Using Evidence to Bridge Partisan GapsOf all the things the Legislature did this year, a budgeting strategy that could potentially save the state wasted dollars in the long-term and ensure taxpayer dollars fund successful programs emerged as a priority, albeit a quiet one, of the …
Kishia Powell: ‘I Don’t Steer’ Contracts; City Loan Debate; Guns, Payday OrdinancesDocuments, including emails, released to the Jackson Free Press indicate that despite protestation from Mayor Tony Yarber and his administration, the City has been dipping into the ordinance-protected reserve fund to fill in shortfalls from last year's budget.
Legislative Summer School: All About PerformanceThe Mississippi Department of Corrections is ending a paramilitary inmate program due to a state law and legislative efforts to enforce performance-based budgeting for all state agencies.
Battle for the Airport: The Next StepsMedgar Wiley Evers looked down from the wall of the memorial pavilion in the airport named after him upon the chairwoman of the soon-to-be-replaced governing commission as she lamented the governor's signing of SB 2162 into law.
Infant Mortality Prevention, Social Service Jobs on Budget Chop BlockEfforts to reduce the state's infant mortality rate—the highest in the country—will go on the chopping block if Gov. Phil Bryant signs the Legislature's version of the state budget into law, the state's top health officer told the Jackson Free …
City Reserves Dip, Mayor Dodges Budget InquiriesDocuments, including emails, released to the Jackson Free Press indicate that despite protestation from Mayor Tony Yarber and his administration, the City has been dipping into the ordinance-protected reserve fund to fill in shortfalls from last year's budget.
Due to HB 1523, Plaintiffs, Kaplan Seek to Reopen Same-Sex Marriage LawsuitThe Campaign for Southern Equality and Roberta Kaplan, the New York-based attorney who won same-sex marriage and adoption cases in Mississippi, have filed a motion to reopen the Campaign for Southern Equality v. Bryant lawsuit, saying that House Bill 1523 …
ACLU Files First Lawsuit Against HB 1523: 'Separate But Unequal'The ACLU has filed the first federal lawsuit contesting House Bill 1523. The lawsuit names the Mississippi State Registrar of Vital Records as the defendant because that state office would have to collect a list of clerks who are recusing …
Rumors of Secret Contract Deals for Tire Plant Prompt Preemptive MovesRumors swirling around the county about who would get lucrative contracts to help build and service the new Continental Tire plant prompted the Hinds County Board of Supervisors president to address the Hinds County Economic Development Board in a special …
Let the Suffering EndGov. Bryant, I beg you to get rid of this bill. I know many have gone through or are going through what I did. Let the suffering end. Bring hatred to a halt. Let's learn from our past. Enough is …
The Problems with a SupermajorityThe 2016 session marked a turning point in the political landscape of the state. After a contested election resulted in the removal of former Rep. Bo Eaton, a Democrat from Smith County, the GOP gained a supermajority in the House …
Siemens Rep: Water Billing Glitches Result of Backed-up 'TO-DOs'Siemens representative Frank D. Gagliardi spent most of his presentation to the Jackson City Council's Budget Committee Monday scribbling notes in the margins of the paper on the podium before him as council members and City employees let loose their …
Hundreds Rally to Repeal HB 1523, State Faces Deadline Today Before LawsuitHundreds of protesters, from around Mississippi and even out of the state, marched alongside several state lawmakers from the Capitol to the governor's mansion on Sunday afternoon, waving flags and signs and chanting "No hate in our state!"