On the final day of the 2021 legislative session in early April, Speaker Philip Gunn spoke of the âgood spirit of cooperationâ that had permeated the House.
âThis (cooperation) is something I am very proud of..,â said the Republican who is in his third term as speaker. âThat did not mean we agreed on everything. But working with my House colleagues there was a great spirit of trying to do the business of the people.â
On the other side of the Capitol, Delbert Hosemann, who is in his first term as lieutenant governor presiding over the Senate, made similar claims.
Those claims by the presiding officers could be viewed as self-serving. After all, being able to bring people together is one of the characteristics of a successful presiding officer. But by most objective measures, it can be argued the 2021 session had less conflict and more cooperation than most recent sessions.
By Bobby Harrison
Apr 25, 2021 6:00 AM
On the final day of the 2021 legislative session in early April, Speaker Philip Gunn spoke of the “good spirit of cooperation” that had permeated the House.
“This (cooperation) is something I am very proud of..,” said the Republican who is in his third term as speaker. “That did not mean we agreed on everything. But working with my House colleagues there was a great spirit of trying to do the business of the people.”
On the other side of the Capitol, Delbert Hosemann, who is in his first term as lieutenant governor presiding over the Senate, made similar claims.
By Bobby Harrison
Apr 13, 2021 10:37 AM
Mississippi women who have given birth will likely continue to receive Medicaid health care coverage until at least the end of 2021 even after legislation recently died that would have extended the coverage.
During the 2021 Mississippi legislative session, Senate leadership attempted to place in state law a requirement that postpartum coverage would be expanded from 60 days to 12 months for mostly low-income women. That coverage is particularly important in Mississippi, the poorest state in the nation with high rates of infant and maternal mortality.
The Senate tried to include the postpartum coverage expansion in the Medicaid bill passed during the 2021 session designed to make various technical amendments to the complex federal-state health care program. The House rejected that proposal.
Former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove used to say the most important item addressed each legislative session is the budget because it establishes the priorities of the state.
For decades, that priority in terms of where the most state funds are spent has been public education. While arguments can be made that Mississippi could be spending a modest amount more of existing funds on education than say on public safety or other entities, the real issue is not the share of state revenue spent on public education, but that Mississippiâs limited tax base does not cover all the needs of the state.
By Bobby Harrison
Apr 11, 2021 6:00 AM
Former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove used to say the most important item addressed each legislative session is the budget because it establishes the priorities of the state.
For decades, that priority in terms of where the most state funds are spent has been public education. While arguments can be made that Mississippi could be spending a modest amount more of existing funds on education than say on public safety or other entities, the real issue is not the share of state revenue spent on public education, but that Mississippi’s limited tax base does not cover all the needs of the state.