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Mississippi is one of only a handful of states that hasn’t spent any of its federal American Rescue Plan Act money coming directly to state government — about $1.8 billion for the Magnolia State’s Legislature.

It’s one of even fewer states that hasn’t earnestly been planning, cataloguing most pressing needs and soliciting community input on how to spend the unprecedented windfall of federal tax dollars. That process began Monday when a special Senate subcommittee formed by Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann held its first hearing.

Many states are using the money for water and sewerage and broadband internet infrastructure. Some are addressing health care needs, including shortages of health workers. Texas has earmarked $400 million for additional healthcare workers.

Others are helping their most needy citizens, or helping tourism or other industries most impacted by the pandemic.

READ MORE: Follow the Money: Mississippi Today’s coverage of federal pandemic stimulus spending

Some are getting creative, such as in Florida, where students struggling with reading will have free books delivered to their homes. Louisiana has earmarked $10 million of the money to help land major events, such as the Super Bowl, and $4.5 million to help keep movie theaters afloat.

Some states want to use the money to provide tax cuts or breaks — even though that is prohibited in the ARPA spending bill. Mississippi has joined with more than a dozen other state challenging this provision, including Louisiana and Texas. At least two federal district courts have ruled in favor of states challenging the tax cut prohibition on the pandemic dollars, and Texas has earmarked $3 billion of its ARPA funds for property tax breaks in anticipation of it being overturned.

READ MORE: Mississippi procrastinates as other states plan for, spend billions in pandemic stimulus

House Speaker Philip Gunn has proposed eliminating Mississippi’s income tax, although his phase-in plan doesn’t earmark federal pandemic relief dollars but pays for the cuts with increases in sales and other taxes.

John Goodman, a researcher with the Pew Charitable Trusts, says one thing states should keep in mind is that the ARPA funds are one-time money, not recurring payments to states. He said states should be careful to avoid a “fiscal cliff” by using the money for recurring expenses that leave a budget hole once the federal funds dry up.

“The challenge states face right now, as they did in the Great Recession, is that there’s a lot of money, but that money won’t last forever,” Goodman said. “The question is, what’s sustainable after the temporary federal aid is no longer available? With the Great Recession, just as states were making a comeback, the federal aid ran out and they had to cut budgets again in many cases. It was a lost decade for state governments … We are urging states to avoid that budget cliff — it doesn’t make sense for states to hire workers now only to have to lay them off in a few years.”

Mississippi was forced to make drastic state budget cuts and raid its rainy day funds after the Great Recession, in large part because of numerous tax cuts that stalled the state budget’s recovery.

According to a survey of state budget officers by the National Association of State Budget Officers, 44% of respondents said their state or territory has created a separate office or unit to manage federal COVID-19 funds. A majority said they have added government staff to deal with it. Just under half of those responding said they plan to use private contractors to help with managing funds.

“While a number of states are further along, Mississippi is not alone in taking a slower approach,” said Kathryn White with NASBO. “Some of this just comes down to a state’s budget process and legislative calendar. We’ve seen both — special sessions or special committees formed. Sometimes committees formed by the governor, sometimes formed by the legislature … It’s definitely a huge, heavy lift, deciding how to budget for these funds in a sustainable way, and this is not the only new source of federal funding, too. We are hearing that most states are adding additional staff to tackle this.”

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and the state Senate took the first steps toward planning for ARPA spending. A special subcommittee held its first hearing on Monday and hopes to present proposals to lawmakers in January on how best to spend the money. The committee heard from officials in Louisiana and Tennessee on how they’ve spent the money so far.

Here’s a look at money going to states in the region and where they stand on ARPA planning and spending:

Mississippi

$1.8 billion to state government

$900 million to local governments

Mississippi has to date done little planning for spending its state-government share of American Rescue Plan Act funds, about $1.8 billion. Most local governments are still working on how to spend their separate allocations – and hoping the state provides some matching funds. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann has recommended such matching funds for local projects and recently created a special committee to make recommendations to the Legislature by its regular session in January. House Speaker Philip Gunn said his top lieutenants are studying how to spend the funds. Gov. Tate Reeves has made some broad recommendations for spending the money in his annual budget recommendation to lawmakers.

Alabama

$2.1 billion to state government

$1.7 billion to local governments

The Alabama Legislature in a special session in October approved spending some of the state’s ARPA money on new prisons to help with the state’s prison crisis. The Legislature is now back in a special session on redistricting, but Gov. Kay Ivey has not indicated she would add ARPA spending to the session, meaning it will likely wait until next year’s regular session that begins in January.

Alabama has allocated:

• $400 million to help build two new prisons. Facing Department of Justice action over its deadly, overcrowded and understaffed prisons, the state is using some of its federal ARPA funding to help address the prison crisis and build two facilities. The state is providing its Department of Corrections the $400 million in ARPA money as “revenue replacement” for COVID-19 costs.

Arkansas

$1.57 billion to state government

$1.01 billion to local governments

Gov. Asa Hutchinson created a 15-member Arkansas American Rescue Plan Act Steering Committee, which includes members of the state General Assembly, to recommend how to spend the state’s ARPA money. The panel has had public, livestreamed meetings and has created a website for people and agencies to submit proposals for the money. The committee is considering, among other proposals, setting aside $300 million for grants for broadband projects.

Florida

$8.8 billion to state government

$7.1 billion to local governments

Florida has to-date spent about half of its state government ARPA funds, with much of the spending going to transportation – state highway projects – tourism and environmental restoration and protection projects.

Florida has earmarked:

• $2 billion to the state Transportation Trust Fund to offset pandemic losses. Of this, $1.75 billion must be used on state highway system projects, with the remaining $250 million for grants for operations at ports with cruise ship or cargo traffic impacted by the pandemic.
• $350 million to address pandemic economic impact by investing in deferred maintenance needs in state, college and university facilities.
• $208.4 million for one-time bonus payments of $1,000 to each essential first responder.
• $100 million for a new state Emergency Operations Center in Leon County.
• $125 million to the Department of Education to implement the New Worlds Reading initiative, contingent on passage of legislation creating the program.
• $25 million to contract with the Florida Tourism Industry Marketing Corporation to support Florida’s tourism industry and recovery from the pandemic.
• $30 million for African-American cultural and historical grants. The money will provide grants for capital projects that highlight the contributions, culture or history of African Americans.
• $500 million for the Resilient Florida Trust Fund. The money would fund environmental projects, contingent on legislation identifying the projects becoming law.
• $475 million to the Department of Environmental Protection. The money would offset pandemic revenue losses, cover emergency response efforts and be used for land acquisition and capital projects to protect the environment.
• $100 million to the Department of Environmental Protection to buy high-resolution coastal mapping services to provide seafloor data.
• $45 million to the Department of Environmental Protection to create a small community wastewater grant program for septic to sewer upgrades and for monitoring water quality.
• $40 million to the DEP to create a grant program to help communities plan for and implement conservation, resuse and other water supply projects.
• $48 million to DEP for phase II of the C-51 Reservoir.
• $50 million for the Beach Management Funding Assistance Program.
• $500 million for the Water Protection and Sustainability Program Trust Fund, contingent upon a wastewater grant program legislation becoming law.
• $59 million for Everglades restoration, including projects in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan.
• $25 million to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for removal of derelict vessels.
• $401 million to the Department of Education for specific school and college projects detailed in legislation.
• $50 million to the Florida National Guard for new readiness centers.
• $8.4 million to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for buying three aircraft, plus funds for fuel and maintenance.
• $100 million to the Department of Economic Opportunity for a consumer-frst workforce information system.
• $50 million for the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund.
• $56.4 million for the modernization of the Reemployment Assistance System.

Georgia

$4.85 billion to state government

$3.5 billion to local governments

The state plans to spend $875 million through a statewide, competitive grant program for broadband infrastructure, water and sewerage projects and to cover negative economic impact of the pandemic. Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed state agency leaders along with members of the General Assembly for a Georgia Jobs and Infrastructure Committee to oversee the grant process. Grants are expected to be awarded by early January. The state also has general plans to allocate money for state employees health benefits and to provide recovery grants to the state’s hardest-hit industries.

Kentucky

$2.18 billion to state government

$1.62 for local governments

Kentucky has taken official action to devote nearly half of its state government ARPA funding to “critical economic recovery and pandemic response.” Gov. Andy Beshear earlier this year signed bipartisan legislation spending nearly $1.17 billion.

Kentucky has allocated:

• $250 million for the Drinking Water Wastewater Grant Program. The money will be for counties for unserved rural customers and to supplement county projects.
• $69.3 million in FY2022 to Health and Human Services for COVID-19 testing, assisting providers of treatment centers and for providing “test and stay” COVID-19 testing at schools.
• $300 million to increase broadband internet access. The first phase includes $50 million to target areas unserved by broadband.
• $575 million for Unemployment Trust Fund. The money will pay off unemployment insurance debts.

Louisiana

Louisiana has earmarked:

• $10 million for the Major Events Fund, a fund to help the state lure major sporting events, such as the Superbowl, and other events to the state.
• $563 million for the Transportation Trust Fund for construction, maintenance and transit infrastructure projects on the state and local levels.
• $15 million for the Legislative Capitol Technology Enhancement Fund for government services.
• $35 million for revenue replacement into the Capital Outlay Relief Fund for government services.
• $5 million for the Health Care Employment Reinvestment Opportunity Fund, to help the state meet demands for nursing and other health professionals and support nursing schools.
• $4.5 million to the Save Our Screens Program to provide grants to movie theater businesses impacted by the pandemic.
• $77.5 million for the Louisiana Tourism Revival program to support local and regional tourism entities marketing Louisiana tourism.
• $10 million to the Loggers Relief Fund to provide grants to timber businesses up to $25,000 each.
• $10 million to the Louisiana Small Business and Nonprofits Fund to provide grants to nonprofits including charities, faith based organizations and education assistance programs.
• $50 million to the Louisiana Port Relief Fund, to help port authorities overcome revenue loss and pandemic expenses.
• $490 million to the Unemployment Trust Fund Clearing Account, with up to $190 million to repay the state’s federal unemployment insurance loan.
• $300 million to provide assistance to local governments for water system maintenance, upgrades and improvements.
• $30 million for the Southwest Louisiana Hurricane Fund for damages during the 2020 hurricane season.

North Carolina

$5.4 billion to state government

$3.4 billion to local governments

The N.C. General Assembly is in session and the House and Senate are negotiating over competing plans for ARPA spending. Lawmakers have faced some criticism that they are considering spending ARPA funds on recurring expenses while at the same time considering tax cuts. Gov. Roy Cooper in May released his recommendations for state ARPA spending, including $250 million for grants to low- and middle-income families with children, $75 million for an affordable housing program, $125 million for programs to fight diabetes, obesity, heart disease and other risk factors with COVID-19, $1.2 billion for broadband access and $800 million for water and sewerage infrastructure.

South Carolina

$2.5 billion to state government

$1.6 billion to local governments

Gov. Henry McMaster, working with lawmakers, created the AccelerateSC task force to make recommendations on revitalizing the state’s economy after the pandemic and to advise the Legislature on how best to spend ARPA funds. The task force has held public meetings and recently released a report that include recommendations the state spend more than $490 million on broadband expansion, $250 million on business grants or shoring up the unemployment trust fund, $400 million on a state matching program for local water and sewerage projects, and spending for workforce development, education, tourism recovery and an intermodal facility to improve the state’s ports.

Tennessee

$3.91 billion to state government

$2.28 billion to local governments

The Financial Stimulus Accountability Group created by Gov. Bill Lee and legislative leaders has recently released a plan to spend much of the $3.9 billion in ARPA funds controlled by the state. This includes spending on water and sewerage, broadband, increasing hospital staffing and helping the state’s agriculture, arts and tourism industries. The state is also providing guidance to local governments on spending and administering their funds with technical assistance and webinars. Tennessee, along with Kentucky, has challenged in court federal provisions that say states cannot accept ARPA funds and then cut taxes. The states so far prevailed in a federal district court ruling.

Tennessee has so far earmarked:

• $500 million to expand broadband. Program will use $400 million for two funds, the Distressed County Connectivity Fund, targeting unserved and at-risk counties and the Broadband Local Match Fund, supporting local government projects using local ARPA money. Remainder will be used for initiatives including a residential service temporary subsidy for qualifying households, for community connectivity including digital literacy programs in schools, libraries, public housing and state parks and connecting downtown business districts with free public wi-fi.
• $1.35 billion for water and sewerage improvements and maintenance. Plan includes $1 billion to match local government projects, $350 million for state strategic priorities coupled with competitive grants.

Texas

$15.8 billion to state government

$10.5 billion to local governments

In a special legislative session in late October, Texas lawmakers allocated nearly $16 billion in ARPA funding, including billions for a property tax cut (pending states prevail in court in overturning Congress’ provision the money not be used for tax cuts). Despite widespread problems with the state’s water infrastructure and frequent drinking water outages, a proposal to allocate $3 billion of the state’s funds failed and the passed spending plan did not include major spending for water and sewerage projects. Legislative leaders noted they had until 2024 to allocate the money, but said addressing it early will help clear the Legislature’s plate for other issues next year.

Texas lawmakers’ earmarks included:

• $7.2 billion to replenish the state’s unemployment trust fund, which was depleted during the pandemic and forced the state to take out $6.9 billion in federal loans.
• $3 billion for property tax cuts, expected to be passed by lawmakers in 2023. Congress prohibited ARPA money being used to cut taxes, but that is being challenged and an Ohio federal court already ruled against the congressional stipulation.
• $2 billion to help increase the state’s health care staffing and COVID-19 response.
• $500 million for broadband expansion
• $400 million for additional health care staffing
• $200 million to help the state’s tourism industry recover from the pandemic.
• $325 million for projects at state universities.
• $238 million for a new psychiatric hospital in Dallas.
• $113 million for the Texas Child Mental Health Consortium for treatment.
• $100 million for food banks across the state.

The post How are other states spending COVID-19 stimulus money? appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Yes, we need to protect the quarterbacks, but this is getting ridiculous, isn’t it? In a busy podcast, we discuss the roughing (or bumping) the passer call against the Saints, huge victories for Mississippi State and Ole Miss, a near-miss from Southern Miss, the Alcorn-Jackson State showdown, and the high school football playoffs.

Stream all episodes here.

The post Podcast: Penalty, 15 yards, tapping the passer appeared first on Mississippi Today.

Laurel native Bobby Collins became head football coach at Southern Miss the same year I was promoted to sports editor of the Hattiesburg American. We were rookies together. That was 1975, seemingly a lifetime ago.

Collins, who died at the age of 88 Monday in Hattiesburg, remains, to this day, the best football coach I ever covered on a day-to-day basis. He could, in the words of Florida A&M coach and football philosopher Jake Gaither, “take his’n and beat your’n or take your’n and beat his’n.”

And yet Collins is best remembered nationally for being the head coach at then-powerhouse SMU when the Mustangs received the NCAA death penalty because of a pay-for-play scheme that preceded Collins’ arrival. That is a shame, and we will get to that.

At Southern Miss, his teams beat his alma mater, Mississippi State, five of seven. He beat Ole Miss three of the last four times he faced the Rebels (he was 3-3 against the Rebs overall). He tied the legendary Bear Bryant at Alabama. He annihilated Bobby Bowden at Florida State. He played nearly all those games on the road. 

In fact in 1975, Southern Miss played all its games on the road because its home stadium was being doubled in size. Collins’ Golden Eagles finished 7-4, trouncing No. 20 BYU in the last game of the season at Jackson.

Remember that splendid 1980 Mississippi State team, loaded with future NFL stars, that stunned Bryant and No. 1 Alabama 6-3? Southern Miss beat those same Bulldogs 42-7 on State’s homecoming. There was at least one happy State alum there that day: Collins, a former State quarterback, punter and assistant coach.

“We had a bunch of no-names, but Coach Collins made us feel like we were as good as anybody who ever stepped on the field,” said Sammy Winder, a walk-on running back who went on to start in three Super Bowls. “We didn’t have any brand-name guys, but we bought into what he was saying and what he was teaching and we won a bunch of games against brand name teams.”

Collins’ Southern Miss teams were not fancy. They ran the ball more than they threw it. They played ferocious defense. They were efficient. They blocked, they tackled. They hit hard. Really hard. They were fundamentally as sound as any teams you will ever see.

They had talent; they just found it where the powerhouse teams weren’t looking. While State and Ole Miss (and Alabama and Notre Dame and everybody else) were recruiting a high school All American quarterback named Eddie Hornback out of Ocean Springs, Southern Miss spent all its time just down the road recruiting a tall, skinny kid in D’Iberville named Reggie Collier, who had played only one full season of high school football.

Notre Dame got Hornback. Southern Miss beat Tulane for Collier, who was Lamar Jackson before Lamar Jackson, one of the most breath-taking talents in Mississippi football history. Collins and his staff beat Nicholls State on wide receiver Louis Lipps of Reserve, La., who would become the AFC Rookie of the Year for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Southern Miss found cornerback Hanford Dixon in Theodore, Ala., tight end Marvin Harvey in Marianna, Fla., and linebacker Cliff Lewis in Brewton, Ala. All were lightly recruited. All became pros, Dixon a three-time Pro Bowler.

“Bobby Collins understood people,” Reggie Collier said. “Some coaches have one style of coaching and they expect everybody to fall in line with that. Coach knew how to adjust to different people. He knew how to motivate, how to lift you up when you were down, how to make you feel better about yourself.

“I was an introvert coming in to Southern from a small school,” Collier continued. “I was shy, unsure of myself. Being an African American, playing the position I was playing, I needed somebody who understood where I was and what I was facing. Coach knew what to say and when to say it. He believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. He took Southern Miss to another level and I am still proud to have been a part of that.”

Collins had been a career assistant before Roland Dale hired him at Southern Miss. He had worked on both sides of the football — offense and defense — at Mississippi State, at Colorado State, and at George Washington. He had been the offensive coordinator at Virginia Tech and the defensive coordinator at North Carolina. He was ready.

Jeff Bower, another Hall of Fame football coach, was the quarterback on Collins’ first Southern Miss team, the one that didn’t play a true home game. “Bobby changed the culture at Southern Miss,” Bower said. ”He did what nobody thought was possible. He did it by out-working everybody and getting his guys to out-work everybody. He made us believe in ourselves. He hired good people and let them coach. He was demanding but he made you want to work.”

Bower gets steamed — and then some — when someone suggests that Collins won football games by buying players. Southern Miss went on probation after Collins left for SMU, but as we have previously discussed, he didn’t have to cheat to get his best talent in Hattiesburg. At SMU, he inherited a football program where the play-for-play system reached all the way to the Texas governor’s office. It’s true. You can look it up.

Said Bower, “Anybody who believes Bobby Collins won because of cheating doesn’t understand the culture in college football back then. Bobby won because he and his staff out-worked and out-coached people.”

You should also know Collins always handled himself as a gentleman in every dealing I ever had with him — and there were some tough times in a 2-9 season of 1976. That USM team lost its first nine games, kept playing hard, kept believing, and finally won its last two. The next year, Southern Miss beat Ole Miss, State and Auburn. And they only got better thereafter. That’s the way I’ll remember Bobby Collins.

Visitation for Thurman L. (Bobby) Collins will be Wednesday at 9 a.m., and funeral services will be at 11 a.m. at Hulett-Winstead Funeral Home in Hattiesburg. Interment will be at 1 p.m. at Hickory Grove Cemetery, Laurel.

The post Bobby Collins, who won big at Southern Miss, dies at 88 appeared first on Mississippi Today.

About one-third of Mississippi kindergarteners demonstrated they were kindergarten ready on a state literacy test this fall, a declining statistic State Superintendent of Education Carey Wright said is “further proof” of the pandemic’s negative impact on students.

The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment tests students exiting public pre-K programs and those entering public kindergarten. It measures early literacy skills and is used as an instructional baseline for teachers. It is also used to measure how well pre-kindergarten programs, both the state’s early learning collaboratives and other publicly funded pre-K, prepare four-year-olds for kindergarten.

Among the 33,265 kindergarteners tested, 31.8% scored a 530 or higher on the test. The percentage dropped from 36.6% in fall of 2019. Over half, or 54.74%, score in the bottom range, or “early emergent” reader category. That category encompasses students who are beginning to understand printed text has meaning and beginning to identify shapes, colors, letters and numbers, according to the Mississippi Department of Education.

The goal score of 530 indicates a student can identify most letters of the alphabet and their corresponding sounds. Students who attain this score can also begin to “read” picture books and are building their vocabulary, listening skills and understanding of print, according to the Mississippi Department of Education. The average statewide score for kindergarteners was 487.

Research also shows 85% of students who score a 530 or higher at the beginning of kindergarten are proficient in reading at the end of third grade.

Four-year-olds in the state’s early learning collaboratives also took the test, and 13.05% of those students met the end-of-year benchmark score of 498. In other pre-K programs, 10.10% of four-year-olds in other pre-K programs met the benchmark score.

Tenette Smith, director of elementary education and reading at the Mississippi Department of Education, said the results show the state is right to focus its efforts on pre-K students.

“This says to me we’re targeting the right students because the large majority of our kids are in need of additional supports and strategies,” Smith said when presenting the test results to the State Board of Education Friday.

Rachel Canter, executive director of Mississippi First, said pre-K was particularly impacted by the pandemic because virtual learning is more difficult in early education. The state’s early learning collaboratives that partnered with Head Start, the federally funded pre-K program, were entirely virtual during the 2020-21 school year, according to Canter and Smith.

“Other providers held in person classes but did so with a host of new COVID policies, like masking, a shortened school day, increased use of technology and an elimination of field trips,” said Canter, whose organization advocates for early education and is preparing to release a report on the pandemic’s impact on the state’s early learning collaboratives. “Parental engagement, a key piece of early childhood, was also more difficult as in-person parent-teacher conferences and events were suspended.”

Smith emphasized several next steps for the department and educators to combat the pandemic’s detrimental impact: leverage federal COVID-19 relief funds to expand pre-K services and supplemental services such as high dosage tutoring; implement pre-K to kindergarten transition plans; develop partnerships for Head Start; and train all teachers in the science of reading and ensure implementation of that in pre-K through 3rd grade, among other suggestions.

The Mississippi Department of Education has recently kicked off a series of eight regional literacy meetings for families of students in kindergarten through third grade. The goal is to help students by giving parents and other family members strategies to use at home to improve literacy.

READ MORE: How Mississippi schools teach kindergarteners to read

The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment is a component of the Literacy Based Promotion Act passed in the 2013 legislative session. The law places an emphasis on grade-level reading skills, particularly in kindergarten through third grade, and also includes a third grade reading assessment students are required to pass to continue to fourth grade.

Wright, the state superintendent, remained positive.

“Mississippi’s kindergarten teachers are outstanding. Yearly, their hard work leads to significant gains for the state’s youngest students, and I anticipate seeing those gains when students are retested in spring 2022,” she said in a press release announcing the results.

The post Kindergarteners see pandemic-related learning decline appeared first on Mississippi Today.

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan planned to visit Jackson on Monday to hear from residents, officials and students about the state capital’s longstanding water system malfunctions.

But during his visit, Regan unexpectedly got to witness the unreliability of the city’s water system for himself.

Prior to officials issuing a citywide boil water notice Monday night — resulting from what they believe was a “bad batch of chemicals” to clean the water — the EPA chief stopped by Wilkins Elementary School, which is south of I-20 and farther than most of the city from the main water treatment plant, O.B. Curtis.

Apart from a few students who stayed to talk to Regan, the building had emptied out that morning; after a 9-week water outage at the school earlier this year, students were again forced to relocate Monday morning because of low water pressure. And worse, some parts of the city on Monday were completely without water.

To address recurring failures at the city’s water utility, which shut down for over a month after a winter storm froze exposed equipment at the treatment plant, Jackson leadership has put the price tag at $1 billion. The funding shortfall exists for several reasons, such as a dwindling tax base, but a primary cause is the shrinking trend in federal support over the past forty years.

Regan’s visit, the first stop on a southern U.S. tour focused on environmental justice, gave the agency a chance to promote the recently signed federal infrastructure bill, which will send $459 million Mississippi’s way for fund water improvements.

That total amount given to Mississippi, which will be spread across Mississippi, is less than half of what Jackson alone needs.

READ MORE: Federal infrastructure bill won’t address Jackson water crisis without help of state leaders

During a media Q&A, Regan at first touted that the money from the bill, in addition to funds from the proposed Build Back Better plan, would give “adequate resources” to invest in reliable drinking water; yet he later said that these funds would just be a start to fixing the problem, and touched on another strategy for raising money.

“With all of those resources, in concert with stronger relationships with our state and local officials, we will be better able to leverage those resources to tackle the shortfalls,” he said. “This is a shot in the arm, it’s a down payment, but it’s a huge opportunity for public-private partnerships.

“We’re going to have to be creative in how we spend our precious resources, but we’ll also have to be entrepreneurial in how we partner with the private sector to be sure that our communities are thriving.”

Fifteen percent of Americans receive water from a private utility, and, as policy experts told Mississippi Today, they have shown mixed results; while private utilities can provide more resources and are less likely to violate federal health codes, they can also come at a higher cost to customers, which is part of why past Jackson leaders have opposed the idea.

In addition to seeing Wilkins Elementary, Regan held a roundtable talk with community representatives, visited the O.B. Curtis water plant, and toured different areas including West Jackson. The west and south parts of the city, which have a higher percent of Black residents and lower median incomes, are the farthest from the treatment plant, meaning it takes longer to restore water pressure for those homes.

Regan, the first Black man to lead the EPA, said that his agency will incorporate environmental justice into all of its policy decisions, hoping to take aim at the disproportionate impacts pollution has on marginalized communities.

“It’s a fact that communities of color have disproportionately borne the impact (of pollution),” he said. “EPA’s job is to provide protection under regulation and law for all Americans. Environmental justice is a guarantee that we will look at the past deficiencies there.”

As part of a new initiative, the White House committed to direct 40% of climate and clean energy benefits towards disadvantaged areas.

READ MORE: Why Jackson’s water system is broken

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A special Senate subcommittee on Monday began studying how best to spend $1.8 billion in federal pandemic stimulus funds Mississippi is receiving as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.

“Never before in the history of Mississippi have we had an opportunity like this is going to provide,” Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who oversees the Senate, told the committee. City and county governments are receiving about $900 million in ARPA money, and Hosemann has proposed using much of the state’s share to match the local spending and fund larger projects.

FOLLOW THE MONEY: Mississippi Today coverage of state’s federal stimulus spending

A representative of the National Conference of State Legislatures on Monday told the new committee that at least six states have created ARPA matching funds for local governments for water, sewerage and other projects.

In a daylong hearing, the committee heard from officials from Louisiana and Tennessee — neighboring states that have already spent or earmarked much of the billions they received — and from state budget and audit officials on what the rules are for the spending the money.

“We spent about half of our $3 billion this year, and will spend half next year,” said Louisiana state Sen. Mack “Bodi” White. “We wanted to see how things go (before spending the rest).”

Louisiana has earmarked about $300 million for water and sewer infrastructure projects statewide, and has created a commission to work out details of the projects. It’s also spending millions on tourism, ports and health care, including extra pay to recruit and retain nurses. Although ARPA money can’t go directly to road and bridge projects, it can be used to replace lost revenue, and White said Louisiana is using $600 million to replace pandemic losses in its roadbuilding fund.

READ MORE: Should safe drinking water be a priority for Mississippi’s federal stimulus spending?

Tony Niknejad, policy director for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, joined the Mississippi subcommittee via videoconference on Monday. He said Lee, working with lawmakers, created a Financial Stimulus Accountability Group to help guide spending Tennessee’s $3.9 billion in ARPA money coming to the state and $2.28 billion to local governments.

Tennessee has earmarked more than $1.3 billion for water and sewer infrastructure projects, including $1 billion to match projects local governments are funding with ARPA. Tennessee is also spending about $500 million on broadband expansion and millions to help tourism and agriculture.

Mississippi State Auditor Shad White told the new Senate committee his office will provide any help it can in keeping state and local governments within the rules on spending.

“I’ve been telling (local officials) at the end of the day, we’re not the bad guys you need to worry about,” White said. “The bad guys will be from the (federal) Office of Inspector General.”

Sen. John Polk, R-Hattiesburg, is chairing the Senate Appropriations ARPA Subcommittee. He said he plans to have multiple meetings before the end of the year, and present its findings and recommendations to the Senate before the state’s legislative session begins in January.

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After Gov. Tate Reeves spent portions of a Monday news conference criticizing federal policies that he said are holding back the state, he still announced his proposal to spend $1.2 billion in federal funds in the budget plan he hopes the Legislature will consider during the upcoming 2022 session.

Ahead of the 2022 legislative session, Reeves announced on Monday his proposal on how to spend state funds and his partial recommendation on spending $1.8 billion in federal funds the state is receiving to deal with COVID-19 and its aftermath.

The governor said he would announce additional plans later how to spend the rest of the federal funds, which must be appropriated by the end of 2024.

READ MORE: Our full “Follow the Money” coverage of Mississippi’s federal spending.

As far as the spending of state funds, the governor said because of the strong growth in state revenue he has retooled his plan to eliminate the state income tax to say it could be done in five years opposed to the longer time period he had recommended in the past.

In addition, Reeves included in his budget the commitment he made this summer at the Neshoba County Fair to provide a $1,300 pay raise for teachers during the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1, followed by two years of $1,000 pay bumps.

“We seek to eliminate tax burdens and make a bold move: to attract high-paying jobs to the state of Mississippi,” Reeves said of his plan.

Reeves proposes spending $1.2 billion of the $1.8 billion in federal American Rescue Plan funds the state is receiving to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic on a litany of items, ranging from:

• $130 million administered by the newly created Office of Workforce Development, commonly known as Accelerate Mississippi, to provide grants to community colleges and senior colleges for training “for the higher-income jobs and careers of the future.”
• $200 million for the further expansion of high-speed internet. This would be in addition to recent broadband expansion efforts the state has made thanks, in part, to past federal COVID-19 relief legislation.
• $300 million to improve 911 access in Mississippi, calling the state’s current system “an embarrassment.”
• $200 million to restore some of the losses the health insurance plan for state workers and teachers absorbed because of COVID-19.
• $5 million presumably for bonuses to recruit to Mississippi law enforcement personnel who Reeves said has been “mistreated” in “blue” or Democratic jurisdictions.
• $200 million to further replenish the state’s unemployment trust fund. During 2020 when the state shutdown during the start of the pandemic, a record number of Mississippi workers were able to draw unemployment compensation, reducing the size of the trust fund. Under federal law, Reeves has said a tax will be imposed on Mississippi businesses to replenish the fund if other sources of revenue are not used for that effort.
• $50 million for downtown Jackson revitalizing efforts.
• $100 million for water and sewer grant projects in local municipalities. This would presumably be used to match local efforts to improve water and sewer with the separate American Rescue Plan funds they received.

When it was pointed out to the governor that officials for the city of Jackson have said repairs for their antiquated water and sewer system could cost as much as $2 billion, Reeves did not seem to rule out the possibility of using some of the additional American Rescue Plan funds for such an effort in Jackson and other cities. But he said the city of Jackson and the county of Hinds, which is where the capital city is located, have about $85 million in American Rescue Plan funds that also could be used for water and sewer issues.

The governor did not mention or commit any American Rescue Plan funds for salary supplements to help retain and recruit health care providers, particularly nurses, who have been retiring and leaving the state for better paying jobs in the midst of combatting the coronavirus. Both Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, and House Speaker Philip Gunn have endorsed such a proposal.

Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, who is the House minority leader, has said some of the American Rescue Plan funds should be used to provide salary supplements for “essential” workers, both those in the public and private sector, including for such jobs as grocery store employees.

“These are people on the front lines whose jobs are becoming increasingly more high pressure involved,” Johnson said.

Reeves called the economic growth and strong revenue collections as the best in state history. He said that growth came despite “to a certain extent some of the policies in Washington.” He later reluctantly acknowledged some of the massive federal spending might have helped spur the state economy as numerous economists have said.

Reeves’ traditional budget plan, excluding the American Rescue Plan, is $6.49 billion or 1.7% less than what the Legislature spent in the 2021 session for education, law enforcement, health care and other areas.

Part of that reduction would be to start the process of eliminating the personal income tax.

“Eliminating the individual income tax will further help us fuel Mississippi’s economic engine for the next 100 years,” Reeves wrote in his budget narrative.

The income tax accounts for about one-third of state general fund revenue.

The governor proposes using a large portion of the revenue growth the state has experienced to speed up the elimination of the state income tax. An analysis by Mississippi Today indicates state revenue growth that could be available during the 2022 session could be as much as $2 billion.

Reeves did not miss the chance to incorporate many of his conservative principles and Republican talking points into his budget. He proposes withholding state funding to school districts that teach critical race theory, which is an effort to explain the impact of racism on the country. He could not cite an example of any school in Mississippi teaching critical race theory.

He also proposed $3 million for the teaching of positive or patriotic American history.

And the governor endorsed a plan that died during the 2020 session to require removing from election voter rolls people who do not respond to a mail-out or have not voted once in the past four years.

The governor did propose more spending in some other areas, such as for math and computer science and for the Department of Corrections.

RULES: How can Mississippi, local governments spend billions in COVID-19 stimulus?

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As elected officials at every level of Mississippi government decide how to spend more than $10 billion (and counting) in federal funds, Mississippi Today has launched “Follow the Money,” a newsroom-wide project that will closely track that spending and hold leaders accountable.

This historic influx of cash, most of it from coronavirus stimulus packages and the new infrastructure package, will provide Mississippi leaders a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to address generational problems like:

• The absence of employment opportunities across much of our state, which leaves so many Mississippians stuck in a cycle of poverty and lacking the resources to get out.

• Public schools that have been starved for resources and dependent upon an inequitable funding formula that’s gone underfunded by billions of dollars since its inception.

• No access to high-speed internet, keeping many Mississippians disconnected from the rest of the world and even the next town over.

• Crumbling roads and water systems that pose critical health and safety risks to every single Mississippian.

• A health care system that was never been built to care for every Mississippian regardless of their locality, race, or socioeconomic background.

The whole idea of this project is to ensure elected officials are publicly held accountable. Too often in Mississippi, a lack of transparency in government spending allows contractors, lobbyists and interest groups to reap the benefits of large pots of money intended to make our state better. Meanwhile, the Mississippians who need help most miss out. And all too often, the public isn’t even aware that it’s happening.

We cannot let that happen now. In the poorest state in the nation, where so many of our neighbors are struggling, the need is just too great and the moment too important. We’re devoting a newsroom of focus and energy to asking the tough questions of the decision-makers and tracking every dollar.

We hope our project page will serve as a hub for Mississippians, a place where basic information about the money is easily accessible and easy to understand. The page is a living, breathing thing, and we will add more resources, databases and coverage to it.

While our team of state government reporters is uniquely positioned to cover the state-level spending, so much of this money will be spent at the local level. That’s where you, the readers, come in.

City councils, boards of aldermen, boards of supervisors and school boards will have plenty of discretionary spending authority, and we need you to be our eyes and ears in those hundreds of halls. If you have questions, concerns or tips about how the federal money is being spent in your community, please reach out to us at adam@mississippitoday.org or kayleigh@mississippitoday.org. Check back soon for an interactive form that will allow us to more quickly respond to your comments regarding the federal spending.

As you follow this coverage, please don’t hesitate to reach out and tell us what we’re missing. We want you to help us provide this needed accountability.

READ MORE: Our full “Follow the Money” coverage of Mississippi’s federal spending.

The post Mississippi Today launches ‘Follow the Money’ project tracking state’s federal spending appeared first on Mississippi Today.