By Rod Guajardo and Vershal Hogan

NATCHEZ — Education, transportation, economic development and constitutional issues will be some of the main topics local legislators say they will be pushing for next week as the deadline for filing legislation approaches.

The 2015 Mississippi Legislature convened earlier this month and lawmakers have until Monday to file legislation.

Allocating $32 million for roads and bridges, $10 million for rural hospitals and protecting the rights of Mississippi’s residents are some of the issues local legislators say have their attention during this session.

District 38 Sen. Kelvin Butler

Securing $6 million for the preservation and restoration of Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center is the focus of one bill filed by Sen. Kelvin Butler, D-Magnolia.

Butler hopes the bill will secure funding for the restoration of the former school and Mississippi Landmark.

“Natchez is a very historical town and maintaining that building by bringing some money for renovations to get it in good shape is important,” Butler said. “That’s a project I’m very familiar with, and I know is important to a lot of people in that area.”

Funding for the project was included in an initial bond proposal last session, but the Margaret Martin money was not included in the final borrowing plan that was approved.

“I feel like last year we came very, very close, so we’re going to go at it again this year,” Butler said. “Even if we can’t get it all this year, let’s try and get some because even $2 million this year and $2 million next year would help get the ball rolling.”

Butler has also introduced several education bills including one that would give free college tuition to any student with at least a 3.0 grade point average who attends a school that’s part of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning.

In a separate bill modeled after programs in Georgia, Butler proposes instituting a statewide lottery to help pay for the funding of that tuition.

“I want our kids to be the best they can be, but there are just some kids that fall through the cracks because they don’t have the resources to pay for college,” Butler said. “This would help encourage them to keep on and go get their education.”

 

District 37 Sen. Melanie Sojourner

As of Friday evening Sen. Melanie Sojourner, R-Natchez, had not officially sponsored any legislation, but said she had 35-40 requests on which she was working with other legislators and attorneys to finalize language and sponsorship details.

But Sojourner said she was working — among other things — on a couple of what she characterized as “Constitutional balance-of-power bills.”

“I’m working on one that is similar to something the Texas Legislature passed,” she said. “That bill says if Congress tried to mandate anything on the state that was not a Constitutional act, the sate would nullify it. It is a check and balance on what the federal government can tell the state to do.”

The senator said she’s also working on a bill that would tell Mississippi officials not to comply if the federal government tried to force the seizure of firearms.

Sojourner said another bill she is working on would require those registering to vote and candidates running for office to prove they are U.S. citizens.

“We looked through the rules and regulations, and there is nothing in the statute that requires citizenship,” she said. “There is something that requires you to prove residency, and normally what they require is a driver’s license and proof of residency, but a driver’s license does not prove citizenship — you can get a temporary driver’s license with a temporary visa.”

Sojourner said she will reintroduce a bill from last year that would allow veterans returning to civilian life with a military commercial driver’s license to use their military credentials to get a commercial license rather than having to go through additional testing and fees.

The senator also said she is working on bills that would allow for hunting license exemptions for guests of property owners and honorably discharged veterans.

 

District 94 Rep. Robert Johnson III

Rep. Robert Johnson III, who is chairman of the House transportation committee, said his main focus this session is attempting to secure an additional $32 million for county roads and bridges.

Johnson, D-Natchez, said improving the roads and bridges in Natchez and Adams County would have a direct impact on economic development.

“There’s a school of thought on economic development that says just get the schools where they need to be because people want great education,” Johnson said. “While that’s true, companies don’t want to even talk about how good schools are if there’s not a way to move goods and services into the area.

“My job is to make sure that’s happening all over the state, but Natchez always comes first.”

Though it wasn’t filed as of Friday, Johnson said he also plans to introduce a bill in the House mirroring Butler’s Senate bill to secure funding for Margaret Martin.

Johnson said he plans to keep abreast of any movements regarding the funding of school districts through the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, but didn’t plan on introducing any legislation specific to those issues.

“The transportation issue is where I’ve had to concentrate my efforts, because I try not to spread to thin,” Johnson said. “But of course people are extremely interested in education, and we’re going to keep an eye on that.”

Johnson said he would also be looking at partnering with other legislators to introduce an initiative that would provide all state employees with a salary increase for the first time in more than nine years.

 

District 97 Rep. Sam Mims V

Rep. Sam Mims — the chairman of the house public health and human services committee — has introduced a bill to request $10 million to give rural hospitals with fewer than 50 beds grants of no more than $500,000 to help meet new market demands as health care changes.

“We were already able to pass that out of public health committee this week, and it is being sent to the appropriation committee, where we will discuss the merits of the bill and also the money needed for it,” Mims said. “We will work hard to get that appropriation approved in the next couple of weeks.”

Mims, R-McComb, has likewise introduced a bill that will keep health care providers from being penalized by their licensure boards for declining to accept Medicaid or insurance patients and instead opting for a cash-only system. The bill has already passed the public health committee.

“We feel like as time progresses more people will choose that (cash-only) direction, and if they chose that we don’t want them to have any kind of penalty from their licensing board,” Mims said.

The representative has also introduced a bill that would allow teachers who have been teaching for 25 years to be exempt from continuing education requirements, a proposal he said came from a constituent over the summer.