Republican leadership: "Vote for charter schools or lose your district"

During last year's redistricting battle, Governor Bryant and other Republicans admonished legislators that the "gentleman's agreement," that one chamber would not interfere with another chamber's redistricting maps, was a violation of a member's oath of office because it was improper to vote for one bill in exchange for a vote on another.  Count that among the many "principled" stands that have become suddenly inconvenient with Republicans in charge. 

Cottonmouth has received word from several House members that members are being told that they will jeopardize their chances of having a "good" district if they don't vote to pass the charter school bill.

A vote on House Bill 1152, a measure that was amended to include the "Mississippi Public Charter Schools Act of 2012" by Senator Gray Tollison (R-Oxford) earlier today, is likely to come up for a vote in the House on Thursday. 

HB 1152 to be amended by Senate with charter school language

Republicans in the Mississippi Senate, not satisfied with the defeat of charter schools legislation in the House Education Committee moments ago, will amend HB 1152, a conversion charter schools bill.  The amendment will purportedly be a strike-all amendment that will add the language of the now-dead charter schools bill to HB 1152.  Should the amendment be successful and the Senate pass HB 1152 as amended, HB 1152 will go on the House calendar for concurrence or nonconcurrence.  The House will then have a straight up or down vote on the charter schools language.