Mississippi's Legislative Special Session is now live:

Watch it here. Feel free to comment below.


EDIT: While they are in committee, please follow along with Cottonmouth's twitter account. Tweets by @cottonmouthMS

EDIT: Map of Health Exchange Map (which counties will be left off from tax credits from federal program) Many thanks to Rep. David Baria for posting this:

SENATE PASSES HOUSE REDISTRICTING MAP

In a showing that the gentleman's agreement is now back in place under Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves (R), there was no debate over the House plan whatsoever in the Senate.

***BREAKING*** - SENATE MOVING TO HOUSE REDISTRICTING MAP

Sen. Merle Flowers (R - Southaven) is presenting it to the Senate now.

HERE IT IS: The proposed Senate redistricting plan

Here is the map, followed by the summary.  Click on these if you want a bigger version to look at:

Flowers Senate Map



Flowers Plan Summary

***BREAKING*** SENATE COMMITTEE CHAIRMANSHIPS ANNOUNCED

The following is not a complete list, but it answers a good number of questions:

• Appropriations: Sen. Buck Clarke (R-Hollandale)
• Finance: Sen. Joey Fillingame (R-Sumrall)
• Public Health: Sen. Dean Kirby (R-Pearl)
• Jud A: Sen. Briggs Hopson (R-Vicksburg)
• Jud B: Sen. Hob Bryan (D-Amory)
• Transportation: Sen. Willie Simmons (D-Cleveland)
• Corrections: Sen. Sampson Jackson (D-Preston)
• Economic Development: Sen. John Hohrn (D-Jackson)
• Banking: Sen. Gary Jackson (R-French Camp)
• Education: Sen. Gray Tollison (R-Oxford)
• Insurance: Sen. Videt Carmicheal (R-Meridian)
• Energy: Sen. Merle Flowers (R-Southaven)
• Public Property: Sen. David Blount (D-Jackson)
• Veterans Affairs: Sen. Haskins Montgomery (D-Bay Springs)
• Forestry: Sen. Melanie Sojourner (R-Natchez)
• Efficiencies in Govt: Sen. Nancy Collins (R-Tupelo)
• Wildife Fisheries and Parks: Sen. Giles Ward (R-Louisville)
• Constitution: Sen. Michael Watson (R-Pascagoula)
• Elections: Sen. Chris McDaniel (R-Ellisville)
• Conservation: Sen. Tommy Gollot (R-Biloxi)
• Ports: Sen. Brice Wiggins (R-Pascagoula)
• Local and Private: Sen. Perry Lee (R-Mendenhall)
• Tourism - Sen. Lydia Chassaniol (R-Winona)

This is a huge announcement for Sen. Buck Clarke, obviously. It's been quite a roller coaster ride for Clarke, as he looked sure to be one of the losers of the GOP redistricting strategy. Interesting, of the two Pascagoula senators, it's the freshman with the more important committee chairmanship. Also interesting is Sen. McDaniel leading Elections, rather than Sen. Terry Burton.

House and Senate video feeds are dead *UPDATE - Repaired as of 11:30 p.m.*

For some reason, the live video feeds of the House and Senate are not working.  Hopefully this will be repaired sooner rather than later.  (That would be a task for the new Management committees, I guess.)

Clarion-Ledger, Sid Salter chime in on the redistricting decision, see Democrats boosted by ruling

The Clarion-Ledger has an editorial up on the redistricting ruling, and Sid Salter has a column dedicated to it as well. Both see the ruling as favorable to Democrats.

Here's the key portion of the Clarion-Ledger editorial:

Political insiders now are assessing which party the ruling benefits. Ironically, it could increase Democratic influence in the Senate, where the Republican leadership under Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant had thrown a wrench into the redistricting process. The House was divided and remains competitively so, depending on several factors. (Emphasis added.)

And here's the part of Salter's that's on point:

Why would the NAACP and the Democrats decide to live with the outcome of the 2011 election held under the old districts despite the admitted malapportionment of the current districts? Because the outcome is likely to produce a House that's under Democratic control. (Emphasis added.)

****BREAKING*** - ORDER FILED. 2011 LEGISLATIVE RACES WILL BE RUN IN EXISTING DISTRICTS

Here's the Order.

This is a big win for Democrats, as it preserves their majority in the House.  The Republican strategy of pushing the redistricting battle to the courts in order to get more favorable districts has failed.

David Baria posts remarks on his decision to run for the House

From Sen. David Baria's Facebook page earlier today:

An icon of the Mississippi legislature is retiring and his presence will be missed by both the citizens of Hancock County and the State of Mississippi. After talking with JP, I have decided to run for the Mississippi House of Representatives, District 122. There are several reasons I have decided to make this change. House districts are comprised of approximately 25,000 people, whereas Senate districts are made up of about 45,000. While I have very much enjoyed and feel privileged to have been able to represent all of Hancock County, I look forward to campaigning in a smaller geographical area, and having a greater ability to serve constituents due to the smaller number. Also, serving in House District 122 will allow me to focus more on the coastal areas decimated by Katrina and directly impacted by the BP oil spill--both areas of focus for me throughout my time in the Senate. I appreciate your continued support.

Which state senators have the most cash on hand?

Here's a ranking of Mississippi state senators who have the most cash on hand as of May 1, 2011. Only senators with more than $20,000 are listed:

1. Merle Flowers (R-Southaven): $171,410
2. David Blount (D-Jackson): $112,755
3. Hob Bryan (D-Amory): $107,766
4. Briggs Hopson (R-Vicksburg): $70,284
5. Terry Brown (R-Columbus): $59,760
6. Doug Davis (R-Hernando): $57,468
7. David Baria (D-Bay St. Louis): $50,411
8. Tommy Moffat (R-Gautier): $50,283
9. Videt Carmichael (R-Meridian): $49,690
10. Perry Lee (R-Mendenhall): $47,810
11. Giles Ward (R-Louisville): $40,147
12. Sid Albritton (R-Picayune): $30,602
13. Buck Clarke (R-Hollandale): $26,522
14. Gary Jackson (R-French Camp): $25,734
15. Haskins Montgomery (D-Bay Springs): $21,640

There are several senators whose reports are not on the Secretary of State's website yet, so this list will likely have to be updated. Those senators are: Nolan Mettetal (R-Sardis), Willie Simmons (D-Cleveland), Derrick Simmons (D-Greenville), Kenneth Jones (D-Canton), John Horhn (D-Jackson), Hillman Frazier (D-Jackson), Alice Harden (D-Jackson), Dean Kirby (R-Pearl), Terry Burton (R-Newton), Sampson Jackson (D-Preston), Joey Fillingane (R-Sumrall), Chris McDaniel (R-Ellisville), Billy Hudson (R-Hattiesburg), Deborah Dawkins (D-Pass Christian), Tommy Gollott (R-Biloxi), and Michael Watson (R-Pascagoula).

Daily Journal takes Senate Republicans to task for redistricting failure

NEMS360.com has an editorial up today that excoriates Senate Republicans for destroying the redistricting process.

The Legislature, especially Republicans in the Senate, have pushed redistricting based on the 2010 Census toward determination almost certainly to the courts, which is a failure of duty.

That's some strong language, but unfortunately, it's appropriate.

Friday afternoon notes on NAACP v. Barbour, et al *UPDATED*

There has been little movement today in NAACP v. Barbour, et al, despite the rumors that a three judge panel has been named. (It hasn't. I believe that to be MSGOP misinformation designed to hold the GOP legislators in line as they head home over the weekend.) The only movement so far today is the response by the House Apportionment Committee to the Mississippi Republican Party's and Secretary of State Hosemann's opposition to their intervention.

(Intervention means a party that has not been named as a plaintiff or a defendant in a lawsuit gets to come in and participate as a party to the lawsuit.)

The Committee's response is short and sweet, basically saying that nothing prohibits them from intervening in the lawsuit, and that's evidenced by the Court allowing them to intervene 20 years ago.

On another note, it has been reported that Senate Democrats have already joined the lawsuit. That's a bit misleading, as they have only voted to hire counsel to do so. They haven't actually filed a Motion to Intervene yet, although they surely will soon.

Update - This afternoon Judge Carlton Reeves signed an order granting the appointment of a three judge panel. In the order, Judge Reeves notes that the NAACP had asked for the three judge panel, and that all parties were in agreement that one should be appointed. Now that the order has been signed, it's up to Chief Judge Edith Jones of the Fifth Circuit to name the other two judges. More on that here.

Motion for Preliminary Injunction in NAACP v. Barbour, et al

Majority in Mississippi has the document, which is embeded below. The NAACP is asking the three-judge panel to issue an injunction which would prohibit the state from holding legislative elections in November under the current districts. The basis for this request is that the current districts are so malapportioned as to violate the "one man, one vote" rule. Put simply, the concept is that a Mississippian in a legislative district that contains around 40,000 people more than other legislative districts is obtaining less representation than he or she should under the law.

One big issue most thought would be resolved by now? The composition of the three-judge panel.

Here's the Motion:

Motion for Preliminary Injunction

A summary of what happened in the Senate redistricting skirmish today, and what it may mean

This morning, Sen. Hob Bryan (D - Amory) offered a new resolution containing the Burton Senate map, and moved that the Senate consider the resolution as a "committee of the whole."  By acting as a committee of the whole, the resolution would not be sent to committee, where the Burton map had been unsuccessful before.  It takes a 2/3rd's vote to go into a committee of the whole.

Sen. Billy Hewes (R-Biloxi) made an effort to prevent such a vote, and the Senate was hastily adjourned for a brief period, during which Republican senators met in Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant's office to figure out how to proceed. Sen. Bryan's maneuver apparently caught GOP senators and Lt. Gov. Bryant by surprise, and they needed to caucus to figure out their plan.

Upon returning, Sen. Bryan resumed his speech in favor of going into a committee of the whole by affirming the need to keep the Burton plan out of the hands of Lt. Gov. Bryant, who double-referred the Burton plan earlier in an effort to kill it.  Sen. Bryan said that never before in our state's history had a redistricting plan been double-referred.

Next, Sen. Bryan spoke of the Legislature's duty to complete redistricting, and he cited what an unnamed GOP senator had said.  Referring to the House's refusal to go to conference on the matter, this unnamed GOP senator allegedly said that the public would now blame the House, and that the Senate could "wash its hands of it."  Bryan reminded the floor of the origin of that phrase, and how history has treated that person.  (He was speaking of course, of Pontius Pilate.)

After the speech, the vote was held, and the motion to enter the committee of the whole failed, with 25 nays and 23 yeas.  Sens. Briggs Hopson (R-Vicksburg) and Terry Burton (R-Newton) voted in favor of entering the committee of the whole.

So here's what all of this may mean:

First, the Senate Republicans had the opportunity to send a plan back over to the full House, which would give their Republican brethren in the House the opportunity to address their concerns over the House map on the floor.  In effect, this would have restarted the legislative process that has died.  That means the Senate GOP can no longer "wash their hands" of the redistricting process.

Second, Sen. Bryan either knew of some possibility for compromise on the House side or wanted to at least leave the door open for some.  Hewes and Bryant slammed that door.

Third, the number of nay votes was interesting, and that's all I'll say about that.

***BREAKING*** House: Courts to handle redistricting if Senate does not concur

Word from the House is that if the Senate does not concur on JR 201, then the House will not appoint conferees. As obstructionist as Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant has become in this process, the conferees would no doubt be his foot soldiers Fillingane, McDaniel, and Hewes, who didn't even favor the plan the full Senate passed overwhelmingly. Going to conference with three individuals dead set against any reasonable House plan would be a fool's errand. Instead, a lawsuit will be filed next week in order to give the federal courts ample time to draw new districts before the June 1 deadline.

The reasoning behind this is that if the courts are going to draw the lines anyway, they might as well get started so that the lines will be complete by June 1. And why would the courts refuse to allow legislators to run in their current districts? The current districts are so malapportioned as to devastate the "one person one vote" principle. The smallest district, population-wise, is 13,000, while the largest is 55,000. There's no way the courts let an election under those circumstances go forward.

The net effect of going to court next week? The Legislature loses all control over redistricting, and new lines will be in place before June 1. That means that those legislators who think they are going to run this year in their current districts if conference is invited are mistaken. That would mean a certain end to the senatorial careers of Sen. Buck Clarke (R-Hollandale), Sen. Nolan Mettetal (R-Sardis), Sen. Briggs Hopson (R-Vicksburg), Sen. Ezell Lee (R-Picayune), and Sen. Lydia Chassaniol (R-Winona). There will certainly be other casualties as well.

Why Republican control of both houses is dangerous

If you need a reason to care about the redistricting battle going on at the Capitol right now, here's one: Republican control of both houses of our state legislature would remove any check on that party's power.  And why would that be a bad thing?

Well, just the other day, the Republican-led Senate defunded PERS.  Yes, you read that correctly, they passed legislation that would shut down our state retirement system rather than increase its funding.  Not only would that be devastating to state retirees and greatly damage the state's bond rating, it would remove approximately $1 BILLION from Mississippi's economy.

But because we have a Democratic House, the Senate Republicans will be held in check.  Imagine what would happen if the House was just a rubber stamp for Republicans?

Redistricting now back in House

Moments ago, the Mississippi Senate tabled the motion to reconsider that was holding the Senate redistricting plan in the Senate and preventing further movement on time-sensitive redistricting matters.  The Senate plan will now be placed on the House calendar.

The motion to reconsider was tabled without discussion.

Senate convenes at 3 p.m., motion to reconsider the Senate plan is 4th on calendar

When the Mississippi Senate gavels in this afternoon, the fourth item on its calendar (agenda) will be the motion to reconsider the redistricting plan that passed last week.  In a procedural maneuver to gain more time to twist arms, Sen. Joey Fillingane (R-Sumrall) entered the motion immediately after passage of the plan last week.

In order to release the plan from the Senate, there must be a majority vote on a motion to table the motion to reconsider.  That should happen, and then the action will move back to the House.

Phil Bryant: "Let's don't gerrymander for political purposes"

On the Paul Gallo Show this morning, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant (R) said that one of his guiding redistricting principles is "Let's don't gerrymander for political purposes." Well, it appears that is exactly what he wants to do in Hattiesburg. As mentioned earlier, Hattiesburg is a problem, according to Bryant. Hattiesburg is now a majority black city, which is represented by three white senators. By all accounts, the Senate's plan creates a majority black district in Hattiesburg, and that's why Bryant has a problem with it. Here's how gerrymandered it had to be last time in order to ensure 3 white senators:

Based on Bryant's past performance with keeping his word, I wonder how gerrymandered Phil Bryant's plan will be to protect the three majority white Hattiesburg districts?  

From the rumor mill - Are Clinton Republicans expendable?

As we've already noted today, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant (R) has worked with an outside consultant to prepare his own redistricting plan.  We're not sure he actually has the guts to release it, though, as it is sure to anger supporters in some areas.  Word around the Senate is that one of those areas will be the Republican-leaning city of Clinton, which Bryant is allegedly going to split into two majority black Senate districts, effectively blocking Clinton Republicans from Senate races.