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Gov. Tate Reeves announced today that he will be signing an executive order later today to close restaurant dining facilities in an effort to combat the spread of the coronavirus and to instruct Mississippians not to gather in groups of 10 or more.  

Saying he was relying on the advice of health experts in the state, Reeves made the announcement during a news conference at the Governor’s mansion this morning. 

The state Department of Health has recommended restaurants close their dining facilities and move to take-out and delivery only. Many local governments have enacted similar bans. This includes: Lafayette county, Oxford, Jackson, Tupelo, Moss Point, Biloxi, Gulfport, Ocean Springs, Forrest county, Hattiesburg, Columbus, Starkville, Hancock county, Bay St. Louis, Diamondhead, Waveland, Vicksburg, Southaven, Olive Branch, Holly Springs, Pontotoc, and New Albany.

Reeves, who yesterday said he wasn’t issuing a stay at home order as a number of other states have done, said he will continue to rely on the advice of experts for the appropriate direction and that he believed most in the state are heeding the call to only leave their house if it is necessary. 

Reeves was asked about that today. 

“I’m not going to rule anything out at this time,” Reeves said. “We’re going to take every step experts ask us to take. I have not been advised by anyone to enter into a statewide lockdown. There are currently 18 states that have varying degrees of lockdown and what I believe is the majority of Mississippians are heeding the call to take care of themselves. We have some pockets where that has not been the case. But we are telling all Mississippians avoid groups of 10 or more.

“My commitment is to listen to the experts but at this time we don’t see this as the best course of action… The best information I have does not call for a statewide lockdown.” 

Mississippi has 320 confirmed cases of coronavirus.  

The purpose of healthcare policy during a health crisis, such as the current coronavirus outbreak, is to maximize existing resources to provide high-quality healthcare to as many people as possible.

What does this mean? It means we must be guided by two priorities during the current emergency:

These two priorities, however, should be achieved in a manner that honors our heritage of constitutional government. The question for policymakers thus becomes how to attain these goals while also:

No doubt, various methods can be employed to increase healthcare supply and access. The healthcare economy, for instance, could be nationalized, with the federal and state governments commandeering factories and forcing them to make face masks and respirators. Doctors and nurses could also be conscripted and made to work in localities with the most need. 

Such draconian measures should only be employed as a last resort. It is our task to determine whether supply-side, market reforms can meet the current need in a way that maximizes freedom and strengthens the free market. In fact, we are already experiencing the benefits of such an approach. Consider the following:

Closer to home, Gov. Tate Reeves is pursuing a similar path by encouraging health care providers to consider how regulatory requirements are limiting healthcare access. 

Clearly, much more needs to be done to cut red tape so that we may more effectively respond to the coronavirus. 

Part II of this report will look at additional healthcare reforms that would save lives and increase access during the current emergency.

While we witness the unmatched terror of this health epidemic in our country, it appears as though we will also witness an unmatched economic fallout in America.

Last week’s surge in applications for first-time unemployment benefits was the fourth-biggest jump in jobless claims since 1967. A panel of economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal project 875,000 new jobless claims for the week, exceeding the 1982 record of 695,000 filed in the first week of October of that year. Some economists are projecting our unemployment rate to go to between 10.5 and 11% by the end of April. The last time our national unemployment rate reached those numbers was in 1982, when it hit 10.8 percent. That’s the highest rate since we began keeping these numbers back in 1948.

Economists also expect us to enter into a national recession this spring, which will mark the end of the longest period of economic expansion in our nation’s history. Just a few short weeks ago, stocks hit record highs, extending an 11-year bull run. We’re now down more than 30 percent since then and likely going further. With crude oil prices down 50 percent for the month, analysts are worried about energy companies with heavy debt loads. This adds pressure to banks and other lenders who are already struggling after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to near zero.

If there is any fortunate news to the economic catastrophe it is that this happened at a time when most states have been able to build large rainy-day cushions. According to Pew Charitable Trusts, the states collectively have about $75 billion saved. Mississippi presently has roughly $550 million in its rainy-day fund. But given the unknown length and severity of the pandemic, how long will these funds last?

The states need to use money for unemployment insurance and coronavirus-related actions, and to make up for the massive shortfall in tax revenue as a result of virtually all of us being forced to stay home and avoid social activities in a collective attempt to “flatten the curve.” If we were not already aware of how crucial small business is for employment and tax revenue, we are now.

We expected a massive federal stimulus plan to pass out of Congress by Monday, though that is not the case and its fate looks far less certain than it did over the weekend. The particulars of a bipartisan bill are still being negotiated. At minimum, we expect to see most Americans receive a check from the U.S. Treasury. The level of means testing is up for debate but it is likely to be tied to reported income from IRS filings from the 2018 year. If you’re a flight attendant or a hotel manager who made $87,000 then, but might be without a job today, that seems like a completely irrelevant method.

Personally, I’d rather see Congress give each American a check and leave it to each person to determine how to use it. You can buy food, give it to your church, put it in the bank, buy toilet paper, or even stock, if you are really brave. Beyond citizens, Congress will also set aside billions for specific industries, small business loans, and other targeted uses. In total, expect a stimulus in the range of $2 trillion. But if our economy remains shut down for another month, expect another trillion or more to get allocated each month. I’m not sure how long we can play this game? Our resources are not unlimited. At some point, sooner rather than later, we’ll need a pandemic strategy that allows our economy to function while we safeguard public health.

With all of the things our nation is doing today, from private industry’s participation in the healthcare efforts to personal sacrifices citizens are making to slow the spread, I’m confident we’ll defeat this pandemic. Our nation has a remarkable history of meeting its greatest challenges and emerging stronger as a result. When we do eventually wrestle this beast to the ground, we’ll need to plan our comeback strategy. Unlike the current situation, where our government is leading the way, the recovery must be led by private institutions. If we do that, I’m confident in a rebound and a re-emergence of American ingenuity and robust economic growth.

For example, the stock market sell-off has created huge opportunities to buy companies with good management, solid fundamentals, and strong balance sheets. A lot of wealth will be gained from owning equities as our economy comes back. And there will be new companies and categories that offer growth to the investor taking the long-term view. There is a long track record of the wisdom of free markets in the form or public equities.

No matter what calamity has knocked the value of stocks down over our nation’s history, we’ve always recovered and reached unprecedented growth again. It is why the world invests in the American economy. If we get back to trusting free enterprise once we get this crisis under control, we’ll reach new heights again. But, it’s vital that we learn the lessons from this pandemic and stay vigilant to free markets, limited government, and personal responsibility.

While we are all willing to consent to our government’s heavy involvement in the economy during this healthcare emergency, and to give up a certain level of personal liberty, we must make sure that none of these “temporary actions” become permanent. Our nation has a history of approving temporary government actions that later become permanent ones after the threat has passed. We live under the economic burden of much of that today, where more than 70 percent of our federal budget is consumed by entitlement programs and debt service. These programs have trapped generations of families into government dependence and contribute to an ever-growing national debt that our grandchildren will inherit.

The coronavirus is showing us how our immense regulatory system, with extraordinaire levels of bureaucracy and gate-keeping, suppressed creativity, innovation, and service. The message should be heeded that we need to continue to examine all of our administrative regulations. Our government needs to get out of the way of the creative destructionists, the inventors, the entrepreneurs, the venture capitalists, the atypical workers, and the profit-seeking scientists. Trust markets. Trust people. Take the regulatory restrictor plates off of our economy and let competition and consumer choice happen as freely as is possible.

The economist Dan Mitchell shared David Harsanyi’s piece in National Review on his blog this weekend and I thought it perfectly summarized the lessons we should be learning. “...the coronavirus crisis has only strengthened my belief in limited-government conservatism — classical liberalism, libertarianism, whatever you want to call it. Years of government spending and expanding regulation have done nothing to make us safer during this emergency; in fact, our profligate spending during years of prosperity has probably constrained our ability to borrow now. Government does far too much of what it shouldn’t, and is far too incompetent at doing what it should. The CDC, an agency specifically created to prevent the spread of dangerous communicable diseases, has failed. Almost everyone would agree that its core mission should be under the bailiwick of government. Yet, for the past 40 years, its mission kept expanding as it spent billions of dollars and tons of manpower worrying about how much salt you put on your steaks and imploring you to do more jumping jacks. The CDC — and other federal agencies such as the FDA — haven’t just moved too slowly in tapping the expertise of our academic and private sectors to fight COVID-19; they’ve actively impeded such private efforts. The CDC didn’t merely botch the creation of a COVID-19 test, it failed to turn to private companies that could have created a test faster and better. I’d simply like government to do much less much better.”

When this healthcare catastrophe is over, let’s not prolong our economic catastrophe by continuing to rely on government for our solutions. Let’s insist government stay limited to the functions it does well and allow entrepreneurs, competition, and consumer choice to lead the way. We’ll need this leadership more than ever, and so will the rest of the world.

This is the first of a three-part series, Perspectives of a Pandemic.

The Mississippi Department of Revenue announced today that it will push back its tax filing deadline in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The new deadline is May 15, a month after the traditional April 15 deadline and two months before the new federal deadline of July 15.

In a news release, the DOR said it couldn’t extend the deadline past the fiscal year’s end of June 30, because it would jeopardize the ability of state leadership to balance the fiscal year budget. According to state law, appropriations for state agencies for this fiscal year will last until August 30.

Taxpayer payments for the self-employed are also due on the date and the extension doesn’t apply to sales, use or any other tax types. 

Alabama was the most recent state to announce it pushed back its deadline to July 15, putting it in line with the federal government, which moved back its deadline to the same date two days ago. 

Thirteen states, according to the non-partisan Tax Foundation, have pushed back their filing deadlines to July 15 in lockstep with the federal deadline. All but Mississippi have put their deadlines on the federal schedule.

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement that “it is imperative we reduce the burden upon Alabamians and get folks back on their feet financially. The safety and wellbeing of Alabamians is the paramount priority as we do everything within our power to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.”

The states that have pushed back their deadlines in addition to Alabama are:

In addition to the filing deadline, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service pushed back the date for the first payment for the self-employed who don’t have their taxes withheld by their employer. Like the filing deadline, this will be pushed back to July 15 as well.

Gov. Tate Reeves said he is not issuing an order to require residents to stay at home to combat the spread of coronavirus even as some Democratic mayors lash out at the governor. 

Reeves made the comments during a Facebook live conference where he fielded comments from Mississippians.

Saying that no one at the Mississippi Department of Health has issued a recommendation for a ‘shelter-in-place’ order, Reeves said the state isn’t going to make a quick decision just because other states are doing it. Reeves also said the federal government is not recommending a lockdown. 

Last night, Tupelo became the first municipality in the state to issue such an order. The city is requiring all non-essential businesses and all non-essential residents to stay at home. Residents would still be able to travel to the grocery store, medical facilities, restaurants, hardware stores, daycares, and gas stations, among other places.

Similar orders cover the states of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Oregon, as well as a number of large cities nationwide.

The state Department of Health has recommended restaurants close their dining facilities and move to take-out and delivery only. The following local governments have enacted similar restaurant bans: Oxford, Jackson, Tupelo, Moss Point, Biloxi, Gulfport, Ocean Springs, Houston, Forrest county, Hattiesburg, Columbus, Starkville, Hancock county, Bay St. Louis, Diamondhead, Waveland, Vicksburg, Olive Branch, and Southaven. 

A statewide ban is not in place.

Before the legislature suspended the session to combat the spread of the coronavirus in the state, both chambers opted against considering legislation that would have allowed those holding an occupational license in another state to receive one in Mississippi without jumping through the traditional hoops. 

Senate Bill 2415 was sponsored by Sen. Kevin Blackwell. The bill died in Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency without a vote. House Bill 261 was sponsored by Rep. Becky Currie. It died in Judiciary A without a vote. 

As of now, a new state resident who is part of a licensed occupation often has to go through the same process as someone receiving their license for the first time with the subsequent fees and tests. 

Mississippi does have limited reciprocity agreements with some states with some occupations to honor their licenses, but new legislation would have ended this practice and allow most new residents to trade in their former state’s license with a new Mississippi one with little hassle.

But as the state copes with COVID-19 and the strain on the healthcare system, we have seen emergency actions to allow out-of-state medical professionals to work in Mississippi. Out-of-state nurses – both RNs and LPNs – are allowed to apply for a temporary license. Additionally, out-of-state doctors and nurse practitioners are allowed to provide telemedicine services courtesy of an order from the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure. 

This is similar to what many other states are doing. One state that didn't need to issue orders for out-of-state medical professionals to provide care was Arizona. That is because they were the first state in the nation to pass universal recognition of licensing in 2019.

Recognizing occupational licenses from another state is good policy any day of the week. It shouldn’t take a pandemic for us to see it. And it shouldn’t take an emergency declaration to make it occur. That is true regardless of the occupation. 

The overarching plan used by the state Department of Health to allocate health care resources under the state’s certificate of need program has a goal to reduce surplus, unused bed capacity at hospitals statewide. Yet as the coronavirus pandemic spreads, the number of available hospital beds is expected to become an issue.  

The part of the state’s most recent health plan released in 2018 that dealt with hospital bed capacity said there was an importance to reducing excess bed capacity and that it is not likely to result in problematic consequences. It’s been the policy of the department since 2009.

The same document also said there was a glut of licensed hospital beds statewide despite a decreasing trend nationally since 1999. The state Department of Health urges each hospital to voluntarily reduce the licensed bed capacity.

According to the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation, the state (as of 2018) has four beds per 1,000 population, considerably higher than the U.S. average of 2.4 beds per 1,000 population. In 1999, Mississippi had 4.8 hospital beds per each 1,000 of population (the national average was three). 

The plan also says that the “carrying cost” of maintaining unused beds could raise operating costs for hospitals and that such surpluses could retard the introduction of more cost-effective practices and services. The document also said continuing surpluses could create an environment that could invite policy intervention by the legislature and others.

The MSDH determines hospital need under the certificate of need program by multiplying the state’s average annual occupied beds per 1,000 population by the estimated county population to determine the number of beds required.

The state health plan provides guidance for the decisions made by the board when considering certificate of need applications. Mississippi law requires CON approval for all projects that increase the bed complement or a capital expenditure of at least $2 million. CON approval is also required for major medical equipment purchases of more than $1.5 million and is not a replacement for existing equipment. Mississippi is one of 35 states that requires a certificate of need.

Most of those applications for a CON are approved, at least in the last decade. From 2009 to 2018, 91.45 percent of the applications passed the first hurdle of a health department staff review. 

During the 2009 to 2018 timeframe, there were 234 analyses performed by department staff for CON applications. The Department of Health recommended authorization on 214 without conditions, two received conditional approval and one received a partial approval.

Only 17 applications were recommended for disapproval (7.26 percent) and most of these were for new providers, largely from out of state, seeking to provide services in the state.

CONs originated from the National Health Planning and Resources Development Act of 1974 that was signed into law by then-President Gerald Ford. This act was intended to reduce annual increases in federal health care spending and one of the cost control measures was to require states to institute CON laws to regulate health care facilities. 

Congress later eliminated this requirement, but CONs in some form persist in 35 states.

The Desoto county cities of Southaven and Olive Branch became two of the latest cities in the state to require restaurants to close their dining facilities and move to take-out or delivery services only in an effort to combat the spread of coronavirus transmission.

The city's held emergency meetings on Sunday, according to the Desoto Times-Tribune. The county also issued a proclamation, but it is just a recommendation to close bars and restaurants, similar to the recommendation from the state.

Along with Olive Branch and Southaven, the following local governments have enacted similar restaurant bans: Oxford, Jackson, Tupelo, Moss Point, Biloxi, Gulfport, Ocean Springs, Houston, Forrest county, Hattiesburg, Columbus, Starkville, Hancock county, Bay St. Louis, Diamondhead, Waveland, and Vicksburg.

So far, Tupelo is the only city in the state with a 'shelter-in-place' ordinance requiring all non-essential businesses and all non-essential residents to stay at home. Residents would still be able to travel to the grocery store, medical facilities, restaurants, hardware stores, daycares, and gas stations. 

Similar orders cover the states of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Oregon, as well as a number of large cities nationwide.

Tupelo Mayor Jason Shelton is looking to enact an order that would close all non-essential businesses and require all non-essential residents to ‘shelter in place’ in response to the spread of coronavirus. He did this while criticizing Gov. Tate Reeves for not taking similar action.  

Similar orders cover the states of California, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and Oregon, as well as a number of large cities nationwide.

According to the Daily Journal, Shelton “will issue an executive order requiring all residents comply with the coronavirus guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, closing all non-essential businesses, requiring all non-essential business employees to “shelter in place” and suspending all utility disconnections, evictions and foreclosures.” Residents would still be able to travel to the grocery store, medical facilities, restaurants, hardware stores, daycares, and gas stations. 

At least one Tupelo city councilman, Buddy Palmer, said he thought a shelter in place order was 'ridiculous' at this time.

Multiple cities throughout the state have issued orders closing bars and restaurants, though they haven't been as far reaching as what Shelton is proposing. Tupelo took similar action last week.

Meanwhile, Shelton continues to blast Gov. Tate Reeves and other state leaders for not issuing statewide orders to keep residents at home. 

“I mistakenly waited for the state to act,” Shelton said. “I understand that the state is not going to issue any orders to assist the city. So local governments, cities and counties, are going to be on their own….It’s just an abdication of leadership at the highest level of the state of Mississippi, and we’re just not going to wait any longer in the city of Tupelo.”

Yesterday Shelton ordered the Tupelo Police Department and Tupelo Fire Department to break up a large gathering of people at an auction at the Tupelo Furniture Market. 

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