Roadblock: Mississippi House seeks talks on transportation

JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi House members have tried to reopen discussions over state transportation and construction money, after an impasse killed such plans last weekend.

Representatives voted overwhelmingly Monday to send two transportation spending bills back for more negotiations with senators.

The immediate source of complaints was more than $45 million in special projects inserted in the bill. But House members also said they want a last-minute resurrection of a borrowing plan to pay for bridges and other government construction projects. That bond bill died Saturday in a dispute over earmarking taxes on internet sales for transportation work. House and Senate leaders blamed each other.

“There’s a lot of give and take in politics, with some people doing a lot of taking and not much giving,” said House Transportation Committee Chairman Charles Busby, a Pascagoula Republican, in a clear jab at Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves.

Reeves did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday, and it’s unclear how senators will respond.

Democratic Rep. Robert Johnson III of Natchez said House members hope to gain the two-thirds support needed in both chambers to produce a bond bill even though deadlines have passed.

Johnson also said it was wrong to push particular projects to the front of the line, such as $10 million for Lakeland Drive in Flowood or $10 million for the U.S. 82 bypass near Greenville, when state transportation officials are leaving other worthy projects waiting.

“If you don’t stand for something, you will have nothing,” Johnson said.

The transportation drama flared Monday as lawmakers pushed through dozens of budget bills that will significantly cut state spending. Total spending was originally supposed to be $6.41 billion in the current budget year, before Republican Gov. Phil Bryant imposed $171 million in midyear budget cuts to close a gap with flagging revenue. Under the budget plan pushed through Monday, total spending in the year beginning July 1 will fall to $6.04 billion, a cut of 5.8 percent from what was originally slated for the current budget year, and 3.5 percent less than even the current reduced spending amounts.

Cuts for many agencies will be deep. House Appropriations Committee Chairman John Read, a Gautier Republican, called the budget the worst he’d ever seen, but said most agency heads say they will be able to continue essential operations.

“They have looked me in the eye and said they can make it,” Read said. “Not everyone, but most.”