JACKSON — Attorney General Jim Hood is steamed because a state House committee wouldn’t let him testify on a bill that would cut his authority.
Under the bill, any state agency would be able to hire its own lawyer without Hood’s approval.
The House Judiciary Committee voted 13-10 today to approve the bill, setting it up for [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: February 6,2012
Tags: appropriations, budget, colleges, education, financial aid, higher education, lawmakers, legislative, Legislature, state government, students, universities
ACROSS MISSISSIPPI — Recipients of state scholarships could see their aid packages trimmed unless the Mississippi Legislature puts more money into financial aid.
That includes the more than 20,000 residents who receive yearly grants of $500 or $1,000.
Higher Education Commissioner Hank Bounds says officials have been using money collected from state student loan repayments to supplement [...] [...]
JACKSON — Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves today unveiled a legislative agenda that focused on fiscal management, education reform and strengthening laws that protect Mississippi’s children.
“Through eliminating government waste, responsible spending and new, innovative approaches to education and protecting our families, Mississippi will be prepared to emerge from this national economic slowdown even stronger than before,” [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: February 1,2012
Tags: appropriations, budget, budget proposal, cuts, economy, emergency funds, executive branch, governor, lawmakers, legislative, Legislature, rainy day, reserves, spending, state budget, state government
JACKSON — Gov. Phil Bryant proposed yesterday to cut state spending by $26 million to $5.49 billion in 2013 while also insisting on building $100 million in state reserves.
The newly inaugurated Republican summarized his first budget as a “lot of cuts,” saying he won’t raise taxes and that state revenues have yet to recover from [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: January 27,2012
Tags: Charter schools, education, elementary education, lawmakers, legislative, legislators, Legislature, schools, secondary education, state ogvernment, students, teachers
JACKSON — With even opponents conceding that a bill expanding charter schools in Mississippi is likely to pass, lawmakers are trying to hash out details of a new law.
The alternative public schools promise high academic performance in exchange for freedom from rules governing regular public schools. But witnesses told House and Senate members yesterday that [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: January 20,2012
Tags: chairmen, chairs, chairwomen, committees, elections, lawmakers, legislative, Legislature, partisan, party politics, political parties, Politics, state government
JACKSON — Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn has named chairs for the House’s 40-plus committees, allowing the House to move ahead with business
With the GOP takeover of the House, Republicans were named to head all of the House’s major committees. Unlike four years ago, though, when Speaker Billy McCoy froze out GOP members from chairmanships [...] [...]
JACKSON — Some Mississippi lawmakers want to limit the governor’s pardon powers, a discussion prompted by Republican Haley Barbour’s actions as he left office last Tuesday.
Barbour granted pardons or other reprieves to more than 200 people, including many convicted of violent crimes. He says most had served their time, and pardons offer a chance for [...] [...]
JACKSON — The Mississippi House will pay $110,000 a year to Nathan Wells, a former campaign worker and state Republican Party employee, to act as an assistant to new House Speaker Philip Gunn.
Gunn said the new position is needed to lessen his workload and reduce the political duties of the House clerk, now Andrew Ketchings.
The [...] [...]
by Associated Press Published: January 12,2012
Tags: committees, elections, government, law, law makers, legislative, Legislature, Politicians, Politics, representative government, representatives, rules, state government
JACKSON — The Mississippi House changed its rules yesterday to ensure Republicans have a majority on both money committees.
Under longtime rules, the House speaker could name three members to the budget-writing Appropriations Committee and three to tax-writing Ways and Means. Thirty members of each were selected based on seniority. Six were chosen from each of [...] [...]
JACKSON — Mississippi lawmakers convened their 2012 session yesterday with a history-making Republican majority as the House elected Philip Gunn of Clinton as its new presiding officer.
Republicans already controlled the 52-member Senate, and they took control of the 122-member House in the Nov. 8 elections. This is the first time since Reconstruction that the GOP [...] [...]
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