State lawmakers received an unwelcome surprise yesterday, when Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller revealed that the state court system is set to run out of money in April.
Waller told Budget Committee members at a hearing that the state court system needs an additional $1.7 million for this year or the courts will have to shut down. The news comes three weeks after Gov. Haley Barbour slashed $172 million from the state's 2010 budget to make up for tax collections in July and August, which fell $31 million below projections.
Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, said that budget committee members are still examining Waller's claim. "We haven't had a chance to analyze it because we just heard from them yesterday," Brown said. "We still have our staff working on that, but I don't have any reason to dispute what they said."
House Speaker Billy McCoy, D-Rienzi, told the Memphis Commercial Appeal that the House will find a way to fund the state's judiciary. Brown agreed with McCoy, telling the Jackson Free Press today: "We're certainly not going to let the courts close down. We're not going to do anything to jeopardize our court system."
Budget Committee members are holding hearings on the 2011 state budget through Thursday of this week.
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