Philip Gunn

SPEAKER
Mississippi House of Representatives
POST OFFICE BOX 1018
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39215-1018
601-359-3300

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 28, 2018

CONTACT
Meg Annison
Communications Director, Speaker of the House Philip Gunn
601.359.3300
mannison@house.ms.gov

Speaker Philip Gunn Recaps 2018 Legislative Session

The House Wraps Up Session Passing Strong Infrastructure, Education and Medicaid Votes;
Sound Budget
Jackson, MS—Today, the Mississippi House of Representatives officially voted to “Sine Die,” which
marks the end of the 2018 Regular Legislative Session. During the course of the session, we welcomed
five new members and left four days early, saving taxpayer dollars.

Fiscal Year 2018 Budget

The final budget number agreed upon by both House and Senate members comes in around $6 billion.
The state’s revenues are essentially flat.

The following figures compare to the FY 2018 State Support level of funding and do not include deficits:

 K-12 Education--$2.48 billion total, an approximate $4.1 million increase

 IHL Universities--$669 million total, an approximate $266,000 decrease
 Community and Junior Colleges--$237.5 million total, an approximate $300,000
increase
 Department of Health--$59.3 million total, an approximate $2.3 million increase
 Department of Mental Health--$226.9 million total, an approximate $238,000 increase
 Division of Medicaid--$917 million, an approximate $1.7 million decrease
 Department of Public Safety--$86.8 million, an approximate $2.3 million increase

Of note, in the Department of Public Safety’s budget, the bill increases funds to add more medical
examiners and a small trooper school.
 Philip Gunn
SPEAKER
Mississippi House of Representatives
POST OFFICE BOX 1018
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39215-1018
601-359-3300

Bond negotiations between the House and Senate succeeded this year. In order to raise funds, bonds are
often issued. Bonds are often necessary to help fund large projects with the intent to repay the debts over
time.

This year’s bond package totals $250 million and will go toward funding various projects with statewide
impact: $50 million to the Local System Bridge Repair and Rehabilitation Program (LSBP); $82.5 million
for universities; $25 million for community colleges; $45 million for Ingalls; $40 million for the
Department of Finance and Administration. The package would further provide money for loan programs
for small cities and counties to assist with sewer and water projects.

Additional legislation passed that will reduce the fee in lieu from $100 million to $20 million, allowing
counties an additional economic development tool to attract new businesses.

Infrastructure

Maintaining our roads & bridges is a fundamental role of government that House members are passionate
about supporting. We have led the charge over the last several years to direct real money to cities and
counties to assist with road and infrastructure repair. Early in the session, the House offered the Senate
several proposals offering solutions. All House proposals were met with an unwillingness of the Senate to
negotiate.

The House adopted a stronger version of the Building Roads, Improving Development and Growing the
Economy Act (BRIDGE) passed earlier by the Senate.

“Our plan uses real money, without growth triggers, to address this pressing issue faced over the entire
state,” said Speaker of the House Philip Gunn. “As we have said before, our attempt with this legislation
was one of the best things we could have done for local government.”

The House bill made strides on the local and state levels for infrastructure improvements. But ultimately,
the Senate would not compromise. Their version would not help cities and counties with real money. The
House version recommended a use-tax, which is already gathered from sales tax collected on any out-of-
state purchases, including those made online. Approximately $310 million was collected last year. The
new diversion will divert 35 percent of use tax collections, which is approximately $108 million by
today’s estimates, to cities and counties for road and bridge repair.

The Senate insisted on a one-to-one match for new dollars and cities having “skin in the game.” Cities
would only get credit for new money. They would have to address true core functions of government
through layoffs or the raising of taxes.
 Philip Gunn
SPEAKER
Mississippi House of Representatives
POST OFFICE BOX 1018
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39215-1018
601-359-3300

“Until we can get a bill that addresses all the needs in the state, we will stand firm,” said Speaker Gunn.
“In the eyes of House members, cities and counties already have ‘skin in the game.’ This is your money,
and the House has been intent on diverting it back for road and infrastructure needs.”

In addition to the $50 million secured for the LSBP, both chambers adopted legislation that if general
fund revenue growth is more than two percent, 50 percent of that growth (up to $100 million annually)
will go toward infrastructure improvements: 60 percent will be sent to MDOT for road and bridge repair;
25 percent for county roads and bridges; and 15 percent for city roads and bridges.

Health

In a landmark move, the House passed House bill 1510, the 15-week abortion ban. This bill will provide
protections for women and unborn children by prohibiting abortions at or later than 15 weeks gestation.
With the passage of HB1510, Mississippi has adopted the strongest pro-life legislation in the country.

Medicaid

Medicaid is a joint state and federal insurance program. The federal government places regulations on the
program, which requires states to provide certain services within their program.

The “Medicaid Tech Bill” is legislation the legislature passed years ago that mandates certain optional
services the Division of Medicaid, a part of the executive branch of government, must offer. Every so
often, including this year, the tech bill comes up for renewal.

This year, members adopted legislation that mandates the managed care companies, which represent
about 70 percent of Medicaid patients, pay the same reimbursement rate as the legislature-set rates for
Medicaid. Other changes include reimbursements for treatment of opioid dependency, payment options
for small rural hospitals with 50 or fewer licensed beds and the creation of a study committee to
determine the effects of a potential five percent reduction in reimbursements in hopes of lowering
Medicaid costs.

As the face of healthcare constantly evolves, Medicaid must also keep up with the changes. As a result,
members determined that the director of the Division should have some leeway in determining the details
of some services that are covered: the number of physician visits, prescriptions drugs, emergency medical
transportation services, pharmacy services, dental services.
 Philip Gunn
SPEAKER
Mississippi House of Representatives
POST OFFICE BOX 1018
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI 39215-1018
601-359-3300
Education

Education is a priority for the Legislature every year. We devote more than half of our budget to
education. The House passed sound legislation early in the Session to adopt a new funding formula for
public education in Mississippi. The Mississippi Uniform Per Student Funding Formula Act of 2018
ultimately died on the Senate floor.

“I commend the House members who voted in favor of this solid legislation at the beginning of session,”
said Speaker of the House Philip Gunn. “They recognized that our children are a priority. I am very
disappointed that the Senate missed the opportunity to provide our school children a better funding
mechanism.

“Those senators who did not support the legislation failed to do what is best for the students,” he
continued. “They let the politics of public education get in the way of our students. We can argue about
the dollar amount all day long, but no one can refute that this was a better way to fund education.”

The current funding formula was written almost two decades ago and has not kept up with the needs of
the classroom of the 21st Century. We passed legislation to move toward a student-centered funding
formula that would consider the needs of all students. Enactment of this legislation would have created a
new formula with the following parameters:
 Base student cost set at $4,800, with additional weights added for specific student needs: special
education for the different tiers, English language learners, gifted students, low income and high
school.
 Funding based on average daily membership (ADM, enrollment figures would be monitored three
times a year), rather than average daily attendance (ADA).
 Methods for consistent, accessible reporting.

The House leadership had three priorities this session: send real money to cities and counties for road and
bridge repair; rewrite the education funding formula and reauthorize Medicaid. The House succeeded in
passing all these measures.

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