Mississippi Today investigative reporter Anna Wolfe, who has closely covered the state’s welfare scandal for more than three years, joined MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday morning to discuss a dramatic new development in the case.
(Note: Skip to the 16:15 mark to watch welfare scandal segment)
Wolfe was asked about the abrupt firing of Brad Pigott, the attorney hired by the state’s welfare department to recoup tens of millions in stolen welfare funds — money intended to help the state’s poorest residents but instead benefitted friends of welfare officials and celebrities.
Pigott, a former U.S. attorney and Democrat who had recently subpoenaed the Southern Miss Athletic Foundation for communications it had with former Gov. Phil Bryant and NFL legend Brett Favre, said his firing was politically motivated. Pigott said political operatives in current Gov. Tate Reeves’ office were behind the firing, which has spurred questions of a cover-up in the ongoing case.
Wolfe also discussed Bryant’s role in the scheme, which has become a public focus following Wolfe’s “The Backchannel” investigation. On Wednesday, Mississippi Today broke news that Bryant has been subpoenaed for records regarding the biggest purchase of the welfare scheme — a $5 million volleyball center at University of Southern Mississippi, the former governor’s alma mater.
Kermit Davis Sr. has been an integral part of Mississippi’s rich basketball history as a player and a coach..
Editor’s note: On Saturday night, July 30, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame inducts its Class of 2022. What follows is Part VII of a series detailing the achievements of the eight inductees, today featuring basketball’s Kermit Davis Sr.
Kermit Davis Sr. has been so much a part of significant Mississippi basketball history, it makes you wonder why this 86-year-old man was never inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame before this Saturday night.
Just to hit the highlights:
Kermit Sr. played high school basketball in his tiny hometown of Walnut and led the Walnut Wildcats to the Grand Slam state championship, defeating much larger Forest Hill High in the finals in 1955. It was a Mississippi version of the movie “Hoosiers” with Kermit Sr. scoring 27 points a game and playing the Magnolia State version of Jimmy Chitwood.
That same year he played in the very first Mississippi High School Basketball All-Star Game.
When the legendary Babe McCarthy signed on to coach Mississippi State, his first recruit was Kermit Davis Sr.
When McCarthy asked Davis if he knew of any taller players who might could help State, Davis replied, “You might want to talk to this guy I played junior high ball with. His name is Bailey Howell. He’s up in Tennessee.”
Kermit Sr. coached Tupelo High to consecutive Big Eight Conference and Grand Slam championships in 1965-66. His Tupelo teams won 131 games and lost only 23 and finished the remarkable 1966 season with a remarkable 40-1 record. When Tupelo defeated Pelahatchie for the Grand Slam title in 1966 the overflow crowd at Mississippi Coliseum was the largest basketball crowd in state history, high school or college.
In 1970-71, his first season as head coach at Mississippi State, he earned Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year honors, the same honor his son, Kermit Jr., would win 48 years later at Ole Miss.
Rick Cleveland
The story of how Kermit Davis Sr. became McCarthy’s first recruit is worth retelling. Davis was playing in a tournament at Baldwyn, McCarthy’s hometown, when he bumped into McCarthy, a former high school coach who was officiating at the time. Davis remembers the conversation this way:
McCarthy: “Nice game tonight, Davis. By the way, have you decided where you want to play college basketball?”
Davis: “Probably either Memphis State or Ole Miss. Probably gonna go play for Country Graham at Ole Miss.”
McCarthy: “You might want to think about that. I happen to know who the next coach at Mississippi State is going to be, and I also happen to know that he is really interested in you.”
Davis: “Yeah, who is that?”
McCarthy: “Me.”
When Tupelo won he 1965 State Championship, Kermit Davis, Sr. got a ride off the court.
Not long after, Dudy Noble, the State athletic director at the time, hired McCarthy. McCarthy subsequently signed Davis and later Howell. The Bulldogs won 79 games and lost only 16 during Davis’s college career. Davis will tell you that was mostly because of Bailey Howell. And he is right. Howell averaged 27 points and 17 rebounds for his college career. But many of those baskets came on assists from Davis.
As head coach at State, Davis recruited and coached two future first round NBA draft picks in Ricky Brown and Wiley Peck. Davis also played a major role in helping to raise the money to construct Humphrey Coliseum.
He became the associate director of State’s Bulldog Club in 1980 and helped raise money to expand Scott Field, the school’s tennis facility, the track and field facility and Dudy Noble Field. All those facilities were entirely funded by private contributions raised by the Bulldog Club during the 1980s.
Although he says he still bleeds maroon, Kermit Sr. has been a fixture in recent years at Ole Miss basketball games, pulling for his son’s Rebels. Kermit Jr. grew up a gym rat attending the practices of his father’s teams at Tupelo and Mississippi State. Kermit Jr. who majored in business as a walk-on student-athlete at State, says he never considered being anything other than a coach like his dad.
“I knew exactly what I wanted to do,” Kermit Jr. says.
And what did he take from watching his dad’s practices and games. X’s and O’s?
“Not really so much the X’s and O’s,” Kermit Jr. replies. “What I learned watching Dad was how he handled and treated people – not just his players and assistant coaches. I’m talking about the time he spent and the way he treated everybody, including the people who swept the floors. He enjoys people so much and he knew how to treat them. That’s what made him the coach he was and man he is.”
Months after a lawsuit was filed in federal court alleging the Jackson Police Department’s roadblock program violates drivers’ constitutional rights and disproportionately affects people from Black and low-income neighborhoods, attorneys from the Mississippi Center for Justice and the City of Jackson are working toward a resolution.
Settlement negotiations have been active since early March, shortly after the center filed the class action lawsuit, said Mississippi Center for Justice attorney Paloma Wu, who is also deputy director of the George Riley Impact Litigation Initiative.
The suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi against the City of Jackson and Police Chief James Davis, has not gone before a judge yet.
The four plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Black, white and mixed race. Although they are not in the room during the discussions, they are offering potential ways to mitigate harm from the checkpoints, Wu said.
Jackson police calls the roadblock program “Ticket Arrest Tow.” Since the beginning of the year, they have been used around the city to check if drivers have valid licenses, insurance and registration.
Police officials have said the roadblocks also allow officers to see if a driver has an active warrant.
“Our intent is to get wanted individuals off the streets,” court records document Davis saying to reporters on Feb. 18. “We are doing everything we can to keep Jackson safe. We’ve got individuals with outstanding warrants that is wanted (sic) and we’re looking to bring them to justice.”
Plaintiffs say the checkpoints disproportionately harm people who can’t afford or are unable to stay on top of keeping driver’s licenses, registration and car insurance updated.
Members from the Mississippi Alliance for Public Safety reached out to MCJ about peoples’ experiences with the roadblocks and how members wanted to organize around the issue.
Wu said the center began looking into the roadblocks and moved quickly to file a lawsuit because harm was building.
“Every time the roadblocks went up, it was like a casualty zone,” she said.
Between Jan. 4 to March 18, Jackson police officers made a total of 208 arrests – 10 for felonies, 198 for misdemeanors – from its roadblocks, according to information from the department obtained through a public records request shared with the Mississippi Center for Justice.
During that period, Jackson police officers also issued 1,149 citations and towed 186 vehicles.
Members of the alliance spoke with over 80 people in South and West Jackson, where they said they’d heard most of the roadblocks were occurring, and found many had negative experiences.
People said they felt inconvenienced and unable to move in and out of their communities. Alliance members heard a story about a mother who walked home with her children in the rain because her car was towed after going through a checkpoint.
Archie Skiffer, Jr., 43 of Mendenhall, Friday, July 8, 2022. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
Archie Skiffer Jr., 43, is a member of the Mississippi Alliance for Public Safety and has been a community organizer for over 20 years. He is also one of the four plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
He commutes from Simpson County to work in Jackson, and at night delivers food for DoorDash in the city. Skiffer uses driving apps to find alternate routes to avoid the roadblocks and get food orders to customers in a timely manner.
The money Skiffer earns from his two jobs help him afford his home and other living expenses.
“It would be devastating,” he said about potential loss of food delivery income or employment if he were to lose his car.
While delivering food, Skiffer said he has met Jackson residents who rely on food delivery because they do not have the credentials to drive to get food themselves. He said they fear getting caught up in a roadblock and potentially cited or arrested.
Like Skiffer and other alliance members, the Poor People’s Campaign also believes Jackson police’s roadblocks criminalize poor people.
The Poor People’s Campaign is working with the city and has set up tents near the checkpoints to provide information to people who may not have a license or other documentation, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said during a March 21 press conference.
The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. A traffic stop by police would need to be supported by reasonable suspicion or probable cause, Wu said.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2000 roadblocks can’t be used for general crime control, but law enforcement can use them to check for licenses, car insurance and registration, she said.
General roadblocks treat people like they are guilty when that isn’t always the case, Wu said.
In a July 1 court filing, the city denied most of the allegations in the complaint, including that the roadblocks are unconstitutional, they target majority Black and low-income neighborhoods and people are treated as suspects as they drive through them.
“Any injury, damage or deprivation alleged or suffered by the plaintiff was the result of the plaintiff’s failure to act reasonably or avoid or mitigate such injury, damage or deprivation,” the city said in its response.
In addition, the city says it is immune from the lawsuit under the Mississippi Tort Claims Act and through qualified immunity, which states a government employee can’t be sued if they were acting within the bounds of their job, according to the court documents.
City Attorney Catoria Martin, whose office is involved in settlement negotiations with the Mississippi Center for Justice, said in an email the city does not comment on pending litigation. Jackson Police Department Public Information Officer Sam Brown did not respond to a request for comment.
Looking ahead, Skiffer and members of the Mississippi Alliance for Public Safety would like to see the roadblocks used in a more equitable way. That could mean where they are placed rotates among precincts over a certain period of time, and the roadblocks could also be placed in predominantly white neighborhoods such as Belhaven or Eastover, he said.
Skiffer said Jackson police could share information and resources with people who need to renew a driver’s license or let people contact a family member to give their vehicle to instead of having it towed.
Police can also use discretion not to cite or arrest someone, he said, adding that a warning could work in some situations.
“Have compassion,” Skiffer said.
Editor’s note: The Mississippi Center For Justice President and CEO Vangela M. Wade serves on Mississippi Today’s board of trustees.
Tyler’s ready to move West after visiting the Pacific Northwest over the weekend, while Rick’s actually working. This week, he breaks down the 2022 Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Class, which includes household names like Eric Moulds and David Dellucci. Plus, can the Braves pull off the same trade-deadline magic the Cleveland boys spoke into existence last season?
Editor’s note: This story includes graphic language.
OXFORD – Shelton Timothy Herrington Jr. – the recent Ole Miss graduate who is charged with the murder of Jimmie “Jay” Lee – appeared before a Lafayette County Circuit Court judge for the first time Wednesday. Wearing an orange jumpsuit, his hands clasped behind his back, Herrington said a few words to the judge and, in less than 10 minutes, the proceeding was over.
Lee is well-known on campus for his involvement in the LGBTQ community. Credit: Courtesy Oxford Police Department
Friends and classmates of Herrington and Lee’s family had hoped the hearing would provide some answers to questions that have been swirling over the nearly three weeks since Lee, a Black student at University of Mississippi who is well-known in the LGBTQ community, disappeared.
At the very least, they wanted to know if Herrington, 22, would make bail. But Kevin Horan, Herrington’s attorney and a state representative, requested the bond hearing be delayed to August 9. Herrington will wait in jail until then.
The Oxford Police Department arrested Herrington on Friday, July 22, after two weeks of searching for Lee, sending shock waves through the university. Little information is publicly available about why the police arrested Herrington. Carlos Moore, Herrington’s uncle who has also been retained in the case, has said that Herrington is innocent.
Many students know both Lee and Herrington, who were involved in several of the same Black organizations on campus. That night, it seemed like students immediately took sides and started to speculate, said Braylyn Johnson, a recent graduate who lived with Lee during the pandemic.
“When they had (the police) announced on Friday that Jay was dead, they didn’t say anything, they just said they had arrested another student,” Johnson said. “That was a moment for people not to necessarily have their moment of grieving for Jay Lee – they took that as a moment to defend Tim.”
Johnson was at the courthouse on Wednesday for a protest she and other students had organized. An Instagram account called “Justice for Jay Lee!” encouraged people to come wearing bright colors, and Johnson brought hand-drawn signs and a cooler of water bottles. Two hours before the hearing, she was standing next to the lynching memorial by the courthouse, prepping her sign.
She said Lee – who was outspoken about the routine violence that trans and nonbinary people face everyday in Mississippi – would’ve organized a protest, too.
“Jay Lee would have spoken up for anyone,” she said. “‘Justice for Jay Lee?’ He would’ve done that 10 times.”
Around 12:30, three police officers walked Herrington up a sidewalk and into the side door of the courthouse.
Johnson ran up to Herrington.
“That was pretty fucking sucky of you, Tim,” she shouted.
Inside the courthouse, Herrington’s family waited on the first floor in front of the metal detector. Once the courtroom opened, three university police officers parted the crowd to let Lee’s family through. Some of Lee’s family and friends wore white shirts printed with the words “Justice for Jay.”
Lee’s parents sat in the front row, his dad’s hand on his mom’s shoulder.
The judge started the proceeding. He warned everybody to turn their cell phones off because there were “a few more people than we’re used to” in the courtroom.
After the hearing, Herrington’s family left the courtroom first. One of his family members peered through the glass door to the courthouse as Johnson and more than a dozen of Jay’s friends and classmates marched in a circle and chanted “justice for Jay.” Some protesters drove down from Memphis.
Many of Lee’s friends are part of the LGBTQ community in Oxford who have found more acceptance here than in their hometowns. One of those students is Adrian Word, a junior at Ole Miss who is from Tishomingo. He identifies with Lee.
“Jay is a gay, Black male – so I am,” Word said. “The way I look at it, that could’ve been me. That could’ve been friends, that could’ve been anyone like me.”
Johnson said she feels like the LGBTQ community is “tolerated” but that Oxford and the university could do more. In particular, she took issue with the statement that Chancellor Glenn Boyce put out on Friday night to acknowledge Herrington’s arrest.
Boyce wrote that “as investigators continue to search for Jay, we continue to keep Jay’s family and friends in our thoughts and prayers during this time of immense grief.” He included links to several web pages for mental health services on campus, adding “in light of this latest development, I encourage you to lean on and support one another.”
Johnson said she thought Boyce should’ve said more.
“Chancellor Boyce, his remarks are just so – nothing, you know?” Johnson said. “Like a student was fucking murdered. And you know, you think he would want to say more. He said more about us winning a national baseball championship.”
The LGBTQ community faces disproportionate violence and harassment in Mississippi – a systemic issue that’s also deeply personal. Lee’s killing, Johnson said, directly affects everybody in the community.
“It’s not just that somebody has died, like an entire community is scared,” Johnson continued. “Like I want to say this is my last friend in the LGBT community that’s gonna face violence at the hands of somebody else … but it’s not.”
The Mississippi State Department of Health announced Wednesday the detection of an “uncommon” bacteria on the Gulf Coast called Burkholderia pseudomallei. This is the first time it’s been found in the United States.
MSDH, working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, identified the bacteria after two people on the Gulf Coast were diagnosed with a rare disease called melioidosis. The disease, caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, typically spreads through direct contact with water or soil contaminated with the bacteria, the CDC says.
The CDC says the disease is predominantly found in tropical climates, with cases being more common in Southeast Asia and northern Australia. It is now investigating how widespread the bacteria is in the U.S.
The disease has a wide range of symptoms similar to those of tuberculosis or pneumonia, such as fever, localized pain or swelling, coughing and headaches. Most people who come into contact with the bacteria never develop melioidosis, according to an MSDH press release. The National Institutes of Health estimates that anywhere between 30,000 to 200,000 people in the U.S. have the disease.
The CDC says that incubation period for the disease is unclear, but generally ranges between two to four weeks from exposure to the bacteria.
For anyone at risk of exposure to contaminated water and soil, MSDH recommends to:
Avoid contact with soil or muddy water – especially after heavy rains.
Protect open wounds with waterproof dressing.
Wear waterproof boots when gardening, doing yard work or agricultural work – it is critical to prevent infection through the feet and lower legs (after flooding or storms).
Wear gloves to protect your hands when working directly with soil.
Soil samples collected outside the homes of the two infected patients showed that the bacteria was present in the area since 2020, and that the soil was the likely source of infection.
“Individuals living on the Gulf Coast who have chronic illnesses such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease, or excessive alcohol use may be at risk of severe illness from infection and need to take precautions to protect themselves,” the state health department said.
Days after Mississippi’s largest company – Laurel-based poultry processor Sanderson Farms – finalized its $4.5-billion sale to an out-of-state competitor, it agreed to pay its part of millions of dollars in restitution to workers for its alleged role in a scheme to suppress wages.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit this week that outlined decades of communications and data sharing between the poultry industry’s largest players, including Sanderson and its new owner, accusing the companies of working together to keep wages and benefits from being competitive.
“Through a brazen scheme to exchange wage and benefit information, these poultry processors stifled competition and harmed a generation of plant workers who face demanding and sometimes dangerous conditions to earn a living,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Doha Mekki of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in a statement.
Cargill Inc., Sanderson Farms Inc., and Wayne Farms signed an agreement with the Justice Department to pay $84.8 million in restitution to workers to resolve the lawsuit.
Cargill and Continental Grain Co. closed the acquisition of Sanderson Farms on Friday, almost a full year after announcing its plans. Continental owns Wayne Farms. The new corporate entity combines Sanderson – the third largest chicken production company in the country – with Wayne – the sixth largest – to create Wayne-Sanderson Farms.
“While we are pleased to have resolved this matter and put it behind us, both legacy companies are proud of their track record with their employees and growers and the agreement with DOJ evidences our commitment to continue to be an industry leader in those areas,” Wayne-Sanderson Farms said in a statement.
Cargill said in a statement it denies any wrongdoing but has been cooperative. The antitrust probe slowed the company’s plans to purchase Sanderson, which was first announced in August 2021.
The settlement, which still has to be approved by the court, also calls for a compliance monitor who will ensure the poultry companies are following regulations related to both processing facilities and with chicken growers.
The lawsuit says Sanderson and Wayne were both in violation of a protection act for the farms that hatch and grow chickens for slaughter. The poultry processors used a “tournament system” that adjusted payouts based on the quality of their brood compared to others, according to the lawsuit. The processors, however, are the ones supplying the chicks and feed.
DOJ alleged the poultry companies failed to provide the information the chicken growers needed to understand the inherent financial risks. Propublica outlined those types of risks in a 2019 investigation that showed how another poultry processor – Koch Foods – took advantage of Black Mississippi farmers to grow chickens, leaving them saddled with debt.
The agreement prevents Sanderson-Wayne from penalizing chicken growers by reducing base pay while still allowing for incentives and other bonuses. It requires expanded disclosures and transparency in contracts and prohibits retaliation against growers who raise antitrust concerns.
The new Sanderson-Wayne Farm is based in Oakwood, Georgia, with Clint Rivers, the CEO of Wayne Farms, as its head. The future of Sanderson’s corporate offices in Laurel is unclear.
“As we proceed with the integration of Wayne-Sanderson Farms, we look forward to investing in our communities, employees and grower partners to ensure there continues to be a strong and competitive American food supply,” the new company said in a statement.
Under its new ownership, Sanderson is no longer publicly traded. D.R. Sanderson founded the business in 1947 as a feed and seed store. For 75 years, it was family owned and based out of Laurel. Today, it spans more than 17,000 employees.
“It has been an incredible privilege to lead the Sanderson Farms team over the last 33 years and to continue my family’s legacy by helping to nourish families across the country,” former CEO Joe F. Sanderson, Jr. said in a statement. “I am proud of all we have achieved together, and I am confident that the fairness, honesty and integrity that has been synonymous with the Sanderson Farms name will carry on with Wayne-Sanderson Farms.”
A film to debut in the fall will follow the story of Mamie Till Mobley and her fight for justice after the lynching death of her son Emmett Till in 1955.
A portrait of Emmett Till, Christmas 1954. Credit: Associated Press
“Till”, written and directed by Chinonye Chukwu, will be shown during opening weekend of the New York Film Festival from Sept. 30 to Oct. 16 at the Lincoln Center in New York City. The premiere and screening were announced Monday on what would have been Till’s 81st birthday.
Deborah Watts, co-founder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation and a Till family member, said the film is the story of Mamie Till Mobley’s love for her son and how that powered her fight for justice and commitment to the truth.
“Seeing this film made is yet another milestone for our family, and a testament to Mamie’s fight for justice and to our commitment to legacy,” Watts said in a statement. “The power of history turning tragedy into triumph is something Mamie would have wanted all of us to do.”
The film’s trailer, released this week, opens with Mamie Till Mobley reflecting on her son’s death as scenes recreated from history play: Till saying goodbye as he boarded the train from Chicago to Mississippi; Till’s kidnapping in the middle of the night; and Mamie Till Mobley seeing her son’s body.
That trailer also shows her insisting on having an open casket for her son’s funeral. Photographs of Till’s damaged body published in Black publications Jetand the Chicago Defender showed people across the nation what happened to him and helped galvanize the civil rights movement.
The film’s release comes nearly 70 years after Till’s death, and family members say justice has not been served.
The U.S. Department of Justice has reopened the case several times, but its investigations did not result in new charges.
Family members say new evidence uncovered in recent weeks should be used to charge Carolyn Bryant Donham as an accomplice in Till’s death. Donham, then 21 in 1955, accused Till of making advances toward her and grabbing her at the shop where she worked.
Her former husband, Roy Bryant, and his brother-in-law J.W. Milam kidnapped, beat and shot the teenager and threw his body into the Tallahatchie River. The men were acquitted of the crime but later admitted to killing Till.
In June, the original arrest warrant listing her as “Mrs. Roy Bryant” alongside Roy Bryant and Milam was discovered in the basement of the Leflore County courthouse in Greenwood.
This month, the Associated Press received a copy of Donham’s unpublished memoir. In it, she said she didn’t know what would happen to Till after accusing him. Donham said when her former husband and his half brother brought the teenager to her in the middle of the night to identify, she denied it was him and claimed Till identified himself.
As of now, there aren’t any plans to reopen Till’s case. The attorney general’s office told the Associated Press there isn’t new evidence in the case. Leflore County District Dewayne Richardson, who would handle any new prosecution, did not respond to a request for comment.
In the film, Danielle Deadwyler stars as Mamie Till Mobley and Jalyn Hall as Emmett Till. Frankie Faison and Whoopi Goldberg star as Mobley’s parents, John and Alma Carthan.
The cast also includes Sean Patrick Thomas, who plays Mamie’s husband Gene Mobley; John Douglas Thompson as Mose Wright, the great uncle who Till stayed with in the Delta; and Haley Bennett as Carolyn Bryant Donham.
The film has several producers including Goldberg and Keith Beauchamp, a friend of the Till family who created the 2005 documentary “The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till”that led to one of the DOJ’s investigations of Till’s death.
Dates for the premier and community screenings will be announced at a later time as part of the lineup and schedule for the New York Film Festival.
Early access passes for the New York Film Festival are on sale. Tickets for the general public will go on sale Sept. 19 at 12 p.m. ET.
In his Neshoba County Fair speech on Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said that with state coffers at historically full levels, “This year, it’s time to give you your money back.”
“It’s not the government’s money,” Hosemann said. “It’s your money.”
Hosemann said that lawmakers could have provided a rebate last year, but were focused on passing the largest income tax cut in state history. In setting up his proposed rebate, he told fairgoers, “Inflation is scaring me. The possibility of a recession is scaring me.”
Mississippi, like most states, is collecting an unprecedented amount of revenue thanks to a number of factors, including federal COVID-19-relief money directed to the states, inflation and strong consumer spending. About 20 states already have opted to return some of those record revenue collections to taxpayers through direct payments. While Hosemann proposed a direct rebate during the 2022 session, the Legislature opted instead to provide the record tax cut that will not kick in until calendar year 2023. The income tax, when fully enacted in 2026, will be the largest in state history, taking about $525 million out of state coffers.
In addition to that tax cut, Hosemann renewed his call for a direct rebate during the 2023 session at the Nashoba County Fair speech, saying the state had the funds to do both.
The state ended the just completed fiscal year with $1.4 billion above the revenue projection and concluded the previous fiscal year about $1 billion about the official projection. The official revenue projection for the just-completed fiscal year was $5.9 billion. The state collected $7.4 billion in tax collections.
Hosemann said Wednesday that he’s “proud Mississippi led the way with the Dobbs case” to end the national constitutional right to abortion. But he said now Mississippi faces a challenge to provide health services to mothers and children and to be “pro child.” He lamented that the House shot down proposals to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage for working mothers, which “the Senate voted for three times to have.”
“How can we celebrate the rights of the unborn and then when they get here tell them, good luck?” Hosemann said. “We are better than that.”
The first-term Republican lieutenant governor made clear that the Senate where he presides will again make it a priority to extend postpartum coverage. Under current state law, pregnant women who fall below a certain income level are eligible for health care coverage through Medicaid. But the Medicaid coverage extends only 60 days after the pregnancy.
He cited Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana among the states that have extended postpartum coverage and said Mississippi should do the same.
Hosemann recapped an “historical” legislative session early this year, including spending about $1 billion in federal funds for water, sewer and other infrastructure and reducing state debt.
“And one other thing — we passed the largest teacher pay raise in Mississippi history, $246 million,” Hosemann said. “… The greatest asset that Mississippi has is a child’s brain.”
Hosemann also made clear he is running for a second term as lieutenant governor, and not seeking any other office.
“If you’ll rehire me for another four years, I promise to come back to work for you,” Hosemann said.
Hosemann and Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney spoke Wednesday on the opening day of the fair’s political speakings. The six other statewide elected officials and House Speaker Philip Gunn are scheduled to speak Thursday.
