“Today the House of Representatives not only failed to do its job, sixty-eight members of the House, including the House leadership, violated their oath of office.
Every legislator takes an oath upon entering office, and swears before God to execute all the requirements of the Constitution of the State of Mississippi. That Constitution requires a balanced budget, but sixty-eight House members voted to violate the Constitution by running a huge deficit; a $375 million deficit in the coming fiscal year.
If the House leadership wants to change the Constitution so the state doesn’t have a balanced budget, they should try to change it. But they can’t ignore the Constitution just because they are afraid to make the tough decisions of governing.
The way the House leadership ignores the constitutionally-required call for Special Sessions, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised when they ignore the Constitution itself.”
Governor Haley Barbour
6/27/8
