McComb Enterprise-Journal
Lawmakers, officials discuss the issues at Legislative Luncheon
By Matt Williamson, Managing Editor
Local lawmakers gave a preview of the next legislative session, a U.S. senator gave a report about how business in Washington is making a difference back home and the state treasurer mentioned Mississippi’s money matters Thursday during the Pike County Chamber of Commerce’s annual Legislative Luncheon.
Speaking in the Workforce Training Center at Southwest Mississippi Community College, lawmakers also noted the need for the community to stand vigilant against the possibility of a repeated attempt to merge SMCC with Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith discussed two issues in which she intervened that will drastically affect the future of Franklin County. The first had to do with legislation clearing the way for the Scenic Rivers Development Alliance’s acquisition of land at Okhissa Lake in the Homochitto National Forest, where a large resort is being developed.
“I am so excited about Lake Okhissa, not too far away from here,” she said. “To have a hotel with 200 rooms, two restaurants, a marina, a Robert Trent Jones golf course ... when you get the right people together and you work really hard, you get pretty lucky.”
The other issue involved Franklin County Memorial Hospital. The hospital faced losing its Critical Access hospital designation because of new rules from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that said hospitals with that status couldn’t be located within 35 miles of each other. Franklin County Memorial is 32 miles away from King’s Daughters Medical Center in Brookhaven. Hyde-Smith said she worked to amend the legislation so that it wouldn’t affect Franklin County Memorial, which would have closed.
“I was very thankful to be a part of keeping the Franklin County hospital open,” she said. “They were about to close the hospital in Meadville, and I am really supportive of rural health.”
Hyde-Smith’s appearance came weeks before the Nov. 3 general election, in which she faces Democrat Scott Colom and independent candidate Ty Pinkins.
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State Treasurer David McRae said Mississippi increased its annual earnings from an average of $39 million to $187 million in the seven years he’s been in office.
“I have made over $1.2 billion in investment income since I have been treasurer,” he said.
McRae said his office has returned more than $170 million in unclaimed property to residents. He recalled how some of that money belonged to a man who was buried in a pauper’s grave, his three children not knowing he died with $1.5 million. The state found and paid them, and they buried their father properly, with full military honors.
The Mississippi Affordable College Savings Program that his office oversees is rated the sixth-best in the nation and provides a valuable service by helping families save for college and lock in tuition rates, McRae said.
“It is single-handedly the best investment you can make for a child today,” he said.
McRae, who announced his intentions to run for a third term next year, said Mississippi’s bond rating has also improved over the last seven years, from a AA- to a AA+ outlook.
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Landon Ratliff, who served as emcee for the program, asked pre-selected questions for four state lawmakers who were in attendance — Sen. Gary Brumfield, D-Magnolia; Rep. Vince Mangold, R-Brookhaven; Rep. Daryl Porter Jr., D-Summit; and Rep. Angela Cockerham, I-Magnolia.
Porter and Magnold discussed the failed legislation last year that proposed to merge SMCC with Co-Lin.
“When the word got out, we bonded together as a community like no other,” Porter said. “I want to say thank you to you all for really standing up, not just for this community college, but for the entire region of Southwest Mississippi.”
“I graduated from Co-Lin. Southwest is actually in my district, so I get the best of both words,” Mangold said, adding that he spoke with presidents of both colleges at length last year. “It was a well-received conversation. Y’all did great speaking up. We listened. The chairman listened. Not saying it’s not the end of the story, because it may be that it comes. Back, but y’all know what to do if it comes back.”
Cockerham said she hopes to come through next year with funding for the college’s recovery from a tornado that hit the campus last March.
Asked about their top priorities for the coming year, Mangold, who has been mentioned as a potential candidate for Agriculture Commissioner, said he wants to make government subsidies and payments to farmers tax-free, just as neighboring Arkansas has.
Porter said “criminal justice reform and protecting public education” are his top issues, as well as restoring the ballot initiative, which went away a few years ago based on a technicality over obtaining signatures by House districts.
“That’s something I’m really interested in, making sure the people have a voice, because, believe it or not, we don’t always get everything right at the state Capitol,” Porter said.
Cockerham said two of her three legislative priorities are transportation-driven — four-laning Highway 24 and getting funding for a railroad spur leading into the Metro-Pike Industrial Park on Highway 51. She also thanked Hyde-Smith for her efforts to reopen a rail line in Gloster that would bring wood products to port in the Baton Rouge area.
Brumfield said juvenile justice reform and reinstating people to the voter rolls after they have served out their sentences are his priorities.
“We need to do something about our youth and gun violence,” he said, adding that placing children in jail with adults is not the solution. “Another thing that’s important to me is reinstating our individuals back to society after they have paid their debt to society.”
Brumfield said obtaining major economic development projects for Southwest Mississippi also is a major goal.
“We want some worthwhile companies to come down here to the Southwest corridor as well,” he said, adding that other parts of the state get plenty of attention.
Asked to comment on the state’s reconsideration of how sales tax revenues are distributed to municipalities, Cockerham spoke for the group and said a select committee is still studying the issue, and it’s too early to tell what it will propose.
The final question centered on balancing the needs of both urban and rural areas.
“As crazy as it may sound, a lot of times we're all facing the same issues,” Porter said.
Mangold noted that while most of the state is rural, getting legislation passed often requires lawmakers from bigger cities to collaborate with their rural counterparts.
“You’ve got to be able to talk to everybody in that chamber,” he said.
Brumfield agreed, recalling advice he heard when he was first elected.
“Now remember, the goal is to build bridges and not build walls. Just because you don’t agree doesn’t mean you become disagreeable,” he said.
“I think it’s great to know we have great colleagues and we work together,” Cockerham agreed.