How Mississippi Became Beer-Friendly

Oxford’s inaugural beer festival is a direct indication of the alcohol reformation taking place in Mississippi. Most of the beers provided at the festival this year were illegal in the state less than a year ago. The state had and still has some strict and odd regulations when it comes to alcohol. Yet, since being elected into office in 2011, Gov. Phil Bryant has signed two Senate bills that have dramatically loosened regulations. This legislation has earned Bryant the nickname “Budweiser Bryant” from the grateful Mississippi beer enthusiasts.

The credit does not lay solely with Bryant, though. A majority of the change in state regulation is due to the advocacy promoted by the grassroots, nonprofit organization Raise Your Pints. Formed In Jackson in 2007, this organization focused on bringing the highest quality beers in the world to Mississippi. In order to accomplish its mission, two decisive bills needed to be passed.

The first bill was Senate Bill 2878, a bill that would increase the amount of alcohol in beer so that it may contain up to 8 percent by weight. This bill was passed and became effective July 1, 2012. It allowed beer drinkers in Mississippi to access a much greater array of beers, like craft beers and high-gravity beers. Craft beers are beers that are distributed by small, independent breweries, while high-gravity beers are beers that contain a high percentage of alcohol. According to beeradvocate.com, the 5 percent alcohol by weight cap eliminated 80 percent of the top-rated beers in the world and about 33 percent of the world’s beer styles, like barley wine, doppelbock, imperial stout and many more. Before its passing in July, Mississippi was the only state to have a ban on high-gravity beer.

The second bill the Raise Your Pints collective sought to pass was S.B. 2183, which would legalize the act of home brewing. The bill was passed on March 18, 2013, though the illegality of home brewing in the state was not really preventing Mississippians from enjoying the hobby. The entire issue was more of a gray area of legal interpretation. This law change resulted in clarifying the legislation, to the delight of home brewers. The passage of S.B. 2183 left no question that home brewing is a legal hobby in Mississippi. Mississippi was the second to last state to legalize this act officially, leaving Alabama as the only state that has yet to do so.

Raise Your Pints President Craig Hendry said that the passage of S.B. 2878 was more difficult to accomplish than that of the homebrewing bill

“It was our top priority and we spent a lot more time educating and promoting it. Our efforts with that bill also made it easier to follow it with the home brew bill the next year.”

The hard work of accomplishing that task paid off for Hendry and beer enthusiasts in the state.

“After that law passed, we have seen a big influx of new beers and new breweries distributing to Mississippi,” Hendry said. “Also, less than 12 months later, we are on the verge of having five breweries open in Mississippi, compared to only one a year ago. So, the results are there for everyone to see.”

via How Mississippi Became Beer-Friendly – The Daily Mississippian – The Daily Mississippian.

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Chairman on DMR: ‘Nobody really knows how much money the agency really has’

The Department of Marine Resources has $117,250 in its budget for the rest of the fiscal year, according to a report by its director of administrative services Tuesday at the Commission on Marine Resources meeting.

It took Tom Doster less than a minute to deliver that economic news.

CMR Chairman Vernon Asper obviously wanted to hear more about the budget.

“As a member of the public, I’m sure there are a lot of people who have a lot of questions about this,” Asper said. “I want to make just a few comments. First of all, the numbers Tom is showing are not the total funding to the agency. The total funding to the agency would include federal grants as well as state funds. The other thing is we’re undergoing an audit at this time. We’re halfway through it.

“We hope by next month we are going to have a more complete report on exactly how much money the agency really has, where it is, how it’s been used how it’s been allocated — where we stand financially.”

Asper promised the public would get a more detailed picture in the near future.

Until then, he said, “nobody really knows how much money the agency really has.”

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Ocean Springs mayoral candidate calls state auditor to clear up taxpayer funded fishing trip.

Jackson County Supervisor John McKay said Thursday the deep-sea fishing trips he took in 2012 with the state Department of Marine Resources have become an issue in his race for mayor of Ocean Springs.

In a meeting with the Sun Herald, he said he plans to go to the State Auditor’s Office next week and clear the air.

“I voluntarily called up to get this behind me and everybody else that was on that boat,” McKay said, “because none of us did anything wrong, because if I’m innocent, they’re all innocent.”

McKay said he went on one deep-sea fishing trip with a number of public officials and then about six weeks later, in August, he went on one with his grandson and about 10 other boys around the time of his grandson’s birthday.

McKay said he feels he did nothing wrong in going on the fishing trips. He said he is a longtime friend of former DMR Director Bill Walker and thought Walker’s foundation paid for the trips, not the state agency.

Walker came under state and federal investigation last year for spending practices at the agency and was fired with cause earlier this year. The investigations continue, but Walker has said he did nothing wrong.

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Governor unveils Coast projects funded by BP money.

BP PLC is paying $69 million for interactive exhibits at a Hancock County science center, a concrete pathway on the beach at Pascagoula, up to six miles of shoreline and improvements at a park as part of Mississippi Gulf Coast restoration from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Gov. Phil Bryant said.

The money is part of $1 billion the oil giant agreed two years ago to pay for early restoration work after the 2010 disaster. The money is going to Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Texas and the federal government. Each state is to get at least $100 million.

Mississippi has now received a total of $82.6 million, Bryant said today.

He said the money will go to four projects across the Mississippi Coast.

“These four projects, which extend across the entirety of our Gulf Coast counties, are an important step in that journey. Each addresses a critical part of restoration of the natural resource and recreational losses caused by the spill. In whole, they will help to restore and enhance a wide array of habitat, from oyster and fish to marshes and the public’s opportunities to enjoy and better understand the intricate Gulf Coast environment,” Bryant said in a statement.

Mississippi’s project were proposed as a result a public comment process on the Gulf Coast and were negotiated with BP and Mississippi’s federal and state partners. The projects will go through another phase of public review and comment before work begins.

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Hosemann announces deal to buy portion of Cat Island, set aside for public use.

Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann and members of the Coast legislative delegation announced Thursday the state has made a deal to buy 217 acres of Cat Island to be set aside for public use.

The total purchase price for the land is $8 million, with $528,000 coming from state tidelands funds, which come from casino leases. Those tidelands funds were leveraged with about $5 million in federal oil spill settlement funds and $1.2 million in Federal Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program funds. The Legislature also authorized the state to use nearly $1.3 million that had been set aside to purchase Deer Island to purchase the Cat Island land instead.

Hosemann, who met with the Sun Herald while he was on the Coast to sign the agreement, said he believes the state will find a way to provide public transportation out to the island so people can enjoy the natural resources there. He was excited about the deal.

“This place is a jewel for the Coast and the state of Mississippi,” Hosemann said. “I’ve recognized the value of this for so many years.”

About 10 years ago, the Legislature passed a $10 million bond bill and spent about $8.8 million of it to purchase most of Deer Island, except a small sliver that is still privately held. The owner of that portion doesn’t want to sell. Senate Bill 2700, which Gov. Phil Bryant signed this year, allowed the state to take the remaining $1.3 million of that bond and match it with other funds to negotiate for part of Cat Island.

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Governor picks Congressman Palazzo’s former Chief of Staff to lead DMR

Gov. Phil Bryant has selected Jamie Miller as his choice to head the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.

Bryant made the announcement at a 10 a.m. news conference at the DMR headquarters in Biloxi.

The governor said Miller, who has a bachelor’s degree in environmental biology from the University of Southern Mississippi, fully understands how important the Coast’s resources are to teh state’s well being. He also touted Miller’s government and private sector experience.

“With this Gulf Coast, these coastal resources that God has given us, it is so important to have a man like Jamie Miller, who has taken the opportunity and the challenge to become the next director of DMR.”

Miller, 40, of Gulfport, had been U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo’s chief of staff until he left that job in December after a little more than a year. He left to return home to the Coast.

He had also served eight months as deputy chief of staff for the congressman, who was elected in 2010. Miller had also worked as a coastal ecologist with DMR from 1997 to 1999, as well as Pascagoula’s deputy city manager and as policy adviser under Gov. Haley Barbour.

Read More 

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Daily Journal: Communities need local sales tax option.

(Communities) need the option of levying special sales taxes when their futures literally depend on it. But the Legislature has always jealously guarded its prerogative to approve every local levy before it allows the voters to do so.

This middle-man approach should be changed.

Legislation to allow cities to levy their own sales taxes has been rejected annually since the 1980s. The Legislature occasionally allows local options, usually for tourism-related purposes such as Tupelo’s hotel and restaurant sales tax.

But what’s wrong with giving cities the authority to make the case before their voters for a local sales tax without coming hat-in-hand to the Legislature? Local government, after all, is government closest to the people.

This year, the Mississippi Municipal League has gotten some traction in the House on a bill that would allow cities to decide for themselves whether to levy a 1-cent sales tax for specific projects. The tax would require 60 percent voter approval and would end when the project was paid for.

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Former legislator named deputy director of Dept. of Marine Resources.

Danny Guice Jr. said there was no hesitation on his part about joining the staff of the Department of Marine Resources as its new deputy director.

“I’m born and raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” Guice said. “I’ve been in Jackson for over 30 years. Jackson’s a wonderful place, but it’s not home. So this was an opportunity to come home and work for the Coast. It’s a perfect fit.”

Guice, 59, was hired by DMR director Bill Walker and he started at the DMR earlier this week. He resigned his position on the State Parole Board after more than four years to accept the DMR post.

Guice also served in the state legislature from 1984 to 2008 as a State Representative from District 114, which encompasses much of Ocean Springs, where Guice has maintained a home despite his frequent and lengthy stays in Jackson.

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Senator Chris McDaniel to dedicate Mississippi monument at the historic Alamo in San Antonio on Friday.

Mississippi State Senator Chris McDaniel will take part in the dedication of a Mississippi Monument in San Antonio, Texas at the historic Alamo on Friday October 26 to honor Mississippians who gave their lives there for the cause of freedom. Joining him will be Mississippi resident Reid Guy, event coordinator and co-initiator of the project.

McDaniel was author of the Senate Concurrent Resolution 623 during the 2012 Session of the Mississippi Legislature supporting the creation of the monument. The project was fully funded through private donations. A replica of the monument will be presented to Governor Phil Bryant for placement at the state capitol in a ceremony to be scheduled in the coming weeks.

“I am honored to have this incredible opportunity to pay tribute to these men who sacrificed themselves that all may live a life of freedom,” says McDaniel. “Mississippians who visit this historic site will see and know that the tradition of freedom has a long and proud place in our states history. They will know that generations of Mississippi’s sons and daughters have always been willing to fight tirelessly for those rights wherever they were challenged. I believe it is important for us to remember. It is important for people to see this monument and to be inspired that the fight for freedom is worth continuing for generations to come.”

Mississippians won’t have to travel to Texas to see the monument. McDaniel will present a replica to the state in a ceremony in the coming weeks. Event Coordinator Reid Guy initiated work on the memorial in March, and has worked with Alamo Museum educators to coordinate events in Texas. He says that the replica at the state capitol will be a good resource for parents and teachers who want to teach of Mississippi’s place in history.

“Student visits to the state capitol will now have another important piece of history to discuss,” says Guy. “We simply can’t allow future generations to forget how closely we have been, nor how closely we can come today to losing the freedoms we enjoy. Our society needs citizens participation in events to honor and remember these important sacrifices, and to illustrate how we must always be vigilant and ready to face down threats.”

Participants and attendants to the October 26 ceremony will meet in Alamo Hall at 10:00 AM followed by the dedication and unveiling of the monument at 11:40 AM.

Pender: Expect loud passionate outcry over Mississippi lottery in 2013

Bennett said lawmakers will likely wait and see what transpires in other states and Washington before tackling online gambling. But a lottery will probably get cussed and discussed this legislative session.

“So many people have asked about (a lottery),” said Bennett, R-Long Beach. “Legislators put in bills for it — every year. I told them we would look at it.”

I expect some loud, passionate outcry will be forthcoming, but the real debate on a Mississippi lottery has probably shifted over the last 20 years from religious-moral to economic-pragmatic. Does a lottery make financial sense for Mississippi? Would it hurt casinos?

Forty three states have lotteries, including all but one — Alabama — that border us. In recent years, many lottery programs have been struggling financially.

But supporters say a lottery would help shore the state budget — and could be earmarked for education — and keep Mississippians from spending lottery dollars in neighboring states.

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