Connect with us

Mississippi Today

WATCH: Auditor Shad White calls Senate chairman ‘liar,’ threatens to sue during budget hearing

Published

on

mississippitoday.org – Taylor Vance – 2025-01-22 17:28:00

A Wednesday budget hearing for the State Auditor’s Office devolved into shouting and a tense back and forth that culminated in Auditor Shad White calling Sen. John Polk of Hattiesburg a liar and threatening to sue the legislator for defamation. 

In what would normally be a mundane meeting at the state Capitol, the Appropriations subcommittee hearing erupted over questions related to NFL hall of fame quarterback Brett Favre and a $2 million dollar consultant’s study White commissioned to determine ways state leaders could save money.

“You’re not a lawyer — this is not a cross examination,” White told Polk, the Republican who helps set his agency’s budget. 

The first argument between the two occurred when Polk questioned how White’s agency calculated the dollar figure for investigative fees and unpaid interest the auditor alleges Favre owes the state in connection to the state federal welfare scandal. 

“I’ve had several numbers people look at the court record and look at what you’re saying (Favre) owes, and nobody can make it come to your number,” Polk said. “Does that surprise you?” 

White did not address the specific instance of how the agency calculated the figure, but he said generally the agency tracks the number of hours certain investigators spend on a case. But White took issue that Polk was questioning that dollar figure at all. 

“I have never once been called before this body to testify before any sort of hearing on the DHS scandal,” White responded. “The largest public fraud in state history. And the first question I get in my time as state auditor from a state senator is ‘Hey did you get the Brett Favre number correct?’” 

The other major argument that erupted in the hearing was when Polk questioned a $2 million contract that White’s agency executed with Massachusetts-based consulting firm Boston Consulting Group to find wasteful spending in state agencies.

White believes the contract with the firm was necessary to determine how state leaders can trim the fat in state agencies. But Polk has questioned whether auditor skirted the appropriations process by not getting legislative or gubernatorial approval to conduct the study, and whether the study was more to help White’s future political ambitions than address government spending..

Polk alleged that White did not conduct a proper Request for Proposal, a process government bodies use to solicit services from private companies. The process is used to encourage competition among businesses and net the lowest price. 

“You are a liar,” White said of Polk. “You’re making this up right now.” 

Polk responded that the Department of Finance and Administration told him White’s agency did not use an RFP. 

The Forest County lawmaker also asked White if any of his family members had worked for Boston Consulting Group. The auditor said no and if Polk insinuated that any of his family had, then he would sue the legislator for defamation. 

“This line of questioning feels less about policy and it feels more about politics to me,” White said. “That’s exactly what it feels like. I’ve never been questioned on an audit like this right up until the moment where the lieutenant governor thinks I might be the thing standing between him and the governor’s office.” 

Both White and Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann have publicly said they’re considering running for governor in 2027. Hosemann, the presiding officer of the Senate, appoints senators to lead committees. 

Polk told Mississippi Today in an interview that Hosemann had not directed him to ask any specific question, and the lieutenant governor gives deference to committee leaders on how to manage committee functions. Rather, Polk said he was the one who originally raised his concerns with Hosemann. 

Polk said his line of questioning simply stemmed from his role on the money-spending Appropriations Committee, which sets his agency’s budget, and was to ensure that White’s agency was spending money efficiently. 

“So that’s my only thing here — is to make sure the citizens of Mississippi and the taxpayers of Mississippi get their money’s worth from you or anyone else in state government,” Polk said. “And I’ll be honest with you, your calling me a liar previously is so uncalled for.” 

Polk recently requested and received an attorney general’s opinion that said White overstepped his authority in hiring the consultant for $2 million. An AG opinion does not carry the force of law, but serves as a legal guideline for public officials.

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

Mississippi Today

Speaker White frustrated by ‘crickets’ from Senate on tax plan: Legislative recap

Published

on

mississippitoday.org – Geoff Pender – 2025-02-10 11:58:00

Last week, with the legislative session clock ticking towards midway, House Speaker Jason White was growing more frustrated with the “crickets” he’s heard from his Republican Senate counterpart Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann on the House’s sea-change tax overhaul plan.

“It’s frustrating for us to try to move something this big, and at the other end of the building, they just refuse to engage,” White said in an interview with Mississippi Today as the three-month session nears the halfway mark. “… There’s a plan to have a plan, but, nobody’s seen the plan …

“To just get crickets on the whole thing, that just doesn’t work.”

White and the GOP majority House — and Republican Gov. Tate Reeves — have made no secret they believe eliminating the income tax is priority No. 1 for this session. The House worked through the summer on a plan, holding public hearings, a public summit and providing details of its plan as the session started.

House Bill 1 — which contains the House plan to eliminate the income tax over more than a decade, cut the sales tax on groceries, raise the sales tax to 8.5% and place a new 5% — has been public about a month. It was passed by the full House and sent to the Senate on Jan. 17. The plan would attempt to address a long-running shortfall in highway maintenance funding and help shore up the state’s government employee retirement system.

Hosemann and the GOP majority Senate leadership have indicated they, too, have a sea-change tax overhaul coming. But so far Hosemann has outlined only a few particulars he expects will be in the Senate plan, and some of his lieutenants have criticized parts of the House proposal. But reportedly, through recent days, the Senate plan is still being devised, debated and tweaked behind closed doors. Senate leaders indicated it will be unveiled this week.

White said such monumental policy shouldn’t be done late in a hectic session, and there should be more transparency for the public.

“We have Republican leadership in all three place, the Governor’s Mansion, the House and in the Senate,” White said. “The answer can’t be, we’re looking at it in a small group behind a closed door, and say, ‘We’ll let you know when we come up with something’ … I’m so frustrated with the process.”

White said there appears to be a pattern of Senate leadership “hiding the ball,” and “running out the clock” on parlaying with the House on major policies. He noted similar issues in overhauling the state’s education funding formula — in which the House and Senate finally reached agreement late last year — and Medicaid expansion, which failed after the Senate delayed, then refused major compromise.

“Is the public going to buy this on a month’s notice?” White said. He speculates the governor could call lawmakers back into special session if no major tax plan is agreed to.

Some Senate leaders have said they are being more deliberate with monumental tax cuts or policy changes, and having bean counters thoroughly vet various scenarios. The Senate, by design, is supposed to be the more “deliberative” body in Mississippi’s bicameral Legislature.

“Well, let’s deliberate,” White said. “… But the answer can’t just be, ‘No.’ The answer could be, you’re wrong and here’s why … But to have that you have to have engagement, and not do things in a flurry the last 10 days of a session … We’re not interested in a small piece of a tax cut while not addressing other issues …

“This is the issue of the session,” White said, “and it can bring all the rest of the stuff to a halt.”

WATCH: Political Reporter Michael Goldberg breaks down the school choice debate.


“The chairman acted like he couldn’t smell what I was stepping in, but I think you and I are on the same page,” Rep. Bryant Clark, D-Pickens, to Rep. Jansen Owen, R-Poplarville, during a House floor debate.


Both chambers pass bans on public camping

The House and Senate each passed bills after lengthy floor debates this week that would prohibit people from “camping” on public property.

House Bill 1203 and Senate Bill 2334 would make it a misdemeanor offense to camp on places such as streets, sidewalks and near government buildings, with penalties ranging from fines to jail time for repeated violations of the law.

The measures are designed to prevent the growth of sprawling encampments where homeless people live. Proponents, mostly Republicans, argue such encampments are a public nuisance and dissuade people from seeking mental health support and other social services. Opponents, mostly Democrats, say the measures criminalize homelessness..

— Michael Goldberg


Bill would protect people reporting sex crimes

The House Judiciary B Committee on Tuesday passed legislation that would give immunity to people who possess alcohol while underage or small amounts of drugs if they report instances of sexual abuse or sexual assault to law enforcement authorities. 

The legislation, authored by Rep. Dana McLean, R-Columbus, passed the committee and can now be considered by the full House. McLean said the intent of the legislation was to give some level of protection to college students at a party where drugs were present who might be worried they would receive punishment from law enforcement if they were survivors or witnesses to sexual assault. 

“We want to be able to protect these witnesses in case they’re concerned about an underlying arrest,” said McLean, who has advocated for reforms to Mississippi’s sexual assault laws for years. — Taylor Vance


Bill would ban cell phones in class

A measure that would ban students using cell phones in Mississippi public school classrooms is pending before the full Senate, with support from Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann.

Similar measures have been implemented or are being considered in many states, with experts saying the use of cell phones and social media during school is detrimental to learning and a distraction.

SB 2145 authored by Sen. Briggs Hopson III, passed the Senate Education Committee and is pending in the full Senate. It would provide exceptions for students that require a cell phone for health or safety reasons. The measure would sanction school systems that do not adopt strict cell phone policies by 2026 by withholding state funding. — Geoff Pender


Wine shipment measure advances

The full Senate will consider a measure to allow Mississippians to have wine shipped to their homes after the Finance Committee passed SB 2145, authored by Sen. Walter Michel.

But lawmakers added a “reverse repealer” to the bill, to ensure more debate before it could be passed into law. Similar measures have been debated and killed for many years.

The bill would require a wine shipper to get a permit from the state Department of Revenue and pay taxes, and a recipient would have to show ID proving they are over 21. — Geoff Pender


Measure would create domestic violence board

A bill to create a board reviewing domestic violence deaths passed the House Public Health Committee last week.

The goal of HB 1551 is to uncover trends of domestic fatalities, which would help shelter providers find ways to help victims, and for the review board to make policy suggestions to lawmakers.

This board would be housed within the State Department of Health. Bill author Rep. Fabian Nelson, D-Bryam, said as domestic incidents are on the rise, it’s “time for us to do something about it.” — Mina Corpuz


Special election set to replace Branning

Gov. Tate Reeves has set a special election for April 15 to fill the vacancy in Senate District 18, which includes Leake, Neshoba, and Winston counties.

The vacancy is from the resignation of Jennifer Branning after she was elected to the state Supreme Court. 

The qualifying deadline to run for the special election is Feb. 24. — Mississippi Today


Senate panel approves vape registry

A measure to create a registry of approved electronic cigarette, or vaping, devices is pending before the Senate after it was approved by the Finance Committee. A similar measure was passed by the Senate but died last year.

Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins authored the bill, and said Louisiana and other states have similar registries, aimed at making sure only safe products are sold in Mississippi.

“We’ve all had stories of illegal products being sold in Mississippi,” Harkins said. The registry, if passed into law, would begin Sept. 1. — Geoff Pender


Lawmakers prep for Supreme Court redistricting, if judge orders

Legislature could address Supreme Court redistricting, if ordered by federal judge 

The House passed a bill 116-1 that would allow the Legislature to change Mississippi’s Supreme Court districts if a federal judge, while lawmakers are in session, orders the districts to be redrawn. 

Horan, a Republican from Grenada, passed a “dummy bill” to allow legislators to change the three districts if U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock rules lawmakers have diluted Black voting strength by not drawing a districts that allow Black voters to elect judges of their choice. 

Black voters across the state filed federal litigation against the state arguing the Mississippi’s Central Supreme Court District is unfairly drawn. Aycock has not issued a ruling in the pending litigation.   — Taylor Vance


Bill would widen scope for advanced-practice nurses

A bill passed by the House Public Health Committee on to the full Senate this week would widen the scope of practice for nurse practitioners and certified registered nurse anesthetists. 

The bill allows the two groups of advanced-practice registered nurses to practice independently – not under the supervision of a physician – after completion of 8,000 practice hours. It would also allow anesthesiology assistants to be licensed and regulated in Mississippi, though that group of providers would have to operate under an anesthesiologist. 

House Bill 849 is authored by House Public Health and Human Services Chair Sam Creekmore, R-New Albany, and Rep. Clay Mansell, R-Clinton. 

Currently, advanced practice registered nurses must enter into a collaborative agreement with a physician. Under the agreement, the advanced practice nurse must pay the physician with whom they are collaborating. These contracts can be expensive and sometimes have distance limitations, meaning nurses in rural areas may not be able to participate.

Physicians and the Mississippi State Medical Association have long said doing away with these agreements reduces the quality of patient care. — Kate Royals


$1.7 billion

The amount of back child support owed for 159,826 children, according to lawmakers during debate over a bill to allow the state to garnish gambling winnings to collect from deadbeat parents.

Mobile sports betting legalization passes Mississippi House

The state House approved legislation Monday for the second year in a row to legalize mobile sports betting, a move that puts Mississippi on track to join a growing number of states that allow online betting. Read the story.


Education Chairman says Senate doesn’t currently support easing public school transfers

Mississippi Senate Education Chairman Dennis DeBar, R-Leakesville, declined on Monday to advance a proposal that would have made it easier for students to transfer between public schools and said he doesn’t think such a proposal can currently pass the upper chamber. Read the story.


Campaign finance reports: Gubernatorial hopefuls Fitch, Hosemann, White neck-and-neck in fundraising

Annual campaign finance reports due Friday show the top potential contenders — at least to date — for Mississippi governor in 2027 were neck-and-neck in how much they raised last year. Read the story.


Rural Mississippi schools fight to attract and keep teachers amid shortages

Mississippi’s education system faces a critical teacher shortage, particularly in rural areas like Greene County, where school leaders struggle to recruit and retain experienced educators. Read the story.


Sea change in Mississippi taxation coming. Where is the Senate plan?

To his credit, House Speaker Jason White has been very transparent with the House plan, every jot and tittle of it before the public for weeks. House leaders held public hearings, even a public “summit” in the months leading up to this legislative session and received input from business, transportation and local government leaders. They openly broadcast details of their plan and were out the gates early in the session passing House Bill 1. Read the analysis.


Mississippi again turns down millions of dollars to feed low-income kids during summer months

Hundreds of thousands of eligible poor Mississippi children will miss out on grocery assistance this summer after the state missed the deadline to apply for the federal program for the second year in a row. Read the story.


Measures allowing former felons to regain voting rights clear House committees 

Two measures allowing some people convicted of disenfranchising felony offenses to regain their voting rights passed a House committee on Tuesday, allowing the House to consider reforming one of the most strict felony disenfranchisement systems in the nation. Read the story.


Sending taxpayer money to private schools advances in Mississippi House

The move keeps alive a yearslong push from private school advocates and prompted concern among Democrats that the legislation could undermine public schools serving some of the state’s neediest students. Read the story.


House passes bill to make switching public K-12 school districts easier

The House on Thursday passed a bill to make it easier for K-12 students to transfer to other public schools outside their home districts, advancing a policy priority for House Speaker Jason White.  Read the story.


‘This is a stupid bill’: Mississippi House advances DEI ban

Mississippi House Republican lawmakers advanced a bill that would shutter DEI programs in all of the state’s public schools, ban certain concepts from being taught in classrooms and dictate how schools define gender. Read the story.


Measures allowing former felons to regain voting rights clear House committees 

Two measures allowing some people convicted of disenfranchising felony offenses to regain their voting rights passed a House committee on Tuesday, allowing the House to consider reforming one of the most strict felony disenfranchisement systems in the nation. Read the story.


Health Department cuts clinical services at some county clinics following insufficient funding from Legislature

After the Legislature failed to give the state health department the funding it needed to fully staff county health departments, some no longer offer clinical services and the agency may close others. Read the story.


Mississippi parents, owed $1.7 billion in child support, could collect gambling winnings

The Senate passed a bill that would allow the agency to collaborate with the state Gaming Commission to withhold cash winnings from people with outstanding child support. Read the story.


Podcast: The health care issues lawmakers are debating in 2025

Mississippi Today’s health team outlines the major health care issues the Mississippi Legislature is dealing with in the 2025 session. Listen to the podcast.


They want to send public funds to private schools, but they don’t want to let voters decide the issue

Proponents of spending public funds on private schools are not proponents of letting the people vote on the issue. Read the analysis.

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

Continue Reading

Mississippi Today

Women released from prison following Mississippi Today investigation, mother sharing her story

Published

on

mississippitoday.org – Anna Wolfe – 2025-02-10 09:44:00

Last May, Brandy Moore immediately knew she wanted to tell her story. She had just been arrested and jailed on a four-year-old charge of assault stemming from using drugs during her 2019 pregnancy.

Because of Mississippi Today’s past reporting on the topic in 2019 and 2023, Moore knew where to turn. This led to Mississippi Today’s discovery that several women from Moore’s four-county central Mississippi district had been prosecuted and incarcerated for the same offense, despite the hazy legal theory in each case, including four women who were still imprisoned on sentences of up to 20 years. Moore’s case was quickly dropped.

Since Mississippi Today published Moore’s story, the local judge signed orders releasing the four women and they are no longer in prison. The women’s release shaved a combined 49 years off of the women’s sentences and saved taxpayers a total of over $1 million that it would have cost to hold them.

INVESTIGATION: Facing decades in prison, a Mississippi mother defied a prosecutor and a hazy legal theory

Justice advocates have praised Moore for her courage and the impact of her decision to speak out. Moore said based on her past experiences, it’s difficult to feel proud of herself, but she’s trying to savor the moment.

“It’s so hard to believe that I have caused this domino effect for these women and reproductive rights in this district that is one of the most corrupt in this state,” Moore said. “Even just getting the ball rolling for these ladies, there’s so much hope.”

Each of the incarcerated women had pleaded guilty and received suspended prison sentences while they attend drug court, a rigorous intervention program with more than 20 strict conditions. Unbeknownst to the local District Attorney Steven Kilgore, he told Mississippi Today, the women had been picked up on violations of the program and handed their full prison sentences.

Two of the women are now free, save for probation obligations, while two others, because of past orders in their cases, have been transferred to the Flowood Restitution Center. The restitution center is a probation program that resembles a prison work camp and was the subject of another award-winning Mississippi Today investigation, “Want out of Jail? First You Have To Take a Fast-Food Job.”

Those women will be held until they earn enough money to pay off the large fee associated with attending drug court, typically $5,000, plus court costs and fines. One of them, her aunt told Mississippi Today, was sent to work at Wendy’s, but she’s only been given an 11-hour work week, causing uncertainty about how long it will take to earn off her debts and finish the program. Still, the cousin who is currently caring for three of her children has agreed to let the mother visit with them when she’s released, the aunt said.

The woman’s original release date from prison was November of 2038.

Moore chose to share her experience despite the stigma surrounding substance abuse and pregnancy, and she anticipated the backlash that might come next. Sebastopol is a small community, and her neighbors would certainly see her story in the news.

Instead, Moore said the support she’s received in response to the article publishing has been overwhelming. She said she’s been stopped by the postmaster at the post office. The cashier in the grocery store. “I just want you to know I’m so proud of you,” they told her, Moore said.

On her most recent visit to the pediatrician for her daughter Remi — the one she’d been accused of assaulting — the doctor gave Moore a long hug and cried.

“I never doubted you for a minute. I know what kind of mother you are, they could have just asked me,” the doctor said, according to Moore.

After Mississippi Today’s story published, Moore wrote to each of the women in prison. But they were released before she had a chance to hear back. Moore said she plans to eventually get together with the mothers — whose fate she almost met, and had a hand in reversing — and she can’t wait for that day.

“I’m looking forward to the day that we all will be able to sit down and have supper together and talk about the win for everybody,” Moore said.

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

Continue Reading

Mississippi Today

On this day in 1989

Published

on

mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2025-02-10 07:00:00

Feb. 10, 1989

Ron Brown became the first Black American to lead a major political party in the U.S. when he was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Credit: Wikipedia

Ron Brown was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee, becoming the first Black American to lead a major political party in U.S. history. 

Brown was a descendant of Mississippi Reconstruction lawmaker Eugene B. Welborne, who had to flee the state to avoid being killed. Welborne and his brother disguised themselves as Confederate soldiers and “carried it off because of their fair coloring,” Brown recalled. 

Brown grew up in the Theresa Hotel in Harlem, which his father managed. In the hotel, he bumped into the likes of boxer Joe Louis and actor Paul Robeson and enjoyed the world-class entertainment available at the nearby Apollo Theater. 

The son of Howard University graduates, his parents sent him to prep schools, and he became the only Black student in the freshman class at Middlebury College in Vermont. 

White classmates from the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity welcomed him, but the national organization objected because it barred Black members. Fellow fraternity members backed him, leading to the chapter’s expulsion by the national chapter. Brown then became a trustee at the mostly white school. 

After a stint in the U.S. Army, he earned a law degree, became a social worker and joined the National Urban League before becoming the first Black attorney at a high-powered Washington law firm. At first glance, Brown seemed unlikely to become chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He had just managed Jesse Jackson’s 1988 campaign for president. 

“I promise you,” he told the Washington Post after his selection, “my chairmanship will not be about race; it will be about the races we win.” 

Under his leadership, Democrats saw the election of a Black governor in Virginia and a Black mayor in New York City. Democrats also picked up four congressional seats in special elections. 

In 1992, Bill Clinton became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win in 16 years, and he appointed Brown as secretary of Commerce. Three years later, Brown was on an official trade mission when he died in a plane crash in Croatia. Clinton praised Brown, calling the secretary “one of the best advisers and ablest people I ever knew.”

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

Continue Reading

Trending