This past week at the Capitol was very interesting.  The governor ordered additional budget cuts, the House passed a bill to restore most of them through use of a portion several reserve funds, and the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that the Judicial branch is a co-equal branch of government that cannot be cut further by the governor.  The basis of the court's ruling is that the Mississippi Constitution mandates that the Courts remain open and perform certain constitutionally mandated functions.  The members of the Supreme Court felt that if the governor is allowed to make further cuts to the Judicial branch, the Judicial branch would not be able to meet its constitutional mandate.  Watch this issue closely as it will dictate how the rest of the budget falls into place.

Last week was also productive in that several important bills were passed out of committee and are now on the Senate calendar awaiting floor debate.  My bill to conform the blood alcohol content for boating under the influence to that required for driving under the influence (.08) passed Judiciary A unanimously.  The Open Meetings reform bill has passed both committees to which it was assigned and will get a floor vote soon.  There were also two bills passed out of Judiciary B that saw supporters and opponents square off at the Capitol.  The animal cruelty bill was passed making it a felony to torture a dog or cat, and a bill to require a prescription for pseudoephedrine products passed as well.  Opponents of the animal cruelty bill voiced concerns that the law may be interpreted broadly to include chickens, hogs or cattle killed by slaughterhouses.  However, the language of the bill specifically exempts these processes as well as many others.  The opponents of the pseudoephedrine bill are basically the drug companies that manufacture products with pseudoephedrine and those chain pharmacies that sell them.  Their argument against the bill is that it will be more difficult to obtain these products.  Pseudoephedrine is a necessary component of crystal methamphetimine production.  While it will become more difficult to obtain products with pseudoephedrine, the benefit gained by the new law in terms of decreasing the production of crystal meth greatly outweighs the inconvenience on legitimate pseudoephedrine users.  Both of these bills will be debated on the Senate floor soon.

I have once again filed several bills seeking to provide some much needed insurance reforms, and they have all been assigned to the Senate Insurance Committee.  I am not optimistic that any will be taken up by the committee prior to Tuesday's deadline for action.  The Sun-Herald ran an article on this issue in today's edition in which I was quoted as saying “People should be outraged that we can’t get simple, pro-consumer reforms done in our state Capitol, especially after what we went through following Katrina. People should be up in arms. They should be filling up the e-mail boxes and mailboxes of their senators and representatives. They should be calling, e-mailing and writing the Insurance Commissioner. They should be raising hell about this.” 

You can read the entire Sun-Herald article discussing the problem here:

http://www.sunherald.com/pageone/story/1910485.html

There are truly some interesting things happening at your Capitol that bear watching. You can tune in and watch the live debate by going to the legislative website and clicking on the link.  You can also call or email me at 228.270.0001 or dbaria@senate.ms.gov if you have questions or comments.  I continue to proudly serve as your State Senator.

You may have heard about the series of articles appearing in the Sun-Herald  this week concerning openess (or lack thereof) in Mississippi government.  Creating more transparency in government was one of my goals when I ran for office and has been one of the issues that I have focused on in the two years that I have served in the legislature.  I have had the good fortune to have served on the Senate Ethics Committee under Chairman Merle Flowers of Desoto County.  The members of the Ethics committee share a resolve to improve access to the workings of all government agencies. In the 2008 Session we passed the Omnibus Ethics bill that was signed by Governor Barbour.  In the 2009 Session the Ethics Committee passed a lobbyist reform bill to eliminate the payment of lobbyists by state agencies with taxpayer funds.  However, the bill was defeated in the Senate.

 

This year during the time between the end of the last special session and the beginning of the 2010 Session, the Ethics sub-committee on Governmental Accountability, which I chair, was tasked with researching the need for reform to the Open Meetings law.  The result of our investigation was a finding that the penalties for violations of the act are de minimus, and are not borne by the person violating the law.  After seeking input from interested parties, the sub-committee recommended a bill to increase the amount of the fine for violations of the Open Meetings Act and to provide that the fine is to be paid by the person who has violated the law.  Currently, the fine is only $100 and may be paid by the agency from its budget. 

 

The members of the sub-committee were joined by the chairman as co-authors of SB 2373 (http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2010/pdf/SB/2300-2399/SB2373IN.pdf).  This bill proposes the changes set forth above to the amount of the fine and to the manner that it should be paid.  The bill also allows a party successfully enforcing the provisions of the Open Meetings Act to recover costs incurred in serving the public interest.  I am happy to report that the bill was passed by the full Ethics Committee last Thursday.  The bill is also referred to Senate Judiciary Committee B and must pass that committee as well before the full Senate will have an opportunity to debate and vote on it.  I am optimistic that this important legislation will pass not only Judiciary B, but also the full Senate.

 

In the upcoming week the legislature will continue to debate the budgetary issues of how much to cut, how much to take from the rainy day fund and other reserve funds, and which agencies should be spared from further knifing.  I continue to believe that everything should be open to discussion and that there should be no sacred cows.  However, I do not want to see deeper cuts to education and do not think it a good idea to close mental health centers. Additionally, a colleague in the Senate proposed a bill this week that would cut the salary of legislators.  I can support a cut in my pay, but I want to see all state elected officials take a cut of the same percentage if we decide to go that route.  Under the dire circumstances in which we find ourselves no one should be immune.
 

I continue to be very proud to serve as your state senator.  If I can ever be of assistance to you do not hesitate to call me at 228.270.0001 or email me at dbaria@senate.ms.gov.

My tax credit bill may actually have a chance this year. 

"Sen. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, said his bill to create a tax incentive for the use of solar, wind, geothermal or other energy-efficient physical plants for home and business owners may be gathering momentum this year, thanks to the personal attention of a committee chairman friendly to the bill."

Here is a link to the article in the Jackson Free Press:

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/wheres_the_money/

The third week of the 2010 legislative session begins today with not much but gloom and doom in the forecast.  Governor Barbour will provide his State-of-the-State address tonight and no one should expect to find it uplifting.  Revenues continue to fall below the projections and another round of cuts to the existing 2009 budget will be necessary.  In fact, the Senate voted last week to give the governor the authority to make cuts up to 10% with further legislative approval.  We expect to hear tonight how the additional 5% cuts will affect the 2009 budget.  Prospects for the 2010 budget do not present a pretty picture either.  The revenue shortfall is nearly $275 Million.  There is over $300 Million in the Rainy Day fund, but spending it all this year may not be wise as we don't know what the future will hold.  Thus, there will likely be significant cuts to agency funding in the 2010 budget as well.

Despite the darkness of the hour, the bright side of this dark cloud may be that we can now make drastic changes to the manner in which we create a budget in Mississippi and enforce performance metrics to ensure that taxpayers get their money's worth out of government.  For too long the legislature has ignored recommendations of expert economists as to the need for budget reform.  Perhaps now, in this climate in which everything must be on the table, we can make some progress on budget reforms.

While the budget will dominate the session, there are other measures that can be taken to make Mississippi a better place to live and work.  I will try once again to make changes to insurance law to eliminate the anti-concurrent causation exclusion in home owners policies and to enforce appropriate adjustment and payment of claims by insurance companies.  I have filed again a bill to create a tax incentive for the use of solar, wind, geothermal or other energy efficient physical plants for home and business owners.  This year, I have been joined by the committee chairman as a co-author of the bill and feel that we can get it passed.  I have also filed for the first time a bill to allow for net metering so that those who produce excess electricity can sell it back to the power company.  These common sense measures will promote the wise use of resources and will help stimulate a new "green" economy.

On the crime front, I have filed a bill to take on the scourge of crystal meth.  My bill will make pseudoephedrine available only via presecription.  This may create a bit of a harship on cold and allergy sufferers, but will greatly reduce the prevelance of meth labs in our state.  I believe that the toll that this drug is taking on our families justifies such extreme measures.  Also, at the request of the Mississippi Deputy Sheriff's Association I have filed a bill that would make it a crime to intimidate a law enforcement officer or his/her family.  This law currently exists in Louisiana and will serve to deter this abhorrent behavior.

I will try to provide regular updates during the session as in years past.  However, should you need to check on the status of a particular measure before the legislature try the legislative website at billstatus.ls.state.ms.us.  To see the other bills that I have filed just click on "Bill Status" "Measure by Senate Author", then click on my name.  Thank you for allowing me to represent you at the Capitol in Jackson.  I continue to be proud to serve as your Senator.

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 12 2009

 

 CONTACT:   Pat Trowles, MS Senate Committee Assistant

                                    601 359 3237

                                    ptrowles@senate.ms.gov

 

JOINT LEGISLATIVE HEARING

 

Monday, November 16, 2009                      9:00AM

 

 

Room 216        New Capitol

 

 

Senator Deborah Dawkins, Senator David Baria, and Representative Dirk Dedeaux will conduct a hearing Monday, November 16, 2009 in Room 216 of Mississippi's New Capitol at 400 High Street, Jackson MS. Baria, Dawkins and Dedeaux will be joined by other state legislators and invited guests for a special hearing on sustainable building, green tax credits and net metering opportunities in the State of Mississippi. All media representatives are invited to attend this special hearing to join in learning more about the opportunities and challenges surrounding sustainable building and energy efficiency.  Invited guests include industry representatives and experts in the fields of architecture, planning, sustainable building construction, green tax credits and power grid management.

 

Please note hearing is scheduled to begin at 9AM and continue throughout the day. For more information feel free to contact Ms Pat Trowles - contact information above.

Faced with another year of declining revenue and a very lean budget, the legislature will be asked to look at consolidating schools.  Here is an article discussing the issue.

http://www.nems360.com/printer_friendly/4049749

The primary question for me is whether consolidation will really save money?  If so, then we need to consider it unless consolidation would result in providing an inferior educational experience for Mississippi schoolchildren.  Your comments on this issue are welcomed.

Last Thursday, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in favor of the insured homeowners in the Corban v. USAA case.  This important case had been anxiously awaited by homeowners and lawyers since it was argued on June 9, 2009.  At issue in the Corban case was the Anti-Concurrent Causation ("ACC") clause.  You may recall that it was this particular portion of homeowners' policies that insurance companies relied on to deny claims where it was difficult to distinguish wind versus water damages.  As I have said many times previously, insurance policy provisions such as the ACC clause should be declared void as against the public policy of the State of Mississippi.  The Supreme Court did not go that far, but did declare that the ACC clause cannot be used in the manner that State Farm, Allstate, Nationwide and USAA had used it to deny legitimate claims. 

The Corban decision comes too late for many Katrina victims who have already settled their claims based on the fear that our courts would find that the insurance compasnies were right in denying their claims.  However, it will speed settlement of the remaining claims.  Perhaps more importantly, the Corban decision has provided a roadmap for the proper adjustment of wind/water claims after the next hurricane.  The next step is to have the legislature adopt the reasoning of the Supreme Court and adopt the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Model Code for adjustment of claims.  Only Mississippi and Alabama have failed to adopt this model code at this point.  Therefore, I will be filing a bill seeking adoption of the NAIC Model Code 900-1.

Here is an article concerning Chinese Drywall and the problems litigants are likely to have getting the manufacturers in court. 

http://www.sunherald.com/business/story/1634085.html

I am involved in representing homeowners who have this product in their homes.  The have had repeated air conditioner failures, appliance failures, wiring problems, and many have had to throw out nearly new flat-screen televisions because the drywall emits hydrogen sulfide or sulfur hydroxide, which destroys the soft metals found in these items.

I will be involved in presenting information at town hall type meetings to be held at the Waveland Civic Center, the Orange Grove Public Library in Gulfport, and the Pascagoula Public Library on October 5th,6th and 7th respectively.  Please attend if you would like more information about Chinese Drywall and the problems it causes. 

Here is a story from the Sun-Herald concerning the housing situation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. 

http://www.sunherald.com/199/story/1628764.html

I am not sure if there is a shortage or a glut of low to moderate income housing.  However, I have been informed that of the $350 million Mississippi received from the federal government for such housing after Katrina, less than $10 milion has been spent.  I intend to follow up on this issue and get some answers.  If this information is correct, and if we still have elderly and working poor residents of the Coast who don't have adequate housing, we need to see how fast we can spend the rest of that money.
 

Here is a link to an article about how the poor economy in Mississippi is affecting an important part of Mississippi Government.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/sep/22/courts-looking-at-april-shutdown/

Clearly, something must be done to prevent the Court system from ceasing to function.  The question is from where will the money come?  Now that Governor Barbour has cut the education budget, everything is on the table. 

Budget negotiators are meeting in Jackson over the next two weeks to try to sort out the 2011 fiscal year recommendations.  No one thinks that it will be any easier this year to stitch together a budget given the lackluster revenue reports and the dismal prognostications.  However, there is some sense of hope to be derived from the national indicators signalling that the recession is ending, though Mississippi generally lags behind national economic trends.  All-in-all, it appears that we are in for another year or tough times in terms of the State Budget