Word underneath the Capitol dome is...

Word underneath the Capitol dome is that House Republicans pushing the Workers Compensation Destruction Act don't have enough votes to win the battle on the House floor.  With help from MASI, they've been pushing hard this week to get those votes, but have been unsuccessful thus far.

Reportedly, the Workers Compensation Destruction Act won't be called up today, but will instead be called up Thursday.

LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL TO RAISE ABW OF BEER TO 8%

Finally, we'll be able to purchase craft beer in Mississippi come July 1, 2012...so long as Gov. Phil Bryant (R) signs the bill.

I'll have the House vote as soon as it's posted.  You can see how the Senate voted here.

Looks like the workers compensation bill has been skipped for the day

It appears as though Rep. Gary Chism (R - Columbus) will not be calling the workers compensation bill up for a vote today.  That can only mean that he and MASI were not successful in twisting enough arms last night and today to get SB 2576 through the House floor.  The deadline to pass SB 2576 from the House is Tuesday, April 3rd.

Inventory tax credit scheme passes house; corporate welfare bill will take $350M from state coffers

At a time when the Republican budget slashes funding for education and virtually every other state service, the Republican House has passed a bill that would slash $350,000,000.00 from the state general fund over the next 6 years.  HB 536 would do away with the inventory tax by giving corporations tax credits against the ad valorem taxes they pay.

Rep. Jeff Smith (R - Columbus) pushing an inventory tax credit scheme that would take approximately $350,000,000.00 from state general fund

Rep. Jeff Smith (R - Columbus) is pushing an effective repeal of the inventory tax that he thinks will lead to more businesses coming into Mississippi.  In short, it's another gimmick to pad the wallets of the PACs who funded Republican election efforts this past year.  Rep. Smith has admitted that this legislation would cost the state about $350M between now and 2019.

The bill would work by giving manufacturers an increasingly large tax credit for ad valorem taxes paid.  By 2019, manufacturers and distributors would get a dollar-for-dollar credit.  By the end of FY2019, this legislation would have taken approximately $350M out of the state coffers.  There is no plan to replace that money, it will have to come from new businesses that are supposed to be brought in by the lure of no inventory taxes.

Audiovisual problems with the House live feed this morning may keep people from following debate on Workers Comp bill

There are problems with the microphones and the voting machine in the House this morning, but it appears as though House staff is working through it.  One of the first items on the agenda will be SB 2576, which is an attack on the rights of Mississippi workers.

***BREAKING*** - Workers Compensation legislation read the third time, may be debated tomorrow

The eyes of workers across the state are on the Capitol, waiting on the House to debate SB 2576, the twin brother of HB 555.  The language in SB 2576 is horrible for the working folks of Mississippi, and has been defeated once already by the House.  You can read about the language in SB 2576 here.

When called up on the calendar today, the bill was read for the third time rather than being debated.  That is a parliamentary move by proponents of the bill that signals they do not have the votes to pass the bill at this time. There will be some heavy leaning on House members tonight to get them to switch their votes from HB 555.  I'll be watching the vote tomorrow, and will let you know who, if anyone, switches.

Rep. Jessica Upshaw (R - Diamondhead) tries to kill public hearing requirement on pardons

Just now, Rep. Jessica Upshaw (R - Diamondhead) has just entered a point of order on the Baria-Moak amendment that would require a public hearing before a pardon could be granted.  The amendment has been set aside for the moment.  If Speaker Gunn's lawyers grant Rep. Upshaw's point of order, the amendment will be dead.

Considering that the Republican leadership has killed every single last piece of legislation that would prevent something like Barbour's Pardongate from happening again, I doubt the amendment will make it far.

Pending amendment would require public hearing before pardons can be granted

Rep. David Baria (D - Bay St. Louis) and Rep. Bobby Moak (D - Bogue Chitto) have offered an amendment to the Parole Board extension legislation that would require a public hearing before any pardon may be granted.  It will be interesting to see how the vote goes.  The amendment is being debating at this moment.

A look at who is behind the Mississippi immigration legislation

I've touched on HB 488 a bit, which is Arizona/Alabama-style anti-immigrant legislation.  It cleared the House back on March 14th after a contentious debate, and now awaits committee assignment in the Senate.  The question has to be asked: why are non-border states like Alabama and Mississippi the hotbed of anti-immigrant legislation?  Well, it always helps to know who is pushing legislation.  In the case of HB 488, we can find out by looking at where its language came from.