BY Elizabeth Reid
Contributing Writer, Delta Business Journal

  By the time the 125-day session was completed last month, several significant pieces of legislation netted benefits for the Delta. But a special session that will probably be called this summer may bring even more improvements to the region.
  “As for particular Delta legislation, most of the economic issues have been set aside until the Governor’s special session,” said state senator Neely Carlton of Greenville. “I have no idea what (Governor Musgrove) is planning to propose, but he may consider the following: local bridge programs; the South Delta legislation regarding the backwater pump project; a failed attempt to modify the hospital at Hollandale for female prisoners; funding for the Greenville University Center; and bond money for the Cutrer house in Clarksdale, the partnership between Coahoma Community College and Delta State University.”
  Delta Council Director of Development Mark Manning said he is keenly interested in the upcoming special session on economic development.
  “People in the Delta that I deal with are very anxious to hear the governor’s plan for the special session and are particularly interested in hearing what his vision is for the Delta,” said Manning. “We understand and appreciate his view that the Delta must prosper for the state to prosper and certainly agree with that assessment. We are very eager and anxious to hear his ideas as to how we can accomplish that.”
  A $10-billion state budget was approved for FY 2001, which begins July 1. By May 3, the governor had signed 301 bills into law with about half of them originating in the Senate. Seven were vetoed and no legislative action took place on those vetoes.
  Other legislative highlights include:
  • The Mississippi Telecommunications Tax Reform Act that will lower taxes for telecommunications companies if they pass savings along to customers.
  • An increase in the amount of bonds that may be issued by the Department of Economic and Community Development (Senate Bill 3316). The bonds would reflect a wide range of programs including local industrial infrastructure grants, a revolving home loan fund for low or moderate income earners, and loans for certain farmers, small businesses, tourism programs
and minority businesses.
  • Providing employers with tax credits for skills training and retraining certified by the State Board of Community and Junior Colleges (Senate Bill 2639).
  • The Mississippi Small Business Assistance Act (Senate Bill 2088) that will increase the amount of grants by $3 million that may be given to planning and development districts for loans to small businesses.
  • The Medical Education Scholarship Program, a beneficial bill that will not only train new physicians, but also assure that they practice in needy rural areas. The program will provide a free medical education for up to 20 recipients at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. After graduation, recipients must practice in underserved rural areas, such as the Delta, which is considered by the federal government to be a Medically Underserved Area.
  •  A multi-year teacher pay raise plan to raise their pay to the southeastern average (House Bill 1134). The bill requires greater accountability from school boards, principals and teacher, particularly from schools that receive historically poor performance marks. The teacher pay raise bill is tied to the state’s revenue performance, with a 5% per year increase to fund it. Already, an immediate teacher pay raise is in doubt because early projections for the state’s revenue increase are below 5%.
  •  A new compulsory insurance law that state insurance commissioner George Dale would like to see enforced. “On Jan. 1, when the law goes into effect, a certain number of people will get insurance, but unless there’s some effort to enforce it, I think it will probably drop back,” Dale Says.
  • Better Medicaid benefits for children, that includes waiving the six-month waiting period for children eligible to participate in the Medicaid-funded health program. Under the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and other expansions with Medicaid, eligibility benefits are expanded to increase the poverty level, aged and disabled beneficiaries from 100% to 135%
of the federal poverty level. The new law “will have a tremendous affect making Medicaid available to 12,000 to 20,000 new eligibles, many in the Delta,” said Willis Washington, state Medicaid director.
  • The addition of physician assistants, who can now be licensed in the state of Mississippi, and will bring another healthcare option to Delta residents.
 • The financial burden of counties that has been lifted in the appeals process for death-penalty cases.
  • Cash-for-title loan businesses that now have tighter regulations (House Bill 723). Proposed legislation that would have directly affected the Delta businesses and died:
  • The creation of a state department of labor; it will likely be back on the 2001 agenda.
 • House Bill 881, that would have allowed public universities and community colleges to teach gambling-management courses, and would have been particularly helpful in Tunica County.
  • Senate Bill 2716 that would have made it illegal for businesses to sell gasoline for less than they paid.
  Senate spokesperson Patsy Brumfield said that despite the legal flap at the end, the session was a productive one.
  “We accomplished a great deal with very little new resources,” she said. “I am hopeful that our state’s economy will rebound and grow stronger so that we will be able to afford doing more in those areas that need more.”