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YP Daily Roundup 2/22/18

YP Daily Roundup 2/22/18

By: Magnolia Tribune - February 22, 2018

Attorney General Hood wants those mean ole Legislators to leave him alone

 

WDAM – Senate Republicans support school funding set in House bill

Senate Education Committee Chairman Gray Tollison discussed possible Senate changes to House Bill 957 Wednesday, after his committee discussed the House-passed bill.

Tollison, an Oxford Republican, says his committee is likely to vote on changes next week, before a Tuesday deadline.

The new formula would replace the current Mississippi Adequate Education Program. The bill envisions increasing funding by $107 million over seven years.

WTOK – Mississippi education commissioner retiring

The head of Mississippi’s university system says he is retiring at the end of June.

Glenn Boyce has been commissioner of the state Institutions of Higher Learning since April 2015. The new state budget year begins July 1.

It was not immediately clear when the search for a new commissioner will begin.

State Senator Chris McDaniel continues to tease political future, says he “loves Trump” but his support of Romney is “just awful”

https://www.facebook.com/senatormcdaniel/posts/1750321805031700

https://www.facebook.com/senatormcdaniel/posts/1748501631880384

HATTIESBURG AMERICAN – These are the 10 safest school districts in Mississippi 

The schools and neighborhoods website, Niche.Com, has released school safety rankings for each state…

In Mississippi, the top 10 safest school districts based on the report data are:

  1. Itawamba County

2. Petal

3. Western Line

4. Pass Christian

5. Madison County

6. Oxford

7. Biloxi

8. Lincoln County

9. Clinton

10. Lamar County

DAILY JOURNAL – Senate keeps alive possibility of increasing cigarette tax

The Senate leadership is keeping alive the option of increasing the cigarette tax.

Wednesday was the deadline to pass revenue bills, such as tax increases, out of at least one chamber of the Mississippi Legislature. While the Senate did not vote to increase the cigarette tax, it did pass a bill with four dissenting votes that contains the legal code section that would be needed in any bill that raises or lowers the cigarette tax.

That means legislators still can opt at a later point in the session to try to increase the cigarette tax.

AMERICANS FOR PROSPERITY – Every American Stands to Lose Under Unprecedented Gas Tax Increase

Recent proposals to increase federal fuel taxes by as much as 25 cents should raise alarms for every American from California to Connecticut, but according to a report released today by Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce and Americans for Prosperity, some states would be especially hard hit. If enacted, an unprecedented 25-cent gas tax increase from 18.4 cents per gallon to 43.4 cents to pay for infrastructure would be the largest federal tax increase in history at the pump…

…Table 2 shows the top ten states with the highest percentage increase in total gas tax liability under the 25-cent increase proposal. These rankings were calculated based on the state’s current total gas tax, including state and federal taxes, that are imposed at the pump compared with the total of those taxes under the proposed hike.

 

“Newsman” Bobby Harrison opines on new bill to fund education

Let’s be clear here – the Legislature is getting ready to pass a new funding formula because they want a law that would not require them to spend as much on public education.

It is that simple. Perhaps, that is a good thing. Perhaps it is not.

MAEP was fully funded from 1997-2003, but since then has been underfunded every year but one. It has been underfunded cumulatively $2.1 billion since 2008.

But it needs to be pointed out that, if not for the more than $300 million in tax cuts that have gone into effect during the past six years and the more than $400 million in tax cuts that will be enacted in the next eight years, the state could afford the full funding of the Adequate Education Program.

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Magnolia Tribune

This article was produced by Magnolia Tribune staff.