Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

Got this historical tidbit from a reader this morning:

31 years ago almost to the day, Speaker Buddie Newman unilaterally gavelled the House to adjournment so that the membership would not have to debate the Kindergarden legislation.  He, of course, didn't issue a press release afterwards to explain himself, but 10 years later, when a USM history professor drove to Valley Park to do an oral history with him, Newman explained he knew there were not enough votes on the House floor to pass kindergardens (they needed a supermajority), so he did it to protect his members.

Sound familiar?  If you read the Clarion-Ledger this morning, it would:

“The decision to kill the Senate Medicaid Technical bill was not made lightly,” (Speaker Philip) Gunn said. “However, there are not enough votes in the House to expand Medicaid. Because of this, the House was faced with what would have been a long and divisive debate on the issue of expanding Medicaid under Obamacare, which would have served no purpose and would have ended with the bill being defeated."

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...

Republicans would rather kill Medicaid than even talk about expansion

The Mississippi House Democratic Caucus just released the following:

Republicans Try Brinkmanship on Medicaid

Mississippi House Democratic Caucus Press

Contact:          Rep. Bobby Moak (601) 359-2860

February 14, 2013

Jackson, MS- This afternoon, the House Rules Committee killed S.B. 2207, a measure that would extend the repealers on various provisions of Mississippi’s Medicaid program and allow for the consideration of Medicaid expansion.

Proponents of Medicaid expansion say that in the long-term, expansion will save both state and federal dollars while extending healthcare coverage to thousands of lower-income Mississippians.  In Mississippi, expansion would also mean jobs by improving Mississippi’s healthcare workforce.

By tabling S.B. 2207, House Republicans are attempting to shut down the conversation on Medicaid expansion in Mississippi.  As a result of the Rules Committee’s actions, the only remaining Medicaid bill is H.B. 560, a measure that failed to pass in the House and is currently being held on a Motion to Reconsider.  H.B. 560 does not contain any of the code sections that would allow for Medicaid expansion.   

House Democratic Caucus Leader Bobby Moak (D-Bogue Chitto) said, “Republicans are again proving that they are not interested in an open and honest discussion on Medicaid.  If they were, they would allow Mississippians the benefit of considering this important issue with all options on the table.”

Moak added, “House Democrats will not abide false deadlines or political ploys on this issue.  We are ready to kill every bill that comes before us that does not allow for a full vetting of the crucial question of Medicaid expansion.  Any attempt by Republicans to suggest that they don’t have options to revive a Medicaid bill is nonsense.  They have the Governor’s mansion, the Senate and the House.  If a Medicaid bill doesn’t pass in the next month its because Republicans are more interested in playing politics than doing their jobs.”

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PRESS NOTES:

S.B. 2207: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2013/html/SB/2200-2299/SB2207PS.htm

H.B. 560: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2013/html/HB/0500-0599/HB0560IN.htm

Guns in Schools Bill Passes

Yesterday, HB 958, a bill sponsored by Rep. Bubba Carpenter (R-Burnsville) that would allow schools to arm principals, teachers, janitors, and cafeteria workers in public schools, passed the state House.

There are a number of troubling factors in this bill, despite my personal disposition towards gun rights.  For instance, a Michigan security guard left his gun in the school bathroom last month. Luckily, no one was hurt.

But what bothers me most about this bill is that not only was it rushed through, or that it has already proven to be a somewhat ineffective way to prevent mass school shootings. According to AP:

The House rejected an amendment to require psychological evaluations of those carrying the weapons.

The Mississippi State House voted down the idea of making sure someone was mentally sound before handing them a gun and sending them into a school.

That frightens me.

 

Confederate flag at Mississippi Supreme Court hoisted on birthdate of Confederacy

Well, well, well.  A friend of the blog pointed out today that the Confederate Battle Flag was raised at the Mississippi Supreme Court on the exact date the Confederate States of America was formed.  I dug around a bit, and sure enough, the CSA was formed on February 8, 1861 when the Provisional Confederate States Constitution was adopted.

Pure coincidence as the Department of Finance and Administration says? Or someone a little too enamored with our past and a coverup afoot?

Some info on the outfit behind the child support privatization legislation

Here's how the Associated Press reported the details of the fraudulent service of process problem YoungWilliams had to deal with back in 2010:

According to Harris' order, Jernigan filed a sworn affidavit with the court clerk stating he served April Gray of Ocean Springs on May 6. But Gray was jailed at the Jackson County Adult Detention Center at the time and could not have received the document.  

YoungWilliams is a Jackson company that had a $23 million (contract) with the Mississippi Department of Human Services to seek child support court orders.  

The process servers claimed they delivered papers to people who were incarcerated and even to a woman who had been dead for two years, court records show. 

Now they want legislation that would put them in charge of overdue child support collection.

More on the privatization of child support collection

Earlier today, David posted on the House passing a bill that would privatize the collection of child support in Mississippi.  The Sun-Herald had a story on it today as well, and pointed out that lobbyists for YoungWilliams Child Support Services are behind the legislation.

That name rang a bell, but I couldn't remember why.  Then a fellow lawyer reminded me:  they were the outfit who hired process servers who lied about serving defendants in child support cases.

Privatizing Child Support: Follow the Money

It seems that every day there is a new program that Mississippi legislative Republicans suggest need privatization. Whether it's PERS, Medicaid, or public schools, it seems like these state Republicans would prefer to do just about anything to offer a few more kickbacks to corporations.

So, it should come as no surprise that the house passed a measure that would privatize child support today, and would allow a company to "rake in millions."

What is somewhat surprising, though, is that this one has been done before. And failed miserably.  From The Clarion Ledger:

Mississippi used a Virginia-based company, Maximus Inc., to collect overdue child support from 1995 to 2000.
"I remember the disaster that Maximus was," Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, said during the debate Wednesday.
Maximus spent more but collected less money for overdue child support payments in Hinds and Warren counties, on average, than DHS did in the rest of the state from 1996-2000, according to a report issued in October 2000, by the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review.

What's the definition of insanity again?  Trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different response.

Or perhaps it's not about functionality. Perhaps we should just follow the money. As Rep. Steve Holland (D-Plantersville) suggested:

"It's a greased pig already. Somebody up on high already knows who's going to get this contract"

Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2013/02/12/4464951/top-republicans-push-child-support.html#storylink=cpy

***HB 481 passes House, DUI laws would be revamped***

HB 481 has just passed the House 108-8.  If it passes the Senate, this could be a good step forward in easing the draconian restrictions people convicted of DUI face, and in keeping our roadways safe at the same time.  Click here for an earlier post on this bill.

Good work, House members.

House to debate revision of Mississippi's DUI laws in a minute

The next item up on the House calendar is HB 481, which would add a requirement of use of an ignition interlock device by people convicted of DUIs.  This is a pretty good bill.  In short, it would do away with the "hardship" license and replace it with the imposition of an ignition interlock requirement.  Here's how the new license suspensions would work:

DUI 1st offense: 30 day license suspension, followed by conditional license for up to 6 months
DUI 2nd offense: 45 day license suspension, followed by conditional license for 1-2 years
DUI 3rd offense: 45 day license suspension, followed by conditional license for 3-5 years

The other penalties (incarceration, fines, etc.) are not changed by the bill.

Here's why it's a good bill.  Currently, someone convicted of a first DUI can petition the circuit court for a hardship license after completing the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program and the expiration of 30 days from conviction.  That always takes more than 30 days, and leaves the person convicted without transportation until the order is signed.  It also lets someone who has evidenced a drinking problem behind the wheel without any supervision whatsoever.

Worse, someone who gets a second DUI winds up with a license suspension for a year, with no hardship potential whatsoever.  How are they supposed to drive to work?

And even worse than that, a person convicted of a third DUI has his license suspended for 5 years.  How is that person to put his life back together on a suspended license?

***UPDATE*** - It passed.

House is debating ceding authority to governor to determine whether substance is illegal

HB 242 is before the House right now. It would turn over to the governor the Legislature's authority to determine whether or not a substance should be considered by our courts as a Schedule I controlled substance.

This is a dangerous, dangerous bill.  Sure, the governor could only add a substance on a temporary basis, but still, he could do it.

Imagine the following scenario:  The governor doesn't care for a certain person.  He knows that certain person has an affinity for weight loss drugs.  He could name an ingredient contained in weight loss drugs as a Schedule I controlled substance, making it illegal.  Governor then, by executive order, has made the person he dislikes guilty of violating the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, and subject to penalties thereof.  Penalties, by the way, that could include 30 years in prison and a $1M fine.

***UPDATE*** - Contrary to what the bill appears to say, the House is being told that there can be no criminal prosecution under this bill until the Legislature acts.  No matter what the House thinks it's doing, that's just not what they're doing with this bill.

***UPDATE 2*** - Bill passes the House, but I don't think it will wind up becoming law as written.  I've received word that the intent is to allow for the seizure of the drugs deemed Schedule I by executive order.  I think that can be done with some different language and without giving civil libertarians like me a heart attack.