Gunn restricted funds affect of rank-and-file lawmakers

When the Mississippi Legislature convenes at midday Tuesday, it’ll mark the ultimate time for Home Speaker Philip Gunn to gavel to order a daily session.

The 2023 common legislative session would be the swan music for Gunn’s historic tenure as speaker of the Mississippi Home of Representatives.

The Clinton Republican has introduced he won’t search reelection for a sixth time period within the Home in 2023. He’ll depart workplace as the primary Republican speaker for the reason that 1800s, because the third longest serving speaker in state historical past and because the guiding drive of laws in 2020 retiring the state flag that included the Accomplice battle emblem prominently in its design.

He additionally is likely one of the main architects of a legislative rule that arguably provides the leaders of the Home and Senate unprecedented energy over the budgeting course of.

The query is whether or not that rule — one of many Legislature’s most authoritative guidelines in current historical past — will finish with Gunn’s retirement.

That rule strips away almost all, if not all, of the facility for rank-and-file legislators to have a say in finishing up their most elementary operate: deciding how one can acceptable state funds.

The rule requires a member wanting to supply an modification to extend funding for a program or company — such because the Division of Well being to cope with the state’s ongoing litany of well being woes — to specify from what company the cash shall be taken.

On the floor, the rule appears logical and truthful. In any case, legislators shouldn’t be spending cash the state doesn’t have. However the rule, because it was crafted in 2012 when Gunn was first elected speaker by his colleagues, severely limits the pot of cash a rank-and-file legislator can think about when making an modification to extend funding for the Well being Division, for training or for every other company. The rank-and-file legislator, for example, couldn’t make the modification to spend any of the $4 billion {dollars} in reserves the state at present has for a program the legislator believes wants extra funds to cope with a disaster.

And to make the method extra difficult, the cash have to be taken from a funds invoice that’s earlier than the chamber at the moment. It is very important perceive that every chamber takes up and passes half of the greater than 100 payments funding state businesses and commissions after which exchanges payments with the opposite chamber. The Home will ship their appropriations payments to the Senate and vice versa. If a member of the Home needs to extend funding for the Mississippi Satisfactory Training Program, for example, and wishes to take funds from the Division of Transportation to take action, the member can not if the Transportation invoice is within the Senate on the time as an alternative of the Home.

Republicans took full management of the Mississippi Legislature in 2012. The budgeting modification was included into the joint guidelines of the Legislature that 12 months by the 2 new presiding officers — Gunn within the Home and then-Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves within the Senate.

Curiously, when reporters informed the late Terry Brown, on the time the brand new Senate president professional tem, concerning the Home plan to enact the funds rule, the Columbus Republican who had loads of conservative bona fides flashed his mischievous smile and mentioned the rule wouldn’t be taken up within the higher chamber. He mentioned senators wouldn’t assist a rule to severely restrict their say within the course of. A day later, presumably after assembly with Reeves, Brown was advocating for the modification.

It handed each chambers and since then legislators have acted principally like lemmings in relation to the funds course of, passing what legislative management presents to them in the course of the waning days of every legislative session.

In 2024 there shall be a brand new speaker of the Home. The favourite to interchange Gunn is Home Professional Tem Jason White, R-West. Incumbent Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann would be the heavy favourite to win reelection as presiding officer of the Senate.

Hosemann was not lieutenant governor when the budgeting rule was enacted, and through his first time period because the presiding officer he has at occasions displayed extra of a willingness to let the members of the Senate have a say within the legislative course of.

With Hosemann nonetheless in workplace and a brand new speaker in place, members may flex their collective muscle to demand a change to the rule.

However first, legislators will serve one other 12 months underneath a course of the place they’ve little or no say in how state funds are spent.