Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves answers a reporter's question on his announcement of a tech company expected to invest $10 billion to build two data processing centers that will create 1,000 jobs in central Mississippi, during a Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, news conference in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
- The vetoes came down Monday as Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves declared on social media, “I am a Republican. I am for less government… not duplicative programs.”
Governor Tate Reeves (R) partially vetoed two spending bills and fully vetoed a Coast revolving loan fund on Monday.
“I am a Republican. I am for LESS government…not duplicative programs! I am for infrastructure investments – as that is a core function of government. I am NOT for spending YOUR money on golf courses,” Reeves shared on Facebook. “I am not for giving your money away to any entity that has wasted millions on lawyer fees that could have been spent on infrastructure improvements – especially if that lawsuit is against the state of Mississippi!”
The governor continued, “I am NOT for giving away your money to private companies with no increased job requirements, no metrics and no accountability measures in place. I ran for Treasurer on these principles 23 years ago…. And – all these years later – these are the same principles I adhere to as Governor of the greatest state in America!”
Here is a look at what was vetoed.
Gulf Coast Restoration Revolving Loan Program
HB 1648 would have established the Gulf Coast Restoration Revolving Loan Program to be administered by the Department of Finance and Administration and the South Mississippi Planning and Development District.
The Legislature would have determined the individual projects for which loan assistance was to be provided by separate line items in the appropriation bill for DFA.
The conference report on the measure was passed unanimously by both the Senate and the House.
Governor Reeves said in his veto message that HB 1648 sought to establish a second loan
program for eligible applicants using Gulf Coast Restoration Funds which is administered by the Mississippi Development Authority.
“Most troubling, HB 1648 contains absolutely no reporting or monitoring requirements for loan recipients, nor does it contain any audit requirements for the revolving loan fund. Any time state funds are disbursed from the Treasury, they should be accompanied by reasonable safeguards to insure that they are used for their intended purpose and not misused,” Reeves wrote. “Such safeguards are already in place for the existing GCRF loan program administered by MDA.”
The governor said adding the second loan fund will result in “unnecessary costs and complexity to the administration of the GCRF.” He called the proposed bi-frication of the administrative duties of the GCRF “a solution in search of a problem where none exists.”
“I do not believe it is necessary or wise to add either the Department of Finance and Administration or the South Mississippi Planning and Development District into the administration process of the GCRF,” Reeves said.
Local Improvement Projects
Nearly $253 million local improvement projects were funded by the Mississippi Legislature through cash reserves just two days before members wrapped up the 2026 session.
As previously reported, a large portion of the hundreds of approved projects in SB 2189 dealt with local infrastructure requests from municipalities and counties across Mississippi for water and sewer improvements, street and bridge repairs, or paving, along with funding for fire trucks, fire stations, drones, patrol cars, police equipment and emergency management facility repairs. There were also funds included for new municipal and county buildings or renovations to city halls or other local facilities.
However, also included in the list of projects to be funded were sports complexes, museums, and other earmarks added by lawmakers.
Governor Reeves issued partial, or line item vetoes to this legislation on Monday, saying in his veto message that given the fact that SB 2189 authorizes the disbursement of more than $400 million in state funds out of the treasury for hundreds of specific purposes, “one would assume that the Legislature would have designated it as an appropriations bill and passed it in accordance with the Constitutional deadlines for appropriation bills. But that was not the case.”
He went on to veto the following line items:
- $2 million for the Tupelo Blue Suede development project
- $250,000 for Jackson’s upgrades to the Pete Brown Golf Facility
- $650,000 for the CREATE Foundation’s purchase of the Park Hotel building in Amory
- $400,000 for property acquisition, site improvements, infrastructure and related costs associated with the expansion of Deep South Machine Works in Greene County
- $100,00 for Hinds County acquiring and installing surveillance cameras and other associated costs for neighborhood security for the Norwood, Woodlea, Valley North, Northgate and Lakeover homeowners associations
- $250,000 for improvements to Magnolia Community Center Complex in Stone County
- $500,000 for Jackson Municipal Airport Authority in paying costs associated with matching funds for infrastructure repairs and other upgrades
Gulf Coast Restoration Funds
Another bill that saw partial, or line item vetoes from Governor Reeves was SB 3071, a measure to expended funds from the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund. The funds are part of the BP Oil Spill settlement received by the state of Mississippi.
Started in September 2018, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Restoration Fund has provided funding to businesses and organizations looking to bring increased economic activity to the Gulf Coast region. Eligible applicants include, but are not limited to, local governments, nongovernmental organizations, higher education institutions, community colleges, ports, airports, public-private partnerships, private for-profit entities, private nonprofit entities and local economic development entities.
As previously reported, the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund Advisory Board had recommended that the Mississippi Legislature fund $69 million for 15 projects this session along with placing $7 million in a Regional Research & Development Revolving Loan Fund. The Advisory Board narrowed down and reviewed 89 submitted projects which totaled more than $383 million prior to recommending the top 15.
The Advisory Board recommendations were sent to the Mississippi Development Authority ahead of the December 1 deadline for consideration in the 2026 legislative session. However, when the dust settled, only 9 of the Advisory Board’s recommendations made the final cut with lawmakers.
Governor Reeves took exception with two projects and line item vetoed $1.65 million in appropriations on this measure.
One was for $1.5 million for the Ocean Springs with Public Works Redevelopment and Relocation Phase I and II, and the other was $150,000 for the Lucedale-George County Historical Society with the Lucedale-George County History Museum.
