Mississippi Today

Lt. Gov. Hosemann announces task forces to improve workforce, help women and children

Published

6 days ago

June 25, 2024

mississippitoday.org – Bobby Harrison – 2024-06-25 14:13:26

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann announced the creation of two Senate study committees – one new group and the other task force reinstituted from 2022.

Hosemann, who presides over the Senate, announced a Labor Force Participation Study Group. That committee, chaired by second term Sen. Daniel Sparks, R-Belmont, will look at the issue of Mississippi continuing to have a lower percentage of people 16 and older in the workforce than any state in the nation.

Hosemann and others, including state Economist Corey Miller, have repeatedly said that the low workforce participation rate is a primary reason Mississippi lags the rest of the nation economically.

Hosemann also announced he is re-starting the Study Group on Women, Children, and Families. It again will be chaired by second-term Sen. Nicole Boyd, R-Oxford.

The group was formed by the lieutenant governor in part due to the 2022 ruling overturning Roe V. Wade, which guaranteed a national right to abortions. Mississippi had laws in place when Roe was overturned banning most abortions in Mississippi.

It was estimated that with the abortion ban there would be an additional 5,000 births annually in Mississippi. That increase, based on an analysis of early data, has not occurred. But the decline in births in Mississippi since 2007 has slowed and more unwanted pregnancies have been reported, according to research by the Institute of Labor Economics. Experts surmised that women were traveling out of state for abortions or were receiving abortion-inducing medication via the mail.

Researchers stressed it is too soon after the overturning of Roe to reach definitive conclusions.

“It is the Legislature's job to examine how our state laws and appropriations help or hinder Mississippi's opportunities for positive growth and prosperity,” Hosemann said in announcing the task forces. “Both of these topics have tremendous potential to move the needle in terms of economic development, tourism, health outcomes, educational attainment, and other major factors which determine our future trajectory as a state and in our communities.”

As of April, the state's labor force participation rate was 53.75% compared to the national average of 62.75%, Hosemann said.

After the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe, the Senate study group discussed multiple issues that later became law with the stated aim of helping women and children.

Those include:

Expanding Medicaid coverage from 60 days to a year for women after giving birth
Providing presumptive Medicaid eligibility for a pregnant woman receiving health care
Increasing tax credits for people adopting children and for pregnancy crisis centers
Extending the time a parent can surrender a new born to emergency providers from seven days to 45 days
Making other changes to adoption and foster care laws

Noteworthy, the state has not expanded Medicaid to provide health care coverage to the working poor and presumably help low income families.

People wanting to make recommendations can do so at LaborStudyGroup@senate.ms.gov or at WCPStudyGroup@senate.ms.gov.

Both study groups will hold public hearings later this year.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Mississippi Today launches collaboration with JPMorganChase

Published

2 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Staff Editor

The American Journalism Project today announced it is teaming up with JPMorganChase to support local news organizations throughout the country. In addition to providing funding for the American Journalism Project's national efforts to rebuild local news, JPMorganChase is sponsoring eight nonprofit newsrooms nationwide, sharing ongoing financial health content, organizing local events, and providing expertise tailored to their unique challenges to help meet their business and operational goals. This work with JPMorganChase marks the first time the American Journalism Project is collaborating with a financial services firm.

“As the largest bank in the country, this commitment from JPMorganChase sends a powerful signal that corporations can play an integral role in rebuilding local news,” said Sarabeth Berman, CEO of the American Journalism Project. “The investment and scale will infuse resources in a thrilling new generation of news outlets that are working to ensure local news is available to all, strengthening and informing communities.”

“The evidence is clear that a thriving local news ecosystem is key to more civic engagement and a healthy democracy. JPMorganChase believes supporting sustainable models for local news is essential to meeting information needs, strengthening communities and fostering inclusive economic growth,” said Andrew Gray, Managing Director of Regional Communications for JPMorganChase. “The American Journalism Project is playing a key role in supporting the sector by growing local news from the ground up so outlets can independently thrive. We're proud to be a part of this effort, and engage locally to identify the best opportunities where we can make an impact.”

JPMorganChase will work directly with eight local nonprofit news organizations in the American Journalism Project's portfolio, including:

THE CITY (New York City), a nonpartisan news outlet that serves the people of New York through independent journalism that holds the powerful to account, deepens democratic participation, and makes sense of complex issues.
Block Club Chicago, a newsroom dedicated to delivering reliable, relevant, and nonpartisan coverage of Chicago's diverse neighborhoods.
Mississippi Today, which as part of the Deep South Today nonprofit news network is providing free nonpartisan news to inform communities statewide and ensure accountability from public officials.
Cityside (San Francisco Bay Area), a nonpartisan digital news organization building community through local journalism with three local news sites, Berkeleyside, The Oaklandside and Richmondside.
Montana Free Press, a nonpartisan, public-powered news organization dedicated to reaching and serving the information needs of all Montanans by producing in-depth news, information, and analysis.
Signal Ohio, a statewide news organizations with newsrooms in Cleveland and Akron, committed to producing high-quality accountability journalism while working directly with residents to produce and distribute community reporting that is free to access for all
Fort Worth Report, producing independent, factual news coverage that aims to find solutions for community issues and strengthen a diverse and rapidly growing city and home county.
Spotlight Delaware, a community-powered, collaborative newsroom covering the impact of public policy, increasing access to information and civic engagement in historically underserved communities, and strengthening existing newsrooms throughout the state.

“Deep South Today is grateful for this opportunity to partner with JPMorganChase to further build the capacity of Mississippi Today to deliver essential local news to the communities it serves,” said Warwick Sabin, President and CEO of Deep South Today. “We look forward to working closely with them over the long term to achieve a healthier democracy and civil society through journalism that informs, engages, and inspires more Mississippians.”

AJP is the leading venture philanthropy working to address the market failure in local news. It is establishing and advancing a new generation of nonprofit local news organizations across the country. Founded in 2019, AJP is built on the evidence that robust journalism is an essential component of a healthy democracy. To date, AJP has raised $175M from local and national funders to address the local news crisis and has backed 44 news operations across 33 states.

JPMorganChase is a leading financial services firm and one of the oldest financial institutions in the U.S. It serves millions of customers, clients, and communities in 100+ global markets. This collaboration with AJP is part of the bank's overarching efforts to support local journalism.

About the American Journalism Project

The American Journalism Project is a venture philanthropy dedicated to local news. We believe in civic journalism as a public good and are reimagining its future by building a model to finance and sustain the local news our democracy requires. We make grants to local nonprofit news organizations to build their revenue and business operations, partner with communities to launch new organizations, and meteor leaders as they grow and sustain their newsrooms. To learn more about the American Journalism Project, visit our website.

About JPMorganChase

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $4.1 trillion in assets and $337 billion in stockholders' equity as of March 31, 2024. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

On this day in 1870

Published

3 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Staff Editor

JULY 1, 1870

Congress created the Department of Justice to handle the flood of post-Civil War litigation. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed Amos T. Akerman, whose priority became the protection of Black voting rights from attacks by the Ku Klux Klan and similar groups.

Congress aided that fight by passing additional laws that gave the department powerful tools to fight these violent white supremacist groups. These new laws enabled Akerman to obtain hundreds of convictions across the South. On one day in November 1871, 250 men in a South Carolina county confessed membership in the Klan.

Historian William McFeely wrote of Akerman, “Perhaps no attorney general since his tenure … has been more vigorous in the prosecution of cases designed to protect the lives and rights of Black Americans.”

But instead of rewarding Akerman, Grant dismissed him, and the battle to preserve these voting rights became less of a priority.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Podcast: State Democratic Chair Taylor remains committed to Biden

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4 hours ago

July 1, 2024

Staff Editor

Mississippi Today's Bobby Harrison and Geoff Pender interview Mississippi Democratic Party Chairman Cheikh Taylor about President Joe Biden's debate performance and the future of the Democratic Party in Mississippi. Taylor, a state House member from Starkville, also expressed hope that the Legislature will finally approve Medicaid expansion in the 2025 session.

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