Response filed with Mississippi Supreme Court by Gunn, White in Governor’s appeal over vetoes

Speaker Philip Gunn and Rep. Jason White has filed a response to the appeal made by Governor Tate Reeves in the ongoing lawsuit over the Governor’s recent line item vetoes.

Andy Taggart, filing on behalf of Gunn and White, asked for the Mississippi Supreme Court to overrule Reeves’ Emergency Motion for Stay and set the matter for briefing on an expedited basis.

“Appellant has not satisfied his burden of demonstrating that the relief he sought could not practicably have been sought in the trial court as required by the Rules, and, in any event, he has not satisfied his burden of proving that he has a strong likelihood of success on the merits or that the equities weigh strongly in favor of the granting of a stay in this case,” Taggart writes.  “This Court has made clear the law on the merits of this matter over more than a century. There is no reason to delay the judgment of the trial court that is solidly grounded in this Court’s case law.”

This action follows the news earlier this week that Hinds County Chancery Court had declared Reeves’ partial vetoes unconstitutional.  Based on the findings, the request for the claim to be dismissed was denied.  The decision was made by Hinds County Chancellor Tiffany Grove.

Previously, a suit was filed by Speaker Gunn and Rep. White over line item vetoes within House Bill 1782 made by Governor Reeves during the 2020 Legislative session. They argued that the Governor interjected his legislative judgement in place of the Legislature itself, according to the order of the court.

Gunn-White Response to Reeves Veto Ruling Appeal by yallpolitics on Scribd