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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 26, 2001
JACKSON, Miss. - Committees of the Mississippi House of
Representatives spent week four of the 2001 Legislature working to meet an
upcoming deadline on bills that originated in the House. The House faces a
Tuesday, January 30 deadline to either approve or reject the hundreds of
bills that had been introduced by House members. The next major deadline
is February 8 for the full House to approve or reject the bills that
survived committee action. The 90-day session began Jan. 2 and is
scheduled for sine die adjournment on April 1.
Members of the House were treated at mid-week with "Mississippi Arts
Day." Dozens of arts activists from across the state came to the
Capitol to talk with their local representatives and to discuss
legislation pending this session that would boost the arts. These
activists included several distinguished members from the Meridian Arts
Council and from the Meridian Symphony Association who first met with
lawmakers and later were introduced to the full House. David Dallas, an
aide to the late U.S. Sen. John C. Stennis, presented a one-man show in
the House chamber on the senator's life and times. Dallas is now touring
the country presenting his show. The Myles Family Singers, a gospel group,
also performed. Leland teacher Mary Jo Ayres performed a puppet show that
she uses in pre-kindergarten class.
A new member was elected to the House this week. John Hines of Greenville
was elected to fill out the remainder of the term of the late
Representative Jimmy Thornton, of Greenville, who died last year. Hines
will represent District 50, parts of Washington and Bolivar counties.
Here are some examples of House committee action during the week:
 | The Public Utilities Committee approved a bill to
prohibit telemarketers from making calls to families who notify the
Public Service Commission that they don't want such marketing calls.
The PSC would develop a 'no-calls list' to collect such objections and
telemarketing companies would be forced to purchase the no-calls
database from the state regulatory agency. Firms could be penalized
$5,000 for each violation of the proposed law. The states of Alabama,
Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas already have such a law in place. The
Mississippi PSC said it could handle enforcement of the law without
any new personnel or equipment. Fees from the telemarketing firms
would help fund the law. |
| The House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on
the issue of property reappraisal and the homestead tax exemption
given to property owners. Values of personal property has risen
substantially in many counties, forcing some property owners who are
either 65 years of age or older or totally disabled into a higher tax
bill. Several bills are pending that would increase the exemption for
all homeowners, but it was noted that care must be taken to ensure
that local governments don't lose valuable revenues they need to fund
essential services. |
| A move to allow certain county sheriff's offices to
operate radar to catch speeders died in the House County Affairs
Committee. The issue has surfaced several times in recent years but
has yet to survive committee action. Proponents of the bill to permit
county radar cited statistics showing a large number of accidents on
county roads caused by speeding motorists. They show 189 fatalities on
county roads in the year 2000, 4,236 injuries and 10,484 incidents of
property damage. The bill was amended to allow only the state's 12
counties with 50,000 or more population to use radar. Madison County's
sheriff pushed the idea because of the coming arrival of Nissan Motor
Company to that county. The father of a teenager killed in an accident
on a county road said radar is a speed deterrent, and that he had seen
cars driving up to 100 miles per hour on county roads. He also pointed
out that sheriffs cover more miles than any other law officials do and
investigate more wrecks than the Highway Patrol. The primary complaint
of opponents was the chance some counties may use radar to set up
unreasonable speed traps. |
| Deer hunters would be able to hunt over baited fields
under a proposal that passed the House Game and Fish Committee. The
state wildlife commission, by rule or regulation, would be authorized
to allow the hunting of deer over corn during any deer hunting season
whether the corn is scattered on the ground or is on the ear. |
| The House Fees and Salaries of Public Officials
Committee held a hearing on county supervisors' pay, with several
county officials appearing to support raising their pay. Under state
law, the Legislature could give local boards authority to raise the
salaries based on a county's assessed valuation of personal property.
The officials were told a decision would not be based on how long it
had been since supervisors were given authority to vote on a pay
raise, but other factors including per capita income and education
levels of county residents. Supervisors' pay ranges from a high of
almost $40,000 in some counties to about $23,000 in others. Benefits
packages differ from county to county. The committee did not take a
vote on the matter. The committee also approved a bill that would
raise the pay of county tax assessors and tax collectors, with the
amount based on a county's assessed valuation of personal property for
the preceding tax year. The new salaries would range from a high in
the largest counties of $83,000 annually to a low of $47,335 in
smaller counties. Election commissioners' pay would also be revised
under a bill passing this committee. Their per diem pay would be based
on the number of county residents, not county voters, and the number
of hours per day and days per year they perform their duties. |
| Courses to teach potential gaming employees could be
taught at state colleges located in counties where gaming exists,
under a bill that passed the House Universities and Colleges
Committee. Course offerings could include casino management, cage and
count operations, slot machine maintenance and food and beverage
management. The Mississippi Baptist Convention, together with other
religious groups, successfully have opposed this in past years. |
| A House Appropriations sub-committee heard a report
on the $185 million lawsuit settlement between the state and a
computer software company that failed to deliver on a new computer
program for the State Tax Commission. The state has already received a
portion of the settlement and further payments totaling $130 million
are scheduled over a 10-year period. |
Governor Ronnie Musgrove included some of the
settlement funds in the proposed budget he submitted to the Legislature
earlier this year. However, a private lawyer for the state said any
change in how the money is to be paid out would have to be approved by
the state, the computer company and an insurance company that is making
the payments to the state. The Legislature would be the state government
party that would have to agree on any other type of arrangement. The
attorney said that if the state proposed any change, the settlement
amount would probably be lower than the original agreed-upon amount.
Some other measures that face full House attention
are:
HB 851 to create a medical release program for inmates
with a chronic illness; HB 750 to create a law regulating sports agents;
HB 352 to require background checks of potential adoptive parents to
determine if they are delinquent on any child support orders; HB 751 to
create uniform pre-nuptial agreements; HB 667 to require health
insurance policies provide certain benefits for the treatment of mental
illness; HB 929 to expand home-based long-term care support for persons
with disabilities; HB 1238 allowing Medicaid to pay high drug costs for
some persons still able to live at home; HB 1053 to create the
Mississippi Council on Obesity Prevention and Management; and HB 1220 to
provide a 'safety net' system for election day problems at the polls.
The full House of Representatives sent to the Senate
several bills during week four:
| State transportation commissioners would not be able
to accept election campaign contributions under HB 3 that passed the
Apportionment and Elections Committee and then the full House of
Representatives by an overwhelming vote. The bill would also prohibit
donations of several types of other gifts from anyone involved in
building or maintaining roads, writers of surety bonds for contractors
or persons engaged in the manufacture, sale or distribution of road
building machinery. The prohibited items would include loans, stock
tips, vacations, honorariums or consulting posts. HB 3 was authored by
Lauderdale County Representative Tommy Horne. |
Some other measures passed by the full House
included:
| HB 134 to provide enhanced penalties for assaults on
some public officials including judges and local prosecuting
attorneys; HB 315 to give trial judges discretion to sentence some
non-violent felony offenders to approved county jails when the
sentence is no longer than three years, rather than to a state prison,
with a provision that sheriffs and prosecutors approve; HB 606 to
allow district attorneys and their assistants to carry concealed
weapons; HB 620 to allow police escort for public school students
riding buses to out of town events; HB 1099 to provide that all
marriage license applicants must be advised to undergo HIV/AIDS
testing before the wedding; HB 699 to increase unemployment
compensation to a maximum of $200 weekly this year, then to $210
weekly next year; HB 175 to allow someone to draw full unemployment
compensation even if the worker is drawing Social Security; and HB
1138 to remove the 180-days a year cap on state prisoners' earning
meritorious time off of their sentences. |
The text and history of any bill may be accessed and read online by
following the "Bill Tracking"
link at www.gregsnowden.com.
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
Visitor: 
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