Jackson Free Press

The following is a verbatim statement from former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour:

Advocates of the proposed constitutional amendment known as Initiative 42 have twisted a passage in my 2007 State of the State address to mislead voters into believing I support their very harmful ballot measure. Not only am I against Initiative 42, I strongly urge all Mississippians to vote “against both” measures on the November ballot.

When I spoke to the Legislature in January 2007, our state had turned the corner in the Katrina recovery: The federal government had been extremely generous with disaster assistance legislation; state tax revenue had exploded as tens of thousands of homes had been rebuilt or repaired; casinos that year would have an all-time record gaming haul; all of which produced the highest state tax revenue in our 188-year history. Further, our country was in the sixth year of consistent economic growth and low unemployment.

Based on those facts I proposed record funding for our K-12 schools, a funding level that met the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP), as well as increased state funding for higher education. The money was there to spend at those levels, and everyone expected state revenue to increase in the coming years.

Yet the country began a deep recession in late 2007, which lasted nationally until mid-2009.
During the Great Recession, Mississippi’s general fund revenue came in $197.1 million or 1.67% below estimates in FY 2009 and a whopping $452 million or nearly 9.5% below estimates in FY 2010.

As Governor I had to reduce spending across the board in FY 2010 by 9.4% in order to meet our requirement of having a balanced budget. Consider the consequences if Initiative 42 had been the law at that time: Instead of all departments and agencies sharing in the 9.4% cut, K-12 (which absorbs about 40% of our state’s general fund budget) would have been exempt from cuts, and every other function of government – universities and community colleges, mental health facilities, and public safety – would have had to be cut nearly double, or approximately 18%.

As this recent history shows, Initiative 42 is terrible as a practical matter because it ties the Legislature’s hands and jeopardizes funding for other critical areas of state government.

It is also awful public policy because it totally eviscerates the constitutional system of separation of powers that has been fundamental to American government since 1789.

Initiative 42 would usurp the setting of K-12 education policy and budget, taking it away from the Legislature and Governor – elected by all Mississippi voters – and give it to the judicial branch; indeed, to one chancery judge, elected by one-fourth of the voters in Hinds County.

While advocates of judicial policymaking and budget setting say that one judge’s decisions would be appealable to the State Supreme Court, how is it a good idea to allow judges – elected for their judicial temperament, legal knowledge and ability to apply law to facts – …

Earlier this month, the 42 for Better Schools campaign asked the Mississippi secretary of state's office to review ballots across all 82 counties in Mississippi after finding errors on ballots in Hinds County.

A Mississippi voter in Hinds County found the errors when the voter went to complete an absentee ballot, 42 for Better Schools spokeswoman Patsy Brumfield said at the time.

The same errors on the absentee ballot had been visible on the Hinds County sample ballot. The letter "A" was removed from the Initiative 42-A choice, so voters can vote "FOR Initiative Measure No. 42" or "FOR Alternative Measure No. 42." Without the letter "A" to designate the alternative, voters might vote for the wrong initiative Brumfield said.

Now, Hinds County officials want to reach out to people who voted absentee and ask them to submit a corrected ballot. Pieter Teeuwissen, the attorney for the Hinds County Board of Supervisors, said the county otherwise could be open to litigation.

At today's board meeting, supervisors, attorneys and election commissioners braced for mass confusion over the ballot initiative, which requires the Legislature to adequately fund public schools or be compelled to do so by the courts.

Connie Cochran, the District 4 representative to and chairwoman of the Hinds County Election Commission, called the initiative "confusing."

"I think what we're going to have is a lot of people who just don't vote" on Initiative 42, Cochran told supervisors today.

Board President Tony Greer, the only Republican member of the board, said even though he believes Initiative 42 to be a "perilous slope to changing the constitution," he does believes voters need proper information when going to the polls.

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