House Bill 989, authored by Rep. Charles Busby, would make several changes to the way school districts report their financial information to the Mississippi Department of Education and prohibit some districts from increasing their budgets.
The bill would add some guidelines for financial reporting for the state’s school districts.
They include:
- The state funding formula budget calculation for each district.
- The amounts and funding sources for all revenues.
- The average daily attendance and base student cost for each school district.
MDE publishes an annual report on K-12 education with financial information, such as revenue reports and administrative costs and this would add more transparency to these reports.
This would also prevent any school district with a budget greater than 100 percent of the state funding formula for granting an automatic increase in the property tax rate. This would only happen if the millage rate (the amount per every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value) required to generate revenue for the school district’s budget request is equal to 55 mills or less and the amount requested doesn’t exceed the preceding year’s property tax revenue by more than four percent.
Under current law, school districts have to contribute at least 28 mills worth of property tax revenue to operating revenue alongside state funds and can contribute up to 56 mills in additional tax revenues.
Understanding the state’s Mississippi Adequate Education Program funding formula is an exercise in futility for the average Mississippian. The formula calculates a base student cost which isn’t needs based and is rigged to increase every year. The legislature is not legally required by the state constitution, like in Louisiana, to appropriate the full MAEP budget request.
The legislature has only done so a few times since the difference between the MDE request and what appropriators are willing to outlay is often hundreds of millions of dollars.
While the amount of taxpayer funds appropriated under MAEP to school districts is a huge chunk of the state’s spending on K-12 education, it isn’t the only component, along with special state funds and local property taxes.
In fiscal 2020, Mississippi taxpayers will spend $2.246 billion in MAEP funds alone, which are provided to each school district via a base student cost calculated by the formula. Just the state funds for general education programs add up to an additional $233 million and vocational and technical education is an additional $81 million in state funds.
HB 989 would increase the transparency of financial reporting for each school district in the state and would also put limitations on the ability of school district boards to automatically raise property taxes.
MCPP has reviewed this legislation and finds that it is aligned with our principles and therefore should be supported.
Read HB 989.
Track the status of this bill and all bills in our legislative tracker.
The owner of a large medical cannabis cultivator in Arkansas has paid two lobbyists to raise opposition in the legislature against the state’s medical marijuana ballot initiative.
According to state records, marijuana entrepreneur Stephen LaFrance has hired Jim and Ted Thompson of Thompson and Associates. No lobbying issue was listed on the registration forms filed with the secretary of state’s office.
LaFrance is the owner of the Natural State Medicinals, which started shipping marijuana to dispensaries in May 2019. The White Hall, Arkansas-based cultivator was the second grower to make their products available to dispensaries in Arkansas.
What LaFrance is seeking is obvious: To kill Initiative 65, which would create a medical cannabis program in Mississippi and mandate that the state Department of Health run the program.
According to Mississippi law, once a ballot initiative receives enough signatures and the secretary of state’s office approves them to appear on the ballot, the legislature has the right to put a legislative alternative on the ballot as well. These are designed to confuse voters and siphon support from the original initiative.
Jamie Grantham, the communications director for Mississippians for Compassionate Care, said the campaign’s position on the legislative alternatives is that they are an attempt to kill the initiative.
“The legislature has had 20 years to do it and they’ve not wanted to touch it,” Grantham said. “Multiple legislators have put forth bills and none of those has made it to the floor for a vote at the capitol. It requires a voter on November 3 to get to the bottom of the ballot, who is maybe is excited about voting yes and it’s a two-step, convoluted process in order to defeat it.”
There are four such concurrent resolutions in the legislature, with three in the House and one in the Senate. The one thing all would do is punt creation of a program until next year’s legislative session, which is highly unlikely.
Since they are resolutions and not bills, they only require approval of the legislature and don’t need the signature of Gov. Tate Reeves to appear on the ballot.
Only House Concurrent Resolution 39, by state Rep. Trey Lamar (R-Senatobia), would create a program and would restrict the program to those with terminal conditions. The other three resolutions are exact duplicates of each other.
The most recent case of the legislative alternative was during the fight over Initiative 42, which would’ve given the Hinds County Chancery Court the power to appropriate more state money for individual school districts through injunctions.
The legislature passed an alternative, Initiative 42A, and the original initiative died by a 51.66 percent to 46.98 percent margin. The difference between those who voted for approval of 42 and the alternative was 8,933 votes or about two percentage points. Ultimately, the alternative didn’t do enough damage to 42 to hasten its demise with voters.
Keeping Mississippi from enacting a program could likely be profitable for Arkansas.
According to a story on KFSM TV in Arkansas, patients in the Natural State have spent $35.69 million on medical marijuana since sales began in May and 16 dispensaries are open in the state.
There is a very popular phrase used around capitals all across the country these days. Surely, you’ve heard your legislator or a statewide official utter the words, “workforce development.”
It may be the two most commonly used words in state government today, after “fundraising event.” But what does it mean to develop? And who is being developed and by whom? It sounds innocent enough, but how do we actually develop workers for the future with the precious resources we have from taxpayers today? More vitally, how do we know what the future looks like exactly?
If what we mean by this innocuous phrase is to fully develop the child from age 5 to 18 through a comprehensive education system that renders students who are capable to go out into the world with the knowledge, skills, and competencies required to be productive citizens, then count me in. If we can educate our children in a way that bestows upon them the freedom to choose a path after high school from a variety of options, then I’m all for that.
If, however, we mean that we want to transform taxpayer-funded schools into job-training sites, then count me out. This is not the purpose of education.
We’ve heard a lot lately about the need to make computer science or coding an essential element of high school curricula, for example. This would not be the first time we’ve heard the clamor from companies to influence schools to meet their specific, current needs. In the early 1900s, the federal government provided funding to states in order to train students for manufacturing jobs. Such vocational training necessarily restricts the amount of time we can dedicate to the fundamental subjects like reading, writing, arithmetic, science, history, and government. Do we really want to produce graduates of our high schools who know less about reading, math, or U.S. government?
While computer science and programming are valuable endeavors and the tech sector has played an important role in our economy, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that only 3 percent of the roughly 171 million workers in the U.S. economy will hold computer or information technology jobs in 2028. The projections predict roughly 500,000 new jobs in the next 20 years in these fields.
In other words, the average state should see somewhere around 500 jobs per year. In a state the size of Mississippi, it works out to maybe a couple of hundred jobs per year. Don’t get me wrong, we need technology and innovation in Mississippi, and we should do all we can to encourage students to pursue computer science with their elective classes, particularly if a student has an interest in pursuing the field after graduation.
Government schools, and private ones for that matter, are about more than job preparation. They are also about developing minds, nurturing a love for learning, making informed citizens, reinforcing American values, and ensuring a continued inheritance of liberty and justice that lives on beyond ourselves. We have a duty to protect that purpose in our society.
It’s a greater responsibility than ensuring we produce workers for large employers in our state.
If we provide our students with a proper education, they will make wonderful employees in whatever field they choose. They might even start their own companies, become tech entrepreneurs, and create the next big company in Mississippi. Perhaps they’ll become lawyers, doctors, engineers, or farmers. Our job is to maximize their career possibilities, not to steer them towards one or another.
The next time you hear a politician speak of “workforce development,” make sure you ask what they mean. I just hope they don’t mean two other commonly used words around Mississippi – “federal grants.”
House Bill 117, sponsored by Rep. John Faulkner, would make it easier for a water well contractor to get a license.
HB 117 would remove the requirement that an applicant must present three affidavits to the Mississippi Department of Environment Quality’s examining committee to receive a license, in addition to being at least age 21, reasonable knowledge of the DEQ rules and regulations on wells, and have three years’ experience.
Securing an affidavit, much less three, requires the costly services of an attorney, which can be a substantial barrier to entry for someone wanting to enter the well drilling profession. Alabama, Arkansas, and Louisiana do not have the affidavit requirement.
Though just one license, this is a good step toward making it easier to earn a living in Mississippi.
Today, about 19 percent of Mississippians are in an occupation that requires a license. And this is particularly troubling in low and middle-income occupations. Mississippi currently licenses 66 of 102 lower-income occupations, as identified by Institute for Justice.
On average, licensing for low and middle-income occupations in Mississippi requires an individual to complete 160 days of training, to pass two exams, and to pay $330 in fees. Those numbers will vary depending on the industry. For example, a shampooer must receive 1,500 clock hours of education. A fire alarm installer must pay over $1,000 in fees.
The net result is a decrease in the number of people who can work. A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that occupational licensing reduces labor supply by 17 to 27 percent.
In Mississippi, the Institute for Justice estimates that licensing has cost the state 13,000 jobs. That represents two Nissan plants that could be created by reducing our licensing burden, and it wouldn’t require a dime in taxpayer incentives.
MCPP has reviewed this legislation and finds that it is aligned with our principles and therefore should be supported.
Read HB 117.
Track the status of this bill and all bills in our legislative tracker.
Senate Bill 2594, sponsored by Sen. Dennis DeBar, would gut the state’s Education Scholarship Account and kick hundreds of students out of the program.
In 2015, Mississippi became just the third state in the nation to adopt ESAs. This is an innovative approach to education that allows parents to select the best educational setting, rather than just a private school, for their children.
With an ESA, parents are able to use the funds that would otherwise be spent on public education to pay for private school tuition, tutoring, therapy, textbooks, online classes, and other educational services. With this program, parents are able to truly customize and create a specific education for their children based on their needs. And by every measure of significance, the program has been wildly popular. Hundreds of families are on the wait list. A 2018 review of the program showed 91 percent satisfaction by parents of ESA students.
ESAs have also brought a new meaning to accountability in education. Rather than test scores or government oversight that provide parents with little ability to do anything with the information they receive, parents now have the ability to evaluate the education their child is receiving and make the decision on whether they would like to continue with the current educational setting or make a different choice.
But SB 2594, a bill to extend the repealer on the ESA, would kick hundreds of families out of the small program and likely derail it to the point that it can never grow and only serve a few students in a public school-lite setting.
The proposed legislation would change the definition of “eligible school” to a state-accredited special purpose school, an accredited online learning program, or a private school with a special purpose program, cutting current options by more than half. Families who live near the state lines and have found a school in another state because there is not one nearby would also be kicked out of the program. The changes would also require private schools to administer testing for participating students, rather than trusting parents to make these decisions.
Last year, a clean bill to extend the repealer passed the Senate, but was never considered in the House.
MCPP has reviewed this legislation and finds that it violates our principles and therefore must be opposed.
Read SB 2594.
Track the status of this and all bills in our legislative tracker.
House Bill 1077, sponsored by Rep. Nick Bain, would give the Public Service Commission the authority to employ fraud and enforcement agents, who will have law enforcement powers to conduct civil asset forfeiture.
The new agents will investigate any alleged violations of the Mississippi Telephone Solicitation Act, Caller ID Anti-Spoofing Act, Automatic Dialing-Announcing Devices Act, Unsolicited Residential Telephonic Sales Calls Act and the rules, regulations, and general orders ofthe PSC.
But the powers of the new agents also include the ability to conduct civil asset forfeiture. This simply expands civil asset forfeiture in Mississippi at a time when the mood is to reform the process – rather than make it easier for the state to keep your seized property.
Civil asset forfeiture allows the government to take and keep property allegedly connected to crime – without ever convicting the owner of a crime. State and local law enforcement agencies can seize money, vehicles, and other property, sell that property, and use the proceeds to fund agency budgets.
The forfeited property does not even have to belong to the person suspected of criminal activity. While innocent owners may contest the forfeiture of their property, they must affirmatively prove that they did not have knowledge or give consent for their property to be used for illegal purposes. Proving a negative in a court of law can be quite difficult, and expensive.
Forfeiture cases are civil proceedings that lack many of the meaningful due process safeguards provided in criminal cases. There is a lower burden of proof, no presumption of innocence, no right to an attorney, and no preliminary hearing to ensure wrongfully seized property will be returned quickly.
MCPP has reviewed this legislation and finds that it violates our principles and therefore must be opposed.
Read HB 1077.
Track the status of this and all bills in our legislative tracker.
A bill in the Mississippi Legislature could help prevent a practice that some consider to be an abridgement of the Second Amendment
Under present law, one merely has to be in possession of a loaded firearm on a street, public road, highway, levee, or railroad to be charged with illegal hunting from a roadway without any clarifying language.
Senate Bill 2219, authored by state Sen. Joseph Seymour (R-Vancleave), would change existing law to require that one would have to have a firearm in their hands or on the external surface of a vehicle before a ticket for illegal hunting from a roadway can be issued. The bill would also add language that would protect those engaged in lawful action to protect their property or livestock.
The number of tickets issued, which can range in cost from $100 to $500, for those with their weapons in their trucks are on the rise statewide.
Seymour says it’s a Second Amendment issue and should be fixed. He also said most hunters caught in the dragnet just pay the ticket rather than fighting in court.
Brandon Smith of Hattiesburg was on the side of the road in the Desoto National Forest trying to get some of his dogs back. His hunting day had ended and two of his weapons, a rifle and a shotgun, were loaded and in his truck. An officer from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks pulled over and ticketed Smith for hunting from the road.
In 2017, Josh Lloyd of Vancleave was ticketed for the same offense despite having his rifle in his truck. He’d pulled off the road to get some of his dogs as his hunting day was finished, with his rifle in the truck. A MWFP game warden saw him and ticketed him for the same offense.
Larry Perry, a Perry County native, was on his way to his camp in the early evening this year. Same story, different verse. He was trying to gather his dogs to head back to his camp with a loaded rifle in his truck. A MWFP game warden issued him a ticket even though he hadn’t taken his rifle out while he was parked.
Both Lloyd and Perry fought their tickets in court even though the cost of doing so, according to Lloyd, was more than the ticket itself. Lloyd said it was the principle of the thing that made him fight the ticket.
Seymour also has a bill that would clarify the standard by which conservation officers can search a vehicle or premises or make an arrest for violations of the state’s game laws. SB 2275 would put state conservation officers under the probable cause standard, which is the one that governs every other law enforcement officer in the state.
Probable cause is when there is a reasonable basis for belief by law enforcement that a crime has been committed, which can authorize a warrantless search or even an arrest.
Right now, the law only says for cause, which could be considered a lower standard.
House Bill 1408, sponsored by Rep. Chris Brown, will add numerous layers of transparency to the state’s civil asset forfeiture database.
On the state’s civil asset forfeiture database, law enforcement is required to provide the name of the agency that sized the property, a description of the seized item, and a copy of the notice of intent or petition for forfeiture.
This bill would require law enforcement to now provide: The date of the seizure, the place of the seizure, alleged criminal offense, crime for which the suspect is being charged, outcome of the criminal case, method of final forfeiture, value of property forfeited, circumstances of the search and seizure, type of controlled substance, the cost to the agency for this forfeiture case, and what the law enforcement agency used the property for if it was retained.
This would provide more information to the public on what is being forfeited by the state, and the details around the forfeiture.
MCPP has reviewed this legislation and finds that it is aligned with our principles and therefore should be supported.
Read HB 1408.
Track the status of this bill and all bills in our legislative tracker.