MISSISSIPPI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
WEEKLY SUMMARY REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING JANUARY 17, 2003

Some legislative appropriation leaders and state fiscal experts are hoping to enact a single consolidated appropriation bill for the entire public education system, kindergarten through the university level. This would differ from the current system of having a separate bill for each separate education level. Leaders say this would keep education funding from getting diluted at the end of the 90-day session when spending plans for all agencies are finalized. There does seems to be a growing consensus in the legislature that the state's entire educational system should be addressed as one coherent unit, instead of essentially artificially fragmented parts.

A related discussion percolating in the halls of the Capitol pertains to the timing of the adoption of any such consolidated education budget. As is the case nearly every session, and especially in an election year, there is much rhetoric in some quarters about the need to make education the "priority" for the state, and to reflect that priority in the state budget. Many lawmakers contend, however, that with nearly 60% of the total general fund budget devoted to education, it is self-evident that education already is the obvious number one priority of the legislature. Nevertheless, some leaders both inside and outside of the legislature, most notably Governor Musgrove (who also is up for reelection this year), are calling upon the legislature to "fully" fund education early in the 2003 session, and then fund all of the remaining state agencies with whatever money may be left over. Proponents term this proposal "bold" and "visionary," while detractors label it "reckless" and "irresponsible." It remains to be seen whether the legislature will actually attempt to fund education in this radically new and early way in the midst of the current budget struggle, but most observers consider it doubtful, especially in light of the evident election-year imperative not to raise taxes.

With state revenues struggling to meet already modest projections -- a situation that exists in virtually all of the 50 states -- the House Appropriations Committee was told that total state general fund spending for the next fiscal year, FY 04, beginning July 1, 2003, will be less than $2 million above FY 2003 levels, unless the economy makes an unexpectedly dramatic recovery. (Considering, for example, that more than $74 million in additional "new" money will be spent for the scheduled teacher pay raise alone, it becomes readily apparent that many other state agencies will be funded at considerably lower levels than last year). Nevertheless, there is some good news to be found in the fact that while the projected revenues likely won't allow state agencies to fill any vacant staff positions (and there are hundreds of such vacancies all across state government), the spending plan being proposed apparently will not make it necessary to actually layoff any state workers, as is happening in many states across the country.

Some further good news - this for Mississippi taxpayers -- is that no leader in either the House or the Senate is calling for any type of tax increase this year. Speaker Tim Ford repeated the "no tax increase" pledge in an address to the Stennis Institute of Government and the Capitol Press Corps early this week.

State Tax Commissioner Ed Buelow and State Economist Phil Pepper have testified to legislative budget leaders that the state's economy remains flat, even though there are some encouraging signs of a small turnaround. One positive sign is that sales tax collections -- reflecting consumer spending -- have been strong in recent months. Indeed, November 2002 brought the state its largest-ever collection of sales taxes.

Another hopeful sign is that Mississippi no longer is losing manufacturing jobs the way it did over the past three years, Pepper said during a legislative fiscal briefing. Also, State Treasurer Marshall Bennett confirmed that the state's credit rating remains strong with New York investment bankers.

The House Public Health and Welfare Committee heard a report this week on operations at the State Department of Human Services. The large agency is faced with a shortage of funding, as are most others, as discussed above. DHS is still providing basic welfare services, however, such as issuing $290 million annually in federal food stamps and administering 330,000 active child support cases, 54,000 in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), 16,532 child abuses cases and 22,000 children referred annually to the Division of Youth Services, many of whom are sent to the Oakley and Columbia training schools.

New State Superintendent of Education Henry L. Johnson gave a report to the House Education Committee on the Bush administration's education initiative entitled No Child Left Behind and called it the "most significant" education legislation in 25 years. Johnson said Mississippi is ahead of some states in implementing the program, due to an accountability law passed several years ago. Johnson said state students are also improving on aptitude testing. Mississippi's 11th graders, for example, did very well on an American History test, with 93 percent of them having a passing grade. As is the case with many federally-mandated programs, however, Johnson said the federal government is not providing the states all of the funding necessary to fully implement No Child Left Behind. The program's goal is for all U.S. students to be educationally "proficient" by 2014.

Attorney General Mike Moore and aides in the Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi told the House Juvenile Justice Committee about gains being made through smoking cessation programs. Smoking in Mississippi middle schools and high schools is down about 25 percent since 1999, with about 19,000 fewer smokers since then. Also, smoking among adults in the state is down substantially. Moore pointed to a statewide coalition of community, youth, law enforcement and school programs as the reason for lower numbers of smokers along with an aggressive marketing plan. Some 12,000 teachers have been trained in anti-smoking programs and 51 school nurses also work to prevent smoking by teens.

The full House of Representative passed a compromise bill this week providing easier access to environmental self-audit documents in criminal prosecutions of alleged polluters, particularly repeat offenders. SB 2001, otherwise known as the self-audit privilege bill, passed the House unanimously and was returned to the Senate for its expected approval. The compromise version approved by the House removes the audit privilege for alleged polluters in criminal proceedings, as demanded of the state by the federal EPA, but preserves the privilege for most civil and administrative actions. The subject had been a matter of great controversy during the 2002 session, with trial lawyers, consumer groups and environmental advocates at that time insisting that the audit privilege be removed for civil actions as well as criminal proceedings. But after the state was faced with losing important regulatory delegation authority from the EPA (as well as millions of accompanying federal dollars) unless the criminal privilege was removed, industry representatives and environmental groups approved compromise language acceptable to all sides. With the final approval of SB 2001, Mississippi should now satisfy federal concerns about the state's lead-paint removal program and other regulatory delegation programs, which now may continue to be administered by the state's own Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) instead of directly by the federal EPA.

As the 2003 session moves into its third week, the first deadlines are fast approaching. This coming Monday, January 20, is the deadline for the introduction of general bills and constitutional amendments. Two weeks later on Tuesday, February 4, is the deadline for House and Senate committees to act on bills that originated in their own chamber.

Representative Greg Snowden (R-Meridian) maintains a legislative web site to aid constituents and other interested persons in obtaining information about state government. The web site address is www.gregsnowden.com. Rep. Snowden may be reached by e-mail at any time at greg@gregsnowden.com, or by telephone at 601-693-5700 (Meridian office) or 601-527-5350 (cell phone - a local call from anywhere within Mississippi).

EDITORIAL NOTE: Most of the facts and much of the organization of the above summary is due to the fine work of Mac Gordon, of the House Information Office. However, although Mr. Gordon provides this information weekly to all House members, each member has the privilege of using it however he or she sees fit. Rep. Snowden has taken the liberty to re-write much of the standard summary, and to include his own comments and expressions of opinion. Accordingly, while Rep. Snowden gratefully acknowledges the work of the House Information Office in organizing and supplying reliable and timely information as to the workings of the House, all comment and all opinion contained in this summary is that of Rep. Snowden alone, and not that of Mr. Gordon or any other staff employee of the House of Representatives.