Jackson Free Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Gov. Phil Bryant has vetoed a bill that he says would cause a financial hardship to the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Bryant says Senate Bill 2841 would have erased the discretion of department employees or judges to grant hardship waivers for offenders who say they're too poor to pay $55-a-month fees while on probation, parole or other supervision.

The bill would have made waivers automatic for those fitting the federal definition of poverty. Bryant says the current process has worked, and granting more waivers could cost the Department of Corrections millions of dollars.

The governor says he regrets that the veto kills other parts of the bill, including expansion of treatment options for people supervised by drug courts and suspension of driver's licenses for drug convictions unrelated to driving.