Senate Appropriations Committee passes bill that would send BP money to the coast
JACKSON, MS (WLOX) – A senate bill that would send BP recovery money to the coast has cleared its first hurdle. Senate Bill 2634 passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves said.
The bill would create the Gulf Coast New Restoration Reserve Fund, which would hold the BP money separate from general tax dollars.
The bill was authored by a group of state lawmakers from the coast including Brice Wiggins, Tommy Gollott, Sean Tindell, Mike Seymour, and Michael Watson.
“I appreciate Sen. Wiggins for introducing this legislation as it is a positive step toward ensuring the vast majority of the settlement is spent in the three coastal counties,” Reeves said in a news release. “Every time I visited the coast last year, I heard from residents and community leaders about the impact the BP disaster had, and in some cases continues to have, on the Gulf Coast. It is important that we spend these dollars on projects that will boost the economy of South Mississippi, and therefore the entire state.”
WLOX
1/31/17
