JACKSON, Miss. -- The Mississippi Legislature made history during the third week of the 2003 legislative session when both the House and the Senate approved a single (albeit in different versions) consolidated appropriations bill to fund all of the state's public education components, from K-12 through the colleges and universities.

Passing such a measure within the first month of the 90-day session was a top priority of many legislators during this election year regular session. Historically, separate funding bills for each education agency are handled near the end of the legislative session, rather than at the beginning. But, with the political reality being that education would have to be funded fully, or as close to full funding as practically possible, the House and the Senate both produced omnibus appropriations bills that would go ahead and take care of education funding early in the session.

The House bill -- HB 1033 -- would provide $245 million in additional funding for the education divisions, with the K-12 system getting about 60 percent of the total. The Senate version provides $205 million, but commits to later fund some items not included in the current bill. These additional funds are over and above the monies which have already been recommended by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee for public education spending in Fiscal Year 2004, beginning July 1, 2003. The differences between the two chambers are expected to be worked out in conference committee.

The university system would receive an additional $81 million above previously recommended levels, while the two-year college system would draw an additional $24 million, with $8 million set aside for our valuable workforce training programs. Both the House and Senate versions contain the third installment of a five-year plan to raise K-12 public school teachers' pay to the Southeastern states’ average.

The serious danger in all of this is that the additional educational funding is accomplished through "one-time" monies that will not necessarily be available in future budget years. Unless the economy improves dramatically and future revenues grow substantially, there will be a stark day of reckoning ahead for budget-writers in future sessions. Nevertheless, by taking the action it did this week, the legislature finally should lay to rest any lingering complaints from any quarters to the effect that education is not in fact the legislature’s number one priority.

Significantly for Meridian as well as the state’s other military communities, the Senate version of the omnibus education appropriations bill, SB 2678, also appropriated $283,000.00 to assist in the communities’ response to base closure efforts. Congress has scheduled yet another base closure round for 2005. The appropriated monies (which the Senate includes within the IHL portion of the education funding structure) are intended to allow the continued retention of analyst Barry Rhodes, a Washington-based specialist whose superb work has been instrumental in helping to save NAS Meridian and other Mississippi bases from closure in past BRAC rounds mandated by Congress. House and Senate conferees will be urged to retain the base closure appropriations language in the final conference report of the education appropriations bill.

The week began with a Monday (January 20) deadline for the introduction of general bills and constitutional amendments. As the week progressed, House committees began considering the bills referred to them by the Speaker. Tuesday, February 4, is the deadline for the committees to act on those bills by either passing them out to the full House or allowing them to die in committee.

One bill that has been before the legislature in recent years without success is a needed update to the state's Administrative Procedures Act, originally passed in 1976. Another effort is being made this year, and, indeed, HB 651was brought to the floor by the Judiciary 'A' Committee and at mid-week unanimously passed the full House.

The bill's focus is to give citizens public access to regulatory decision-makers in state government before those decisions are made final. The act governs rule-making at all state agencies and is designed to protect the rights of businesses and private citizens in dealing with those agencies. The bill would designate the secretary of state's office as a central registry for all rules set by state agencies. Currently, Mississippi is one of only two states without any officially-compiled publication of administrative laws and rules. The bill also provides that once a citizen or business receives an opinion or advice from an agency, the citizen can act based on that information without fear of repercussion. Numerous organizations are supporting HB 651, including the Mississippi Economic Council, Mississippi Manufacturers Association, the Realtors, the Municipal League, League of Women Voters, and the Mississippi Press Association.

Division of Medicaid Director Rica Lewis-Payton told the House Appropriations Committee that her agency is requesting a deficit (extra) appropriation for FY 2003 of $53.1 million to fully meet needs. This actually is good news, in that the amount of the deficit request is considerably lower than last year, when exploding Medicaid costs gave lawmakers a rude surprise early in the session. For FY 2004, the year that begins on July 1, Lewis-Payton said Medicaid is requesting $394 million in state funds, but that the recommendation so far is for only $226 million.

The Medicaid director said her office has implemented a number of cost-savings measures as mandated by the 2002 legislature. One is improved management of the prescription drug program, saving about $40 million annually. Despite threats last year that some residents would have to be removed from nursing homes, that has not happened. She also said that some physicians who serve Medicaid-eligible patients are struggling to cover their costs. As with the broader budget issues, Mississippi is not unique -- all 50 states are struggling to cover the rising costs of Medicaid, particularly as related to prescription drugs.

The legislature last year also mandated that Medicaid providers should not prescribe name-brand drugs if equally effective generics are available, and limited prescriptions to a 34-day supply of a drug based on the daily dosage. The 2002 legislature also passed several other cost-savings measures that have helped Mississippi to reduce Medicaid costs. The general feeling among most legislators seems to be that Ms. Lewis-Payton is doing a commendable job in managing the Medicaid office.

Other House action this week included:

>The House Public Health and Welfare Committee voted to divert the state's 2003 tobacco settlement payment of $102 million to the Health Care Expendable Fund to pay for various medical-related programs.

>The full House also approved $1.2 million for more social workers at the Department of Human Services and to help raise their pay. HB 850 would affect only those counties where each social worker is handling at least 50 cases, particularly Harrison and DeSoto counties where a critical present need currently exists.

>The House Penitentiary Committee this week approved HB 487 that would increase from 10 days to 30 days the time that a sentence may be reduced for each 30 days a trusty participates in an approved work program.

>The House Fees and Salaries Committee and the full House okayed HB 1452 to tighten up cell phone usage by public workers and agencies The bill would prohibit personal calls on any publicly-owned phones and allow no reimbursement for calls made on personal phones. It also would require that all services be purchased through the state's telecommunications agency.

>HB 800, passed by the Juvenile Justice Committee and the full House, approves the creation of teen courts in any county. Teen courts are a preventative programs for youths at least 13 years old and not more than 17 who have come to the youth court as a result of not attending school. Only Rankin County has such a court now.

>The Judiciary 'B' Committee passed out nine bills, including HB 583 applying the open meetings law to teleconference and video meetings; HB 1142 to provide for the seizure, sale and distribution of property purchased with illegal funds and to distribute the proceeds to the victims of the crime; HB 1121 to strengthen penalties for larceny-related crimes; and HB 637 making it unlawful to falsely report to by any means, including telephone, mail, e-mail, mobile phone or fax, that an explosive or other weapon of mass destruction has been placed in any public or private place.

Wednesday was a very special evening for Republican members of the legislature as they gathered for an informal catfish dinner at the Cock of the Walk Restaurant at the Ross Barnett Reservoir. The dinner was hosted by GOP chair Jim Herring and the Mississippi Republican Party. Special guests included Haley Barbour, Lt. Governor Amy Tuck, State Auditor Phil Bryant, Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall, and Public Service Commissioner Nielsen Cochran, together with several announced and potential GOP candidates for the legislature.

Although Mr. Barbour as yet has not made any formal announcement about his plans for 2003, he certainly looked and sounded like the man who should be the next Governor of the State of Mississippi, and was enthusiastically embraced by the GOP lawmakers present. Also very warmly received was Lt. Governor Amy Tuck, a Republican just since last December, but already thoroughly and genuinely "at home" within the party of Lincoln. Barbour and Tuck exhibited the charismatic potential for victory at the polls this fall, and for successful and effective governance in 2004 and beyond. That Republican legislators are excited about the possibility of having these two great leaders at the head of the GOP ticket in 2003 is a great understatement, to say the least.