Editorial Roundup: Mississippi

The Greenwood Commonwealth. Jan. 4, 2022.

Editorial: Spend with view to long term

Mississippi lawmakers should be very busy for the next three months. The 2022 legislative session, which begins Tuesday, is about as jam-packed with significant — or significantly distracting — matters as any in recent memory.

Among the items lawmakers are expected to tackle are legalizing medical marijuana; restoring the power for voters to initiate constitutional amendments; redrawing voting lines for Mississippi’s four members of Congress and 174 members of the Legislature; and giving teachers another salary increase.

Expect there also to be debate — although less certain of action — on cutting or swapping taxes; banning public schools from teaching critical race theory (which they already don’t); and expanding Medicaid.

But arguably the most important task facing lawmakers this session is deciding how to spend the $1.8 billion the state is getting from the federal government in coronavirus relief funding.

There are going to be a lot of interests wanting a slice of that American Rescue Plan money — most certainly cities and counties, hospitals and other health care providers, broadband providers, law enforcement agencies, and state agencies that provide health and social services to people impacted by the pandemic. Most of these will have significant merit to their arguments.

Hospitals, for example, are severely pinched by a shortage of nurses and other skilled workers. They are looking for immediate help to try to lure these workers back through incentives that could be financed, at least in part, by state appropriations.

What lawmakers have to decide is whether to use this federal windfall for short-term problems or long-term ones. It’s doubtful there’s enough to effectively tackle both, as big a number as $1.8 billion sounds. In fact, over a series of meetings held during the latter part of 2021, requests for the funding totaled about $7 billion, or almost four times what’s available.

That’s why Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann had it right when he said, months ago, that Mississippi needs to devote most of its coronavirus relief money to making improvements that will benefit this state not just in the moment but for several generations. That means putting the funds into long-term capital projects that have gone neglected for lack of resources, most notably water and sewer improvements.

Hosemann’s idea is to couple the state money with the more than $900 million that is going directly to county and city governments from the American Rescue Plan.

Add another $2.3 billion that Mississippi is expected to receive from the massive infrastructure package Congress passed this year, and this state has the rare opportunity to significantly upgrade the roads and bridges we travel, and to repair or replace the piping used to bring water to our homes and to take waste away from them.

But that’s only doable if we resist the temptation to worry just about the here and now. That is the mistake this state has made in the past, letting roads and bridges deteriorate because it didn’t have the foresight to realize that what the state built wouldn’t last if it didn’t make the investment to keep up the infrastructure.

Mississippi can better this state for the long term from the coronavirus relief money. The Legislature should spend it accordingly.

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The (Columbus) Dispatch. Dec. 29, 2021.

Editorial: : Three pieces of state legislation to watch

The Mississippi Legislature will convene Tuesday in Jackson for its 2022 session.

Although there are always new issues and bills that emerge out of the ether — who could have foreseen a bill about pecan pilfering in last year’s session, for example? — there are three major pieces of legislation that are likely to dominate the session.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, said medical marijuana will be one of the first pieces of legislation taken up as the session begins.

The path to a medical marijuana program has been a long, frustrating journey.

After years in which the Legislature failed to advance any medical marijuana program out of committee, the voters took matters into their own hands, passing an amendment to the state constitution in November 2020 that would have created a medical marijuana program that was supposed to have been put into operation in August. That measure passed by an almost 3-to-1 margin, but was set aside by the Mississippi Supreme Court, which declared Mississippi’s voter initiative invalid due to a technicality related to redistricting in 2010.

Restoring the people’s right to petition the government through the initiative process will also be a priority, at least that was what legislators — including the entire Golden Triangle delegation — said in the immediate aftermath of the Supreme Court’s ruling in May.

In response to the ruling, negotiators for the Senate and House agreed on a new medical marijuana bill and asked Gov. Tate Reeves to call a special session so the bill could be voted on and passed into law. Reeves declined and has been vocal in his opposition of the legislation. He said he will be seeking the support of enough legislators to make sure the bill approved in this session is not veto proof.

Legislators have a choice to make between doing the Governor’s bidding or respecting the overwhelming will of the people, as well as staying true to their previous promises to pass medical marijuana legislation.

The same holds true for legislation restoring the initiative process, something that faces no opposition in the House, Senate or Governor’s office, at least not on the surface.

But the devil is in the details. We know that, privately, legislators despise the initiative process and believe it usurps their roles in writing legislation. That’s why the language of the voter initiative bill should be carefully scrutinized. Any legislation that seriously constrains voters from acting when their legislators refuse to act creates the mere illusion of voter initiative.

Finally, Hosemann has stated that he intends to advocate for Medicaid expansion, legislation that would provide health insurance to up to 300,000 people who are members of working families. Mississippi is currently one of 12 states that has not expanded Medicaid since it was offered as part of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) in 2010, even though 90 to 95 percent of the costs are covered by federal funds.

Beyond providing essential health services to 10 percent of the state’s population currently without health insurance, many believe expanding Medicaid would be a godsend for rural hospitals which are in financial peril due to the fact that residents in rural parts of the state are less likely to be covered by private insurance. Rural hospitals provide healthcare services for uninsured patients for which they cannot be reimbursed. The Mississippi Hospital Association, along with many health care advocacy groups, support expanding Medicaid coverage for this reason.

As is the case with medical marijuana, polling shows Mississippians favor expanding Medicaid benefits by a health margin.

We believe legislation in support of medical marijuana, Medicaid expansion and a legitimate voter initiative process are worthy of the support of our Legislative delegation.

We intend to inform voters about whether our delegation agrees as these bills move through the process.

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Vicksburg Post. Dec. 30, 2021.

Editorial: Project Safe Neighborhoods will benefit all in Warren County

There’s no denying it: We have a crime problem in Vicksburg and Warren County.

Thankfully, our local law enforcement agencies are partnering with state and federal agencies to ensure the maximum penalty for repeat offenders in the area. Joining other communities like Natchez, Meridian and Jackson, the Vicksburg Police Department, Warren County Sheriff’s Office and the office of the District Attorney have launched Project Safe Neighborhoods in our area.

The joint task force will specifically target those who commit violent crimes, felony drug offenses or firearm offenses.

According to District Attorney Ricky Smith Jr., it’s a chance to ensure the maximum prison sentence possible for those convicted.

Our officers on the ground are routinely fighting drug trafficking, illegal possession and use of firearms and other offenses. Oftentimes, these offenders are young people who think that lifestyle is cool, or offers some sort of credibility.

Hopefully, the threat of serving a significant amount of time in prison will keep potential offenders from getting into trouble with the law.

As Smith said this week, “I don’t think you can be too hard on them” when it comes to those who traffic large amounts of drugs into the community or commit violent offenses.

Serving a more adequate sentence for crimes committed can also deter repeat offenders — sure, their last offense might’ve only yielded a couple years of actual time served, but the next offense could carry a federal sentence and mean more time spent behind bars.

As a supplemental means of fighting crime, it doesn’t get much better than that.

Project Safe Neighborhoods has proven to be effective in other communities around the country, and the citizens of

Warren County should be optimistic for the program to come to our area.

We had three shooting deaths in Warren County in 2021. As the new year approaches, let’s work together to prevent senseless violence and deaths.

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