Jackson Free Press

After nearly two weeks of tug-of-war between the Mississippi House of Representatives and Gov. Haley Barbour, it seems that both sides have stopped pulling and come to agreement on a $455.9 million bond bill that includes both economic-development bonds that the governor wanted and education and infrastructure funding that the House demanded. The theme of Monday's sessions was peace, love and appeasement as our state's lawmakers got ready to head home for Thanksgiving. After Barbour agreed to expand the call to include the additional bonds, the bill passed 107-2 in the House and 48-2 in the Senate.

This special session has been a long 11 days, but some lawmakers now say it was worthwhile. "Everyone will be touched by this final bond bill. We fought hard for the people; we didn't just sit around twiddling our thumbs. County roads, bridges and fire trucks will all benefit, as will all the public colleges," said Rep. Jamie Franks, D-Mooresville. "But," he added, "if the governor's original call had been approved without further consideration, then only a select few on the Coast would have benefited. This was a great compromise."

After Barbour called legislators to the Capitol Nov. 8 for a special session to pass his narrow list of bonds, he seemed to expect the House to give in and let the $108 million bond bill pass in a couple of days after it flew right through the Senate without much debate. Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, sent the bill to the House Means and Ways Committee first, chaired by a determined Rep. Percy Watson, D-Hattiesburg.

Monday afternoon, Barbour announced in a statement that he was expanding the call for the more extensive list of bond needs: "The House and Senate conferees have agreed to a comprehensive bond bill that includes all the job creation, county bridge, capital improvement, community colleges and university bonds that I had listed in my offer to expand the call two weeks ago. Consistent with my offer it includes the last $30 million of bonds to complete that portion of the Ayers settlement." What Barbour did not say is that he had told the House they had to go along with his bond needs first—and then he would address their additional concerns in January. Many of them were not willing to trust him.

Franks said the House can claim victory for standing up to the governor. "There is a loser in all this—Governor Barbour. He conceded to include all the bonds we wanted. He tried to use the Constitution to make a weak governor much more powerful through a special session. McCoy arose as the winner this time, and he will continue to do so as long as he has the support of citizens and fellow legislators behind him."

This Barbour-vs.-House polarization became an issue earlier this year when Barbour brought lawsuit damage caps and cuts in Medicaid and Adequate Education funding to the table without offering any real negotiation options. But the chasm widened during this special session. "The Legislature has been contentious this special session," Watson said. "We all come from different regions and have different priorities, so we think differently and try to achieve different goals. We just need to find a way to work together for this next year."

Another kind of divide reared its head during this special session: the one between majorities and minorities, including non-Caucasian races and women. Rep. Ed Blackmon, D-Canton, added a provision into the House bond bill that would have encouraged the companies benefiting from state taxpayer assistance to do business with at least 10 percent minority contractors (including white women). This type of set-aside language is common in this kind of corporate-welfare legislation, even in Mississippi. That is: A company that is going to benefit from government assistance should attempt to employ a minimal percentage of minority contractors in order in order to have a level playing field.

However, in a strongly worded statement on Nov. 18, Barbour said this was "irresponsible" of the House and used very strong—and misleading—language to call this effort a "racial quota." His statement dripped with a bit of martyrdom as he described the language as a type of discrimination based on the color of one's skin, while ignoring that even white females are considered a minority, too.

"It was not a quota bill," Watson said. "The language we put in the bill was a statement the Legislature sought to achieve. It was not mandatory or required." In the final bill, the word "shall" was changed to "may" (as is used in Nissan agreements) and the minority contractor language kept. Barbour backed down on his assertion that he would not sign the bill if it contained such "quotas." Attempts to interview the governor about the bill were unsuccessful.

"I was definitely disappointed in Barbour's comments," Franks said. "The language in the bill is language that has been used for years. The last refuge for a scoundrel like him is to inject race into the political conversation. He should be ashamed. The provisions are still included. Even though the wording has been changed, the spirit is still there, and that is important. The spirit of it is not a mandate."

In his statement Monday, Barbour contended that "the process has not been what I would have preferred." He implied that because the House took the time to include the other bonds, Northrop Grumman might not include their $80 million in capital investments in Mississippi. He spoke about how critical the passage of his original bill was because of the timing of Northrop Grumman's Board of Director's meeting on Nov. 16.

However, Northrup Grumman was meeting to plan to budget for 2005, not to vote on it, so nothing is set in stone, yet.

Index: Moral Values

Number of indictments faced by associates of House Speaker Tom DeLay for illegally using corporate money to help Texas Republicans in state races: 32

Number of ethics violations DeLay was unanimously admonished for by the House Ethics Committee: 4

Date this month that Republican House caucus announced it would change its rule preventing indicted officials from holding leadership positions: 18

Number of martinis DeLay used to drink a night before he "found religion": 12-13

Year that Republican Linda Schrenko was elected as School Superintendent for Georgia: 1994

Percent approval rating the Christian Coalition gave her platform, which included teaching creationism: 100

Amount of federal education funds for deaf children Schrenko is accused of embezzling: $500,000

Amount of that total she is accused of using for personal cosmetic surgery: $9,300

Out of 10 states with highest divorce rate, number that are in the South: 7
Sources on file at the Institute for Southern Studies, southernstudies.org