Opportunity Mississippi

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves 2012 Legislative Agenda February 1, 2012

February 1, 2012 Governor Phil Bryant The Mississippi Senate The Honorable Terry Brown, President Pro Tem The Mississippi House of Representatives The Honorable Philip Gunn, Speaker

Dear Governor Bryant, Speaker Gunn and Members of the Mississippi Legislature: Through a combination of reduced spending, an emphasis on job training and a reliance on its natural resources, Mississippi has become well positioned to grow its workforce into new technological areas and help small businesses grow and succeed. We, as elected representatives, should adopt the necessary policies that will help Mississippi lead the charge out of the national economic collapse. Today, I present an agenda for the 2012 Legislative Session that aims to steer Mississippi onto the path of success. Through better outcomes in our public schools, streamlined state services, fiscal responsibility and protecting Mississippi families, we can guide our state toward quality jobs, responsible spending and higher educational attainment. The task ahead will not be simple. New policies and programs will be weighed against the states ability to afford them. While revenues are at slightly higher-than-expected levels, Mississippis economy like the nations is vulnerable and weak. Our state economist predicts revenues and employment levels will not return to pre-recession levels until Fiscal Years 2015 or 2016. With low unemployment and little revenue growth, state agencies will have to find new ways to offer the same quality services to the public for several years to come. With this in mind, I propose a stronger focus on fiscal responsibility and government efficiency. The Legislature must take an active role in reining in Mississippis debt and, as a result, the amount of money assigned to debt service rather than on other essential state services. I also support a return to budget prudency by setting aside 2 percent of general fund revenues into the states so-called Rainy Day Fund. I created the Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee to ensure state government optimizes each tax dollar spent. This committee will review ways to save money through procurement reform and shared services. Taxpayers also deserve to know how their elected officials are spending tax dollars, therefore I also support legislation to shine the light on how the Office of the Attorney General awards contracts and allow agencies

to hire legal counsel if needed. The key to Mississippis future is in the classroom. For far too long, state government has resisted substantial changes to how children are educated in public schools. This resistance as led to a high dropout rate, wasteful spending and frustrated teachers and parents. School consolidation is one area where we have the opportunity to improve student success and eliminate waste in government. I will propose the consolidation of the three school districts in Sunflower County, which are all currently under conservatorship at the Department of Education. By combining Indianola, Drew and Sunflower school districts, school leaders can combine duplicative functions, which will free up more tax dollars for the classroom. This district will be managed by an appointed superintendent, who is able to concentrate on improving education rather than winning an election. I will support efforts to bring charter schools to Mississippi. While not a panacea to all our educational shortcomings, charter schools give parents a choice and provide students with better opportunities to succeed. A good education is the launch pad for a successful career, and every Mississippi child deserves a chance at that success. The Legislature should afford them that chance through passage of a strong charter school bill. While Mississippi is one of the best places to raise a family, we can do more to protect children so they will grow up to lead productive lives. My agenda includes amending the statutory rape law to require better reporting and protection of minors. I will support legislation that requires any person who knows of sexual abuse of a minor to report the crime to authorities within 48 hours of learning of the incident. This legislation should make it clear that any hesitation to report such crime is not tolerated. My agenda also continues to protect unborn children by prohibiting anyone from intentionally causing, aiding or assisting a minor in obtaining an abortion without consent from the childs parents or legal guardian. Through eliminating government waste, responsible spending and new, innovative approaches to education and protecting our families, Mississippi can emerge from this national economic slowdown even stronger than before. I look forward to working with Governor Bryant, Speaker Gunn and each of you to keep Mississippi on the path to a brighter future.

Sincerely,

Tate Reeves

Return to Fiscal Responsibility

There is no question fiscal issues remain paramount in the 2012 Legislative session as both revenues and the employment rate remain below pre-recession levels. The best way to ensure a bright future for Mississippi is to manage our state budget prudently without raising taxes on families and small businesses during this period of economic contraction. Mississippians need stability, predictability and a low tax burden in order to thrive. The Legislature will have to make difficult decisions, find innovative ways to provide state services and prioritize those services. The Legislature must return to the responsible budget practices that enabled Mississippi to weather the deepest periods of the economic decline. During my term, the Legislature will resume the common-sense statutory requirement of setting aside 2 percent of general fund revenues in the states so-called Rainy Day Fund. The Legislature has dipped into this account, formally known as the Working Cash Stabilization Reserve Fund, to ride out the recession. It is time to rebuild the fund to provide the state with a solid financial foundation. Similarly, now is the time to end excessive spending on the states credit card. Just as our families cannot rely on credit cards for long-term budget success, neither can nor should the state. A long-term plan for fiscal responsibility must include a multi-year plan to rein in the states bonded indebtedness. For years, the Legislature has authorized bonds with little concern about how debt service on those bonds would be paid. The practice of authorizing bonds without ensuring bond repayments are used to pay debt service is an approach that will undermine our efforts to get control of our states bonded indebtedness. The Legislature should discontinue this practice without jeopardizing the ability of our states eco-

Debt Service Costs

FY 2012 - $385 million FY 2011 - $362 million FY 2010 - $393 million FY 2009 - $351 million FY 2008 - $330 million
nomic development agency to negotiate incentive packages for job-creating projects. For example, a revolving loan program used by the Mississippi Development Authority is funded through bonds authorized by the Legislature. The repayments of these bonds do not go toward debt service, but instead are recaptured by the revolving loan program. I propose to cap this program at $50 million and use any repayments in excess of $50 million to pay debt service. The availability of $50 million will continue to be a tool MDA can utilize to lure economic development projects to Mississippi. Getting control of our debt means less money will have to be spent each year to pay debt service. In the long-term, this will free up precious state resources so they may be spent on critical areas, like education and public safety. Now is the time to slowly rebuild our reserves and adopt prudent budgeting techniques. This way, Mississippi will be poised for economic growth. I look forward to tackling these difficult finance and budgetary issues with the very capable chairmen of the Appropriations and Finance committees, Sens. Buck Clarke and Joey Fillingane.

Optimizing State Services

Although the economy no longer appears to be in a freefall, stagnant economic growth is the new standard expected by most economists. The downturn in the economy led to significant revenue losses, and tax collections are not expected to recover to pre-recession levels until Fiscal Year 2015 or 2016. Managing a tight budget during tough economic times is not new to Mississippi families. During the recent recession, many households had to find new ways to stretch the dollars. State government should not be any different. State Economist Darrin Webb recently said Mississippis economy continues to show weakness, though revenues have performed slightly better than estimated. Employment is below prerecession levels, and the state needs significant growth in the number of people working as well as an increase in per capita income to generate revenue. State agencies must be prepared to provide quality services with less money. The Legislature should assist agencies in finding savings and creating innovative ways to operate cost effectively. Legislators also can play an active role in helping agencies identify and repeal laws that tie the hands of management and prevent them from making the necessary structural reforms to save money and provide services. Recognizing a need for a dedicated committee to assist agencies in finding savings, the Fees, Salaries and Administration Committee was converted to the Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee. This entity will offer renewed focus on saving tax dollars. Finding efficiencies in state operations often leads to a more transparent and accountable government. My appointee to lead this committee, Sen. Nancy Collins, shares my passion for ensuring state government works for those who fund it: The taxpayers. I believe we can do a better job in operating government by simply reviewing our current practices and procedures, particularly in areas such as procurement. The state of Mississippi spends millions of dollars annually buying everything from pens to office chairs. The Department of Finance and Administration has the authority to buy such commodities through statewide contracts, allowing for competitive pricing. The state should expand this practice for services, such as accounting and waste management. This type of statewide contract would provide purchasing power that smaller agencies would be unable to replicate and could provide cost-savings on needed agency functions. Also, I support conversion of DFAs Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management to a self-funded entity over the next three years. To accomplish this, DFA must have the authority to capture any rebates or administrative fees generated by contracts negotiated by the Office of Purchasing, Travel and Fleet Management. The savings to the state is minimal, this is good policy that provides an incentive for DFA to negotiate state contracts more aggressively and find savings, which is the goal of the Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee. While these two recommendations for DFA are good first steps in making government more efficient, we must remember that implementation of comprehensive procurement reform would provide significant cost-savings to Mississippi taxpayers. I urge the Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency Committee to continue examining efficiencies in procurement practices and other government service areas that are ripe for reform, such as information technology.

Improving Transparency
An open and effective government is a critical component of a democracy. The newly created Senate Accountability, Efficiency and Transparency Committee will examine policies and programs to limit wasteful spending of tax dollars and communicate government decisions to the public. However, this renewed focus on accountability and transparency is not limited to legislation handled by the Accountability, Efficiency, and Transparency Committee. As an example, the awarding of legal contracts and the Office of Attorney General is one area where Mississippi government can improve transparency and efficiency. I am confident the new conservative leadership of the House feels strongly about this issue and will take the necessary action to shine a light on these contracts. I support a change in law to give agencies express authority to hire and pay legal counsel without first getting approval from the Attorney General, which can often be a long and arduous process. Currently, most state agencies are limited to legal representation by an attorney assigned to the agency by the Office of the Attorney General. This arrangement can create conflicts when the attorney generals office refuses to handle a case on behalf of the agency or takes a legal stance opposite the agencys interest. As State Treasurer, I experienced firsthand the challenges facing agency directors. The Office of the Attorney General was a roadblock when I joined the effort to direct a legal settlement from the nonprofit Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi to Mississippi taxpayers via the Health Care Trust Fund. The Office of the Attorney General refused to represent taxpayers interest in the case and delayed my efforts to hire outside counsel to pursue the case. The delay was needless and not in the interest of the state. Agency directors should have the ability to hire legal representation when the attorney general refuses to do so. Agency management also has a right to know whether the Attorney General is pursuing legal action on behalf of the agency. For example, if the attorney general wanted to pursue legal action on behalf of the Division of Medicaid, he or she has no statutory requirement to give that agency notification of the legal proceedings. This has occurred in various agencies in the past. A better policy should be adopted. Furthermore, I will support other reasonable amendments that promote fairness and shed light on the processes used to hire contract attorneys through the Attorney Generals office. I appreciate the work of Judiciary A Committee Chairman Sen. Briggs Hopson for his strong leadership on this issue. Other transparency efforts will not require legislation. While many individuals believe statute changes are the only way to promote transparency and accountability, that is a fundamentally flawed approach. I am proud to announce that the Speaker and I have had productive conversations about ways we can increase transparency in the operations of the Mississippi Legislature without significant changes in current statutes. One way to achieve this is by adopting Joint Rules that require greater transparency in proposed bills. We believe that a strike-thru font should be utilized to show any language that is being deleted from current law in a legislative bill. This way, legislators in both houses can see what exact laws are being changed and understand the full impact of these changes. This approach can be used for bills published on the legislative website and ultimately in the printed versions of all legislative bills. Working together, the Senate and the House can adopt this and other changes to increase the openness and transparency of the Mississippi Legislature.

Advancing Educational Outcomes

Mississippis future success is tied to classrooms across the state. For far too long, government has resisted substantial changes to how children are educated in public schools. The results are disappointing: A 17 percent dropout rate, wasteful spending and frustrated teachers and parents. There has been debate for many years over consolidating Mississippis 152 school districts to more effectively spend tax dollars across the states 82 counties. School consolidation is one area where we have the opportunity to improve student success. The concept deserves consideration, however as policymakers, we must carefully proceed with combining schools. I propose the consolidation of the three school districts in Sunflower County, which are all currently under conservatorship at the Department of Education. These school districts have low-performing schools and serious financial problems. By combining Indianola, Sunflower and Drew school districts, administrators can combine duplicative functions and dedicate more tax dollars to the classroom. Savings will be realized around the third year of the newly reconfigured district. The new school district will be managed by an appointed superintendent. If successful, this school district will serve as a model for consolidation legislation of certain districts in the future. More importantly, this new school district will give students in Sunflower County a chance at a better education. Charter schools have received much attention in education circles in recent years, and Mississippi should take a closer look giving parents a choice in their childs education. Our state should no longer tolerate keeping students in one of Mississippis 231 schools on academic watch, one of the 153 schools that are low performing, or one of the 13 schools that are failing state standards. By creating a competitive environment, schools can attract quality teachers, and parents can choose the best place for their child to attend school. A good education is the bright future that every Mississippi child deserves. To achieve these goals, Mississippi should establish an independent commission to serve as the agency that approves requests to establish charter schools. This independent body would be comprised of members appointed by the Legislature and Governor as well as include representation from the State Board of Education. I support strong charter school legislation that has broad flexibility as to where they can locate and who they can serve, yet strict as to who is authorized to establish these schools. Those who wish to develop new charter schools should have a proven track record of success. My education plan also supports successful programs like Teach for America and the Mississippi Teacher Corps, which match the brightest and best young teachers with the schools that want them. I also support fully funding the National Board of Certified Teachers program and encourage teachers to participate in this rigorous training. The Legislature also should consider financial incentives for good teachers. Successful teachers should be rewarded based on student achievement. There is no denying that a quality teacher in the classroom results in quality students we owe that to our children.

Protecting Mississippi Families

Building a foundation for a safer Mississippi is one of the most important tasks the Legislature performs every year. Legislation that creates a safer communities for Mississippis children is crucial to our states future. Legislators should work with law enforcement and social service experts to craft laws that will protect Mississippis most vulnerable citizens. As a first step, the Legislature should move swiftly to pass legislation that will protect our states children. Legislation similar to the proposed Mississippi Child Protection Act (MCPA) will make Mississippi a model for protecting children and families. MCPA-style legislation will strengthen laws and procedures for reporting known and suspected cases of physical and sexual abuse against Mississippis children. The legislation will require mandatory reporting of physical and/or sexual abuse of a minor. An individual will be required to report cases of child abuse to authorities within 48 hours of learning of the incident and participate in the law enforcement investigation. Any individual who fails to comply with the law will face possible civil and criminal punishment. While this requirement is placed on every adult in Mississippi, the legislation emphasizes those in roles of responsibility and authority, specifically our educators, medical practitioners, clergy, law enforcement and first responders. The legislation will strengthen the states statutory rape laws by addressing cases that are sometimes unnoticed by authorities, allowing sexual offenders to escape punishment. The law will require the preservation of fetal tissue from abortions performed on minors. The Mississippi Board of Health will produce the proper protocol for managing and reporting the procedure. The Mississippi Department of Public Safetys State Crime Lab will take possession and store the tissue for a law enforcement inves-

Key child protection initiatives

Requires mandatory reporting of physical and/or sexual abuse of a minor within 48 hours of learning of the incident. Requires the preservation of fetal tissue from abortions performed on minors. The Mississippi Board of Health will create procedures for handling the tissue. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety State Crime Lab will store tissue for criminal investigation. Prohibits anyone from aiding a minor in obtaining an abortion without consent from a parent or guardian.
tigation. Similar laws have been implemented in other states with great success, helping authorities prosecute individuals who abuse children. MCPA-style legislation also will help support the Parental Consent Law the Legislature implemented to protect minors seeking an abortion. It will prohibit anyone from intentionally causing, aiding or assisting a minor in obtaining an abortion without the consent a parent or legal guardian. Any person found guilty under this Act can be held liable under civil and criminal penalties. By enforcing current child abuse laws and implementing harsher punishment for abusers, legislators can help protect Mississippis families and build safer communities.