Legislative Update 3

February 03, 2008

Dear Friends,

I’m writing this week’s update with a heavy heart. Jody Compretta, a Hancock County businessman and the son of Speaker Pro Tempore J.P. Compretta died last night in New Orleans. Please join me in remembering the Compretta family in your thoughts and prayers.

Report for the Week Ending Feburary 1, 2008

Gulf Coast Insurance Office Opens

On Monday, I joined several Coast legislators and Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney as Mr. Chaney opened a new office in downtown Gulfport. The new coastal office is located in the Wetzel law office building on 24th Avenue in downtown Gulfport, across from the Harrison County courthouse. During the opening of the office, I made the following statement, “Insurance continues to be one of the pressing issues that we face in my district and throughout the Gulf Coast. And so to have this accessibility is important. We look forward to working with you.” Please take advantage of this Coast office by directing your insurance related concerns and questions to Mr. Chaney.

As Vice-Chairman of the House’s Insurance Committee, I can assure you that the Committee will spend the next four years working to relieve the insurance burden felt by Coast business leaders and home owners. Tomorrow, I will submit a bill which would require each insurance policy to be accompanied by an Insured’s Bill of Rights outlining the rights of insurance policy holders and the responsibilities incumbent upon insurance companies. I will also submit a resolution encouraging support of Congressman Gene Taylor’s multi-peril insurance bill currently before the United States Senate. As our committee work continues, we will also be considering ways to lessen the cost of the state’s insurance of last resort or wind pool. Among the proposals currently being considered is a regional approach whereby Mississippi and other Coastal states would join together to help spread the risk. I welcome your thoughts and comments on these and other issues.

House Backs Major Education Measure

On Thursday, members of the House of Representatives gave overwhelming support to full financial backing of the state’s K-12 public education system.

The House passed HB 513 to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, including a 3 percent across-the-board pay increase for the state’s 30,000 school teachers, and a smaller amount for teacher aides. It also provides additional incremental raises for teachers beyond 26 years of service, and put extra funds into such programs as early childhood development, training for teachers to recognize dyslexia problems, mentoring for new teachers, classroom supplies and a school building fund, among others. It also keeps some financially-stricken Coast districts from losing funds compared to their last appropriation. The bill had earlier cleared the House Appropriation Committee, where the Coast language was included.

The Joint Legislative Budget Committee and Governor Barbour had expressed support of full funding of the MAEP formula for the 2008-2009 school year, along with some of the other programs contained in the bill. The governor mentioned his support of the MAEP formula during both his recent inaugural and State of the State speeches. The Legislature passed full MAEP funding last year, and leaders said then they expected it to follow in upcoming sessions. An amendment failed that would have stripped most of the teacher pay raises. There are approximately 475,000 students in the K-12 system. House leaders said funding the program early in the session was important due to its high priority status. I am proud to be a co-author of this measure and believe that this represents an important first step in our efforts to improve public education in Mississippi.

Attorney General’s Legislative Agenda

The House’s two judiciary-related committees met together to hear State Attorney General Jim Hood outline his 2008 legislative agenda. Mr. Hood said the office is seeking to tighten restrictions on such websites as MySpace, Facebook and Bevo and wants youth to understand that it is illegal to download much of the music on the Internet. He said the Mattel toy recall showed some products contain more lead than is in paint on some houses, and “children have these in their mouths.” Domestic violence is another focus of the Attorney General’s office and Mr. Hood said the State Crime Lab is in desperate need of more funding. He praised the Legislature for the law passed two years limiting access to methamphetamine pre-cursors that must now be bought from behind a pharmacy counter. The law has helped reduce the problem, Hood said.

I have submitted numerous bills to help improve our state’s cyber crime laws and am calling on the support of fellow House members to help pass those measures.

Medicaid

The House Medicaid Committee has had several serious discussions about the budget for that vital health-care program, including alternatives to the face-to-face recertification process currently in place. Medicaid serves more than 600,000 Mississippians and represents the state’s largest budget.

NASA

The full House helped to celebrate the 50th anniversary of NASA and the nation’s space program. Addressing the House was Mike Foale, a British-born U.S. astronaut who has spent more time in space than any other person. Foale once spent six months at the international space station.

Track House Bills on your PC

As pointed out in last week’s report, dozens of bills have been introduced by our members. You can track these bills at www.ls.state.ms.us.

Governor Barbour’s “Hurricane Reserve Fund” Proposal

On Friday, Governor Barbour met with the Coastal delegation to discuss his plans for some of the federal dollars currently in the “Hurricane Reserve Fund.” The Governor has asked us to consider allowing $108 million to be placed in the state’s “rainy day fund” and $25 million to be used to make improvements to a two-lane road which would benefit the Toyota plant in North Mississippi. As you can imagine, this proposal was met with numerous questions and concerns. If you get a chance, please let me know how you feel about this proposal.

How to Contact Me

If you have any questions or concerns, I invite you to call me on my cell phone at 228-326-7649 or e-mail me at bjones@house.ms.gov. Please feel free to forward this report to folks in our district and let me know if I need to add someone to my list.

I will also be posting my updates and House related news on my campaign website at www.electbrandonjones.com.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve.

Brandon