Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Committees begin organizational process

Several committee began meeting and discussing procedures for the remainder of the session. Neither the House nor the Senate spent much time in session.

Proposed legislation continues to grow as bills began coming in at a rapid pace, as by the end of the day Tuesday, 159 House bills had been filed.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Barbour's urges caution when spending

Governor Haley Barbour urged the Legislature to be cautious when creating the state’s budget. During his State pf the State address, Barbour said Mississippi has been prosperous in recent years, but lawmakers need to be aware of a possible fallout from the national economic downturn. Funding of certain education programs, such as MAEP and the high school redesign, would be part of his budget he plans to submit later this week, Barbour said.

Barbour also said he did not plan to sign any bond bill unless it created jobs.

“If we’re to balance our budget in challenging economic times, the first thing we need to do is to cut up our credit cards” he said. “That’s why I will oppose authorizing any new state debt during this session of the Legislature unless it’s related to creating jobs.”

He also said he wants to create a voluntary Mississippi Health Insurance Exchange, to make it easier for working Mississippi without health insurance to afford coverage.

Bill filings increase

With a joint session of the House and Senate held Monday night, both Chambers took little action from the floor. However, the governor’s address did slow down the bill filing process.

As of Monday, 309 bills had been filed in the Senate and 100 had been filed in the House. All of the bills have been assigned to committees.

Friday, January 18, 2008

House Committees, chairs named

The wait is finally over, as the House Committees were named on Friday. After a contentious debate over House rules, the list of committee chairs, vice chairs and members was released about 12:30 p.m. on Friday.

Several of the key committee chairmen remained the same, Rep. Percy Watson will continue to serve as Chairman of Ways and Means, Rep. Johnny Stringer will return as Appropriations Chairman.

The committee chairs and vice chairs for 2008-2011 are:

Agriculture:  Greg Ward, Chair, Joe Gardner, Vice Chair
Apportionment & Elections:  Tommy Reynolds, Chair, Adrienne Wooten, Vice Chair
Appropriations:  Johnny Stringer, Chair, Preston Sullivan, Vice Chair
Banking & Financial Institutions:- George Flaggs, Chair, Shaun Walley, Vice Chair
Congressionial Redistricting: Tommy Reynolds, Chair, Adrienne Wooten, Vice Chair
Conservation & Water Resources:  John Mayo, Chair, Mark DuVall, Vice Chair
Constitution:  James Evans, Chair,- Linda Whittington, Vice Chair
Corrections:  Bennett Malone, Chair, - Tracy Arinder, Vice Chair
County Affairs:  David Gibbs, Chair,-Larry Byrd, Vice Chair
Education:  Cecil Brown, Chair, Sara Thomas, Vice Chair
Enrolled Bills:  America Chuck Middleton, Chair,VC - Mac Huddleston, Vice Chair
Ethics: Alyce Clarke, Chair,Billy Nicholson, Vice Chair
Executive Contingent Fund:  John Hines, Chair,- Eugene Forrest Hamilton, Vice Chair
Fees & Salaries of Public Officers: Linda Coleman, Chair,Chuck Espy, Vice Chair
Forestry: Gregory Holloway, Chair,Bill Pigott, Vice Chair
Gaming: Bobby Moak, Chair, Clara Burnett, Vice Chair
Insurance: Walter Robinson, Chair, Brandon Jones, Vice Chair
Interstate Cooperation: Robert Huddleston, Chair, Lester Carpenter, Vice Chair
Investigate State Offices: Ferr Smith, Chair, Andy Gipson, Vice Chair
Judiciary A:  Ed Blackmon, Chair, Angela Cockerham, Vice Chair
Judiciary B:  Willie Bailey, Chair, Bob Evans, Vice Chair
Juvenile Justice: Earle Banks, Chair, Sherra Hillman Lane, Vice Chair
Labor: Rufus Straughter, Chair, Jimmy Puckett, Vice Chair
Legislative Budget Committee: Billy McCoy, Chair, Johnny Stringer, Vice Chair
Legislative Reapportionment: Tommy Reynolds, Chair, Adrienne Wooten, Vice Chair
Local & Private Legislation:  Willie Perkins, Chair, Kimberly Campbell, Vice Chair
Marine Resources:  Frances Fredericks, Chair, Hank Zuber, Vice Chair
Medicaid: Dirk Dedeaux, Chair, Robert Johnson, Vice Chair
Military Affairs: Credell Calhoun, Chair, Frank Hamilton, Vice Chair
Municipalities:  David Myers, Chair, Tom Weathersby, Vice Chair
Oil, Gas & Other Minerals: Harvey Moss, Chair, Margaret Rogers, Vice Chair
PEER:  Willie Bailey, Vice Chair
Ports, Harbors & Airports: Billy Broomfield, Chair, Randall Patterson, Vice Chair
Public Health & Human Services: Steve Holland, Chair, Omeria Scott, Vice Chair
Public Property: Mary Coleman, Chair, Jessica Upshaw, Vice Chair
Public Utilities: Tyrone Ellis, Chair, Ray Rogers, Vice Chair
Rules: Bryant Clark, Chair,
State Library: Esther Harrison, Chair, Wanda Jennings, Vice Chair
Tourism: Diane Peranich, Chair, Jack Gadd, Vice Chair
Transportation: Warner McBride, Chair, Donnie Bell, Vice Chair
Universities & Colleges:  Charles Young, Chair, Kelvin Buck, Vice Chair
Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks:  Bo Eaton, Chair, Deryk Parker, Vice Chair
Ways & Means:  Percy Watson, Chair, David Norquist, Vice Chair

Senate bills on rise

During the first two weeks of the Legislative session, there have been more than 200 bills filed in the Senate.

Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant said so far, 209 bills have been assigned to committee.

Session cut to 103 days

Thursday morning the Senate concurred with the changes the House had made to a resolution to shorten the session from its original 125 days.

The Senate’s bill had initially asked for a 104-day session, but the house made it a 103-day session. Senate President Pro Tem Billy Hewes said there may be some additional adjusting to the calendar, but that this schedule assured the legislators wouldn’t work on Easter Sunday and conference deadlines would fall during the week.

Sen. Alan Nunnelee, the newly-appointed chairman of the Senate Appropriations committee said the rules change would be beneficial because there would be a longer period of time between the conference committee deadline for appropriations bills and floor action. In the past, the deadline was on Saturday night and both houses would begin taking action on Sunday.

Hewes said shortening the session will save $540,813.

Governor’s State-of-the-State Address on Monday

The House passed a resolution calling for a joint session on Monday, January 21 at 5:45 p.m. for the purpose of Gov. Haley Barbour’s annual state-of-the-state address.

Committee watch continues

Scuttlebutt at the Capitol on Thursday morning was that House Committee chairmen and committee members could be named later in the day, but House Speaker Billy McCoy said late Thursday he was still working on the committee list and would have them as soon as possible.

Early start

The Senate will convene at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning. In the past, the normal starting time on Friday has been 9 a.m. Fridays are typically a short day, as legislators return home for the weekend. The House will convene at 9 a.m.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Attempts to shorten session still ongoing

The House of Representatives amended a Senate resolution to shorten the legislative session.

Under the House amendment, the session would be fore 103 days, instead of the 125 session that is typically held during the new term of office for legislators. The bill originally called for cutting the session to 104 days.

By amending the bill, Senate Concurrent Resolution 502 will not go to conference to allow House and Senate rules committee members to work through any other differences that might have been in the bill.

Governor sworn in

Governor Haley Barbour was sworn in on the steps of the Capitol, complete with a 19-gun salute and a flyover of a Jackson-based C-17.

Following the ceremony, a parade was held in downtown Jackson and the Governor's Mansion was open for tours. The activities were set to conclude with an Inaugural Ball at the Mississippi Coliseum.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Getting ready for inauguraltion

Senate committees, chairs appointed

Agriculture:  Cindy Hyde-Smith, Chair; Perry Lee, Vice Chair
Appropriations: Alan Nunnelee, Chair; Doug Davis, Vice Chair
Business and Financial Institutions: Gary Jackson, Chair; Johnnie Walls, Vice Chair
Constitution: Bennie Turner, Chair; Joey Fillingane, Vice Chair
Corrections:  Willie Simmons, Chair; Sid Albritton, Vice Chair
County Affairs: Nickey Browning, Chair; John Horhn, Vice Chair
Economic Development: Walter Michel, Chair; Haskins Montgomery, Vice Chair
Education: Videt Carmichael, Chair; Gray Tollison, Vice Chair
Elections: Terry Burton, Chair; Tommy Dickerson, Vice Chair
Environmental Protection, Conservation and Water Resources: Tommy Moffatt, Chair: Debbie Dawkins, Vice Chair
Ethics: Merle Flowers, Chair; Hillman Frazier, Vice Chair
Fees, Salaries and Administration: Terry Brown, Chair; David Blount, Vice Chair
Finance: Dean Kirby, Chair; Buck Clarke, Vice Chair
Forestry: Perry Lee, Chair; Vincent Davis, Vice Chair
Highways and Transportation: Thomas King, Chair; Lee Yancey, Vice Chair
Housing: Hillman Frazier, Chair: Merle Flowers, Vice Chair
Insurance:  Buck Clarke, Chair; Bennie Turner, Vice Chair
Interstate and Federal Cooperation: Sampson Jackson, Chair; Nolan Mettetal, Vice Chair
Judiciary, Division A:  Joey Fillingane, Chair: Briggs Hopson, Vice Chair
Judiciary, Division B: Gray Tollison, Chair;  Michael Watson, Vice Chair
Labor: John Horhn, Chair; Eric Powell, Vice Chair
Local and Private:  Kelvin Butler, Chair;   Giles Ward, Vice Chair
Municipalities: J. P. Wilemon, Chair; Bill Stone, Vice Chair
Oil, Gas and Other Minerals: Bob Dearing, Chair;  Chris McDaniel, Vice Chair
Ports and Marine Resources: Tommy Dickerson, Chair; Tommy Gollott, Vice Chair
Public Health and Welfare: Hob Bryan, Chair; Alan Nunnelee, Vice Chair
Public Property: Jack Gordon, Chair; Terry Burton, Vice Chair
Public Utilities: Nolan Mettetal, Chair; Nickey Browning, Vice Chair
Rules:  Billy Hewes, Chair
Tourism: Lydia Chassaniol, Chair; David Baria, Vice Chair
Universities and Colleges: Doug Davis, Chair; Sampson Jackson, Vice Chair
Veterans and Military Affairs: Ezell Lee, Chair; Robert Jackson, Vice Chair
Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks: Tommy Gollott, Chair; Billy Hudson, Vice Chair

Joint Committees 

Enrolled Bills:  Alice Harden, Chair:  J. P. Wilemon, Vice Chair
Executive Contingent Fund: Johnnie Walls, Chair; Walter Michel, Vice Chair
Investigate State Offices:  David Jordan, Chair; Debbie Dawkins, Vice Chair
State Library:  Sid Albritton, Chair; Videt Carmichael, Vice Chair

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Senators hope to shorten session