Mississippi’s Casino industry is in the spotlight again as a woman from Eupora wants to bring their existence to a statewide vote through an initiative that she has authored. Casinos were approved in 1991 by the state Legislature without a statewide vote. What exactly is an "initiative" you ask? A lot of Mississippians are asking the same question and for the fun of it, while recently speaking to a civic organization, I asked for a show of hands as to how many knew about the initiative process. Not many raised their hands and as I tried to explain it, I stumbled also. Simply put, the initiative process allows a citizen to propose an amendment to the Mississippi Constitution. Here is an attempt to explain the main points.

In order to start the process, an initiative sponsor must be a registered voter in Mississippi and file the proposed initiative with Secretary of State. Working with the Attorney General’s office on the initiative language, the AG’s office drafts a "ballot title" to appear on the ballot with a summary of the initiative which is cal.led the "ballot summary". The title and summary is then published in newspapers across the state. If the sponsor or anyone else is dissatisfied with the ballot title or summary, they have five days from the date of publication to file an appeal in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Hinds County, whose decision is final.

Once the ballot title and summary language have been finalized, the sponsor must collect a whopping 98,336 signatures and submit them to the Secretary of State not less than 90 days before the first day of the legislative session. All signatures must be certified by county circuit clerks. At least 19,668 certified signatures must be from each of the five congressional districts.

Once a valid initiative petition is accepted, the Secretary of State submits the initiative to the Legislature on the first day of the regular session. The Legislature has the right to hold hearings and adopt the initiative exactly as written; reject the initiative entirely or amend the language and take no action. If the initiative has been amended by the legislature, then both the original and the amended version will appear on the ballot and the voter must either reject both or choose between them. Public hearings in each congressional district are also conducted.

If a majority of those voting on the initiative votes in favor of the initiative and that number corresponds to a least 40 percent "supermajority"’ cast in the election, then the initiative becomes law. An initiative approved by the voters takes effect 30 days from the date of the official declaration of the vote by the Secretary of State.

So there you have it - a quick study on the high points of the initiative process in Mississippi. I thank the Secretary of State’s office for sending us information on the process.

The Institutions of Higher Learning for Policy Research and Planning has just published their semi-annual report on Mississippi’s economy. According to information in the publication which is called, Mississippi Economic Review and Outlook, Mississippi will enjoy a growth rate of gross state product of at least 2.9 percent this year which is up from 2.6 percent last year. Data on sales, employment, building permits and general funds collections have all been solid. Mining, construction, amusements and wholesale trade employment increased more than five percent from January through April, compared to the same period last year, and services employment rose 4.3 percent. Good news for the state and good news for the Delta.

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