Mississippi has made some big policy changes for the better – that was the message Douglas Carswell delivered to a meeting at the Heritage Foundation in Nashville this week.
The Mississippi Center for Public Policy CEO & President Douglas Carswell spoke at the annual Heritage Foundation Resource Bank meeting, a convention comprising several think tank professionals, community leaders and elected officials from across the country who hope to create change and leave a positive impact.
Speaking during the “Winning in the States: Highlighting 2022 Victories” session on Thursday, Carswell discussed several of MCPP’s wins throughout the past year, including the Mississippi Income Tax elimination plan, occupational licensing reform and the removal of public school Critical Race Theory teaching practices. Due to these achievements, Carswell, along with three other think tank members across the country, spoke on the successes of conservative policies.
MCPP helped push the idea of an income tax elimination throughout the 2022 Mississippi legislative session, with lawmakers settling on a four-year phase-out plan beginning in 2023. Removing a bureaucratic barrier that kept skilled newcomers from making a living, the Occupational Licensing Reform law allows people who move to Mississippi from out of state to maintain their license, something MCPP achieved by working with multiple state entities. The Critical Race Theory bill, written by MCPP, ensured that Mississippi public schools and universities do not teach that any one group is superior or inferior to another.
Carswell said he was delighted to speak at the conference about these topics, expressing that the liberty movement is rebuilding and winning at the state level.
“I loved sharing with the audience how Mississippi is leading the way with a flat income tax, occupational licensing bill and a new law to combat Critical Race theory,” Carswell said. “These are big wins, and they’re getting national attention.”
Mississippi’s administrative state has a major democratic deficit, according to a new report published today.
Of the 222 state government bureaucracies reviewed in the report, only 5 percent are headed by a directly elected official. The state Senate only confirms a small minority of appointees to other key positions.
According to the report, published by the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, the administrative state in Mississippi has the ability to spend money and decide on public policy without reference to the public. 81% of bureaucratic spending comes from agencies run by appointed leaders with very little regulatory accountability.
The report acknowledges that certain departments or boards are essential to the success of Mississippi, but that there are dozens of agencies the state could probably do without. Might not Mississippi be able to manage without an Interior Design Advisory Committee?
“When people talk about ‘draining the swamp,’ they usually mean Washington D.C.,” explained CEO & President Douglas Carswell. “Our research shows that there is a ‘swamp’ here in Mississippi that needs dealing with, too.”
In order to assess the entire administrative state of Mississippi, we analyzed four elements of 222 state boards, agencies and commissions: accountability, spending power and size, regulatory power and function. Our findings reveal that while much of the state bureaucracy is unaccountable, it is well-resourced and has expanded in terms of its regulatory remit.
“We reviewed 222 state-based bureaucratic organizations here in Mississippi, and we discovered that there is a serious accountability deficit,” Carswell said. “Big, powerful bureaucratic organizations are able to impose rules and spend public money without meaningful accountability to the public.”
What should we do about the administrative state of Mississippi? How can we hold these bureaucrats accountable, and how can we better manage the regulations and functionality of these boards? We at the Mississippi Center for Public Policy have some suggestions.
1. Rein in the broad discretion given to bureaucrats by laying out parameters for regulations and requiring routine audits
2. Establish more grassroots accountability through elections by expanding the amount of elected, rather than appointed agency representatives
3. Look at the possibility of term limits for high-level officials to help remove the problems that can come from a system of career-centered bureaucrats
4. Consolidate or eliminate certain entities to save taxpayer dollars
5. Put in a sunset provision that requires any new regulation to be automatically repealed after a certain period of time if not extended, in order to eliminate the overbearing regulatory authority
6. Require all unelected regulators to submit annual public reports to the legislature outlining enforcement actions, subjecting these entities to higher scrutiny
The Mississippi Center for Public Policy believes “draining the swamp” would have a positive impact on the state by eliminating unnecessary agencies that negatively hold back citizens, while also ensuring those in power do not have an overabundance of money and control.
You can read the full report here.
For media inquiries, please contact Tyler B. Jones, [email protected].
The Mississippi Center for Public Policy has hired Tyler B. Jones as its new Communications Director
Tyler B. Jones, a native of Vaughan, Mississippi, will serve as the Mississippi Center for Public Policy's new Communications Director. Through this position, she will aim to raise the profile of MCPP to the public, as well as manage all digital media and produce content to engage viewers.
Jones studied journalism and public relations at the University of Southern Mississippi and recently graduated from Mississippi State University with a Master of Public Policy and Administration degree. During her time at MSU, Jones worked as a bureau news reporter for The Commercial Dispatch, covering Starkville and Oktibbeha County local government.
"I am absolutely delighted that Tyler is joining our growing team,” said Douglas Carswell, President & CEO. “Tyler has a background in local journalism and has a first-class understanding of the media landscape across our state. As Mississippi’s free-market think tank, our output is read and watched by tens of thousands each month. Tyler will help expand our reach in Mississippi and beyond”.
Jones' first day was Monday. She is passionate about education reform, free speech and defending the safety and integrity of law enforcement. She has lived in Mississippi since she was five years old and has great love and pride for the Magnolia State.
"I'm so thrilled to be working at MCPP," Jones said. "With my background in communications and knowledge of policy, I intend to bring new ideas to the organization, while hopefully making a lasting impact on our state."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Jackson, MS): On Thursday, Federal District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves handed a first-round legal victory to a Jackson physical therapist in his challenge to Mississippi laws that are preventing him from opening up a new home health care business in Jackson. Charles “Butch” Slaughter filed his lawsuit in December 2020, after a 40-year-old moratorium on new home health agencies prevented him from expanding his clinic to offer in-home physical therapy to homebound patients. Even if this ban didn’t exist, he still might not be able to provide in-home services, since his competitors could use Mississippi’s Certificate of Needs (CON) laws to force him to battle them in court over whether the community really needs a new home health agency. The Mississippi Justice Institute, a non-profit, constitutional litigation center and legal arm of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, is representing Slaughter.
In his order denying the state’s motion to dismiss the suit, Judge Reeves notes that “It is no secret that significant financial interests are at stake when it comes to CON laws.” Judge Reeves explains that “Rent-seeking businesses make a sort-of ‘extra-legal’ contract with politicians: money and votes for the politicians, regulations that ensure a monopoly for the interest group. Meanwhile, consumers lose out. Without the market competition that normally regulates businesses’ behavior, the monopoly can charge otherwise unsustainably high prices for otherwise unsustainably mediocre products.”
“The home health moratorium and CON program are unconstitutional laws designed to protect health care monopolies from competition,” said MJI Director Aaron Rice. “We are thrilled that the court recognized that the government shouldn’t be in the business of reducing access to health care to line the pockets of powerful industry insiders, especially during a global pandemic.”
Slaughter saw a critical need for Mississippi patients to receive care in their homes, especially during the pandemic when many people are seeking alternatives to nursing homes and other care facilities that have been prone to outbreaks. His dream, though, was ended by the state’s moratorium and CON laws, which say that there is no need for new home health agencies in Mississippi, despite the fact that the number of patients seeking home care in the state has at least tripled while the moratorium has been in place. Rather than encouraging new businesses to respond to this increased demand, Mississippi’s laws allow large health care companies to monopolize home health services in the state.
Numerous studies have shown that CON laws do not reduce health costs and can serve as a barrier to patients getting the care they need. In 2004, the Federal Trade Commission and the United States Department of Justice issued a joint report, concluding, “CON programs are not successful in containing health care costs, and that they pose serious anticompetitive risks that usually outweigh their purported economic benefits.”
“No one should be banned from offering safe, cost-effective, and needed health care services just because other businesses don’t want competition,” said MJI volunteer attorney Seth Robbins. “Health care costs are already out of control and these laws only make that worse. Mississippi’s home health moratorium and CON laws are unconstitutional, and we’re looking forward to proving it at trial.”
For media inquiries, please reach out to Stone Clanton, [email protected].
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Jackson, MS): Today, the United States Supreme Court issued an administrative stay temporarily halting enforcement of the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate for private employers, which has been challenged in court by multiple states and private employers, including Gulf Coast Restaurant Group which is represented by the Mississippi Justice Institute (MJI).
The mandate requires companies with over 100 employees to force their employees to be vaccinated, or be subject to weekly testing and constant mask wearing – on pain of losing their job. Companies can face fines of up to $14,000 per violation for failing to enforce the mandate.
The mandate was scheduled to take effect on January 10, 2022. However, the Court’s administrative stay prevents the Biden Administration from taking any steps to enforce the mandate while litigation continues to determine whether the mandate is lawful.
“This decision is a major victory in our client’s fight against the Biden Administration’s unconstitutional vaccine mandate,” said MJI Director Aaron Rice. “We will continue fighting against the private employer mandate and we have every confidence that the Supreme Court will put a permanent stop to this unprecedented federal overreach.”
The Mississippi Justice Institute is a non-profit, constitutional litigation center and the legal arm of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.
For media inquiries, please reach out to Stone Clanton, [email protected].
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(Jackson, MS): Yesterday the Mississippi House of Representatives voted to repeal the state income tax with HB 531. The Mississippi Tax Freedom Act of 2022 was principally authored by Speaker Philip Gunn, along with Representatives Lamar, White, Steverson, Barnett, Massengill, Bain, Newman, Rushing, Kinkade, Morgan, Pigott, J. Ford, Calvert, Smith, Creekmore IV, Goodin, Tullos, Carpenter, Hood, Oliver, Robinson, and Boyd.
The Mississippi Center for Public Policy welcomes this early "victory" as a sign of hope and a mark of achievement on the 2022 Freedom Agenda.
Similar to the 2021 income tax elimination House bill:
- Increases the tax exemption available to Mississippians. For single workers, the exemption would go up from $6,000 to $37,700 and for married workers, from $12,000 to $75,400.; The remainder of the income tax elimination would occur in subsequent years by allowing a 1.5% rate of growth in spending but applying any revenue collected over that rate to increase the exemption until the tax is completely repealed.
- Increases the sales tax rate.
- Reduces the grocery sales tax rate in subsequent years.
This year's bill does have some differences, though, including the omission of the special interest sales tax rate increases. Additionally, this year's plan supplements counties from the state to allow for a 35% reduction in car tags.
“Three cheers to the House of Representatives for voting to abolish the state income tax!” said Douglas Carswell, President & CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. “Our state needs a boost, and getting rid of the state income tax will give every Mississippi worker a tax break and help our economy to become more competitive. Neither Texas, Tennessee, nor Florida have a state income tax – and they are thriving. Scrapping Mississippi’s state income tax would help lift up our state.”
Senior Director of Policy & Communications Hunter Estes said, “This directly allows hard-working Mississippians to keep more of their own money, which is an idea everyone should be able to get behind. We're hopeful the Senate will pass this major legislation, too.”
The Mississippi Center for Public Policy believes repealing the state income tax would be both a moral and economic good, leading to higher incomes, competitiveness, and prosperity for all Mississippians!
For media inquiries, please reach out to Stone Clanton, [email protected].
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Today, the United States Supreme Court met for a special session to hear oral arguments concerning the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate for private employers, which has been challenged in court by multiple states and private employers, including Gulf Coast Restaurant Group, which is represented by the Mississippi Justice Institute (MJI).
The hearing concerned emergency motions seeking a stay of the vaccine mandate while litigation continues. The mandate is scheduled to take effect on January 10, 2022.
The mandate requires companies with over 100 employees to force their employees to be vaccinated, or be subject to weekly testing (at the employee’s expense) and constant mask-wearing – on pain of losing their job. Companies can face fines of up to $14,000 per violation for failing to enforce the mandate.
The mandate was initially halted by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which issued a stay against enforcement of the mandate while litigation challenging its legality continued. However, all lawsuits challenging the mandate were later consolidated before the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel issued an opinion revoking the temporary stay. The states and private employers challenging the mandate then sought emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the Court to issue a new stay before the mandate goes into effect on January 10.
"We are very grateful that the U.S. Supreme court has taken the extraordinary step of scheduling a special session to hear these arguments,” said MJI Director Aaron Rice. “We are confident that the U.S. Supreme Court will agree with us that the mandate is unconstitutional and unlawful and will halt the mandate before it can inflict untold damage on private employers and on our economy."
For media inquiries, please reach out to Stone Clanton, [email protected].
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Jackson, MS): The Mississippi Center for Public Policy has re-launched its Legislative Tracker.
The updated website will summarize legislation being moved through the process and make the information assessible to both the average and scholarly viewer, grade each bill on whether it increases or decreases liberty, and amplify transparency amongst legislative output.
The MCPP Legislative Tracker will:
- Show what bills are being discussed and moved through the legislative process
- Allow MCPP to rate the bills, giving a green light for those that extend liberty, a red light to those that limit liberty, and a yellow light to those that we are ambivalent about – an "MCPP APROVED" stamp will be given to bills that especially enhance freedom and liberty.
- Show a rating for each member of the legislature, keeping lawmakers in line with the promises they made to their constituents
"All Mississippians deserve to know whether their legislators are effectively representing the interests of their communities," said Senior Director of Policy & Communications Hunter Estes. "Our Legislative Tracker helps to accomplish exactly that. We summarize legislation, offer our thoughts on the impact bills could have on your rights and liberties, and publish this information to the public. We believe that transparency is the best way to ensure our representatives carry out the promises they made to the people. We hope you’ll find this tool valuable as you work to stay up to date on what’s happening under the dome of our capitol building."
You may access the Legislative Tracker HERE.
For media inquiries, please reach out to Stone Clanton, [email protected].
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Jackson, MS): The Mississippi Center for Public Policy has released its plan for success in 2022 – The MCPP Freedom Agenda, which will become a yearly strategy to lay out our goals for each Legislative Session. The Freedom Agenda will cover five areas needed for policy reform: Critical Race Theory, economic liberty, education, healthcare, and technology & innovation.
"Freedom is a process," said Senior Director of Policy & Communications Hunter Estes. "The defense of our liberties necessitates constant work. Recognizing this, we are launching a strategic campaign to advance freedom in Mississippi from the classroom to the hospital, the office to the home, and the college campus to the tech start-up. Our goal is to better Mississippi, and we believe these tangible legislative reforms can help to accomplish that mission."
The 2022 Freedom Agenda sets out a twelve-point plan:
- Combat Critical Race Theory
- Promote Academic Transparency
- State Income Tax Abolition
- Red Tape Reduction
- Open Enrollment in Education
- Cap School Board Administrative Costs
- Establish Multiple Charter School Authorizers
- Free Speech on Campus
- Repeal Certificate of Need
- Repeal of Moratorium on Home Health Agencies
- Agricultural Incubator
- Reduce Barriers to Telemedicine/Telepharmacy
“Mississippi needs a boost. That’s why we are publishing our Freedom Agenda to help elevate our state. Each of these twelve reforms are affordable and achievable – and our lawmakers could easily make them happen,” said President & CEO Douglas Carswell. “The Freedom Agenda includes measures to give families tax breaks and grow our economy, so that young citizens of the Magnolia State won’t have to move away to work. We also propose school freedom to ensure that every child growing up in here gets the chance of a great education, as well as detailed reforms to make healthcare more affordable.”
The Mississippi Center for Public Policy believes providing these twelve reforms would lift up our state, safeguard liberty, and promote limited government. Ultimately, we also believe they would make Mississippi more prosperous and a happier place to live, work, and raise a family.
You may read the full 2022 Freedom Agenda HERE.
For media inquiries, please reach out to Stone Clanton, [email protected].