Mississippi Lawmakers Reappropriate Coronavirus Relief Funds to Hospitals, Veterans
Jackson, Miss. (Clarion Ledger) - Mississippi lawmakers returned to the Capitol Thursday to discuss coronavirus relief funding and other legislation. They reallocated tens of millions of dollars in CARES Act funding that hasn't been spent. Much of the money was intended to help small businesses, but hasn't been used. Legislators have come and gone numerous times this year in order to hammer out coronavirus relief, budget issues, and to recover after dozens of members and staff got sick themselves. But Friday will be the Legislature's last day at the Capitol until the 2021 session. Lawmakers are set to complete most of their business by Thursday evening. Here are updates from throughout the day. The House passed bills that should financially [...]
Wyatt Emmerich: Hosemann Recaps Legislative Session
Commercial Dispatch (Columbus, Miss.) - Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann spoke by Zoom to the Rotary Club of North Jackson and gave an update on the recent legislative session. Abolished the state Fair Commission. "That had been a disaster. We couldn't get the records right, the money right. We merged that into Andy Gipson (Agriculture Commissioner). It is already looking better down there." Increased loan program for poultry farmers. "We increased the amount of money that young, poultry farmers can get to start their poultry business. We have a loan program now of $250 million." Gave banks the ability to protect elderly from fraud. "Banks can protect the vulnerable from sending their money to Nigeria or whenever there's an issue [...]
Legislature Champions Expanding High Speed Internet, Uses Relief Funds to Expand Access
Jackson, Miss. (Mississippi Today) - Mississippi, a rural state that has long lagged behind most in high speed internet access, is leading the nation in expanding that access with recent investments from the federal and state government, officials say. “Right now in Mississippi, by most estimates we have the largest expansion of fiber to the home, broadband in America when you look at the number of customers who will be served,” Northern District Public Service Commissioner Brandon Presley, a four-term public service commissioner, said recently during a lengthy interview in his office in the Woolfolk state office building in Jackson. By the end of 2020, 2,765 miles of fiber optic cable passing by 28,447 homes and businesses are slated to [...]
PRESS RELEASE: Lt. Governor Hosemann Names Flag Commission Appointees
Jackson, Miss. — A former Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, longtime Vicksburg attorney, and former public school teacher from the Coast will serve as Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann’s appointees to the Commission to design a new State flag. Hosemann’s appointees include former Justice Reuben Anderson of Jackson, J. Mack Varner of Vicksburg, and Sherri Carr Bevis of Gulfport. “These three individuals, and the others who are charged with recommending a new flag, have a heavy responsibility to bear in the coming weeks. Because of their character, and the diversity of their backgrounds and perspectives, I have confidence they will come to a conclusion which will be respectful of our past and reflect a bright future,” Hosemann said. The Commission, [...]
Lt. Governor, Speaker Prep for Slow Economic Recovery
Jackson, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi can expect a long, slow economic recovery from the shock of job losses and the steep decline in commercial activity tied to the coronavirus pandemic, state economist Darrin Webb told legislators Tuesday. At the beginning of this year, the U.S. economy, and to a lesser extent the Mississippi economy, were doing "quite well," Webb said. Then, businesses were forced to close because of government orders aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. "This is like slamming on the brakes for the economy," Webb said. At the end of 2019, Mississippi's gross domestic product was just short of the level it had been when the Great Recession began in 2008, Webb said. He predicted it [...]
State Legislature to Reconvene Tuesday; Economy is on Agenda
Jackson, Miss. (WXXV) - Mississippi senators will receive a full briefing on the economic outlook of Mississippi and revenue projections when the 2020 Legislative Session reconvenes next week, according to a press release from Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann. State Economist Dr. Darrin Webb and Department of Revenue Commissioner Herb Frierson will present to the Appropriations Committee at 10:30 a.m. in Senate Room 216 on Tuesday, May 26. The Senate gavels in at 10 a.m. The economic briefing will be webcast (link available at www.legislature.ms.gov) with the help of Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Citizens are encouraged to watch online rather than attend in-person. “Mississippi’s economy severely slowed for two months, with some businesses closing altogether. We need to understand the economic consequences [...]