Lawmakers will not attempt to overturn a partial veto made by Governor Tate Reeves from 2022 Legislative session.
On Thursday, Speaker Philip Gunn confirmed upon adjournment that the Mississippi House will not take up a bill that included line-item vetoes from last session by Governor Tate Reeves.
In the 2022 Legislative session, the House and Senate passed four bills that were ultimately overturned with a veto by Governor Reeves. He also made a line-item veto to House Bill 1353.
That legislation was a budget bill that contained multiple appropriations for special projects throughout the state, including appropriations for cities of Jackson and Pascagoula as well as Copiah County.
In total it cut nearly $15 million in special projects, the largest of which would have gone to a golf park and trail at LeFleur’s Bluff that was a $13.5 million appropriation.
Fast-forward to the 2023 session and some lawmakers were attempting to overturn the partial veto.
On Thursday, talk within the Capitol implied that the House might consider bringing the veto up for an override. However, both chambers adjourned without any action.
Speaker Gunn later went on the record to say that they would not be bringing up the bill because the votes were not there in the Senate.
A veto override requires a two-thirds vote by both chambers. Constitutionally, the House is on a three-day deadline to override a previous year’s veto after convening for session.
Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann did not confirm nor deny the possible lack of votes in the Senate.
“I don’t know that because we never took it up in the Senate. It was a House bill so they had to bring it out of the House and my understanding today is that they didn’t bring it out, so at this point we will never know,” said Hosemann.
Some lawmakers were outspoken about their support for and against overturning the veto.
“I would not support a veto. With all the needs we have in the state it is money that will be spent in this session. The Governor said that some were not constitutional and that is good enough for me,” said Representative Becky Currie, a Republican.
Rep. Robert Johnson, the Democratic leader in the House, was in support of taking action to overturn the veto’s made by Reeves.
“I support the veto override. They were legitimate projects that met legitimate needs in the respective areas. The LeFleur’s Bluff golf project unlike the other projects didn’t address a need but it is a justifiable community improvement project that has bonafide economic development potential for a capital city that desperately needs it,” Johnson said. “More importantly the two houses of the legislature are the people’s representative bodies and they both overwhelmingly supported those projects. Those decisions should be upheld by the House and the Senate, we should not fold up and cede that authority to one man. No matter who he is.”
Johnson was joined in his support by his Democratic colleagues Rep. Chris Bell and Rep. Zakiya Summers.
Lawmakers could attempt to re-appropriate the funds this year as they set the annual budget, but the projects could once again face a veto from the Governor.
Sarah Ulmer
