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Democrat Brandon Presley calls for overhaul of campaign finance laws

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TUPELO — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brandon Presley on Thursday called for state leaders to reform Mississippi’s notoriously lax campaign finance laws and expand the role of the state’s Ethics Commission to enforce lobbying campaign contribution regulations.

Speaking in Tupelo, Presley called on lawmakers to pass a law that transfers campaign finance filings from the Secretary of State’s Office, where it’s currently housed, to the Mississippi Ethics Commission, which only handles some aspects of the current rules.

The Democratic candidate, currently north Mississippi’s utility regulator, also urged state leaders to give the commission power to conduct random audits of candidates’ campaign finance donations and expenditures to keep him and other politicians “on our toes.”

“We’re going to propose this plan to restore pride, faith in state government,” Presley said, “to make sure that we’re not the laughingstock of the nation when it comes to campaign finance reports.”

The current campaign finance laws are a confusing, often conflicting patchwork that requires three different state agencies to have some role in enforcing the regulations.

“It’s a mess,” state Ethics Commission Director Tom Hood recently told Mississippi Today of Mississippi’s campaign finance laws. “Changes have been made multiple times over multiple years, and it’s like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle that doesn’t fit.”

READ MORE: Reform, ethics, transparency, fighting political corruption — it must be election time in Mississippi

While confusing, most state leaders agree that candidates are currently supposed to file campaign finance reports with the Secretary of State’s office, but that agency mainly acts as a record-keeping entity. If candidates skirt the laws or fail to file a report, the agency forwards their name to the Ethics Commission for review.

The commission can then vote to levy fines against a candidate, but if a candidate fails to pay that fine, the commission, in theory, eventually notifies the Attorney General to consider filing a civil suit against them to recover the unpaid fine.

Mississippi also spends less money on ethics enforcement — $730,000 — than other surrounding states, such as Alabama, which spends more than $3 million a year on ethics accountability.

But Presley said if he is elected, he would also urge legislators to appropriate more money and resources to allow the commission to handle more responsibilities.

Other proposals Presley outlined are:

  • Establishing a task force to recommend how state government can strengthen ethics regulations.
  • Supporting legislation to prohibit companies seeking a license, permit, or non-competitive contract from the state from donating more than $250 to political campaigns from the date of solicitation and for 12 months after the final award is made.
  • Requiring the governor’s office and all state agencies to keep records of all meetings with lobbyists and companies and individuals lobbying the government for contracts or legislation that benefits them.
  • Encouraging that campaign finance reports to be available, submitted online, easily accessible to the public, and due every 30 days in an election year and quarterly in non-election years.

The Democratic candidate has made ethics reform a central part of his statewide campaign, and he has called on lawmakers to pass laws that ban state officials from raising money while the Legislature is in session.

The political discourse over ethics reform between Presley and Republican Gov. Tate Reeves has devolved into a separate issue over who has donated to the two candidates campaigns for public office.

When asked recently about his presumptive Democratic opponent’s ethics reforms proposals, Reeves’ campaign did not substantively address Presley’s policies, but criticized the Democratic candidate for accepting campaign donations from Richard Scruggs, who pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge and a federal mail fraud charge in 2009.

Scruggs served a stint in prison, which he completed in 2014. He donated $10,000 to Presley’s campaign, according to the candidate’s most recent campaign finance report, and he regularly donates to political candidates in the state.

But Presley last week said he is complying with current campaign finance laws and pointed the finger back at Reeves for previously accepting donations from such Nancy and Zach New, who pleaded guilty to crimes related to the state’s welfare scandal and are waiting for a judge to determine their prison sentence.

Editor’s Note: Dickie Scruggs has been a donor of Mississippi Today. Donors do not influence Mississippi Today’s editorial decisions, and a list of our donors can be found here.

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

Mississippi Today

On this day in 1865

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2025-01-12 07:00:00

Jan. 12, 1865 

Credit: Zinn Education Project

As the Civil War neared an end, Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton met with local Black leaders in Savannah, Georgia. 

The Rev. Garrison Frazier, a 67-year-old imposing man, spoke for the group. Asked what slavery meant, he replied, “Slavery is, receiving by irresistible power the work of another man, and not by his consent.” 

He told the Army leaders that they wanted to be free from the dominion of white men, wanted to be educated and wanted to own land they could work and earn a living. 

Asked if they would rather live scattered among the whites or in colonies by yourselves, Frazier replied, “I would prefer to live by ourselves, for there is a prejudice against us in the South that will take years to get over.” 

In response, Sherman issued Special Field Order 15, giving each freed family 40 acres of land along the Atlantic Coast. “The effect throughout the South was electric,” wrote historian Henry Louis Gates Jr., with freedmen settling on 400,000 acres of “Sherman Land.” 

Some also received mules left over from the battles, leading to the phrase “40 acres and a mule.” 

After President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, President Andrew Johnson took over, reversing Field Order 15 and smashing the dreams of Black Americans who had finally been freed.

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

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Mississippi Today

Gov. Tate Reeves zones in again on taxes but remains silent on critical retirement system problems

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mississippitoday.org – Bobby Harrison – 2025-01-12 06:00:00

Hours before the 2025 session of the Mississippi Legislature kicked off last week, Gov. Tate Reeves went to social media to proclaim the No. 1 goal “for this Republican” is to eliminate the state income tax.

The governor does not have a vote in the Legislature and cannot even introduce legislation. He must seek out a legislative ally to file bills he supports.

But the governor has perhaps the biggest political bully pulpit in the state, giving an effective governor the immense opportunity to sway public opinion. And the governor has the power of the veto, which it takes an imposing two-thirds majority in both legislative chambers to override.

Obviously, one of the governor’s most important duties is working with the Legislature to develop policies for the betterment of the state.

In the opinion of Jonathan Tate Reeves, now in his 21st year as a statewide elected official and in his fifth year as governor, the most important issue facing 3 million Mississippians is eliminating the income tax.

Reeves has proposed phasing out the income tax every year he has been governor. His latest proposal is to phase out the tax, which accounts for about 30% of the state general fund, by 2029.

Other Republicans in the state, including House Speaker Jason White, also say the elimination of the income tax is their top priority or near the top of their “to do list.” But White speaks of eliminating the tax in eight to 10 years. Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann wants to cut the tax, but says if legislation is enacted to fully eliminate the tax, it will be after his tenure as lieutenant governor ends in January 2028.

Many politicians cite other pressing needs facing the state, not the least of which is ensuring the long-term viability of the state’s massive retirement program for public employees. Some say if the Public Employees Retirement System is not fiscally sound in the long term, the financial impact on the state could be devastating.

Yet the governor has rarely commented about the issues facing PERS, which provides or will provide retirement benefits for more than 350,000 people who worked or have worked in the public sector — including for state agencies, local governmental entities and public schools, kindergarten through the university level. In other words, more than 10% of the state’s population is in the PERS system.

Experts say the system has a deficit of $25 billion. It should be stressed that the deficit could be considered a bit misleading because PERS has assets to meet its obligations for years — for long after Reeves leaves office.

But many believe that if steps are not taken now to shore up the system, the state will eventually face financial obligations like it has never experienced. It is very unlikely Reeves will have to deal with that likelihood since he will long be gone from state government service.

The PERS governing board and legislators began work to shore up the system before the 2024 session began. That work is continuing this year. While Reeves talks about eliminating the income tax all the time, he seldom if ever weighs in on what he believes should be done to deal with PERS.

After the 2024 session, Reeves allowed a bill that made significant changes to PERS to become law without his signature. It was not clear whether he supported or opposed the legislation that was viewed by many as an opening salvo in dealing with issues surrounding PERS.

The governor’s silence is particularly interesting considering he was a member of the governing board of PERS when he served as state treasurer. Reeves’ experience as treasure and his short career in the private sector in finance should give him a unique perspective on the financial issues the retirement system faces.

Every politician has different priorities. Reeves has not been shy about letting Mississippians know his top priority. It is easy to find his thoughts on the income tax in his social media posts.

But on PERS, it is crickets when it comes to what the governor thinks.

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

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2025-01-11 07:00:00

Jan. 11, 1870 

The Black lawmakers from Reconstruction days are featured in an online exhibit by Mississippi State University titled, “Against All Odds: The First Black Legislators in Mississippi.” Credit: Courtesy of Mississippi State University Libraries

The first legislature in Radical Reconstruction met in Mississippi. During this time, at least 226 Black Mississippians held public office. Lawmakers adopted a new state constitution that ushered in free public schools and had no property requirements to vote. 

These acts infuriated the Southerners who embraced white supremacy, and they responded violently. They assassinated many of those who worked on the constitution. 

In Monroe County, Klansmen killed Jack Dupree, a Black Mississippian who led a Republican Party group. In Vicksburg, white supremacists formed the White Man’s party, patrolled the streets with guns, and told Black voters to stay home on election day. 

White supremacists continued to use violence and voter fraud to win. When the federal government refused to step in, 

Congressman John R. Lynch warned, “The war was fought in vain.” 

It would take almost a century for Black Mississippians to begin to regain the rights they had lost. 

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

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