Mississippi Today
Revenue collections continue to slow as state leaders begin work on new budget
State revenue collections are continuing to slow as legislative leaders and Gov. Tate Reeves, fresh off their election victories, prepare to release budget recommendations to be considered during the 2024 legislative session.
The state collected $638 million in revenue during October — down $33.7 million from October 2022. For the year, collections are down $52.6 million or 2.09% over the same time period in the previous year, according to information recently released by the staff of the Legislative Budget Committee.
While collections are slowing, the state is still collecting more revenue than the official estimate for the fiscal year. That is important because the official estimate determines the amount of money budgeted to run state agencies. If revenue collections fall below the official estimate, mid-year budget cuts must be made by legislators and/or the governor or reserves funds must be tapped to make up for the revenue shortfall.
Legislative leaders and Reeves set the official estimate last November for the current fiscal year, which began July 1.
For the fiscal year, collections are $75.4 million or 3.1% above the official estimate. But for the month of October, collections are $10.4 million or 1.6% below the estimate.
The governor, fresh off his reelection victory earlier in the week, will meet with legislative leaders next week to adopt an official estimate for the next fiscal year. And soon after that, both Reeves and the Legislative Budget Committee will release separate budget recommendations to be considered by the full Legislature when it meets, starting in early January to adopt a budget. The budget will fund state services ranging from education to health care to law enforcement.
The biggest drag on revenue collections continues to be income tax collections. Income tax collections are down $107 million or 12.1% for the year. The Legislature passed a $525 million income tax cut in 2022 that is being phased in over four years, starting in January of this year. When passing the tax cut, the largest in state history, legislative leaders and Reeves said growth in other areas would offset any loss revenue from the income tax cut. But thus far that is not occurring.
It is too early to determine whether the slowdown in revenue from the income tax is caused by the tax cut or a combination of the tax cut and slowdown in economic growth.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Mississippi Today
On this day in 1896
MAY 18, 1896
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-1 in Plessy v. Ferguson that racial segregation on railroads or similar public places was constitutional, forging the “separate but equal” doctrine that remained in place until 1954.
In his dissent that would foreshadow the ruling six decades later in Brown v. Board of Education, Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote that “separate but equal” rail cars were aimed at discriminating against Black Americans.
“In the view of the Constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens,” he wrote. “Our Constitution in color-blind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law … takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Mississippi Today
Renada Stovall, chemist and entrepreneur
Renada Stovall sat on the back deck of her rural Arkansas home one evening, contemplating life when she had a life-altering epiphany…
“I gotta get out of these woods.”
She heard it as clear as lips to her ear and as deep as the trees surrounding her property. Stovall's job as a chemist had taken her all over the country. In addition to Arkansas, there were stints in Atlanta, Dallas and Reno. But she was missing home, her parents and friends. She also knew, she needed something else to do.
“I thought, what kind of business can I start for myself,” said Stovall, as she watered herbs growing in a garden behind her south Jackson home. Some of those herbs are used in her all-natural products. “I know when I lived in Reno, Nevada, where it's very hot and very dry, there really weren't products available that worked for me, my hair, and my skin suffered. I've got a chemistry degree from Spelman College. I took the plunge and decided to create products for myself.”
In 2018, Stovall's venture led to the creation of shea butter moisturizers and natural soaps. But she didn't stop there, and in December 2022, she moved home to Mississippi and got to work, expanding her product line to include body balms and butters, and shampoos infused with avocado and palm, mango butter, coconut and olive oils.
Nadabutter, which incorporates Renada's name, came to fruition.
Stovall sells her balms and moisturizers at what she calls, “pop-up markets,” across the state during the summer. She's available via social media and also creates products depending on what of her ingredients a customer chooses. “My turmeric and honey is really popular,” Stovall added.
“The all-natural ingredients I use are great for conditioning the skin and hair. All of my products make you feel soft and luscious. The shea butter I use comes from West Africa. It's my way of networking and supporting other women. And it's my wish that other women can be inspired to be self-sufficient in starting their own businesses.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
On this day in 1954
MAY 17, 1954
In Brown v. Board of Education and Bolling v. Sharpe, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the “separate but equal” doctrine in Plessy v. Ferguson was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed equal treatment under the law.
The historic decision brought an end to federal tolerance of racial segregation, ruling in the case of student Linda Brown, who was denied admission to her local elementary school in Topeka, Kansas, because of the color of her skin.
In Mississippi, segregationist leaders called the day “Black Monday” and took up the charge of the just-created white Citizens' Council to preserve racial segregation at all costs.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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