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Presley’s campaign tracks Hood on issues, but welfare scandal could be difference

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The similarities were striking as Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley held a conference at the Capitol last week to unveil his ethics reform package just as Jim Hood did in 2019.

Both also blistered their Republican opponent, Gov. Tate Reeves.

“It's time for us to throw the money changer out of the temple — I'm talking about Tate Reeves,” then-Democratic gubernatorial candidate Hood said in October 2019 during his state Capitol news conference on ethics reform.“… He's been transactional. Every bill he's passed, it's been to get campaign contributions back.”

Just a few days ago, Presley stood on the steps of the same Capitol building and said, “Tate Reeves will not tackle corruption. Let me say that again, he will not tackle corruption. He doesn't have the guts to do it. It will make too many of his buddies mad and it will upset the system that he has benefited from for the entire time he's been in state service.”

While there were differences in their proposals, both in general touted more governmental transparency, openness and guardrails to curb the influence of big-monied special interest groups on state government. Both proposed to prohibit campaign contributions while legislators are in session writing the laws that impact lobbyists and their clients. Both also proposed banning corporate campaign contributions. There were other similarities.

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Presley, the four-term Northern District Public Service commissioner and the Democrats' latest hope to capture the Governor's Mansion for the first time since 1999, has gone out of his way to try to tell voters that he is not Hood and that his campaign is not destined to come up short in November like Hood's did in 2019.

But Presley had better hope that Hood was right about at least one thing – the issues.

When it comes to the issues, in many respects, they are running the same campaign.

Both said they would move quickly if elected to bring more transparency to state government and to rein in the influence of special interests.

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Both are campaigning on expanding Medicaid to care coverage to primarily working . Both also advocate for cutting or eliminating the state's 7% tax on groceries, which is the highest state-imposed tax of its kind in the nation's poorest state.

Reeves opposes Medicaid expansion, supports eliminating the income tax instead of the grocery tax and has never voiced governmental transparency as one of his priorities. That is true now as it was in 2019 when he defeated Hood by about 5% or about 45,000 votes.

Why will 2023 be any different? Maybe it will not.

But each election is different. Circumstances and change that could impact the outcome.

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On the positive side for Reeves, he is facing a candidate in Presley who has never run for statewide office. On the other hand, Hood was well-known across Mississippi been elected four times to the statewide office of attorney general.

But in Presley, Reeves is facing an opponent who it could be argued has abilities as a retail politician and has communication skills that are unmatched among most Mississippi politicians.

And perhaps most importantly, Mississippi is in the midst of the largest public corruption scandal in state history. The disturbing saga of $77 million in misspent welfare funds intended for the state's poorest citizens but instead diverted to investments in speculative drug companies, volleyball courts, trainings and other activities was not public in 2019 when Hood talked about ethics.

When Hood offered his proposals, close political allies of Reeves such as Nancy New and her son Zach, who had contracts to expend the funds supposedly to help poor people, had not yet pleaded guilty to charges related to the misspending of the funds.

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It was not known that Paul Lacoste, identified as Reeves' personal trainer, had received $1.3 million in welfare funds. Text messages obtained by show that John Davis, the former head of the state agency that administered the funds, told his subordinates that Reeves played at least some role in Lacoste receiving the funds.

Reeves vehemently denies any involvement in the misspending of the funds.

But what is harder to deny is that as lieutenant governor, Reeves presided over the Senate that had an obligation to provide oversight over the expenditure of the welfare funds.

Then later as governor, he had the to offer legislation to put in place safeguards to prevent such misspending of public funds from happening again.

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Reeves did not offer any such legislation, and none has been passed on his watch.

Those are some underlying factors that differentiate Brandon Presley's Capitol press conference on ethics reform from Jim Hood's. Time will tell whether the 2023 circumstances create a different election outcome than in 2019.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Mississippi Today

Senate committee passes Medicaid ‘expansion’ bill that leaves hundreds of millions in federal dollars on table

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mississippitoday.org – Sophia Paffenroth and Taylor Vance – 2024-03-27 16:39:21

The only surviving expansion bill in the Legislature passed the Senate Medicaid Committee Wednesday and is headed to the full Senate for a vote. 

But the proposal, as it passed the Senate committee, is not considered traditional “expansion” under the Affordable Care Act, and therefore would not qualify for the enhanced federal funding the to newly-expanded states. It would leave the cost of the expanded coverage up to the state.

The Senate committee passed the House Republican bill with a strike-all, meaning it replaced the bill's original language with its own plan, which Medicaid Committee Chairman Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, refers to as “expansion light.”

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Blackwell estimated about 80,000 people would be eligible under this version of expansion, and half of that would apply. The House plan was expected to cover more than 200,000 people.

When a draft of the Senate's bill was leaked on March 20, Blackwell stressed to that he and Senate were still tweaking parts of the legislation. However, the legislation that passed the committee is essentially the same as what was outlined in the leaked draft. 

The Senate proposal would:

  • Cover working Mississippians up to 99% of the federal poverty level. For an individual, that would be an annual income up to $15,060. For a of four, that would be an annual income up to $31,200.
  • Not cover those making between 100% and 138% of the federal poverty threshold — not even through a private-care option. A plan that doesn't cover people making up to 138% is not considered “expansion” under the Affordable Care Act, meaning Mississippi wouldn't qualify for the 90% federal match rate that the Affordable Care Act grants to new expansion states, nor the additional, two-year 5% increase in match rate the federal government provides to newly-expanded states under pandemic relief spending passed by Congress. Instead, as was the case with Georgia, Mississippi would only get its regular federal Medicaid rate of about 77%.
  • Leave the health insurance exchange, the online marketplace that offers federally subsidized plans to people who make between 100% and 138% of the federal poverty level, intact. The Senate plan, unlike Arkansas' Medicaid expansion, would not provide extra subsidies from the state's federal Medicaid money available from the ACA.
  • Include a work requirement mandating at least 120 hours of employment a month in a position for which health insurance is not paid for by the employer. That's more stringent than Georgia's plan, which mandates 80 hours a month. There are several exemptions, such as for full-time or who are the primary caregiver of a child under six years old.
  • Go into effect 30 days after the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approves a waiver necessary for the work requirement. That's unlikely to happen under the Biden administration, which has rescinded work requirements previously approved for other states during the Trump administration and has not approved new ones. If the federal government denies the waiver, Mississippi would have to wait until a new administration took office, or sue the Biden administration. Georgia remains in litigation with the federal government over the work requirement issue, and has suffered low enrollment and missed out on millions in federal funds by not fully expanding coverage.
  • Require anyone who voluntarily dropped private insurance to wait 12 months before applying for Medicaid coverage.

Senate Democrats voiced several concerns about the administrative burden of the work requirement and the 120 hour a month minimum, which is even stricter than Georgia's plan – currently the strictest expansion plan in the country. 

Sen. David Blount, D-

Sen. David Blount, D-Jackson, asked Blackwell about the enhanced match from the federal government.

“So the federal government paying our match for two years and 90% after the two years – we would not qualify for that?” Blount asked.

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Blackwell said that is correct, and they would leave that money on the table.

Sen. John Horhn, D-Jackson, introduced two amendments: one to decrease the recertification requirements from four times a year to twice a year, and the other to reduce the work requirement hours from 120 hours a month to 80 hours a month. 

Both amendments were voted down by Republicans, who make up a majority of the committee's membership. Despite their amendments getting shot down, the Democrats still voted in favor of the bill. Only three Republican senators in the committee voted against the plan. 

When asked about the administrative burden of enforcing the work requirement, Blackwell said he is not worried and believes the Division of Medicaid has enough employees for its implementation. 

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But Georgia, the only state currently with a work requirement in its expansion plan, has spent $26 million taxpayer dollars to ensure a mere 3,500 people to date. More than 90% of that has gone to administrative and consulting costs. 

The bill is expected to be taken to a floor vote as early as Thursday, with a deadline of April 10. 

Since the Senate plan is drastically different than the House proposal – which is a mostly-traditional expansion plan insuring those who make up to 138% of the federal poverty level and would go into effect whether or not the federal government approves a work requirement waiver – a final version will likely be hammered out later in the session in a conference committee.

Any final plan would realistically need a two-thirds majority from both chambers to show it has the potential to override a potential veto from Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who has privately told lawmakers he plans to veto any Medicaid expansion bill.

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Reeves on Tuesday night hosted around 20 state senators at the Governor's Mansion in downtown Jackson where he, again, reiterated his opposition to any form of Medicaid expansion, according to multiple people familiar with the situation. 

At the Tuesday night , Reeves said he would veto the Senate's expansion plan if it reached his desk, though he reportedly said he approved the Senate's work requirement provisions. 

Shortly after the committee passed the expansion legislation, Reeves posted on social media that the Senate plan is “still bad policy” and he will oppose it.

“And so I will continue to do what I told the voters I would do – fight Obamacare Medicaid Expansion with every ounce of my being,” Reeves said.  

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This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Michael Guidry named Mississippi Today managing editor

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Mississippi Today is pleased to announce Michael Guidry as managing editor.

Guidry, who joined the Mississippi Today staff in February 2024, manages the newsroom's day-to-day and plans broader editorial strategy.

He previously served as managing editor at Mississippi Public Broadcasting, where he developed skills in audio storytelling as a producer, writer and editor.

“Michael is a perfect fit for what we're building at Mississippi Today,” said Adam Ganucheau, Mississippi Today's editor-in-chief. “He's a proven newsroom leader, and he knows Mississippi. He also brings us a lot of digital and audio skills that can expect to see more of pretty quickly.”

A native of Destrehan, , Guidry moved to Mississippi to attend Millsaps College, where he earned a dual Bachelor of Arts in History and Theatre. After graduating, he worked as a public school teacher for more than a decade.

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Michael Guidry

While at MPB, Guidry helped lead a team that received recognitions from the Radio Television Digital Association, the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters and the Public Journalists Association.

MPB's special feature on – which he co-produced and co-narrated – received the 2023 Region 9 Edward R Murrow Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Guidry continues to host MPB's weekly politics show @Issue.

“As someone who spent years in a adjacent to Mississippi Today, it became evident the newsroom was quickly becoming a leader in local, nonprofit news,” Guidry said. “I could not be more to join a publication dedicated to elevating the voices of while holding power to account.”

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Geoff Pender named Mississippi Today politics editor

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is pleased to announce Geoff Pender as and Editor.

Pender, who first joined the Mississippi staff as senior political reporter in May 2020, will oversee the day-to-day reporting of Mississippi Today's politics team.

He brings more than 30 years of experience covering Mississippi politics to the new role.

“If you follow Mississippi politics, you know Geoff Pender,” said Adam Ganucheau, Mississippi Today's editor-in-chief. “He's been a vital member of our politics team since 2020, and we couldn't be more excited for him to now lead it. He's been a mentor to so many of our reporters, and he's led several impactful investigations for us. Readers can expect more of that from him in this new job— and if you're wondering, you'll also continue to see plenty of his analysis of the state's biggest stories.”

Geoff Pender

Before joining Mississippi Today, Pender was political and investigative editor at the , where he also penned a popular political column. He previously served as an investigative reporter and political editor at the Sun Herald, where he was a member of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team for Hurricane coverage.

A native of Florence, Pender is a journalism graduate of the of Southern Mississippi and has received numerous throughout his career for reporting, columns and freedom of information efforts.

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“I truly appreciate this and appreciate being able to continue working with the great team of journalists at Mississippi Today providing in-depth coverage at such a crucial time for the state,” Pender said.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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