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House Bill 1422, which would raise the alcohol-by-weight limit in beer made and sold in Mississippi from 5 percent to 8 percent, had the motion to reconsider taken off it Tuesday afternoon.

It now heads to the Senate.

The bill cleared the House late last week, but had been held on the motion to reconsider since then.

This is more of a technical hurdle than anything else; the bill was never in danger of dying in the House because 22 representatives would have had to change their vote.

Rep. Hank Zuber, R-Ocean Springs, who presented the ABW bill, didn’t have similar luck with HB 928, which would have given blanket permission for cities in dry counties to pursue an alcohol sales referendum, given that 20 percent of the electorate signed a petition to do so. It failed by one vote, 59-60.

That bill would have effectively stopped the parade of municipalities in dry counties that converge on the Capitol every year looking for permission to hold a referendum on the sale of alcohol. (A good example of that is Senatobia, which sits in dry Tate County. Senatobia got what it wanted; the bill allowing referendum procedures to move ahead passed the House right after 928 failed, and now heads to the Senate.)

That’s a perfect illustration of the point Zuber made presenting the alcohol sales bill.

“We decide which cities will be winners and losers when it comes to alcohol, and it’s usually based on which city has political connections,” he said. “Let’s stop that practice and let the people back home decide.”

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann is batting almost .1000 on his business reform proposals making it out of committee before Tuesday’s deadline.

Of Hosemann’s half-dozen or so bills, all but two have already been sent to the House floor. The two that haven’t – a relocation tax credit for businesses that move their headquarters here, and an expansion tax credit for businesses already headquartered here — were both double referred. They have cleared the Workforce Development Committee, and currently sit in the Ways and Means Committee. If they don’t clear Ways and Means by tomorrow, they’ll be dead for this session.

Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the Stennis Capitol Press Corps, Hosemann said he was “hopeful” both would clear committee deadline by the end of tomorrow.

“We’ll be at the capitol (Monday and Tuesday) to do our best to make sure they both make it out,” Hosemann said.

Among the proposals that have already cleared committee are bills that would:

• Offer businesses that contract with Mississippi universities for research a 7 percent tax credit, to be applied toward the amount of the research contract
• Allow companies that have earned job-creation tax credits but have no earned income to actually, to pass those credits through to employees
• Amend the Mississippi Business Incorporation Act to adopt changes in the Model Business Act; incorporates electronic technology concepts; and addresses indemnification and reinstatement of foreign companies.

Ways and Means will hold a meeting Monday at 3, one hour before the House of Representatives convenes. I’ll be at the meeting and will file an update when it’s over, so stay tuned.

UPDATE: With no discussion on either, the committee approved the bills, sending them to the House floor.

The House of Representatives voted Thursday afternoon to send HB 1422 to the Senate.

The bill would raise the alcohol-by-weight content in beer made and sold in Mississippi from 5 percent to 8 percent. The current 5 percent cap is the lowest in the U.S.

The bill cleared the House 67-45, with only moderate opposition shown while Rep. Hank Zuber, R-Ocean Springs, was presenting it. Most of that opposition had to do with whether beer with a higher alcohol content could lead to an increase in alcohol-related deaths and/or DUIs. Zuber cited data from Ohio and Alabama that said neither was the case. The bill was held on a motion to reconsider, which will delay it being sent to the Senate, though it’s not very likely that will keep it from passing because 22 representatives would have to switch their votes once the bill is called up again.

Similar bills with Republican authors and co-sponsors have cleared committee and await debate on the Senate floor. Gov. Phil Bryant told the MBJ about a month ago that he was “not necessarily opposed” to the notion of raising the ABW cap to 8 percent.

While the bill is a long way from becoming law, this is no small victory for supporters of this measure. Raise Your Pints deserves a huge amount of credit for sticking with the issue, which has been dead on arrival once it reached committee the past few sessions. This is a textbook example of how to sell a piece of legislation. Supporters made this about economic development — specifically, tourism and sales tax revenue – and not alchohol. Once they did that, the longstanding opposition to it gradually faded.

I have messages out to a few Raise Your Pints people and Rep. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, who as a member of the Senate the past few years has made this one of his pet projects. I’ll update this post when I hear from either.

UPDATE: Raise Your Pints president Butch Bailey, who just called, was surprised the House even took up the bill today, seeing as how it had already met the committee deadline and was on the House floor comfortably before the next deadline.

“I was up here for the committee vote in the Senate,” Bailey said, referring to a similar bill clearing the Economic Development Committee earlier Thursday, ”but I stayed around on the off chance that the House would take it up.”

He’s glad he did. “This is just one step in the process, obviously, but I’m grateful. Really grateful, especially since it passed by the margin (22 votes) that it did.”

Bailey said he and other folks connected to RYP are still making their case to Senators, who could take up their own version of the bill Friday.

The House Public Utilities Committee Wednesday morning tabled HB 825, a bill that has caused quite a bit of hue and cry over the past few days.

Most of that has come from members of the Public Service Commission, who were upset that it would strip them of jurisdiction over customer complaints related to AT&T. Northern District Commissioner Brandon Presley and Southern District Commissioner Leonard Bentz have led the charge on that front.

Public Utilities chairman Jim Beckett, R-Bruce, said he hoped to hold another committee meeting Thursday afternoon after the House adjourns to take it up again. The committee decided to table the bill after a flurry of amendments.

Beckett told reporters that the PSC regaining jurisdiction over AT&T customer complaints will be “part of the deal” in any version of the bill that eventually clears committee and is sent to the House floor.

“That’s their biggest concern, and it’s the biggest concern I’ve heard from other members,” Beckett said.

What the bill does not do is require AT&T to serve as a “carrier of last resort” in rural areas. It also doesn’t require AT&T to file service data with the PSC.

“It’s a competitive market,” Beckett said. “I don’t see them (AT&T) going out here and flipping the switch and unhooking customers. I think they’ll continue to provide that, and as technology changes I think there will be more and more opportunities for people to get service.”

Mayo Flynt, president of AT&T Mississippi, declined to talk to reporters Wednesday morning.

The Mississippi Public Service Commission is not particularly known for agreeing on a whole lot.

The opposite of that is true when it comes to House Bill 825. The bill, filed by Rep. Jim Beckett, R-Bruce, has been referred to the Public Utilities Committee, which Beckett chairs.

What the bill would do is essentially remove a lot of functions AT&T performs from PSC jurisdiction. Television and radio stations already enjoy this exemption. The legislation would extend it to AT&T, and shift that oversight to the federal government. That’s the simple explanation, anyway.

Commissioners Leonard Bentz, a Republican who represents the Southern District; and Brandon Presley, a Democrat representing the Northern District, both have issued lengthy statements that generally paint the bill as one of the worst ideas to circulate around the Capitol in some time. That’s significant, because Bentz and Presley don’t see eye to eye all that often.

Presley called it a “corporate wish list.” Bentz said it would make AT&T’s customer service operations — which have become infamous for their ability to frustrate customers — worse.

One thing is certain. Beckett, since he wrote the bill, will surely air it in front of the Public Utilities Committee. You can bet there will be some lawmakers who hear from folks who don’t like this.

Statements in full from Bentz and Presley:

Public Service Commission Chairman Leonard Bentz announced today his opposition to HB 825, which would remove all oversight which the Mississippi Public Service Commission has over AT&T.

 “This is a very bad bill for consumers in Mississippi,” Commissioner Bentz stated. “Even though AT&T will tell you that the oversight that we [PSC] have is limited, the little we do have is piece of mind for the consumers.”

“You don’t have to think very long to understand why this bill is bad. Think back to last time you called in a problem to AT&T and the lack of customer service you received. This bill would make it worse. It is important to understand AT&T will lead you to believe this bill will affect only a small number of customers, but that is not so. As it stands right now, all customers with AT&T have the ability to file complaints with the Public Service Commission, and have the PSC on their side to help them navigate the system. The bill clearly states customer appeals will be removed from the PSC jurisdiction.

“Further, AT&T states they are at a competitive disadvantage. How can you be at a disadvantage when you own more infrastructure and receive more Universal Service Fund monies than any other telecommunication company? The bill would also limit the Commission’s oversight of the Universal Service Fund. This is a critical fund in which AT&T receives monies to invest in their infrastructure. In the proposed bill this would give the oversight to the federal government,” Bentz added.

“The avenue for customer complaint appeals to the PSC will also be removed. I guess if a consumer had a complaint they could call the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).  If AT&T can explain to me how this bill will build better customer service by calling a Washington bureaucrat versus an elected Mississippian, I will be their biggest cheerleader,” Bentz said.

“I hope legislators reviewing this AT&T bill (HB 825) will contact the PSC and give us an opportunity for input. AT&T employs great employees in Mississippi and I am sure they will tell you AT&T has become more and more like a corporate run robot organization. If AT&T wants a competitive advantage, I have three recommendations. Provide a quality service, listen to your customers and treat your customers as clients. And that does not take any legislation to accomplish.” Bentz concluded.

And here’s Presley’s:

Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley said today that House Bill 825 would totally strip the PSC of any authority to hold AT&T accountable for rate increases and lousy landline and cell phone coverage. Presley said the bill was requested by AT&T as retaliation against the PSC for denying a rate increase and for complaining of poor cellular and residential phone service. The PSC won a case in the Mississippi Supreme Court to limit charges to customers after AT&T appealed the PSC’s ruling.

“This bill is a corporate wish list that gives AT&T the permission to run over and take advantage of every single customer in Mississippi and no one can say one thing to them about it.” Presley said. “Complaints against AT&T have gone up dramatically over the past few years, yet this bill rewards them by taking the cop off the beat that is there to protect customers”

“It is hard to believe that the Legislature could honestly think that a company with such a terrible track record should be taken out from under the PSC’s authority” Presley added.

Presley said the Legislature passed the first phase of deregulation in 2006 an since then complaints to the Commission about billing errors, poor service and the like have risen from 1,735 in 2006 to 4,361 in 2011 an increase of over 150% .“This is evidence enough of why this bill is bad for consumers”.

Along with removing all of the Public Service Commission’s authority to investigate abuses, extortion and customer complaints, House Bill 825 also removes the Commission’s authority to designate conditions for AT&T’s receiving of millions in federal funds to promote rural cell phone service. Presley said the Commission’s authority to place conditions on those dollars has been the main tool to increase cell phone coverage in rural counties. “Rural Mississippi’s interest are gutted in this bill.” Presley said.

Presley said there should be extensive hearings held on this matter. “AT&T and their high paid lobbyists are spreading lies all around the Capitol, the Legislature should listen to the regulators who are here to protect the public.”

House Minority Leader Rep. Bobby Moak, D-Bogue Chitto, dropped a strong hint at today’s meeting of the Stennis Capitol Press Corps that Democrats could turn to the voter initiative process to advance some of their policies.

“The initiative and referendum process is a great tool for the minority,” Moak told the 40 or so people at the Capitol Club.

Moak, like everybody else, noticed during last fall’s elections that the three initiatives on the ballot generated more conversation than any of the candidates, including those running for statewide office. “They drove up turnout in a lot of places,” Moak said.

I asked Moak what issues Democratic officials were considering for the initiative process. He wouldn’t say. He wouldn’t give the slightest hint. Just a guess, but there has been some casual talk in the past about an effort to insert into Mississippi’s Constitution an amendment that would mandate the full funding of the Mississippi Adequate Education Program every year. MAEP is the formula that determines how much state funding each school district gets every fiscal year.

Full funding of education, mental health services and Medicaid will be top priorities for Democrats come budget time. Moak said as much Monday. “We should take care of the basic needs and we can fight over everything else.”

It’s a possibility if Democrats lose that fight at the Capitol, they’ll at least try to win it with an initiative or two.

One of Twitter’s worldwide trending topics Thursday afternoon was the Gulf of America.

That’s because Rep. Steve Holland, D-Plantersville, has filed a bill that would basically rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Holland apparently is not talking to national media. He did give me about five minutes, though.

“It’s right in line with all the other bullsh** going on now in the Legislature,” Holland said. “And you can quote me on that in capital letters if you want to. Cutting education, cutting healthcare, going after immigrants, all the things the Rebublican majority seems interested in, that don’t do anything to enhance the quality of life and the economic foundation of the average Mississippian. It’s a spamelot bill. I thought it made about as much sense as some of the other stuff coming through here. We’ll see what happens.”

The bill has been referred to the Marine Resources Committee, chaired by Rep. Casey Eure, R-Biloxi. The bill will almost certainly die there.

The Gulf of America name, though, will probably stick for a while. I hope it does.

In this week’s MBJ I had a story about the beer legislation that has tried and failed the past few legislative sessions. You can read all about it here  (subscriber link).

Bills that would raise the state’s alcohol-by-weight content from 5 percent (lowest in the U.S.) to 8 percent have died in committee at least the last two sessions, as have bills that would allow the state’s only brewery to offer samples of its product to those taking tours of its facility. Bills that would have legalized homebrewing and allowed a brewery to brew illegal beer as long as it’s shipped and sold out of state have also perished. (It’s worth noting that the fact homebrewing is illegal has done nothing to stunt its popularity here).

After my deadline last week, though, came a bill in the Senate authored by Senate President Pro-Tem Terry Brown, R-Columbus, that would legalize homebrewing. Like Rep. Jessica Upshaw, R-Diamondhead, who has introduced beer legislation in the House, Brown’s filing a similar bill is significant.

Because while the bills have enjoyed a modicum of bipartisan support in the past, I can’t remember the GOP jumping on the bill-filing train before now. They may have; I just haven’t confirmed as much. Democrats have traditionally filed and supported the bills the loudest. The committees the bills died in were split among which party controlled them. The GOP now controls the House committee (Ways and Means) and the Senate committee (Finance) in which these bills currently sit.

And that was the gist of this week’s story: Longtime supporters of the beer agenda are more optimistic the legislation’s chances of passage are greater this time, if only because it’s likely lawmakers won’t have to face re-election in November. They may have to if the redistricting process gets squirrely, but it’s unlikely. Election-year politics killed the bills before they were even filed last year.

While it would legalize homebrewing, Brown’s bill does have some limits on the amount one household can brew per year: If there’s only one person over the age of 21 years residing in a single household, that house can brew no more than 100 gallons of beer annually. If there are two or more folks over 21 in one house, that limit rises to 200 gallons per year. The bill would outlaw homebrew being sold, but it would allow it to be exhibited at competitions, tastings, county fairs, etc.

Behind Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, Brown is the Senate’s second-most powerful member. So it’s not insignificant that he’s filed this legislation. Upshaw and other Republican supporters of the beer bills have made it into an economic issue by tying it to tourism. How beer legislation in both chambers is handled in committee will be interesting.

One piece of legislation Secretary of State has included in his business law reforms package aims to make Mississippi more competitive with its northerly neighbor in attracting corporate headquarters.

It had not been filed as of Wednesday of last week. What the bill would do is offer companies that move their headquarters to Mississippi a tax credit equal to 50 percent of the relocation costs.

Hosemann said in early January that Tennessee offers a similar tax credit, and it puts that state ahead of Mississippi in the race to attract new industry.

Recent hotbeds of economic development – Tupelo, North Mississippi near Memphis, Jackson and the Golden Triangle – fare well on other factors companies consider when searching for potential headquarters sites.

“We were ok on our cost of labor, access to affordable energy, water, transportation,” Hosemann said. “We fit very nicely. What we didn’t have was a relocation tax credit, something Tennessee does have.”

Based on the research of a committee Hosemann formed to study the issue, Hosemann said Tennessee has been able to attract between 20 and 30 corporate headquarters since the program was instituted. Tennessee’s law offers an expense credit ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 per job created by a corporate headquarters’ arrival. Mississippi’s law only allows for a five-year tax credit that maxes out at $2,000 per new position, provided the company creates a minimum of 35 new jobs within a year of its relocation. If amended, Mississippi’s law would become most similar to Indiana’s.

Several lawmakers contacted by the Mississippi Business Journal would not comment on the proposal since the bill had not yet been filed.

“In some instances, it cost as much as $100,000 for a headquarters to leave St. Louis, for example, and move their employees here,” Hosemann said.

The credit would only apply to companies that move their corporate headquarters here. Expanding an existing facility or building a new one would not trigger eligibility.

The credit would also apply to companies whose corporate headquarters are already in Mississippi, and that buy another company and move it headquarters here. Transactions of that nature have increased as the economy begins its snails-pace recovery from the recession; they have been especially prevalent within the banking industry.

“The best companies we can get are the ones we already have here,” Hosemann said.

Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller told a meeting of the Capital Area Bar Association Tuesday that legislation to implement pay raises for trial and appellate judges will be introduced this session, probably sometime next week.

It’s the second session in a row the legislation has arrived at the Capitol. It died last year. Judges haven’t received a raise since 2003.

The measure has already gained the endorsement of a handful of major business groups, including the Mississippi Economic Council and the Gulf Coast Business Council.

Its intent is to get Mississippi judges off the bottom of the pay scale. According to the National Center for State Courts, the southeastern average for trial judge pay is $138,901. In Mississippi, trial judges are paid $104,170. Mississippi Court of Appeals judges are paid $105,050 annually; state Supreme Court judges earn $112,530. Trial and appellate court judges in Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee earn salaries that average about 30 percent more than that. Alabama tops that list, with its supreme court judges pulling in $180,839, and trial judges making $158,134.

Like it would have last year, the legislation will raise judicial salaries incrementally, starting Jan. 1, 2013, and ending on that same date in 2016. By then, associate justices on the Supreme Court would make $152,250 (up from $112,530 now). Circuit and chancery judges salaries would increase from $104,170 now, to $136,000. The bill would also require the State Personnel Board to review judicial salaries on Nov. 1, 2017, and every four years after that. The Legislature, starting in 2019, would set judicial salaries based on the recommendations of the State Personnel Board.

Increases in civil filing and appellate court docket fees would fund the raises. Civil filing fees in circuit court are currently $121. In chancery court, they’re $108. Each would increase $40. Docket fees for the Mississippi Supreme Court would double, from $100 to $200. Under that format, no money from the state’s general fund would be used.

Former ninth district circuit judge Frank Vollor joined Waller on the panel, and said he left the bench after 20 years strictly for economic reasons. He is now in private practice.

“We expect a lot out of our judges, and we need to pay them adequately,” he said.

Debate during the 2011 session included the concern some lawmakers had over the constitutionality of the bill. The state’s Constitution prohibits changes in pay for judges during their terms. Waller said that could be circumvented by giving judges additional duties. This legislation will do that, he said, by requiring members of the Supreme Court and chancery and circuit judges to promote judicial education in schools, drug courts, electronic filing and management systems developed by the Mississippi Administrative Office of Courts.

As chief justice, Waller’s pay is not tied to the section of the Constitution that prohibits changes in pay during judicial terms. The same goes for goes for members of the Court of Appeals.

“This is a small step toward capturing judicial independence,” Waller told the crowd at the Capital Club. “If we don’t capture (revenue generated by filing fees), somebody else will, and it probably won’t be the judiciary.”

Waller said in an interview after the presentation that he expects some opposition at the Capitol, but hopes the fact that user fees would fund the raises would be enough to get it to Gov. Phil Bryant’s desk.

House Judiciary A Chairman Rep. Mark Baker, R-Brandon, has already indicated he supports it. Baker’s counterpart in the Senate, Vicksburg Republican Briggs Hopson, has done the same.

“These are hard times, and I understand that,” Waller told reporters. “There’s a lot of needs. In recognition of that, we’ve chosen a funding model that won’t impact the general fund. We think that’s the fairest way to go about it.”