(The Center Square) — Tax revenues for March in Mississippi were up nearly 17% over the pre-session estimate, as an additional $87 million was collected.

The report by the Legislative Budget Office showed that tax revenues for the fiscal year, which will end June 30, were up 3.51% compared with estimates, adding $178.9 million in revenue to the state's balance sheet and 0.03% above the collections at this point last year. The fiscal 2024 estimate is $7.52 billion. 

As for the year to date, sales tax revenues (nearly $2.1 billion) were up 3.4%, gaining an additional $68.9 million over the year before, when $2.03 billion was collected. 

Use of e-commerce in Mississippi continues to grow, as revenues from the state's 7% use tax on all out-of-state sales grew 3.58% compared to the same time last year. In fiscal 2023, those revenues were $293.9 million, compared to $304.4 million this year, an increase of $10.5 million.

With recent income tax cuts passed by lawmakers, the state's personal income revenues continue to plummet, down 10.07% compared to the year before. The state took in $1.65 billion in 2023 compared to $1.49 billion this year, a reduction of $166.6 million.

Corporate income tax collections were also down compared to the same period last year, falling 5.01%. In fiscal 2023, the state collected $569.5 million compared to $540.9 million this year, a decrease of $28.5 million.

Tobacco and beer taxes and revenue from the state's distribution of wine and liquor were also down slightly (0.59%) compared to the same period last year. Last year, the state collected $194.7 million while collecting $193.6 million this year, a decrease of $1.14 million. 

Gaming tax revenues were also down by 5.3%. In fiscal 2023 up to March, the state collected $121.6 million, compared to $115.2 million, a drop of $6.44 million.

Tax revenue from the state's medical marijuana program also took a plunge, down 13.23% compared to the year before. In fiscal 2023, the program took in $7.43 million compared to $6.44 million this year, a decrease of $982,868.

(The Center Square) – Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee joined five other governors in opposing the United Auto Workers' unionization campaign with a vote this week of Chattanooga Volkswagen autoworkers on whether to unionize.

Lee is joined by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott against what they call misinformation from the UAW.

“The reality is companies have choices when it comes to where to invest and bring jobs and opportunity,” Lee and the governors wrote. “We have worked tirelessly on behalf of our constituents to bring good-paying jobs to our states. These jobs have become part of the fabric of the automotive manufacturing industry. Unionization would certainly put our states' jobs in jeopardy – in fact, in this year already, all of the UAW automakers have announced layoffs.”

Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman London Lamar, on the other hand, offered her support of the Chattanooga workers and UAW, saying that Lee has a history of “anti-worker” legislation such as a removal of automatic Tennessee Education Association deduction options from Tennessee teacher paychecks and an incentive restriction for businesses that allow card check union elections.

“Unlike Tennessee's governor, we applaud Volkswagen workers for engaging in the democratic process and we would welcome the UAW's expansion in Chattanooga,” Lamar said in a statement. “We aren't surprised to see Gov. Bill Lee join with other anti-union states trying to tip the scales against workers. Lee, who inherited a company that made him a millionaire, has signed more anti-worker laws than any governor in Tennessee history.”

Lee and the governors, however, believe a vote to unionize would jeopardize those auto manufacturing plants' future.

“In America, we respect our workforce and we do not need to pay a third party to tell us who can pick up a box or flip a switch,” the governors said. “No one wants to hear this, but it's the ugly reality. We've seen it play out this way every single time a foreign automaker plant has been unionized; not one of those plants remains in operation. And we are seeing it in the fallout of the Detroit Three strike with those automakers rethinking investments and cutting jobs. Putting businesses in our states in that position is the last thing we want to do.”

(The Center Square) – Mississippi's second part of a Medicaid reimbursement plan that the state says will provide more than $700 million in additional funds for the state's hospitals has been approved by federal officials.

Gov. Tate Reeves, on social media, said the approval will result in an additional $160 million for hospitals across Mississippi, which is $23 million more than originally projected.

“This additional $160 million will go a long way toward further strengthening hospitals across our state,” Reeves said. “I'd like to thank all of the medical professionals and health care leaders who helped get us to today.”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services still has to approve the rest of the $708 million plan, which would be funded by annual assessments hospitals pay to the state's Medicaid program. These assessments are calculated using a formula provided under state law.

The $708 million figure is reached after considering the funds the hospitals make to finance the initiative.

Under the plan, Medicaid base payment rates are supplemented by the reimbursement of inpatient and outpatient hospital services in the fee-for-service system up to the Medicare upper payment limit.

The first component of the plan was approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in December. Hospitals were reimbursed near the average commercial rate for services provided through the managed care delivery system. 

According to a news release, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid will be delivering the first round of payments to hospitals in the next few weeks. 

The approval comes as lawmakers could be expanding the state's Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. Under the ACA, the federal government reimburses states with 90% of expansion costs, with state taxpayers picking up the rest of the tab. 

A conference committee will take up House Bill 1725, known as the Healthy Mississippi Works Act. The legislation, passed by the House by a veto-proof 99-20 vote on Feb. 28 and rewritten and passed by the Senate 36-16, would expand Medicaid eligibility with a work requirement if approved by the federal government.

The bill also would expand Medicaid even if the Biden administration refused to approve a work requirement.

KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation, says the administration will likely not approve such a requirement. It also says 123,000 Mississippians could become eligible for Medicaid if a plan is signed into law.

Any Medicaid expansion plan will likely face a veto from Reeves, who ran against expansion in his gubernatorial reelection campaign.