M onday morning bright and early at the civic center in Mendenhall the Simpson County Development Foundation hosted their quarterly Council of Governments meeting.
The purpose of the meeting is for elected officials to come together and communicate issues that are important to the community and share information about what is occurring on the different levels in the county.
The statewide delegation of Senator Chris Caughman, Representative Noah Sanford and Representative Tom Weathersby attended. Newly elected Representative Price Wallace had issues arise at his farm and was unable to attend the event.
The topic for the meeting was the recent special session that was called by the state to discuss funding issues for state programs.
Senator Chris Caughman took the lead discussing Senate Bill number 2001, which allowed for the establishment of the state sanctioned lottery. Caughman said he was not necessarily a proponent of lottery but it was a way to get funding without having to raise taxes.
He stated that he initially opposed an increase in fuel taxes but that he was not so sure he would oppose it in the future, although he had campaigned on the fact that he would not support it, and he did not go back on his word.
Implementation of the lottery and time frame has yet to be determined. The governor will be responsible for appointing a seven person board to establish parameters for implementation. Caughman said that because government moves so slowly it would most likely be the middle to the end of next year before the state implements a final plan for the lottery.
The breakdown on funds raised through the lottery will be 50 percent going to the prize pool of the lottery, 35 percent going to the State of Mississippi and 15 percent going toward administrative costs of operating the lottery.
Senator Caughman estimated that approximately $40 million dollars was leaving the state annually now, going to the Louisana Lottery. The state funds are to be used for Bridge and Road repair and will go to the Mississippi Department of Transporation. Some are sceptical about the funds going to MDOT because state aid funds which had been provided to the counties were now being spent to pay the costs of federal bridge inspections.
After an initial $80 million of lottery proceeds goes to the state, excess funds will go toward early childhood education and directly to classrooms, according to Caughman.
Another issue passed during the super session was House Bill 6. Noah Sanford explained that this is known as Internet Sales Tax and allows for funds to be paid to cities and counties and to fund bridge programs. Fifteen percent would go to cities; 15 would go to counties as a new fund source, and 5 percent to bridge programs. According to Sanford, this will be about $600,000 for Simpson County. A one time emergency fund of $25 million will be established that will come through the internet sales tax.
The final legislation discussed was Senate Bill 2002 that dealt with the BP Settlement money from the oil spill that affected the Gulf Coast. The settlement was $750 billion, 75 percent of which will be split between the six costal counties and the remaining 25 percent will go to the Mississippi Development Authority. It will be set up to fund projects up to $40 million a year for 15 years.
There appear to be a lot of “if’s and but’s” regarding this most recent special session of the Mississippi Legislature.
