Mississippi Today
Gov. Tate Reeves wants $1.3 billion from lawmakers for his new road plan
Gov. Tate Reeves wants $1.3 billion from lawmakers for his new road plan
Gov. Tate Reeves announced Thursday he has a plan for infrastructure improvements to drive economic development, and he’s asking lawmakers for $1.3 billion this session so he can kick off road projects statewide.
Reeves said the “vast majority” of the projects are already in the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s three-year plan for road work, but he’s picked ones that are shovel ready and that will help traffic capacity and give “Mississippi the competitive advantage it needs to land more economic development projects and deliver more high-quality, high-paying jobs for Mississippians.”
Reeves wants lawmakers to use a historically large budget surplus to fund his road plan, during an election year.
Reeves announced his “plan to drive further economic development and growth in Mississippi” at a press conference on Thursday. He had a large state map showing numerous proposed projects dotted statewide, many of them long in the works by MDOT or requested by local leaders.
It is unclear why Reeves would go around MDOT and normal channels and ask lawmakers to put $1.3 billion in a special account for his plan, or why it wasn’t part of his budget recommendation to lawmakers in the fall. He said time is of the essence, particularly with high inflation rates driving up cost of road construction, although he acknowledged all the projects couldn’t be completed during one fiscal year.
Reeves’ proposal includes a request for $100 million for the state Emergency Road and Bridge Repair program, which provides money for local governments. Lawmakers allocated $100 million for the program last year, with the Senate pushing unsuccessfully for $300 million. Reeves also is asking for more money for grants to develop project-ready industrial parks statewide.
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann on Thursday issued a statement about the governor’s proposal.
“The Senate has prioritized infrastructure funding, with billions allocated for road, bridge, water, and sewer projects over the past several years,” Hosemann said. “We look forward to reviewing the Governor’s recommendations and continuing our emphasis on critical infrastructure.”
MDOT Director Brad White, Reeves’ former chief of staff, and Tom King, chair of the three-member elected Transportation Commission that oversees MDOT, both supported Reeves’ request in statements on Thursday.
“There is no better use for the one-time money our state currently has than investing in a core function of government — our state’s public infrastructure,” White said. “I applaud Gov. Tate Reeves and the Legislature for their vigorous support and focus on Mississippi’s transportation system.”
King said: “Our top priorities at MDOT are safety, efficiency and economic development. This initiative hits all three. Increasing capacity and safety with projects that are nearest shovel-ready is efficient use of one-time funds. This investment will in-turn help encourage economic development and expansion across the state. I look forward to continuing this conversation with our state leaders in the days and weeks to come.”
Reeves said, “We have had conversations with individual members (of the Legislature) and the leadership” about his road plan.
Asked how he views the chances of lawmakers earmarking $1.3 billion for his road plan, he said: “I am forever an optimist when it comes to working with the Legislature.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
On this day in 1997
Dec. 22, 1997
The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the conviction of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith for the 1963 murder of Medgar Evers.
In the court’s 4–2 decision, Justice Mike Mills praised efforts “to squeeze justice out of the harm caused by a furtive explosion which erupted from dark bushes on a June night in Jackson, Mississippi.”
He wrote that Beckwith’s constitutional right to a speedy trial had not been denied. His “complicity with the Sovereignty Commission’s involvement in the prior trials contributed to the delay.”
The decision did more than ensure that Beckwith would stay behind bars. The conviction helped clear the way for other prosecutions of unpunished killings from the Civil Rights Era.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
Medicaid expansion tracker approaches $1 billion loss for Mississippi
About the time people ring in the new year next week, the digital tracker on Mississippi Today’s homepage tabulating the amount of money the state is losing by not expanding Medicaid will hit $1 billion.
The state has lost $1 billion not since the start of the quickly departing 2024 but since the beginning of the state’s fiscal year on July 1.
Some who oppose Medicaid expansion say the digital tracker is flawed.
During an October news conference, when state Auditor Shad White unveiled details of his $2 million study seeking ways to cut state government spending, he said he did not look at Medicaid expansion as a method to save money or grow state revenue.
“I think that (Mississippi Today) calculator is wrong,” White said. “… I don’t think that takes into account how many people are going to be moved off the federal health care exchange where their health care is paid for fully by the federal government and moved onto Medicaid.”
White is not the only Mississippi politician who has expressed concern that if Medicaid expansion were enacted, thousands of people would lose their insurance on the exchange and be forced to enroll in Medicaid for health care coverage.
Mississippi Today’s projections used for the tracker are based on studies conducted by the Institutions of Higher Learning University Research Center. Granted, there are a lot of variables in the study that are inexact. It is impossible to say, for example, how many people will get sick and need health care, thus increasing the cost of Medicaid expansion. But is reasonable that the projections of the University Research Center are in the ballpark of being accurate and close to other studies conducted by health care experts.
White and others are correct that Mississippi Today’s calculator does not take into account money flowing into the state for people covered on the health care exchange. But that money does not go to the state; it goes to insurance companies that, granted, use that money to reimburse Mississippians for providing health care. But at least a portion of the money goes to out-of-state insurance companies as profits.
Both Medicaid expansion and the health care exchange are part of the Affordable Care Act. Under Medicaid expansion people earning up to $20,120 annually can sign up for Medicaid and the federal government will pay the bulk of the cost. Mississippi is one of 10 states that have not opted into Medicaid expansion.
People making more than $14,580 annually can garner private insurance through the health insurance exchanges, and people below certain income levels can receive help from the federal government in paying for that coverage.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, legislation championed and signed into law by President Joe Biden significantly increased the federal subsidies provided to people receiving insurance on the exchange. Those increased subsidies led to many Mississippians — desperate for health care — turning to the exchange for help.
White, state Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, Gov. Tate Reeves and others have expressed concern that those people would lose their private health insurance and be forced to sign up for Medicaid if lawmakers vote to expand Medicaid.
They are correct.
But they do not mention that the enhanced benefits authored by the Biden administration are scheduled to expire in December 2025 unless they are reenacted by Congress. The incoming Donald Trump administration has given no indication it will continue the enhanced subsidies.
As a matter of fact, the Trump administration, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is looking for ways to cut federal spending.
Some have speculated that Medicaid expansion also could be on Musk’s chopping block.
That is possible. But remember congressional action is required to continue the enhanced subsidies. On the flip side, congressional action would most likely be required to end or cut Medicaid expansion.
Would the multiple U.S. senators and House members in the red states that have expanded Medicaid vote to end a program that is providing health care to thousands of their constituents?
If Congress does not continue Biden’s enhanced subsidies, the rates for Mississippians on the exchange will increase on average about $500 per year, according to a study by KFF, a national health advocacy nonprofit. If that occurs, it is likely that many of the 280,000 Mississippians on the exchange will drop their coverage.
The result will be that Mississippi’s rate of uninsured — already one of the highest in the nation – will rise further, putting additional pressure on hospitals and other providers who will be treating patients who have no ability to pay.
In the meantime, the Mississippi Today counter that tracks the amount of money Mississippi is losing by not expanding Medicaid keeps ticking up.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
On this day in 1911
Dec. 21, 1911
Josh Gibson, the Negro League’s “Home Run King,” was born in Buena Vista, Georgia.
When the family’s farm suffered, they moved to Pittsburgh, and Gibson tried baseball at age 16. He eventually played for a semi-pro team in Pittsburgh and became known for his towering home runs.
He was watching the Homestead Grays play on July 25, 1930, when the catcher injured his hand. Team members called for Gibson, sitting in the stands, to join them. He was such a talented catcher that base runners were more reluctant to steal. He hit the baseball so hard and so far (580 feet once at Yankee Stadium) that he became the second-highest paid player in the Negro Leagues behind Satchel Paige, with both of them entering the National Baseball Hame of Fame.
The Hall estimated that Gibson hit nearly 800 homers in his 17-year career and had a lifetime batting average of .359. Gibson was portrayed in the 1996 TV movie, “Soul of the Game,” by Mykelti Williamson. Blair Underwood played Jackie Robinson, Delroy Lindo portrayed Satchel Paige, and Harvey Williams played “Cat” Mays, the father of the legendary Willie Mays.
Gibson has now been honored with a statue outside the Washington Nationals’ ballpark.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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