Redistricting statutes being ignored by Republican legislators?

Rep. Bill Denny (R-Jackson)

If you were like me, you thought Friday's article in the Clarion-Ledger regarding the current state of redistricting signaled that something fishy was going on.  In short, neither Rep. Bill Denny (R-Jackson) nor Sen. Merle Flowers (R-Southaven), the chairmen of the House and Senate committees on redistricting, would say a word about the process used to draw the new district lines.  Rep. Denny did say that the plans had been submitted to experts, but said he didn't know who those experts were (Sounds like he's got total control of the situation, if you ask me.).  Sen. Flowers wouldn't comment at all, and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves (R) said that the plans would be revealed in the next few weeks.

Does Bill Denny saying, "Take my word, I've drawn something" count?

It seems like the only bit of news the Republican leadership wanted to get out was that the maps were drawn.  Why would that be important?

Let me introduce you to Section 5-3-93 of the Mississippi Code:

The members of the committee shall draw a plan to apportion, according to constitutional standards, the membership of the Mississippi Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives no later than fifteen (15) days prior to the scheduled adjournment of the next regular session of the Legislature following the delivery of the 2000 decennial census data to the state and every ten (10) years thereafter and at such other times as they may be directed by joint resolution of the Mississippi Legislature.

Provided, however, the committee shall not be required to present a plan to the Legislature prior to four (4) months after the publication of census data.

Well guess what Saturday was?  The 15th day prior to the scheduled adjournment of this legislative session.  That means that the plans had to have been drawn by the committee no later than Saturday.  The question then becomes, what it means for a committee to draw a plan?  This opens several lines of inquiry: Does it mean that the chairman of the committee can just put pen to paper?  And if that's the case, how do you know that the law has been satisfied if the maps are not released?  Or does it mean that a plan has to be voted upon by the committee?  It's almost a nonsensical requirement to force a committee to draw a map and not vote on it. And how does a "committee" draw a plan, anyway? By voting on it, I would presume.

So that's why Republicans were rushing to get the word out that they'd "drawn" maps.

111 Days and counting...

But the question of whether last Friday's dog and pony show passes the drawing test is not the only problem Republicans are facing with statutes governing reapportionment.  Check out Section 5-3-103 of the Mississippi Code:

Upon completion of apportionment plans, the committee shall present its plans to the Mississippi Legislature, which shall act on the plans not later than the next regular session of the legislature. The committees to which the plans are referred shall report their recommendations to their respective houses no later than the forty-fifth day of the legislative session.

This language would seem to give legislators another session in which to pass new maps, but the language of 5-3-93 mandates that a plan be passed this year.  (The statutory scheme seems to contemplate that the maps would have been drawn last year and voted on no later than this year.)  The problem 5-3-103 holds for Republicans is in the second sentence.  The 45th day of the legislative session was February 16, which was the deadline for making requests that general bills and constitutional amendments be drafted.  On that day, the House was busy tabling the motion to reconsider on the ALEC-style "Sunshine" Act, and the Senate was busy welcoming foreign investors interested in opening charter schools.

So with no maps voted on by the committees 14 days before sine die (the last day of the session), the new Republican leadership in the Legislature may be on thinning legal ice with regard to redistricting.  But as this group has shown time and time again, laws are for Democrats.

The New York Times reports on ALEC

In today's New York Times, Mike McIntire reports on the link between ALEC and state legislators.  I've covered ALEC and Mississippi legislators before in the posts linked below.  I recommend the New York Times article, as it does a good job describing how ALEC works.  Here are previous Cottonmouth posts on ALEC:

• Live Blogging of the battle over HB 122, the so-called "Sunshine Act" *FIGHT OVER; BILL DEAD*
• Who is ALEC? And why should you care? ***UPDATED 2/23/2012 - Link to list of Mississippi ALEC members***
• As promised: Mississippi's ALEC legislators
• The connection between ALEC, AT&T, and Rep. Jim Beckett 
• ALEC meetings, steak dinners, and Mississippi legislators 
• The AP picks up on Rep. Gary Chism's self-dealing and ALEC connections 
• A look at who is behind the Mississippi immigration legislation

Joint Redistricting Committee refuses to release maps today

Earlier in the week, House Republican leaders were talking about releasing new redistricting maps yesterday, then today. Well, neither happened.

Is it possible that there are problems behind the scenes?

On the other side of the Capitol, I was told by a Republican senator last night to look for maps on Monday. That appears to be the most likely outcome.

The maps are coming! The maps are coming! *Updated*

At least that's what key Republicans were saying yesterday. Supposedly they'll be released today. Stay tuned....

***UPDATE*** - Redistricting committee meets tomorrow morning at 8:30. Guess we'll find out then.

Mississippi Bar comes out against Workers Compensation Destruction Bill

Last week, the Board of Bar Commissioners for the Mississippi Bar voted to take a stance against the Workers Compensation Destruction Bill, SB 2576.  Here's the letter from Mississippi Bar President Hugh Keating to members of the Senate, where the bill sits awaiting a concurrence vote:

Strong work by the Bar here.

God vs. Phil Bryant

Every now and then, the good folks at the Clarion-Ledger publish a letter to the editor that changes your perspective on an issue, or at least informs you of the other side. Such is not the case with today's letter from Loretta Jeter of (surprise!) Rankin County. I'm going to go ahead and reproduce it in its entirety, since the C-L dumps its web contents after a week to ten days:

Frontline focuses on forensic evidence tonight

I'll be on PBS's Frontline tonight in an episode entitled "The Real CSI."  The show will investigate problems with the science behind forensic evidence and how it is used in the courtroom.  I was interviewed for the program, and appear towards the end of the preview below.

Pew Center: Mississippi among states that need better policy for evaluating tax incentives

Last week, the Pew Center on the States released "Evidence Counts," a study evaluating state tax incentives for jobs and growth.  In an introductory letter for the study, Susan Urahn, Managing Director for the Center says that while every state is looking for ways to attract business, "half the states have not taken basic steps to produce and connect policy makers with good evidence of whether these tools deliver a strong return on taxpayer dollars."

The study focuses on whether states do their homeowork prior to passing laws and to what degree states measure economic impact on the front end.  This is important because as the researchers argue, "Tax incentives cost billions of dollars every year, and states rely heavily on them to promote economic development.  Policy makers should know whether these tools deliver a strong return on investment.  Regular, rigorous, and comprehensive evaluations of tax incentives are critical to their ability to do so."

Sadly, as the following diagram shows, the Pew Center has included Mississippi among those states not meeting any of the criteria for scope or quality of evaluation.

This study is interesting not only because it provides a gauge for how states are investing taxpayer dollars in the name of economic development, it also provides examples of successful incentive programs and some suggestions for legislatures looking to improve their evaluation process.

JUDICIAL PAY RAISE APPROVED BY GOV. BRYANT!!!

HB 484 has been signed into law by Gov. Phil Bryant (R).  This is a good step forward for the Mississippi judiciary.  I covered the bill and the House debate on it pretty extensively here.  Congratulations to the Mississippi Bar, the Mississippi Association for Justice, the Mississippi Defense Lawyers Association, lobbyist Trey Bobinger, and everyone else who worked so hard for so long to get this done.

CNN blows doors off Barbour's pardon of drunk driver

Wow.  Just...wow.  Those of you who have followed Haley Barbour's Pardongate closely will recall the story of Harry Bostick, a three-time DUI offender who was sitting in jail on a probation revocation when pardoned by Haley Barbour.  The nutshell version is that Bostick had obtained his third DUI in five years, making him a felon.  He was on parole for his third DUI conviction (the felony for which he was pardoned) when he was involved in an accident in which Charity Smith of Okolona, Mississippi, was killed.  Of course, Bostick was driving drunk during the accident.