Legislative Update 50

March 23, 2009

Dear Friends,

Late last week, the Governor’s office and legislative leaders began discussing the possibility of extending the session. A $400 million revenue shortfall and uncertainty surrounding the Federal stimulus package have made it more likely that the FY2010 budget will not be completed by the April 4 deadline.

What we know is that at least $2 billion dollars will be heading into Mississippi over the next two fiscal years. While some of this money will require changes to state law, a vast majority of it will not. It is becoming clear that we will not know all the specifics until after the current legislative session is scheduled to adjourn.

The two most likely possibilities are that the regular session will end this week and a special session will be called once budget figures are more clear or that the budget deadlines will be extended and the regular session will be suspended. Most everyone believes that in either case, the legislature will resume its budget work in June.

Cyber Crime and Identity Theft Bills Signed into Law

On Wednesday, Governor Barbour approved two of my bills, House Bill 1362 and House Bill 1357.

House Bill 1362 will expand the Attorney General’s subpoena power to include computer crimes. This new subpoena power, coupled with new technology being used by the Attorney General’s office, will lead to the arrest of hundreds of child abusers across Mississippi. The bottom line is that this bill will allow law enforcement officials to learn the actual address of child predators and bring them in.

House Bill 1357 will expand the definition of “identity theft victims” to include businesses and other entities. Law enforcement officials have said that criminals will often create a fake check by using an entity’s legitimate information. Under this new law, these criminals will be prosecuted for the crime they have actually committed, identity theft.

I am grateful to my friends in the legislature, Attorney General’s office, and Governor’s office for their help in seeing these bills through the process.

Bill Approving Additional Wind Pool Dollars Heading to Conference

House Bill 1697, which would add an additional $20 million to the state wind pool program and reduce wind pool premiums is headed to conference. My sense in speaking with the Insurance Commissioner, House members, and Senate members is that the bill will be approved with the additional $20 million intact.

House Web casting

Don’t forget that you can follow floor debates by going to www.mpbonline.org and clicking on “House video”.

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