The House and Senate have adopted the conference report to expand Mississippi’s film incentives program despite evidence that the program loses taxpayers money. It is on its way to Gov. Phil Bryant.
Those concerns were largely swept aside by proponents who either argued that the report from PEER was incomplete, inaccurate, or that there are other benefits that we can’t necessarily measure.
The 2015 report from PEER shows taxpayers receive just 49 cents for every dollar invested in the program. That means that for every dollar the state gives to production companies, we see just 49 cents in return for the general fund.
But Senate Bill 2603, which passed with few dissenting votes, will bring back the non-resident payroll portion of the incentives program. This allows for a 25 percent rebate on payroll paid to cast and crew members who are not Mississippi residents. It expired in 2017 and the Senate had refused to consider it. Until this year. Though the companies now have to be Mississippi-based production companies.
Two other incentive programs remained on the books. One is the Mississippi Investment Rebate, which offers a 25 percent rebate on purchases from state vendors and companies. The other is the Resident Payroll Rebate, which offers a 30 percent cash rebate on payroll paid to resident cast and crew members.
For those who question the PEER report, they are missing one key data point. All the studies on film incentives, and the body of research is significant, have painted a similar picture. We are not sitting on an island with some crazy, unsubstantiated report. As the PEER report outlined, no one is receiving more than 50 cents on every dollar put in the program.
This is why many of those states have scaled back or eliminated their programs. In 2009, all but six states offered some type of incentives for movie producers. As of 2018, just 31 states still have programs on the books. So, while other states are cutting back, Mississippi lawmakers appear interested in pressing forward.
And there is another point to be considered. Do we want Hollywood to think they control our state? That is certainly the emerging situation in Georgia, a state that has a massive film incentives program. Consider this recent tweet from actress Alyssa Milano:
Just last week, Gov. Phil Bryant signed a heartbeat bill into law. Or this commentary from director Rob Reiner concerning North Carolina’s bathroom bill a number of years ago:
When you incentive Hollywood to come to your state, they believe they can and should set policy for your state. If you dare to disagree with their value system, the script they follow is to economically boycott the hand that feeds them. We’ve seen this movie before. It’s not worth the price of admission.
Mississippi Center for Public Policy commends Gov. Phil Bryant for signing legislation that will protect and ensure the privacy of individuals who donate to charitable causes in Mississippi.
“We are very proud that Gov. Bryant has signed into law a piece of legislation that reinforces the American tradition of anonymous speech and the freedom of association to which citizens are entitled,” said Jon Pritchett, President and CEO of Mississippi Center for Public Policy. “Many on the left oppose this bill because they want to know who funds their opposition so they can bring pressure to bear on them and suppress their speech with coercion and harassment. Mississippi has now proudly defended the rights of citizens to support causes about which they care deeply.”
House Bill 1205, authored by Rep. Jerry Turner (R-Baldwyn) and championed by Rep. Mark Baker (R-Brandon), allows a nonprofit to defend itself in court if its confidential donor list is leaked by a rouge government agency or bureaucrat.
“The enemies of free speech and free association are making our political environment toxic by seeking to silence and intimidate anyone who disagrees with them,” said Jameson Taylor, Vice President for Policy for MCPP. “That is why this legislation is so essential and we thank Lt. Governor Reeves and Speaker Gunn for their work to get this important bill to the Governor’s desk.”
Protecting the privacy of those who donate to nonprofits is widely popular across the state with 81 percent of voters, including 91 percent of Republicans, 79 percent of independents, and 69 percent of Democrats, saying they support a law that protects the personal information of such donors.
Additionally, the polling revealed that 76 percent of Mississippi voters said they would be less likely to give to a charity if they knew their personal information, including the amount of their contribution, would be posted on a government website.
This would have an especially chilling effect in a state like Mississippi, which has a long history of charitable giving.
See statewide polling results here.
Mississippi saw a slight uptick in the number of jobs last month according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Preliminary estimates show nonfarm payrolls grew from 1,161,300 in January to 1,161,900 in February. This is an increase of over 12,000 from this period one year ago, but down about 700 jobs from two months ago.
The unemployment rate saw a slight increase from 4.7 to 4.8 percent. It is down from 4.9 percent a year ago.
Manufacturing, trade, transportation, and utilities, leisure and hospitality, and government all saw increases in number of jobs over the past month. Construction, professional and business services, and education and health services all posted decreases in number of jobs over the same time period.
Government has now grown by 1,100 jobs year-over-year. Yet, the most recent Census estimates show population in the state was down 3,100 between 2017 and 2018 meaning the state now has more employees to serve less people.
Among neighboring states, Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee also had growths in government employment ranging from 200-500 new employees. But they each also had increases in population over the prior year. Louisiana, which loss population last year as well, saw a decrease of 100 jobs in the government sector last month.
Louisiana is also the only neighboring state to have a loss of jobs from December, with a net loss of about 2,000 jobs.
Recent polling shows donor privacy legislation is widely popular with every demographic of Mississippi voter.
House Bill 1205 would protect donor privacy by allowing a nonprofit to defend itself in state court if its donor list is leaked by a rogue government bureaucrat. Eighty-one percent of voters said they would support legislation protecting the personal information of those who donate to charitable causes. Only 11 percent said they would be opposed.
Even more telling, 76 percent of Mississippi voters said they would be LESS likely to give to a charity if they knew their personal information, including the amount of their contribution, would be posted on a government website.
“Without the protections HB 1205 puts into place, charitable giving all across Mississippi will decline. This would be a tragedy because Mississippi has long been recognized as one of the most charitable states in the country,” said Dr. Jameson Taylor, Vice President for Policy with the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. “Mississippi’s donor privacy legislation will make sure charitable gifts in Mississippi go toward their real purpose, instead of being used on expensive legal fees that arise when a nonprofit has to defend itself from government bullying.”
“Many donors prefer to keep their giving out of the spotlight because they fear consumer boycotts, retaliation by public officials, or even threats to their safety as a result of having their personal support for causes made public,” Jon Pritchett, President and CEO of Mississippi Center for Public Policy said. “Transparency and public disclosure are requirements on our government; privacy and confidentiality are rights of the citizens. We must protect those fundamental rights and not be misled by groups who falsely but loudly claim something different.”
“Mississippi’s donor privacy legislation changes nothing pertaining to Mississippi campaign finance law,” concluded Dr. Taylor. “It changes nothing pertaining to political action committees (PACs). And it does not, and cannot, change anything pertaining to federal donor disclosure or nonprofit requirements.”
See statewide polling results here.
Wait times at the DMV have become a discussion topic over the past several months as it has been known to take several hours to get your driver’s license at some locations. Naturally, the immediate reaction is that we need to increase the size of the staff and/ or increase their pay.
But we can modernize the process of obtaining or renewing your driver’s license thanks to technology. But that will require innovation. And likely privatization.
There once was a time when the process of renting a movie consisted of going to a video rental store, selecting the video you’d like, and bringing the empty box to the cashier who would then give you your selection. Depending on the time of day, a store may or may not have been open, and, if it was, you may or may not have had to wait in line. If it was a Friday night, you probably did.
Then innovation happened. As it always does in the private sector. Netflix, in its original form, delivered movies to your home and Redbox set up self-service kiosks outside of various businesses throughout the country. Before long, Blockbuster was gone and the once thriving, store-based video rental business is a thing of the past.
Which brings us to the Department of Motor Vehicles and the process of getting a driver’s license in the state of Mississippi.
There has been a great deal of attention to the long wait lines at DMVs in the metro Jackson area and elsewhere. Department of Public Safety Commissioner Marshall Fisher was questioned about this at a hearing in January. Higher pay for examiners was brought up, as were appointment systems. But that just skims over the larger issue.
DMVs need to be brought into the 21st century, but there is little vision to make that happen.
We have a limited number of kiosks inside the DMV and you can renew your license online if your address has not changed. That needs to be expanded. And that also presumes the kiosk is working.
Instead of a kiosk that is limited and only open when the DMV is open, we can put Redbox style kiosks outside of city halls or county courthouses, based on demand. They would be accessible 24 hours a day and could serve a variety of functions.
Renewing your license with no changes is easy, but we can do much more today. These kiosks have technology to read documents containing your new address. If you moved from out of state, they can quickly confirm your current license from that state. If your license is suspended or you owe back fees, the kiosk will recognize that. If you are getting a license for the first time, they will be able to serve you. You could even take your exam at the kiosk. They can take pictures. They can do vision exams. They can accept cash, checks, or credit cards.
We would just need a limited number of examiners to respond to the times the computers couldn’t read an address, or a similar incident.
Simply because the government is failing to do something efficiently does not mean we should enlarge the government. And hope they do it better. Because this is a problem at DMVs across the country, whether you’re in Mississippi or states where government employees make significantly more.
There is no incentive or motivation to innovate. All of these ideas are closer than we may think, or expect. And for the person who has to take a day off from work to get a new license, they sound pretty good.
Thanks to the introduction of sports gambling, Mississippi gaming tax revenues are up 5.762 percent over the same period last year.
During fiscal year 2019, which ends July 1, the Mississippi Department of Revenue has transferred more than $88 million into the general fund, an increase of more than $6.4 million over the same time last year.
Total gaming tax collections, which include contributions to local governments and a fund for improvements to roads and bridges, totaled more than $169 million from July to February. That’s an increase of more than $9.2 million from last year’s numbers.
In the past four years, gross revenues for the state’s casinos have been largely flat until this year, with revenues up by more than $76 million to more than $1.42 billion. This amounts to 5.71 percent growth over the same time frame last year. That’s a $42 million increase from fiscal 2016, when the state’s casinos earned more than $1.378 million.
Only five of the state’s 28 casinos located in the central and northern parts of the state aren’t offering sports gambling. The first sports book operations in the state began taking bets in July.
If Nevada’s revenues from sports gambling are any guide, this windfall could continue to grow since Mississippi is the only state in the South with legalized sports gambling. The Louisiana Legislature might consider adding sports gambling to its casinos in its session, which starts April 8.
Nevada’s data shows that revenue from 2009 from sports pools added up to more than $118 million. In 2018, that figure grew to more than $253 million, an increase of 114.25 percent.
Mississippi, like five other states, got into the sports gaming business thanks to a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Murphy vs. National Collegiate Athletic Association, which struck down a federal law known as the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.
This law allowed only Nevada casinos to host sports gambling.
In 2016, Mississippi temporarily legalized daily fantasy sports and created a study commission. The Legislature approved permanent legislation in 2017 that not only set guidelines for the Gaming Commission to regulate daily fantasy sports, but also struck language from state law that prohibited betting on sports in anticipation of a decision in the NCAA case.
Unlike Nevada — where players can set up an account at a casino and place wagers anywhere in the state from computers and mobile devices — Mississippi regulations require that all sports betting take place in a licensed casino and on mobile devices inside the casino property.
Despite a new tax increase aimed at helping pay for tourism-related expenses, the city of Columbus is running out of money.
According to a story by the Associated Press, Columbus could run out of cash by Sept. 30, when the city’s fiscal year 2019 budget ends. With the city likely to spend $14.2 million before the fiscal year ends and only $10.9 million in revenue projected, the debt could add up to $300,000.
This isn’t the first time the city has been in financial trouble.
According to a November 24 story in the Columbus Dispatch, Columbus operated with an $881,000 deficit in fiscal 2018, which ended on September 30.
Since fiscal 2017, the city has run $1.7 million in deficits under the direction of former chief financial officer Milton Rawle. He resigned in February after more than five years in charge of the city’s finances.
Mayor Robert Smith told the AP that it’s not time for city leaders to panic and that he wants a property tax increase to go into effect for the fiscal 2020 budget, which begins on October 1. This would be the second tax increase to hit city residents this year.
The city will also receive a new 2 percent tax on restaurants that was approved by Gov. Phil Bryant earlier this session and goes into effect on Monday.
Another local bill in the legislature would add another 1 percent to the city’s now 9 percent tax on restaurant sales to pay for the second phase of the city’s new $5.5 million Terry Brown Amphitheater.
Passage is unlikely as the legislature’s session is drawing to a close this week.
Columbus isn’t exactly hurting for tax revenue, receiving $26,651,025 in fiscal 2018 alone. That’s more than similarly-sized Starkville ($20,785,798 in 2016), but less than Vicksburg ($31,165,725 in 2017)
Property owners in the city are assessed at a rate of 46.69 mills just to fund the city’s functions. That rate is average among Mississippi cities, with Jonestown in Coahoma County levying the highest rate statewide at 119.94 mills.
Mills are assessed per $1,000 of a property’s determined taxable value and the owner of an average priced home in Columbus ($128,200 according to real estate site Zillow) pays about $1,596 with an annual homestead exemption on the first $7,500 of value.
According to the latest numbers from the Mississippi Department of Revenue, the city received $718,119.46 in sales tax revenue, up $16,499 from this time last year.
Collections for the year so far are up slightly over the same time last year, with the city receiving $6,416,153.72 in sales tax revenue this year so far as compared with $6,421,907.56 last year.
Columbus taxpayers owe $28,550,411 in debt, with the annual debt service payment adding up to $528,868.
Vicksburg’s total debt adds up to $9,876,050, but Starkville taxpayers owe $55,652,465.
I was troubled to read Bill Crawford’s recent op-ed about “dark money.” It’s not honest, it’s not fair, and it’s not transparent. Bill Crawford is lying about House Bill 1205.
HB 1205 does one very simple thing: it allows a nonprofit whose donor list has been leaked by a rogue government official defend itself in state court. The bill changes nothing pertaining to nonprofit donor disclosure or transparency already required by the Secretary of State (lines 17-19). The bill changes nothing pertaining to federal donor disclosure or transparency. (Pro Tip: State law can’t override federal law or federal regulation, including IRS rules.) The bill changes nothing pertaining to Mississippi campaign finance law (lines 73-75). The bill changes nothing pertaining to a political action committee (PAC). None of these things are touched by HB 1205, and anyone who says or implies otherwise is lying.
Crawford’s first big lie is that HB 1205 is about protecting dark money. Crawford doesn’t define dark money, he just asserts that the U.S. Supreme Court allows “501(c)(4) ‘social welfare’ corporations to become fronts for dark money.”
A (c)(4) is a nonprofit organization. According to the IRS, there are 29 different types of nonprofit organizations, ranging from (c)(1)s to (c)(29)s. Are all of these nonprofits fronts for dark money? Crawford knows that if he told you your local food pantry was a front for dark money you might not believe him. So, he lies again. He claims that HB 1205 “would prohibit public agencies from requesting donor identities from 501(c)(4) organizations.”
But HB 1205 does not single out (c)(4s) for protection any more than it singles out (c)(3)s or (c)(5)s or (c)(8s) or (c)(11)s. A (c)(5), by the way, is a labor organization. Is Crawford claiming labor unions are fronts for “dark money”? A (c)(8) is a fraternal association. Is Crawford claiming the Masons are a front for “dark money”? A (c)(11) is a teacher’s retirement fund association. Is that a front for “dark money”? The options are endless for a mind wishing to see conspiracy everywhere.
Bill Crawford’s other big lie is his manipulative attempt to tarnish Gov. Phil Bryant’s reputation as a “longtime champion of transparency and accountability.” This praise seems a longtime in coming, but Crawford is correct that the governor, as well as Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, have been great advocates for transparency. What he fails to acknowledge is that the opponents of HB 1205 are seeking to weaponize transparency – and thus undermine it altogether.
Let’s think through this new kind of transparency Bill Crawford is proposing. It’s not government transparency. It’s a kind of transparency akin to forcing Jews to wear a yellow star. This kind of transparency was used by the state of Alabama in the 1950s to try to force the NAACP to release its membership list. This is not government transparency, it is government targeting. This kind of “transparency” always begins with a big lie and a will to mislead.
Real government transparency looks like the quiet work MCPP has been doing for years. No organization has done more to promote transparency in Mississippi. We were the first to post legislative votes online, leading the legislature to begin doing so. We were the first to post video recordings of the state legislative session. We were the first to post the state budget online. We have also spent thousands of hours and dollars creating the seethespending.org website. For our efforts, we won the 2012 Champion of Good Government Award, presented at an annual meeting of the Mississippi Press Association. Another site we created, seetheschoolspending.org, contains school district spending and rankings covering more than 20 years.
Yet, you’ll find no bigger advocate of donor privacy than MCPP. You see, I believe that while the government has an obligation to open up its checkbook to taxpayers, taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to post their checkbooks or credit card statements online for everyone (including employers and employees) to see. But that’s basically what the leftist conspiracy theorists want to do: permanently post donor information, including the amount of any contribution to any nonprofit, on a government website.
I trust Gov. Bryant is going to set the record straight by signing HB 1205 and protecting the right of every individual to support the causes they believe in without fear of discrimination and retaliation. In doing so, he’ll be affirming that Mississippi is still a place – unlike California or New York or Washington State – where we understand the difference between transparency and targeting.
This column appeared in the Mississippi Business Journal on March 26, 2019.