Rep. Jansen Owen (R) presents HB 1435 on the floor of the House of Representatives Thursday morning. If it becomes law, it would make public to public school transfers easier by removing the ability of the sending district to veto the transfer. (Photo by Jeremy Pittari | Magnolia Tribune)
- The budget for the State Auditor’s office became a point of contention on Wednesday, with the House and Senate disagreeing on funding levels for the agency.
Wednesday into early Thursday morning, the Mississippi House of Representatives worked to complete its work on the state budget, leaving the Senate to finalize its part when that chamber gavels in Thursday morning.
The special session, which Governor Tate Reeves (R) called this week, was needed after the House and Senate could not come to an agreement on the state budget before sine die of the regular session. A budget is necessary before July 1 to keep state services and offices operational.
One piece of legislation was amended during discussions on the floor of the House during the special session was SB 2024. The bill deals with funding for the office of the State Auditor.
As it passed the Senate, Auditor Shad White (R) said on social media that the bill would have restricted his office’s expense fund, which covers staff travel, software used in the auditing process, and “other expenses.”
“It would cripple us and prevent us from doing the investigations taxpayers expect us to do,” White posted on social media.
When the House took up the bill, it was amended to restore the office’s funding, State Rep. Jansen Owen (R) shared, also on social media.
“…the Auditor’s budget as passed by the House will not handicap his ability to continue doing the job the people elected him to do,” Owen wrote.
Auditor White is still concerned since the Senate is expected to consider the amended bill today when it gavels in to finish work on the state budget.
“Now, for the House bill to become our actual budget, the Senate must agree to the House version. The rumor among Senators is that (Lt. Governor Delbert) Hosemann will refuse to agree with the House’s version of our budget,” White wrote on social media.
The House’s amended version of the bill restores White’s office expense appropriation from the $400,000 set by the Senate to $1.5 million.
White asked the public to call Hosemann’s office before the Senate gavels in to petition for the House’s version of the bill to be finalized without further amendment.
“Taxpayers want Mississippi’s DOGE to keep working for them, and they don’t want to cripple it,” White stated.
The House has gaveled out of the special session, having finished its work and sent the legislation back to the Senate.
The Senate is back in session at 10:30 a.m. to put the final touches on the state’s appropriation bills and finalize a state budget for the next fiscal year.
Jeremy Pittari
