Republican Sens. Chad McMahan, left, of Guntown, and Joel Carter of Gulfport, confer during the morning session of the Mississippi Legislature in Jackson, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis - Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
- Senator Chad McMahan said the funding “is a powerful tool” for economic development in small towns but the appropriation has not been made to support the program in three years.
The state Senate allocated more than $204.5 million to the Mississippi Development Authority on Thursday, $109.9 million less than the Legislative Budget Office’s recommendation.
The difference was said to be due to lawmakers’ desire to set up a new Department of Tourism, which would result in some of the funds being appropriated to the new state agency, along with the reduction in non-recurring authority for certain state projects.
The funding bill drew questions from State Senator Chad McMahan (R) on why $10 million for small municipal government grants has not been appropriated over the past three years. The senator said the funding “is a powerful tool” for economic development in small towns under the population of 5,000 residents.
Appropriations Chairman State Senator Briggs Hopson (R) said a bill addressing small municipality grants passed the Senate earlier this session and is not in the House.
“The only thing in this bill you’ll see would be the $18 million for site development. That’s going to be [Capital Expenditure] funding, it’s not general funding,” Hopson said, noting to fund those grants, the appropriators would have to find funds elsewhere.
McMahan said a large portion of the state’s nearly 300 cities would likely qualify for the grants.
“Chairman, I am really interested in finding the funds for this purpose, even if we have to take out of the Rainy-Day Fund,” McMahan said, “I am committed to making this happen this year, because so many of our small municipalities are in need.”
The senator asked if the legislature could find a way to fund the grants. Hopson said he is glad to have additional discussions on the grants. However, a revenue source for the $10 million needs to be identified, and it could create a “slippery slope” by larger cities seeking similar grants.
“As long as I’ve been here, I don’t recall that we’ve ever took any funds out of general funds for that kind of program,” said Hopson, who has served in the Senate since in 2008. ”I am not saying it can’t be done; we just have to figure out where the money is coming from.”
State Senator Brice Wiggins (R) asked if there were performance goals in the funding bill.
“As far as I know, it’s not in the bill,” said State Senator Kevin Blackwell (R) while presenting the MDA funding measure to the Senate.
Wiggins asked that those performances goals be top of mind as the bill moves through the process.
The appropriations bill passed in the Senate and is headed to the House for consideration. This legislation, like many of the appropriations bills, will likely be finalized in conference between the two chambers.
Daniel Tyson
