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The Magnolia Flag 1861-94
"Go, Mississippi"
Official State Song
Words and Music by Houston Davis
Verse:States
may sing their songs of praise
With waving flags and hip-hoo-rays,
Let cymbals crash and let bells ring
Cause here's one song I'm proud to sing.
Choruses:
Go, Mississippi, keep rolling along,
Go, Mississippi, you cannot go wrong,
Go, Mississippi, we're singing your song,
M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I
Go, Mississippi, you're on the right track,
Go, Mississippi, and this is a fact,
Go, Mississippi, you'll never look back,
M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I
Go, Mississippi, straight down the line,
Go, Mississippi, ev'rything's fine,
Go, Mississippi, it's your state and mine,
M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I
Go, Mississippi, continue to roll,
Go, Mississippi, the top is the goal,
Go, Mississippi, you'll have and you'll hold,
M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I
Go, Mississippi, get up and go,
Go, Mississippi, let the world know,
That our Mississippi is leading the show,
M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I
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MISSISSIPPI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEEKLY SUMMARY REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING JANUARY 5, 2001
JACKSON, Miss. - The first week of the 116th session of the
Mississippi Legislature was highlighted by the State of the State speech
delivered by Governor Ronnie Musgrove. His appearance came exactly one year
after he was elected governor in an historic vote of the House of
Representatives.
Gov. Musgrove wasted no time in making a plea to legislators that they allow a
vote of Mississippi's citizens on the subject of the state flag, although the
governor dodged the issue of whether he personally believes the current flag
should be changed. A commission appointed by the governor recently recommended
that a public referendum be held later this year to choose between the current
state flag and a new design proposed by the commission. No bills on the issue
have yet been pre-filed for introduction in the 2001 session. Members have until
January 15 to file bills and constitutional amendments.
Another subject that came up early in Musgrove's address was the Nissan truck
plant that the Legislature approved financing for during a special session last
year. Musgrove said the economic development project was in the top one percent
(1.0 %) of all such projects in the country. The Nissan plant is expected to
employ about 4,000 people, with production scheduled to begin in 2003. "We
dared to believe in ourselves," Musgrove said of the state's plan to lure
the economic development plum. "Opportunity is the 'state of the state' in
Mississippi," the governor said.
Musgrove spent most of the speech talking about the budget for FY 2002 he
recently submitted to the Legislature. He called for lifting the 5-percent
budget growth "trigger" that is connected to the plan to raise public
school teachers' pay, and stressed that cutting back dollars for public
education would be detrimental to the state. The governor failed to address any
specifics as to how the Legislature should pay for the programs he proposes,
however.
Governor Musgrove wants the Legislature to give his directors of various state
agencies more flexibility in deciding how to spend funds appropriated to them.
"Give them the authority they need and then hold them accountable," he
told the assembly in the House chamber that included most of the state's elected
public officials and high court judges. Some members of the Legislature
commented that it is unlikely, however, that lawmakers will yield any of their
considerable budget authority to the executive branch.
Musgrove said that in his opinion, "building more prisons is not an
option." The governor wants more programs that prevent crime. The state's
prison budget has skyrocketed in the last decade, and the inmate population,
already a record, is expected to keep growing. On the positive side, however, is
the fact that crime rates have declined in Mississippi during this period.
The governor mentioned two health insurance programs. One is CHIP for children
in low-income families. He said about 24,000 eligible kids are now enrolled, a
big increase over last year. He said the State Public Employees and Teachers
Health Insurance Program is better than plans in most states, but that better
control of the costs must be gained to keep it viable without decreasing
benefits to participants
Musgrove also touted the upcoming Spanish art exhibition that opens in Jackson
in March and continues through September. The governor said it is likely the
king and queen of Spain will come here to open the exhibition.
HOUSE COMMITTEES ARE expected to swing heavily into action during the second
week of the 90-day session that ends in early April. More than 500 House bills
had been prefiled by the end of the first week.
In other matters during week one of the 2001 session:
 | We were given a status report on the State and School
Employees' Life and Insurance Plan. This program has proven in recent years
to be one of the most expensive programs funded by the Legislature, and we
are constantly seeking to reduce its costs. The plan covers the lives of
almost 200,000 active and retired state employees and teachers. As with many
health insurance plans, our biggest problem is that we are paying out more
money in claims than the premiums are bringing in. Prescription drug costs
are the biggest reason why the plan's cost is spiraling, but the price of
hospital costs and outpatient care is also rising dramatically. The state is
also subsidizing the health plan for the 13,000 retirees covered under the
program and we all know that health care is an expensive item for senior
citizens. Drug costs have risen more than 100 percent in a two-year period,
particularly new medicines for people suffering from arthritic problems. We
were told that about 4,000 participants in our insurance program have either
osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. This is a national problem; it's not
unique to Mississippi. The report we received shows that nationally, the
cost of prescription drugs has grown by 18 percent since 1992, while the
cost of all other health-care expenditures has grown by only 5 percent.
Obviously, this is a matter that the federal government must be reviewing as
well as state legislatures. The state could get some financial relief if the
federal government approves adding a prescription drug benefit to the
Medicare program.
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| During this session there will be some recommendations made
to the Legislature aimed at stabilizing the costs of the health insurance
plan. Some moves have already been made-prescription drug co-pays have been
increased, a drug deductible added, a one-provider network established and
the out-of-network out-of-pocket fee increased.
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| The Legislature will also be working with the Public
Employees Retirement System to develop a method for funding retirees' health
insurance needs in the future. Another move is to implement
disease-management programs that would address chronic illnesses. Getting
this program under tight financial control is a major undertaking facing
your Legislature.
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| Another discussion arose during the first week over a
recent report on the State Department of Transportation conducted by PEER,
the Legislature's investigatory agency. This report came on the heels of
several study meetings conducted by a House of Representatives group this
fall.The PEER report says that the state's 1987 four-laning program,
considered the largest public works project ever undertaken in Mississippi,
will cost $5.6 billion by the time it is completed - rather than the $1.6
billion that was first projected. Reasons cited for the extra costs include
building of bridges and interchanges, inflation, rehabilitation of existing
highway lanes, design changes to accommodate increased weight and speed
limits, interest on bonds and meeting new federal environmental rules. The
PEER report also states that construction delays have resulted from
spreading the original funding stream - created from fuel taxes and several
other revenue sources -- over costs that were not originally considered.
Also, PEER said, due to program additions and changing traffic patterns, the
priority of segments first established may not meet current needs. According
to MDOT, 624 miles of four lanes have been completed thus far, 295 miles
were under construction and 165 miles remained for Phases 1-3, as of June
30, 2000. None of Phase 4 has been let to contract. The Gaming Roads
Program, a project developed after the onset of casino gaming in the early
1990's, was also cited by PEER. Its original cost estimate of $317 million
also did not address some costs that were later incurred, and now the cost
is projected at $1.1 billion. Because of the lower estimates, the gaming
roads program's financing has been under-funded to date. As of June 30,
2000, 48 miles of highways had been completed in the Gaming Roads Program
and 101 miles were under construction. Currently, gaming roads are financed
by bonds, but after the 1987 program ends, fuel taxes and other revenues
will become available for the project. The PEER report also claims that
overall management of the state highway program has been ineffective,
thereby limiting the Legislature's capacity to make important decisions
involving the agency. In response, MDOT said it has "actively
pursued" refinement of the system of developing budgets for each
highway construction segment. Maintenance of state highways has also come
under scrutiny by groups studying the MDOT. The agency maintains that roads
have deteriorated due to heavy increases in traffic, particularly truck
traffic, and also because interstates and state highways are aging,
requiring more long-term preventive maintenance strategies. Needless to say,
operating and financing of the Department of Transportation will be one of
the main issues during this session of the Legislature.
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| Our Juvenile Justice Committee heard a report from the
Youth Services Division of the State Department of Human Services. New DHS
Director Janice Brooks attended the meeting. DHS officials reported on its
objective of creating alternative pathways to adulthood for Mississippi's
juvenile and at-risk children. It was said during the meeting that
Mississippi, like most states, has a lot of teenage gang activity. Even
high-achieving students are often involved in gang activity, it was stated.
There has been a dramatic rise in the number of females assigned to
adolescent offender programs in the last five years. Directors of the
state's two juvenile training schools said their operations are going well
and that educational programs are giving youngsters assigned to the schools
a "second chance" in life.
To contact House members, call the Capitol at 601-359-3770.
State government's Internet address is http://www.ls.state.ms.us
Representative Snowden's cell number (no long distance to Jackson) is
527-5350
Greg Snowden's e-mail address is greg@gregsnowden.com |
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