Government agencies would be spared additional massive budget cuts in the current fiscal year through use of some of the state's financial reserves, under a bill that passed the House of Representatives this week. The action came during the 2010 session's third week of a 90-day session.

HB 392 would require that Gov. Barbour move $61 million in unspent federal stimulus monies and $50 million from our $231-million "Rainy Day Fund" into the state's general fund before making additional budget reductions. Already this year, more than $200 million has been slashed from agency budgets, and Gov. Barbour has said another $200 million-plus in cuts would be necessary to balance the budget for FY 2010 ending June 30.

The House's action on HB 392 would minimize future cuts to vital areas of state government, leaders said, and prevent "drastic" layoffs of state employees. Barbour could cut only another $13 million under the bill, which moved to the Senate for consideration. Barbour protested the use of the $50 million from the Rainy Day Fund. The Senate earlier approved a plan to allow Barbour to cut all agencies 10 percent except the prison system. That plan was presented to the House in the form of an amendment to HB 392, but was defeated, as were four other attempts at giving Barbour more budget-cutting powers above the 5-percent level.

During floor debate, House leaders said their plan would keep prisoners in jail and prevent big mental health reductions. We also passed HB 965 this week, giving state mental health leaders more flexibility in financing their operations. They had said more cuts -- closing six crisis centers and other facilities, as Barbour proposed -- would be "catastrophic" and could possibly threaten the public's safety.

A Senate committee tried without success late in the week to re-insert budget-cutting authority into HB 392 and return it to the House. Further negotiations then ensued between the House and Senate.

Fiscal challenges

Earlier in the week, Gov. Barbour praised job-development and workforce-training measures passed by the Legislature in recent years and gave well-deserved kudos to state military operations during his seventh State of the State address. Then he turned to a less pleasant subject: our fiscal challenges.

"As I've said several times over the last month or so, I have felt like the leadership - bicameral and bipartisan - recognizes we have tough choices and are open to new ideas. I appreciate that, and our citizens need it. I'm committed to working with you," he told the assembly in the House chamber.

"More people working means more income for those families who were personally hit by this global recession. It means more revenue for our small and middle sized businesses, the backbone of our economy, and of the nation's economy, too," he said. "And here in state government, job creation means more taxpayers with more taxable income. Indeed, most of the difficult budget issues facing us this session and for another year or two after that, directly result from job losses and the recession."

The governor praised the nearly 4,000 state National Guardsmen in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting the War on Terror. For many, like our largest guard unit, the 155th Brigade Combat Team, this is the second tour; for some others, even more. Additionally our Air Guard is flying missions every week to the combat zone. And last week a Mississippi Air National Guard C-17 was among the first planes to deliver life-saving, relief supplies into Port-au-Prince for the people of earthquake-stricken Haiti.

Meeting this week was the Governor's Commission on Educational Structure, which will look at consolidating some of the state's 152 public K-12 school districts. Barbour said 152 districts "makes no sense," and told the panel that when "I was elected, I was surprised there was not more appetite (in the Legislature) for consolidation." The governor said that looking at falling state revenues, "it becomes clear that consolidation has to be considered." He believes that if the 152 can be reduced to 100 districts, it will save the state at least $65 million annually.

"Money drove this decision (to look at consolidation) on my part," Barbour said. "We can save money and improve education." He said that he would like for the commission to make a recommendation on the merger of some districts to the State Board of Education by April 1, if possible.

Improvement noted

Late last week, a state fiscal expert said there is some economic improvement in housing and auto sales and that in the short-term some recovery will occur. Long-term, Mississippi is hard hit by job losses and the fact that state revenues are so drastically off projections. The current fiscal year ending June 30 is expected to show 4 percent less revenue than the previous year.

State Treasurer Tate Reeves told legislators that the state's debt is currently at just below $3.5 billion, up from $2.2 billion 10 years ago. However, the debt is still well below the state's debt limit as prescribed by the Constitution of $13.4 billion.

Much of the heavy work for now continues in House committees, where we are considering the general bills that have been introduced by our members. The deadline to introduce those bills was Jan. 18, and now there is a Feb. 2 deadline for our committees to either pass or reject those bills. Then we will face a Feb. 11 deadline for the first action on the bills that survive committee and reach the House floor.

We passed several bills on the House floor this week, including HB 884 allowing city mayors to proclaim a local emergency, if necessary, that must be approved by the full board at its next meeting. Approved in committee was HB 837 requiring school boards to implement an abstinence-only or abstinence-plus sex education curriculum. We also extended the existence of the State Board and Department of Health and okayed continued licensing for physician assistants, nurse practitioners and the 27,000 cosmetologists in the state.

Defeated on the House floor late in the week were HB 412 which would have added compulsive gambling as a 13th ground for divorce; and HB 603 which would have put tighter regulation on the use of GPS kill switches in automobiles that employ the geographical device. We approved HB 162 allowing county offices to close in the event of the death of an elected or appointed county official.

The House also passed a resolution commending the life and service of the late Dr. Ed Thompson, the state health officer who has been succeeded by Dr. Mary Currier in that vital position. We also commended Yazoo County High senior Kaleb Eulls, who stopped a would-be pistol shooter on a school bus several months ago without anyone being injured. Eulls has signed to play football at Mississippi State.