I’m so old I remember when the Legislature regularly tried to show the Governor who is boss. I moved here when Kirk Fordice was governor and they butted heads. But when Governor Musgrove, the head-butting continued. When Haley Barbour came into office and the Legislature became a Republican super majority, everyone started singing from the same hymnal (and Haley would fund an opponent to beat you if you crossed him.) So this is nostalgic to me. We’ll see if Governor Reeves vetoes the legislation and then can override that veto. Otherwise, he’ll be a backseat driver.
State Rep. John Hines speaks out on challenges in the Greenville public schools.
A tense struggle for power between Republican legislative leaders and the Republican governor could come down to an unlikely group of elected officials: Mississippi’s legislative Democrats.
Democrats have for years been relegated to effectively no political power in the Capitol as Republicans swept statewide elections last year and shored up a three-fifths supermajority in both the House and the Senate.
But as Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn try to wrangle the sole spending authority of $1.2 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds from Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, Democrats will be the deciding votes between whether the legislative leaders or the governor keep that authority.
“There is an old political cliche: ‘Politics makes for strange bedfellows,’” said Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville. “This one of those situations where there’s a stranger sleeping in my bed. (Republicans) are going to need allies.”
The GOP power struggle centers on whether the governor or the Legislature should have spending authority over the $1.25 billion in coronavirus stimulus funds that the state of Mississippi has received. For weeks, Reeves has maintained he has the sole authority but that he would consult with the Legislature in how that money is spent.
But this week, legislative leaders took matters into their own hands, finalizing plans to return to the Capitol early to pass legislation that would guarantee them that spending power and take it out of the governor’s hands. On Wednesday, Hosemann and Gunn sent a letter to the state’s fiscal officer and state treasurer and asked them to halt spending the funds until the Legislature meets and decides how to proceed.
The Legislature has been in a coronavirus-related recess since mid-March and was previously scheduled to return on May 18. The Legislature is scheduled to reconvene at 1 p.m. Friday — more than two weeks earlier than originally planned — to address the matter.
Leaders are negotiating behind closed doors on Thursday what the legislation will look like and how they will proceed. Sources close to the negotiations said one possibility remains that the House and Senate would need to vote to suspend the rules to bring up any new legislation that has been discussed. A vote to suspend the legislative rules requires a two-thirds vote of approval in both the House and the Senate.
While Republicans hold a three-fifths supermajority in both chambers, they do not hold a two-thirds supermajority in either chamber, meaning Democrats would have meaningful votes.
If the leaders finds a legislative method to avoid suspending the rules to introduce a bill, a two-thirds vote would be required to override a potential veto from the governor of any bill that does pass.
Both two-thirds votes scenarios give Democrats an important seat at the negotiating table regarding how the federal stimulus money should be spent.
Mississippi Today spoke with members of the Democratic Caucus and the Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus to ask whether they believe the Legislature should have spending authority over the stimulus funds.
Top Democrats in the Legislature have been in talks with both Reeves and legislative leaders in recent hours as votes are being whipped and battle lines are being drawn.
Rep. Robert Johnson of Natchez, the House Democratic leader, says he supports the effort of Gunn and Hosemann to ensure the Legislature has spending authority of the at least $1.25 billion in federal funds. But Johnson said he believes the Republican legislative leadership should work with the minority Democratic members to garner their input in spending the funds.
Most Democrats who spoke with Mississippi Today on Thursday said they believe the Legislature should have the spending authority.
Mississippi House
Rep. Chris Bell, D-Jackson
“There has been a history of the governor spending money in places where it didn’t affect the African American community,” said Rep. Chris Bell, D-Jackson. “With the COVID-19 crisis 100 percent affecting us, it’s a no-brainer to spend that in our communities…on clinical research, opportunities to find ways to help us with our diets and things of that nature, to provide monies for first responders, grocery store workers and janitors that have to deal with this.”
Bell also said he believes the funds should be spent on issues like providing broadband to rural areas and funding the state’s historically black colleges and universities health and engineering departments to help create ventilators, among other areas.
“One of the red flags for me was that (Reeves) thought he had the authority to spend the money, and then he made the statement he’s going to hire a third party to help spend the money,” Bell said. “That’s what we’re here for.”
Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America
Sen. David Blount speaks to Getty Israel during a committee meeting about Medicaid at the Mississippi State Capitol Tuesday, February 4, 2020.
Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson. said he does not have any preconceived notions on where the money should be spent but that it should be done in an open and transparent legislative process – not by one person.
“It is the constitutional duty of the legislative branch of government to appropriate money,” Blount said.
Sen. Angela Turner Ford, D-West Point, chair of the Legislative Black Caucus comprised exclusively of Democrats, said that the money should be spent to help victims of the coronavirus. She stopped short of saying the funds should be appropriated by the Legislature.
Rogelio V. Solis / Associated Press
State Sen. Angela Turner-Ford, D-West Point, raises a question during bills discussion in the Senate chamber at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019.
“I don’t want to state a position right now,” Turner-Ford said. “I would like to know the authority the governor says he has. I personally would like to have more information.”
Leaders from both the Legislative Black Caucus and the Democratic Caucus are working to create unanimity among their members, and sources in both caucuses said they are leaning toward siding with legislative leadership and hope to create meaningful dialogue with Hosemann and Gunn about how the money should be spent.
“The Legislature has the authority to appropriate funding for our state and the CARES act monies should not be treated any differently,” said Rep. Sonya Williams-Barnes, D-Gulfport. “We are responsible for the welfare of the citizens of Mississippi and therefore, we should be able to appropriate funds for the benefit of all citizens.”
Congratulations to Aallyah Wright on being named to the Education Writers Association (EWA) Journalist Advisory Board for the 2020-2021 term. The advisory board is a group of accomplished journalists who help EWA carry out its mission to strengthen community of education writers and improve the quality of education coverage to help better inform the public. Members provide input and feedback on membership and programming questions, improve member engagement, EWA’s events and more. EWA advisory board members are a select group of journalists from a mix of regional and national media organizations.
Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America
Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, left, and House speaker Philip Gunn speak to media concerning the legislative session and the coronavirus Tuesday, March 17, 2020.
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and Speaker Philip Gunn, intent on stripping authority from the governor to appropriate $1.25 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds, have sent a letter to the state’s acting fiscal officer instructing her not to spend the money being sent to the state.
The letter, dated Wednesday, was sent to Liz Welch, who Gov. Tate Reeves appointed as the interim director of the Department of Finance and Administration, which is the agency that routinely doles out state funds at the direction of the Legislature. The letter was also sent to state Treasurer David McRae.
The unusual step of the Legislature’s two presiding officers sending the letter occurred after Reeves said over a period of weeks he had sole authority to disburse $1.25 billion that the U.S. Congress sent to the state to deal with costs and other issues associated with the coronavirus. The money is part of the massive $2 trillion Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed in late March.
“The letter is to inform you the Mississippi Legislature will be in session shortly to plan the constitutional appropriation of these funds to address Mississippi’s immediate and future needs in responding to the COVID-19 health and economic crisis,” Hosemann and Gunn wrote. “You are instructed to hold the entire account…until the Legislature provides instructions through its appropriation process on distribution of state funds.”
Mississippi Today reported late Wednesday that the Legislature could return to the Capitol as early as Monday to take up the issue. The Legislature recessed in mid March out of safety precautions related to COVID-19. It originally had scheduled to return on May 18.
Welch has been one of Reeves’s top assistants for years, dating back to his two terms as state treasurer, starting in 2004. She oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Senate during his two terms as lieutenant governor as secretary of the Senate.
Since Reeves’ tenure as governor began in January, Welch has been serving as the interim director of DFA, meaning her name has not been placed before the Senate for confirmation.
While Reeves says the authority to spend the funds rest with him, he said he plans to work with the Legislature in doing so.
Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today, Report For America
House Speaker Philip Gunn, left, and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann share a laugh before the State of the State Address at the State Capitol Monday, January 27, 2020.
Legislative leaders spent most of the day Wednesday discussing plans to return to the Capitol as early as Monday to consider legislation that would keep Gov. Tate Reeves from having sole spending authority over the $1.25 billion coronavirus stimulus windfall from the federal government.
Reeves has said the past several weeks that he would dole out the CARES Act funds himself but has added that he would work with lawmakers and that “the Legislature should have a significant role in how that money is spent.”
But legislative leadership worked this week to take matters into their own hands, aiming to return to the Capitol as soon as Monday to pass legislation that would strip Reeves of the spending power, several lawmakers told Mississippi Today on Wednesday.
House Speaker Philip Gunn, the third-term Republican, called GOP caucus members in a conference call on Wednesday night and told them to be prepared for a Monday return to consider the legislation. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, the first-term Republican, called most of the state’s 52 senators in several phone calls on Wednesday to discuss the governor’s spending authority.
“We’re not going to bow down to the governor to let him spend this money by himself,” a high ranking GOP lawmaker told Mississippi Today. “The people’s legislature should have input. It’s not legal for him to do it, and it’s not the right thing to do. We’d be sitting on our hands if we didn’t do something like this.”
The Legislature has been in a coronavirus-related recess since mid-March and was previously scheduled to return on May 18. But several lawmakers told Mississippi Today on Wednesday evening that a Monday return — two weeks earlier than the planned May 18 date — is “very likely.”
Legislative leaders are also considering whether they would have enough votes to override a potential veto from Reeves of any legislation they passed. Two-thirds of both the Senate and House would have to vote to override a veto for the legislation to go into law. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate, in both parties, told Mississippi Today on Wednesday that they felt confident the override votes were accounted for.
The last time the Legislature successfully overrode a governor’s veto was in 2002 when Democratic Gov. Ronnie Musgrove was in office.
Reeves, in defending his authority to spend the money himself, cites a 40-year-old state law that gives the governor the authority to accept and to disburse federal funds in emergency scenarios. He said it was the process used in the past in appropriating federal funds in response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Great Recession in 2009 and the BP oil spill in 2010.
Reeves has said he wants to use the funds in a variety of manners, such as making schools more prepared to conduct distance learning should another event occur forcing schools to be closed; providing training and financial help for workers who lost their jobs because of the pandemic; helping local governments.
“We have to be transparent,” Reeves wrote on Facebook Tuesday night. “We have to be careful. We have to make sure the money gets in the right hands because there are always some people who want to take advantage of a crisis.”
But legislative leaders suggested to their members on Wednesday that transparency would be in question if the governor had the sole spending authority. On one of the calls with senators, Hosemann said that legislators, who are elected to represent individual districts, know how better to spend the funds than a single governor.
Several House members told Mississippi Today that the state Constitution clearly gives the Legislature such spending authority, and clarifying language in state law would solidify that.
Staffers for Gunn and Hosemann did not return requests for comment on Wednesday.
The federal funding in question is part of the $2 trillion Coronavirus, Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act that Congress passed in late March. The bill provides funding in a litany of areas as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including help for individuals, businesses, educational entities, state public health agencies and various other aspects of state and local governments.
Included in the massive bill is a $340 billion package for state and larger local government to help with expenses associated with the pandemic. Mississippi’s share of that particular section of the bill is $1.25 billion. No local government in Mississippi was large enough to qualify for a direct earmark under the bill.
Under the federal guidelines, the $1.25 billion the state is set to receive in CARES Act funding is not supposed to be used to fill budget shortfalls caused by the current economic downturn related to the pandemic.
In a virtual town hall meeting on Tuesday night, state Rep. Jarvis Dortch, D-Jackson, became one of the first legislators to say publicly that he believes the Legislature, which has the duty to appropriate funds under the state Constitution, should have input in spending the funds. He added that a portion of the funds the state is receiving should go to local governments to help offset their coronavirus-related expenses.
“We are going to be pushing for the Legislature to have a say in how the money is spent,” Dortch said on Tuesday night. “(The local governments) need to be reimbursed for the work they have done.”
Rep. Robert Johnson of Natchez, the House Democratic leader, said in the coming days Democrats will be sending in a formal letter a list of projects they believe the federal money should be used to fund. Johnson said the Legislature should be involved in the process.
“It would make sense for (Reeves) to sit down and collaborate with us,” Johnson said. “A lot of the funds should be spent within the framework of the legislative appropriations process.”
Congratulations to 
$1.25 billion dollars. 
