YP – May revenue numbers over $24 million under estimates
Total revenue collections for the month of May FY 2020 are $24,717,016 or 5.15% below the sine die revenue estimate. Fiscal YTD revenue collections through May are $51,065,828 or 1.00% below the sine die estimate. Fiscal YTD total revenue collections through May 2020 are $137,095,116 or 2.64% below the prior year’s collections. The FY 2020 Sine Die Revenue Estimate is $5,858,400,000.
On November 22, 2019, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee revised the FY 2020 revenue estimate upward by $137.8M. FY 2020 year-to-date actual collections are $164,352,830 below the year-to-date FY 2020 revised revenue estimate as of May 2020. The FY 2020 Revised Revenue Estimate is $5,996,200,000.
YP – Drivers license stations to reopen next week
WATCH: Gov. @tatereeves announces DMV’s will begin to reopen next Monday. Check out how services will operate before you head that way. #msleg #coronavirus WATCH HERE>> https://t.co/J5B1SwmBJW
— Magnolia Tribune (@magnoliatribune) June 3, 2020
CLARION LEDGER – Everyone wanted to give Mississippi teachers a raise. Now, it’s doubtful
As recently as February, it looked like a lock that public school teachers would be getting at least a $1,000 raise, after the Senate unanimously passed a bill in early February…
The teacher pay raise bill, SB2001, is currently awaiting action by the House Education Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Richard Bennett, R-Long Beach.
The bill might never leave committee.
YP – Mississippi legislation providing COVID liability protection to businesses likely
As MEC and other groups began focusing on how businesses would reopen after such a long closure, business liability was without question an area of concern.
Potential legislation would provide protection from someone coming in and claiming they contracted COVID-19. It would also protect the business from employees or others making similar claims. Waller hopes that the issue will be addressed quickly by the Legislature, and it seems this is an area where the Legislature and Governor’s office are in sync.
When asked last week whether or not he would like to see a bill to protect businesses from liability, Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann said, “Yes.” He also indicated that he hoped to see that passed before lawmakers sine die this year.
Neshoba County Fair canceled for 2020
#MSSen: Espy invites Hyde-Smith to protest
.@CindyHydeSmith, will you join me this weekend as we continue in the proudest tradition of those that came before us, and peacefully protest against the injustice that plagues Black
Americans?https://t.co/VjGTPQTqL1— Mike Espy (@MikeEspyMS) June 3, 2020
YP – Senate Minority Leader Derrick Simmons urges for police violence toward blacks addressed
The Mississippi Senate Minority Leader Derrick Simmons of the 12th District penned a letter calling for the violence of police officers towards black individuals to be addressed.
“Almost weekly somewhere in the United States we hear of black people being killed by police like it’s a sport to see who can kill the latest…
“…I applaud the police officers and political officials who have joined in unity with the peaceful protesters to say enough is enough and the killings must stop and justice must be served on behalf of victims of police violence.
“But more needs to be done, especially here in Mississippi so this trend of killing black people for minor offenses does not take root, as it seems to have become an unspoken rite of passage for some white officers.”
WJTV – Rep. Michael Guest on nationwide protests
Congressman Thompson issues statement on officers charged in Floyd death
#BLM pic.twitter.com/hwEzJtNLkY
— Bennie G. Thompson (@BennieGThompson) June 3, 2020
WLOX – Petition to remove confederate emblem from Miss. flag closing in on 100,000 signatures
An online petition to remove the confederate emblem from the Mississippi flag has now reached 80,000 signatures, 20,000 shy of its 100,000 goal.
The Move On petition, created by Jennifer Gunter, says: “The Confederate battle emblem represents: hatred, death, slavery, Jim Crow and the Confederacy. It is past time for the flag to come down. Take action now.”
Gunter says that Mississippi deserves a flag that represents all Mississippians.
YP – Wicker issues statement on MS National Guard activation
.@SenatorWicker Statement on Mississippi National Guard Activationhttps://t.co/Y12rkymKjc
— Magnolia Tribune (@magnoliatribune) June 3, 2020
YP – Bill to increase penalties for “torturous” acts toward dogs and cats could die in House committee
The threat of COVID-19 has caused the attention of state lawmakers to be dead center on addressing the surmounting health and economic issues it has brought with it. However, lawmakers are back at the Capitol and working through the normal business of the 2020 session. Many bills that received unprecedented traction are now on the fence and fighting to survive.
One of those bills includes SB 2658, which would revise the “Mississippi Dog and Cat Protection Law of 2011” to increase the penalties for individuals convicted of aggravated cruelty against domesticated dogs and cats. The bill would upgrade the current state law by ensuring tortuous acts can be charged as a felony first offense. That language includes words like crushing, suffocating, impaling, or burning.
Hyde-Smith cosponsoring Save Rural Hospitals Act
I’m cosponsoring the Save Rural Hospitals Act of 2020 to ensure fair Medicare payments for Mississippi’s hospitals. This is desperately needed in rural areas, where some hospitals face the risk of closing. @SenAlexander
— U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (@SenHydeSmith) June 3, 2020
WJTV – Judge Melvin Priester Sr. announces resignation
Magnolia Tribune
