Mississippi lawmakers on deadline to file general bills

Members of the Mississippi House and Senate are facing their first major deadline of year.

Monday is the final day for lawmakers to file general bills or constitutional amendments that will be considered during their four-month session.

The session started in early January and ends in early May.

Bills are already filed on several big issues, including charter schools and immigration.

Committees now have until March 6 to act on general bills or constitutional amendments filed in each chamber. The House committees will consider House bills, and the Senate committees will consider Senate bills. The surviving proposals will move on for debate in the full chamber.

There are later deadlines to file and pass money bills.

via Mississippi lawmakers on deadline to file general bills – WLBT 3 – Jackson, MS:.

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Lawmakers additional retirement payout and its future

Once a lawmaker is vested in state government, they get perks like no other state employee. With a base pay about $10,000, their retirement packages go far beyond that.

Through the Supplemental Legislative Retirement Plan, known as SLRP, legislators are the only public employees who get an additional 50% more in retirement simply because they are legislators.

“For legislators to add 50% on to that for themselves, most people see as very wrong,” said Mississippi Center for Public Policy President, Forest Thigpen.

Thigpen says the payout is often a hot button issue since it’s calculated on a lawmakers highest four salary years while in office and includes per diem payments.

“The result is that it’s not uncommon for 40, 50, $60,000 to be the base on which their retirement is calculated,” said Thigpen.

It was established by lawmakers back in 1989 and ever since then the plan hasn’t changed much. Currently there’s a total of 381 active members enrolled in SLRP, including current lawmakers as well as those already retired and their beneficiaries.

For fiscal year 2011, SLRP paid out $823,936 in benefits to 147 members or beneficiaries currently receiving them.  As a whole, the Public Employees Retirement System, known as PERS, paid out more than $1.6 billion to more than 83,000 people.

via Lawmakers additional retirement payout and its future – WLBT 3 – Jackson, MS:.

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2012 legislative session begins

The gavels came down at noon Tuesday followed by the oath of office for the men and women who will craft legislation and lead the state of Mississippi for the next four years.

With opening day of the 2012 legislative session comes a lot of formalities, but lawmakers also know there’s going to be a lot of work in the coming months.

via 2012 legislative session begins – WLBT 3 – Jackson, MS:.

BREAKING–Former Mississippi Governor Bill Waller dead at 85

WLBT is reporting that former Mississippi Governor Bill Waller died today following an illness. Waller, who was 85, was Governor from 1972-1976.

via Former Mississippi Governor Bill Waller has died – WLBT 3 – Jackson, MS:.

Report Questions the effectiveness of Castle Doctrine

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What limits do you, as a home-owner, have to protect your family and property? under Mississippi‘s so-called “Castle Doctrine“, you are protected if you shoot and kill an intruder. But there are limits and the question lingers, has the law helped to reduce crime?

Florida was the first state to adopt such a law and Mississippi followed in 2006.

The so-called “Castle Doctrine” is based on Old English common law, which says a person is free to defend their homes and property without criminal or civil consequences.

There have been only a few cases in the tri-county area that are covered under the Justifiable Homicide Amendment that is commonly known as the Castle Doctrine, but it’s not as prevalent as you might think.

Former State Senator Charlie Ross authored the amendment. He says it is designed to protect law abiding citizens and give them a way to protect themselves from criminals.

“It’s not a law that allows you to go out and be like the wild west in the streets” said Ross. ”This is a law that allow you to protect your personal space, your home, your car, if you’re staying at a friend’s house, to protect your family against people who are trying to do you harm. And it simply says, that when somebody is coming through your window and you feel like you need to shoot to protect yourself, the law’s not going to come back later and say was it really dangerous? it says yes, he was dangerous and we’re going to back you up.”

Ross says the law extends to your place of business and place of employment.

“They are operating a business” Ross added. ”They are providing jobs to people or the owners of that convenience store, so why shouldn’t the law give them the benefit of the doubt as opposed to the bad guy whose breaking the law. That’s the underlying purpose of the castle doctrine is, to say if you are law abiding, we’re on your side.”

When somebody is breaking into someone’s house or someone’s business they now have the right to presume that that person means them harm and they have the right to use deadly force, if necessary, to protect themselves. They don’t have to wait and see what is this guy up to.

via Castle Doctrine: Lingering questions – WLBT 3 – Jackson, MS:.

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Mississippi’s agriculture in the spotlight – WLBT 3 – Jackson, MS:

JACKSON, MS (WLBT) -

It’s a $6.8 billion business in Mississippi and Tuesday those invested in the state’s agricultural industry were getting an ear full on what to expect in the future.

“Agriculture is a huge industry in the state,” said Central Mississippi Farm Bureau Vice President Ted Kendall.

With new regulations set to go into affect from the federal Farm Bill down to a tight budget at the state capitol, industry leaders say any new concerns cropping up stem from an ongoing pest.

“With the budget cuts that we’re looking at there are lots of concerns about how that will affect Mississippi’s agriculture,” said Kendall.

Kendall says those budget cuts could mean less support in conservation programs and research as well as program crops which are those eligible for financial payments.

With about 17% of the state’s workforce involved some way with agriculture, Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant says although the agribusiness is booming in the state, there’s an ongoing concern of folks moving away from the business.

“Everyone use to be just one generation from the farm and now we’ve got a break in that. We’re actually having to look at workforce development in agribusiness so that we can have future farmers,” said Bryant.

To help harvest more farmers, Bryant says the state needs to become a leader in biofuels and lawmakers need to be careful not to regulate farmers out of business.

via Mississippi’s agriculture in the spotlight – WLBT 3 – Jackson, MS:.

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Early Education: Mississippi’s “Excel by 5″

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JACKSON, MS (WLBT) -

Start early and start now, that was the message of the Excel By 5 summit Wednesday morning as advocates from across the state got some good news; the program is growing.

“Early is very important, even before age four and that’s one of the great things about Excel By 5, they start at birth,” said Governor Haley Barbour.

With a focus on early childhood development, the program was launched back in 2004 by Governor Barbour and his wife Marsha, thanks to a $650,000 grant. Two years later, Petal became the first certified community.

“Excel By 5 has really been an amazing piece of our education system,” said Nadine Coleman with the Petal School District and Excel By 5 state board member. Coleman says it’s the preschool ages where investments need to be made. As a former kindergarten teacher, Coleman says she saw first hand the language gaps in new students.

“In education, this really is where we have the greatest potential to impact change,” said Coleman.

Eight communities are now certified under the program stretching from Moss Point to Monroe County. Twenty other communities are now on track to do the same.

“Anywhere there are young children from birth to the age of five, Excel By 5 is crucial,” said Moss Point Excel By 5 certification manager Patrice McCullum.

McCullum says the program is helping to identify educational needs and available resources in making sure children are ready for the school system to truly excel by five.

“Just being able to provide the educational opportunities that address very young children is really beginning to catch on,” said McCullum.

The program relies on more than just school systems. Barbour says it takes community efforts through volunteers to ensure a brighter future for the state’s youngest.

“In our state we can’t afford four year kindergarten on a public scale. However, we’ve got eighty percent of our children already in some kind of child care, some kind of preschool, so the key for us was how do we improve the quality of that,” said Barbour.

via Mississippi’s “Excel by 5″ – WLOX-TV and WLOX.com – The News for South Mississippi.

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Candidate for governor unveils education plan – WLOX-TV and WLOX.com – The News for South Mississippi

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JACKSON, MS (WLBT) -

Throughout his campaign for governor one of his top platforms has been education and Thursday, the state’s democratic nominee, Johnny DuPree, laid out what he calls his signature Mississippi Educational Restructure Program.

“Education is really where it is, that’s really where it is,” said DuPree.

The mayor from Hattiesburg unveiled his plan in Jackson at Operation Upward, a child care center serving more than 300 children primarily from low income families. It’s places like this where DuPree says reform is key and center director Robrelle Murray couldn’t agree more.

“If the foundation is laid appropriately and you have certified teachers you have everything that you need in order to prepare the children for the classroom setting,” said Murray.

Under the four phase plan, DuPree hopes to begin with early childhood development and teacher education as well as reducing the state tax burden on teachers to put more money in their pockets and that’s just a start.

“We’ve got to be determined to pay our teachers a decent salary. If we’re determined to do that, we can do it,” said DuPree.

With Mississippi often criticized for it’s educational status, leading the nation in drop out rates and behind in graduation rates, DuPree says it’s time for the state to pull itself up in the rankings.

“Hopefully we’re going to have those numbers change for us and change for the better,” said DuPree.

To help with that change, DuPree says graduation coaches need to be placed in middle and high schools across the state as well as updating the state’s gifted programs, but all of it starts, he says, with Mississippi’s youngest.

“We’ve had a lot of people to work on education, reformation and all those kinds of things, but the bottom line is we’re still in the same position that we’ve been in for such a long time so we’ve got to start from scratch,” said DuPree.

via Candidate for governor unveils education plan – WLOX-TV and WLOX.com – The News for South Mississippi.

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School bus safety push at state capitol – WLBT 3 – Jackson, MS:

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JACKSON, MS (WLBT) -

It wasn’t your typical school bus stop Wednesday morning as children went from the bus steps to the steps of the state capitol, joining state leaders and bus safety advocates.

“It is up to us, incumbent upon all of us to have that shared responsibility for these children,” said Lieutenant Governor Phil Bryant.

In preparation of National School Bus Safety Week, the forces behind a state law, known as Nathan’s Law, are hoping to send a message across the state.

“It seems as if a tragedy often has to occur before we become aware of the dangers,” said Bryant.

Tragedy is what spurred the law, named after five year old Nathan Key who died when he was ran over after stepping off of his school bus in front of his home in Jones County back in December of 2009.

Since his death, his parents, Andy and Lori, set out to change state law, and did, but they’re not stopping there.

“As long as there are still children getting injured getting on and off school buses, there’s work to be done,” said Andy Key.

They both now sit on the state’s school bus safety task force chaired by Lamar County Schools Superintendent Ben Burnett.

“Most people aren’t aware that there’s a new tougher law,” said Burnett.

The law created stiffer penalties for anyone caught passing a stopped school bus and even created the task force which will make additional safety proposals to be presented to the legislature in January.

via School bus safety push at state capitol – WLBT 3 – Jackson, MS:.

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Breaking State Auditor’s Office copying documents at Rankin County School District HQ

WLBT 3 is reporting on their Facebook page:

Special agents with the State Auditor’s Office spent much of the day at the Rankin County School District’s headquarters in Brandon copying certain documents. We have exclusive video and details on the investigation on the WLBT 5, 6 and 10pm reports.

#Mississippi #Rankin #County #Schools #Education #Stacey #Pickering #State #Auditor #WLBT