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.