medical Center – but those plans dissolved at the beginning of the month.
Greenwood Leflore leaders are trying to stretch their budget to stay open over the next two months with hopes the Mississippi Legislature will step in to save it. Greenwood Leflore interim CEO Gary Marchand has publicly advocated for Medicaid expansion, saying it would go a long way in helping balance the hospital’s budget.
“What’s your plan: To watch Rome burn and to let hospitals close?” said Dr. Gary Wiltz, a Medicaid advocate and the CEO of a system of 19 of rural health clinics in Louisiana. “It goes back to a fundamental question: is health care a right or a privilege?”
Pioneer Community Hospital of Newton on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. The hospital closed in December 2015. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
Merit Health Central, a private hospital in Jackson, has moved or is planning to move its cardiovascular services, neonatal intensive care unit and endoscopy to other locations outside of the city. It already closed its burn center – the only in the state to provide specialized care.
Merit Health Central, formerly Hinds General Hospital, has long been a health care and employment hub in south and west Jackson. Merit Health pointed to “the state’s decision to not expand Medicaid” in addition to labor costs and staffing challenges as to why it is scaling back its operations in a statement to Mississippi Today.
Even Mississippi hospitals that may not be in imminent danger of closing are still facing uncovered costs that are beginning to bleed their budgets dry. Masks, surgical supplies, even food and human resource services have all shot up cost – and that’s on top of the charity treatment hospitals incur costs of for patients too poor to pay for care.
Stan Bulger, who serves on the board of directors at Magee General Hospital, said expanding Medicaid would help to offset revenue losses his hospital incurs for uncompensated care.
“We’re losing out on about 15% of the revenue we could collect every month,” Bulger said. “We’re constantly trying to find ways to make that work, but if you think about it, no business can operate long-term with that much loss. Expanding Medicaid would significantly help us cover that hole, and it could legitimately keep us alive.”
UMMC, the state’s only academic hospital, had a $7 million loss in its first fiscal quarter – a loss they predicted as they battled rising nursing costs. The hospital system spent $22 million on staffing temporary nurses to fill gaps. These nurses make about two-and-half times the salaries of those nurses actually employed by the hospital.
Singing River has about 200 positions open. That’s staffing they, too, have to fill with pricier contracted labor. Singing River CEO Tiffany Murdock said she supports Medicaid expansion – and that she agrees any revenue would help hospitals fill gaps.
“If they’re just coming into our hospital with those acute care problems, they are a high dollar,” said Murdock. “With (Medicaid expansion) we’d get reimbursement for that expense that right now…we’re not.”
Increased health care coverage would also likely lead to better patient outcomes. Typically patients without health care go without a primary care doctor, their health problems getting worse – and more expensive – than if they had access to intervening medical care.
Kilmichael Hospital in Kilmichael on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. The hospital closed in January 2015. Credit: Eric Shelton/Mississippi Today
Wiltz, the Louisiana doctor and CEO of Teche Action Clinic, saw how health care in Louisiana transformed under Medicaid expansion: diabetes patients who risked limb loss with their disease now under control and people with cancerous polyps removed during colonoscopies they would have likely never had without coverage.
As of October of this year, 750,340 people in Louisiana have enrolled in Medicaid expansion. Since 2017, the state health department reported that 84,651 people received colonoscopies that likely wouldn’t have before expansion. Of that, close to 26,000 got polyps removed that could help prevent colon cancer. Another 131,680 got breast cancer screenings.
Wiltz has an easier time balancing his system’s books to secure their future serving rural residents because of the reliable reimbursements form his patients.
“Thank God Louisiana and our governor had enough integrity and compassion to expand Medicaid,” he said. “I really hope that other states – particularly Mississippi – that sees a similar population as we do would come to that same conclusion.”
But in Mississippi, as health care leaders continue to hope Medicaid expansion could soon get a fair debate at the Capitol, they’re having to live with the financial consequences of politics.
“I’ve been involved in health care in Mississippi since the early 1970s, and this is the worst, by far, of that span in my 50-year career in medicine in this state — both in terms of stability of hospitals, of having enough nurses and doctors and therapists and specialists to staff our hospitals, and in terms of patients having access to care because they’re uninsured,” said Dr. Dan Jones, former chief executive of the University of Mississippi Medical Center who has since become the American Heart Association’s national volunteer lead for healthcare expansion.
“People dying and hospitals closing are a real consequence of our failure to take advantage of expanding Medicaid.”
Mississippi Today’s Kate Royals, Geoff Pender and Adam Ganucheau contributed to this report.
Despite stacks of studies over years showing otherwise, most of Mississippi’s Republican leadership has been steadfast in its main argument that “the state can’t afford” Medicaid expansion to cover the working poor in the poorest, sickest state in the country.
In late 2018, struggling Mississippi hospitals hoping to cover hundreds of millions a year in uncompensated care for the indigent decided to call the bluff: They offered “Mississippi Cares,” a plan for hospitals and the working poor themselves to cover the state’s cost to pull down billions in federal dollars.
But legislative leaders, including then-Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn, who remain opposed to Medicaid expansion, rejected the plan. It never even went to a vote.
Now, continually hammered by uncompensated care costs for the uninsured, the COVID-19 pandemic and other financial headwinds, Mississippi hospitals couldn’t afford to cover the state’s share on Medicaid expansion, said Mississippi Hospital Association President/CEO Tim Moore. Many are on the brink of financial ruin — something they had hoped Medicaid expansion could rectify.
“I don’t know how (hospitals) would fund the match now because of the condition they’ve gotten in with all these losses. It would be left up to the state now,” Moore said. “When you have major hospital systems in this state that have lost a quarter billion dollars last year, hospitals that have never had losses having them now and others budgeting for major losses for next year – the number of hospitals close to the brink is the most it’s ever been.”
State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney recently gave a similar warning to the state Board of Health. He said six hospitals in the Delta are “in significant, dire circumstances,” and at least four others across the state are struggling.
“There are 10 or 12 that in a year or two from now may not be here,” Edney said. “… To lose six hospitals in the Delta would be catastrophic … No one’s coming to the rescue.”
Among other problems, Moore said, hospitals are having to pay back federal loans they took during the pandemic as labor costs, pharmaceutical and other supply costs skyrocket and revenue remains flat.
“It’s a perfect storm for a financial disaster for hospitals,” Moore said, one that has been ameliorated by federal health dollars in states that have expanded Medicaid per the Affordable Care Act.
To try to overcome political opposition, MHA had proposed creating a public-private partnership, expanding Medicaid eligibility to adults earning up to 138% of the poverty level but imposing a $20 a month premium on enrollees and a $100 copay for non-emergency use of hospital emergency rooms. Hospitals would cover remaining state costs.
A study projected the plan would create an average additional 36,000 jobs a year in Mississippi for the first 11 years and provide an increase in state tax revenue, a decrease in private insurance premiums and a reduction in uncompensated care costs of $252 million a year. The plan also included a requirement that unemployed beneficiaries enroll in job training or education programs.
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Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, during his fourth visit to Jackson in the last year, and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba underlined the importance of the public’s trust and participation as they sat next to each other during a roundtable discussion Tuesday over the city’s water situation.
“The mayor and I have talked about this a number of times, we know we have to earn trust, it’s not something that’s going to be given,” Regan said in an auditorium at Jackson State University. “We’re willing to work for that.”
“I don’t think that the solution just sits at this corner of the table,” Lumumba said, gesturing to where he and Regan sat. “I think it will be created by what we collectively do.”
But the public, at this point, has little access to what the next steps will be, as details over a short-term solution for the water system are sealed behind a confidentiality agreement until the city reaches an agreement with the Department of Justice.
Regan, though, provided some insight into what that process will look like: Once the two sides reach an agreement, it will go to the Jackson City Council for approval, and then back to Lumumba for his signature. Then, the DOJ will request that a federal court approve the proposal, the administrator said.
“I would then return to Jackson, sit down beside the mayor, and hopefully representatives from the state, and we will have a discussion about longer term solutions that would, at that point, include an opportunity for more public engagement,” Regan said.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan speaks during a news conference at the Des Moines TCE Superfund Site, Tuesday, May 4, 2021, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Lumumba said in a recent interview with the Clarion Ledger that the negotiations will likely result in a “third-party administrator” who will operate outside the city’s control and who will be in charge of prioritizing projects and allocating federal funds. But he added that the arrangement won’t be a long-term solution.
“The federal government, as I understand it, isn’t looking to have some, you know, indefinite or permanent relationship in the city of Jackson,” the mayor said in the interview.
During the roundtable discussion, officials and community members raised the issue of trust, not just in the EPA, but in the water itself.
“My concern is for the citizens that have seemed to have lost hope and confidence in the consumption of water in the city,” said Rep. Bo Brown, D-Jackson.
Dwayne Pickett, a pastor at New Jerusalem Church, asked about communication between the public and the EPA, echoing that “there’s a loss of hope” among residents. Regan responded that the EPA will try to do a better job of having more public engagement opportunities, and reiterated that the public will be asked for input after the DOJ reaches an agreement with the city.
Last week, the city council approved a $720,000 contract with California-based Water Talent LLC to provide four Class A operators to Jackson through February. Lumumba declined to clarify whether the city will look for another contractor after that.
The new operators began work on Monday, as Gov. Tate Reeves’ state of emergency declaration is set to expire next on Nov. 22. Lumumba said he has requested an extension of the state of emergency.
When asked about long-term solutions such as regionalization and privatization, both of which Lumumba opposes, Regan said only: “I think we all share the same goal, everybody at the table wants this to be a public water utility system.”
Earlier this fall, after a 26-12 loss to Jackson State, Alabama State football coach Eddie Robinson Jr. lashed out about Deion Sanders, saying, “He ain’t SWAC. I’m SWAC.”
It should be noted Robinson subsequently apologized, as well he should have. Everybody in the Southwestern Athletic Conference should thank the heavens for the attention and revenue Sanders has brought to the league.
Rick Cleveland
Don’t expect any similar outbursts following this Saturday’s Jackson State-Alcorn State Soul Bowl matchup at Lorman. We might see some after-the-whistle skirmishes during the game. Indeed, it would be an upset if we did not. The JSU-Alcorn rivalry is as heated as any in college sports. Tempers usually flare. But no matter what happens on the field, Sanders and Alcorn’s head coach Fred McNair likely will share a hug and retain a healthy mutual respect for one another.
“Love him, love him, love him,” Sanders said when asked about McNair during his weekly press conference Tuesday morning. “I have so much respect for him and what he has represented during his career and what he has done for the SWAC for a multitude of years.”
In a phone interview later Tuesday afternoon, McNair was effusive in his praise for Sanders. “He’s done a tremendous job at Jackson State and for the SWAC,” McNair said. “He’s helped bring things we’ve been trying to get in this league for a long time, especially in regard to TV and media exposure. He’s brought in big-time recruits. He’s made Jackson State better, but he’s made us all better. There’s no doubt about that.”
Nobody is more “SWAC” than Alcorn State’s Fred McNair. (Photo by Rick Cleveland) Credit: Rick Cleveland
It’s difficult to imagine anyone more “SWAC” than Fred McNair. He is the original Air McNair. He was a sensational player at Alcorn. His young brother, the late Steve McNair, was originally dubbed Air II McNair out of respect for older brother Fred. Tim McNair, another brother, also was a standout wide receiver at Alcorn. Fred’s son, Akeem, is a junior wide receiver for the Braves.
Sanders knows and appreciates all that. He knew it back in August of 2019 when he was on hand for the Alcorn-Southern Miss season opener at Hattiesburg.
“Shedeur (his quarterbacking son) was on a recruiting visit to Southern Miss,” Deion Sanders said. “We were there to visit Southern Miss, but I felt compelled to go to the Alcorn locker room and say ‘what’s up’ to Coach McNair for all he has meant over the course of his career. His name should be in the archives of HBCU history.
“I feel like we’ve had a friendship ever since,” Sanders continued. “Coach McNair is a good man, a great man, with a great family. I love the way he goes about his job and his business.”
Sanders, as he should, expects an all-out effort from the Braves. “Alcorn is going to come out and play their butts off,” Sanders said.
McNair expects the same from Jackson State, a team he knows probably possesses far more talent and depth than his own.
“They’ve got a lot of top notch guys,” McNair said. “They’ve got guys who could be playing at Power Five schools. They’ve got guys who have played at Power Five schools. He has brought in some really big-time recruits and transfers.”
One of those recruits is Shedeur Sanders, the JSU quarterback McNair calls “an elite player.”
“He’s a great quarterback,” McNair said of the younger Sanders. “I love the way he gets the ball out of his hand. He gets it out quick and he’s accurate. He makes good decisions. He’s a great player.”
Sanders was announced Monday as JSU’s finalist for the C Spire Conerly Trophy, and he will be among the favorites. He should be. He has completed 71% of his passes for 31 touchdowns and just five interceptions for an undefeated, nationally ranked team.
But Alcorn State, 5-5, has an outstanding Conerly Trophy candidate of its own. Meet running back Jarveon Howard, from Columbia, who has run for 1,154 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry with 11 touchdowns. There’s a story there. McNair recruited Howard hard out of high school at East Marion. Howard chose Syracuse instead. He ran for about 700 yards over two seasons at Syracuse before entering the transfer portal. One of Howard’s first calls after entering the portal was from McNair, and the conversation went exceedingly well for both. Howard told McNair he should have gone to Alcorn in the first place. Howard likely will be the best back Jackson State has faced all season.
Still, Jackson State will be a huge favorite Saturday. Alcorn likely needs at least a plus-2 turnover advantage and a big play or two in the kicking game to have a chance. But this is football and this is a rivalry game. Those things do happen – in the SWAC and everywhere else football is played.
Gov. Tate Reeves released his annual budget proposal Tuesday, using the document to renew his continuing advocacy of eliminating the state income tax and to tout many of the conservative social policies the Republican has embraced in recent years.
In his budget recommendation — which is just a pitch to legislative leaders and not a mandate — Reeves did not propose any funding to address the state’s hospital financial crisis or the Jackson water crisis.
Many of the proposals in the governor’s budget proposal are not money-related but instead statements of political philosophy.
For instance, Reeves proposed a “Parents Bill of Rights” that he said is in part a response to liberal policies in other states that require teachers and others to refer to a student at his or her request “by a name or pronoun that fails to correspond with the biological sex on the child’s official record.”
In terms of actual state funds going to local school districts to pay for their basic operations such as teacher salaries, utilities and other items, Reeves recommends $2.36 billion, which is the same level of funding currently being provided for the Mississippi Adequate Education Funding. That level of funding left the local school districts $279.3 million short of full funding. Since 2008, MAEP has been underfunded $3.35 billion.
With school districts dealing with rising costs because of inflation, many legislators have advocated for increased funding for MAEP.
Reeves did renew his call to provide $5 million for a “Patriotic Education Fund” to teach “an accurate accounting of our nation’s history.” In the past year, legislators have rejected the program. Reeves also proposed increasing the amount of funding in a voucher program for special needs students to attend private schools and creating a similar voucher program for foster children.
The Legislative Budget Committee, which consists of Speaker Philip Gunn, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and other legislative leaders, is slated to release its budget proposal in the coming weeks.
Both the governor and the legislative committee are mandated by state law to release budget proposals in advance of the upcoming January legislative session.
The budget ultimately passed during the 2023 session is for the fiscal year starting July 1.
Overall, Reeves’ proposal of $7.28 billion is $751.2 million or 9.4% less than what was approved by the Legislature during the 2022 session. But the cut is misleading because during the 2022 session, legislators appropriated various pots of federal and one-time funds for non-recurring expenses.
“Our ultimate aim is straightforward: to advance responsible policies that lay the foundation of a strong society and allow Mississippians to flourish,” Reeves said in a statement. “We will maximize freedom, we will protect your rights and safety, and we will build a future that every Mississippian can be proud of.”
The mainstay of Reeves’ proposal was his call to phase out the state income tax, which accounts for about one-third of state general fund revenue, though that percentage is decreasing thanks to a $425 million income tax cut passed during the 2022 session. Despite the 2022 tax cut, which was the largest in state history, Reeves still wants to take the final step to completely eliminate the income tax.
“My proposal is feasible, practical, and does not require cutting current state expenditures,” he wrote in the budget narrative. “Last session, the fiscal and financial environment was right. Sadly, the political environment was not. This session, I hope that’s not the case.”
In a Tuesday statement, Gunn reiterated his desire to work with Reeves to eliminate the income tax.
“We’re still reviewing it but we understand a part of it is advocating to eliminate the income tax which I have long advocated for,” Gunn said. “We look forward to working with the governor to get the votes to make it happen.”
As Reeves pointed out, Mississippi, like most states, has experienced record revenue growth and has a surplus of about $2.5 billion. He said in the coming weeks he would provide details on how he believes some of that surplus should be spent.
Hosemann has proposed providing a one-time rebate to taxpayers as multiple other states have done.
In other areas, Reeves proposed:
Career coaches. Reeves said he wants to promote Mississippi children entering “lucrative blue-collar professions such as truck driving or being mechanics.” For this year, lawmakers allocated $8 million in federal pandemic funds to provide 80 coaches in 51 counties. Reeves proposes spending $16 million in state dollars in the coming year to provide 160 career coaches to help put at least one in every school district across the state.
Speed to market fund. Reeves said the state needs to increase the number of “project-ready” sites it has to lure more economic development. Lawmakers for the last two years have provide $50 million a year for site development. Reeves proposes spending $100 million for the coming year.
Cross-district and virtual learning. Reeves proposes $2 million to help schools work virtually among districts. He also proposes $1 million to expand computer science courses statewide. Lawmakers have passed a plan that would require all schools to offer computer science learning by the 2024-2025 school year.
Vouchers for foster kids. Reeves proposes spending $3 million to allow vouchers for foster children to allow them to stay in the same school when they are transferred out of homes, or to go to schools that better meet their needs. The program would initially provide vouchers for about 400 of the state’s 4,000 foster children, but should later be expanded, Reeves said.
Childcare tax credits. Reeves proposes a state child care tax credit for parents and to allow them to write off childcare supplies.
Increase pregnancy resource center tax credits. In response to Mississippi’s ban on abortions, Reeves proposes additional state help for pro-life pregnancy resource centers. Lawmakers approved $3.5 million in tax credits for the center this year. Reeves wants to increase that to $7 million.
Reduce adoption backlogs/help adoptive parents. Reeves proposes spending $3 million to hire more lawyers at Child Protection Services to help speed adoptions. He also proposes $12 million to provide adoptive parents with larger stipends and help with legal expenses.
Increase Capitol Police spending. Reeves wants to increase the Capitol Police budget of $15.1 million by $4.56 million. He said this will allow for at least 150 officers to patrol the Jackson Capitol Complex Improvement District and reduce crime.
Enhanced school safety. The governor proposed $5 million to train employees in school districts to provide school safety.
Reeves did not propose any additional funds to help hospitals in the state that are on the brink of closing. He did propose additional funds for hospital residency programs designed to increase the number of health care providers in the state. He also proposed revamping the state program that determines the number of health care providers in each area.
