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Capitol standoff, brinksmanship concentrate power to handful of leaders

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Democracy dies with deadlines: Capitol standoff, brinksmanship concentrate power to handful of leaders

The 55,000 or so people in a Mississippi Senate district and 24,000 in a House district expect the lawmakers they send to Jackson to have a say in the policy and spending decisions the makes.

And largely they do, particularly as they gain seniority, committee assignments and chairmanships and learn the ropes of legislating.

But then, there are times when rank-and-file lawmakers need not even be there — they have about as much input as the furniture in the Capitol. Particularly, when there are standoffs and brinksmanship between the House and Senate leadership on major issues or spending, negotiations get pushed to deadlines or beyond.

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Brinksmanship at the Capitol in the final weeks of a legislative session has been called a of chicken, a game of who blinks first or even “let go of me or I'll jump off this cliff.” What it often means is that most of the 174 lawmakers get the mushroom treatment during last-minute, back-room negotiations. Then the rank-and-file are force-fed the final deals at deadline by the leadership, often with little time to even read all the details before voting. The committee system goes out the window. Bills aren't vetted. Mistakes get made. Democracy dies with deadline deals in the Mississippi statehouse.

Numerous lawmakers have complained over the last five years or so that they're given the bum rush. A couple of times in the House, they've been asked to pass in committee bills that weren't even written yet.

A standoff of epic proportions is at the Capitol in the final weeks of the 2022 legislative session over House and Senate dueling income tax cut proposals. It is delaying, and could derail, one of the most important issues lawmakers have in a generation — how best to spend $1.8 billion in federal ARPA pandemic stimulus money.

READ MORE: 5 things to know about the Great Mississippi Tax Cut Battle of 2022

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For that matter, it portends that whatever income tax or elimination deal is brokered would be last minute by detente, not deliberation and analysis. That's probably not the best way to adopt a sea change in the 's tax structure.

It could also hang up many other measures, and even setting the state's roughly $7 billion budget for next year.

Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn has made it no secret that he considers his proposal to eliminate the state personal income tax, along with raising sales taxes, the most important measure of his political career. In recent weeks, he's made clear he's willing to let other measures and spending die if the Senate doesn't acquiesce.

Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, has pushed a much more modest income tax cut and rebates for taxpayers. Senate leaders say making a sea change elimination of one-third of the state's revenue during uncertain economic times isn't prudent and could crash the state budget.

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Hosemann, who held Senate hearings on ARPA spending over the summer and fall, has made it no secret he sees spending the stimulus funds in “transformational” way on game-changing infrastructure statewide is his top priority. His main proposal is providing state matching funds for the federal stimulus local governments have received, in order to build larger, more transformational , sewerage and other infrastructure projects. Proponents of this say Mississippi — already behind most other states in planning for or spending the ARPA funds — is burning daylight and leaving local governments in limbo on planning for large projects.

Although in the past he's criticized Gunn's tax plan as a “tax swap” because of its increase in sales taxes, Gov. Tate Reeves this praised Gunn's threat of an ARPA standoff as “a smart move,” saying, “The taxpayers should be the first to benefit when we have this much money.” It's possible that if lawmakers blow end of session deadlines with tax cuts, ARPA spending or setting a budget, Reeves would force them back into special session over the summer. That, too, would results in major decisions being made by a handful of leaders with abbreviated debate and vetting.

Regardless, with the 2022 session to end in about three weeks, with so much as yet unfinished business, legislative leaders will have to scramble to reach deals.

And the rank-and-file elected lawmakers will probably not have a lot of input on what those deals look like.

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READ MORE: The Mississippi Republican income tax bet

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

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Mississippi News

Nettleton hires Houston DC Kyle Bond as next head football coach

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www.wcbi.com – Jon Sokoloff – 2024-03-28 20:51:30

SUMMARY: Nettleton High School has hired Kyle Bond as its new head football coach. With over a decade of coaching experience, Bond started at Kossuth High School in 2012 and has since worked at and Booneville, where he led the team to an undefeated regular season and division championship in 2018. Bond spent the last four seasons as the defensive coordinator at Houston. He takes over from John Ketih, who left to become an assistant principal at New Albany Middle School. Bond's coaching experience and at Houston make him a promising addition to the Nettleton football program.

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Mississippi News

Aberdeen mayoral election: Incumbent Charles Scott

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www.wcbi.com – Allie Martin – 2024-03-28 18:45:46

SUMMARY: Voters in Aberdeen, Mississippi, will head to the polls for municipal elections, with Charles Scott running for reelection against challenger Dwight Stevens. In an interview, Mayor Scott discussed his goals for a second term, highlighting his focus on improvements, youth leadership, and community involvement. He emphasized his experience in the military as preparation for the mayoral role and mentioned his pride in securing grant money for the Aberdeen Port. Scott also outlined plans for Aberdeen Vision 2030, a roadmap for future . The election will take place on Tuesday, with no Republican challenger, meaning the winner will become the next mayor.

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Mostly clear through Easter weekend – Home – WCBI TV

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www.wcbi.com – Ashleigh Bryant – 2024-03-28 18:26:14

SUMMARY: Clear conditions are expected to continue through the end of the in Columbus, Mississippi. Temperatures will drop into the 30s on Thursday night with possible patchy frost. Friday will bring more sunshine with high temperatures in the low to middle 70s. The will see temperatures pushing towards 80 degrees with no rain expected. Next week, warm and humid will flow into the Deep South, with a of scattered showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday. It is still uncertain if these storms will be severe, but it is being monitored closely.

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