Latest news with #DelbertHosemann
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
With budget approved, Mississippi lawmakers look ahead to 2026 session
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Mississippi lawmakers passed a budget for Fiscal Year 2026 during a special session. Their eyes are now on the 2026 Legislative Session. During the special session, lawmakers passed more than 100 bills for the state's $7 billion budget. Before the session started, Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R-Miss.) said House and Senate leadership had an agreement with Gov. Tate Reeves (R-Miss.) about what needed to be done. 'The House didn't do that. You know, three of those bills were off the wall and kill one. They're supposed to pass. So it's just, it was difficult. And we had to get the governor back involved in all this, so we didn't have another special session,' said Hosemann. House Speaker Jason White (R-Miss.) said the House got close to completing their work in one day. Mississippi lawmakers pass $7 billion budget in special session 'We passed all the bills. We were done with them. We saw no reason not to go home. Our folks have been here and worked long and hard. I won't apologize, and I won't check with the Senate on what the House may or may not have permission to do,' White stated. Both chambers will turn their attention to the 2026 Legislative session. Some of the priorities will include school choice and revitalizing the capital city. 'Water and sewer for our capital city. We want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem or standing in the way, but be part of the solution. If there's a way that the state can play a role there, we want to be a willing partner. We're excited about new leadership for the City of Jackson,' said White. Another priority for the Senate will be teacher pay raises. 'You will see us propose a significant increase on our teacher pay. Well, how did it how did we get to where we are? We had great teachers teaching good people,' said Hosemann. The Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) of Mississippi is still on the table. White said one of the priorities for the House is dedicated funding for the system. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
17-04-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Lt. governor: Mississippi needs to plan for lean budget as President Trump 'rights the ship'
Lt. governor: Mississippi needs to plan for lean budget as President Trump 'rights the ship' Show Caption Hide Caption MS Senate announces tax plan with cuts to grocery, income taxes Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann announces the Senate's tax plan at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. Mississippians will have to tighten their belts for a while as President Donald Trump tries to "right the ship" and get government spending under control, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said in a recent interview with the Hattiesburg American. "Our president is doing what we asked him to do," Hosemann said. "We needed to clean house and I'm proud of him doing that." "We collect about $7 billion to run the state," Hosemann said. "The federal government gives us about $14 billion." While Hosemann said he supports the progress made on reducing government spending, the cuts will affect Mississippi. Already, the state has seen roughly $400 million in federal dollars cut or soon to be cut. The funds are frozen, Hosemann said, so the money isn't exactly gone, but there is no telling when — or even if — the state will ever see that money. "We need to plan like this money won't be there," Hoseman said. Budget challenges The Mississippi Department of Education lost roughly $137 million in federal funds that it had been allocated for the year. Another $120 million was cut from the state's mental health system, with $7 million more in cuts coming. The state Department of Health also is expecting to see roughly $100 million in cuts, Hosemann said. "I'm hopeful we will get some of that money back, but we can't depend on it," Hosemann said. He said he doesn't think the federal government is done making cuts, so the state could lose even more funding when all is said and done. So far, agencies like Child Protective Services and the Department of Marine Resources haven't yet had to contend with cuts. "We need to budget as if that money is not coming back," Hosemann said. Hosemann said he is confident Mississippi can adjust to a leaner budget and will have extra money to appropriate if any or all of the federally withheld funds are restored. "I'm planning on being very close on our budget this to make sure that we plan for this contingency," he said. "I hope it doesn't happen, but realistically for them to right the ship in Washington, they are going to have to cut back." Hosemann said with two-thirds of the state's budget coming from the federal government, it is "inevitable" that the state will have to work with less money than it has grown accustomed to. "There's no way we'll get the same amount of money that we've been getting," Hosemann said. Impact on Mississippi education Hosemann said he has met with University of Southern Mississippi President Joe Paul to talk about how the Legislature can help the university meet its financial needs. "That's a priority for me," Hosemann said. "The university is the mainstay of the town. It's done really, really well and it's brought young people to town." Hosemann said by providing opportunities for more people to come to Hattiesburg also means more people will be spending money in the Hub City, including the downtown area with its many restaurants and shops. The lieutenant governor said the state's K-12 schools also are getting support from the Legislature, including teacher pay raises and building needs. "Our emphasis is on education," he said. "We think that's a long-term solution for workforce development and everything else." 'Detrimental' to school kids: Mississippi education department set to lose $137M in COVID funds Economic development, infrastructure Work on an industrial site on U.S. 11 south of Hattiesburg is still moving forward, Hosemann added, and the Legislature it doing what it can to bring it to completion so more businesses can move in. He also praised Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker's efforts to prepare the city for more growth opportunities that legislators can get behind, including the infrastructure needs that will allow Jones Co. to move to Hattiesburg, and bringing a $50 million investment from the company, and the Hall Avenue overpasses that will create better traffic flow in the downtown area and allow motorists to avoid being trapped by stopped trains. "He's doing a really good job," Hosemann said. "Every year he has an ask, and every year we try to answer it." Mississippi Legislature: Session adjourns without budget. How much would special session cost? Poorest affected: Trump cuts to HHS layoff all workers for US program that helps Mississippi pay light bills Tax cuts and other legislative wins and losses One of the biggest changes for Mississippi is the tax on food. The rate was lowered to 5% from 7%, to enable Mississippians to stretch their food budgets a little farther. Motorists, on the other hand, will be paying more at the pumps with an additional 3 cents per gallon of gasoline to help pay for road maintenance. The additional gasoline tax is expected to last for three years. The state also lowered the income tax to 3% over the next four years, making it one of the lowest in the country. "Probably the biggest thing we did this year was to try to have an alternative for PERS (the state employee retirement system)," Hosemann said. The program is $25 billion short, so an alternative was needed. New employees will still be offered a retirement plan, but it will be a 401K program like many companies offer. The PERS program also was discontinued for state lawmakers and highly-compensated state employees. The changes will give the state a little breathing room to get the current retirement plan back on track and fully funded over time. "We are in a big hole and we need to stop digging," Hosemann said. Redistricting challenge Hosemann said he believes Mississippi's special election for the latest redistricting plan will go ahead as planned in the fall, even with a challenge pending in federal court. "First of all, I don't think the court ought to be ordering the Legislature how to do their work," he said. "I opposed the clearing. I think that is out of bounds." A hearing was held April 8 in federal court to discuss the challenges to two of the three new districts on the plan, with both sides arguing whether the districts would give Black voters a fair opportunity to elect someone they believed would represent them. The Pine Belt Senate district was not challenged in the lawsuit, but a Senate district in DeSoto County and a House district in Chickasaw County were. Mississippi elections: Federal court rules on redistricting, sends state back to drawing board Redistricting update: New Mississippi House, Senate districts not yet approved by federal court panel In a hearing on April 16, the federal judges ordered the DeSoto County districting plan to be revised again, within seven days. The Chickasaw County district lines will stand, the judges said. "The Senate proposed a plan for the Pine Belt, which includes Sen. (Joey) Fillingane in a new district and Sen. (Chris) Johnson in a new district. Sen. (John) Polk is not going to seek reelection, so we made the new district run from out in Lamar County back to downtown Hattiesburg," he said. Hosemann said the new districts needed to be a majority-minority, meaning more than 50% of the districts' residents need to be people of color, which is what the Legislature did, so there should be no reason for the challenge. "I believe that the court will decide that the redistricting, as proposed by the Senate, will stand," he said. DOGE cuts: It's National Library Week. The Mississippi Library Association isn't celebrating See how it affects state: DOGE pulls federal funding for Mississippi Humanities Council. Lici Beveridge is a reporter for the Hattiesburg American and Clarion Ledger. Contact her at lbeveridge@ Follow her on X @licibev or Facebook at Clarion Ledger reporter Grant McLaughlin contributed to this report.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mississippi House does not show for conference talks
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – All bills in conference were supposed to be filed by Saturday evening, and any bills not filed by the deadline have died. Mississippi Senate lawmakers showed up to the State Capitol on March 29 to make sure conference reports were filed. They said House lawmakers did not show up, and they needed them at the State Capitol. 'We'll have a special session, and tens of thousands of dollars will be spent because they took the weekend off,' said Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R-Miss.). The other option would be to file a suspension resolution, which some senators said they don't support. Senate Appropriations Chairman Briggs Hopson III (R-District 23) said additional work couldn't be done because the House docket room is closed. They have to file appropriation bills in both the House and Senate docket rooms. Mississippi governor signs income tax elimination bill 'Unfortunately, we just ran into a roadblock yesterday (Friday). The House was going home, and we couldn't get conference reports filed. And so, that's where we are right now,' Hopson stated. After the Senate convened on the floor Saturday morning, Hopson met with some senators to discuss conference reports on Senate-originated bills. He said they're more than 100 bills that have to be handled, including bills that will impact the state's budget for 2026. 'That process normally starts about five or six days before we conclude. And this year, the House was unwilling to meet with us until Thursday. So, it just didn't leave us enough time to get all the appropriations bills finished,' said Hopson. There are other issued that couldn't be addressed without participation from the House. 'Child Protective Services didn't get there. Their deficit appropriation, the contracts for education teachers are trying to be signed now. We can't sign up teachers for next year because they don't know how much they're going to get paid,' said Hosemann. WJTV 12 News reached out to House Speaker Jason White's (R-Miss.) office for a comment. He said in part, 'In January 2025, I communicated the House position concerning an orderly and transparent appropriations process… The House will reconvene on Monday at 1:00 p.m. If the Senate wishes to engage in an open and transparent process, the House stands ready work and there is plenty of time to conclude our business.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sound Off: March 29, 2025
How many of you have actually seen tapes of the violence that occurred January 6 at our Capital building? Five security officers are dead because of that insurrection. We taxpayers paid for the massive damage done that day. Fox and Newsmax did not show the violent clips. Now, Trump wants to give these rioters money for rioting. For once, just fact-check and google your phone and view the clips from that day. You will be surprised and saddened. President Trump signed an executive order mandating voter ID. The leftist organizations, with coffers full of Soros-type money, will certainly try to drag it through the courts forever. But it should be that simple. We have to provide identification all the time for a scad of reasons. If one travels foreign you must have a passport proving your citizenship. I suggest Trump ask Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann to recreate his MS voter ID explanation commercials for the nation and show how many ways you can prove your identity and citizenship for federal elections. Does President Trump not know that a campaign of retribution did not end well for President Nixon? History says it will not end well for Trump, either. A breach of US military battle plans via a public platform is a clear act of treason. Lock them up. Many thanks to the team of hard-working folks with the City of Biloxi who are cutting, trimming, and cleaning up along Popps Ferry Road south of the bridge. This is an area that has been largely neglected, even though it is one of the main corridors of the coast. Those of us who live nearby appreciate all your hard work. Thank you. Wow! I feel so much safer waking up Thursday knowing that America's secrets are protected from Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris. Now, what about Sec. Hegseth and Mike Waltz? When you hire unqualified people, this is the kind of thing that happens. I can only imagine how loudly folks would be screaming if Whiskeyleaks was full of minorities. Send your Sound Offs to soundoff@
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mississippi lawmakers monitor federal funding cuts
JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Legislative concerns about federal funding is catching the attention of Mississippi lawmakers, because a majority of the state's funding comes from the nation's capital. Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann (R-Miss.) said he's remaining cautious due to uncertainties over how much federal funding the state will receive moving forward. He doubts there will be an increase in federal funding. 'I want to tell you something most people don't know. We collect $7 billion in income tax, gaming tax, all kinds of different taxes. The federal government sends us almost $14 billion, between $13 and $14 billion we don't even control. But one third of our budget's here, the rest of it comes from the federal government,' Hosemann said. In the House, there was a motion to reconsider Senate Bill 3095, which includes the Senate's plan involving tax cuts. The motion was tabled. The bill is heading back to the Senate without a safeguard for Medicaid funding moving forward. State Rep. Omeria Scott (D-District 80) said if the federal government cuts millions out of Medicaid, the state will lose $3 billion for some of those services. 'We tried to get the House this morning to commit to having level funding of $8 billion dollars for the Medicaid program. Cut your taxes, if that's what you want to do, but make a commitment to healthcare. But they wouldn't do it because they know the money is not there,' Scott said. As of March 19, the Senate increase the rainy day fund to 12% in their tax plan proposal. The total is just shy of $1 billion. Hosemann said they're communicating with the executive director at the Mississippi Division of Medicaid. Lawmakers have not received guidance in terms of what will happen to Medicaid nationally. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
