OurTupelo

The post Marshall Ramsey: Bucket of Chuckles appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The Mississippi Supreme Court’s decision to nullify the state’s ballot initiative process could make the state’s voter identification law susceptible to a legal challenge.

Now some attorneys are researching the possibility of challenging the law, which requires Mississippians show a government-issued photo ID at their polling place in order to vote. Meanwhile, some politicians are publicly calling for a special session to ensure the law cannot be successfully challenged.

Voter ID was first passed through the ballot initiative process in 2011, when 60% of Mississippi voters enshrined it into the state Constitution. The law has been widely touted by Republican elected officials and opposed by prominent Democrats.

But last month, the Mississippi Supreme Court deemed the ballot initiative process unconstitutional after a lawsuit challenging the 2020 medical marijuana program that more than 70% of Mississippi voters approved. The lawsuit contended that the entire ballot initiative process was invalid because the Constitution requires the signatures to place proposals on the ballot be gathered equally from five congressional districts. Following the 2000 Census, the state lost one of its congressional districts and has since had just four U.S. House seats.

Some believe that any legal challenge to voter ID would be pointless because after voters approved the initiative in 2011, lawmakers passed their own bill in 2012 that placed the voter ID language into state law — a home for the voter ID program completely separate from the Constitution.

“We put the voter ID into the state law,” House Speaker Philip Gunn said on May 18 when asked about the possibility of a legal challenge to voter ID, suggesting that a lawsuit would not be successful. “It’s already in the statutes.”

But Secretary of State Michael Watson, in an interview last week, said one key provision of the voter ID law that voters enshrined into the Constitution is not in state law: that any Mississippian can be issued free identification cards so they can vote.

While Mississippi’s Republican officials have boasted that Mississippi’s voter ID law has never been challenged in court, several other states that passed voter ID laws over the years were sued — and sometimes lost their cases — in part because they did not guarantee free ID cards. Not offering free ID cards, some in other states have successfully argued, disproportionately affects poor citizens and often people of color.

Because the free ID card provision exists only in the state Constitution but not state law, Watson says he fears the state may be susceptible to a lawsuit without fixing the problem as soon as possible. He suggested lawmakers should add the free ID card provision to state law in a special session.

“If you want to make sure a challenge is moot, you could do it next year, but you’re allowing time for it to be challenged,” Watson said. “Then we’re just going to spend money on attorneys in possibly a lawsuit. You’re going to spend money one way or another, you might as well make sure we get it right.”

The only other ballot initiative passed since the state lost a congressional district is one that prohibits the state of Mississippi and local governments from taking private property by eminent domain and conveying it to private entities for a period of 10 years.

The eminent domain language exists only in the state Constitution, not in state law, and Watson believes it is susceptible to a legal challenge following last month’s Supreme Court ruling. He said last week it should also be handled in a special session.

“That one has to be dealt with,” Watson said.

The post Did the Supreme Court put Mississippi’s voter ID law in jeopardy? appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann appointed a former newspaper publisher and public schools advocate to the State Board of Education, the nine-member board that oversees public schools in Mississippi.

William “Bill” Jacobs of Brookhaven will serve a three-year term ending in July 2024 pending confirmation by the Mississippi Senate. He is replacing former board chairman Jason Dean, who stepped down this year.

Jacobs currently serves on the board of directors for the National Newspaper Association and the Mississippi Economic Council’s board of governors and operation board. He served as publisher of the Daily Leader in Brookhaven and Prentiss Headlight in Prentiss until he sold the companies in 2012.

He also previously served as chairman of the Brookhaven/Lincoln County Economic Development Foundation and Alliance, president of the Mississippi Press Association and on the board of trustees for King’s Daughters Medical Center in Brookhaven.

“The foundation of every community is its public schools. Look at the prosperous communities across the state and one will find a single common element — strong public schools. Mississippi has had some great successes but so too failures,” Jacobs said in a press release from Hosemann’s office. “The current brain drain of many of our best and brightest to other states is the most disturbing failure for its continued path weakens even our best school systems. These are challenging days for our state and I look forward to joining the others on the board to find credible solutions.”

Hosemann said Jacobs’ experience in journalism and business make him a valuable asset to the board.

“Bill Jacobs has spent his entire career asking questions, researching the facts and reporting his findings to the wider public to improve his community and exhibit transparency,” Hosemann said in a press release. “These traits, along with his business sense and support for public schools, make him an excellent addition to the board.”

At times in recent months, the nine-member Board of Education has not had enough members to constitute a quorum to conduct business because of vacancies the governor was responsible for filling and one vacancy each that Speaker Philip Gunn and Hosemann are responsible for filling. Gunn has still not filled his spot on the board.

The governor appoints five positions: one school administrator, one teacher, and one individual from the state’s North, Central, South Supreme Court districts, respectively. The lieutenant governor and speaker each get two at-large representatives, meaning there are no residential or occupational requirements for whom they choose. The board appoints the state superintendent, who serves as the board secretary, and two student representatives who also serve on the board as non-voting members. Members serve nine-year terms.

The post Lt. Gov. Hosemann appoints newspaper publisher to Board of Education appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Supporters of ballot initiatives that would allow early voting and legalize medical marijuana are asking the Mississippi Supreme Court to reverse its landmark decision that struck down the state’s initiative process.

They say a 6-3 majority of the Mississippi Supreme Court overstepped its authority last month by rewriting the state Constitition to strike down the entire initiative process while invalidating a medical marijuana initiative.

When the court acted, efforts were underway to gather the required number of signatures to place early voting, recreational marijuana and four other initiatives, including expanding Medicaid, on the ballot.

“Only a party to the action can request a rehearing, and we are not a party,” said Kelly Jacobs of DeSoto County, co-chair of MEVI78, the early voting initiative. “Therefore, we filed a motion to intervene requesting leave to intervene for purposes of filing a motion for a rehearing.”

In court filings, the early voting and recreational marijuana supporters want to argue language in the Constitution prevents the Supreme Court from changing the initiative process. In this case, the change was striking down the entire process. The initiative supporters say the court ruling disenfranchises Mississippi voters.

“The court is legislating from the bench absent any authority to do so,” the early voting supporters say in their court filing.

Last week Secretary of State Michael Watson, who was a party to the lawsuit arguing in defense of the medical marijuana initiative and the entire initiative process, said he would not ask the Supreme Court for a rehearing. He said it would be a waste of taxpayer money.

In a news release, Jacobs said she hopes Watson will join their effort.

State Rep. Hester Jackson McCray, D-Horn Lake, the sponsor of the early voting initiative, said the decision of the Supreme Court took her by surprise.

“When I cited legislative inaction as my reason for filing a ballot initiative for 10 days of early voting, I never imagined that the Mississippi Supreme Court would again nullify the Constitution it is supposed to protect,” she said. “That’s unconstitutional.”

The Supreme Court took its action in response to a lawsuit filed by Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler and the city of Madison in opposition to the medical marijuana ballot initiative that was approved by voters in November. The lawsuit contended, and the court agreed in the 6-3 decision, that the medical marijuana initiative and the entire ballot initiative process were invalid because the Constitution requires the signatures to place proposal on the ballot be gathered equally from five congressional districts. The state now has four U.S. House seats after the state lost a House seat as a result of the 2000 Census.

Two initiatives were approved by voters prior to the medical marijuana initiative, using the old five congressional districts to gather the signatures: one preventing the government from taking private property for the use of another private entity, and another requiring a government-issued photo identification to vote. It is not clear if those two initiatives would be impacted by the ruling.

The ruling of the Supreme Court makes Mississippi the first state in the modern era to nullify a ballot initiative process. The Mississippi Supreme Court also struck down the original state initiative process in the 1920s.

Legislative leaders and Gov. Tate Reeves have not ruled out a special session to address the court ruling.

The post Early voting sponsors ask Supreme Court to reverse ballot initiative ruling appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Baseball’s NCAA Division I Regionals were announced Monday and, as usual, will have a strong Magnolia State flavor in the 64-team field.

Mississippi State earned a No. 7 national seed and will host the Starkville Regional beginning Friday. Ole Miss earned a No. 12 national seed and will host the Oxford Regional beginning Friday. Among the teams playing at Oxford is Southern Miss.

The first day matchups: At Starkville, top-seeded Mississippi State will play No. 4 seed Samford at 2 p.m., while 2-seed Virginia Commonwealth, entering with the nation’s longest winning streak, will play 3-seed Campbell at 7 p.m. At Oxford, 3-seed Florida State will play 2-seed Southern Miss at 2 p.m., followed by top-seed Ole Miss vs. 4-seed Southeast Missouri State at 7 p.m.

There were no huge surprises where the Mississippi teams were concerned. What became clear when the brackets were announced Monday morning was that Southern Miss lost out on its chance to host its own regional when the Eagles were defeated twice by Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA Tournament Saturday. Tech, not USM, will host an NCAA Regional at Ruston, La.

Both the Southeastern Conference and Conference USA will be well-represented. The SEC placed nine teams in the NCAA Tournament, including half of the eight top national seeds. Seven SEC teams will host NCAA regionals.

Conference USA placed a league-record four teams in the field, most of any non-power five conference. Both Tech and Old Dominion are No. 1 seeds, and both Southern Miss and Charlotte are No. 2.

Here’s what else you need to know about the Mississippi regionals:

• The bracket matches the Oxford Regional winner against the Tucson Regional winner. Arizona, the No. 5 national seed, would be odds-on favorite over Oklahoma State, Cal-Santa Barbara and Grand Canyon to win and host the Super Regional. The Starkville Regional winner will be matched against the South Bend Regional, hosted by Notre Dame. Michigan, Connecticut and Eastern Michigan round out the South Bend Regional.
• Florida State will be making its 43rd consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, extending the longest active streak. Although the Seminoles experienced a subpar 30-22 season, they boast the Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year in left-hander Parker Messick, the expected starter against Southern Miss Friday. The Seminoles are led by ACC Player of the Year, catcher Matheu Nelson, considered a leading candidate for national player of the year.
• Although Southeast Missouri won’t strike fear in the hearts of Ole Miss fans, SEMO ace pitcher Dylan Dodd should. Dodd, a right-hander, won nine of 10 decisions and posted a 2.78 earned run average with 113 strikeouts, compared to just 14 walks for the Ohio Valley Conference champions. Against top-ranked Arkansas, Dodd struck out 10 batters over six innings and allowed only three hits and two runs in a game Arkansas eventually came from behind and won in extra innings.
• Samford, State’s first-day opponent, won the Southern Conference championship and is no stranger to the MSU Bulldogs or Southeastern Conference fans. Samford lost a 10-2 midweek decision to State on March 16. That was one of 10 games Samford played against SEC teams. Samford lost nine of those, but was competitive in several and defeated Auburn 6-1 late in the season when Samford won 11 of its last 14 games, including three straight in the league tournament.
• Samford is not the only hot team coming to Starkville. Atlantic 10 Conference champion VCU brings a 21-game winning streak, the nation’s longest, to Dudy Noble. VCU swept two games from Virginia and split two with Virginia Tech and two more with CUSA champion Old Dominion during the regular season. Campbell University, the 3-seed, won the Big South Conference regular season championship and won 12 of its last 14 games.

The post State, Ole Miss will host regionals, and Southern Miss heads to Oxford appeared first on Mississippi Today.

In 1996, former Gov. Kirk Fordice said the debate over whether to confirm the four white males he appointed to the Mississippi college board should not be a black and white issue but a matter of competence.

After Sens. Gray Tollison and Grey Ferris voted with the African American members of the Senate Universities and Colleges Committee to block those appointments, then-Sen. Tommy Robertson of Moss Point ventured to the Capitol press room to proclaim it was not a black and white issue, but “a gray issue” — alluding to the first names of the swing vote senators.

Later that year, Fordice appointed four new members: two white males, a white female and an African American male. He called a special session where the four were confirmed.

The four did not try to serve prior to the special session. And the governor did not try to seat the four and let them serve unconfirmed until the next regular session. Fordice was adhering to what appears to be the letter of the law, ensuring the appointees were confirmed by the Senate before they began serving.

But instances of gubernatorial appointees serving on the college board and other boards and commissions prior to Senate confirmation occur regularly. It is another gray issue.

Earlier this month, Gov. Tate Reeves appointed four new members to the college board, three members to the Mississippi Community College Board and two members to the Board of Education. The nine members already are serving and presumably will not be confirmed by the Senate until the 2022 session.

Issues surrounding the appointments, primarily by the governor, to the roughly 200 boards that govern various agencies — ranging from big ones like the Board of Education to smaller ones like Board of Cosmetology — are the black hole of state government.

More than two weeks ago, both the offices of Secretary of State and of the governor were asked for a list of appointees made recently to some of the smaller boards. Neither agency has provided that list. The appointments might not be available until they are provided to the Senate during the 2022 session when their confirmation will be considered. Yet, they already are serving on public boards that are funded with taxpayer funds.

Then there is the question of when the appointees can begin serving. The attorney general, in a 1977 opinion, said when a “term is about to expire and will expire by limitation before the next session of the Senate, the governor should nominate a person to fill the vacancy,” and “if he fails to do so, he cannot make a valid appointment to fill such a vacancy in the vacation of the Senate.”

A 2015 document compiled by the Legislature’s Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review Committee reaches essentially the same conclusion.

The PEER report adds that in many instances, the governor appoints someone after the session ends and that appointee begins serving prior to Senate confirmation.

“This practice is in direct contravention of” state law, PEER concluded. Other opinions and interpretations reach a different conclusion — that appointees can serve before Senate confirmation. Remember we are talking about gray issues.

Fordice followed what appears to be the law in 1996 after the debacle that occurred with his four white men. But in 1992, only one of his college board appointees was confirmed. After the session, he appointed three new members who began serving immediately. They were not confirmed until the 1993 session.

Part of the reason that legislators and governmental entities do not challenge the practice of appointees serving before their confirmation is that many of the boards operate short-handed. Once a new appointee is named, his or her services are needed as soon as possible for multiple reasons, including the most basic need of having a quorum to conduct business.

This past session, two bills were filed that would have taken appointments from the governor not made in a timely manner and would have given them to the lieutenant governor. State Rep. Timmy Ladner, R-Poplarville, said he filed the bill because of the long delay in filling multiple vacancies.

Sen. David Parker, R-Olive Branch, filed similar legislation. He said he was hoping to spur action on vacancies on the State Workforce Investment Board. Reeves was supposed to appoint two members to the board recommended by Speaker Philip Gunn, but the governor thus far has not.

Overall, Parker said he understands the issues Reeves had making appointments to the various boards and commissions while he was consumed with COVID-19 issues.

Still, it seems a basic function to ensure people are in place to govern the various agencies of state government. But multiple governors, not just Reeves, have struggled with that basis function.

Former Gov. Phil Bryant proposed a program to consolidate and eliminate some of those boards and commissions. Limited progress was made on Bryant’s goal, but in general the black hole remains.

The post Process for filling board vacancies is gray area or black hole for state government appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Senate Republicans, including Mississippi’s delegation, on Friday blocked the creation of an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Six Republicans voted to advance debate on the commission, but the final 54 to 35 vote fell six votes shy of the 60 votes needed to prevent a procedural filibuster. 

The bill, modeled after the commission that studied the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, was the result of bipartisan negotiations between House Homeland Security Chairman and Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson and the committee’s Republican ranking member Rep. John Katko of New York.

The commission would have been composed of 10 members, with both parties appointing half of them. Proponents of the commission said it was necessary for Congress to acquire a full understanding of the most violent attack on Congress since the War of 1812.

Following the vote, Rep. Thompson thanked the Republicans who supported the bill and lambasted those who opposed it, saying they cared more about the potential political ramifications for the 2022 midterm elections than a full account of the deadly pro-Trump riot.

“To be clear, Senate Republicans today voted against finding the truth,” Thompson said in a statement. “They voted against the law enforcement that protect the Capitol every day. They voted against the integrity of our democracy.”

Though 35 Republicans voted to advance the commission in the House, including Mississippi Rep. Michael Guest, the party’s ranks in the Senate became much more unified in opposition after minority leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, argued the commission was unnecessary given an ongoing report being worked on by two Senate committees. 

It has been reported this week that McConnell whipped the necessary votes to block the legislation by asking Republican Senators who were sympathetic to the commission to vote against it as a “personal favor.”

“I do not believe the additional extraneous commission that Democratic leaders want would uncover crucial new facts or promote healing,” McConnell said. “Frankly, I do not believe it is even designed to do that.”

Sen. Roger Wicker echoed McConnell’s sentiments in a statement following the vote.

“It is clear that the events of January 6 have been and will continue to be investigated by Congress and our law enforcement agencies,” Wicker said. “It is my view that adding a new commission to this mix would inevitably delay and distract from the productive investigations already underway.”

Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith also voted against the bill, but has not commented on her decision. 

The six Republicans who voted to advance debate on the commission included Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan M. Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio, Mitt Romney of Utah and Ben Sasse of Nebraska. All but Portman voted to find former President Donald Trump guilty of inciting the insurrection during his second impeachment trial in February. 

READ MORE: Mississippi’s GOP congressmen voted to overturn Biden win in Arizona, Pennsylvania.

Congressmen Kelly, Guest met with Mississippi ‘patriot’ group before Capitol riot

Meet the ‘patriot’ group that scored a meeting with U.S. Reps. Kelly, Guest

The post Mississippi senators help block Jan. 6 riot investigation appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Fewer active workers are supporting a growing number of retirees receiving pension benefits from the Mississippi Public Employees’ Retirement System, a report by a legislative oversight agency concluded.

The study by the Mississippi Legislative Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Committee pointed out that between 2010 and 2020 the ratio of active employees to retired employees decreased about 33%, from 2.02 active to 1 retiree, to 1.35 to 1.

“As a result of the decrease, the payroll of fewer active members must fund future pension obligations, a factor made more important because contributions from active members and their employers comprise approximately 46% of PERS revenues” as of 2020, the report pointed out.

It could be argued that state budget cuts made in recent years by the Legislature resulting in a reduction in the government work force have made it more difficult to ensure PERS’ financial viability.

The reduction in the employee to retiree ratio and other factors will at least lead to the PERS governing board considering increasing the employer contribution (paid by state, education entities and local governments) to the retirement plan, according to the report by the legislative committee. The increase in the employer contribution, costing government more money, could be considered as early as the June 23 meeting of the PERS Board.

The legislative PEER committee does an annual report on PERS, which has been in the spotlight for more than a decade as the governing board for the retirement system has strived to put in place policies to ensure its long-term financial viability. Most state, city and county employees and public educators are in the system that currently has about 325,000 members, including current employees, retirees and others who used to work in the public sector but no longer do.

The report said that because of some warning indicators “flashing red” the governing board might have to consider raising the employer contribution to the public retirement system in the coming year.

The system had a full-funding ratio of 58.8% last June down from 61.3% the previous June. That means that it has almost 59% percent of the assets needed to pay the benefits of all the people in the system, ranging from the newest hires to those already retired. Theoretically it is recommended that a system has a funding ratio of about 80%.

The system has struggled to increase its funding rate, the PEER report said because of:

• The decline in public sector workers

• A growing number of retirees

• Slow wage growth for public employees

• Benefits that were added by the Legislature in the early 2000s

• Investments not meeting returns in some years

Officials had said earlier they believe steps taken in recent years will over time help boost the funding ratio.

In 2018, the board took the step of increasing the contributions from employers, such as state agencies and local governments, from 15.75 percent of payroll for each employee to 17.4%. That small increase cost state and local governments, including education entities, an additional $100 million annually.

Employees in the system pay 9 percent of their salary toward their retirement. It was increased from 7.25 percent in the late 2000s. The average yearly benefit from the plan is about $24,400.

In June 2020, according to PERS’ actuary, the plan’s funding ratio was projected to be at 67.6% by 2047 compared to a projection of 83.2% by 2047 made the previous year.

The decline in the funding ratio was attributable to multiple factors, including “less than expected revenue gains.”

The system has total assets of $28.2 billion.

The post Ratio of workers supporting state retirees declines, impacting PERS viability appeared first on Mississippi Today.

The post Marshall Ramsey: Taming the Wolf appeared first on Mississippi Today.