Special sessions to resolve bitter disputes becoming the norm

The Sun Herald, 5/5/8

Budget battles are not unusual at Mississippi’s state Capitol, but many taxpayers expect lawmakers to resolve their differences within the timeframe of a regular session.

In recent years, that hasn’t always happened. Funding wars over Medicaid or K-12 public education have spilled over into special sessions, meaning the partisan feuding of lawmakers is occurring on the taxpayer’s dime.

Gov. Haley Barbour will call another special session in coming weeks to address the budget for the Division of Medicaid. The health care program serves about a fourth of the state’s population. Most of those on Medicaid’s roll are children, the elderly and the disabled.