Rep. Jessica Upshaw (R - Diamondhead) and Speaker Philip Gunn (R - Clinton) team up to kill pardon hearings

Two days ago, I mentioned that Rep. Jessica Upshaw (R - Diamondhead) raised a point of order in an attempt to kill the Baria-Moak Amendment on SB 2195.  The Baria-Moak Amendment would require a public hearing before a pardon could be granted.  Had such a law been in place prior to former Governor Haley Barbour's Pardonpalooza in January, the public would have at least been aware that a large number of people were seeking relief from Barbour.

A word from Rep. Cecil Brown about the budget battle

Rep. Cecil Brown (D-Jackson)

Here we are, days away from the end of the 2011 legislative session, and we still don’t have a state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

The Legislature and Gov. Haley Barbour remain at odds over the budget with the governor insistent on cutting funding levels for state agencies. We in the state House staunchly disagree. We believe there is no reason to cut state agency funding when we clearly have adequate money.

Let me explain our key areas of disagreement.

Education tops the list. House and Senate members have approved the same level of funding for K-12 public schools, $2.2 billion. House and Senate members also have approved the same level of funding for community colleges, $233 million.

The governor, though, wants to reduce K-12 funding by $30 million. While the figure is down from the $65 million he wanted last week, the $30 million would still sting tremendously because it would include $6 million to reimburse teachers for classroom expenses and $24 million from school operating expenses and teacher salaries. That’s unacceptable.

Education has weathered some tough times. Over the past three years, we have reduced K-12 spending by more than $300 million. We have seen teachers lose their jobs. We have seen academic programs eliminated at some schools. And we have seen the teacher-student ratio increase. This is no way to run a school system. Education simply can’t afford additional cuts.

Here’s another important point: If we followed through with the governor’s plan, local property taxes most assuredly will increase as school districts try to find ways to fund day-to-day expenses. In other words, the governor’s proposed funding cuts are nothing more than a backdoor tax increase.

Mental health is another point of disagreement. House members voted to fund mental health by $252 million, including $20 million to operate community mental health facilities. Gov. Barbour wants to fund mental health at $235 million.

The governor’s funding level does not include enough money to operate the community mental health facilities. These local offices that treat and care for people with no other places to go would shut down. Patients would end up on the street or back in jail where many were before. There is just no reason to make this cut when there are funds available to pay for these local centers, especially since they use these state funds as a match for more Medicaid funds.

Another area of disagreement is agriculture units at Mississippi State University and Alcorn State University. The House voted to fund the units at $75 million, but the governor wants to cut the funding by $5.4 million.

The governor’s reasoning is unclear. Perhaps it is in retaliation for the Mississippi Farm Bureau’s opposition to his position on eminent domain. In any case, this proposed cut is arbitrary and destructive to jobs in agriculture in Mississippi.

Our state has not been immune to the economic problems that have dominated our country.

To that end, we in the House have provided a proposal to the Senate to properly fund education, mental health and university priorities while leaving more than a $200 million balance in the rainy day and reserve funds in addition to the $47 million balance in the Hurricane Disaster Funds. Ours is a sound budget. A fair budget. A good budget.

- Rep. Cecil Brown (D-Jackson)
  House Education Committee Chairman

Better Mississippi Report breaks some budget negotiations news

From Better Mississippi Report today:

Barbour objections halt state budget negotiations
Presidential campaigning leaves him unable to meet with lawmakers until Wednesday

JACKSON (Tuesday, March 22, 2011) – Two key House leaders said today they were making major progress with Senate negotiators in crafting a new state budget – until Gov. Haley Barbour threw a last-minute curve.

State Reps. Johnny Stringer and Cecil Brown said House and Senate negotiators have agreed on about 75 percent to 80 percent of the budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

But Barbour – who has been out of state, flying across the country and campaigning for president – effectively stopped negotiations after he voiced opposition to the budget compromise in a letter distributed late Monday.

“We were making such good progress,” said Stringer, who chairs the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee. “We thought we may get out of here (early) and save the taxpayers money. This has halted all negotiations.”

House and Senate members are in the final days of the 2011 legislative session. Negotiators face a Saturday deadline for filing a compromise state budget; House and Senate members are expected to begin approving individual budget bills Sunday.

Stringer and Brown briefed members of the news media Tuesday about the status of budget talks. Meanwhile, Barbour was in Nevada hobnobbing with GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval and talking up a possible presidential bid.

Stringer plans to meet with Barbour at noon Wednesday. Stringer said he wanted to meet today – he suggested meeting Barbour at the airport for a “touch-and-go” so the governor could continue his travels – but the offer was declined.

Stringer and Brown said they and Senate negotiators have agreed on the amount of revenue the state has to spend. They said the House and Senate are not that far apart on spending issues.

“We’ve had a great working relationship with the Senate,” Brown said.

Brown said one of his biggest concerns is that the governor wants to maintain level funding. But, Brown said, that is impossible given the increase in expenses mandatory for some agencies.

The only way to accomplish that, he said, would be to cut $65 million from public education funding – something that the House will not support.

Over the last four years, he said, lawmakers cut $300 million from kindergarten-12^th grade funding. He said 2,000 school personnel have been laid-off, including 800 teachers and 1,200 other school workers.

Cutting education again would be harmful and pass the tax burden to county and city school districts that may, in turn, have to raise local property taxes.

“Tomorrow is our working deadline for the budget so the staff can get (individual budget) bills done,” Brown said. “We can’t do anything today or tonight because we can’t meet with the governor until tomorrow because we’ve got to meet with the governor on his schedule.”