Lawmakers on Thursday passed a $253 million “Christmas tree” bill that funds nearly 400 local projects in cities, counties and hamlets across the state, the Legislature said. Lawmakers also allocated $75.1 million for public university improvements, $40 million for community college projects and $30 million for state agency projects. Legislators plan to reconvene briefly Friday for minor procedural matters and are expected to adjourn for the year afterward.
Senate Finance Chairman Josh Harkins, a Republican from Flowood, said he received about 640 individual project requests from senators totaling more than $1 billion and tried to spread the money evenly. Some of the largest awards in the bill include $13 million for LeFleur’s Bluff Conservancy in Jackson, $10 million for the Department of Archives and History to improve Vicksburg National Military Park, $10 million for Rankin County, $10 million for the DeSoto County Regional Utility Authority and $8.2 million for the city of Senatobia, according to the bill.
As in recent years, legislative leaders funded the projects with cash reserves, though lawmakers have borrowed in leaner years, the Legislature said. Harkins described the selection process as time-consuming, saying, “I wouldn’t say this was a labor of love, but an exercise that took a lot of time.”
Democrats accused Republican leaders of directing projects away from Democratic areas and criticized the session for not expanding Medicaid or increasing child care assistance. Senate Minority Leader Derrick Simmons of Greenville said Republicans had once again shortchanged Democratic districts. “We believe that Mississippi will not become the Mississippi that it deserves to become until you invest in the Delta, southwest Mississippi and the Jackson area,” Simmons said at a Thursday press conference.
Jackson-area lawmakers said the city received about $5.6 million in project funding this year and praised the results. Democratic Rep. Grace Butler Washington of Jackson called the awards “well-needed things like infrastructure,” and other members of the Jackson delegation said they worked with Mayor John Horhn and legislative leaders to advocate for more funding. House Speaker Jason White said lawmakers could return for a brief special session to address pharmacy benefit manager regulation if negotiators reach a compromise; the House had killed a bill on that issue March 26, and White asked Gov. Tate Reeves to call a special session to continue talks.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
