Can we have better schools, better roads and BP money? The next 90 days will tell.
And, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office said he still backs the Coast.
“As Lt. Gov. Reeves has said previously, the BP disaster happened on the Gulf Coast and that is why the Coast should receive the vast majority of settlement funds,” Hipp said. “The Senate passed Sen. Wiggins’ legislation in 2017 that set that money in a special account, and unfortunately, that measure did not make it through the House. Lt. Gov. Reeves believes the funds should be spent on projects that add to the Coast economy because that is good for the entire state.”
BP money aside, Baria said, lawmakers face huge issues in health care — “That would take an hour to go through all of them” — and the debate over how to pay to maintain and repair roads and bridges.
Dawkins said the Legislature also likely will be dealing with an unruly budget. “I’m shocked, shocked that we haven’t seen huge revenue increases because they cut all these taxes,” she said sarcastically.
DeLano said lawmakers also will probably take up a lottery, something he supports as long as it’s played on paper, like the Powerball, and not on electronic machines that look like cousins to video poker.
Sun Herald
1/2/18
Magnolia Tribune
