Legislative Update 20

June 08, 2008

Dear Friends,

Special Session Update

On Wednesday afternoon, the eighth day of the Special Session, the House and Senate recessed until June 26. Before leaving Jackson, both chambers agreed to reauthorize the Department of Employment Security and raise unemployment benefits. Under the compromise plan, the Department will face reauthorization in two years.

With Employment Security out of the way, the remaining elephant in the room is Medicaid. As I discussed in last week’s update, the House of Representatives has balked at the Governor’s plan to cover the Medicaid deficit by taxing hospitals, a tax that will almost certainly be passed along to non-Medicaid hospital patients. While the hospital tax passed in the Senate, the plan garnered only 45 of the necessary 65 votes in the House.

Because funding the Medicaid deficit with a cigarette tax increase, a hospital tax increase or a combination of the two seems unlikely, it may be time to give serious consideration to the House bill which would appropriate money from the State’s “Rainy Day Fund” to cover next year’s shortfall. While such a plan would not provide a long term fix to Medicaid funding, it would prevent the Medicaid system from experiencing significant cuts in the upcoming year. It would also give the House and Senate an opportunity to carve out a more permanent solution during next year’s legislative session.

While debate surrounding the Medicaid deficit has been fierce, make no mistake, no one wants to see big cuts to Medicaid this summer. Hopefully, June 26 will be a time for compromise.

Voter I.D.: Too Important to Mess Up

I’m glad that the issue of Voter I.D. has sparked discussion about the importance of promoting and protecting our elections. As Americans, there are few things more important than our constitutional right to select our leaders. This past election cycle in Jackson County has shown how important one vote can be.

Because protecting our elections is so important, I am working on a Voter I.D. bill that I hope to see passed during next year’s legislative session. It will be important that we get this bill right so I am inviting each of you to contact me with your ideas about how we can make this bill the best piece of legislation it can be. For help in this process, I am assembling a group of folks in our district who will meet and discuss this issue during the summer and fall. Please let me know if you are interested in being a part of this effort.

It will be important that we introduce a product that maintains the integrity of our elections while encouraging a new generation of voters to get out to the polls.

I voted against a procedural measure to rush Voter I.D. out on the floor for one simple reason: Voter I.D. is too important to get wrong. Before we begin to overhaul our election process, we need to talk to the circuit clerks and election officials who serve on the front lines in our struggle against voter fraud. Any politician who says otherwise is more interested in politics than public policy. I do not believe the Legislature should ask the taxpayers of Mississippi to pay $40,000 a day during a Special Session to watch politicians play games.

I look forward to hearing from you on this important issue.

How to Contact Me

If you have any questions or concerns, I invite you to call me on my cell phone at 228-326-7649 or e-mail me at bjones@house.ms.gov. Please feel free to forward this report to folks in our district and let me know if I need to add someone to my list.

I will also be posting my updates and House related news on my campaign website at www.electbrandonjones.com.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve.

Brandon